The Goshen Effect (Poem, Part 3)

See the series here

The Goshen Effect, The Lord’s protective measures,

To gather, then shelter folks who to Him are dear,

Those who like precious gems, are His special treasures.

Away from His judgments, these folks He always steer. ¹

Sometime after completing Part 2 of this unique series,

The Lord grabbed my attention in a manner unshakable.

While I understood there are just three Goshen Effect stories,

He revealed to me a fourth that to some is …untenable!

In His ‘account’ of the rich man and Lazarus,

Jesus reveals there exists a post-death segregation.

About this main point, He was not ambiguous!

So let’s see what was going on in this situation. ²

In his death, the righteous man was at rest in ‘Abraham’s bosom’,

While the un-righteous man was tormented in hades,

Both with spirit and soul intact, in a conscious state, post-mortem!

(Attention and heads-up to what this account teaches!)

Voila! The fourth Goshen Effect pattern is thus revealed,

That, in death, The Lord ‘makes a difference’ that is perceived,

By the righteous, and folks who to un-righteousness did yield. ³

To this account, there’s another thread that The Gospels weave.

By Paul, The Holy Spirit reveals, in Christ’s resurrection,

He ascended, ‘leading captivity captive’. ⁴

While of this revelation there’re many interpretations,

To other Bible teachings, one is quite persuasive. 

To one thief on the cross, Jesus made a promise …unique:

‘Today, with Me you shall be in Paradise.’

Yet about the route Jesus took, much interest has been piqued.

Into ‘Earth’s lower parts’ of Earth, His Spirit went first. 

There, to dead righteous folks, He presented Himself as Christ,

Defeated the kingdom of satan, and was thus authorized,

To lead these folks though the now open-door to Paradise.

From dusty graves they were raised, before in Heaven they arrived! ⁵

So...

Of the Goshen Effect, I thought there were just three,

But The Lord revealed to me a fourth in folks who'd died.

In your study of The Scriptures, what do you see?

In life and death…

Between saints and sinners, His differences divide! ⁶

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¹ If this group remains faithful, they only experience The Lord’s chastisements or loving discipline, not His harsh judgments. (Hebrews 12:6-11) 

² See: Luke 16:19-31. Whether this is a real story or a parable does not change its effect or valuable insights Jesus imparted. This account is not of Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead.

³ See: Exodus 8:22, 9:4, 26

⁴ Ascended to Paradise, which is Heaven. See: Ephesians 4:7-10 

⁵ See: Matthew 27:52. Before Christ's resurrection, satan had the 'key' of death, and the door to Heaven was generally closed to sinful mankind. With His resurrection, this situation completely flipped because, by His sacrificial death, the price for mankind's sins was paid, making eternal salvation available to ALL who embrace His payment ...by faith. See: Prayer of Salvation, Matthew 28:18 (KJV), and especially Revelation 1:18.

⁶ The Lord subsequently revealed there are also a 5th and 6th Goshen Effect.