Wednesday, March 30, 2022
Judgment
LORD'S DAY 19
52. Q. What comfort is it to you that Christ will come to judge the living and the dead?
A. In all my sorrow and persecution I lift up my head and eagerly await as judge from heaven the very same person who before has submitted himself to the judgment of God for my sake, and has removed all the curse from me. He will cast all his and my enemies into everlasting condemnation, but he will take me and all his chosen ones to himself into heavenly joy and glory.
The Apostles Creed
On the third day he arose from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.
Hell disappeared. And no one noticed. Church historian Martin Marty summarized our attitude toward a vanishing doctrine that received careful attention in previous generations. If you are a churchgoer, ask yourself when you last heard an entire sermon or Sunday school lesson on the topic.
Admittedly, the Judgment is an unpleasant topic. Unbelievers disbelieve in it; most Christians ignore it. Even the staunchly biblical diehards are often silent out of embarrassment. The Judgment, more than any other biblical doctrine, seems to be out of step with our times.
And yet we read that in the final judgment the unbelieving dead of all the ages stand before God to be judged, "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14-15). What shall we do with this teaching?
This doctrine is often neglected because it is difficult to reconcile hell and the judgment with the love of God. That millions of people will be in conscious torment forever is repugnant to the human mind. One man said that he would not want to be in heaven with a God who sends people to hell. His preference was to be in hell so that he could live in defiance of such a God. "If such a God exists," he complained, "he is the devil."
To put it simply, to us the punishment of hell does not fit the crime. Yes, all men do some evil and a few do great evils, but nothing that anyone has ever done can justify eternal torment. And to think that millions of good people will be in hell simply because they have not heard of Christ (as Christianity affirms) seems wrong! It's like capital punishment for a speeding ticket.
There are two alternative theories that vie for acceptance. One takes the hell out of forever; the other takes the forever out of hell.
Universalism This one takes the hell out of forever.
Universalism is the name given to the belief that eventually all men will arrive safely to heaven. Since Christ died for all people without exception, it follows, they say, that all will eventually be saved.
Paul taught that in the fullness of time, there would be the "summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth"(Ephesians 1:10). And it is God's intention to "reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, I say, whether things on earth or things in heaven" (Colossians 1:20). The implication, we are told, is that everyone will eventually be brought into the family of God.
Unfortunately, sadly, this attractive interpretation has serious weaknesses.
The Scriptures explicitly teach that Satan along with the beast and the false prophet shall be "tormented day and night forever and ever" (Revelation 20:10). Here we have a clear statement that Satan shall never be redeemed but will exist in conscious eternal torment.
Yes, everything will be summed up in Christ. That means that all things will be brought under Christ's direct authority. Christ has completed everything necessary to fulfill God's plan of salvation. The order of nature shall be restored, and justice will prevail throughout the whole universe.
Matthew 12:32 the Lord Jesus Christ speaks of the unpardonable sin: "It shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." In Mark 3:29 it is called an "eternal sin," indicating that it begins in this age and is carried on for all eternity without hope of reversal.
Universalism has never been widely accepted by those who take the Scriptures seriously. Obviously if this teaching were true, there would be no pressing reason to fulfill the Great Commission or to urge unbelievers to accept Christ in this life.
The bottom line is that the bible does talk about eternal punishment.
Conditional Immortality; this one takes the forever out of hell.
Conditional immortality contends that all will not be saved, but neither will any be in conscious torment forever. God resurrects the wicked to judge them; then they are thrown into the fire and consumed. The righteous are granted eternal life, whereas the unbelievers are granted eternal death. Hell is annihilation.
My principal at theological college taught this view, hoping that the word "eternal"didn't mean "forever." However it does!
It is difficult enough to defend Christianity in light of the problem of evil and suffering without having to explain hell too. Their idea is that the fire of God consumes the lost. Thus God does not raise the wicked to torture them but rather to declare judgment on them and condemn them to extinction, which is the second death. Everlasting punishment, according to Principal Rogers, means that God sentences the lost to final, definitive death.
"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28). He assumes that if a soul is destroyed in hell it is annihilated.
The word "destroyed"however, does not mean "to annihilate." The Greek word apollumi is used in passages such as Matthew 9:17, Luke 15:4, and John 6:12, 27. In none of those instances does it mean "to pass out of existence."Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon defines destruction as "to be delivered up to eternal misery."
The Lord Jesus Christ says that the lost will go into "eternal fire," which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. And then He adds, "These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life"(Matthew 25:46). Since the same word eternal describes both the destiny of the righteous and the wicked, it seems clear that Christ taught that both groups will exist forever, although in different places. The same eternal fire that Satan and his hosts experience will be the lot of unbelievers.
Daniel wrote, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2). The wicked will experience shame and contempt for as long as the righteous experience bliss.
The occupants of hell are clearly said to experience eternal misery. Those who worship the beast and have received his mark "will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger" (Revelation 14:10). Such will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name. (verses 10-11)
The Lord Jesus made it clear too. Mark 9:42"Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.43 And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.44 And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,48 'where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.'
They will never slip into peaceful nonexistence.
In Revelation 20 we have a similar scene. The beast and the false prophet have been thrown into the lake of fire. Satan is bound, but after a thousand years he is released to deceive the nations once more. At the end of that period, Satan is cast into the lake of fire. Notice carefully that the beast and the false prophet have not been annihilated during those one thousand years in hell. The fire has not consumed them: "And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever" (verse 10).
Hence, the teachings of universalism and annihilationism come to their deceptive end. Eternal, conscious torment is clearly taught, there is no other honest interpretation of these passages.
At the root of the debate is the question of whether hell is fair and just. Sensitive Christians some say cannot believe in eternal, conscious punishment. To us as humans, everlasting punishment is disproportionate to the offense committed. God appears cruel, unjust, sadistic, and vindictive. The purpose of punishment, we are told, is always redemptive. Rehabilitation is the goal of all prison sentences. The concept of a place where there will be endless punishment without any possibility of parole or reform seems unjust.
How can hell be just?
It is actually here at the Judgment Seat of Revelation 20 that we can see how eternal punishment is Just. Jonathon Edwards wrote; "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained."—Acts 17:31 Christ Jesus will descend in a most magnificent manner from heaven with all the holy angels. The man Christ Jesus is now in the heaven of heavens, or as the Apostle expresses it, "far above all heavens" (Eph 4:10). There He hath been ever since His ascension, being there enthroned in glory in the midst of millions of angels and blessed spirits. But when the time appointed for the Day of Judgment shall have come, notice of it will be given in those happy regions. Christ will descend to the earth, attended with all those heavenly hosts, in a most solemn, awful, and glorious manner. Christ will come with divine majesty: He will come in the glory of the Father, "For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels" (Mat 16:27). We can now conceive but little of the holy and awful magnificence in which Christ will appear, as He shall come in the clouds of heaven, or of the glory of His retinue.
1. There will be NO EXCEPTION From The SOLEMN SUMMONS (Revelation 20:12-13)
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne
The People Who Are Called
Notice the people who are brought before the great white throne of judgment—the dead, the small, and the great. Revelation 20:12 says, "I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books."
All Sinners Will Be There Jonathon Edwards "When the bodies are prepared, the departed souls shall again enter into their bodies and be reunited to them, never more to be separated. The souls of the wicked shall be brought up out of hell, though not out of misery, and shall very unwillingly enter into their bodies, which will be but eternal prisons to them."
All Self-righteous Will Be There All Self Satisfied Will Be There All Slow-deciders Will Be There
They intend to be saved one day. They know they are sinners and are not antagonistic to the Gospel, but they just do not intend to give their hearts to Jesus today.
All Sunday Christians Will Be There Edwards "THEY SHALL ALL BE BROUGHT TO APPEAR BEFORE CHRIST—the godly being placed on the right hand, the wicked on the left (Mat 25:31-33). The wicked, however unwilling, however full of fear and horror, shall be brought or driven before the Judgment Seat. However they may try to hide themselves—and for this purpose creep into dens and caves of the mountains and cry to the mountains to fall on them and hide them from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb—yet there shall not one escape. To the Judge they must come and stand on the left hand with devils."
The Places from Which They Are Called.
Revelation 20:13 says, "Then the sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead." Death and hades will deliver up the dead people who are in them. Earth will open its graves to give up the dead. Out of tombs the dead will rise. The depths of the sea will heave its bosom and swell to give up the dead. From the Arctic waste they will come; from the desert sands they will come; from the tropical jungles they will come. Wherever people have died, they will be raised. We need to understand at this point that death has the body, but hades has the soul. When a child of God dies, he or she goes immediately to paradise. "Therefore, though we are always confident and know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:6). Jesus said to the thief on the cross who repented and believed, "I assure you: Today you will be with Me in paradise" (Luke 23:43).
When a person dies without Jesus Christ as his Saviour, his soul goes immediately to hades. He will not be judged at that moment. In Luke 16, Christ gives us a picture of this when He describes what happened to the rich man and the beggar man named Lazarus who both died. The rich man went to hades; Lazarus went to paradise. "And being in torment in hades, [the rich man] he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off, with Lazarus at his side. 'Father Abraham!' he called out, 'Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame!" (Luke 16:23-24).
Sometimes when a judge issues a summons, the criminal refuses to come. He may disguise himself, flee to another country seeking asylum, or he may even commit suicide to keep from coming to judgment. But on this judgment day, there will be no refusal and no escape. The resurrection of Jesus Christ guarantees the judgment of the unsaved dead. Acts 17:31 says, "Because He has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has appointed. He has provided proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead." This man whom God has ordained is Jesus Christ. And He has been raised from the dead.
2. There will be NO EXCUSE Because of THE SECRETS DISPLAYED (Revelation 20:12)
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
Did you know that God has your life recorded in His book? Not a thing about your life has escaped His knowledge. And one of these days you will face His accounting of your life. Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil" (KJV). Romans 2:16 says, "On the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus."
Our lives are recorded in God's book. Nothing has escaped His knowledge.
Secrets that have been repressed: Secrets that have been recorded:
Matthew 12:36 We will give an account for every idle word, every time we have taken the Lord's name in vain. Exodus 20:7 Secrets that will be revealed:
There is coming a judgment day when we will face the record.
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds" (Revelation 20:12).
No one is saved by works, to be sure. As we shall stress in the final chapter of this book, salvation is a gift of God, not of works. But for the unsaved the works are the basis of judgment. In other words, they will be rightly judged on the basis of what they did with what they knew.
Those who live without specific knowledge about Christ will be judged by the light of nature and their own conscience (Romans 1:20; 2:14-16). That does not mean that those who respond to general revelation will be automatically saved, for no one lives up to all that he knows. That is why a personal knowledge of Christ is needed for salvation. "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).
But the light of God in nature and in the human conscience is still a sufficient basis for judgment. Whatever the degree of punishment, it will fit the offense exactly, for God is meticulously just. Those who believe in Christ experience mercy; those who do not (either because they have never heard of Him or because they reject what they know of Him) will receive justice. Either way, God is glorified.
Think of how accurately God will judge every unbeliever! Each day of every life will be analyzed in minute detail. The hidden thoughts and motives of each hour will be replayed, along with all the actions and attitudes. The words spoken in secret will be made public, the intentions of the heart displayed for all to see. They will have no attorney to whom they may appeal, no loopholes by which they can escape. Nothing but bare, indisputable facts.
Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Maybe you've forgotten it, but God hasn't forgotten. You say, "I didn't mean anything by it." Then you are twice condemned that you could take His name in vain and not mean anything by it. God says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain" (Exodus 20:7 KJV).
Luke 12:2 says, "There is nothing covered that won't be uncovered; nothing hidden that won't be made known." On judgment day, skeletons will come out of closets. And things that your mother didn't know, your father didn't know, your wife didn't know, your husband didn't know, your child didn't know will be shouted from the rooftop. Think about it.
I believe that the balance of justice will be so accurate that the pornographer will wish he had never published such material, the thief will wish he had earned an honest living, and the adulterer will regret that he lived an immoral life. Faithfulness to his marriage vows would not have earned him a place in heaven, to be sure, but it would have made his existence in hell slightly more bearable.
Before God, no motives will be misinterpreted, no extenuating circumstances thrown out of court. The woman who seduced the man will receive her fair share of punishment, and the man who allowed himself to be seduced will receive his. The parents who abused their child who turned to drugs to escape from the pain of rejection all blame will be accurately proportioned.
3. There will be No Escape From THE SOBER VERDICT
The Severity of the final sentence:
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
An Awful Place An Agonising Place An Always Place
And it is an Acceptable Place.
The Sadness of the final sentence:
The Sureness of the final sentence:
Settle out of Court. Better go to the Appeals Court than "The Court Of No Appeal"
There you will only see The Fearful Face Of The Judge
John 5:22 – 22 The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,23 that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. 25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.27 And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.28 Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice29 and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
The Fearful Fate
There are three parts to every trial. First, the evidence is presented. The books are opened. Everything will be known—every idle word, thought, and deed. Every dishonest thing you did, every nickel you stole from your mother's dresser, every gray hair you gave your father, every wrinkle you pinched into the brow of your wife—all this evidence will be known. And not only will this evidence be things that you have said, done, or thought, but these will be things that you have left unsaid, unthought, and undone. James 4:17 says, "So, for the person who knows to do good and doesn't do it, it is a sin."
Next, you have a chance to make your defense. What will you say? I can hear people saying, "Wait a minute, Lord, don't judge my sin. I didn't know which church to join. There was a Baptist Church, Methodist Church, Presbyterian Church, Church of God, Church of Christ, Church of God in Christ, Episcopalian Church, Catholic Church, and Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints." God will respond, "I didn't say believe on the church. I said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."
And they might say, "Wait a minute, God. I didn't respond to your call to be saved, because I didn't want to be like those hypocrites in the church. And I wasn't going to call myself a Christian in front of other people and not be able to live like one." God will respond, "I didn't say believe on yourself. I said believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."
What defense will you give if you are not saved? What can you possibly say in defense of your trampling beneath your feet the precious blood of the Lord Jesus and despising His spirit of grace? What can you say on that judgment day when you know that you rejected His outstretched nail-pierced hands and His voice that invited you: "Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30)?
Finally, the verdict of the court is handed down. The brokenhearted Judge will say, "But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven" (Matthew 10:33). Jesus also said: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord!' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of My Father in heaven. On that day many will say to Me, 'Lord, Lord, didn't we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name?' Then I will announce to them, 'I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23).
If you are not saved, your soul will drop down into hell at that moment. "And anyone not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:15). You may say, "I don't believe in hell fire." Five minutes after you get there, you will believe in it. Either the Bible is true, or it is not true. There is a lake of liquid fire, and the sadness of it is this: You don't have to go.
C. S. Lewis said that everybody in the world is in two categories. One group is like Satan. They say to God the Father, "Not Your will, but mine be done." The second group is like God the Son. They say to God the Father, "Not my will, but Thine be done." Those in the first category will have lived a self-concerned, self-controlled life, and they will drop into hell as a brokenhearted God will say, "Not My will, but thine be done." God doesn't want you to go to hell.
Someone asked a preacher, "Do you really believe in hell? If so, tell me where it is." The wise pastor said, "Hell is at the end of a Christless life." If you die outside the Lord, you will come to a judgment, and then you will know that the Bible is indeed true.
I am not going to stand before the great white throne, and I will tell you why. I settled out of court. Jesus became my Savior when He died on the cross in agony and blood, and with His blood He paid the debt of my sin. Romans 8:33-34 says, "Who can bring an accusation against God's elect? God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us." Isn't that wonderful? Your sin can be buried in the grave of God's forgetfulness, never to be brought up against you again.
