"I'm Burning! I'm Burning!"

"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name." Then a voice came from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him." Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself." (John 12:27-32 ESV)

On June the 21st, there was a sobering story of a young Iranian woman who was killed for protesting that wicked regime in Iran. Neda Soltan wasn't an evil person. According to her friends and family, she was a nice person that loved to travel and was an accomplished singer.

She doesn't fit into any form of the images of the Islamic fundamentalist and hateful Muslims we see so often on the evening news. Many Muslims in fact are moderates. They could be compared to your average American Catholic. They attend Mosque and fulfill their religious duties. To them it's nothing more than a family tradition practiced faithfully. Their lives are governed loosely or to an extreme by it. Whether or not you are Catholic you can identify with the range of commitment within a religious system like this. Neda Soltan wasn't much different.

So here we are. A young girl's life is taken and in that moment a chilling and disturbing message is exclaimed by her final words with us. "I'm Burning! I'm Burning!"

Why? Why these words? She wasn't burning. There was no fire. She had been shot. I've never heard of anyone who has survived a shooting ever say that it felt like they were burning. Now to be fair, and as some have noted, I have heard that people do feel a 'burning sensation' in the area of the shot wound. But that is not the impression I get from Neda's cries. So what was Neda truly experiencing in her final moments? Is there something or someone which can help us to understand this young lady's strange and chilling exclamation?

Yes, there is, but you may not like what this answer is.
We cannot pray for Neda's soul. It's too late for that, and for this I am deeply grieved, but this is exactly why I'm writting this now. Because I don't want you to be in the same situation. You do have a choice.

The Bible reveals to us the heart and mind of God. In it we find the answer to Neda's words. What she was experiencing that frightened her into exclaiming those chilling words. It's a terror I don't want you to experience yourself.
Jesus is our greatest source for truth about things pertaining to life and death. He is God, and He has testified to us about the ways of God. No man ever made a claim to be God and provided the proofs like Jesus Christ. He heals millions at the mention of His name, and so I will take a look at the verses which record His statement about life after death. Take a look.

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me." (John 6:37-38 ESV)

"I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?" (John 5:43-44 ESV)

They said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" Jesus answered them, "Do not grumble among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the Prophets, 'And they will all be taught by God.' Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me-- not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life."(John 6:42-47 ESV)

It is a matter of believing in who Jesus is and for what purpose He was here on Earth. By believing in and obeying the correct gospel, because there are many false gospels out there {Matt. 7:15, 24:11, 24-25; 2 Pe. 2:1-2}, you will be granted the free gift of eternal life. If you fail to discern which is the correct gospel then you will perish into an eternal torment {2 Th. 1:8-9}. That's why I'm sharing the correct gospel with you now.

Jesus warns us that there will be many who come in His name, remember He is God and so anyone who invokes any of God's names is using His name;
"Someone may say, 'Here is the Messiah!' or 'There he is!' But don't believe it. False messiahs and false prophets will come and work great miracles and signs. They will even try to fool God's chosen ones." (Matthew 24:23-24 CEV)

And so we must learn the truth and gain understanding into how God has planned to grant mankind mercy, grace and salvation through one way, and one man. Jesus Christ {John 14:6}. All religions are false. They are, as many rightly believe, systems of men to enslave other men and lord themselves over each other. But that's not the way of God. All men are made equal and brought low before the mighty creator of mankind and this universe {Eph. 1:20-21, 22-23}.

Jesus tells us that by turning to Him alone and believing in Him alone as the atonement for our sins that we will be given the gift of eternal life {Mark 16:16; Luke 13:24; John 10:9}. He also warns us that this is going to be difficult to understand and believe. The gospel is that all men are sinful and can not redeem themselves by good works, and so we are doomed to an eternal punishment and separation from God{Rom. 3:19-20}. However, in His mercy God had a plan set in place since the beginning of human time to suffer that punishment for us. God gives Himself as a perfect payment for us, meaning that because He had no sin He was the only one capable of paying our debt in full. Justice was fulfilled{Rom. 3:21-26}.

So, those who learn this and believe in it, must also forsake their sinful way of living. What sense does it make to acknowledge that it is because of sin that you need someone to atone for you, but after receiving that atonement, you remain the same? What was the atonement for then? The Gospel expects a change in those who receive it.

Iran's 'Angel of Freedom' Neda Soltan Vowed to Protest Against Injustice - International News - FOXNews.com

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