There will be only four (4) groups when Jesus returns!

1. The righteous living

2. The righteous dead

3. The wicked living

4. The wicked dead

The coming of Jesus Christ will mark the beginning of the Bible millennium (1000 years).

There will be a resurrection at the beginning of the millennium and another resurrection after the millennium. You want to be in the first resurrection.

The Bible says it is at “His coming,” when “the trumpet sounds,” that “the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.”

1 Corinthians 15:51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54 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.

55 O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

1 Thessalonians 4:16 For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

Notice that only the righteous who are called, “the dead in Christ,” rises at the coming of Jesus Christ. So Jesus’ return and the resurrection of the righteous marks the beginning of the 1000 years.

The dead in Christ (Righteous dead) are resurrected, and then together with the righteous living they are all “caught up” from earth to meet Jesus in the air.

What happens to those (wicked) who are not “caught up”? Many teachers say that they will have a second chance during a supposedly seven years of tribulation!

What does the Bible say!

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. For when they shall say Peace and Safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them … and they shall not escape” (1 Thessalonians 5:3).

Paul says that those who are not “caught up” will experience “sudden destruction” and shall “not escape.”

Jesus says it will be as in the days of Noah and “Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.” (See Luke 17:26-30)

At the coming of Jesus, Scriptures describe a total destruction of all human beings all over the world!

Matthew 24:13, 14 – After the gospel is preached to all, “then shall the end come.”

1 Corinthians 15:23 – “At his coming, then cometh the end …”

1 Thessalonians 4:17; 5:3 – Those not “caught up,” will experience “sudden destruction.”

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 – When Jesus comes in flaming fire, the lost will be destroyed.

Revelation 16:17, 18 – During the seventh trumpet, cities crumble around the world.

Revelation 6:14; 16:20 – Every island sinks, and all the mountains disappear.

Jeremiah 4:23-26 – Planet Earth is totally devastated, with “no man” left alive.

Jeremiah 25:30-33 – Those slain by the Lord lie dead, unburied, all around the world.

Revelation 19:17, 18, 21 – The birds eat the flesh of every human being worldwide.

(Revelation 19 says that birds will be eating the flesh of all men!)

What will we see when we climb out of the grave?

It all depends if we are resurrected before OR after the 1000 years (millennium).

Speaking of the wicked Jeremiah says, “And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.” Jeremiah 25:33

“I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger” (Jeremiah 4:23-26).

The righteous will spend 1000 years in HEAVEN with God and the unsaved who are alive when Jesus comes will be killed.

Everyone who remains here on earth are DEAD! Satan and his evil angels are ‘chained by circumstances’ here on earth with no one to deceive. (Until the thousand years were up)

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” Revelation 20:5a

What happens after the 1000 years?

Revelation 20 says:

The “rest of the dead” are raised to life (vs. 5a).

Satan is loosed (verses 3, 7).

When the lost are resurrected, Satan has people once again to deceive – so he is “loosed” from his chains.

Satan “will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea” (vs. 8).

Who will Satan gather together?

All the lost, through history, from the days of Adam all the way down to the last person who experienced “sudden destruction” (1 Thess. 5:3) at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!

During the 1000 years, all the lost remained in their graves, but at the end of the 1000 years they are all raised to life in what Jesus called “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:29).

How many lost will there be?

John said their “number is as the sand of the sea!”

What are the lost doing after they are resurrected?

“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.” Revelation 20:9

The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven (see Revelation 21:10).

The Holy city comes down at the end of the 1000 years with the saved in it. When the “rest of the dead” are raised and Satan is loosed, the city has just landed. Satan then commands the resurrected nations to surround the “camp of the saints and the beloved city” to try and take over God’s new Jerusalem.

At this time, ALL the lost and ALL the saved are together for the first time, alive on earth!

The saved are inside the city and all the lost are outside the city!

The resurrected lost will have a chance to see the reward of the righteous, while the saved will see the fate of the wicked!

The following explains why the saved are inside the city, and why the lost are outside the new Jerusalem. It’s a solemn thought!

“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.” Revelation 22:14

“For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” Revelation 22:15

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28, 29.

A few facts:

Satan is not omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing) or omnipresent (can be in more then one place at a time).

Satan is an Angel, a fallen Angel. (Isaiah 14:12-14)

Satan was thrown from Heaven because his pride led him to rebel against God. (Ezekiel 28:12-17)

Satan deceived and took with him one third of all angels in Heaven. (Revelation 12:7-9)
He can only be in one place at a time, so he needs his demons to help him and report back to him. If Satan could read our thoughts or if he were “all knowing” (omniscient) he wouldn’t need any help from demons.

Satan does know exactly how people think though, and he knows the weakness of humans.

This is how he’s able to tempt us; otherwise, he would not have wasted his time tempting Job. Job 1:6-12, or Jesus. Matthew 4:1-11.  Satan certainly did not know what Job would do. He had not read Job’s mind; he had simply made a guess based on his observations (his walking to and fro, and up and down in the earth) and he was certainly wrong.

Satan has had a lot of time to practice. He knows exactly how to influence man. You better believe that the enemy knows the Bible better than any human being does.

Satan has the power to deceive those who do not follow,
or have God's Word in them. If you are not full of God's
Word, that leaves "room" for the Devil's minions to come in.

“The great dragon was hurled down, that ancient serpent called the devil,
or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth,
and his angels with him.” (Revelation 12:9, NIV)

Satan was brought under the power and authority of Jesus when He died for
our sins and established His Kingdom and His church. Satan no longer has
power over us and by this, we can be sure that the devil, Satan, cannot
read our thoughts.  Revelation 12:7-17

Only God and his Son Jesus Christ can read the minds and the hearts of mankind.

This is the four Bible definitions of sin.

1) “Sin is the transgression of the law.” 1 John 3:4

2) “Sin is anything that is unrighteous, not like Christ.” 1 John 5:17

3) “Sin is failure to follow the things we know to be right.” James 4:17

4) “Sin is lack of faith in God and His Word.” Romans 14:23

The "in" thing today is talking to the dead. 

Psychics and mediums actually believe that they are communicating
with the dead. The truth is that a supernatural world indeed does
exist, and people miss the familiar voices of loved ones, but they
are sadly mistaken about mediums communicating with spirits of the
dead.
A thorough Bible study into this interesting topic will prove without
a doubt that the dead know nothing, they are dead and cannot speak.

These mediums are really communicating with demons that’s posing as ghosts and dead relatives. The last book in the Bible has this warning, “For they are spirits of demons, performing signs…..” Revelation 16:14

The Bible clearly says, “For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this Scripture will be fulfilled: Death is swallowed up in victory.”

Study God’s Word and it’s easy to see that we aren’t immortal, not until the last day. That’s not the last day of our life, but the day that Jesus returns! Don’t give in to the same lie that was told to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die” Genesis 3:4

There is a difference between being able to plant a thought in someone’s mind and being able to read a person’s mind. When someone writes a book or speaks a word they are able to stimulate thoughts in people’s mind, but they cannot see what is happening beneath the surface. The only one that the Bible ever speaks of as being able to read the thoughts is the Lord. (1 Chronicles 28:9; Psalm 94:11; Psalm 139:23; Matthew 12:25; Luke 6:8) This is one of the very strong evidences that Jesus was the Son of God.

Though Satan is able to guess at our thoughts through observing, and suggest thoughts through circumstances and stimuli, there is no indication in the Bible that he can actually read our thoughts.

Keep looking up – Jesus is coming back!

Christians

“Look carefully,” notes Wohlberg, “all New Testament verses quoted to promote the secret rapture doctrine–1 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 15:52; Matthew 24:40—don’t teach it at all. They really apply to the highly visible, loud, earthshaking Second Coming of Jesus Christ, and not to the novel and unbiblical notion of ‘disappearing Christians’ seven years before the end.”

Based on thirty years of biblical and historical research that has formed the basis of numerous television series (End Time Delusions, Antichrist Chronicles, Time of Trouble Talks), Wohlberg contends:

The "Rapture idea" was unknown among Christian theologians
for 1800 years. It originated "around the year 1830"
in England during "a time of charismatic revival" connected
with the London-based ministry of Presbyterian minister Edward
Irving.

It was popularized by British theologian John Nelson Darby, further promoted by the famous Scofield Reference Bible in the early 1900s, was given wings at the Dallas Theological Seminary, and then finally “brought to the masses” by Hal Lindsey, Jack Van Impe, Tim LaHaye, and Grant Jeffrey.

“Not only is it gross error,” argues Wohlberg, “but it can easily breed deadly spiritual laziness among those who, assuming they will disappear before the trouble starts, neglect their personal preparation to stand for Jesus Christ in the difficult days ahead.”

Some people believe that they’ll be gone before the
Seven-Year Tribulationbegins!” Does the Bible really
teach this popular myth? If you have been taught this
idea,then TV producer, radio host, and bestselling author
of 24 books Steve Wohlberg has shocking information you should
know. Find out the truth and follow along in your own Bible.
Learn the truth about what God's Word, the Holy Bible clearly
states.

New Book! The Rapture Delusions: Exposing Dangerous Errors about the End of the World by Steve Wohlberg
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. Revelation 1:7

(Mat. 28:20)

For more information: No Secret Rapture

Steve Wohlberg is the Speaker/Director of White Horse Media (Newport, WA). Television producer, radio host, and the author of 23 books, he has been a guest on over 500 radio and television shows, including CNN Radio, USA Radio Network, Cable Radio Network, American Family Radio, TBN’s JC-TV, and The Harvest Show. He has been cited in The Washington Post, and has spoken by special invitation inside the Pentagon and U.S. Senate. In the fall of 2009, Mr. Wohlberg was featured on two History Channel documentaries, Secrets of the Seven Seals (Oct. 21), and Strange Rituals: Apocalypse (Nov. 14).

The book of Matthew reveals that Jesus repeated the history of ancient Israel, point by point, and overcame where they failed. Notice these parallels between ancient Israel and of Jesus Christ:

Here are just some of Steve Wohlberg’s resources. They have been a tremendous blessing and we highly recommend them!

- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - -

2-A person needs to know that he is facing eternal death.
Rm 6:23, 23For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

3-A person needs to know that Christ died so that the repentant sinner can live eternally.
Rm 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

4–A person needs to know that Christ died for him personally.
Rm 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

5–A person needs to know that Christ saves the one who calls upon Him, and remains faithful to Him.
Rm 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

This is the beginning of the Christian life. We need to grow in grace and the knowledge of God.
2 Peter 3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ….

We grow in grace by praying; by studying the Bible; by doing all the things the Bible tells us to do; by telling others what Christ has done for us.

By beholding (observing and studying the life of Christ and imitating it) we become changed into His image.
2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

We also need to confess our sins and stop doing them.
Proverbs 28:13

He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.

Jesus said that eternal life is in knowing Him and His Father.
Jn 17:3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

Sanctification (becoming like Jesus) is the work of a lifetime.

The problem with the doctrine of the immaculate conception is that it is not taught in the Bible. The Bible nowhere describes Mary as anything but an ordinary human female whom God chose to be the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ. Mary was undoubtedly a godly woman (Luke 1:28). Mary was surely a wonderful wife and mother. Jesus definitely loved and cherished His mother (John 19:27). The Bible gives us no reason to believe that Mary was sinless. In fact, the Bible gives us every reason to believe that Jesus Christ is the only Person who was not “infected” by sin and never committed a sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:22; 1 John 3:5).

The doctrine of the immaculate conception originated out of confusion over how Jesus Christ could be born sinless if He was conceived inside of a sinful human female. The thought was that Jesus would have inherited a sinful nature from Mary had she been a sinner. In contrast to the immaculate conception, the Biblical solution to this problem is understanding that Jesus Himself was miraculously protected from being polluted by sin while He was inside Mary’s womb. If God was capable of protecting Mary from sin, would He not be able to protect Jesus from sin? Therefore, Mary being sinless is neither necessary or Biblical.

The Roman Catholic Church argues that the immaculate conception is necessary because without it, Jesus would have been the object of His own grace. The thought goes like this – for Jesus to have been miraculously preserved from sin, which itself would be an act of grace, that would mean God essentially “graced Himself.” The word grace means “unmerited favor.” Grace is giving someone something he or she does not deserve. God performing a miracle in preserving Jesus from sin is not “grace.” In no sense could Jesus possibly be infected with sin. He was perfect and sinless humanity joined with sinless divinity. God cannot be infected or affected by sin, as He is perfectly holy. This same truth applies to Jesus. It did not take “grace” to protect Jesus from sin. Being God incarnate, Jesus was in His essence “immune” from sin.

So, the doctrine of the immaculate conception is neither Biblical or necessary. Jesus was miraculously conceived inside Mary, who was a virgin at the time. That is the Biblical concept of the virgin birth. The Bible does not even hint that there was anything significant about Mary’s conception. If we examine this concept logically, Mary’s mother would have to be immaculately conceived as well. How could Mary be conceived without sin if her mother was sinful? The same would have to be said of Mary’s grandmother, great-grandmother, and so on. So, in conclusion, the immaculate conception is not a Biblical teaching. The Bible teaches the miraculous virgin conception of Jesus Christ, not the immaculate conception of Mary.

Do you trust God’s Word, the Bible that never changes, or Catholic doctrine that does?

Prov. 16:25  “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
The same words occur also in Proverbs 14:12, showing that the sacred writer felt deeply the force of
this truth.

We must first enquire,
I. What is meant by seeming to be right.

II. What is the doctrine of the text?

III. This one way, what is it?

IV. Why do men think this way to be right?

V. But why do men thus deceive themselves?

VI. This sort of obedience is not the way to heaven.

VII. How should a man act if he may not do what seems to him right?
I. What is meant by seeming to be right.
The original word denotes what lawyers express by saying a thing is right “prima facie” — on its face
– at first appearance — as the case presents itself at first view and without looking at the other side.

Unless objections appear, it is to be assumed as true. The word implies a want of certainty. It does not

preclude doubt or further investigation. Indeed if the matter be one of any importance, there ought to
be further investigation, notwithstanding all this appearance of being right. The original word applies
naturally to an opinion adopted loosely, on a merely surface view and without honest and thorough
investigation. It also implies a credulous state of mind as to this way that seems right. The mind is
very willing to satisfy itself with a mere seeming.
Such I take to be the meaning of the phrase “seemeth to be right.”

II. What, then, is the doctrine of the text?
1. Plainly this — that we may think we are right and are doing right, when in truth we are utterly
wrong. It may seem that we are in the way to heaven, while we are really in the way to hell.
2. Hence it is of vital consequence to enquire and ascertain what this way is. It is remarkable
that the text speaks of one way, there is a way that seemeth right to a man. It does not indeed
expressly affirm that there is but one, yet it may be inferred that the writer’s mind rested on one
general way in regard to which men deceived themselves to their ruin.

III. Let us therefore enquire for this one way, what is it?

I answer, in general it is the way of obeying God’s commands merely in the letter and overlooking the
Spirit. In this way men overlook that in which alone real obedience to God consists, namely, the state
of mind — the real motive and spirit in which a deed is done. Men do what their conscience demands,
outwardly, but not with the heart. They obey in the letter, but they disobey in the spirit. Their
obedience is constrained, not loving and cheerful; and therefore, it is really no obedience at all. They
yield to the demands of their conscience as to the letter of the precept; and there, with them,
obedience ends. This seems to them to be obedience, and therefore they expect from it God’s favor
and heaven at last; but they deceive themselves; for the end of this way is only death.
But it will be well to enquire here –

IV. Why do men think this way to be right?
Because it is required, both by conscience and by the sacred scriptures. For example, honesty in
business; prayer to God. These and similar duties, both conscience and the Bible require. Of course it
seems right to do them. And it truly is right. Outwardly, it is the thing God demands. But they
overlook the fact that God does and must demand something more than the outward. They forget that
real obedience consists in the loving state of mind in which the externally right things are done. They
forget that, while “man looketh on the outward appearance, God looketh on the heart.”

V. But why do men thus deceive themselves?
1. Because they are in a dishonest, selfish state of mind. They are in a state like Paul’s when he
verily thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth; but the
reason of his verily thinking so lay in the strong committal of his soul to Judaism and to his
selfish interests in that system. Really he was not in an honest state of mind, and therefore was
The Way That Seems Right, But Ends In Death Text by Charles G. Finney from “The Oberlin Evangelist”

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not prepared to judge truly in such matters. In a dishonest state of mind, men are satisfied with
cheap service done for God. They are by no means careful to give Him good measure. Perhaps
they do not even think for a moment that, by the very necessity of His position as Moral
Governor of the universe, He must demand the sincere homage of the heart. They think to turn
Him off with miserably cheap service. They would not themselves be satisfied with such
service from their own wives or children. A merely outside show of obedience and affection
would not satisfy them. Yet strangely they assume that such outside obedience in their case will
satisfy God! Being in a thoroughly selfish state of mind, they are blind to the spiritual demands
of God’s law. They have no just conceptions of the real nature of their own righteousness. They
assume it to be a fair and perfect robe, but God accounts it only as filthy rags — not rags only –
but filthy rags — loathsome and foul — intolerable.
2. Such persons are blind to the spirit of God’s law. For example, the law which requires them
to pay a debt to a neighbor. In a selfish spirit, one will pay such a debt because the civil law
demands it, and he cannot avoid paying it. Or he may do it selfishly to sustain his reputation.
But the truly benevolent man pays this debt out of love to his neighbor. He remembers the law,
“Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself,” and he considers nothing less than this, as real
obedience to God. Because he loves his neighbor, therefore he pays to him what he owes him.
This, and this only is obeying in the true spirit of obedience.
3. So selfish men go to the house of God to please themselves and not to please God. They have
no heart in it. This seems to them to be right, but it seems so, only because they are selfish, and
do not deeply consider the matter. They do not ask themselves — Would I be pleased with such
service from my wife or from my children? Would I be satisfied if my servants thought only of
the outward appearance and had no proper respect for my feelings and wishes?
This kind of service is all wrong, however right it may seem. It does not answer the
demands of the law of God. This law demands the homage of the heart, and can accept of
nothing less. How then can it accept that which is wholly selfish?
VI. This sort of obedience is not the way to heaven.
1. It does not make the heart mellow, humble, holy; indeed it has no such influence at all, but
rather the opposite. It only makes the heart vain, proud, hard and yet more selfish.
2. It should never be forgotten that any obedience which is not from the heart and from real
love is no obedience at all.
3. People are prone to congratulate themselves on their selfish and external obedience, but such
obedience is not performing their duty to God or to man either. It leaves the soul in sin and in
bondage.
4. This delusion is wholly inexcusable.
VII. Some men, willing to justify themselves, will ask — How should a man act if he may not do
what seems to him right?
The Way That Seems Right, But Ends In Death Text by Charles G. Finney from “The Oberlin Evangelist”
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1. I answer, he may and must do what seems right to him; he must follow the dictates of his
conscience; but he must see to it that his mind be honest and that his conscience be enlightened.
For this, he is responsible. He can be honest; he can open his eyes to see God’s claims in their
true light.
2. Such selfish men obey their conscience only apparently, not really, for in its proper action,
conscience requires a right heart. It demands all this and is satisfied with nothing less.
Conscience requires that the mind be upright and the heart truly obedient. It cannot be satisfied
with obedience that is merely in the letter and not in the Spirit. Hence it is plain that selfish men
do not really obey conscience.
3. Again, their obedience is only servile. It is not done in the spirit of heaven and does not mold
them into this spirit. It has no tendency to prepare them for the purity of heaven, and cannot,
therefore, fit them to enter easily and naturally into the obedience and worship of that world of
purity and love. God requires something more than a mere seeming to be right, and selfish men
really know, deep in their heart, that such worship is only a seeming.
REMARKS.
1. This class of persons abstain from open vice. Such vice cannot seem to be right to anybody. With
any amount of effort, they cannot make it seem right. Hence this way that seems right to a man must
be one of strict outward morality and of correct external observance. If men do what seems to be their
duty, they cannot stop short of this, for nothing less than this can ever seem to be their duty. A man
has been to meeting; he has paid his honest debts; therefore, say they, all is right. All this looks right;
nothing less than this could even look right. But those who neglect the outward cannot even suppose
their course to be right. It cannot seem right to an honest mind. They trust they are right, they say. Ask
them — Are you walking with God? I trust so, they reply. Are you resting on Christ alone? I hope so.
But you observe they speak only with much qualification, not with confidence. This is quite different
from the manner of the sacred writers. They do not say — We trust we are right; we hope we are God’s
people; but they say — “We know in whom we have believed;” “We know that we have passed from
death into life because we love the brethren.” The men of whom the text speaks, say all that they dare
say — all they ought to say of themselves. It is only a faint sort of hope and trust that they have. They
altogether lack the clear, strong, decided conviction which the inspired writers felt and expressed.
2. Again, they look only to the proximate intentions — not to the ultimate; they think only of the
outside. They went to public worship; yes they were there. That was all. They do not claim their
hearts were there. Ask them, Is that obeying God? I hope so, say they — but in their hearts their
confidence that God can accept it must be very weak. Are the old heart and the new one, just the
same? Is the new no better than the old?
3. Men will often deceive themselves even out of the Bible itself. The things said in the Bible of
sinners and hypocrites they apply to Christians and so they find something which both meets their
case and encourages their hopes that they are Bible Christians. How sad a thing is this!
4. These self-deceived men have no heart in their worship of God. Their souls are not all liquid,
flowing out in praise, and full of love and of heaven. There is none of the spirit of heaven in their
The Way That Seems Right, But Ends In Death Text by Charles G. Finney from “The Oberlin Evangelist”
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hearts. Yet they think they mean to do right and to do their duty. It seems so to them. They are in the
way that seemeth right. They read their Bibles; they go to the house of God; they do a great many
things; but all goes no farther than right seeming. It is right only in the outward — the letter. The
inward is still all wrong. Jesus Christ is not formed in them, the hope of glory. How awful that men
should be deceived by this mere seeming! Mark that man. He goes on with his doings, his hope
perhaps still growing a little brighter. How awful to think that he must wake at length in hell! A
woman who had lived long with a dull Christian hope, but seemed to herself to be nearly ripe for
heaven, drew very near to the grave; she sunk away, and they thought she was really dead — when
suddenly she started up, shrieked once with an expression of unutterable horror, — Is this hell? then
fell back again and passed away! We cannot know what she saw! Yet who would wish to die so?
My dear hearers, the time is short ere we shall know our fitness or unfitness for the eternal world, past
all uncertainty, or mistake. No longer here; the places that know us now shall know us no more then.
If this day were to be your last, what would you do? Would you not say, I cannot be satisfied with a
mere seeming — I must absolutely know that all is right? What is your state today? Do you say — I
have examined my foundation; I have not been satisfied with merely seeming to be right? But even
you, if this day were surely known to you to be your last, would say, (would you not?) I must be more
certain. I must go over this whole ground again, for how can I rest while the least possibility of doubt
remains! Let this work be honestly done, from first to last; lay your soul bare to the searching of God’s
word and Spirit; cry unto Him — “Search me, O God, and try my thoughts; prove me and know my
ways, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Leave no room for mistake in a matter of such enduring
moment. See to it that you, at least, be not of those who go in a way that seemeth right, but the end
thereof are the ways of death.
GLOSSARY
of easily misunderstood terms as defined by Mr. Finney himself.
Compiled by Katie Stewart
Complacency, or Esteem: “Complacency, as a state of will or heart, is only benevolence
modified by the consideration or relation of right character in the object of it. God, prophets,
apostles, martyrs, and saints, in all ages, are as virtuous in their self-denying and untiring
labours to save the wicked, as they are in their complacent love to the saints.” Systematic
Theology (LECTURE VII). Also, “approbation of the character of its object. Complacency is
due only to the good and holy.” Lectures to Professing Christians (LECTURE XII).
1.
Disinterested Benevolence: “By disinterested benevolence I do not mean, that a person who is
disinterested feels no interest in his object of pursuit, but that he seeks the happiness of others
for its own sake, and not for the sake of its reaction on himself, in promoting his own
happiness. He chooses to do good because he rejoices in the happiness of others, and desires
their happiness for its own sake. God is purely and disinterestedly benevolent. He does not
make His creatures happy for the sake of thereby promoting His own happiness, but because He
loves their happiness and chooses it for its own sake. Not that He does not feel happy in
promoting the happiness of His creatures, but that He does not do it for the sake of His own
gratification.” Lectures to Professing Christians (LECTURE I).
2.
Divine Sovereignty: “The sovereignty of God consists in the independence of his will, in 3.
The Way That Seems Right, But Ends In Death Text by Charles G. Finney from “The Oberlin Evangelist”
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consulting his own intelligence and discretion, in the selection of his end, and the means of
accomplishing it. In other words, the sovereignty of God is nothing else than infinite
benevolence directed by infinite knowledge.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE LXXVI).
Election: “That all of Adam’s race, who are or ever will be saved, were from eternity chosen by
God to eternal salvation, through the sanctification of their hearts by faith in Christ. In other
words, they are chosen to salvation by means of sanctification. Their salvation is the end- their
sanctification is a means. Both the end and the means are elected, appointed, chosen; the means
as really as the end, and for the sake of the end.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE LXXIV).
4.
Entire Sanctification: “Sanctification may be entire in two senses: (1.) In the sense of present,
full obedience, or entire consecration to God; and, (2.) In the sense of continued, abiding
consecration or obedience to God. Entire sanctification, when the terms are used in this sense,
consists in being established, confirmed, preserved, continued in a state of sanctification or of
entire consecration to God.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE LVIII).
5.
Moral Agency: “Moral agency is universally a condition of moral obligation. The attributes of
moral agency are intellect, sensibility, and free will.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE III).
6.
Moral Depravity: “Moral depravity is the depravity of free-will, not of the faculty itself, but of
its free action. It consists in a violation of moral law. Depravity of the will, as a faculty, is, or
would be, physical, and not moral depravity. It would be depravity of substance, and not of free,
responsible choice. Moral depravity is depravity of choice. It is a choice at variance with moral
law, moral right. It is synonymous with sin or sinfulness. It is moral depravity, because it
consists in a violation of moral law, and because it has moral character.” Systematic Theology
(LECTURE XXXVIII).
7.
Human Reason: “the intuitive faculty or function of the intellect… it is the faculty that intuits
moral relations and affirms moral obligation to act in conformity with perceived moral
relations.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE III).
8.
Retributive Justice: “Retributive justice consists in treating every subject of government
according to his character. It respects the intrinsic merit or demerit of each individual, and deals
with him accordingly.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE XXXIV).
9.
Total Depravity: “Moral depravity of the unregenerate is without any mixture of moral
goodness or virtue, that while they remain unregenerate, they never in any instance, nor in any
degree, exercise true love to God and to man.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE XXXVIII).
10.
Unbelief: “the soul’s withholding confidence from truth and the God of truth. The heart’s
rejection of evidence, and refusal to be influenced by it. The will in the attitude of opposition to
truth perceived, or evidence presented.” Systematic Theology (LECTURE LV).
11.
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The Way That Seems Right, But Ends In Death Text by Charles G. Finney from “The Oberlin Evangelist”
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