THE DAY OF JUDGMENT
Lesson 11
Part ll
Review
From Daniel, we
learned that the judgment of the
human race began in 1844. The
great courtroom scene began with the
Ancient of Days taking His
seat. The books of record were
opened and a review of each person
who had died commenced.
The importance of 1844
will develop even further as we
continue our study in
Revelation. However, the
fundamental issue of what happens to
a person when he dies must be
addressed because death, judgment and
reward are connected. The truth
on this subject is very important,
for it is directly connected to the
climactic story of Revelation.
A number of the
Eastern Mystic religions believe in
the transmigration of the soul.
This concept teaches that the soul
was once a lower form of life before
entering the human being, and at
death, life moves to a higher or
lower form depending on how on lived
in this life. Many Christians
have a theology that parallels this
concept. The basic difference
between Christians and those
believing in the transmigration of
the soul is that Christians believes
life begins with conception in the
womb. On the other hand, many
Christians and Eastern Mystic
religions believe the soul is
immortal and thus not subject to
death. Both ideas are plainly
contrary to the scriptures. The
soul can die! God says,
“…The soul who sins is the
one who will die.” Ezekiel
18:4 If the soul is immortal, when is
immortality bestowed upon it?
When does life begin?
The Bible tells us,
“And the Lord God formed man
from the dust of the ground and
breathed into his nostrils the breath
of life, and man became a living
being.” Genesis 2:7
A living being is a
combination of two elements:
the body and the breath (power)
of life. Separate these two
elements, and you don’t have a
living being! Life may be
thought of as a light. Connect
a light bulb with electricity and
there is light. Separate the
electricity from the bulb and there
is no light.
Some people believe
that when a person dies, the spirit
(the soul) returns to God.
Solomon said, “Remember him (our
Creator) – before the silver
cord is severed, or the golden bowl
is broken; before the pitcher is
shattered at the spring, or the wheel
broken at the well, and the dust
returns to the ground it came from,
and the spirit returns to God who
gave it.” Ecclesiastes
12:6,7 From this scripture, it is
clear that the spirit returns to God
who gave it. This is true of
both the righteous and wicked!
The word translated spirit in
Ecclesiastes 12:6,7 is the identical
word used for breath in Job 27:3
Notice what Job said, “…as
long as I have life within me, the
breath of God in my nostrils, my lips
will not speak wickedness…”
Job 27:3,4 In other words what
returns to God is the power to live.
God grants breath to
all that live. This is true of
animals and man. Of Noah’s
flood it is said, “Every living
thing that moved on the earth
perished – birds, livestock,
wild animals, and all creatures that
swarm over the earth, and all
mankind. Everything on dry land
that had the breath of life in its
nostrils died.” Genesis
7:21,22
The Greek and Hebrew
words for spirit mean wind or
breath. The Hebrew word
“rauch” and the Greek word,
“pneuma” does not refer to
some intelligent entity free of the
body. Rather, these words
simply apply to the breath of
life. The word for breath is
often translated spirit and vice
versa. The point is a soul does
not exist when the spirit or breath
is separated from the body!
When breath and a body are brought
together, the result is a soul.
Our example of the light bulb
demonstrated this. When power
is applied to the bulb we have
light. When power is
disconnected, there is no
light. In the same way, when
the breath of life is connected to a
body, we have an intelligent soul
– whether animal or
man. When the breath of life is
taken from the body, there is no
soul.
The Hebrew word for
soul is “nephesh” and the
Greek word is
“psuche.” Both of
these words mean to imply that a
living being is a soul! Solomon
wrote, “Man’s fate is
like that of the animals; the same
fate awaits them both; as one dies,
so dies the other. All have the
same breath (spirit), man has no
advantage over the animal…”
Ecclesiastes 3:19
Other Bible writers
agree
Adam and Eve were
expressly driven from their Eden home
so that they could not eat from the
tree of life and live forever!
After Adam and Eve sinned, Jesus
said, “…the man has now
become like one of us, knowing good
from evil. He must not be
allowed to reach out his hand and
take also from the tree of life and
eat, and live
forever.” Genesis 3:22 The
point here is that Adam and Eve were
removed from the Garden of Eden for
the express purpose of death. As long
as they could eat of the tree of
life, they would live. So they had to
be removed from the garden.
The Bible says that
the ability to exist forever comes
only through Jesus. John
says, “He who has the Son
has life; he who does not have the
Son of God does not have life.”
1 John 5:12
In Paul’s day,
many of the early Christians sorrowed
thinking there was no resurrection
– no life hereafter. To
set the matter straight, Paul said,
“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 with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the
air…Therefore encourage each
other with these words.” 1
Thessalonians 4:15-18 Paul did not
comfort those grieving for their
deceased friends with the notion
their friends were in heaven.
No. He pointed them forward to
the resurrection.
The devil started it
The one who brought
confusion to this point in the very
beginning was the devil. Satan
told Eve she wouldn’t die if she
disobeyed God. Today, Satan has
twisted the meaning of death 180
degrees so that many people believe
that death means life! King
David knew the dead weren’t in
heaven praising the Lord for he said,
“It is not the dead who praise
the Lord, those who go down to
silence; it is we who extol the
Lord…” Psalm 115:17
The apostle Peter also
knew the dead weren’t in heaven
praising the Lord. In his
famous sermon on the Day of Pentecost
he quoted a number of references from
the Old Testament where King David
had prophesied about the coming
Messiah. Then Peter concluded
by saying that David was not in
heaven. He said,
“Brothers, I can tell you
confidently that the patriarch David
died and was buried, and his tomb is
here to this day…For David did
not ascend to heaven, and yet he
said, ‘The Lord said to my
Lord: Sit at my right hand
until I make your enemies a footstool
for your feet.’ “ Acts
2:29,34
King David knew the
dead were not in heaven playing a
harp and singing praises to
God. He wrote, “No one
remembers you (God) when he is
dead Who praises you from the
grave?” Psalm 6:5 Solomon
understood death just like his
father, David. He wrote,
“Whatever your hands finds to
do, do it with all your might, for in
the grave, where you are going, there
is neither working nor planning nor
knowledge nor wisdom.”
Ecclesiastes 9:10
Daniel saw the great
resurrection at the end of
time. He clearly states that
some of the dead will awake to
everlasting life and others will
awake to shame and everlasting
contempt. “Multitudes who
sleep in the dust of the earth will
awake: some to everlasting life,
others to shame and everlasting
contempt.” Daniel 12:2
There is consistent
harmony throughout the Bible on the
nature of death. Man is mortal
and death is like a sleep. Man
is unconscious of anything that goes
on. The dead are dead!
The dead simply remain in a state of
unconsciousness. They rest from
their labors until the resurrection
morning.
(The author once
visited with a man that claimed to
have died on the operating table for
5 minutes. He reported that he
had an out-of-body experience in
bright lights. Does a
hallucinogenic experience validate or
invalidate the scriptures?)
What about mediums?
Jesus clearly told the
Jews to have nothing to do with
mediums or spiritists. These
are people who practice and promote
communication with the dead.
Jesus said, “Do not turn to
mediums or seek out spiritists, for
you will be defiled by them…a
man or woman who is a medium or
spiritist among you must be put to
death. You are to stone them;
their blood will be on their own
heads.” Leviticus 19:31,
20:27
King Saul finds an
unhappy medium
A special story is
preserved in the Bible to demonstrate
3 important things. Its
conclusion is found in 1 Samuel
28. In brief, King Saul, the
first king of Israel, had repeatedly
failed to obey the Lord. He was
disobedient and rebellious. One
day Samuel was sent to Saul telling
him the kingdom would be taken from
him and given to another. That
promised “other” was a
young Shepard boy named David.
Saul remembered these words from time
to time. Time passed, and
Samuel died.
One day the
Philistines assembled at Shunem to
fight the Israelites. When Saul saw
the size of their army, he became
afraid and terror filled his
heart. The Bible tells the rest
of the story, “He inquired of
the Lord, but the Lord did not answer
him by dreams or Urim or
prophets. Saul then said to his
attendants, ‘Find me a woman who
is a medium, so I may go and inquire
of her.’ ‘There is
one in Endor,’ they said.
So Saul disguised himself, putting on
other clothes, and at night he and
two men went to the woman.
‘Consult a spirit
for me,’ he said ‘and bring
up for me the one I name.’
But the woman said to him,
‘Surely you know that Saul has
done. He has cut off the
mediums and spiritists from the
land. Why have you set a trap
for my life to bring about my
death?’
Saul swore to her by
the Lord, ‘As surely as the Lord
lives, you will not be punished for
this.’ Then the woman
asked, ‘Whom shall I bring up
for you?’ ‘Bring up
Samuel,’ he said. When the
woman saw Samuel, she cried out at
the top of her voice to Saul and
said, ‘Why have you deceived
me? You are Saul!’
The king said to her,
‘don’t be afraid.
What do you see?’ The
woman said, ‘I see a spirit
coming up out of the
ground.’ What does he look
like?’ he asked. ‘An
old man wearing a robe is coming
up,’ she said. Then Saul
knew it was Samuel, he bowed down and
prostrated himself with his face to
the ground.
Samuel said to Saul
‘Why have you disturbed me by
bringing me up?’ ‘I am in
great distress’ Saul said.
‘The Philistines are fighting
against me and God has turned away
from me. He no longer answers
me, either by prophets or by
dreams. So I have called on you
to tell me what to do.’
Samuel said ‘Why
do you consult me, now that the Lord
has turned away from you and become
your enemy? The Lord has done
what he predicted through me.
The Lord has torn your kingdom out of
your hands and given it to one of
your neighbors – David.
Because you did not obey the Lord or
carry out his fierce wrath against
the Amalekites, the Lord will hand
you over both Israel and you to the
Philistines, and tomorrow you and
your sons will be with me. The
Lord will also hand over the army of
Israel to the Philistines.’
Immediately, Saul fell
full length on the ground, filled
with fear because of Samuels’s
words…” 1 Samuel 28:6-20
Three important points
are made:
- The Lord had
turned his back on Saul and
refused to answer him by
prophets or dreams.
Neither did the Lord answer
Saul through the medium of
Endor. In his
desperation, Saul sought out
the devil. What he saw
and heard was a demon in the
form of Samuel the deceased
prophet.
- Notice that
Satan’s remarks were
quite accurate about
Saul’s conclusion.
Even though Satan
doesn’t precisely know
the future (he is not
omniscient), he is very
smart. He had carefully
studied Saul and in the
medium’s house he
succeeded in destroying
whatever courage the
abandoned king may have had.
- Satan clearly
gave Saul the idea that
Samuel was in the grave (not
in heaven or in hell) and
that he would soon join
Samuel in death.
The doctrine that
deceased people are in heaven or hell
opens the door to communication with
spirits. The Bible is
absolutely clear that such
communication is not with angelic
beings but with demons.
Jesus – now alive
forever and ever
In Revelation, Jesus
told John,”Do not be
afraid. I am the First and the
Last. I am the Living One; I
was dead, and behold I am alive
forever and ever! And I hold
the keys of death and Hades (the
grave),” Revelation
1:17,18 Jesus clearly
holds the keys to death and the
grave. He has the power of life
within Himself! Jesus will use
the keys of death and open the graves
of the righteous at the resurrection
during the second coming. Paul
said, “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 with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And
so we will be with the Lord
forever.” I Thessalonians
4:16,17
Problem texts
There are two texts in
the Bible that can be particularly
confusing on the matter of
death. We’ll look at these
briefly:
“For Christ died
for sins once for all, the righteous
for the unrighteous, to bring you to
God. He was put to death in the
body but made alive by the Spirit
through whom also he went and
preached to the spirits in prison who
disobeyed long ago when God waited
patiently in the days of Noah while
the ark was being built…” I
Peter 3: 18-20
Some people interpret
this text to mean that Jesus, during
the time He was dead, went to prison
where evil people had been held since
the flood and there preached
forgiveness to them.
Such a view opens up
insurmountable questions. For
example, after a person is once
consigned to hell, can he be set
free? The Roman Church taught
for centuries that freedom from hell
was possible for a contribution to
the Church. But look at the
flip side of the coin. Suppose
you were in heaven and for a fee,
someone that didn’t like you
could send you to hell? As you
quickly see, the actions of other
people cannot determine nor control
your eternal destiny whether in
heaven or hell.
Consider this
too. What would be the point of
Jesus preaching forgiveness to people
who had been burning in hell for
2,000 years? Can they now
repent and go to heaven? Jesus
preaching repentance to someone
burning in hell for 2,000 years is
anticlimactic isn’t it?
How persuasive would Jesus (or anyone
for that matter) have to be to
persuade those burning in hell for
2,000 years that they need to
repent? The whole idea is
absurd. The Bible teaches that
we have only one chance for
salvation. It is during this
life. Hebrews 4:7
Peter, in our problem
text, is making the point that Jesus
was put to death in the body and made
alive by the Spirit of God. By
this same Spirit, Jesus patiently
waited for 120 years in the days of
Noah to save any and all who would
get on board. (See Genesis
6:1-8) Then Peter says,
“For this is the reason the
gospel was preached even to those who
are now dead, so that they might be
judged according to men in regard to
the body, but live according to God
in regard to the spirit.” I
Peter 4:6 In other words, Peter says
the gospel is preached to those who
are now dead to spiritual things
(Jews) so they might see their need
to live in harmony with the spirit
and receive life and the approval of
God! The true meaning of I
Peter 3 does not conflict with other
scriptures on death when rightly
understood. There is harmony in
the sum of the parts!
The rich man and
Lazarus
No parable has caused
more discussion than this one.
Luke records the story.
“There was a rich man who
dressed in purple and fine linen and
lived in luxury every day. At
his gate was laid a beggar named
Lazarus, covered with sores and
longing to eat what fell from the
rich man’s table. Even the
dogs came and licked his sores.
The time came when the beggar died
and the angels carried him to
Abraham’s side. The rich
man also died and was buried.
In hell, where he was
in torment, he looked up and saw
Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his
side. So he called to him,
‘Father Abraham, have pity 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
fire.’ But Abraham replied,
‘Son, remember that in your
lifetime you received your good
things, while Lazarus received bad
things, but now he is comforted here
and you are in agony. And
besides all this, between us and you
a great chasm has been fixed, so that
those who want to go from here to you
cannot, nor can anyone cross over
from there to us.’ He answered,
‘Then I beg you, father, send
Lazarus to my father’s house,
for I have five brothers. Let
him warn them, so that they will not
also come to this place of
torment.’ Abraham replied,
‘They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them listen to
them.’
‘No, father
Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if
someone from the dead goes to them,
they will repent.’ He said
to him,’ if they do not listen
to Moses and the Prophets, they will
not be convinced even if someone
rises from the
dead.’” Luke 16:19-31
A casual look at the
story raises several questions:
1. Assuming there are
people in heaven and hell, can they
actually carry on a conversation?
2. Can people in
heaven carry water to those in hell?
3. Do the rich go to
hell and the poor go to heaven?
Josephus, a Jewish
historian who lived shortly after
Christ, tells us the story was in
vogue at the time of Christ.
It’s a tale of theological
contrasts within Judaism. For
example, the Sadducees rejected the
idea of a resurrection believing that
one went straight to their eternal
reward at death while the Pharisees
believed in the resurrection. (See
Acts 23:6-9) The Pharisees
believed a wealthy person was blessed
of God for his righteousness while a
poor person was rewarded for some
evil, either hidden or
hereditary. See John 9.
Jesus took this
well-known tale of many opposites and
tied it together with some very
important points – none of which
has to do with burning in hell or
dancing in heaven. Notice:
1.
The Jews were wealthy. They had
been given God’s richest
blessings. They had been
enlightened with truth. They
had been chosen as a special people.
2.
The poor Gentiles did not have the
opportunities of the Jews. But
circumstances do change! The
Jews would become destitute and the
Gentiles would become
enlightened! (Remember the end
of the 490 years, 34 A.D.?)
3.
With roles and opportunities
exchanged, the converted Jew in
torment cries out to the Gentile in
heaven, “I have 5
brothers. Go warn them of
things to come.”
“Abraham replied, ‘They
have Moses and the Prophets; let them
listen to them.’ ‘No
father Abraham,’ he said,’
but if someone from the dead goes to
them, they will repent.’
He said to him, ‘If they do not
listen to Moses and the Prophets,
they will not be convinced even if
someone rises from the
dead.” Luke 16:19-31
Jesus concludes the
tale by placing Himself in the heart
of the story saying, “even if
someone rises from the dead, they
will not be convinced – they are
that hard-hearted.”
Like Peter’s
vision of the unclean animals, the
story of the rich man and Lazarus is
designed to teach an important
lesson. It is not designed to
confirm a theological point. As
we have seen in the series of
studies, the Bible offers a
consistent message. Its
inspiration comes from One that
changes not.
The destiny of the
wicked
Since the Bible says
burning in hell forever is not the
penalty of sin, what is the penalty
of sin? The Bible says,
“…The wages of sin is
death.” The Bible clearly
says there will be a hell fire!
“…But fire came down from
heaven and devoured them. And
the devil, who deceived them, was
thrown into the lake of burning
sulfur…” Revelation 20:9,10
Malachi, the Old
Testament prophet, saw the total
destruction of the wicked. He
writes, “Surely the day is
coming; it will burn like a
furnace. All the arrogant and
every evildoer will be stubble, and
that day is coming will set them on
fire,’ says the Lord
Almighty. ‘Not a root or a
branch will be left to them.
But for you who revere my name, the
sun of righteousness will rise with
healing in its wings. And you
will go out and leap like calves
released from the stall. Then
you will trample down the wicked;
they will be ashes under the soles of
your feet on the day when I do these
things, ‘says the Lord
Almighty. Malachi 4:1-3
Two more difficult
texts
Revelation 20:10 say,
“…They will be tormented
day and night for ever and
ever.” And Revelation 14:11
says, “…And the smoke of
their torment rises for ever and
ever…”
Do these texts imply
an eternally burning hell? At
first glance they seem to! Will
Jesus burn and scorch people forever
and ever? Is this the
unquenchable wrath of God?
First, we have
determined that the wages of sin is
death. Death, by definition of
many Bible writers, means sleep or a
state of unconsciousness. The
destruction of the wicked cannot last
eternally because in this scenario,
they would never die, thus the
penalty of sin is never paid.
The second text
(Revelation 14:11) literally
indicates that the smoke from the
destruction of the wicked rises
forever and ever. If the
complete destruction of the wicked
means an end to sin and sinners, the
scripture then indicates that the
smoke of their torment cannot be put
out. The lake of fire will
consume sin and sinners until nothing
remains.
Revelation 20:10 seems
to say on the surface that the wicked
are tormented day and night
eternally. Actually though,
John was expressing two important
ideas. First, sinners burning
differing lengths of time and
secondly, while they burn, they feel
the torment of their suffering.
From Malachi 4 we know
the wicked will be eventually reduced
to ashes. From John, we know
the wicked will be burned up and that
there will be a new heaven and a new
earth for the first earth is passed
away! Revelation 21:1 From II
Peter 3 we know the earth and
everything in it will melt and be
laid bare with great heat. From
the weight of all the Bible evidence,
John’s comments in Revelation
20:10 indicating the wicked are
tormented day and night forever can
be interpreted to mean “as long
as they exist.” Like
marriage (forgive the comparison),
the vow lasts forever as long as both
parties live.
Hell fire is not the
greatest punishment
In a later lesson, we
will study the sequence of events
that take place before the final
destruction. We will look
further into the resurrections and
the final death.
But the greatest
punishment that Jesus gives to His
created beings at the very end is not
the hell fire. Rather, the
greatest punishment placed upon the
wicked at the end of the millennium
is a revelation of God’s tender
love for each person.
Here’s the story:
1.
At the second coming, the saints are
taken to heaven and the wicked
remaining upon the earth are slain by
the brightness of Jesus’
glory. The earth is desolated
by the splendor of righteousness!
2.
The saints (the resurrected and the
living) are caught up with Jesus in
the air and they return to heaven for
1,000 years. The purpose of
these 1,000 years is very
simple: Jesus wants each
redeemed person to clearly see His
decision on those not in heavens was
fair. In other words, the
saints now get to review the books of
record. They learn, first hand,
why a loved one or friend was not
granted eternal life. Every
mystery will be laid open.
After reviewing each case to their
satisfaction, all saints are
convinced that Jesus was loving, just
and merciful in His judgment on each
person.
3.
At the end of the 1,000 years, the
saints return to earth with
Jesus. Jesus resurrects the
wicked. They come forth to gaze
upon the New Jerusalem and the saints
within the city. Satan, who was
bound to the desolate earth, now
stirs the wicked to attack the New
Jerusalem and rob the redeemed of
their home. As the mob rushes
towards the city, Jesus stops the
vast throng just as he commanded the
storm on Galilee to be still.
4.
Then every eye is drawn to the sky
where a great panorama of
salvation’s story is
played. Each person (saints and
sinners) watches the drama, for the
most incredible event to ever happen
is now to take place. The giant
screen- play in the heaven not only
tells the big story of God’s
love; it replays each person’s
life before its owner. Both
saint and sinner stand in awe.
Now they see as never before the
extended mercy of salvation –
the mystery of God. Now they
comprehend what they dimly understood
before. Now the saints see the
humility of Jesus and sinners see
Paradise lost. The wicked
behold the One who loved them beyond
understanding, the One who died that
they might have the opportunity of
salvation!
5.
Every knee bows before Jesus, the
Father and the Holy Spirit. They
are righteous. They are
fair. They are love! The
wicked bow before their
justice. The saints bow before
their mercy. Now, at this grand
moment, before all human beings that
ever lived, the 7th and
final seal is broken on the book of
life. The book is opened.
Now the multitudes beyond number
understand a new dimension about
God. He foreknew all
this. His written record,
sealed before the world was created,
is exactly the same as the story
contained in the books of record and
reviewed in the sky!
6.
Now God is exonerated before His
creatures. God has been proven
as a God of love. He freely
granted His creatures the power of
choice. Now, Satan stands
before the vast multitude as a
despicable liar. The evidence
clearly shows that God does not use
His foreknowledge to manipulate or
control the outcome of any
event. His creatures truly have
the greatest power outside of
divinity: the power of choice.
The saints rejoice with abounding joy
at the choices they made: the choice
to live by faith, the choice to
follow Jesus, the choice to struggle
against sin, the choice to be what
Jesus wanted them to be, the choice
to do what He wanted, and the choice
to go wherever He directed!
Go-Be-Do!
On the other hand,
sinners are crushed. In despair
beyond words they see the tragic
result of their choices. They
look upon the Holy City, Jesus and
the saints and a grief beyond
comparison overtakes them. They
have no anger against the
Godhead. They are love and the
wicked stand before God with regret
beyond understanding. Their
regret is not based on heart-felt
repentance; rather, it is based on
the consequence of seeing what they
have lost. The seeds of
rebellion are so deep that repentance
is impossible. In agony beyond
description they turn upon each other
to vent their anguish. In mercy
Jesus sends fire down from heaven and
ends the nightmare.
Quiz
1.
When does man become a living soul?
2.
When an evil person dies, what
returns to God?
3.
See if you can find two scriptures in
this lesson that call death
“sleep”.
4.
What does God say about mediums?
Memory Verse: Romans
6:23 “For the wages of sin
is death; but the gift of God is
eternal life through Jesus Christ our
Lord.”
Notes:
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