The Death of Death

“You humans know you are going to die. The great God of eternity sets each of your appointments—once to die, and after that the judgment.¹ And I, Death, get to carry out His sentence. That’s why most men dread the thought of me. Many shrink back in fear at my approaching footsteps.² Others freeze in terror.³ Only a few stand fearless at my coming.⁴ More about them later.

"Because I keep most of you scared to death of me, what you don’t know is that I, Death, also have an appointment—a terrible one even I can’t cancel. You might call it my own death—yes, the death of Death!⁵ You see, God really hates me. That’s because I work so closely with those other two objects of His terrible righteous anger—Satan⁶ and Sin.⁷ Satan tempts men to sin by saying yes when God says no or no when God says yes, and I, Death, give humans their wages for their rebellion.⁸ I kill them. I can’t touch their eternal souls⁹ —only their temporary bodies. But I do get to witness the battle of the ages—Satan versus the great God, evil versus good—a war of eternal consequences fought over your souls, your spirits, that part of you that never dies.¹⁰

"Of course, you would think the great Creator God would win the majority of you humans to His side. After all, He is from eternity to eternity¹¹ —whatever that is, even I, Death, can’t fathom. And He has all power.¹² Poor Satan is only a spirit being—a fallen angel—created by the great God.¹³ Yet in this war for the loyalty of you humans, it is the devil, Lucifer, who gains the majority of you foolish beings.¹⁴

"It’s how the devil does it that amazes even me—Death. The great God introduces Himself to you through His Son, Jesus the Christ.¹⁵ The God of love.¹⁶ Of holiness.¹⁷ Of everything that is right and good. And the guarantor of eternal life¹⁸ given to any of you who want it. Incredible!

"But His adversary is no dummy. He uses this beautiful gift God gave you—you know, free will—to see if he, Satan, can win you over. He even takes the good things God made for you and corrupts them. Like sex. God made it for marriage—man and wife¹⁹ —faithful lovers in a bed blessed by Him.²⁰ The adversary? ‘Why limit sex to marriage?’ he tempts. ‘To only one? To only the opposite gender?²¹ Who says so? What God? And that archaic book, the Bible?²² Come now, take a fresh bite out of this fruit. Taste good? Always remember, if it feels good, it has to be right.'²³

"And most of you buy that baloney. Until I strike. Every one of you becomes a believer after I kill your body.²⁴ It’s impossible not to believe when you’re faced with the blinding glory of the Judge of the universe.²⁵ But by then it’s too late to avoid the sentence—separation from the Savior²⁶ who once called you but whom you just shook off. That’s when those who mock today, must bow before this Christ tomorrow.²⁷

"But then there are those incredible multitudes who, in their own valleys of decision,²⁸chose to believe in irrefutable facts. In the God of creation.²⁹ In the Scriptures that even Satan can’t stop the archaeologists and historians from declaring their incredible accuracy.³⁰ In Jesus Christ, whose factual death and resurrection have caused the greatest minds to echo Thomas with, ‘My Lord, and my God!’³¹

"And that is why I must meet my end. The death of me—Death. The great God will utter those final words ‘There shall be time no longer.'³² His evangelists shall have won the final soul to the Son of God and Satan shall have deceived his final followers.³³ All my power over you believers will be broken. I, Death, will be completely abolished.³⁴ My sting will vanish³⁵ and even the graves will surrender their contents.³⁶ Some of you will face God’s everlasting contempt,³⁷ and others will inherit the fullness of everlasting life³⁸ in a new heaven and new earth.³⁹

"Men like Job, whom I killed long ago, will see the end of me, Death. I remember well how I tried to terrify him with my approaching footsteps, but his faith in God could not be shaken. Rather than fear me, do you know what he said? ‘For I know that my redeemer lives, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God.'⁴⁰

"There are four things—the fruits of Sin and Satan—that God hates. I am one of them and those who choose Him and the Redeemer, Jesus, will never again feel our power to hurt:'…there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.'⁴¹

"For you who love Him, there is the promise, ‘I make all things new.’⁴² For you the new day dawns.⁴³ For Satan, Sin and Death, it is our night. A night that will never end.⁴⁴ I, Death, will tell you no more. I probably have already told you more than I should. You’re not in ignorance anymore.⁴⁵ And now you face the big question: what will you do with Christ?⁴⁶ Your decision will make all the difference in time and eternity when I, Death, see you at our uncancellable appointment.”⁴⁷

¹ Hebrews 9:27

² Hebrews 2:15

³ Daniel 5:6

⁴ Phil. 1:21

⁵ Rev. 20:14

⁶ Rev. 20:10

⁷ Romans 7:13

⁸ Romans 6:23

⁹ Hebrews 12:9

¹⁰ Eph. 6:12

¹¹ Psalm 90:2

¹² Matt. 28:18

¹³ Ezekiel 28:13

¹⁴ Matt. 7:13

¹⁵ John 14:8-9

¹⁶ 1 John 4:16

¹⁷ 1 Peter 1:15-16

¹⁸ John 11:25-26

¹⁹ Gen. 2:24

²⁰ Hebrews 13:4

²¹ Romans 1:25-28

²² 1 Peter 1:24-25

²³ Proverbs 14:12

²⁴ Luke 16:22-23

²⁵ Rev. 6:15-17

²⁶ Matt. 7:23

²⁷ Romans 14:11-12; Phil. 2:10

²⁸ Joel 3:14

²⁹ Gen. 1:1

³⁰ Psalm 138:2; 2 Tim. 3:16

³¹ John 20:28

³² Rev. 10:6

³³ Matt. 24:14

³⁴ 2 Tim. 1:10

³⁵ 1 Cor. 15:55

³⁶ 1 Cor. 15:55

³⁷ Daniel 12:2

³⁸ John 5:24

³⁹ Isaiah 66:17

⁴⁰ Job 19:23-27

⁴¹ Rev. 21:4

⁴² Rev. 21:5

⁴³ 2 Peter 1:19

⁴⁴ Rev. 20:10,14

⁴⁵ Eph. 4:18

⁴⁶ Joshua 24:15; Romans 10:9-10; 1 John 5:12

⁴⁷ Heb. 9:27

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ" (I Corinthians 11:1)
The ST. PAUL SCHOOL, with Frank Eiklor, Eileen Young and Cecilia Contreras