The EMPEROR AUGUSTUS: "Have I
played my part well? Then applaud, for the comedy is over!"
HENRY VIII.: "Everything is gone - kingdom, body and soul!"
CESARE BORGIA, the statesman, said: "During the course of my life I have
made provision for everything, bat I forgot about death. Alas, I die
unprepared."
CARDINAL MAZARIN: "Soul, what will become of thee?"
THOMAS HOBBES, a British philosopher: "I’m taking a fearful leap in the
dark."
DAVID HUME, the atheist, cried: "I am in the flames!" His despair was
an awful scene.
VOLTAIRE, the famous cynic, had a terrible end. His nurse said: "For all
the wealth of
Earl Montholon wrote about NAPOLEON: "The
Emperor is dying lonely and forsaken on this terrible rock. His death-struggle
is awful."
GOETHE: "More light!"
HEINRICH HEINE, the great cynic, later converted. Postscript to his poems
"Romancero" (30.9.1851) he wrote: "On one’s
deathbed one becomes very sensitive and wishes to make peace with God and the
world . . . Poems which contained abuse against God I delivered to the flames.
It is better to burn the verse than the writer. I have returned to God like the
Prodigal Son after tending the pigs with the Hegelians for a long time.
Theologically I must confess my conversion to a personal God."
NIETZSCHE died out of his mind.
SIR THOMAS SCOTT, former president of the British House of Lords: "Until
now I thought there was no God or hell. Now I know there is
both, and I am doomed."
The daughter of STALIN, Swetlana Alliujewa,
was called to the dying dictator in March 1953 on his datscha
in Kunzewo. She said: "My father’s dead was
difficult and terrible. God gives the righteous an easy death."
CHURCHILL: „What a fool I have been."
JEAN-PAUL SARTRE: "I have failed."
Can you really believe that those cited above were pretending in their hour of
death? Death is a terrible reality for those who die without peace with God. We
try to ignore any thoughts about death. We do not want to be reminded of our
end. But is such an attitude a wise one?
VOLTAIRE, DAVID HUME and others would surely have laughed or scoffed if during
their lifetime one had told them that without Christ they would be eternally
lost. Nonetheless, they had to realize and admit that the Bible is right in
stating: "It is appointed to men once to die, and after death comes judgement." (Hebrews 9,27)
In what manner are y o u going to die? Will it be too
late also in y o u r case? What will be y o u r last words?
Dear reader, we must tell you the truth whether you believe it or not: without
Christ and the forgiveness of your sins through His Blood you a r e lost. This means a total and eternal damnation. If you
think that death is the end of everything, you belong to the most deluded
people on earth. There is only One who can save you:
the Lord Jesus Christ.
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3,16)
JESUS CHRIST, the Son of God, prayed for those who had crucified him:
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." And
before he died he cried in a loud voice: "It is finished!" -
"Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!" (Luke 24 and John 19)
STEPHEN, the first martyr, was full of the Holy Spirit. He looked up to heaven
and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at his right hand. While they were
stoning him he prayed: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." (Acts 7,59)
MARTIN LUTHER, the great reformer, prayed before his death: "Father, into
your hands I commit my spirit, you have redeemed me, o Lord, God of
truth."
DWIGHT L. MOODY, the blessed evangelist, died gloriously: "This is my
coronation day. If this is death, it is sweet!"
HELMUT J. Graf von MOLTKE wrote 24 hours before he was executed by the Nazis to
his wife: "How gracious is God to me! My heart is full of thanks, there is no room for anything else."
Oberst von ROENNE wrote even on the place of
execution (12.10.1944) on a piece of paper: "In a few minutes I am going
home to my Lord and Saviour. He is standing at my side giving me the security of
my salvation."
A Chinese communist, through whom many Christians had been executed, said to a
pastor: "I have seen many of you die. The Christians die in a different
way. What is your secret?"
Do y o u want to know the secret? Say this prayer if
you truly mean to come to Christ and if you are earnestly seeking peace with
God: "Lord Jesus, please forgive me all my guilt and sins. Forgive my
rebellious self-righteous spirit. I thank You that You
died for me and with Your own Blood paid the price for my sins. Please, come
into my life now. I open my heart’s door and ask You
henceforth to be the Lord of my life. I thank You that
You have heard and accepted me."
When you pray such a prayer it is not the words that matter, but the attitude
of your heart. Do you come as a truly repentant sinner?
Jesus said: "Him who comes to Me I will most
certainly not cast out." He alone was able to rob death of its gruesome
power.
If you wish you can smile about what you just have been reading, You can try to erase it from your mind. But in this way you
will not escape death either. Listen to the words of King David about the
brevity and vanity of life: "Show me, o Lord, my life’s end and the number
of my days: let me know how fleeting is my life. You
have made my days a mere handbreath; the span of my
years is as nothing before you. Each man’s life is but a breath. Man is a mere
phantom as he goes to and fro: he bustles about, but only in vain; he heaps up
wealth, not knowing who will get it." (Psalm 39,4-6)
He can only accept the warning of the prophet Amos when he says: "Prepare
to meet your God." (Amos 4,15)
Herausgeber:
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