Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No 22 | Page 24

RELIGIOUS
24
Wisdom from
the Word
Ben Berto
But for him who is joined
to all the living there is hope,
for a living dog is better than
a dead lion.5 For the living
know that they will die; But
the dead know nothing, And
they have no more reward,
For the memory of them is
forgotten.
6 Also their love, their
hatred, and their envy have
now perished; Nevermore
will they have a share In
anything done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9: 4-6 NKJV
Just recently, one
of the former writers for the
Philippine Asian News Today,
Mr. Mel Tobias, a giant in the
newspaper world died, and
more recent was the death
of a Filipina Actress in Dubai.
Some people die a natural
death, while others get killed
in accidents or from the
hands of others. Still, some
people lose their lives due
to self-inflicted wounds or
from drugs. Some people
die peacefully, secure in their
belief that God the Son (Jesus)
is going to wake them up
when He comes the second
time, while others try to fight
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY November 16 - 30, 2017
What Lazarus saw when He Died
death to the very last. Some
believe that when people die,
either they are transported
straight to Paradise or thrown
down to hell to be punished
for their sins “per Omnia
in saeculu saeculorumn or
forever and ever. Here comes
a big problem; Why would
God who claims to love
humans who were created
in His own image, punish a
person who has lived only like
the grass of the field forever
and ever? God said He has
no pleasure in the death of
the wicked. (Ezekiel 33: 11)
Comes the question,
what really happens when
people die? The father of lies,
Satan, told Eve when he was
tempting her, “4 Then the
serpent said to the woman,
“You will not surely die. 5 For
God knows that in the day
you eat of it your eyes will be
opened, and you will be like
God, knowing good and evil.”
Genesis 3: 4 NKJV That is still
the same lie he is peddling
throughout the centuries and
millenniums. So now people
say that their dead mother
or father is looking down
Moments
Acts 2: 24, 29, Job. 14: 12,
Deuteronomy 18: 10-12.
The Bible is silent
about what happened to
Mary, the mother of Jesus
when she died. Jesus handed
her to the care of John, His
disciple before He died on the
cross. John wrote the gospel
of John and the Revelation. If
she was assumed into heaven
when she died, the Apostle
would have written about it.
So it is clear that she is not
in heaven right now, and not
acting as a mediatrix between
God and man, for there is
only One mediator, that is
Jesus. 1 Timothy 2: 5 NASB
“For there is one God, and
one mediator also between
God and men, the man Christ
Jesus,”
To answer the

question what Lazarus saw
from the time he died and
was raised to life four days
after? The answer, based on
what we have studied was:
NOTHING. He was as dead
as a door nail, can’t see, can’t
move, no pulse, no heartbeat,
no respiration; therefore
dead.
Let us base our
faith on what Jesus said to
Nicodemus in John 3: 16 “For
God so loved the world, that
He gave His only begotten
Son, that whoever believes
in Him shall not perish, but
have eternal life. Amen
For prayer, questions
and Bible study, call Ben at
604-581-1278, Junjun at
778-927-8040, and Stanley
at 604-700-3053. You are
invited to worship with us
every Sabbath (Saturday) at
the Abundant Life Seventh-
day Adventist Church at
13062-104 Avenue, Surrey.
Welcome.
Our new shepherd,
Pastor Leomar Macaraig also
takes care of the Vancouver
Filipino and Burnaby FilCan
SDA churches. His phone
number is; 604-928-3579.
Every Friday, we have a
Bible Study with the Pastor.
Everybody is welcome to
attend, whether you are a
Seventh-day Adventist or
not. The Word of God is for
everyone. Our address is
9495- 132 Street, Surrey.
‘Bullet day’
Fr. Jerry M. Orbos, SVD
The story is told about
a Pinoy who was hemmed in
and held up in a New York
subway by three men who
shoved him down before
they alighted from the train.
In anger, he shouted at
them: “No shame you! Bullet
day, I will giant you!” (Mga
walanghiya! Balang araw,
maghihiganti rin ako!)
Today is the Solemnity
of Christ, the King of the
Universe. In today’s Gospel
(Mt. 25, 31-46), we hear
that the Son of man will
hand over final and definite
justice, separating the sheep
from the goats, rewarding
the good, and punishing
the bad. Today’s gospel is a
clear warning to those who
think that their evil deeds
will go unpunished, and a
consolation to those who
believe that goodness pays.
Someday, God Himself will
do the revenge and restore
justice.
God knows everything.
God sees everything. God
does not sleep, and as our
Shepherd, He tells us in
today’s first reading: “I will
from heaven, approving or
disapproving their good deeds
and misdeed. Some believe
that the babies that die go
up there and become angels.
If they have been reading
their Bibles, they will be very
vastly disappointed. There is
nothing in the Bible that says
the dead go to heaven or to
hell when they die. What the
Bible says is that the dead are
sleeping and remain in their
graves until Jesus’ second
coming.
What the Bible says
about the dead and death
itself. Revelation 1: 18
says there is hope beyond
the grave because Jesus
conquered death and has
the keys to both. Death is
like sleep. John 11: 11-14,
25, Job 14: 14, 21. The
righteous dead will be raised
to life when Jesus returns; 1
Thessalonians 4: 13, 16-18;
1 Corinthians 15: 52-54. The
dead do not praise God, or
can’t communicate , don’t
know anything, don’t go to
heaven when they die,and
dangerous to try to contact
them. Psalms 115: 17,
seek the los