"But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the LORD, one day IS as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (2 Peter 3:8 NKJV)  

The Word strongly emphasizes that "THIS ONE THING, WE SHOULD NOT FORGET"...

     Man is a triune being, being a composite of three parts: a spirit, a soul and a body. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23, the Spirit of God plainly tells us that we need to present our WHOLE being blameless at the coming of the LORD. Namely, all three parts of the spirit, soul and body need to be presented blameless, or saved. When it comes to the salvation of our whole being, the "salvation of the spirit" deals with overcoming the PENALTY of sin. The "salvation of the soul" deals with overcoming the POWER of sin. The "salvation of the body" deals with overcoming the PRESENCE of sin. And when it comes to OVERCOMING, the Word of God says this, "He who OVERCOMES, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne..." (Revelation 3:21).

     In other words, by specifically calling man out on all three parts being blameless at the coming of the LORD, the Word of God itself makes a distinction between the salvations of the spirit, the soul and the body. With this in mind, some preliminary distinctions between the “salvation of the spirit” and the “salvation of the soul” can be viewed as follows. Compared with the salvation of the spirit, which takes place at a "point IN time", the salvation of the soul takes place as a "process OVER time". The salvation of the spirit is through "faith IN Christ" (Romans 10:10). The salvation of the soul is through "faithfulness TO Christ" (2 Chronicles 16:9). The salvation of the spirit is about being "rightly related" to God. This is POSITIONAL. The salvation of the soul is about "relating rightly" with God. This is RELATIONAL. The salvation of the spirit is the choice between "life and death" or "heaven and hell". The salvation of the soul is to do with daily choosing between "the kingdom of God" and "the world or mammon".

     In respect of our salvation, Philippians 2:12 has some very strong words to say about it, exhorting us to "work out" our salvation with "fear and trembling". And given that the spirit of man is renewed at a POINT in time, it is clear that Philippians 2:12 is refering to the "salvation of the soul", which is something we need to work out as a process OVER TIME. The reason why we have to work it out is two-fold. Firstly, it's a step-by-step journey as we follow Christ up the mountain of salvation. Which is why we are called to follow. Because following is one step at a time. But secondly, WE have to work it out because whilst the spirit belongs to God, the soul belongs to man. WE need to choose how much of our soul life we are prepared to lay down on the cross that it may come alive to eternal power and divine nature of Christ. The evidence of this is seen with Jesus Himself. Jesus is the living Son of God, and yet when it came to His crucifixion, Jesus is recorded as having said, "however, not My will, but the will of My Father who sent Me." The will is part of the soul. The soul is made up of the mind, the emotions AND the will. So Jesus Himself had to die to His own will or soul. He effectively, like us too, had to deny it, for the sake of God the Father. So, because the soul belongs to man, man himself needs to deliberately and willingly "choose" to save his soul, and work out his salvation together with the Lord, Who IS faithful, and Who WILL also do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

     Philippians prompts the two big questions of (1) HOW do we "work out" our salvation? and (2) WHY is the salvation of the soul something that needs to be accomplished with "fear and trembling"? The HOW and WHY we need to figure out. But the WHEN part we already know to be "at the coming of the LORD", which also signifies the onset of "the Kingdom of Christ" (or otherwise referred to as the Millennium era foretold in Revelations). The living Word shows that the reward for the "salvation of the soul" is that our "works" of saving our soul will be rewarded, and this reward is with being allowed to rule side-by-side with Christ the King, as joint kings, over the world, during the millennium period. "For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and the He will reward each according to his works." (Matthew 16:27). In Revelation 5:10, the Word of God says, "They will rule as kings on the earth." And it says "on earth", not "in heaven". So this is during the millennium period.

     In Matthew 25:1-12, it says, "The kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Now five of them were wise, and five of them WERE foolish. Those who were foolish, took their lamps and took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps... And while they (the foolish brides) went to buy (oil), the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut." So where as before, the Word says knock and it shall be opened (Matthew 7:7), here the opposite happens. The door is SHUT!

     "Afterwards the other virgins came also, saying 'Lord, Lord, open up to us!' But he answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you." The bridegroom is clearly Christ Jesus, because the foolish brides refer to Him as "Lord, Lord!" All ten virgins were all equally brides of Christ. Being a bride of Christ implies they were all saved or Christians. Yet, even though ALL were saved, only five went into the wedding, or entered the Kingdom of Christ. The big question is "Why?" The answer is that as with any marriage, being a "bride" of Jesus requires "being faithful TO" Christ, or the husband. Being faithful TO Christ requires turning one's back on unfaithfulness or adultery, which the Word describes as being friends with "the world". "You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God?" (James 4:4). Hence, all of mankind are presented or confronted with the choice between "the world" and "the kingdom". Faithfulness TO Jesus speaks to the twin WORKS of "denying the self" (denying satisfying our souls or denying the world) and "taking up one's cross" (seeking first the kingdom, serving the kingdom (Matthew 16:25). By being faithful TO Christ, through these works, we thereby save our souls.

     The world is capable of fully satisfying our souls with all of its delights (which are not all sin), and with its various lusts (which are sin), and with its material treasures (not all bad things). By satisfying our souls now, by fulfilling our desires, or our souls now, we put ourselves first, not God. And God says very plainly that the first commandment is to first love God with all our soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30), and THEN to love others as ourselves. It doesn't say that we are to love OURSELVES with all of our soul, mind and strength or that the love of ourselves comes first, and then to love God next. However, if our soul IS being filled by the world, it is also firstly not being filled by God. Secondly, if it is being filled with the world, we are not LOVING GOD with "all of our soul" because what we fill it with is what we value. So, by contrast, we are in fact then loving THE WORLD with all of our soul, mind and strength.

     The theme of the "kingdom of the world" is OPPOSITE and contrary to theme of the "kingdom of Christ". The world is about TAKING, and about the three-way persona of "me, myself and I". The kingdom is about GIVING and about the three-way persona of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. By satisfying our souls NOW, in this life, with what the world offers, we are firstly "taking", not denying, and secondly, we are also seeking to save our souls or our lives now by taking to ensure they are satisfied. But the Lord plainly says "he who seeks to save his life will lose it. But he who loses his life for My sake will gain it." (Matthew 16:25). The Word also says we cannot serve two masters (Luke 16:13). "Ye cannot serve God and mammon.' [Riches or material wealth]. So those who seek to save their souls with the world now, will get the world later too, after the Lord comes. They will not inherit the kingdom of Christ. Those who seek the kingdom now, will get the kingdom later too, after the Lord comes.

     So, in answering the second part of the big question above, the attribute of with "fear and trembling" becomes clearer by referencing first, Matthew 25:1-12 above. Who wants to one day hear the Lord saying to you "I know you not!"? The idea of hearing this fills me with fear and trembling. Having said that, "fear and trembling" becomes even more clearer by also referencing our opening scripture above of 2 Peter 3:8. Here the Word of God says, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the LORD, one day IS as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." The millennium period is a thousand year period, the advent of which triggers at the second coming of Christ Jesus. The meaning of 2 Peter 3:8 is that for those who are WITH the LORD (it says "with the LORD"), and who will rule alongside Christ, that because their souls will be filled then, that for them a thousand years shall be like a day. Our souls will be so full and satisfied that a thousand years will be as if it were a day. These are the "wise brides" or "spiritual Christians", being those who "seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness (Matthew 6:33) and unto whom all these things shall be added (namely, salvation, the kingdom, the crown of glory). These are the wise brides because only "the wise" can also be kings.

     But for those who don't deny themselves now, and thereby lose their lives later, for all of these, these will be given what they chose, namely the world, and each day will be like a thousand years for them. These are the "foolish brides" or "carnal Christians". Can you imagine enduring a time where your soul cannot be satisfied, and where each day is like a thousand years? And, not only this, but where that is what one day feels like when the period itself is also a thousand years? Therein lies another very compelling reason to work out the salvation of our souls with "fear and trembling".

     So, with the help of 2 Peter 3:8, we see that those Christians who have both denied themselves (denied the world and the lusts of their flesh and the desires of their souls), which are those who have turned their hearts and backs on "the lusts of the eyes", "the lusts of the flesh" and "the pride of life", which is to turn their hearts and backs on all that is the world (1 John 2:16) -- being the three ways that the old nature not alive to Christ imprisons the soul -- and who have also taken up their cross (sought first the kingdom of God), being those who are "wise", these will ultimately have their lives saved, and in doing so, will have their souls filled and satisfied by ruling alongside their King for a thousand years as kings themselves. Those who are NOT wise now, and do not die to self now, thereby seeking to saving their souls will neither "enter the kingdom" nor "dine at the great wedding banquet". And for these, each day of the millennium shall be like a thousand years. That's effectively a thousand years for each day multiplied by a thousand years.

     Let's not get self-denial or denial of the world confused with "asceticism" [the man-made doctrine that a person can attain a high spiritual and moral state by self-denial, or extreme abstinence]. Asceticism is just another way of man trying to save their own soul, but not for Jesus' sake, but for their own sake. The Word says "he who tries to save his life shall lose it, but he who loses it FOR MY SAKE shall gain it." Many can deny themselves simply for the sake of denying themselves. But that has nothing to do with Jesus. That is asceticism. They are not doing it to put the kingdom first. So in the kingdom sense, denying self in Matthew 16:25 is not about asceticism. It is about a choice of CITIZENSHIP and allegiance, first. And then its about SERVING that kingdom to which you are a citizen, which is about "taking up your cross".

     Also, John 3:5 states that, "unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." So we first have to be spiritually saved to know that a kingdom of God even exists. This is the first choice that frames us, between "heaven and hell". The second choice is between the kingdom and the world. Asceticism for asceticism's sake has nothing to do with making a choice between the Kingdom of God or the world. And you don't need to be born again to pursue asceticism, which you do need to be in order to then make a choice between the world or mammon and the kingdom of God. You get Tibetan monks, for example, who alienate themselves from the world and deny themselves of all worldly pleasure. But it profits nothing from a kingdom perspective, for they do not do it for Jesus. There is no kingdom focus or goal. Because it's one thing to dedicated oneself "to God" by alienating oneself from the world, but did Jesus not say, "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world, but that you protect them from the evil one"? (John 17:15). To protect us from the evil one, we need to be IN the world. But more importantly, how does one complete the two greatest commandments of loving the LORD your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength, and then loving your neighbour as yourself if you alienate yourself from the world. Jesus called us to go INTO the world so that we may first drink from the cup of plenty through communion with God (the greatest commandment) and then pour out that love through community with man (the second greatest commandment).

"If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" Matthew 16:24-26 (NKJV) For what profit is it to a man if he GAINS "the whole world" and LOSES "his own soul". By gaining the world, or choosing the world, we lose our soul.

There is logical sequence in the pattern of the Word that flows as spiritual building blocks from the kingdom physics of "FEAR AND TREMBLING" to the foundation of "WISDOM" upon which the glory of the house that is "SALVATION OF THE SOUL" is built and established. For is it not written: "By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches" (Proverbs 24:3)?

It is for these reasons that we work out my salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). In respect of fear, the Word also says that fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10). In respect of wisdom, the Word of God says that he who saves souls is wise (Proverbs 11:30). So our fear brings us wisdom, and our wisdom saves our souls. It's a self-fulfilling cycle of life. 

To God be the glory, forever and ever. Amen and amen.

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