This column is written as a reminder of what everyone knows will happen on a particular day in the future.  I’m not talking about Armageddon or the end of the world as we know it.  I’m not speaking of the last judgment or the second coming of Jesus Christ.  I am not referring to your death or mine (though some of these events may be related).

I’m talking about the day that few have bothered to conceive, that even fewer have pondered and that hardly anyone thinks to mention.  I am talking about THE day.  Yes, that one—the day that will dawn for each of us, though not necessarily on the same date.

Whenever and however it comes, it will be a day like no other—a day larger than life, a day that transcends mortal life.  On that momentous day, fate will confront us personally, without disguise or uncertainty.  On that day, we will come face-to-face with destiny.  Our gaze will at last and all at once behold with perfect clarity, the Ultimate Reality.

What is the Ultimate Reality?  It is that to which everything else merely points.  It is the fountainhead from which all verities spring.  It is that center from which all matter manifests and all energy emanates.  It is that power, presently invisible, from which the universe is derived and by which it is operated, controlled, and sustained.

What I’ve described so far is miles away from philosophy or religion.  It just is.  And the day will come for each of us, when the clouds vanish and the substance is laid bare.

This is that epochal day on which history, having stopped abruptly, leaves no more footprints, echoes itself no more.  This is the hour when the oracles are speechless, and the experts are confounded (not to say dumbfounded).  This is that moment when the curtain comes down on every shabby fraud, devious deception, sinister conspiracy, and malicious plot.  As the stage lights come up, every dirty little secret will be caught in the glare, shockingly and shamefully exposed.

Whether or not we choose to admit it, this day is hurrying toward us, drawing inexorably nearer, whether we wake or sleep, seek it out or try to hide ourselves.  It is the day that exposes the limits of imagination, marks the end of fantasy, causes the instantaneous demise of fiction and brings the long-promised cessation of prophecies.  It is the day when all guesses are put to the test and all lies fall to the ground and fester in the sunshine like carrion.

The upside is, that all questions are answered.  The downside is the same, because we may not like those answers, yet must live with them and their consequences…forever.  Those who were wrong about the important things will see their colossal error and realize with simultaneous horror that everyone else sees it, too.  Fools will be revealed for what they are and the mendacious for what they are.  Evildoers’ deeds will be manifest and unmistakably identified with their true sources.

Those who were right all along about the important things will see their final and unequivocal vindication.  They will realize with joy that all others recognize it, as well.

We cannot know until the actual arrival of this day whether it will affect every individual experiencing it in the same way.  A universal reaction seems likely: sudden, absolute, and eerie silence, together with a strange and total focus of the mind.  But no matter.  The day itself will confirm or refute all speculation.

When you open your eyes to the Ultimate Reality, what will you see?  Will everything be just as you imagined it, or might there be some huge surprises?   If so, will they most likely be pleasant ones or do you suspect they will be disagreeable?  Are you concerned that the truth, once you have laid eyes on it, might change everything about the future you envisioned for yourself?  As you try to picture it, do you see yourself rejoicing in triumph or recoiling in dread at what that day will surely uncover?

You may be thinking, ‘My eyes won’t open at all.  When I’m dead, I’m dead.  THAT’S the ultimate reality.’  That’s conjecture at best, and at worst, is simply the most convenient dodge for anyone bent on rejecting personal responsibility and accountability.

Is there an alternative to speculation?  Absolutely.  The alternative to speculation is revelation.  But it is essential that the source of this revealing be authoritative and completely reliable.  To qualify, the source must consistently be proven right—as in, never proven wrong.  And this record must be maintained over the long haul—thousands of years, at least.

That’s just for openers.  Our source of information about the ultimate Reality must be able to stand the ultimate test.  Which source(s) can foretell the future, making hundreds of specific, detailed prophecies centuries or even millennia ahead, each one literally fulfilled, with 100% accuracy?  Only one: the Bible.

The Bible is by far the most numerous, most widely distributed, most studied, most researched, most investigated, most quoted, most trusted, most beloved and most transformative source of information, intelligence and insight on the planet.  Penned by at least 40 men in 66 different books, over a span of 1600 years, the Bible presents persistent themes and adheres to a singular storyline.  That’s because all of it, according to the Bible itself, is inspired by God:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”  (II Timothy 3:16-17)

“For the prophecy came not in old time [long ago] by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.”  (II Peter 1:21)

Oh, and one more thing: it’s alive—the Bible reads and ministers to you, as you read and internalize it: “For the word of God is quick [living], and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”  (Hebrews 4:12)

Having established a credible source uniquely and unquestionably qualified to inform us about the Ultimate Reality that awaits just beyond, we can now go on to consider what ultimate reality looks like.  The 45^th chapter of Isaiah makes it very clear.  God is the most real thing there is, as declared in these excerpts from God’s own testimony about Himself:

⁵ “I am the Lord, and there is none else, there is no God beside me…⁶ That they may know from the rising of the sun, and from the west, that there is none beside me. I am the Lord, and there is none else. ⁷I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things. ”

¹² “I have made the earth, and created man upon it: I, even my hands, have stretched out the heavens, and all their host have I commanded.”

 ¹⁸ “For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God himself that formed the earth and made it; he hath established it, he created it not in vain, he formed it to be inhabited: ‘I am the Lord; and there is none else.’”

²¹ ”Tell ye, and bring them near; yea, let them take counsel together: who hath declared this from ancient time? who hath told it from that time? have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside me; a just God and a Saviour; there is none beside me.”

God’s nature is “just,” so, He cannot ignore our transgressions.  Sin must be punished, as demanded in God’s own law.  But God is also a “Savior.”  Out of His astounding love and mercy, God sacrificed His only begotten Son, Jesus, in our place.  Jesus suffered and died to pay the full penalty for our sins.  In this way, God becomes the Savior of all who repent of their sins, believe in Jesus’ innocent death on the cross, His burial, His resurrection on the third day, and His glorious return to rule and reign.

God’s gift of salvation from death and hell is free to anyone who confesses that Jesus is Lord and puts their trust in Him and Him alone.  God’s invitation to you still stands: ²² “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.” 

To paraphrase: ‘Don’t look for deliverance elsewhere.  I am the sole source of life, of reconciliation, of pardon and peace.  Look to Me!  Don’t spurn or ignore My gift and so, be eternally lost.  Take it and be saved!  My offer of grace and forgiveness extends to the whole earth!  All are welcome to turn to Me and accept it.  Don’t delay, come now!  Because My holiness and righteousness condemn those who reject the provision I made at supreme cost, to save them.’

Referring to this provision for taking away sin, Jesus said “…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”  (John 14:6)  He also explained,

¹⁶ ”For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  ¹⁷ For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.  ¹⁸ He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”  (John 3:16-18)

Those are the facts.  If you belong to Christ today, I rejoice with you in your salvation and your adoption into God’s family.  If not, your current status is “condemned.”  I hope that this greatly concerns you, especially in these perilous times in which we live.  [I am concerned FOR you!]  The good news is, that the promise is for you and the door is still open.  Come to Jesus, my friend.  He is the Ultimate Reality.  Come now.  Here’s how.

HOW TO BE SAVED:

• Admit to God that you are a sinner (that you have not kept His moral law to perfection; in your thoughts, words, and actions you have done what His law forbids and have failed to do what His love demands).  This is seeing yourself from God’s point of view and agreeing that He is right about you.  Be as specific as you can.
• Believe in your heart that Jesus died for your sins and that God raised Him from the dead.
• Sincerely repent (turn away) from your sins, asking God to forgive you and to use His power to help you resist temptation, no matter how strong the pull of sin may be, at first.
• Acknowledge Jesus as the Lord of your life.  Invite Him to move into your heart and take up residence there, so that He can change you from the inside out.
• Trust His promise to save you and give you a new spiritual birth and a new nature (thoughts, desires, priorities, hopes, dreams, and character).

SOME KEY TRUTHS:

• “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  (Romans 3:23)
• “As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one.”  (Romans 3:10)
• “For the wages of sin is death: but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”  (Romans 6:23)
• “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  (John 3:16)
• “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”  (Romans 5:8)
• “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures.”  (I Corinthians 15:3,4)
• “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:12)
• “Behold, I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him…”  (Revelation 3:20)
• “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”  (Romans 10:13)
• “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”  (Romans 10:9-10)
• “Verily, verily, I say unto you; He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life; and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”  (John 5:24)
• “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, ye might have life through his name.”  (John 20:31) 
• “These things I have written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”  (I John 5:13)