The Judgment of God
It is not a popular subject today. The pendulum of preaching has swung far away from hell-fire brimstone to a sentimental reading of Scripture that is just as diabolical as the enemy's first questionings of the truth of God. We have changed, church. The Scriptures have not. Here is what they say about the coming judgments.
Yes, I say the word should be plural. The best historical traditions of church teaching sees in the Scriptures two very separate events, both called judgments. And in both cases it seems that the purpose of the gathering is to make public the obvious outcome of man's shortcomings, not to have a Perry Mason-like courtroom scene where the outcome is not certain until after the last commercial.
There are many differences between God's judgment meetings and our own. We have laws in abundance in America, for example. But a man can break those laws and still come out innocent. Innocent persons have been found to be guilty. Injustice and perversions of the legal system abound. That's why a trial here can take so long. Not so in the Heavenly Court. In that place God is judge and jury and author of the law. He knows exactly what is right and exactly what is wrong and who did what when, and with what motive. No need to drag this scene out. Unless a sin has been covered by the blood of Jesus Christ, mankind is guilty, and our God will make that eternally and painfully clear. Publicly.
But there is this thing of the "judgment seat of Christ," that both Paul and John talk about. It seems to have a different flavor, though it is a judgment. Let's go to the Book of Revelation, chapter 20.
John speaks clearly of a 1,000 year period of time, at the beginning and end of which will be a judgment that follows a resurrection. Jesus referred to this series of events as the "resurrection of life and the resurrection of damnation."
At the first resurrection, or the one we refer to now as the rapture, when the dead in Christ are raised, there is a group of people brought forth that live and reign with Christ for the millennium. But not before they must be judged. Yes, the first things John sees in this picture are judgment thrones. Not one negative word is said in this passage. It seems that this is a judgment in favor of the saints. Jesus' parable of the talents, and others, tells us that varying rewards will be given out. It would seem to me that this is the time for that.
Though salvation is secure to those first resurrected, the judgment of little or no reward for service is a serious matter. Saints today should be running a race so as to do well at the finish line, a type of judgment, where crowns of victory are given out. Or withheld. A time of weeping and shame, but not eternal loss.
Far more horrible shall be the judgment of damnation. Men shall be resurrected at this time, also, according to Jesus and John (still in Revelation 20). Here "the rest of the dead", those not included in the first resurrection, shall be given bodies fit for destruction, eternally able to bear shame. Unspecified books will be opened. Will these be the 66 of the Bible, as a testimony against the works of men? Will they be minute details of every sinful action, inaction, and thought of every man, woman, and child who has ever lived? The Scripture does say that all of these people will be judged by their works, according to everything written in the books.
Yes, believers 1000 years earlier will be able to say that Christ bore their judgment on the cross. And that argument will be accepted. But unbelievers, those who never accepted the work that Christ did, will have to offer their own works. An offering that has never been accepted in Heaven.
The only puzzle I find in this passage is the mention of the Book of Life. If what I have concluded above is true, then there will be no one whose name appears in the Book of Life that is represented at that second judgment. Our works cannot justify us before a holy God.
But John says "anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." The way that's worded seems to open the door to some on that day actually being in that special Book, but by what provision I know not.
I certainly want my name to be in the Book now. The question I pose may be interesting enough academically, but as a matter of life and death, I don't want to take any chances regarding that second judgment. I trust my readers and listeners have come to that same conclusion.
Judgment. A very difficult matter to discuss. But a message that must be preached by the church to a world that becomes increasingly ignorant of the things of God. For whether man knows about it or not, God has appointed a day for that judgment, and a Man to supervise the proceedings. Judgment Day is coming. May the Day, and especially the Man, Christ Jesus, be preached.
About peace on earth
True or false: Jesus came to bring peace on earth. The answer is clear but not the same answer as the world gives.
Wherever there is a true church there is division. The struggle toward the light is relentless. God's people will always strive to know, believe, and obey God's Word. Actors in the same group will balk. They will go only so far and then stop. Hence, division. Eventually, persecution. Rejection.
How we all long for peace. But wars among the children of men will always be. Jesus did not come to solve that problem. Not yet. As He looks into the future from His day He calmly declares, "There will be wars and rumors of wars." That problem is not going away.
The children of God have their own special set of wars. But for them, the true ones, a personal peace is promised. Apostolic writers speak of the peace that passes understanding. The prophet says that God will keep in perfect peace those that trust in Him. Jesus Himself said, "My peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you," the you being those who are His true disciples. This promise was not given to the disciples who walked away filled with their own agendas.
Peace on earth, you ask? No, this message of the blood of a crucified God continues to divide families, communities, nations. The World Wars were religious wars, Catholic powers against Orthodox powers. In our own continent, Rome sought to subdue by political and military force, the neighbor of its ally Mexico. That neighbor, the USA, has largely stayed free of religious domination but is threatened now by Muslim inroads which likewise threaten Europe and the civilized world. War will always be, triggered by false ideas about who God is and what He wants.
But the angels, what of the angels and their beautiful song on the night God became flesh in a little Jewish village? They sang of "peace on earth and good will to men." Was it only a song, a vanished dream? Is there hope for this planet?
Oh yes, but all in good time. Peace will come to the entire orb when the Prince of Peace forcibly exerts His will as returning Messiah. He invites now. So subtle is His voice at times. He truly wants mankind to choose Him, since He has already chosen to love and die for them. No power plays. No strong arm. Those who tried such tactics in the Middle Ages got what military might produces: outward conformity. Lukewarm religion. Paganism filling the church.
The Christ of the Good News comes on the inside and saves sinners one at a time.
But the same Christ of the Good News will one day invite no longer. The heavens will open and every knee shall bow, every tongue confess that He is Lord. Yes, Kim Jong Il and all dictators from Nero to Napoleon to Hitler will bow the knee to Christ. Then the world will be free and at peace. Until then we carry the song in our heart, the promise, the reality that a warring world around us cannot comprehend.
When peace comes
I dedicate this article to my brothers and sisters in North Korea, who suffer unimaginably as I write. For them, that is the believers in Christ, the subject of this piece is incredibly delicious. Oh that all of God's people could think it so.
Most people get to Revelation 21 and 22 and take a deep breath. No more vials. No more trumpets. No more seals. No more monsters. Smooth sailing. That's mostly true, but one of the biggest puzzles for me is the timing of this bit of prophecy.
When will arrive the "new heavens and the new earth"? Peter in his epistle sees it coming directly after the present age. The prophets likewise see a time of worldwide peace directed by the Jewish Messiah at the end of the present era. I lean that direction too, for those reasons, and others I will mention. But if that is true, then
• the Bible nowhere speaks of what eternity will be like.
• chapters 21 and 22 are out of order, and go back before chapter 20, which brings readers not only to, but through, and after, the millennium.
• the last recorded event in chronological time is the vanishing of heavens and earth, followed by the judgment of the damned in the Lake of Fire.
• the "new heavens and the new earth" are merely a healed planet, not a brand new creation as in Genesis 1.
Whether the magnificent descriptions of the last two of the Bible's chapters are the millennium or the period following it, one must admit that the Bible does not spend much time talking about things that are so very far away. We will have, after all, 1000 years to hear about the plan for the next phase of our existence. Truly it has not entered into our mind the things God has prepared for us.
But I was saying I tend to agree with the millennial interpretation here. The phrases used are very reminiscent of prophets like Isaiah. Things that happen are very this-worldly. Kings and nations are mentioned, nations that are slowly being healed from the ravages of the governments of men.
And very significantly, even though Jesus has everything under control, there is still the potential for evil, as ordinary men live on into this time period. Our city is indeed holy and wonderful, but the whole world is not fully aligned to these things. All of this points away, I think, from an interpretation that says these two chapters are about eternity.
The set-up will be much as Rome dreamed it was going to be hundreds of years back. Their timing was a bit off. There shall indeed be a world empire ruled by the church, but it will be the glorified church descending from heaven, with Christ at the helm, not a military-based empire with a mere human at the head.
At the end of the 1000 years, the evil potential is gathered together for one last assault against the Righteousness enthroned in Jerusalem. Christ is victorious, and now it's time to move on to places as yet unspoken to human ears. What an adventure awaits!
Let us put all things away from our lives that do not matter, so as to be sure not to miss what will surely come our way. Never have God's promises failed, even when we did not fully understand them. They will not fail now.
A Closer Look at Matthew 25
Have you read it lately? Matthew 25, I mean? The scene where Jesus divides the sheep from the goats?
This passage has been taught for centuries, I imagine, as a preview of how Christians are divided from the unsaved. Over and over we are encouraged to give to poor and imprisoned people because doing so is like giving to Jesus.
Well, there is a world of truth in the efficacy and resultant reward of giving to those less fortunate. But I’m not so sure any longer that this story teaches it.
Have you ever noticed how Matthew 25 follows immediately after Matthew 24? Not trying to be cute here, but it is essential to remember the subject matter of the previous chapter so as to set the context for the telling of this story. And recall, there are no chapter divisions in the original.
Matthew 24 documents the deterioration of the planet just before Jesus’ return, then details the return itself. Warnings are issued, stories are told to cement the message of those warnings.
Then Jesus goes on to the natural flow of events.
He has already arrived. His church, all of it, is already with Him. The ruling class of planet earth is now assembled. But, assembled before whom? Why, before the ones who remain on the planet! Not everyone is destroyed as Jesus comes in flaming fire to wreak His judgment on this Earth. The Book of Revelation speaks of a class of people labeled the “nations of those who are saved.” The saved nations. The spared nations.
Daniel envisions courts that “are seated” at this time. A judgment. A judgment which will be in part supervised by the saints of God, to whom the Kingdom is given.
And what is His and their first act? The separation of the assembled people – the nations – into two groups.
Group A: Those who fed, clothed, and visited believers in their trouble. What trouble? Why, the trouble they have just gone through, the Great Trouble, the Tribulation.
Group B is those who refused to minister to those believers, and perhaps were instrumental in torturing and killing saints.
This is not Jesus suddenly changing the means of salvation from faith to works. But in the leaning of their hearts toward Jesus’ people, these “good” nations showed a faith in Him that He here accepts as enough to enter the kingdom. Not as rulers, but as ruled. Not with new bodies, but with their present ones.
We shall not be ruling one another in that day. We shall inherit the earth, complete with a class of people with whom we will renew and replenish all that is wonderful about the heavens and the earth He created.
These earth-dwellers will then have access to salvation. Some will actually turn Jesus away, as evidenced by their rebellion at the end of this 1000 years.
But that’s another story.
We must all learn to face the Scriptures openly and honestly, is my point here. Tradition has given us one thing, but the clear text says something very different. The story does not make sense as is commonly taught, but we’ve passed on that understanding anyway.
Think about it. What experienced Christian would say to Jesus, “When did we see you and not minister to you?” They won’t say such things in that day, because Bible believers have been reading this story of Jesus for 2,000 years and they know the answer! But non-Christians who help Christians during the Tribulation will not know the Bible, and when Jesus comes, their question will make a lot of sense.
Let’s keep taking closer looks at the Scripture! In fact, let me take a closer look at this very Scripture...
What's wrong with this picture?
Occasionally you will see depictions in art of the scene Jesus portrays in Matthew 25. That's where He stands before a divided congregation of sheep on one side and goats on the other. Artists usually see Jesus standing alone and the two groups before Him. I think there might be something wrong with that picture. Consider:
1. Jesus is not coming back alone. He is coming with the saints.
2. The saints have already been "judged". I'm talking about bona-fide products of grace who overcame the world and were caught up to meet Jesus in the air. They are not breathlessly waiting to see whether they are a sheep or a goat.
3. The terms and conditions of the offer made to these two groups is not the same as the salvation offered now. It is works-based. Because you did such and such, namely offer friendship to a suffering Christ, you may now come to Heaven. But although works are produced by saved saints, the message to them is clear: we are saved by grace through faith and that not of ourselves...
4. If this is about rewards as we know it, where is the mention of the preaching of the Gospel, and the many other gifts and ministries that operate in a Spirit-filled Church? Why no reward for this?
5. Why are the saints surprised when they discover that serving others is serving Christ? (Inasmuch as you did it to the least of my brothers, etc) Babes in Christ know this.
No, I think this passage is a victim of tradition, and needs to be seen as it really is.
The prophets talked about a Kingdom, Israel in its fullness, that would be ruled by Messiah. Daniel sees a plurality of thrones, as does the Revelator. A kingdom truly is coming. And many kings will reign under King Jesus.
But Kingdoms are made up of subjects and rulers both. And those Jewish prophets saw ordinary people doing ordinary things entering into that Kingdom. In fact, at the end of that Kingdom period there will still be people on earth able and willing to rebel against Jesus, the Lord over all the earth, for 1000 years at that time. Surely Spirit-sealed saints do not leave the City.
No, the Kingdom of God will be a combination of saints (rulers) and non-saints (subjects) who will have the opportunity to give their heart fully to Christ or reject Him and pay the consequences. The Millennium, though incredibly peaceful and orderly, will still have room for imperfection, thus the need for rulers. Eternal bliss follows the Millennial reign.
So, do you now see three groups in Matthew 25? The saints, coming back with Jesus, stand with Him, poised and ready to rule. But they need someone to rule. That's group 2. Who will it be? Those who had a heart to help the suffering Jesus- the Body of Christ persecuted - when he was being hurt by evil men. On this basis, following the worldwide tribulation, the entire planet is separated. One group is asked to stay and enter the Kingdom. The other group, group 3, the goats, is sent to eternal perdition, the public pronouncement of which will take place 1000 years later.
Let us humbly bow before our God who calls us to be Christ crucified in this evil day. Are you a member of His Body by faith?
Now one last look at the Matthew 25 event. There is some duplication here, but some new information, too...
What a marvelous world is coming!
The wonderful world described by Jesus in Matthew 25:31-46.
Here is a chain of events that Jesus describes in Matthew 25, a time subsequent to His arrival on the planet with His Church:
1. The raptured church descends into Jerusalem with Jesus. Note that the division between church and world is already clear here. Jesus comes with His saints already chosen. The Kingdom rule is in place. Now we must decide upon the subjects of that rule. For in this kingdom, only those who love Jesus will prosper.
2. Through means at His disposal, Jesus will gather all nations before Him. Will this be a take-over of the UN building, where an image of Jesus is pictured prominently even now? Will this be through Satellite TV? Will it be representatives of nations or every individual within them? How all nations stand before Him is not made clear, but that they will, is.
3. Thrones will be set in place. Here the narrative echoes the prophecies of Daniel 7. At the end of all the Kingdoms of men comes the kingdom of God with its thrones, its kings, its priests. Ruler-ship is ready, all we need is follow-ship.
4. Now comes a division again. All before him are men and women we know of as “unsaved”, but who survived the final holocaust. Included here are the elect of earth, those chosen to serve under the New Regime.
5. Many of the nations are now invited to join Christ’s kingdom. These persons will not be instantly changed into near-angelic persons, as will the Body of Christ. These are the ones who will enter the Millennium with their regular bodies, but in a Divinely-enhanced atmosphere and culture that will promote super-long and super-healthy lives. Life will continue on.
6. Many other nations are told of their eternal fate and are sent to it. The text is not clear as to when that fate will kick in. Will they stay on the planet in their normal bodies and slowly die off, to await the judgment of the Great White Throne at the end of the 1000 years? Or will they be sent straight to their death? One clue: There will be a contingent of people at the very end of the Millennium who will oppose the Master.
7. Both groups express shock that they had in any way related to this Jesus over their lifetimes. Here is proof positive that the people being divided are not the church of God. Every true believer today knows that His work is for Jesus Christ, whether directly or indirectly. Every true believer has read or heard this passage. No one would be so ignorant on that day as to question their involvement with Christ. No, this group is a near-Christian group of “good” people who had chances to help the persecuted church of the last days, and responded in the best (or worst) way they could, not knowing that notes were being taken in Heaven.
8. Jesus claims that the persons who acted on behalf of “these my brothers” are being rewarded accordingly. That is to say, The church you see before you now in splendor, are the brothers to whom I refer. When they were down and hurting, you blessed (or ignored) them. And I want to say thank you. Come in.
9. So those who might have come to the Lord had they known the Gospel are now admitted, presumably on a conditional basis. Those who fully accept their status and His, will be given eventually the same rights of eternal life as the ones who now rule the planet.
10. Now the kingdom begins. Ruled by Christ and Christ’s people. Peopled by Christ’s friends. A marvelous time will be had by all…
It is the last hour
Next time someone asks you if we are living in the last days, you can do them one better. Tell them we are living in the last hour.
It's time we came to terms with what the Scriptures actually say. We are not in the end time because of that last earthquake or some threatened famine. We are there because the Bible says we have been there for a long time.
Remember Pentecost. Peter quotes the prophet Joel in saying that in the last days God will pour out HIs Spirit on all flesh. Peter uses that quote to explain what is right then happening in 30 A.D. In that early year of the church, the earth was in its last days. The same apostle in his letter frankly states that the end of all things is at hand (I Peter 4:7). That's what the Bible says. Last days? Yes, indeed. Now.
John makes it even more challenging to our faith. In his first letter, chapter two, verse 18, he states without blinking that it is the last hour of history. And he says why. It's because of all the antichrists spreading their poisons. Now, the Scriptures cannot be broken. What the apostles said, came from the Spirit, not human calculation. Let's read them and believe them as they are.
But there is one factor that must be counted when trying to put all this in perspective. Our God never changes His mind, but His mind is forever governed by mercy. Longsuffering. Patience. Compassion for sinners. When God's people pray, the last days last a little longer. When there is heart-felt intercession, the last hour adds a few minutes. God is waiting.
See Abraham stand before a God who has decided to destroy Sodom. Really decided? Definitely. Sodom must go, as all Sodoms of our day will go. But Abraham pleads for the staying of the hand of judgment if there are 50 righteous. No, make that 45, 40, 30, 20 ,10. At each change in Abraham, the consistently merciful God says yes.
Who is holding the purposes of God in his hands today? Who has a brother, a nephew, a nation, for which he intercedes with broken heart on his face before God?
Saint! Get up! Don't you know it's the last hour? Don't you know I must judge the wickedness of this planet?
Yes, Lord, but first, hear my prayer. Don't let Heaven start without Mother, without Sister, without my neighbor. Just a little while Lord!
Oh, the date is circled in heaven, I know. The pre-determined plan of God shall come to pass exactly as it has been seen and known in Heaven before the world began. But built in to that structure of predestination is a man or a woman or a child on his knees begging God to stay the hand of judgment and continue offering, just a little while, the hand of mercy.
God lives in a realm that is not mastered by time, but rather by His love. That's why one day with Him is as 1000 years with us. The day is at hand. These are the last days. It is the last hour. Our last chance to bring souls into His love.
Three men who will change all
It's been a while since I have dealt with prophecy in this blog. North Korea, and the Body of Christ there, surely do consume time. I say it humbly and gratefully.
But something grabbed me the other day that I thought might be profitable for you. See what you think. Well, I mean, see if this is borne out in the Word.
Two men will suddenly appear on the scene in the days of antichrist preceding the return of Jesus Christ to the Earth. I will not attempt a defense of that fact here, but assume it going in. Zechariah sees these two, as does John in the Revelation (11). Jesus alludes to it when he says that Elijah truly comes first to restore all things.
Then Jesus leads the reader/hearer to believe that he is talking about John the Baptist, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah, but wasn't actually Elijah. So John becomes a picture of the Old Testament prophet as well as a precursor of at least one of those coming prophets. I say precursor, for John himself declared that he was most definitely not Elijah.
One of the qualifications for such a man to come is that he never died in the ordinary sense. Since all men have an appointment with death except end-time saints here when Jesus returns, and since Revelation 11 even records their death, it is safe to assume that they cannot have died before.
The traditional wisdom, and that which I have clung to, is that, therefore, Enoch and Elijah must be the two returning men. Neither ever died.
Today I'd like you to look at the possibility of Moses' return. I am quick to inject that the word "died" is used in connection with his departing the planet, in Deuteronomy. But I must also hasten to add that there are some strange statements made in regards to this death. First, God buried him. Second, no one knows where the grave or the body is. Third, Jude records a dispute over that body between the angels of God and the angels of Satan.
Why a dispute? Does Satan believe he should be in charge of the dead? Did God have other plans for this particular body? Was Satan grieved because it seemed God was not playing by the rules? Was in fact Moses' body taken immediately to a holding place, to be joined later by Elijah, where they have been preserved ever since?
Why not Enoch? Well, maybe it is he after all, but consider the activities of these two men, described in Revelation 11:
• They will "shut heaven" in regards to precipitation. That was a work of Elijah.
• They will turn water to blood. Moses.
• They will strike the earth at will with various plagues. Again, a Moses activity.
One other intriguing clue is the appearance of these two very men on the mount of transfiguration. Bodies. Not spirits, as we have been led to believe that all men are when they leave their bodies awaiting the resurrection. Here are two glaring exceptions. They had a body just as surely as the One with whom they were discussing the coming sacrifice of God. Where did they go after this incredible experience? Back to the waiting room. They wait there still...
And in an adjoining room, one more waits, hindered or "restrained" (KJV, "let", II Thessalonians 2) by a strong angel who will release him at a given cue. That's another story, but connected in a very real way to this same closing chapter of Earth as we know it. These three men will revolutionize the world! And there's no newspaper or magazine you can read to try to figure out if they're "alive" on the planet now. They are very much alive... but not quite on the planet. All in good time...
If America's current problems are the signal of the winding down of civilization, life could get pretty exciting before long.
