You're Strong Enough (22 page)

Dependent upon your choices, you will be placed in one of three kingdoms: the Telestial, Terrestrial or Celestial kingdom, or in outer darkness. These kingdoms are referenced in John 14:2-3 were it states, “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” And in 1 Cor. 15:40-41, “There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. 41. There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.” As stated, each kingdom has a different degree of brightness and glory.

Telestial Kingdom

The lowest kingdom is called the telestial kingdom. It is compared to the brightness of the stars, as stated in 1 Cor. 15:41, “…another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.”
Those who will be placed here are those that wanted nothing to do with their own quest and were determined to try to make others fail on theirs.
They ate every caramel apple placed in front of them and let the dragon, Satan, be their puppeteer.

Those who will be placed in the telestial kingdom are those who murdered, lied, raped, stole, committed adultery…It is a place for those evil people who followed Satan and His designs by hurting others and wanted nothing to do with the Savior or Heavenly Father’s plan.

Those who dwell here are those who looked for every opportunity while on their quest, to hurt others, eat only caramel apples, abuse their bodies and any other act that either put them on top through selfish designs or indulged in every indulgence while on Earth. This kingdom will be similar to Earth. It will have its beauty but far, far less than the beauty of the other higher kingdoms.

This kingdom will hold less power, joy, love and unity than the other higher kingdoms.
Those who dwell here will receive unto themselves what they have done unto others (i.e., darkness begets darkness, hate begets hate.) Those who dwell here did not repent and rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ and as a result will suffer as Christ suffered for the wrongs they did unto others and themselves. This kingdom will have the visitation of the Holy Ghost and no other.

Terrestrial Kingdom

The middle kingdom is called the terrestrial kingdom. It will be as bright as the moon, as referenced in 1 Cor. 15:40-41, “and the glory of the terrestrial is another…glory of the moon…”
Those who are rewarded or placed in this kingdom are those who took their quest lightly.
They would tread lightly on slightly bumpy roads and would put on Band-Aids when needed but not take them off (not forgive everyone). They repented when they found it convenient. It is a place for honorable people who didn’t try to harm others, sometimes only themselves.

They repented of some things but didn’t repent of others.
They knew and loved Jesus Christ but they kept their favorite sins or ate their favorite caramel apples.
They didn’t want to completely give up what was necessary to follow Christ and climb every mountain placed before them because they wanted things to be easy.

This kingdom will be like the Garden of Eden where the colors and plant life will be beautiful, but far less than the highest kingdom.
This kingdom will have more power, love and joy than the telestial kingdom, but far less than the celestial kingdom.
Those who are awarded this kingdom will be happy and content, but will not receive a fullness of joy and peace with their families like unto those in the celestial kingdom. This kingdom will receive visits from the Savior Jesus Christ.

Celestial Kingdom

The highest kingdom is called the celestial kingdom as referenced in 1 Cor. 15:40-41, “There are also celestial bodies…the glory of the celestial is one…There is one glory of the sun…” This kingdom is compared to the glory of the sun and where we will receive all that the Father has as stated in Rev. 21:7, “He that overcometh shall inherit all things…” This is where our Heavenly Father lives.
This is the kingdom where we will receive our eternal reward as princes and princesses in the Kingdom of God.
It is our ultimate goal. Here, we will be rewarded everything because we defeated the dragon and endured to the end.

Those who are rewarded the celestial kingdom will find true peace and ultimate joy with their families and loved ones who also made it there. In Ps 16:11 it speaks of true joy, “Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fullness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
Not only will you have a fullness of joy in this kingdom, but it will be far more beautiful, vibrant and alive than any other kingdom or human could imagine.

The celestial kingdom holds all power, love, peace and creation that no other kingdom will possess.
This kingdom is for those who defeated the dragon, helped others in need, went the extra mile, put on and took off every Band-Aid when wounded (forgiven all) and completely loved Jesus Christ.
Because they loved Jesus Christ they truly believed in His Gospel, received all of His ordinances, completely followed Him, tried to do His will above their own and did all that they had to do in order to come out victorious in the
end.

These are those who wore the shoes of the Gospel (i.e., faith, repentance, baptism, all ordinances) on their quest in order to get through it successfully. For they knew without shoes they would not be able to climb certain mountains or tread over certain terrain. They used the shoes of the Gospel to overcome all obstacles and defeat the dragon.

Those who receive eternal life with our Heavenly Father climbed every mountain that was placed before them and returned with honor.
And as a result they will be crowned as heirs in the Kingdom of God, as stated in 2 Tim. 4:8, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” These are they who will be told in the end, “Well done thou good and faithful son or daughter, receive your reward.”

Outer Darkness

In addition to the three kingdoms, there is also a place called outer darkness, as referenced in Matt 8:12, “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” This is where Satan and His followers will dwell.
Those humans that will be cast down into outer darkness are those who received a witness of Jesus Christ, had His Gospel, knew it was true by the witness of the Holy Ghost, and then denied it
(Satan and his followers in the Preexistence and those like Judas Iscariot, who was one of Jesus’ apostles, who betrayed Him).

For example, those who dwell here will have received a witness that the quest is real, that Jesus Christ is the Savior and Redeemer of the world, had on the full armor of God, received all the ordinances of the Gospel, and then denied it, joined teams with Satan and fully rebelled against God. Not many Earthly beings will go to this realm because they would’ve had to have a personal witness from the Holy Ghost of Jesus Christ being the Savior of the World and then rebelled against Christ and lead others down dark paths.

Humans that are cast down into outer darkness are basically those who have sold their soul to Satan and help Satan try to destroy others on their quest by deceiving them and leading them away from Jesus Christ and His Gospel.
This realm is full of darkness for it holds no joy, love, compassion, or any other good attribute and is known as Hell. Hell is a place full of unquenchable fire, wailing and gnashing of teeth and complete and utter hopelessness.

The Choice is Yours

Though your quest may be hard because of rough terrain (free agency), steep mountains (family dysfunction), raging waters (violence), deep wounds (unforgiveness) and sometimes impossible obstacle courses (addiction), God has not left us alone.
He gave us everything we would need here on Earth in order to conquer our quest and become heirs in His Kingdom.
If you find yourself not succeeding, ask yourself why? Have you used every tool God has giving you? Do you believe in God? Do you believe in yourself? If you can answer yes to those three questions then you are strong enough to complete this quest victoriously.

You only have one shot at this quest while on Earth. Those who did not hear about the Gospel of Jesus Christ or about the armor of God will be given that opportunity in the spirit world, but will still be judged on how they treated their bodies, themselves and others. Remember, everyone was given the light of Christ to differentiate between right and wrong.

You are a child of God and are of royal birth. You have been placed on Earth, knighted with a body, to be tested and tried in order to see if you are worthy of being an heir in His Kingdom.

What you do here on Earth will determine where you will live for eternity.

Are you ready for your Earthly quest as a prince or princess of the Heavenly King to defeat the dragon in your life that will try to burn your future? The choice is yours to open your eyes and see why you are here and what you’re capable of. God has given us the armor of God, including, the Sword of the Spirit, to defeat the dragon of lies to win the battle of life. Ask yourself: Will you come out conqueror and victorious in the end?