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Posted on 08/16/2025 4:06:04 PM PDT by Roman_War_Criminal
Luke 23:39-43; “One of the criminals who were hanged railed at Him, saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other rebuked him saying, ‘Do you not fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we are receiving the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.’ And he said, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” (ESV – all emphasis is mine.)
Here we have three men at the end of their lives on this earth. One of them is the Son of God, who was providing the ultimate pure-blood sacrifice to give a means for all to have a pathway to eternal life in Heaven. For this to take place, everyone must receive and accept the sacrifice our Savior made, and therefore receive and accept Jesus as their eternal Savior.
The first thief was ridiculing Jesus, and his attitude showed he did not believe the claim that Jesus was actually a part of the triune Godhead. He was not alone because the majority of the people back then, including many of His disciples, had serious doubts about Jesus being the true Messiah. It took the resurrection of our Savior from the dead and witnessing Him being “Raptured” to convince them He was for real.
The final proof came on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit arrived and indwelt the apostles. From that moment on, they became adamant about proclaiming Jesus as being the one and only true Messiah, and most of them all the way to their martyrdom.
As for the second thief crucified with Jesus, he was able to see there was something special about Him. He actually followed the A-B-Cs of Salvation. He Admitted he deserved what was happening, and he Believed Jesus truly was the Savior of the world. He Called out for Jesus to remember, or save him. Jesus not only acknowledged the thief’s faith but also advised that before the day was over, he would be in Paradise with the Savior.
As a human, Jesus died, and His body was in a tomb for three days. However, the instant He declared, “Father, into your hands I commit My Spirit” (Luke 23:46), He took His last breath on this earth, and immediately He was Spiritually with the Father.
When He returned and exited the tomb where His human body was laid, it is obvious that He was no longer “lower than the angels,” as we’re told in Hebrews 2. In Philippians 2:9-11, Paul tells us, “Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in Heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the Glory of the Father.”
As I stated in the past, at any time while our Lord was on this earth, He could have stopped the whole ordeal that He was destined to go through. However, He and the Father and the Holy Spirit believe we are worth having a pathway to eternal life. As stated, it is available for all who choose to receive and accept Jesus as our eternal Redeemer, Savior, Shepherd, and Messiah – anointed one.
Recent news reported that Hulk Hogan, whose real name was Terry Bollea, 71 years old, died of cardiac arrest. What’s significant about this is that he and his wife were baptized in December 2023. He declared right to the end that it was the greatest day of his life, and he totally surrendered and dedicated himself to Jesus.
He stated he had accepted Jesus as his Savior at age 14, but through his life up to age 70, he had “derailed.” Over the past few years, he publicly acknowledged he believed and accepted Jesus as his Savior, and was baptized as his profession of that faith.
The world today is rapidly getting closer to the end of this age. It has been stated by Bible experts that there is nothing else that has to take place before the Rapture of all true believers.
The time to seriously consider which eternity you will go into is right now. Our Heavenly Father allows us to choose for ourselves, but remember, there are only two outcomes possible. Eternal life or eternal condemnation. He will force neither path upon us.
All who have truly received and accepted Jesus as their Savior will have eternal life in Heaven with Him.
All who take their last breath on this earth without Jesus will be condemned to the lake of fire forever, and that’s found in Revelation 20:11-15.
False prophets are saying there are many ways to Heaven and that it’s not necessary to have Jesus as your Savior. This is directly from Satan’s playbook. He knows his fate, which is found in Matthew 25:41, and would love to draw as many souls away from the Savior as possible. Sadly, more will follow him than will follow Jesus, as stated in Matthew 7:13-14.
Ephesians 2:8-9 speaks volumes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works so that no one may boast.”
One more point: if you are attending a service that does not give the true word of the Bible, there are definite warnings about this. First, 2 Timothy 4:3-4: “For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.”
Next is 1 Corinthians 1:18: “For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.”
No one has sinned so badly that the blood of our Savior cannot reach them. The only sin right now that is unforgivable is to die without Jesus as your eternal Savior. All else can be forgiven, as given in 1 John 1:8-10.
No one is guaranteed another day on this earth; it’s your eternity, your choice. Please choose wisely.
Shalom! Peace from our Heavenly Father.
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Four Men died on a Tree That Day,
One by his Own Hand.
True.
I never thought of that.
I was working on a synopsis of
The Good Theif and Bad Theif and in popped Judas !
.
Of course Our Lord Jesus
Great observation.
AMEN!! Great read!!
Even so come QUICKLY Lord Jesus!
.
Makes me wonder what Else is
Buried in there!?!
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