Correct.
Death will
not prevail over Jesus' church. Death
will be abolished:
For He must reign
until He has put all His enemies under His feet.
26
The last enemy that will be abolished
is death. For He has put all things in subjection
under His feet..." 1 Corinthians 15:25-27
(NAS)
Remember Jesus' saying in Matthew 16:18:
"...upon
this rock I will build My church; and the gates of
Hades* shall not overpower it." Matthew 16:18 (NAS)
Those that are being held
by the gates of Hades* can be set free through their
belief in and obedience to
Jesus and His teachings (see Lesson 1). The gates of Hades* will
not prevail against the church that belongs to
Christ.
*literally the place of the unseen dead.
Some Would Fall Away
Even though the gates of Hades would not
overpower Jesus' church, the Bible foretold that
some of the disciples would fall away and some would
become false teachers. The apostle Peter says:
"But
false prophets also arose among the people, just as
there will also be false teachers among you, who
will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even
denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift
destruction upon themselves." 2 Peter 2:1 (NAS)
Jesus said: "But all these
things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will
kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on
account of My name. And at that time many will fall
away and will deliver up one another and hate one
another. "And many false prophets will arise, and
will mislead many. "And because lawlessness is
increased, most people's love will grow cold. "But
the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved."
Matthew 24:8-13 (NAS)
So Hold Fast to What is Taught
Jesus and His apostles warned his followers to
hold fast to only their teachings:
1
Corinthians 15:2 "...by which also you are saved,
if you hold
fast the word which I preached to you, unless
you believed in vain." (NAS)
"For we have become partakers
of Christ,
if we hold fast the beginning of our
assurance firm until the end;" Hebrew 3:14 (NAS)
"Since then we have a great
high priest who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God,
let us hold
fast our confession." Hebrews 10:23 (NAS)
"Let us
hold fast
the confession of our hope without wavering,
for He who promised is faithful;" Hebrews 4:14 (NAS)
"For this reason we must
pay much
closer attention to what we have heard, lest
we drift away from it. For if the word spoken
through angels proved unalterable, and every
transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense,
how shall we escape if we neglect so great a
salvation? After it was at the first spoken through
the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who
heard," Hebrews 2:1-3 (NAS)
"Jesus therefore was saying to
those Jews who had believed Him, "If
you abide in My word, then you are truly
disciples of Mine;" John 8:31 (NAS)
"Anyone who goes too far and
does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not
have God;
the one who abides in the teaching, he has
both the Father and the Son." II John 1:9
(NAS)
"If anyone thinks he is a
prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that
the things
which I write to you are the Lord's commandment."
1 Corinthians 14:37 (NAS)
"Now these things, brethren, I
have figuratively applied to myself and Apollos for
your sakes, that in us you might learn
not to
exceed what is written, in order that no one
of you might become arrogant in behalf of one
against the other." 1 Corinthians 4:6 (NAS)
"I solemnly charge you in the
presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge
the living and the dead, and by His appearing and
His kingdom:
preach the word; be ready in season and out
of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great
patience and instruction. For the time will
come when
they will not endure sound doctrine; but
wanting to have their ears tickled, they will
accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to
their own desires; and will turn away their ears
from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. 2
Timothy 4:1-4 (NAS)
How do you feel about holding
fast to the words of Jesus and His apostles recorded
in the Bible? Click on the next question to
continue... |