And when I saw him; I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that lives, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1: 17 – 18. We see the revelatory title of the Lord as the first and the last, which means, the accomplished God. He is also the inextirpable God (incapable of extermination, or extirpation) he that lives, and was dead„ and behold, he is alive foe evermore. Amen. Death, decay and failure are not in him. The Lord never recede as the Alpha and Omega, able to finish whatever he commence to the end, and he will declare the outcome of events from the beginning as God that does all things. He is the first because by him were all things created. He is also the last for he is over all things and by him all things consist. Dated back from the Garden of Eden, Satan is revealed as the first enemy of man in the form of serpent. Throughout the scriptures, nothing good was ever spoken of him concerning man except for his jealousy, hatred and great wrath against mankind. We are alerted and warned to be sober and vigilant against the adversary, Satan, who like a lion, roaming around, seeking whom to devour. Sin is an act and principle (a fundamental truth, concept or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behaviour or a chain of reasoning) introduced by Satan and accepted by man — And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make wise, she took the fruit thereof, and did eat and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat. The reasoning, yielding and giving in to the devil’s arguments and suggestions to the act or process of eating the fruit was the sin. Sin is disobedient which the bible calls as the transgression of the law. It is the willful inclination of man against reverence submission to God’s word. This is the choice we make to please or not to please God by doing what he asks us to do (righteousness) to reject and refute whatsoever he says is wrong from his word.
After the fall of man, man’s body was captivated by Satan (reversal from the temple of God) and its desires engrossed by sin. Sin then become man’s master and the fallen angels took advantage to identify themselves with each sin and lord of it, just as the devil is the lord over the sinners after the transgression; thus the bible correlated sins with demons (and you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience: among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others) and thus the scripture declares that you are servant to whom you yield yourself to obey, either of sin unto death; or of obedience unto righteousness. 1 John 3:4. Romans 6:16. Ephesians 2:1 – 3. Sin is an evil principle and a law known as the law of sin and death. This law only works through lusts — forerunner of evil principle of sin. When lust is conceived, and then it brings forth sin; and sin, death. Temptation is a challenge designed to determine our integrity and steadfastness and loyalty to God’s word; but it become sin if we failed before the challenger. The failure means that we have wilfully or ignorantly self — merchandised into Satan’s hand. The remedy against lust is to constantly be renewed by the word of God in the spirit of our mind against those evil principles or chains of reasoning’s contrary to the word of God, ceaselessly bringing our thoughts into captivity unto the obedience of Christ; by casting down imaginations and every high thing exalting itself against the knowledge of God in our lives. Man is a tripartite creature of body, soul and spirit. 1 Thessalonians 5:23. He was formed with clay from the dust of the earth, but his spirit was from the breath of God’s nostrils – the breath of life. This is not the Holy Spirit of regeneration, but the spirit of man which belongs to God and will go back to him when man’s appointed time on earth is over. Another name for man’s spirit (God’s breath) is the candle of the Lord, searching all his inward parts. Job 7:1. Ecclesiastes 12:7. Proverbs 20:27. The combination and unifying of the spirit and body bring the soul into existence which consists of his will (decision), his mind or intellect (thought’s life) and his emotion (affection) after the spirit of God’s breath entered into his lifeless body. The uniqueness and individuality of a man is that he is a living soul. In this life, he is either a dead or a living spiritual being– soul. In this mortal physical body, all are a living soul, but all are not spiritually alive. Man is destined to live or die throughout all eternity in his immortal spiritual body according to the seed he had sown in the body, either to the flesh or to the spirit. Ezekiel 18:20. Galatians 6:7 – 8.
Therefore, the flesh is the second enemy and we can see its terrible and destructive power, the condemnation of the flesh revealed when God sent his son in our likeness to die for our sins, that sin might be condemned in the flesh. We learnt from the scripture that flesh is constantly fighting against the demands of God and of the Holy Spirit. The mind governed and ruled by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. And those that are in the flesh (those who chooses to please themselves against the word of God) cannot please God. If we are not constantly steadfast in our life, walk and love in the Spirit, the flesh will drive and make us walk contrary to God’s word and expectations that we might incur divine wrath upon us. Galatians 5:17.
After the death and resurrection of our Lord and Christ, Holy Spirit was sent to activate the law of the Spirit of life in Jesus into operation. It is another principle, a fundamental truth and effective proposition through the help and presence of the indwelling –Spirit of God that we might have power to subject or put to death the works of the flesh, by applying the scriptures and the principle of ‘reckoning yourself dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God for righteousness’ into our situations and circumstances, if we chose to be spiritually and not carnally minded by not taking heed and disobeying the word of eternal life.
In my last book, ‘The Purposes of the Cross’, I detailed on the four kinds of death which are as follows (1) the spiritual death, which means dead in sin, and this transpired at the very moment Adam and Eve sinned against the word of God and they lost the life and the nature of God. This life (Zoë) was restored when God quickened us again that were once dead in sins and trespasses and saved us by his grace; having begotten us again into a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, back to the Bishop and Shepherd of our souls. It is said that we passed from death (spiritual death) unto life (the new spiritual life in Christ Jesus) through translation from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his dear son.
(ii). The Second death is the eternal death which has been abolished in Christ for immortality and life through the gospel. The Lord said, whosoever lives and believes in me shall not die (Second death). And whosoever believes in me, even though he died, he shall live (eternal life). For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish (second or eternal death) but have everlasting life.
(iii) The third is the believer’s death to sin which occurred when he was buried with the Lord in baptism and crucified with Christ in regeneration. It is the best death and the believers are dying daily in the crucifixion of the body of sin which the bible calls the old man which is crucified (co-​death) with Christ as long as he’s putting on the new man and mortifying his members which are upon the earth. Romans 6:6. Galatians 2:20.
By the grace of God, the believer can now walk daily in the newness of life as he strives to mortify the deeds of the flesh through the power and the fruit of the Holy Spirit within him. Those who go away from this sinful world in the state of spiritual death (dead in sin and alienated from the life of God) shall not have part in the first resurrection. They shall ultimately die the second death because their names shall not be found written in the book of life. They are not born again, therefore they shall not inherit the kingdom of God– blessed and holy is he that have part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. Revelation 20:6. John 3:1 – 6.
(iv). The fourth is the corporal death — the outcome or effect of the curse which was spoken in the Garden of Eden. Because of the disobedient of our first parents, God judiciously declared that man shall return back to the dust from whence he was made. The sinners, unbelievers and unconverted to Christ at their respective deaths shall be conducted to the land of the dead in the prison homes prepared the lost souls. This territory belongs to death itself, a land of darkness, as darkness itself, and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where light is as darkness. They shall be there until he (death) shall be summoned and ordered to release the lost dead souls in his domain and captivity after which death itself as the last enemy shall be sentenced to the lake of fire which is the second death (eternal spiritual capital punishment). And death and sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (hell is another compartment for the damned lost souls awaiting the imminent final judgment at the great white throne. These are the places visited by the Lord in between his death and resurrection as our Lord Jesus righteously debated to get the keys of death and hell from Satan for access to those compartments where he went and preached unto the spirits in prison – transition from the body is not cessation of life for believers and unbelievers alike, but a change of existence and accommodation for the corrupt or incorruptible body according to how you’ve lived your life in the spirit while on earth. Proverbs 7:24 – 27. Isaiah 14:9) delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death and whosoever was not found written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire. Job 10:21 – 22. Job 38:17. 1 Peter 3:18 – 20. Revelation 20:13 – 15.
Walking and living daily in the newness of life in the spirit of Christ righteousness is the straight gate and the narrow way that those who are the dead to sin but alive to God through the quickening power of the Spirit of God are presently walking to heaven. They ply the straight gate and narrow way as a pattern of life likened to sowing to the Spirit for the fruit and harvest of eternal life for an incorruptible body after death as promised them by the Lord. God is not mocked, whatsoever we sow now shall be reaped after. Those that sow to the flesh shall reap second death and corruption and those that sowed to the spirit shall reap glory and eternal life. Presently, the body is sown in corruption and in dishonour; but it shall be raised in glory; it is sown in weakness; it shall be raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body; so that as we have borne the image of the first Adam, the man from the earth, earthy; we should also bear the image of the heavenly, the second Adam which is the Lord from heaven. This is the ultimate price and goal that is motivating the spirit filled believers to walk in the Spirit and to die daily to the flesh and to the world that they might attain unto the resurrection of the dead; even the blessed the first resurrection. This is the reason that God has sealed them with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of their inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession. The Spirit of Christ deposited in them is the guarantor and the assurance for them that the Lord shall not fail to change their vile bodies that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. First resurrection priority is given to those who has gone before us, and the living believers at the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep (in the graves). For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so, shall we ever be with the Lord. The believer who is practically dead indeed to sin in his daily life and walk is he that has the true fear and love of God in the knowledge of the terror of the Lord to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear because our God is a consuming fire. His conviction and determination are his motivation to live or die unto the Lord that weather he sleeps or awake, he should be acceptable before the Lord.
Death is an agent, a dark angel under the control of Satan, whose operations are now limited by the triumphed of Christ through his death and resurrection from the dead. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. He should not be dreaded by a genuine believer though his works are described and presented before us as a great horror and terrifying heart-​broken situation, in an event such as the day when the keepers of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow themselves, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those that look out of the windows be darkened, and the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird, and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; also when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because man goes to his long home, and the mourners go about the streets: or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern.
O death where is thy pain? O graves where is thy victory? Believer’s death is so precious in the sight of God, and their breaths are in his hand to hold in life. Death’s pain, horror and sorrow has been rendered venom-​less in Christ Jesus for his victory over the devil that has the power of death as Christ dispossessed him from the keys of hell. I Corinthians15:26. Hebrews 2:14 – 15. Man is mortal and death is the one event common to all and it come alike to the righteous, and to the wicked, to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean, to him that sacrifice, and to him that sacrifices not, as is the good, so is the sinner, as he that swears, as he that feared an oath and all shall go the dead and there is no discharge in that war when it is the time to go at the time appointed for each and every one. We must need die; we are like water spilt on the ground, which cannot be gathered up again. 2 Samuel 14:14.
If a man dies, shall he live again? Job 14:14. Yes, he shall live again but not in transition to another country on earth to live his remaining years on earth if he has died untimely. The dead has forever lost their place on earth and has not a portion again of anything done under the sun. Also, their love, hatred, envies and whatever earthly sentiments they once had is perished with them. As the cloud is consumed and vanishes away: so he that goes down to the grave shall come up no more. He shall return no more to his house, neither shall his place know him anymore. Job 7:9 – 10. He will not reincarnate to another body or form as he goes to his long eternal home awaiting the final accountability and judgement of his life and sojourn on earth as an unbeliever at the great white throne of God; or as a believer in Christ for the reward of his works of love and labour of faith at the judgement seat of Christ at the feast of the marriage with the Lamb – the marriage supper of the Lamb. Ecclesiastes 9:1 – 6. If the deceased person is a sincere believer, the day of his death should be counted far better than the day of his birth as he died the death of the righteous and instantly goes to be with the Lord to rest from his labours. Light shall appear in the darkest hour for the righteous, for the hope which was promised them at death, and angel shall attend to them and bring them to the bosom of Abraham…this day shall thou be with me in paradise was the promised made by the Lord to the repentant thief at his right hand on the day of his death. Every promise has its particular time of fulfilment in life as well as in death and God shall make good of all his word which are Yea and in him Amen that the believer might meet face to face with his redeemer. While the believer lives, they were absent from the Lord, and when they shall die, they shall be at home with Christ who has gone to prepare a place for them in his Father’s house where there are many mansions. The fear and uncertainty of the unknown after death before the sinner are the joy, confidence and opportunity to possess the inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven for the faithful believer in Christ Jesus.
By the grace of God, our Lord has tasted death for us and has neutralized his sting and demolished the power of the grave by his resurrection from the dead: God has raised him up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be held by it. Acts2:24. Hebrews 2:9.
The word ‘is’ – is a form of the present tense…. verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself. Look at the word ‘now is and the word ‘they that shall hear’. This implies that as soon as the believer’s spirit departs from his body, just as the sheep hear and discern the voice of the shepherd shall the voice be spoken to him, come this way and come home to your Lord and Saviour who is alive and was dead and is alive forevermore: and have the keys of hell and death in his hand. Amen. Anywhere the word ‘is’ has been used in the scriptures by the Lord denotes ‘now’ or with ‘immediate effect’- the kingdom of God is (right now or presently) within you — For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is (effectively or right now) my brother, and sister, and mother. John 5:25 – 26. Revelation 1:18. At death, the Lord will hold death back Satan and his demons from holding the believer captive in the land of the dead as his prisoner. The believer is as a man out of prison by bail (purchased or ransomed by the blood of Jesus) but may have to wear a spiritual GPS tracker, usually an ankle monitor as a bail condition. This GPS tracking is represented by the Holy Ghost deposited in him when he got born again. The same is the enabler for his involvement or participation in the first resurrection to transform his vile body to be fashioned like the resurrected glorious body of Christ from his grave when the Lord shall come back for the living saints and the dead in Christ shall hear his voice and rise first. The Lord shall command the Spirit of life to go back to their dead bones and it will turn out to be like going out with the big brother from the house to bring together the traveller members of the family back home from the motor park or the airport. This is all mystery of the kingdom. The gospel of St. John chapter 5 verses 28 – 29 speaks as if the resurrection of the good and righteous and the sinners and wicked shall take place at the same time, but not so. There is going to be an interval of a thousand years between the first and the second resurrection. Daniel 12:2. Revelation 20:4 – 6. Get my book on ‘The Purposes of the Cross @ www​.ama​zon​.com.
Now, Christ is with the keys of hell and death and the devil has no right to touch the body, soul and spirit of any child of God walking in truth and serving the Lord in Spirit, except he breaks the edge (Ecclesiastes 10:8) and the Lord permits it for a reason that such individual should be delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit might be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. Unto the Lord belong the issues from death and he alone has the power to determine the departure of any of his royal ambassadors back to their country of origin (heaven) when their works and assignments here on earth is fully done. Philippians 1:23 – 25
The Spirit of the Lord has infused the believer’s heart with the unfeigned love (Romans 5:5) for his Saviour. It is a love stronger than death. Neither the thoughts or fear of death, nor the commotion of life, neither death itself or life can separate him from living daily for Christ. Daily are they playing skillfully with a loud voice, singing the wondrous and affirmative song of the inhabitants of Zion, expressly verbalize their faith and loyalty to God before the sons of men that ‘this God is our God forever and ever: and he shall be our guide even unto death’. Psalms 48:14. They are not expected to depart without being desired (2 Chronicles 21:20) but to depart in peace and with joy, neither shall they die as the fools die (2 Samuel 3:33. Proverbs 1:32) but as over-​comers and victors shall they be carried by angels at death to be taken to see and meet with the first fruits of them that slept – Christ. They shall pray, Lord let thy servant depart in peace and some of them shall say, Knowing that shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me. Acts18: 9 – 11. 2 Peter 1:14 – 15.
Teach us to number our days, that we may apply our heart unto wisdom….one day in my early twenties when I became terribly wayward and rebellious in life (but I had a praying mother) my dad (God bless his sweet and loving soul in heaven) privately called me and asked this question, look at you as my first boy (not the first born) who ought to be the leader and example in good things for your brothers and sisters to follow is doing all these stupid and foolish things, what are you expecting from and teaching your little siblings….teach us to number our days that we may apply our heart unto wisdom was exactly what my dad did communicated to remind me, but I had no heart for such wisdom because Christ the wisdom and power of God was not in life at that time. Divine wisdom has nothing to do with our calendar age. Job 32:9. Except Christ transform us and to live in us, if we will obey and walk after his steps, we are prone or likely to live a useless, wasted and meaningless life, chasing after the wind in a lost battle of life without God in our world in the vanity of life till the end of our appointed time our brief stay on earth…for all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labour and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. Job 7:1. Psalms 90: 9-10. There is a spiritual additional arithmetic we must learn from God each year as we are celebrating our earthly birthday. Our calendar year is of no important to eternal and immortal God (Psalms 39:5) but we ought to advance daily, weekly, monthly and yearly in growth and life in the Spirit, living our lives to fulfil pleasure and purposes of him who has created all things for his pleasure. Revelation 4:11. Now is the time to get the sum of our lives right with God in numbering our days to apply our heart unto divine wisdom every day, week, months and years of our existence before the author and sustenance of life summons us to make his own final sum and assessments of our life in the light of his word, Daniel 5:26.
Teach us to number our days, that we might apply our hearts unto wisdom…. this is in conjunction to increasing and perfecting obedience in our wise preparation for heaven. The wise will construct his house upon the rock against the time of terrible wind and tempest by walking, standing and living daily by the word of God, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith, as he has been taught, abounding in Christ with thanksgiving. Therefore whosoever hears these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock…. Matthew7: 24 -25. Job 28:28.
As your days are so shall your strength be – your strength shall not fail because it is in God and the longer you live the strongest, you’ll be. Deuteronomy 33:25. God shall furnish us with renew strength and power each day and year (Psalms 68:35) to walk with him and to do his will, if we set our heart to fulfil them unless we have prepared to face divine wrath for an unfulfilled and wasted life in our servitude to the god and goddess of self and pleasure….and that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Luke 12:47-48.