If someone threaten you with a gun and gave you two options, ‘DENY JESUS’ or ‘DIE NOW’. What will you opt?
Answer:
I will opt to DENY JESUS. It is not because I really want to deny Jesus, but it is what God wants me to do at that situation to handle the situation by wisdom. Some may think it will be a sin to deny their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ and they may even lose their position in heaven. That is just because of their lack of right understanding of the bible.
To all who opt to DIE NOW, my questions are,
Do you think Peter is in hell now for he denied Jesus Christ 3 times and even cursed Jesus? NO. (Matthew 26:24, Mark 14:71 )
Did Jesus Christ denied Peter for denying Him and cursing Him? NO.(John 21:12-25)
If NO, Why do you think that you will go to hell or Jesus Christ will deny you?
If Peter acknowledged Jesus Christ at that moment, they might caught Peter and killed or crucified him. In that case, there won’t be no more Peter for Jesus to restore him back and to use him as a mighty tool for the spread of gospel. That is not the purpose Jesus had with Peter. Jesus preferred Peter to deny him and fulfill his purposes rather than acknowledging Him and die.
Friends, Rather than facing the bullet with a wide opened bosom, God wants you to use your wisdom at these kinds of situations. You may think it will be courageous and there will be some special reward to die like that for Jesus Christ. I absolutely doubt even such people will go to heaven because it is just like committing suicide if they did not try to escape when they had a chance.
There are many situations in which Jesus escaped when Jews tried to kill him. John 8:59, At this, they picked stones to throw at Him. But Jesus hid Himself and slipped away from the temple area. John 10:39, And again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.” Jesus escaped the situations by God’s help, by using His wisdom and physical movement. He could have stood there and to escape from the scenario can be considered as, not standing strong for God, not willing to die for God, not willing to die for His mission, not courageous and bold, etc.
Why do you think Jesus escaped the situations? The fact is Jesus Christ escaped those situations because it is not God’s time for him to die. If He opt to give Himself to death at that time, it will be like committing suicide without accomplishing the things He was sent for. That was not even going to be pleasant in the eyes of God Father. At the time for Jesus to die, He did not attempted to escape because He knew that it was His time to die and God won’t help Him as well to escape.
So what should I do? You have to use God’s help, your wisdom and try your best to escape from that situation alive by denying Jesus. Understand that it is not a sin to deny Jesus at that kind of moments and God will not deny you as well. In case even if you are seeking for an opportunity like that to die also you don’t have to worry about missing the opportunity to die thinking if you've missed God’s time and God made opportunity for you to die. Because if it is God’s time for you to die even if you escape, you will die somehow.
Now some of you might be confused about, Matthew 10:32 “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. 33 But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven.” Yes. Jesus said to do so in normal situation. Even we know that it is also not fair to deny Jesus in any general situations before our relations, friends, colleagues, etc. But it is not to acknowledge Jesus in a situation of threat for your life. Also understand that Peter denied Jesus after Jesus said these words.
BUT, there is another scenario in which it is going to happen. It is at the time of tribulation and reign of Antichrist, if someone threaten you and give you two options, MARK OF ANTICHRIST IN FOREHEAD / HAND or DIE NOW. Surely you must opt to DIE NOW because if you opt the other, you will not go to heaven as bible makes it very clear that those who accepts the mark of Antichrist will not go to heaven. At that time, be happy to opt DIE NOW because surely you can go to heaven and it would be better to die rather than living at the time of tribulation. Revelation 13.
