“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement.”
Hebrews 9:27 KJV
Death is never easy to swallow, especially when it comes at a relatively young age. It is not a subject matter that families enjoy discussing and eagerly plan for.
We just humbly accept death as inevitable. But for most of us, we aren’t informed when it will happen. God generally doesn’t make it a habit of informing us of the exact day or hour that He has set for our final departure.
An appointment is an arrangement for a meeting. It’s something that is fixed or set, and associated with a season or a time to occur. There are many appointments we make in life; some we keep and some we break.
Hebrews 9:27 informs us that we have two definite appointments in life. These two appointments cannot be deleted by us from our smartphones or erased off our calendars because we didn’t initiate or arrange them; God did.
The first set appointment is a date with destiny, for we are appointed to physically die. This appointment is slated for every human. It is an unavoidable appointment because of a lethal matter called sin.
Romans 5:12 declares, “Wherefore, as by one man (Adam) sin entered the world, and death by sin, and so death passed (spread) upon all men, for all have sinned.”
It was after sin was committed in the garden of Eden when God informed Adam where he came from and decreed his return, “…for out of the ground were you taken: for dust you are, and unto dust shall you return” (Genesis 3:19).
Since death is certain yet its time unknown, it’s prudent to heed “Boast not yourself of tomorrow; for you do not know what a day may bring” (Proverbs 27:1) and “Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man” (Ecclesiastes 12:13).
The second set appointment is a date with eternity, for after death comes judgment. The Message version states, “Everyone has to die once, then face the consequences.”
In other words, it ain’t over when it’s over! The worldview or life perspective of “eat, drink, and be merry because there’s nothing after death” is a philosophy based on a false notion. The Bible doesn’t speak of death in terms of annihilation, but separation. At death, the spirit man is separated from the human body that simply housed it. In other words, we live on.
Just as every human has a date with physical death, even so does everyone have to face God’s judgement. Ecclesiastes 12:14 states, “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”
There isn’t anything we can do to skip the first appointment because it has been irrevocably set by God.
But concerning the second appointment, we can determine how we will spend it. We can spend it eternally in the presence of God as the righteous—as one who has placed his or her faith and trust in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). Or we can spend it eternally separated from the presence of God as the unrighteous—as one who hadn’t placed faith in Jesus Christ to be judged by one’s own life and deeds done (2 Thessalonians 1:8-10).
Rev. Johnson A. Beaven III is senior pastor of Citadel of Faith Church of God in Christ. Contact him via email at jabeaven@gmail.com, or via Twitter @jbeaven. For more information, visit www.CitadelCOGIC.com.
