By: CHRIS MCCANN
And Then...
- Passages covered: Ecclesiastes 1:2-4, Ecclesiastes 1:5-8, Ecclesiastes 1:9-11, Revelation 21:4-5, John 11:25-26, Revelation 21:22-27
Ecclesiastes 1:2-4 Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun? One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
When a little child, play, play and play.
And then,
Go school and get a HS diploma.
And then,
Go to college and get a degree.
And then,
Get a job and make as much money as possible.
And then,
Buy a house and start a family.
And then,
Work, work, work, to maintain home and to raise the family.
And then,
Ecclesiastes 1:5-8 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose. The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits. All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again. All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
The children begin to grow and go off to school/college themselves.
And then,
Retire and find interesting things to do to fill your time.
And then,
Struggle through illness and advancing old age.
And then,
Ecclesiastes 1:9-11 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun. Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us. There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
The moment comes when the heart stops beating and the body falls lifeless.
And then,
The spirit of the unsaved ceases to exist. The spirit of the child of God goes to be with the Lord to await the resurrection of his/her body on the last day.
And then,
There is no "and then" for the unsaved people of the world. They're gone and are no more. But for the child of God there is much, much more to come:
Revelation 21:4-5 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
And then,
Eternal life.
And then,
Everlasting life.
And then,
Abundance of life.
And then, and then, and then, etc, etc, etc.
John 11:25-26 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Life forevermore.
Revelation 21:22-27 And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.