No último dia, o grande dia da festa…

No último dia, o grande dia da festa…

The last enemy

We are never short on enemies: misery, loneliness, sickness, unemployment, unhappy love life, addictions, debt, family problems, etc. They are numerous, but they can all be overcome.
However, out of all of these enemies, the greatest is death. Many are aware of this, but others do not know that death is an enemy.
Death comes for the healthy and the sick, the young and the old, the rich and the poor. It can come at any time and in any place, whether it’s when you’re outside, at home, at work, in the hospital, on a plane, in church... It comes without warning. The location makes no difference to death.

There is a story where death tells a man that, within a week, he would come back to take his life. Desperate about not wanting to die, the man tries to deceive death. He goes to a costume party dressed up as a clown. When death arrives at the party, he searches for the man but does not find him. So death says: "Since I have not found the man I am looking for, I am going to take this clown instead."
The problem is that people have been more concerned about overcoming other enemies, and have ignored the greatest problem of all, which is death.
When the time comes for them to face death, their priority to overcome their other enemies causes them to become overcome by it.
The Scripture says: "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death," 1 Corinthians 15.26.
This means that after death there is nothing else to overcome. Death must be overcome now, and a daily sacrifice is needed to keep it defeated.
The phrase: "Once saved, always saved" is a lie of the devil.
This is why the Lord Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me," Luke 9.23.
But if death came right now, at this very moment, who would win? You or death?
For those who are overcome by death, there is still the suffering they will encounter during the second death, which is the lake of fire: "He who has ears, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death," Revelation 2.11.
Bishop Romualdo Panceiro

Uploaded videos (playlist)