“For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.” – Peter 4:6, the Sole Path Bible
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PRAYERS ALONE NOT ENOUGH TO FIGHT TYPHOONS’ ILL EFFECTS, COMMENTATORS SAY: People who are calling for prayers among Filipinos in view of the Super Typhoon “Rolly” should realize that only the prayers of those who listen to, and obey, the Word of God would be effective in battling the death and destruction coming from natural calamities.
This was the consensus arrived at in the online morning show “21 Minutos” during its airing on October 30, 2020. The panelists were Pastor Jojo Gonzales and Atty. Noy Macatangay of the Capitol Christian Leadership, and Atty. Batas Mauricio of the AND KNK Christian Church.
Pastor Jojo, Atty. Noy, and Atty. Batas discussed the topic “What is the most effective way to combat the ill effects of coming typhoons?” They said it is no longer sufficient to merely pray for God’s protection.
What is required is that people should learn to faithfully listen to, and obey, the Word of God, so God will grant them their prayer requests, the three said.
“Faithfully listening to, and obeying, God’s Word require a lifetime of practise, but this is easier said than done,” they added. They pointed out that Filipinos and other nations have been used to false practices and traditions through time when it comes to faith, and this is preventing God’s blessings to come upon them, they said.
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ALL SAINTS’ DAY: ARE WE DOING IT CORRECTLY? Is there any benefit at all, for the dead and the living, that a day in one year be devoted to remembering the dead or the departed? And assuming that there is some benefit to these annual remembrances, are Filipinos doing it—the current manner of remembering the dead, I mean—correctly, as it were, so that the supposed benefit is achieved by both the living and the dead?
I believe, and so does the “Anak ng Diyos Kadugo Ni Kristo” (Children of God Blood Kin of the Christ) Church, that there is indeed a great benefit for remembering the dead, and, if we are correct in this belief, we are similarly convinced that the practice of remembering the dead just once in a year, on every first day of November, may not really be enough to receive that benefit.
What is the benefit in remembering the dead that I am talking about? The Bible specifically mentions this benefit when it says that there is something that can be done to snatch away the dead who died as sinners from eternal fire, to enable them to still live in the presence of God in eternal life, together with all the other obedient believers.
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THE EXAMPLE OF HOW THE DEAD SHOULD BE REMEMBERED: This would of course be a shocking point of view to many, but let me explain. In one passage in the Bible, we are told that Jesus Christ, our God and Savior, went, after His resurrection, to a place where the spirits of dead men and women were being held in prison (significantly, the Bible did not give a specific name to this place).
What did Jesus do while He was in that “prison of spirits?” He preached to the spirits which were already there. The New International Version says: “After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits—to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built…”
The obvious intent of Jesus in preaching to the “spirits in prison” was to cleanse them of sin even if they are already dead, so that, though these disobedient people died from the flood during the time of Noah, they would still be redeemed and thereafter given eternal life in paradise. Wonderful display of God’s love, if you ask me, even if totally disconcerting to many Christians.
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PREACH TO THE DEAD, NOT JUST PRAY FOR THEM: But that is not all there is to this “preaching to spirits of the dead.” It is likewise clear from the Bible that it was not only to the dead sinners during Noah’s time that preaching should be made, but even to all the dead of the world up to this time, so that these dead “present-day” sinners—or those who died after Noah’s flood—could also be enabled to live in Paradise in the presence of God even if they died as sinners.
I am referring to the biblical passage which says: “For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit…” From this, it is beyond doubt that preaching to, not just praying for, the dead would yield a better result.
Summing up all these, it is therefore very clear, as the “Anak ng Diyos Kadugo Ni Kristo” Church teaches, that not only must we remember the dead. We must also preach to them, so that, even if they died as sinners, they could still be forgiven their sins and thereafter enabled to live in the presence of God. It is also clear that preaching to the dead must not be made just once a year, but every day of the year./WDJ