When Christ comes, all who belong to Him will be transformed in the twinkling of an eye. We will receive new bodies that can never age or die (1 Cor. 15:51-53). Our new bodies will be just like the body that Jesus Himself had after His resurrection (Phil. 3:20,21). Those who died in Christ will also arise from their graves in their new bodies and along with the living disciples of Jesus at that time, will rise into the air to meet the Lord (1 Thess. 4:13-17).
Then Christ will set up His judgment seat, at which we will be judged (assessed) and rewarded individually for our faithfulness in our earthly lives.
The Bible speaks of crowns being awarded in that day for those who have been faithful. You could read 2 Corinthians 5:10; 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 and 4:5; 2 Timothy 4:8 and 1 Peter 5:4 for more details of the rewards that will be given by the Lord to His disciples at that time.
In that day, we will see that "many who are first will be last and the last, first " (Matt. 19:30). Many who appeared to us to be very spiritual on earth, will then be seen as not having been so faithful in God's eyes. Others whom we may not have thought too highly of, will then be seen as having been faithful in God's eyes. In that day, the unknown but faithful widow will take precedence over the world-famous but unfaithful preacher.
In that day, we will discover that many things such as money and fame, that men considered valuable on earth have no value before God; and that many virtues that men did not value, such as purity, humility, unselfishness, mercy and goodness are valued greatly by God.
Then will take place what the Bible calls `the marriage of the Lamb of God' - the spiritual marriage of Jesus Christ with His Bride - the ones who were faithful in denying themselves and taking up the cross daily and following Him as His disciples on earth (Rev. 19:8-10). In that day we will see that it was worth it all to have suffered misunderstanding, shame, persecution and even death itself for the sake of our Lord and His gospel.
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Zac Poonen ( - Present)
God called brother Zac Poonen to a new work early on in his Christian experience. The movement is now called Christian Fellowship Churches where the New Covenant of New Testament Christianity is clearly preached.Brother Zac Poonen has written 25 books most of them being on the deeper Christian life. Many of these have been translated into a number of languages and have been circulated widely around the world. He clearly and passionately shares the narrow way of Christian discipleship that is neglected by so many modern preachers.
Recommends these books by Zac Poonen:
Through The Bible by Zac Poonen
The Final Triumph-A verse by verse study of the book of Revelation by Zac Poonen
Beauty for Ashes by Zac Poonen
Zac Poonen is a former Indian Naval Officer who has been in full time ministry in India for nearly 50 years as a Bible teacher and preacher. He holds responsibility for a number of churches in India and abroad. He currently pastors the Christian Fellowship Church in Bangalore, Karnataka.
He has written more than 25 books and numerous articles in English - which have been translated into many Indian and foreign languages. His messages are available on audio and video format.
Like the other elders in his church, Zac Poonen also supports himself and his family through what he describes as "tent-making" and does not receive any salary for his services. He does not receive any royalties for any of his books, CDs or DVDs, that are published by Christian Fellowship Centre, Bangalore.