Into the unknown (or not) by Gary Rose

An underwater roller-coaster??? Can you imagine such a thing?? I can only wonder what it must be like to vertically descend into this black hole surrounded by water. It must be one VERY SCARY RIDE! Roller-coasters can be dangerous, but at least you can see where you are going (well, that can be scary as well). Replace sight with the nothingness of sheer blackness and couple that with G-FORCES and there you go- an underwater roller-coaster!!

Intellectually, you know that you will come out OK, because we all KNOW that this is a form of entertainment, but what if you knew that you were descending into the unknown and genuinely had no knowledge that you would come out OK???  Describes DEATH, doesn't it???

But, wait, you do know, because the BIBLE tells you about it...

1 Corinthians, Chapter 15 (World English Bible)

 ¹ Now I declare to you, brothers, the Good News which I preached to you, which also you received, in which you also stand,  ² by which also you are saved, if you hold firmly the word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.  ³ For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,  ⁴ that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,  ⁵ and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.  ⁶ Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.  ⁷ Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,  ⁸ and last of all, as to the child born at the wrong time, he appeared to me also. (emp. added vss. 1-8) ⁹ For I am the least of the apostles, who is not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the assembly of God.  ¹⁰ But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.  ¹¹ Whether then it is I or they, so we preach, and so you believed. 

  ¹² Now if Christ is preached, that he has been raised from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?  ¹³ But if there is no resurrection of the dead, neither has Christ been raised.  ¹⁴ If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, and your faith also is in vain.  ¹⁵ Yes, we are also found false witnesses of God, because we testified about God that he raised up Christ, whom he didn’t raise up, if it is so that the dead are not raised.  ¹⁶ For if the dead aren’t raised, neither has Christ been raised.  ¹⁷ If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain; you are still in your sins.  ¹⁸ Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.  ¹⁹ If we have only hoped in Christ in this life, we are of all men most pitiable. 

  ²⁰ But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep.  ²¹ For since death came by man, the resurrection of the dead also came by man.  ²² For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. (emp. added vss. 12-22)

Jesus lived, died and lives again. These truths are corroborated by many, many witnesses. And they are TRUTHS!!! No one is telling you that you have to believe this, but as far as I am concerned it just makes sense to accept the testimonials. Death has been overcome, there is hope and the proof is the resurrected Jesus, who we call the CHRIST of God.

Somehow, now I think I could actually ride that roller-coaster with the black hole... NAW!!!!