These all died in faith

Hebrews chapter 11 has often been called 'the roll call of faith'. The chapter starts off by giving us brief details of Old Testament saints of God; people whom we refer to as the Patriarchs.

Notables such as:

Abel - Enoch - Noah - Abraham - Sarah - Isaac - Jacob

Let's see what verses 13-16 tell us about them.

Hebrews 11:13-16 :

"(13) These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

(14) For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland.

(15) And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

(16) But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them."

These all died in faith. What does this mean? They died - that is for certain! They died in faith! In other words, they died fully believing what God had revealed to them. And that was, that He had prepared a heavenly homeland for them when they died. Some of them lived very long lives, much longer than we live today. Yet at the end of their life's journey they still maintained their trust in God; that He would carry out what He had revealed to them.

How about you? Do you have complete faith that the Triune God has a place especially for you in Heaven? Let's look at the words of the Lord Jesus to His disciples on the night of Judas Iscariot's betrayal.

John 14:1-3 :

(1) "Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.

(2) In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

(3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also."

Jesus spoke these words of encouragement to his disciples because He knew that Judas Iscariot had betrayed Him to the chief priests and elders of the Jews. He knew that He would be falsely tried and be sentenced to be crucified by the Roman Governor on a Roman cross. Because of His foreknowledge He informed His disciples in the upper room that He was going away. Firstly, He would die on the cross, and secondly He would be buried and rise again from amongst the dead. Forty days after His resurrection He would ascend to Heaven.

The great importance of these verses is that:

(a) They were not to be troubled

(b) If they believed in God they were to believe in Jesus the Son of God

(c) In the Father's house there were many mansions [residences]

(d) If this was not the truth He would have told them

(e) He was going to Heaven to prepare a place for them personally

(f) If He prepared a place for each of them He would come again and receive them into Heaven to himself

(g) And this is the best of all - He wants us to be with Him where He is in Heaven.

Psalms 116:12-15:

"(12) What shall I render to the Lord For all His benefits toward me?

(13) I will take up the cup of salvation, and call upon the name of the Lord.

(14) I will pay my vows to the Lord now in the presence of all His people.

(15) Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."

Verse 15 reveals the heart of God towards His people. The death of a born again believer in the Lord Jesus Christ is "precious" in God's eyes. Surely this is because that believer will now spend eternity in the presence of God in Heaven.

King David the sweet psalmist of Israel informs us in Psalms 16:11, "...In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."

The apostle Paul sums it up this way in his second letter to the Corinthian believers.

2 Corinthians 5:6-8 :

"(6) So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord.

(7) For we walk by faith, not by sight.

(8) We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord."

Death for the believers in Jesus Christ is merely the vehicle which God uses to bring us into His presence in Heaven for eternity. Physical death of our bodies is not the end of our existence! Our soul and spirit goes to back to God who made us.

Ecclesiastes 12:6-7 :

"(6) Remember your Creator before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the well.

(7) Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it."

The graphic way the writer describes the frailty of a man's life reminds us to remember who created us and who holds our lives in His hand. For the unbeliever there is physical death and entry into Hell. For believers there is physical death and entry into Heaven. And even then that is not the end of the matter. For Jesus Himself spoke of the resurrection of the body.

John 5:28-29 :

"(28) Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice

(29) and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation."

For the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ there is "the resurrection of life"; and eternity in Heaven with Him.

For the unbeliever who dies still in their sins there is "the resurrection of condemnation".

They will stand before the Great White Throne, be judged for all their sins and be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternal judgement.

Revelation 20:11-15 :

(11) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

(12) And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

(13) The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

(14) Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

(15) And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Believers in Jesus Christ are written in "the Book of Life". Unbelievers are not written in "the Book of Life". To end up in the Lake of Fire would be an unimaginable horror of eternal duration! The choice of where we spend eternity is ours to make!

Jon Peasey

Biblical Perspectives blog www.jon-peasey.blogspot.com

Ebooks author page https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/JRPeasey

[All Scriptures quoted are from the New King James version; unless otherwise noted. Words enclosed in [ ] are inserted for clarity. Words in bold type emphasise a point. You may notice some verses are quoted with ... at the beginning, ending or elsewhere in a verse. Only the relevant part or parts of the verse, that relate directly to the current subject matter is quoted.]

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