…UNDER THE SUN…?

Ecclesiastes 9:4
For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope:
for a living dog is better than a dead lion.

In Proverbs, Solomon spoke of ‘living’ in
The house of wisdom, or in the house of
A foolish woman.

Solomon explored the ‘different’ houses
of (foolishness) that one could live in.
How many wives did Solomon have..?
How many of them were pagan idolaters…?
And he built for all of them, pagan altars,
In order to appease them, so ‘they’ could serve
Their fake, false ‘gods’??
Hence; “the house of foolishness” !

When referencing 2 Corinthians 12:1-6;
which speaks of – and defines the 3 heavens,
when Solomon spake of:
living “Under the sun” —
He was referring to [choosing] to live
In a ‘two-heaven’ world…
One in which ( GOD ) was not acknowledged.

People, set grand goals for themselves,
[only] to be disappointed [if] they achieve them.

When we look for the meaning;
“Under the sun” (without GOD) –
(Instead of) under the sun, with GOD,
We will ONLY find VANITY.
Emptiness.

If we do not we recognize and acknowledge
CHRIST JESUS, we will find ‘life’ to be a
Meaningless [cycle] of life and death.

like every descendant of Adam,
We are spiritually stillborn.
We are born spiritually dead.
You and I and every other person,
are born dead — dead in sin,
(see Ephesians. 2:1).

We were born dead because
of the sin of our representative head, Adam.
The apostle Paul teaches us that
“sin came into the world through one man,
and death through sin, and so death spread
to all men because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12).

And spiritual death is not the end of it.
Even if we are born physically healthy,
our spiritual death will be followed
at some point by our physical death:
“For you are dust, and to dust you shall return”
(Genesis. 3:19).

It is for this reason that JESUS told Nicodemus,
“You must be born again” (John 3:7).
The spiritually dead cannot enter GOD’S holy presence.

“Unless one is born again-
he cannot see the kingdom of GOD” John 3:3.
In order to see GOD’S kingdom,
then, the spiritually ‘stillborn’
must be brought to life.
There must be spiritual resurrection.
There must be new life, eternal life.
“You must be born again.”
It is the sovereign work of the HOLY SPIRIT.

1 John Chapter 2
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: [(but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also].
24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, [even] eternal life.
Let’s look at Ecclesiastes 9:4-5;
4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope:
for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
5 5 For the living know that they shall die:
but the dead know not any thing,
neither have they any more a reward;
for the memory of them is forgotten.

…What does this mean??
The most despicable of living man’s state,
is preferable to that of
the most noble who have died impenitent, unregretful.
Impenitent:
not feeling shame or regret about one’s actions or attitudes.

For a living dog is better than a dead lion —
Much happier as to the comforts of this world.
“The meanest and most contemptible person here,
in this world, hath the advantage of the greatest king,
when he is gone out of it.”

For the living know that they shall die —
Whereby they are taught to improve life,
while they have it.
But the dead know not any thing —
Of the actions and events of this world,
as this is limited in the next verse.
Neither have they any more a reward —
In this world.
The reward or fruit of their labours is
utterly lost to them, and enjoyed by others.
(if even then..)

Living a ‘life’ without GOD, ( under the sun)
is living amongst the dead.
D-e-a-d, dead.

On the other-hand —
Living under the ‘SON’ ( JESUS CHRIST )
(IS) the “LIVING”, living amongst the dead.

John 1:4
“In him was life; and the life was the light of men.”

“Life” has here no limitation,
and is to be understood in its widest sense.

The plainest reason why the SON of GOD –
is called (the Word), seems to be, that as our words explain
our minds to others, so was the SON of GOD sent
in order to reveal HIS Father’s mind to the world.

What the evangelist says of CHRIST proves that HE [ is ] GOD.
He asserts, HIS existence in the beginning;
HIS coexistence with the Father.

The Word was with GOD.

All things were made by HIM, and not as an instrument.
Without HIM was not anything made that was made,
from the highest angel to the meanest, lowest worm.
This shows how well qualified HE was for the work of
our redemption and salvation.

The (light of reason), as well as the (life of sense),
is derived from HIM, and depends upon HIM.
This eternal WORD, this TRUE LIGHT shines,
but the darkness comprehend’s it, ( not. )

Let us pray without ceasing,
that our eyes may be opened to behold this LIGHT,
that we may walk in it;
and thus be made wise unto salvation,
by faith in JESUS CHRIST !