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The UK Bible Students Website Christian Biblical Studies
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JUDGMENT DAY
All Bible references are to
the Anglicised New International Version (NIV-UK), unless noted
otherwise.
Let the heavens rejoice,
let the earth be glad; let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’ Let the sea
resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in
them! Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the
LORD, for he comes to judge the
earth.
― 1 Chronicles 16: 31–33 ―
DO SINNERS REALLY GO TO HELL? Rather surprisingly, this topic was recently discussed
in ‘The Big Question’, the popular BBC television programme. It elicited fierce
defence of the notion on the one hand, and scornful ridicule on the other.
Surprising? Yes. At this point in human history, where the increase of knowledge
has tended to undermine religious belief, and faith in the Christian Bible in
particular, doctrinal topics have little appeal to the majority, merely
providing an opportunity for unbelievers to mock the stubbornly credulous who
cling to the old ideas. Yet the discussion was conducted seriously, showing that
what the future holds for the human race, and more particularly for each of us
as individuals, is still a cause for serious concern. It matters! But it was an atheist who
had the last word, paradoxically nearer to the truth than most Christians: ‘When
I come to the end of this life,’ he said, ‘I shall be dead.’
Can any
evidence be presented to prove that the numberless deceased of humanity are
surviving somewhere? Are they in some Heaven of bliss, or in some dreadful Hell
of torment? But ah! some would say ― their bodies are dead, but their souls live
on, continuing in a conscious existence. Not so! It was not until the Creator
had breathed into his nostrils the breath of life that man became a living soul.
When that breath ceases, the living
soul dies (Genesis 2:
7;
Ezekiel
18:
1-3, King James
Version).
Of course there
can be no scientific evidence, but any who are not fully prejudiced against
Biblical teaching may glean from the Scriptures some nuggets of truth that
appeal to reason, and may open up a fascinating and intriguing new way of
viewing the question of life, death and Divine Judgment. It must be noted that
at Jesus’ first advent special heavenly prospects were opened for the
members of the Body of Christ, those saintly ones who have laid down their lives
in sacrifice with their Lord ― the subject of another
study.
What is Sin?
Definitions
will of course vary according to inherited or acquired values and standards of
conduct, and while without doubt many non-religious people live exemplary lives,
the question of dealing with those who fail to live according to right
principles has never been satisfactorily resolved. For the God-fearing minority,
sin is understood to mean, succinctly, the violation of God’s Law, a definition
commonly held by several faith groups. But in this exposition we discuss it from
the Christian standpoint which, as we hope to show, reveals the Divine wisdom
and the glorious recovery of the willing from sin and death, to perfection and
life everlasting.
There are standards of right-doing and equity
which cannot be violated without incurring serious
consequences. In the Bible the abuse of
those principles is called
sin, and the consequence of
continued and incorrigible sin is
the withdrawal of life. Thus it was that early in the dawn of human history the
process of sin and death set in when Adam, in yielding to his own desire, lost
the privilege of perpetual, enduring life, both for himself and for
his
offspring (Genesis 2:
17). But a veiled hope of eventual recovery was given,
which many God-fearing people of succeeding generations trusted as implying the
eventual release of the race from the sentence of death, and restoration to the
original perfection of life (Genesis 3:
15).
The penalty for
sin is death ― not life in a place of torment. Job in his distress longed to
die, knowing he would be restored to life in due time (Job 14:
12–14):
[M]an lies down and does not rise; till the heavens are no more, men will
not awake or be roused from their sleep. If only you would hide me in the grave
and conceal me till your anger has passed! If only you would set me a time and
then remember me! If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my hard
service I will wait for my renewal to come.
Abraham
believed God’s promise that through his offspring all people on earth would be
blessed ― a reversal of the curse of death imposed on account of sin
(Genesis 28:
14). And in
the New Testament the Apostle Paul
takes up the theme, declaring that ‘The wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’
(Romans 6: 23). Linking God’s ancient promises to events current in his day,
Paul identifies Christ Jesus as that son of Abraham who would bless all people
(Galatians 3: 8, 16, 29):
[8]
The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and
announced the gospel in advance to Abraham: ‘All nations will be blessed through
you.’ [16] The Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many
people, but ‘to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ. [29] If
you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the
promise.
The Meaning
of Hell
In the Old Testament, the word ‘hell’ is translated from
the Hebrew sheol, which means ‘grave’. The New International
Version and most other modern translations give it this way. Hell – the grave –
is the state of non-existence, the inevitable prospect for everyone. Jesus told
His disciples that ‘No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven
— the Son of Man’ (John 3: 13), and Paul some years later referred to deceased
believers as being asleep, awaiting
the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:
6, 18).
All entered
Hell, the sheol of the Hebrew
scriptures, the place grossly misrepresented from mediaeval times as a
place of torture. Like wolves among the lambs, ambitious worldly men within the
Church system found that they could use the fear of eternal punishment to
control the minds and lives of superstitious millions. In the New Testament it
is rendered chiefly from the Greek word hades, which corresponds to the
Hebrew sheol, and has the same meaning.
So Do Sinners Really Go To
Hell?
Yes – and so do the righteous. The grave is our
resting place until the Son of Man calls us to awaken, not to a Judgment Day of
24 hours, but to a remarkable opportunity to gain everlasting life! In John 5:
28, 29 (American Standard Version), Jesus expresses it
thus:
Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the
tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto
the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of
judgment.
The word ‘judgment’ here is translated from krisis, and signifies
a trial, including the verdict at its close, which will be everlasting life on
the one hand, or annihilation on the other, depending on one’s response to the
conditions of that period the Scriptures call Judgment Day. In Acts 17: 31 it is
written,
[H]e has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man
he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the
dead.
What a
reassuring prospect! Note that it is the world’s judgment that Paul is discussing
here. The common conception of it is entirely out of harmony with God’s
righteous character and the promises recorded in His inspired Word. The term
day, in both Scripture and ordinary speech, often means a period other
than twenty-four hours. For example, St. Paul refers to the era during which the
Gospel is preached as ‘the day of salvation’
(2 Corinthians 6:
2). And,
again, the Apostle Peter, writing of the coming ‘day of judgment’ reminds us of
Moses’ statement that a day with the Lord is as a thousand years, and
vice versa (Psalm 90:
4;
2 Peter 3:
8).
There is,
therefore, good reason to believe that the duration of the ‘day of judgment’ is
a thousand years, and that this
judgment is a vital feature of the Millennium, the Kingdom of Christ on earth,
prayed for by countless generations of believers in the Lord’s
Prayer.
Judgment Day Intended to Bless – Not to
Condemn
Usually our
first reaction to the word ‘judgment’ is one of dread – an offence has been
committed for which the guilty is brought to trial and punished. Indeed, as
stark as it may seem, when at the dawn of human history Adam’s disobedience
brought the death penalty upon him, the entire race he generated suffered the
same sentence. That the Creator’s justice, wisdom and love prompted this course is another
subject and is dealt with elsewhere on this site, but suffice it to state that
the sentence against Adam served the Divine purpose of teaching mankind the
consequences of sin. But Judgment Day will not be merely an opportunity to
pronounce new, even harsher verdicts.
The Divine
Judgment Day includes beneficial instruction. All will learn of the
salvation provided through Christ the Saviour. Let the Scriptures speak: ‘For
the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as
the waters cover the sea.’ (Habakkuk 2: 14). ‘All your
sons will be taught by the LORD, and
great will be your children’s peace’ (Isaiah 54: 13). In the earthly Kingdom,
conditions will be conducive to full recovery from the fallen state, and the
King of Kings will administer a righteous government
(Jeremiah 23:
5).
Testing for loyalty to the Lord will be another feature of
Judgment day. But this trial will be more favourable than the first in Eden, the
dying process and mankind’s long experience under the Curse having taught
powerful lessons. The death sentence inherited from Adam will be rescinded, each
man and woman judged as individually responsible under the laws of the New
Covenant, then in operation.
The final judgment ― the vital decision as
to worthiness of everlasting life, is generally accepted as being depicted in
Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:
31–46).
The
essence of the parable of the sheep and the goats is the heart condition of the
redeemed millions of mankind. Some may outwardly conform to the law, while
inwardly resenting its strictures. Their sentence will be – not eternal torment
but – annihilation. They will cease to exist. The Bible testimony is that the
penalty for sin is withdrawal of life, the end of conscious existence ― a
merciful end for them, and a relief for the loyal citizens of the new earth, for
whom an eternity of joy awaits.
______________
Scriptures Cited
^Genesis 2: 7
(King James Version)
‘And the LORD God formed man of the dust
of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became
a living soul.
^Ezekiel 18: 1-3 (King
James Version)
‘1 The word of the LORD came unto me again, saying, 2
What mean
ye, that ye use this proverb concerning the land of Israel, saying, The fathers
have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge? 3 As I
live, saith the Lord GOD, ye
shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in
Israel.’
^Genesis 2: 17
(NIV-UK)
‘[B]ut you
must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it
you will surely die.’
^Genesis 3: 15
(NIV-UK)
‘And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your
offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his
heel.’
^Genesis 28: 14
(NIV-UK)
‘Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will
spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All
peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your
offspring.’
^1 Corinthians 15: 6, 18
(NIV-UK)
‘6 After that, he
appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time, most of
whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. . . . 18 Then
those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are
lost.’
‘For he says, “In the time of my
favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now
is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of
salvation.’
^Psalm 90: 4
(NIV-UK)
‘For a thousand years in your
sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the
night.’
^2 Peter 3: 8
(NIV-UK)
‘But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day
is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.’
^Jeremiah 23: 5
(NIV-UK)
‘”The days are coming,” declares the LORD, “when I will raise up to
David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and
right in the land.”’
^Matthew 25: 31-46
(NIV-UK)
‘31 When the Son of Man comes in
his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly
glory.
32 All the nations will be
gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 He will put the sheep on his
right and the goats on his left.
34 Then the King will say to
those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your
inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the
world.
35 For I was hungry and you
gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I
was a stranger and you invited me in,
36 I needed clothes and you
clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to
visit me.”
37 Then the righteous will
answer him, “Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give
you something to drink?
38 When did we see you a
stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe
you?
39 When did we see you sick or
in prison and go to visit you?”
40 The King will reply, “I tell
you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine,
you did for me.”
41 Then he will say to those on
his left, “Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared
for the devil and his angels.
42 For I was hungry and you
gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to
drink,
43 I was a stranger and you did
not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in
prison and you did not look after me.”
44 They also will answer,
“Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or
sick or in prison, and did not help you?”
45 He will reply, “I tell you
the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do
for me.”
46 Then they will go away to
eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal
life.’
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July 2010 ukbiblestudents.co.uk
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