Remembering the End of the Harvest

In my daily reading I finished Isaiah last week. I never “realized“ what the final words of the book are. I do now.

The Lord is talking about the restoration of the Jews and the completion of His promises for them. This passage actually talks about a new heaven and new earth. His final words however, bring reality home.

Isaiah 66:24 "And they shall go forth and look on the dead bodies of the men that have rebelled against me; for their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh."

The eternal torment of all who die in their sins without receiving Christ is still "front and center" biblical reality. The “snide” among us crack jokes about hellfire and brimstone preachers, but in spite of their imbalance they were conveying something important, which we, in our imbalance, have forgotten. There is a coming judgment. "He who believes in the Son has eternal life, but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God rests upon him." "His winnowing fork is in His hand to clear His threshing floor, to gather the wheat into his granary, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire. So with many other exhortations (John the Baptist) preached good news to the people."  It’s part of the Good News.

As I'm knocking on doors doing this survey, bothering people, getting "that look," watching some people immediately turn away when they know it has to do with "religion," I know that even in this step there is something very important at stake. Inwardly it does me good to see someone who appears to be seeking God, who has questions. Mostly, people are busy and distracted and even the thought of having a question for God seems like a radical thought. The Gospel is hidden by Satan, their hearts are in rebellion from sin, yet God is patiently showing love, making contact and working. The Lord knows the stakes and hasn't given up. Do we? Have we?

As we're out in the fields looking for those who the Lord is urging toward Him, and while we are planting seeds, you can't help but feel sorry for people who don't care. Obviously this survey isn't the way to reach people. But I'm praying that someone close to them comes to Christ and reaches out. They don't know how much danger they are in. They also don't know how close they are to love, forgiveness, security and a reason for living each day in Jesus Christ, and to boot, you get eternal life. “You don’t enter into judgment but pass from death to life.”  That’s good news.