Jesus Christ, The Only Way to Paradise: The Pathway to Love, Redemption, Forgiveness, and Hope

By Cora White

Discussions concerning death are hardly viewed as being an enjoyable experience. In fact, the topic is often only spoken of when someone becomes seriously ill or when life insurance is mentioned. Regulated to generally taboo conversation, some people consider death to be the ultimate conclusion to our journey called life. But as with any trip, t

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: Aug 2, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640885424

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JESUS CHRIST, THE ONLY WAY TO PARADISE!

THE PATHWAY TO LOVE, REDEMPTION, FORGIVENESS, AND HOPE

Dr. Cora White

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

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Tustin, CA 92780

Copyright © 2020 by Cora White

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise noted, taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (KJV) taken from The Holy Bible, King James Version. Cambridge Edition: 1769.

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Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN 978-1-64088-541-7 ISBN 978-1-64088-542-4 (ebook)

INTRODUCTION

This book is dedicated to all those that are waiting on Christ Jesus to appear but have fallen asleep with the blessed hope that Jesus is able to raise them up on that great day. These are saints are looking forward to seeing Jesus face to face. The sleeping saints are Amelia Little, Myra W., Peter Little Sr., my Aunt Mary and Aunt Martha, Dan A., my Uncle Son, Mrs. Maude, Elsie’s mother. They have all passed away. They left a legacy that will not be forgotten. All of the saints of God have one thing in common: they all loved Christ Jesus and awaited His coming!

The living saints are Marie L., Peter L. Jr., Joseph L., Mary R., Maria L., Claire L., Elizabeth L., Harry Sr., Elsie W., Harry Jr, Christopher W., Hazel W., Julian G., Kristina W., David W., Katrina S, Brittany C., Courtney, Reggie, and Pat D. These are just a very few saints who are still on the land of the living and are trusting for Christ Jesus’s coming. They are on the battlefield daily for what they believe God for to do in their lives. These saints will not let go of their faith in Christ Jesus no matter what life will bring them. They are depending on the Holy Spirit, whom God sent to lead them into all truth.

Let me explain it this way. There are many children’s fairytale books out there; however, ironically, one of the fairytales will explain a belief or will explain a truth. The story is about a kingdom where the king and his wife had a daughter. There was a wicked fairy that cursed the child to die at a certain age, but there was another fairy that hadn’t given her blessings, and she said that the child wouldn’t die, but the child would sleep until her prince came and awaken her. The fairy did another interesting thing: also she put everyone in the kingdom to asleep once the princess fell asleep so that when she awakens, her kingdom would still be intact.

However, in contrast to the fairytale, we know God’s kingdom is real and is an everlasting kingdom, but because of sin, mankind was doomed to die, but God sent His Son that even though a person dies, it is like being asleep, and when God’s Son returns, He will gather from the four corners of the earth those that have fallen asleep in Him. This blessed sleep only applies to God’s children, who have died in Christ Jesus. Non-believers will die, also, but their death is a death that will lead them to eternal separation from God.

However, for those who are in Christ Jesus; they will rest in Jesus Christ, and will be with Him forever. When Jesus comes back, we will have the greatest family reunion in history. The family reunion will take place in the sky. Parents, brother, cousins, aunts, grandmothers, great grandparents, and all of our friends and relatives, who have died in Christ Jesus shall be there. Lastly, the glory of Christ Jesus will be upon all those that believe because we shall be like Him because we shall behold His glory. We shall live with our Lord Jesus Christ, forever.

We as believers are sanctified by the engrafted Word of God that is saving us and others daily. The Word of God is purifying us daily as we read it, meditate on it, and believe in what the Word of God states. Jesus Christ is truly the way, the truth, and the life. Anyone that put their trust in Him will never die, and if by chance they do die, He, Jesus Christ, will raise them up from the dead. Our Lord likens death unto sleeping. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:26, KJV).

God has made to us true promises that He is more than able to carry each one of them out. We are able to have an abundant life in the here and now and in the hereafter. Amen!

PROLOGUE

When we think of death, most of the time we think of death as finality - the end of life as we know it. However, is death the infallible truth concerning life?

Jesus proclaimed in the Bible that God is not the God of the dead but of the living (Matthew 22:32, NJV). If God is the God of the living and not of the dead, then who’s Abraham, Isaiah, and Jacob or Israel’s God? We know that they all died. The answer is that they are still living in Christ Jesus. Remember, on the mountain of transfiguration, there were Moses and Elias. Moses died, and God buried him (Deuteronomy 34:5–6, KJV). We all have had family members that have gone on to the other side of this life.

However, perhaps Jesus gave us a glimpse of what it must be like to die in Him and what awaits us on life on the other side by using Paul and others. Jesus Himself promised the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise. Jesus Christ is the one who is leading the way to a place where there will be no more suffering, pain, or sorrows. Jesus used the word paradise to the thief on the cross, and this allowed the man on the cross with Jesus to know that there is life after this earthly dwelling. We often fear the unknown, and the stigma that comes from not knowing what happens when someone dies still brings fear to some men’s hearts today.

What Jesus told the thief on the cross still echoes across the centuries of time, and is still the blessed hope of every believer, especially when there are untimely deaths of loved ones and others happening all around us. Jesus proclaimed that He was the resurrection and the life. He that believes in Him, though he may die, he shall live. Jesus also said that whoever lives and believes in Him shall never die (John 11:25–26). Jesus is our glimpse of reality of eternity or eternal life. We really don’t have to imagine what it will be like on the other side because Jesus has already proclaimed it to us in His Word.

When we see people in hospice, even some Christians who were terminally ill, waiting for God to take them home, we become very sorrowful. Hospice states that they are there to help the dying and their loved one to receive oneon-one care prior to their departure from this life. Also hospice insist their sole mission is to help the very ill to receive better care, which much is needed. Until now, the fear of not knowing what waits for us on the other side of this life has always plagued mankind, even though Jesus announced that true life is only found in Him. We need to settle it in our heart that as a believer when we leave here because of Jesus, we are going to be in a better place.

Also Apostle Paul gives us an example of joy on the other side when he said that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord (2 Corinthians 5:6–8, KJV). Stephen also provided with a greater preview of what happens when God entered into our final days here on earth. Stephen was being stoned to death for telling the truth about God’s people. He was being persecuted because he was sharing the Gospel with the leaders in the synagogue, including Saul, whose name was changed by Jesus to Paul. Stephen, as he was being stoned to death, looked up into heaven and saw the Son of Man standing on the right side of God. How awesome that sight must have been (Acts 7:56, KJV)!

Jesus trusted God to deliver Him from death because He knew that it was impossible for the grave to hold Him since He never sinned. It’s the wages of sin that brings death, but what if you have never sinned? Does death still have a right to take you? The answer is yes because Adam’s seed flows through all mankind but not through Jesus Christ. For this reason, no one can say that they are sinless. I have my dad’s and mom’s image or genetic makeup. Even though I am an individual, I still am made up of my parent’s genes. Therefore, no one can say that they are flawless to God and that they have never sinned but Jesus Christ.

Let’s look at a trial that is about to take place in a courthouse. The trial takes place in the courthouse with a judge, a jury, a prosecutor, and a lawyer with his client, who is on trial for an alleged crime. The prosecutor’s job is to get at the truth, to prove that the person on trial is guilty. The one who is being tried could be found guilty if there is enough evidence against him. If the one who is found guilty is convicted of the crime, he/she will go to jail and will receive a sentence for the crime that he/she was charged with. Ultimately, this person will have to spend a set time in prison or jailed for the crime that they have been convicted of or by jury have been proven to have committed. However, if the one that was being convicted later is found innocent, they will have to free this person according to the laws of the land. Because of what Jesus has done for us, even though we may be found guilty by the Laws of God, (Ten Commandments), with the penalty of death, God has shown to us His mercy, and the blood of Christ makes us guiltless from the breaking of God’s Law.

He took the punishment of death for us, but we must remain in Him to stay free from the penalty of our sins. God showed us through Jesus (our intercessor), through the Father, what it means to really trust Him in this life and to trust Him in the life that’s unknown to us.

We all were found guilty by the laws of God. Without a doubt, we all deserved death. However, because of God’s great love for us, Jesus stepped in and took the penalty of eternal death that rightfully belonged to us. His blood was sufficient to the Father so that we were vindicated if we have believed the message of His Son. We now belong to Him; this means that we have to be willing to do things His Son’s way (Act 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:20, KJV). We were bought with a price, and we have no right to continue to walk after the elements of this world. God knows the thoughts that He has toward all of His children. God wants to bless us, and He gives us a hope and an expected end. Evil does not enter into God’s heart about us. God breathes His breath into our lungs. It’s as if someone was suddenly being revived after being dead for so long. God’s breath is holy, and His breath is an expression of Him living in us. Amen!

My hope is that as you read this book, you will begin to discover His love, mercy, and grace that God has given to you through His Son, Christ Jesus. My prayer is that you will know the joy of having the opportunity to walk in His Spirit and appreciate life to the fullest here in the realm of this life and also in the life to come. The walk that we take in God is not just when we first believe only, but it is a life of repentance on our part and a constant interaction with Him all the days of our lives. This walk isn’t an easy walk, but it is a life of prayer, reading His Word and fellowshipping in the Spirit with other believers. This path with the Spirit of God leading us is a walk of faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

Some of us frequently study what transpired in the Garden of Eden, and what befell Adam and Eve. We are saddened at the defeated circumstances that took place in the Garden of Eden. However, God, being an all-knowing and all-seeing God, had used the very thing that Satan did by trying to destroy mankind as the catalyst to bring mankind closer to Him permanently. Mankind’s fall became the very reason why man began to see the consequences of sin. Now a closer relationship between God and mankind could be had through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now mankind can know God as Abba, which means Father. God love can truly be known or be received by mankind, and this love is the stepping-stone to victory in God through Christ Jesus. Mankind, through receiving of God’s great love, has nothing to fear. Death is no longer feared because human beings will know that they are truly going to be with a loving Father that they craved to be with while they live on the earth. God doesn’t live a separated life from His people. He dwells among them.

God said in the Garden of Eden that the serpent’s seed would bruise Eve’s Seed’s heel, but her Seed will crush his head. This is the victory and the blessed hope that we have through Christ Jesus. Adam and Eve’s downfall became the victory for humanity through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ (Genesis 3:15, KJV). Jesus Christ is another reason for us to have hope in our tragedies in this life. God showed His sovereignty and His great love for us in that while we were yet in sin, Christ Jesus died for us (Romans 5:8). Man demonstrated his desire to be like God, but he did it the wrong way. Mankind was never meant to work outside of God’s will. Thanks to the serpent (Satan) in the Garden of Eden, Adam never came to the realization that he had God with him all the time. The breath of God and the fact that God had made male and female in the image of God this made it possible for Adam and his wife to have a genuine relationship