“No retreat! No surrender! Happy rapture!”
We know someone had lived an impactful life when their words have become associated with them and have drawn out principles to live by. Such was the life of Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol. Repeat the quote above to any fourth watcher, and they’ll know straightaway it was the Apostle’s. Apostle Arsenio T. Ferriol impacted hundreds of thousands of lives, including mine and most likely yours. In fact, who I am, what I have, and who I ever will be, is because of the Apostle. God called him to do His work, and because of that, I, too, came to know God and His salvation and truth. Not only that, I, too, was called to the ministry. You can see how I owe so much to the Apostle.
My husband and I are extremely blessed to have had a number of close encounters with our dear Apostle. He counseled and prayed for us in his office when we asked for his blessing for our proposed marriage. He gave the message during our wedding day. He laid hands on and prayed for our children. He gave our oldest child a massage in the back when he heard her coughing incessantly. We hosted him in the pastoral house in San Diego a number of times, and those moments were precious indeed. We cooked and served him food – simple, mostly pinangat na pampano, boiled eggs, boiled sweet potato, half of a banana. I really am grateful I had those precious memories with the man God used to call me into His grace and ministry.
I tear up as I write this article. I am on my way to pay tribute to him together with my husband. But as I grieve and I know you are as well, we need to go to the source of our comfort and peace, and that is the Word of God. As we look at the Bible, he may not be here now in person, but he’s never been more alive. In fact, he is the liveliest as he can be right now in the presence of God. He is probably boxing with Samson, singing with King David, and marveling at the mighty tales of Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys.
The Bible says that upon the death of a human being the dirt returns to the ground and the souls returns to God who gave it (Ecclesiastes 12:1). And upon returning to God comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Those who are in Christ are welcomed in heaven, as was the case of Lazarus the beggar, but those who died in their sins are condemned in the place of torment called hell (Luke 16:19-31).
Our Apostle, therefore, is now in heaven, awaiting for the resurrection of his body. As Christ promised, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die,” (John 11:25-26).
Furthermore, we can see God’s promise of resurrection in John 5:28-29: “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear His voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”
And in the words of Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18:
“Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore, encouage each other with tehse words.”
Knowing, therefore these promises of God, we should be comforted. We cry because we shall miss him. We are homesick of him. We shall miss his simple yet profound words, his gentle heart, and genuine care for people. But, though it sounds cliche, he is in a much better place now.
What we need to do is to remain in Christ. Fight the good fight of faith, living by the Apostle’s words: “No Retreat! No Surrender!” And one day, in rapture, we will be reunited with our dear father in the faith.
Let us stay steadfast in the faith. Partnering ourselves with our new Global Chief Executive Minister, Bishop Jonathan S. Ferriol. This is what the Apostle would have us do. Not retreating, not surrendering. Looking forward the happy rapture. He’s is now among the cloud of witnesses, cheering us on: “No retreat! No Surrender!”
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