Hebrews 9:27-28 And as it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment:… A thing so universal as death must, we believe, prove a benefit to all, and this after-intensity of consciousness, this revelation of judgment, will be a blessing. For just those of us who need most a judgment day cannot obtain it on earth; memory is dull, the temper of the brain is such that remembrances are written in sand, and those things which ought to come into our minds to help us form a right estimate of ourselves or a fit determination for the future are covered over by oblivion, and we go blundering on, never knowing our own powers, never doing our right work, ever falling into the same snares, beaten by the same enemies. Here, cruel misunderstandings occur, leading to long tragedies in which good people are mutually estranged by misconception and falsehood; here, the egotist is blind to the direful malady from which he suffers; here, the hypocrite sometimes deceives himself as well as others; here, patient hearts bear and forbear without complaint, cling to the right amid sharp trial, and no one gives them credit for their fortitude; here, malice, covetousness, and sensuality make men's .lives ugly and foul, and through training or heredity the truth is kept from them — conscience erects no throne of God in their gloomy souls to judge them — ignorant and unrepentant they die in their sins. God's judgment day shall set all these things right; His light shall shine into the darkest crypts of the soul; the secrets of all hearts shall be revealed; in heaven "the books shall be opened." It will be a blessing to us all to see ourselves as God sees us, to know the truth though it condemns us, to be driven out of the refuges of lies that we run to when conscience would upbraid us, to experience in the nakedness of our souls even the pains of hell, if so be that thereby can enter heaven at last. Every wise man prepares for contingencies. This judgment day after death is the contingency we have to face — not to fear it, but to thank God for it and prepare for it. There is more good than evil in it for all of us, just as there is in this life if we will only find it. (H. H. Snell, B. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:WEB: Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment, |
    |