When Time Stops and Judgment Doesn't

 

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.  He will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the earth.  He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.  And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city.  But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.  Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet.  There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.  And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it.  The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.  I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne.  And the books were opened, including the Book of Life.  And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.  The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead.  And all were judged according to their deeds.  Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire.  This lake of fire is the second death.  And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.  Revelation 20:7-15

The apocalyptic prophecy of God, written in this final book of God’s Word, declares the eventual disposition of evil…forever punishment in the lake of fire, a buring torment, an image that ought to  produce jaw-dropping awe.  

For a human context I immediately recall Sadaam Hussein, a despotic madman visiting unchecked decades of evil on his own people, murder, arrogant imposition of poverty, the work of a man gone insane with absolute power.  Pursued by an army, Sadaam was ferreted out of a hole in the ground, and hanged.

Where this analogy breaks-down is the aftermath.  Sadaam is gone, his body buried in 2006 in a grave not far from where he was born in Tikrit.  In a hundred years most every work of his hand on this earth will be forgotten.  But what of his soul?  What of that part of his being, created in the image of God, which still exists.  And what is that like now?  And what will it be in 100, 1000, or 10-billion years?

The answer is fraught with some grey area, certainly, but God does not leave us without understanding that evil is punished, not simply for a brief season; it is eternal.  And the moment the word “eternal” is uttered, the game clock shatters, stopped by Divine fiat. 

In much the same way as those who live in the grace of God also mirror the image of their Creator, those who choose to reject God live in the image of the chief rejector, Lucifer.  And the fate that awaits their judgment is a shout from Heaven, pronouncing their eternal residence in the lake of fire.  Scripture calls this fate of those who separate themselves from worshipping God The Second Death. 

No human can look into the eyes of another human and declare lostness; that judgment is reserved for God alone.  But, the fact that we cannot judge each other does not negate the reality of that judgment.  Hear the word of God on this:

And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,  Hebrews 9:27

For You Today

Eternal judgment for sin means time stops, but we don’t.  The eternal day of those who live in the light is mirrored by the eternal night of those under judgment.  May we spend our lives pointing others to the light, the joy of Christ, Who is the only escape from the wrath to come.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

A Thousand Years in Chains

 

Monday, June 7, 2021

Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.  He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years.  The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished.  Afterward he must be released for a little while.  Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge.  And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God.  They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their foreheads or their hands.  They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.  This is the first resurrection.  (The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years had ended.)  Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection.  For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.  Revelation 20:1-6

One of the realities about the human soul is a sense of justice.  That perceptive awareness reveals itself in art, theatre, literature, and everyday life.  Watching a movie or reading a book about an injustice done to the weak by the powerful, who among us doesn’t long for the moment of retribution?  We see the news stories about oppression of one group by another, actions by the strong, those in charge, to keep their power at the cost of another’s freedom.  And it rankles the hairs on the back of our necks.  We long for justice, that which sets wrongs right.

The Revelation is placed at the end of Scripture’s story of our history and future for a reason.  It is apocalyptic, displaying what’s prepared for all of God’s creation.  It is here we see what God has in store for those faithful to Him, and those who reject His rule.  For that second class there is the second death…an eternal sentence of rejection from the presence of God.

Biblical scholar William Barclay said of this passage:

Every schoolboy studies his lesson, not in the light of the lamp, but in the light of the coming holiday.

The holiday – that which comes following the season of study and training, with exams and final grades – is what illuminates the anticipation of a child’s heart.  Frankly, as a child, I lived for the final bell at the end of the school year.  I could not wait for a summer, a two-month lifetime of ball games, swimming in Stump Pond, and books gathering dust in the closet.  (These days ball games and dips in a swamp give way to reading and study – and gladly!)

This Scripture passage about God’s angel binding Satan with chains for a thousand years is an event that satisfies justice.  The serpent who deceived Eve in the garden is judged for that, and all the other enticing of God’s creatures into sin.  But, it is only prologue to the everlasting torment of final separation from God.  As if a thousand years in solitary confinement were not enough, that is like the blink of an eye compared to eternity.  And all the judgment that the devil will experience, along with those who reject Christ, is a second death.  God’s promise to those who choose to accept Christ’s gracious gift of salvation is no fear; there will only be peace and joy…and the justice of having every wrong set right, every tear wiped away, and every sorrow turned to singing!

For You Today

If you long for a time of complete, righteous justice, you’re longing for the coming Kingdom.  If you sometimes are a little nervous about what that brings, hear this:

For those who are born once, there will be a second death.

For those who have been born twice (born again), there is a second life…and that is eternal.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!   

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[1] Title Image: Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

Heavens on Fire

 

Wednesday, December 30, 2020
But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends:  A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day.  The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think.  No, he is being patient for your sake.  He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent.  But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.  Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.  Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along.  On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames.  But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.  2 Peter 3:8-13

We are extremely near the end of time for year #2020, but that is nothing compared to the end of time for time.  And the comparison is the same for the events of both 2020 and the events that will flood God’s day of Judgment; 2020 has been more than challenging, but Judgment Day will have no parallel in its consequences.

Peter’s description of the heavens on fire and the elements melting away in the flames pictures a conflagration, the size of which is unimaginable.  For those who are unsure of what the future holds this is a painful, dangerous thought to entertain.  It’s not just the matter of death, or some pain, but the unknowable future; what if there really is life following this existence?  What if God really does hold us humans accountable?  What if?

Well, the what if is a certainty for those who know Jesus Christ as Lord, says the big fisherman, Peter, and we look forward to the new heavens and earth God has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness. 

So, preacher, when will all this take place?  Have you got a prediction like that nutcase standing on the street corner downtown, waving his sign?  No, I don’t have a sign, and God has not chosen to tell us the ETA on our GPS.  But what God has chosen to tell us is to be prepared so, when it does happen, we won’t be like those surprised and losing all hope of eternity.

There are those who argue that, since it hasn’t happened for thousands of years, its not a concern for this week…or even their lifetime.  But that is just a matter of Biblical ignorance.  Peter tells us that God is not a slave to clocks or calendars.  God is on His own schedule, and the reason for this time of awaiting Christ’s return is God’s patience.  God wants all humans to be saved, sins forgiven, souls secured for eternity.  But the very mention of judgment, of the heavens on fire, is that there are those who reject, and will continue to reject God’s offer of forgiveness.

God is patiently waiting, but that will end at some point.  Frankly, if you die before the Lord returns, Scripture tells us there will be resurrection day.  And, more precisely, there will two resurrections^{(see Revelation 20)}.  The first resurrection will be of those who died faithfully believing in Christ.  The second resurrection is of those who rejected the offer of salvation by simply refusing to confess their sins and the fact that they are estranged from their Creator.  Listen to how the Apostle John describes that first and second resurrection:

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it.  The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.  I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne.  And the books were opened, including the Book of Life.  And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.  The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead.  And all were judged according to their deeds.  Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire.  This lake of fire is the second death.  And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.  Revelation 20:11-15

For You Today

The promises of God in Scripture (not what you feel, or think is right, but God’s Word), are certain.  Some are difficult to hear, such as judgment day.  But that is only so if you haven’t accepted Christ; to those who have the promises are life!

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title image:  via Pixabay.com   W  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation^©

For another post on this text see End of the Road and Faith or Terror?   

 

Harvest of the Earth

 

Monday, July 20, 2020

Revelation 14:12-20

This means that God’s holy people must endure persecution patiently, obeying his commands and maintaining their faith in Jesus.  And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on.  Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!”  Then I saw a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was someone like the Son of Man.  He had a gold crown on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.  Then another angel came from the Temple and shouted to the one sitting on the cloud, “Swing the sickle, for the time of harvest has come; the crop on earth is ripe.”  So the one sitting on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the whole earth was harvested.  After that, another angel came from the Temple in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle.  Then another angel, who had power to destroy with fire, came from the altar.  He shouted to the angel with the sharp sickle, “Swing your sickle now to gather the clusters of grapes from the vines of the earth, for they are ripe for judgment.”  So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath.  The grapes were trampled in the winepress outside the city, and blood flowed from the winepress in a stream about 180 miles long and as high as a horse’s bridle.

Sorting out the imagery John uses may have been easier for those raised on farms.  The whole issue of “harvest” is alien to me.  The only time in my life when I tried to have a vegetable garden, I invested in seed, fertilizer, a tiller, and many days of work and watching; my “harvest” was one sickly-looking cucumber, a couple of tiny tomatoes, and a summer squash no bigger than your pinky finger.  By my math it came out to around $48 per veggie.  I went back to Food Lion the next day!

John wrote that the angel thundered the crop is ready…ripe…get the sickle!  The harvest is two-fold.  The first is started by the angel coming from the temple, carrying the Father’s message from the throne room to Jesus, the “Son of Man” sitting on the cloud.  This image comes right after the encouragement of patience to the saints; they who die in the Lord will be in this harvest as those whom Paul wrote will be in the first resurrection[1].  There is nothing fearful in this, as it is God’s promise of firstfruits.  After Jesus’ resurrection He told the disciples that they would never be away from His presence or providence.  That includes death.  This is why the Scriptures refer to those who have died in Christ as “sleeping” – it is a picture of what will happen.  Eventually you awaken from sleep to a new day.  This “harvest” is that day when the dead in Christ are called out of the graves.  This is a harvest of life!

There is a second angel, possessing the power to destroy.  The angel (not Jesus) also has a sickle for a ripe harvest.  This is the time of judgment for sin.  The second resurrection is a second death.  Those who have rejected Christ in this life will embrace an eternity of being rejected at the judgment seat in Heaven.  The full weight of sin will be born by those who choose to remain apart from Christ, the One who came to bear our sin.  But, for those who accept Christ’s offer of forgiveness here on earth, there is no condemnation, no judgment or punishment.  They participate in the first resurrection, never to suffer or die again.

Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.  Revelation 20:6

Let’s Pray Together:

Father, we are thankful for the promise of forgiveness and eternity of life.  We are also fearful for our loved ones, neighbors, and many around the world who are caught in unbelief.  Help us to effectively carry the message of your holy child, Jesus, that others might believe, and be saved.  Lord, in Your mercy…

For You Today

If there is one thing I do know about harvest, it is that the signs are unmistakable.  To the skilled farmer/gardener, when the signs are there, it is time, and there is no time to waste.  God’s vineyard is awaiting that harvest, some to joy in the presence of their longed-for Lord…and, sadly, the rest to the winepress. 

May God have mercy and grant us all the courage to deliver this message to a world that may not have long to wait for the sickle.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road today.  Have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com  Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©

For other posts on this text:  Harvest Time and When You Have a King for a Friend and Blood River

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[1] See Revelation 20:4-6