Everlasting rewards

Bible verse and the Spirit of Prophecy insight

Luke 6:22-24

22Blessed are you when men hate you,
And when they exclude you,
And revile you, and cast out your name as evil,
For the Son of Man’s sake.
23Rejoice in that day and leap for joy!
For indeed your reward is great in heaven,
For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets. 24 “But woe to you who are rich,
For you have received your consolation.

The Lord declares by the prophet Isaiah, “Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him.” “Woe unto the wicked! it shall be ill with him; for the reward of his hands shall be given him.” [Isaiah 3:10, 11.] “Though a sinner do evil a hundred times,” says the wise man, “and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him; but it shall not be well with the wicked.” [Ecclesiastes 8:12, 13.] And Paul testifies that the sinner is treasuring up unto himself “wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to every man according to his deeds;” “tribulation and anguish upon every soul of man that doeth evil.” [Romans 2:5, 6, 9.]

Ellen G. White – The Great Controversy p.540.4

Present day application

When I have first read Luke 6:24 I was still a babe in Christ. I was not quite sure what was the reward/consolation that the wicked have received. Only as I grew in the knowledge of the Lord, I have realised that their reward comes from their master, the Devil. Their reward is exactly what Satan offered as a bribe to Jesus when he has tempted Him in the wilderness, that is; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. One can put all that this world has to offer into one of those three categories.

The Bible uses an analogy of master and servant, where Jesus is our master and we are His servants. The wicked do not accept Him as their master and, therefore, they become servants of the Evil one by default. There is no middle ground here. One is either with Him or against Him. If you are with Him, do not expect to be all roses. You will be hated the same as He has been hated. Nonetheless, you will have peace beyond all understanding.

Both groups will receive their reward. The difference is: the wicked have their reward in this life, while the righteous will receive it in the next one, as great is their reward in Heaven. In this life, the sun shines on the evil and on the good, which might give us the impression that there is no justice. God is slow to anger, and since the sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, people tend not to think about their ultimate reward.

Choose ye this day: whom will you serve?

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World’s final blackout

Bible verse and the Spirit of Prophecy insight

Matthew 25:6-10

6 “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ 7 Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. 8 And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ 9 But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ 10 And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.

This parable has been and will be fulfilled to the very letter, for it has a special application to this time, and, like the third angel’s message, has been fulfilled and will continue to be present truth till the close of time. In the parable, the ten virgins had lamps, but only five of them had the saving oil with which to keep their lamps burning. This represents the condition of the Church. The wise and the foolish have their Bibles, and are provided with all the means of grace; but many do not appreciate the fact that they must have the heavenly unction. They do not heed the invitation, “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Ellen G. White – Review and Herald August 19, 1890, par. 3

Present day application

Interruptions in the power supply are pretty common here in the Philippines. After the typhoon Odette, we had no electricity for 10 days. The local folks had no problem coping with that. Most of them have either solar or fuel-based (power generators) backup plans. Lack of electricity is a nuisance for them, but it is something they are prepared for. They can go on with their lives almost as if nothing has happened.

When we used to live in the UK, we were not prepared for a blackout as they were very rare and never lasted long. If my memory serves me right, during the 16 years I have spent in the UK, I have only experienced about three to five blackouts. The 10 days blackout that we have gone through here in the Philippines has been a tough time for us. I often think of this when the parable of the ten virgins is mentioned.

The wise virgins were prepared for a prolonged blackout. They had enough oil to go through the dark time. Bear in mind, the type of oil they had was from a heavenly refinery and was being supplied in abundance to those who used their lamps regularly. The foolish virgins had their lamps trimmed too but did not have enough oil to keep them burning for long, they were not prepared for a long journey in the dark…

Are you prepared for the world’s final blackout?

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