The Here And The Hereafter

THE HERE AND THE HEREAFTER

SCRIPTURE:

Romans 8:18 “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.”

II Corinthians 4:17 “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”

INTRODUCTION:

What I have just read would bear little weight to anyone in the real world if it had been written by some ordinary person in some ordinary book. However, the writer and the book here spoken of are both far beyond ordinary. These Scriptures were penned under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost by the Apostle Paul and became part of our Holy Bible. Again, had Paul not of had a personal experience with suffering and a clear revelation of eternity, these Scriptures might bear less weight. Few have experienced even a fraction of the tribulations that followed Paul every where he went. Read with me as he lists some of his experiences in a letter to the Corinthian Church:

II Corinthians 11:24 - 27 “Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. (v. 25) Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; (v. 26) In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; (v. 27) In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and

thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.”

I. THE HERE

A. Being Created in Perfection “it was good.”

1. The Lights of the Sky

Genesis 1:4 “And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.”

Genesis 1:18 “And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light

from the darkness: and God saw that it was good.”

2. The Land and Sea

Genesis 1:10 “And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.”

3. The Fruit of the Ground

Genesis 1:12 “And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

4. The Creatures of the Sea and Air

Genesis 1:21 “And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

5. The Beasts of the Field

Genesis 1:25 “And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after

their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.”

6. All in All

Genesis 1:31 “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day.”

B. Being Defiled by Sin, it was cursed.

1. The Lights in the Sky

Job 15:15 “Behold, he putteth no trust in his saints; yea, the heavens are not

clean in his sight.”

Job 25:5 “Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not

pure in his sight.”

Many of the stars, planets, etc. are named after gods of this world and several have been, and are being, worshipped

2. The Land And The Sea

Genesis 3:17 “And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the

voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;”

Man has, and continues to, pollute the land and the sea.

3. The Fruit of the Ground

Genesis 3:18 “Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt

eat the herb of the field;”

4. The Creatures of the Sea and Air

Are subject to the many explorations and pollutions of man.

5. The Beasts of the Field

Genesis 3:14 “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done

this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy

life:”

When Adam fell, all of creation was put under the curse. Adam became a fallen man in a fallen world. In the here and now, men are against men; beasts are against beasts; and men and beasts are enemies one of another.