Today we are going to look in the Bible at some verses that talk about being cut off, how the wicked are cut off but how the children of God are not cut off. The children of God will continue on and remain and dwell forevermore with God in Heaven; however, if we are not saved, our lives are going to be cut short, especially today as we have learned how May 21, 2011 is going to be the day of the Rapture. This will be Judgment Day. This is the day when God is going to cut it short. He is going to cut off this world and that will be it; it will be the end. But we can pray to God now that it could be that we might not be cut off, that we might continue on.
The phrase “cut off” you will find many, many, many times in the Bible. As you read through the Bible, you will see this. This is used to refer to “a complete separation,” to “be removed,” or to “something that is taken away.”
Let us look at Exodus 4. We will see that this is used in talking about circumcision where the foreskin is cut off. Starting in verse 24, this is speaking of Moses. Exodus 4:24-26:
And it came to pass by the way in the inn, that JEHOVAH met him, and sought to kill him. Then Zipporah took a sharp stone, and cut off the foreskin of her son, and cast it at his feet, and said, Surely a bloody husband art thou to me. So he let him go: then she said, A bloody husband thou art, because of the circumcision.
We see here the phrase “and cut off the foreskin of her son.” The foreskin was completely removed; it was taken away. It was separated from him. Of course, circumcision in the Bible is referring to spiritual circumcision. It is when God cuts off our sins, when He takes away our sins.
Let us go to Colossians 2 where we will see how at salvation when God circumcises us, He puts off our sins from us. In Colossians 2:10-11, it says:
And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:
We see here how God uses this kind of language of “putting off” those sins at the moment of spiritual circumcision when God saves a person. So this is the idea of this word “cut off.” It is a removal; it is a taking away; it is a separation.
Thank God that our hope is that God can do this, that He can take our sins away, because we all have multitudes of sins and yet God uses language like in Psalm 103 where He says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.” This is when He cuts off those sins. When He does this, they are gone.
If we truly are born from above, all of our sins are completely gone because Christ paid for them and we will never have to pay for them with death. If we do not have our heart circumcised by God, then God uses this phrase “cut off” many, many times in referring to how we are cut off from the Kingdom of God.
When you go through the verses, you will see that it says things like “cut off from his people,” “cut off from among his people,” “cut off from Israel,” “cut off from the congregation,” “cut off from the congregation of Israel,” “cut off…from the city of JEHOVAH,” “cut off from the earth,” and even in Leviticus 22 it says, “cut off from my presence.” So over and over again, people are cut off from the people of God; they are cut off from His Kingdom.
Go to Genesis 17:14 where it is also talking about if you are not circumcised. God was talking to Abraham in Genesis 17:14. Again, the physical circumcision points to the spiritual circumcision. In Genesis 17:14, it says:
And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.
This is another thing that you will notice if you go through these verses about being cut off. It is always referring to the soul, “that soul shall be cut off from his people” or “that soul shall be cut off from Israel” or “that soul shall be cut off from the congregation.” It is always “that soul.” It is who you are, your whole body, and we know that it is going to be body and soul when there is complete annihilation on October 21, 2011. It is you and it is me if we are not saved. It is our soul, “What shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
We all have a precious soul. Here we are. All of us are created in the image of God. Yet because of our sins, God can cut our soul off and we will lose our own soul. Think about this. You will lose your soul. You will lose your life and you will not exist forever and ever. You will be gone. This is the punishment for sin.
Go to Exodus 12. In many of these verses, especially in Leviticus and Numbers and in the Old Testament, if someone would transgress one of God’s laws, in certain situations they were to be cut off from Israel or cut off from His people. Here in Exodus 12, it is talking about the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. In Exodus 12:15, we read:
Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
Then Exodus 12:19 as well:
Seven days shall there be no leaven found in your houses: for whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be a stranger, or born in the land.
And again, we know that leaven in the Bible points to sin. So God had many different kinds of laws. In certain situations, if you transgressed a law, you were to be cut off and the cutting off is to be by death.
Go to Exodus 31 where we will see that if you transgress the law of the Sabbath day, you were to be put to death and cut off. Exodus 31:14:
Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
You can see here how it says that “every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death” and then God says “that soul shall be cut off.” So this is what the cutting off is. It is by death.
Go to Psalm 88 where we will also see how the dead are said to have been cut off from God’s hand. In Psalm 88:4-5, it says:
I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
So here we have the dead who are lying in the grave and they are “whom thou rememberest no more.” God remembers them no more. You will see a couple of times when you look up the phrase “cut off” that God will cut off the remembrance of the unsaved. He will cut off the memory of them.
If we are not saved come May 21, 2011, He will forget about you forever. You will be gone and never come into His mind again. He is going to cut off the wicked from the city of Jehovah and cut off the remembrance of them. How sad that is! Here, notice that it says that “they are cut off from thy hand.”
There is a beautiful verse in Psalm 145 where God says, “Thou openest thine hand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing.” This is like Acts 17 where we read, “For in him we live, and move, and have our being.” It also says in Acts 17 that “he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things.”
The reason why we are all alive right now is because God has given us life. He has given us this day to live and He tests us to see how we are going to live. Are we crying out to Him for mercy? Do we see our sin? Has God opened our eyes so that we see that we are nothing but a wicked, filthy sinner and that we are in desperate need of salvation?
But if we are cut off from His hand, we have no more life. If He removes His hand from us, any one of us, it is nothing but death, because He is life and He is the giver of life. So to be cut off is by death.
Go to Psalm 37 and we will see cut off over and over again in this Psalm. Psalm 37:9:
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon JEHOVAH, they shall inherit the earth.
Then verse 22, Psalm 37:22:
For such as be blessed of him shall inherit the earth; and they that be cursed of him shall be cut off.
Then verses 28 and 29, Psalm 37:28-29:
For JEHOVAH loveth judgment, and forsaketh not his saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off. The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever.
Then verse 34, Psalm 37:34:
Wait on JEHOVAH, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it.
Then verses 37 and 38, Psalm 37:37-38:
Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace. But the transgressors shall be destroyed together: the end of the wicked shall be cut off.
We notice the constant contrast in this Psalm, how the righteous, those who are saved, are going to continue on. They are going to inherit the land and dwell forevermore in the Kingdom of God. But the wicked, the transgressors, those who are not saved, are cut off.
It will be just like we read here in verses 37 and 38 in the contrast of the end, because we all have an end. The end of the perfect man, of the upright, the one whom God has saved and washed away his sins, “the end of that man is peace,” eternal peace. Remember, Jesus said, “My peace I give unto you,” but the end of the wicked is cut off. They are done. They are cut short. They will never live again and they will be dead forever. God talks about a separation of the saved and the unsaved where the unsaved are cut off, and so God separates the two.
Go to Matthew 13 where God will use the word “sever,” which means to separate or to divide. In Matthew 13, we read of the parable that Jesus gave of the Kingdom of Heaven being likened unto a net that is cast into the sea. Matthew 13:47-50:
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
We see that even today God has begun to do the separating of the wheat from the tares. But on the last day, May 21, 2011, Judgment Day, God will completely sever the wicked from among the just. No more will there be those who claim to be Christians and yet nobody knows whether or not they are truly saved because God is going to show who are His and who are not His.
None of us deserve to be His, but we can beg God, “O Lord, please do not cut me off with the wicked; please do not sever me from among the just.” We want to be raptured. We want to go to Heaven and have that peace forevermore, so we want to examine ourselves today, because once you are separated, once this takes place, then you cannot switch sides. If you are left behind, you can never then get in.
Remember in Luke 16 in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, God says that there is “a great gulf fixed.” Luke 16:25-26:
But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.
So this is a complete separation. It is a complete cut off. You are taken away completely and you can never get into the Kingdom once you are left behind.
Or go to Revelation 21:27 where God will say that nothing is ever going to enter into Heaven that is defiled. Never again will there be sin in the Kingdom of God like it is on earth where there is a representation of the outward Kingdom of God. This is because on earth there are the saved and the unsaved and we do not know who is truly saved. But Revelation 21 is talking about “a new heaven and a new earth,” and we read in Revelation 21:27:
And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
We can also look at Revelation 22:14-15. It says:
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
So we can see the separation. The Kingdom of God is only those who are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but without are those who are left out. Those who are left behind are the unsaved and they will be destroyed.
Let us go to Job 21. Another way that this word “cut off” is used is in the context of an untimely death where someone dies before their time and their life is cut short. And this is where we are today. God is going to cut it short. We have less than two years to go and then God is going to cut short seven billion lives. Normally, we would expect to live seventy or eighty years, but God is going to cut it short. This is what is going to happen on May 21, 2011. Here in Job 21:17-21, it says:
How oft is the candle of the wicked put out! and how oft cometh their destruction upon them! God distributeth sorrows in his anger. They are as stubble before the wind, and as chaff that the storm carrieth away. God layeth up his iniquity for his children: he rewardeth him, and he shall know it. His eyes shall see his destruction, and he shall drink of the wrath of the Almighty. For what pleasure hath he in his house after him, when the number of his months is cut off in the midst?
We see this day-to-day. If we read the newspaper or listen to the news, there are always reports of people’s lives being cut short; they are cut off. They are young and they get into drugs or into some kind of trouble or maybe they are in an accident. Whatever it is, lives are always cut short. Every day God is cutting short certain people’s lives, even before the end. Millions of people are still going to die before the end and lives are going to be cut short.
So this is why every day is so precious. Every day is a day that you can pray. Every day is a day when you can read God’s Word and seek His salvation and “strive to enter in at the strait gate,” because you do not want to miss out. You do not want to come short of this, because how terrible that will be if you are seeking God and you think that you are on your way to Heaven, but yet you get caught up with the cares of this life. You get snared. You get snared by your job or by your school or by what other people think.
Who cares what people think! What does God think? “Seek him with all thy heart,” because you do not want to come short. You do not want to come up to that last day on May 21st when God raptures the people and be left behind. Then you will realize, “I did not make it. I came short.”
Now, we know that this is not a gospel of works. We cannot work hard enough that we get into the Kingdom. This is what keeps us trembling. This is what keeps us fearing God because this is all up to God, “but there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared.” So today is the time to tremble, the time to cry out to God for mercy and to seek His face, because you do not want to come short of the Kingdom, because notice the language here, “when the number of his months is cut off in the midst.”
Let us go to Isaiah 38 where we will read about Hezekiah when God had come to him and was going to cut him short. But what happened? He turned to God and he prayed to God, and God added fifteen years to him. Remember in Isaiah 38:1, it says:
In those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came unto him, and said unto him, Thus saith JEHOVAH, Set thine house in order: for thou shalt die, and not live.
So how do you like that? And this is what has happened today, is it not? God has given us all the death sentence: May 21, 2011. That is it. That is it. That is the day. So we know that we are not going to go past that on this earth. We know that there is the five months, but for all intents and purposes, that is it. That will be the judgment day.
So what did Hezekiah do when he got the death sentence? We read in verse 2, Isaiah 38:2-3:
Then Hezekiah turned his face toward the wall, and prayed unto JEHOVAH, And said, Remember now, O JEHOVAH, I beseech thee, how I have walked before thee in truth and with a perfect heart, and have done that which is good in thy sight. And Hezekiah wept sore.
Then notice what God does in verse 4, Isaiah 38:4-5:
Then came the word of JEHOVAH to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, Thus saith JEHOVAH, the God of David thy father, I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years.
Wow! Then notice that in verse 9, Hezekiah wrote these things down. Isaiah 38:9-10:
The writing of Hezekiah king of Judah, when he had been sick, and was recovered of his sickness: I said in the cutting off of my days, I shall go to the gates of the grave: I am deprived of the residue of my years.
This is the way that we are. We are all in this same boat. We are all going to be deprived of those years on this earth. Isaiah 38:11-20:
I said, I shall not see JEHOVAH, even JEHOVAH, in the land of the living: I shall behold man no more with the inhabitants of the world. Mine age is departed, and is removed from me as a shepherd’s tent: I have cut off like a weaver my life: he will cut me off with pining sickness: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. I reckoned till morning, that, as a lion, so will he break all my bones: from day even to night wilt thou make an end of me. Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O JEHOVAH, I am oppressed; undertake for me. What shall I say? he hath both spoken unto me, and himself hath done it: I shall go softly all my years in the bitterness of my soul. O Lord, by these things men live, and in all these things is the life of my spirit: so wilt thou recover me, and make me to live. Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back. For the grave cannot praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth. The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. JEHOVAH was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of JEHOVAH.
What a beautiful prayer of Hezekiah we read here, that God in love to his soul cast all his sins behind His back and made him to live. This is who is going to be praising God in the house of Jehovah, singing great praises to God forever and ever. It will be “the living.” “The living”; you do not want to be dead. When you are dead, you have nothing. You are not going to be praising God; you are dead!
How terrible it will be to be dead and then to be destroyed. But not if you are alive. If God makes you alive and you can sing praises to God, like we did before, how much better it will be in Heaven to sing glory to God because He is worthy. So pray to God now that He does not cut us off in the midst, because that day is coming very soon.
And how about the days of Noah? This already happened once. God has already cut the world short one time in the days of Noah. Go to Genesis 9:11. Remember, when God destroyed the whole world with the flood, all those people had expectations. And in that day, how much longer did they live than us? Remember that Noah lived to be 950 years, so those people who lived back then had a long life ahead of them, hundreds of years, and yet God cut them short. In Genesis 9:11, He uses that word “cut off”:
And I will establish my covenant with you; neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the waters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood to destroy the earth.
But today, we do not live hundreds of years. We can normally expect seventy or eighty years, like it says in Psalm 90. Let us read this. God even uses the word “cut off” there. In Psalm 90:10, it says:
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.
It is not much longer on this earth. Our lives are very short, no matter when you lived, because it does not go on forever, “It is soon cut off, and we fly away.” And so we do not want to put any trust in this world and the things of this world. We do not want to love this world. We want to seek the Kingdom of God, because that is going to go on forever and ever. Unfortunately, what happens is that our sins deceive us and they get us into trouble. They cause us to take our eyes off of Christ and it cuts our lives short, especially today.
Psalm 55:23 is an interesting verse. It is talking about the unsaved. It speaks of “bloody and deceitful men.” Psalm 55:23 says:
But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
We were created to live, remember? When God created Adam and Eve perfectly, they were created to live on and to live forever. Yet because of our sins, we are not going to even live out half our days.
How about Proverbs 10:27? It says:
The fear of JEHOVAH prolongeth days: but the years of the wicked shall be shortened.
How about Ecclesiastes 7:16-17? God will ask a question:
Be not righteous over much; neither make thyself over wise: why shouldest thou destroy thyself? Be not over much wicked, neither be thou foolish: why shouldest thou die before thy time?
God is asking us the question, “Why should you die before your time?” This reminds us of Ezekiel 33 and that question where God asks the house of Israel, “Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Why are you going to die? Why do you want to die? If you hate God, you love death, the Bible says. So why do you want to die before your time? Seek God now. Pray to God now. Read the Bible. Pray to God for mercy. Maybe God will save you and you will not die. Why do you want to die before your time? We know that we have such a short time period left, so we are all going to die before our time if we are not saved. Now is the time to turn.
This reminds me of one of Spurgeon’s sermons, “Turn or Burn.” This is where we are now. It is turn or burn time, because God is coming back in a vengeance with fire. He is going to burn up this whole world. If we do not turn and repent and cry to God for mercy, then we have no hope. We have no hope then, because this is the only hope. We can turn now and cry to God and maybe He will save us. It is not a guarantee. It is not a works gospel where you repent of yourself and then you can get into Heaven. God has to save us. So praise God because there is great hope today. There is great hope today because He is saving many people.
Remember, this is like what Jesus said in Mark 9. If your hand offends you, what should you do? “Cut it off!” “If thy foot offend thee, cut it off!” Get rid of those sins! They are not doing you any good anyway, and what is going to happen if you do not? You are going to be cast into hellfire, in the fire that never shall be quenched, “Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”
We now know that this is complete annihilation where we never come back. So let us cut off these sins that we have. We all know that we have sins. So let us pray to God, “O God, help me to repent. Help me to turn from these sins, because they are leading me right down to death.” Why do you want to die before your time?
We can warn man. We bring this message and we warn man. We say, “You only have a few months left to go and now is the time to cry to God,” but mankind always thinks that they have tomorrow.
Go to Ezekiel 12. We do not think that God is going to cut us short. We do not think that He is going to cut us off, but we read in Ezekiel 12:21-28:
And the word of JEHOVAH came unto me, saying, Son of man, what is that proverb that ye have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision faileth? Tell them therefore, Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH; I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but say unto them, The days are at hand, and the effect of every vision. For there shall be no more any vain vision nor flattering divination within the house of Israel. For I am JEHOVAH: I will speak, and the word that I shall speak shall come to pass; it shall be no more prolonged: for in your days, O rebellious house, will I say the word, and will perform it, saith the Lord JEHOVAH. Again the word of JEHOVAH came to me, saying, Son of man, behold, they of the house of Israel say, The vision that he seeth is for many days to come, and he prophesieth of the times that are far off. Therefore say unto them, Thus saith the Lord JEHOVAH; There shall none of my words be prolonged any more, but the word which I have spoken shall be done, saith the Lord JEHOVAH.
So notice what they are saying. They are saying that it is for days to come.
In our day, we hear, “You are prophesying of times that are far off when you come speaking of Judgment Day and the end of the world.” This is what people are saying. “No, no, no. It is not coming in 2011. We have many years to go. They still have to build the temple in Jerusalem, right? Then there is another thousand years on this earth and then it will be the end.” They are saying that it is far off. But, no, because what does God say? “The word which I have spoken shall be done.” It is not going to be prolonged anymore. God is going to do this in our day.
Go to Amos 6 where we will read something very similar. And notice that this was the house of Israel who were saying these things. These are those who say that they know God. In Amos 6:1-6, we read:
Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came! Pass ye unto Calneh, and see; and from thence go ye to Hamath the great: then go down to Gath of the Philistines: be they better than these kingdoms? or their border greater than your border? Ye that put far away the evil day, and cause the seat of violence to come near; That lie upon beds of ivory, and stretch themselves upon their couches, and eat the lambs out of the flock, and the calves out of the midst of the stall; That chant to the sound of the viol, and invent to themselves instruments of music, like David; That drink wine in bowls, and anoint themselves with the chief ointments: but they are not grieved for the affliction of Joseph.
Notice here who He is talking to, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” Remember that Zion is the outward representation of the Kingdom of God on earth. It was the churches for many years, and God says, “Woe to them that are at ease in Zion.” This warning is to those who are comfortable, “I accepted Christ. I go to church. I got baptized. I am okay. I am at ease.”
Notice that they “stretch themselves upon their couches” and “chant to the sound of the viol” and “invent to themselves instruments of music.” This is what it is like in the churches today. It is mostly a time of entertainment. It is all just “peace and safety,” but “woe to them that are at ease.”
Remember in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, we read of them saying, “Peace and safety,” and then what happens? 1 Thessalonians 5:3:
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.
So we do not want to be snared by these kinds of gospels. They are very comfortable and they are very attractive, but they are not true and they lead to destruction. This is what is so terrible about them.
Notice that those who are “at ease” in Amos 6 are those who “trust in the mountain of Samaria.” Remember that mountains in the Bible refer to kingdoms. Samaria was the capital of Israel. So this is referring to those who are trusting in their church. They are trusting in that outward representation of the Kingdom of God. They are trusting in the “mountain of Samaria,” in the churches.
Notice that it says, “which are named chief of the nations.” This word “chief” is the Hebrew word re’shiyth, which is the “firstfruits.” Do you remember a study from a couple of years ago where we learned that the re’shiyth are the firstfruits. Christ is the firstfruits, so those are the firstfruits that point to the Lord Jesus Christ, and here they are named. “Named” is a word that is referring to being expressed by name. They are named “chief of the nations.” They are taking on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are called Christians; they are named “chief of the nations.” This is pointing to those who claim to be Christians. They are trusting in their church and they are “at ease.” It is “peace and safety.”
We can see this today so clearly. Is this not what is going on? But we want to stay away from this because look at verse 3, Amos 6:3:
Ye that put far away the evil day…
They are putting Judgment Day “far away”:
…and cause the seat of violence to come near;
They are bringing false gospels and they are doing “violence to the law.” They are doing violence to people by not bringing them the truth.
Go to Isaiah 56 where God uses language again about how man always thinks that they have tomorrow. In Isaiah 56:9-12, it says:
All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest. His watchmen are blind: they are all ignorant, they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; sleeping, lying down, loving to slumber. Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter. Come ye, say they, I will fetch wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and to morrow shall be as this day, and much more abundant.
We always think that we have the best ahead of us, “Tomorrow is even going to be better than today, and the next day even better. It is all just going to get better and continue on.” But no, it is “wine and strong drink.” It is false gospels. It is not true. This is why God tells us, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.” We are not guaranteed another breath.
Today we know that our time is very limited. But by God’s mercy, for the children of God, if we are truly saved, our lives will not be cut short. We will get to continue on.
When things end, that is sad. If you are having a great day, sometimes you think, “I wish this day would never end. It is so beautiful and we are having such a nice time.” When things end, that brings sorrow. It is sad if you are enjoying it. If you are not enjoying it, “I cannot wait for this day to end; I am having a bad day,” then the thought of the end is great and you cannot wait.
But many today are enjoying life. This is a beautiful world that God has made. Even with all of the sin, it still has its enjoyments. And by God’s mercy, if He does save you, you are not going to end on May 21, 2011. You are going to keep going.
Let us turn to Psalm 102. In Psalm 102, notice the title of this Psalm. We read in Psalm 102:1:
A Prayer of the afflicted, when he is overwhelmed, and poureth out his complaint before JEHOVAH.
This word “complaint” is not like us. We are a bunch of complainers and we moan and groan over the littlest things, but this is the prayer of the afflicted when he is overwhelmed, when he sees his sins and sees that his enemies are against him. So this is a good thing to do, to pour out your complaint before Jehovah. Tell Him all about your grief and all of your sorrow over your sin.
Now let us read verse 11, Psalm 102:11-12:
My days are like a shadow that declineth; and I am withered like grass. But thou, O JEHOVAH, shalt endure for ever; and thy remembrance unto all generations.
Also verse 23, Psalm 102:23-24:
He weakened my strength in the way; he shortened my days. I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations.
This is a great prayer for us today, “O God, take me not away in the midst of my years,” because He will do this to everyone who is not saved. When Judgment Day comes, He is going to take all of the unsaved away in the midst of their days.
Now Psalm 102:25-28:
Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end. The children of thy servants shall continue, and their seed shall be established before thee.
You see, God’s servants continue on. They remain. They dwell forevermore in the new heavens and the new earth.
Go to Proverbs 2:21-22:
For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it. But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.
So we can see here how “the upright…and the perfect shall remain.” Was that not the same language in Psalm 37? “Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace.” We read this here also, and we know that Christ is “the upright”; He is perfect, but so are His people as He saves them by God’s amazing grace; and, therefore, they remain; they remain in the new heaven and the new earth.
Go to Romans 9 where God tells us that He is cutting it short in righteousness. He is going to finish His Word. And praise God that the end is better than the beginning. God is saving more people now than He did throughout all of history. We read in Romans 9:27-28:
Esaias [Isaiah] also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work…
And “work” is the word for “word.” This is the Greek word logos.
For he will finish the work [word], and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work [word]…
That is the same word again, logos.
…because a short work [word] will the Lord make upon the earth.
This is talking about how He is going to be saving a great many people here in these last days. He will “cut it short in righteousness” and He is going to be saving “a great multitude, which no man could number” as He finishes His Word and completes His whole salvation program.
The only reason, of course, that the children of God can continue on and not be cut off is because the Lord Jesus Christ was cut off for us. Go to Daniel 9 where we read about the Messiah and how He was going to be cut off. Daniel 9:26:
And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.
Notice that the Messiah shall be cut off. Notice also in Isaiah 53, we read how Christ was “cut off out of the land of the living” as He paid for our sins. Isaiah 53:8:
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
It was not for Himself. It was not because of His sins. It was for the sins of God’s elect.
Let us just read one last passage to close in Isaiah 65 where we read about this glorious future that we have ahead of us if we are truly saved. It is way better than the future that you might have thought that you had on this earth. Maybe we thought that we had a nice future on this earth ahead of us for many years, but then we learned that the end of the world is coming. Maybe we were saddened by this because we might have been really looking forward to certain things in the future, but the future is even better if you are a child of God because the world is coming to an end and God will create a new one. So let us look at Isaiah 65:17-25:
For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind. But be ye glad and rejoice for ever in that which I create: for, behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in my people: and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying. There shall be no more thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled his days: for the child shall die an hundred years old; but the sinner being an hundred years old shall be accursed. And they shall build houses, and inhabit them; and they shall plant vineyards, and eat the fruit of them. They shall not build, and another inhabit; they shall not plant, and another eat: for as the days of a tree are the days of my people, and mine elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labour in vain, nor bring forth for trouble; for they are the seed of the blessed of JEHOVAH, and their offspring with them. And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent’s meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith JEHOVAH.
What a beautiful hope that we can have if we are truly saved. Notice that it says, “for as the days of a tree are the days of my people.” You know, a tree lives a long time. When you go outside, maybe in your yard or in a park somewhere, you see maybe an old oak tree, and it has been there for years.
So God is using this kind of a figure, for so too will the children of God “long enjoy the work of their hands.” We will not be involved anymore with vain things. There is no more vanity, not like this world which is filled with vanity, “vanity of vanities; all is vanity.” Why? Because it all ends; it all comes to an end and that ruins everything, but not so with Heaven, not so with the Kingdom of God. It goes on and God’s elect shall “long enjoy the work of their hands,” by God’s mercy.
Let us stop here.