Resurrection Life of Jesus Church

ESSENE COMMUNES
Essene communal living existed in Judea from 100 B.C. to about A.D. 70 when their way of living was destroyed by the Romans. The word “Essenes” refers to “the pious ones” or “the modest ones.” They were responsible for the Dead Sea scrolls found in the caves of Qumran in 1947.

They rejected the official priesthood in Jerusalem, and in order to practice their form of Judaism, they lived in communes with all things common – no individual owned any property. All wages were given to the communal leadership, who disbursed it according to the needs of each family.

Their main belief was that the arrival of the Messiah was imminent and their way of living allowed them to serve God better since wealth can corrupt people and this was their attempt at avoiding immorality.1

A CHRISTIAN COMMUNE
There is no proof in the New Testament that the 120 disciples of Jesus decided to copy the Essenes and live in communes. They were more than likely taken by surprise when 8,000 believers were added to their number in less than a week. Since many of these Jews were from other nations who had come to Jerusalem to be part of the Feast of Weeks, they needed lodging for an extended time in Jerusalem. Many decided to permanently stay in Jerusalem since they had been taught the return of Christ was imminent. Jesus never specified to the apostles that they were to live in communes Acts 4:32-37

SIN IN THE CAMP
The Devil and his minions continuously watched the early church develop and Lucifer decided to infiltrate Jesus’ people just as he had done previously with Judas Iscariot. Luke 22:3-6

This time Satan moved upon a wealthy husband and wife named Ananias and Sapphira. They had both been born again and were part of the Christian commune in Jerusalem. They decided to sell one of their properties and give it to the community, but felt the proceeds from the sale was worth too much and decided to hold back a part of it for themselves. Nevertheless, they wanted their benevolence to be publicly recognized and told Peter they were donating the full amount of the sale. Acts 5:1-2

The Devil did not yet fully understand how the Holy Spirit worked, so he and Ananias as well, were not prepared when the Holy Spirit informed Peter about the ruse. The apostle did not display any surprise when Ananias tried to deceive him, but immediately exposed the ploy. verses 3-4

Lying to God is a serious offence and the Holy Spirit killed Ananias on the spot. Deceit is completely unacceptable to God and great fear fell on all the people present as a result of the Holy Spirit’s actions. verse 5

Jewish custom dictated that a burial must take place within 24 hours. Peter ordered some of the younger men present to pick up Ananias’ body and bury him. verse 6

There is no mercy or grace shown when a Christian deliberately lies to God. Hebrews 10:30-31

Sapphira met with Peter three hours after her husband died. She was unaware of their deadly confrontation and the apostle gave her the opportunity to come clean when he asked about the price of the property sold and she lied to Peter without hesitation. Acts 5:7-8

Peter did not back down when she repeated the rehearsed falsehood and unsympathetically told her that the same men who had buried Ananias were now coming for her. She immediately dropped to the ground as the Holy Spirit executed her. verses 9-10

News of this event spread quickly as people realized that while the Holy Spirit was doing great things in convicting people over their sins and bring healing; however, when Christians lie to God, the third person of the Godhead is going to harshly judge them. verse 11

FINAL DESTINATION
There is a lot of conjecture as to whether Ananias and Sapphira went to heaven or hell. When a man or woman is convicted by the Holy Spirit to be saved (born again), they are presented with the fact that Jesus paid for the sins of the human race on the cross.  1 Peter 2:24; 3:18

When a man or woman repents and asks Jesus to save them, they are born again (the dead spirit is made alive) and their sins are forgiven. That refers to the sins of the past, the current sins, and all future sins. This is possible because Jesus bore our transgressions while hanging on the cross. This is why Jesus is able to offer eternal life. John 10:27-30

Salvation is not a process. It is an instant reversal as you are transferred from the Kingdom of Satan over to the Kingdom of God. Salvation is tangible and immediately grants you eternal life the moment you repent and make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Colossians 1:12-14; Romans 10:8-13

Based upon the aforementioned scriptures, we can safely state that Ananias and Sapphira went to heaven even though they lied to God and the Holy Spirit killed them.

ARRIVING IN HEAVEN
When Ananias and Sapphira arrived in heaven, they were told that they had a court date at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This revelation from the Lord had not yet been introduced by Paul. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15

Jesus later told Paul even more about what will take place at this judgment seat.
2 Corinthians 5:10-11

It is obvious that Paul did not receive a full revelation concerning the Judgment Seat of Christ in a single session with the Holy Spirit. These details came in bits and pieces as demonstrated by a later writing. Hebrews 10:26-31

TORMENTING ANGELS
Jesus warned about holy angels who will administer punishment to Christians who have sinned after their salvation and never covered those sins in the blood of Jesus.  Meaning, they came to heaven with unrepented transgressions.

Jesus recounted the parable of a king who did an audit of his servants. One particular servant, we’ll call him Ahab, owed the king $3.8 billion dollars. The king planned to sell Ahab and his family into slavery to recover some of the debt, but when Ahab begged for mercy, the king forgave him the entire debt. Matthew 18:23-27

Continuing the fictitious story, Abraham owed Ahab $3,200, a paltry amount compared to the $3.8 billion forgiven by the king. Ahab became violent when Abraham could not pay the debt, going so far as to grab him by the throat and demand that Abraham pay back the full amount immediately. Abraham begged Ahab for more time to pay the debt, but Ahab was merciless and had him committed to a debtor’s prison. verses 28-30

This sad event was witnessed by many people who knew how generous the king had been with Ahab and felt bad about Abraham not being shown any grace. When the story was recounted to the king, he furiously ordered soldiers to apprehend Ahab and rebuked him for not showing mercy. The king ordered Ahab turned over to the tormentors until his debt of $3.8 billion was paid in full. verses 31-34

Jesus warned the disciples that they would be turned over to the tormenters as well if they did not forgive those who hurt them. What is the takeaway?

Unforgiveness is a sin. You do not want to incur sin debts on earth, let alone take them with you to heaven. verse 35