Grateful

A grateful homeless man had a card written on it:

“It could be worse; I could be in a 3rd world country”.

Don’t look down on them or think that it’s because of ‘their sins’ etc (as the ‘lie of karma’ suggests or condemns them as a whole).

You don’t know and neither do I but ‘only God knows why’ (absolutely).

Some may be like that due to a ‘noble reason’ or a ‘noble act’ which caused them to ‘lose all their wealth’ (though not everyone —> therefore, don’t be hasty to ‘judge’).

In fact, last I checked it’s a “beggar” (named Lazarus) that made it to His Kingdom (being comforted in Abraham’s bosom) and “not” the ‘rich man’ blessed in material wealth as our Saviour narrated:

The Rich Man and Lazarus

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“ ‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’ ” (Luke 16:19 – 31)

P/S:

Only the “Saviour of the World” can cross this Great Chasm.

Remember, He has emptied Hell once; and He Will do it again and again till He Saves the whole World fulfilling the Will of God Perfectly in the “End”.

“While the devil thought to kill One [Christ], he is deprived of all those cast out of hades, and he [the devil] sitting by the gates, sees all fettered beings led forth by the courage of the Saviour”.–Athanasius, the Great Father of Orthodoxy

Here is Jerome (again) on a similar matter:

“Our Lord descends, and was shut up in the eternal (aionion, more correctly, age-during) bars, in order that He might set free all who had been shut up… The Lord descended to the place of punishment and torment, in which was the rich man, in order to liberate the prisoners.” –Jerome

Didymus the blind saw more with no eyes than we with both eyes…

“In the liberation of all no one remains a captive! At the time of the Lord’s passion the devil alone was injured by losing all the of the captives he was keeping. –Didymus, 370 AD

on a similar note…

“While the devil imagined that he got a hold of Christ, he really lost all of those he was keeping.” –St. Chrysostom, 398 AD

“Mankind, being reclaimed from their sins, are to be subjected to Christ in the fullness of the dispensation instituted for the salvation of all.” -–Didymus the Blind (again)

From the “Father of Church History” himself:

“The Son “breaking in pieces” His enemies is for the sake of remolding them, as a potter his own work; as Jeremiah 18;6 says: i.e., to restore them once again to their former state.” — Eusebius of Caesarea (265 to 340 A.D). Bishop of Caesarea

From the great Ambrose himself who converted the ‘heretic’, St. Augustine of Hippo:

“Our Savior has appointed two kinds of resurrection in the Apocalypse. ‘Blessed is he that hath part in the first resurrection,’ for such come to grace without the judgment. As for those who do not come to the first, but are reserved unto the second resurrection, these shall be disciplined until their appointed times, between the first and the second resurrection.” — Ambrose, Bishop of Milan (340-397 A.D.)

The best quote of Clement of Alexandria:

“He, indeed, saves all; but some [He saves], converting them by punishments; others, however, who follow voluntarily [He saves] with dignity of honour; so “that every knee should bow to Him, of things in heaven, and things on earth, and things under the earth;” Philippians 2:10 that is, angels, men, and souls that before His advent have departed from this temporal life.”

Back to the bible:

“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.” — Apostle John, the one who leaned on Christ’s breast & probably heard the very heartbeat of God Himself. (1 John 4:14)

How can I miss apostle Paul?

“For to this end we both labor and suffer reproach, because we have set our trust in the living God, Who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.” — Saul of Tarsus, later became known as Apostle Paul. (1 Timothy 4:10)

Our final quote by “God Himself” on the destruction of “hell” itself. (Sheol in Hebrew, Hades in Greek, grave in english).

From the “King James Version” (their best translated verse in my opinion) with a little correction from “grave” to be replaced with “hell”:

“I will ransom them from the power of Hell (Sheol in Hebrew/Hades in Greek); I will redeem them from Death: O Death, I will be thy plagues; O Hell, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from Mine Eyes.” (Hosea 13:14)

The phrase “repentance shall be hid from Mine Eyes” means that God Will not “pity” the “destruction” of both “Hell” and “Death” meaning they will eventually “cease to exist”! (Correlate with the verses in 1 Corinthians 15 below):

“The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.” (1 Corinthians 15:26)

“So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. O Death, where is your sting? O Hell, where is your victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:54 – 55)

Icing on the cake; by God Himself when He came in flesh (Lord Jesus Christ):

“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth (Resurrected to heaven), I will draw all men unto me (He will save all men).” – by the mouth of our Blessed Saviour, Lord Jesus Christ Himself (John 12:32)