Where in the Bible can we find the answer to the question “Why is the punishment for sin a death sentence for humanity?” Hint: “Why”
Answer:
The answer wouldn’t be found in a direct quote from a verse in the Bible but more of a theological one. That is why I gave everyone a hint of the word “why.”
We know that disobedience to God, especially in the case of Adam, brought death and that death spread to all humanity but what I was asking was “why does sin cause death and not something else?”
The theological answer to that is found in John 5:26-29 which says, 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice 29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
What we have to understand is that sin brings a chasm between you and God. Life is only found in the Lord and apart from Him, there is only death.
All of us are born in sin meaning we are born spiritually dead because sin separates us from God who is life.
For us to receive eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ, our punishment had to have been dealt with first. God introduces a foreshadowing of the cross in the O.T. through Isaac and the sacrificial system as a way of paying our debt (sin) in full. Jesus had to die to pay for our sins or else God couldn’t forgive us.
The reason why God couldn’t just forgive our sins is that He is a righteous judge who could not look away from sins which produce our evil deeds. If He would have looked away from our evil deeds then it would make Him just as guilty being an unrighteous judge.
Anyone who is apart from God (life) is dead in their spirit with no hope of a resurrection to life but to a resurrection unto death in the Lake of Fire.
Only through faith in Jesus Christ can anyone be transferred from death to life and have the debt of sin be wiped out.
6 Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people.
In the time of the Great Tribulation, there will be a lack of (compared to now) preachers of the Gospel. God will send His angels to earth to preach the good news to those who are perishing so that they may believe and not perish with the rest. Even in His judgment, He wants to save them.
The phrase“and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth” clearly indicates that Scripture cannot be destroyed or have any errors like false Christians claim today.
God’s Word is eternal and incorruptible as seen in 1 Peter 1:23-25 which says,23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25 but the word of the Lord endures forever. And this is the word that was preached to you.
We as believers can have 100% confidence in the Bible we hold in our hands.
7 He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.”
“He said in a loud voice”shows that the Gospel preached by the angels to the people will be heard by everyone. No one will be left out but will have an opportunity to get saved for those who have not received the mark of the beast yet.
“Fear God and give him glory”We give God glory by surrendering our lives to Him which shows genuine trust.
The phrase“Worship him”means that we must first believe that He exists, and created all things visible and the unseen world (spiritual realm).
One of the plainest ways to be antiGod and to reject worship due to Him is through Atheism. Faith comes about by believing in the evidence left by God so that we may know that He created that which we see.
Romans 1:19-20
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
Once a person accepts the evidence which points to the God of the Bible then faith gets activated by the Lord.
Hebrews 11:3
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
And that faith glorifies, exalts, and pleases Him who Lives Forever. For without Him you would have not existed.
Hebrews 11:6
6 And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.
8 A second angel followed and said, “‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great,’ which made all the nations drink the maddening wine of her adulteries.”
Insight:
Babylon comes from the word Babel which means confusion and rebellion (Genesis 11:1-9).
The angel of the Lord introduces Babylon the Great which is a reflection of Babylon which is found at the time of the deportation of the Jews. God punished the Jewish people for abandoning Him through idol worship and God sent them the king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar who defeated them and destroyed God’s Temple (Jeremiah 52). He took them captive to his land for 70 years (Daniel 9:2).
Babylon was a land full of idolatry and witchcraft as seen in Daniel 3. In the Book of Revelation, there is a land that claims to be Christian but spiritually resembles the Babylon of Nebuchadnezzar.
I am convinced and persuaded that it is talking about the Vatican in Rome. With their lips, they profess Christ but through their worship of idols, they deny Christ.
Those who join the Catholic Church are committing spiritual adultery.
9 A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand
The message comes back to the antichrist as a warning to the inhabitants of the earth. The worship of the beast and Satan is not based on bowing down to them even though that is worship but here in the text, just accepting his mark or name is considered our worship. The reason that it is given in reference to receiving the 666 as worship simply means that you would have to give your fidelity to the beast and in retrospect, deny Jesus Christ. The mark identifies who you follow.
10 they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb.
The idea that one can receive the mark of the beast and still have a chance to repent is answered in this passage. This verse puts that question to rest. That is why the angel is dispatched to warn the people not to receive the mark of Satan or else it will be too late for them. We must understand that receiving this mark (666) is not like receiving some type of patch or something like that but it is an acknowledgment that you have devoted yourself to the beast.
Getting the mark of the beast is a choice from the heart which cannot be taken back because to receive the mark means to wholeheartedly reject Jesus in place of the devil.
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