FINAL JUDGEMENT
INTENTION:
Be Bold as a
Believer: No Fear, No Worry, No Doubts, No Punishment, No Torment; just His
Love!
The Lord holds “no
records of wrongs” in your life (or anyone else’s). Thus, we have to let go of
the fear that all my “sins done in secret” (or any of them) will be revealed at
Final Judgement.
A person is only
judged by whether they Believe in Jesus Christ or don’t.
That’s all it is; and
not everyone will be at the “Great White Throne of Judgement”.
I.
TOPIC:
We want to look at Final Judgement.
This is at the very end of earth’s existence as it is to be
burned with fire when God judges the Righteous and the Evil.
We will look at what this Judgement is, and where it fits
chronologically with all the events leading up to it regarding the Living and
the Dead. Following, to start off in brief, is the history of all things:
1. “In
the Beginning” (Genesis
1:1a). God is infinite—He has always existed and will always exist.
2. From
God’s timeless beginning (not our human beginning), the world itself had
forever existed as a sphere covered fully by “waters of the deep” (2
Peter 3:5) with the Spirit of the Lord perpetually hovering over it (Genesis
1:2).
3. Then
the following events of “Creation” transpired over the next 6 days culminating
in the earth fully prepared for humanity (Genesis
1:3-31). God then rested (Genesis
2:1-3); but now working (John
6:29).
4. Mankind, living in the Garden of Eden then began
their free-will nature of taking the forbidden fruit and sinning. This resulted
in mankind, one-by-one, being expelled from the Garden populating the world (Genesis 3:1-24; 6:1-4).
5. Eventually,
mankind (humankind) had grown in such number with the freedom of God’s Love, Grace,
and Mercy that they forgot about (lost touch with) God. This was devastatingly
sad for the Lord who was their literal Father (longing for relationship). That
His children abandoned Him crushed His heart. Try as He might, none would
hearken to Him and His efforts were futile. But, a few people did still hear
and revere (Genesis
6:5-8).
6. This
brought about the great full-earth Flood (Genesis
7:1-24; 8:1-22; 9:1-17) destroying all but that which was on the Ark. It
was so violent, it tore the continents apart from the Pangea grouping it was (Genesis
1:9), to what we see now. One may wonder why He would punish all of
humanity this way, but remember, they were given a chance to believe in Christ
as they patiently waited for Jesus to come minister to them in prison (1
Peter 3:18-20).
7. Post-Flood,
we can read about in Job which is the oldest book of the Bible talking about
the Dinosaurs and Dragons saved in the Ark (Job
37-42).
8. Humanity
multiplied and united again from that devastation, yet followed back into their
own fleshly ways, building the Tower of Babel to try and “overcome” God. This
is when conflict arose among them and each one could not agree; creating
factions of people and languages to define their own identity separate from God
and from each other. And they scattered the earth to the lands we have now (Genesis
11:1-9).
9. At
no time had the Character and Nature of God’s Love, Grace, and Mercy left the
earth. But, in order to intervene to help keep humans from once again repeating
their fleshly ways, God stepped in to the life of Abram (Genesis
12:1-9; 13:14-18; 14:18-24; 15:1-20; 17:1-27; 18:1-15; 21:1-7).
10. Then
from Abraham, the lineage gets to Joseph in Egypt (Genesis
37; 39; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47). “God sent me before you to preserve
for you a remnant in the earth, and to save you alive by a great deliverance”.
There they prospered and brought us the great architecture and master-building
that was the Egyptian empire and Pyramids—but done so eventually as slaves (Exodus
1:1-15; 2:23-25).
11. We
then get to Moses (Exodus
3:1-22). The Lord freed the Israelites (Genesis
12:31-42), not to bring them out to destroy them, but to give them rest to
settle in the land promised them through Abraham. They were instead scared of
the unknown, their flesh longing to return to the perceived “comfort” of
slavery (Exodus
14:10-14).
At this time, the Lord
gave to Moses the 10 Commandments “written on stone” (Exodus
20:1-17; 31:18). Ones that gave them an understanding of what the Lord’s
Heart was for them to just Love and not sin. But what was meant as Life, Israel
hardened their own hearts (Hebrews
3:3-11); instead, finding an impossible set of rules to follow—in lieu of
Love. They did not yet trust the Lord as a Loving and protecting Father. So
they wandered the desert, protected and favoured, until the generation that
held onto to Egypt passed (Acts
7:38-54).
12. But these “rules” could never make a person
Righteous (Galatians 2:15-21). And so, as He always knew, He had to send His
own Son, Jesus Christ, as a Law-Abiding Human to follow the meaning of the Law (Love)
and all the blood sacrifices it entailed to fulfil the Law, bringing peace and
unity between all humanity (Romans 8:1-4) through His own blood—where now there is neither Jew or Greek, Male
or Female, Slave or Free (Galatians 3:26-29).
13. Since
that completion through the Cross, the sending back of the Holy Spirit to all
the earth to each and every human (Acts
2:16-21), and the utter destruction of the literal Jewish Temple, we now,
currently live in “His Sabbath Rest” (Mark
2:27-28) and the “Year of the Lord’s Favour” (Luke
4:16-21) until Christ Jesus comes again.
This now is where we as humanity live, waiting for the Lord
to come again to separate the “wheat from the tares” (Matthew
13:24-30), and usher in the 1,000-year reign of Christ Jesus and the
completion of the End Times.
Let’s first look at how Jesus speaks about the “End Times”,
then get into the events that will transpire before the “Great White Throne of
Judgement”:
II.
READING: Matthew
24:1-51; 25:31-46 (WEB) {PoG}
Jesus went out from the temple, and was going on his way.
His disciples came to him to show him the buildings of the temple. 2 But he
answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell
you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown
down.”
3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to
him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? What is the sign of
your coming, and of the end of the age?”
4 Jesus answered them,
“Be careful that no one leads you astray. 5 For many will come in my name,
saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will lead many astray. 6 You will hear of wars
and rumours of wars. See that you aren’t troubled, for all this must happen,
but the end is not yet. 7 For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom
against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various
places. 8 But all these things are the beginning of birth pains.
9 “Then they will deliver you up to oppression and will kill
you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name’s sake. 10 Then many
will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. 11
Many false prophets will arise and will lead many astray. 12 Because iniquity
will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to
the end will be saved. 14 This Good News of the Kingdom will be preached in the
whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
15 “When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, Daniel
9:27; 11:31; 12:11, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet,
standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), 16 then let those who
are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let him who is on the housetop not go
down to take out the things that are in his house. 18 Let him who is in the
field not return back to get his clothes. 19 But woe to those who are with
child and to nursing mothers in those days! 20 Pray that your flight will not
be in the winter nor on a Sabbath, 21 for then there will be great suffering, such
as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever will
be. 22 Unless those days had been shortened, no flesh would have been saved.
But for the sake of the chosen ones, those days will be shortened.
23 “Then if any man tells you, ‘Behold, here is the Christ!’
or, ‘There!’ don’t believe it. 24 For there will arise false christs, and false
prophets, and they will show great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if
possible, even the chosen ones.
25 “Behold, I have told you beforehand.
26 “If therefore they tell you, ‘Behold, he is in the
wilderness,’ don’t go out; or ‘Behold, he is in the inner rooms,’ don’t believe
it. 27 For as the lightning flashes from the east, and is seen even to the
west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 28 For wherever the carcass is,
that is where the vultures gather together.
29 “But immediately after the suffering of those days, the
sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall
from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken; Isaiah
13:10; 34:4 30 and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky.
Then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man
coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 He will send out
his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his
chosen ones from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.
32 “Now from the fig tree learn this parable: When its
branch has now become tender and produces its leaves, you know that the summer
is near. 33 Even so you also, when you see all these things, know that he is
near, even at the doors. 34 Most certainly I tell you, this generation will not
pass away until all these things are accomplished. 35 Heaven and earth will
pass away, but my words will not pass away.
36 “But no one knows of that day and hour, not even the
angels of heaven, but my Father only. 37 As the days of Noah were, so will the
coming of the Son of Man be. 38 For as in those days which were before the
flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the
day that Noah entered into the ship, 39 and they didn’t know until the flood
came and took them all away, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. 40 Then
two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left. 41 Two
women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left. 42
Watch therefore, for you don’t know in what hour your Lord comes. 43 But know
this, that if the master of the house had known in what watch of the night the
thief was coming, he would have watched, and would not have allowed his house
to be broken into. 44 Therefore also be ready, for in an hour that you don’t
expect, the Son of Man will come.
45 “Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom his lord
has set over his household, to give them their food in due season? 46 Blessed
is that servant whom his lord finds doing so when he comes. 47 Most certainly I
tell you that he will set him over all that he has. 48 But if that evil servant
should say in his heart, ‘My lord is delaying his coming,’ 49 and begins to
beat his fellow servants, and eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 the lord of
that servant will come in a day when he doesn’t expect it and in an hour when
he doesn’t know it, 51 and will cut him in pieces and appoint his portion with
the hypocrites. That is where the weeping and grinding of teeth will be.
31 “But when the Son of Man comes
in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne
of his glory. 32 Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will
separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the
goats. 33 He will set the sheep {believers} on his right hand, but the
goats {non-believers} on the left. 34 Then the King will tell those on
his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for
you from the foundation of the world; 35 for I was hungry and you gave me food
to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me
in. 36 I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in
prison and you came to me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when
did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? 38 When
did we see you as a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe you? 39 When
did we see you sick or in prison and come to you?’
40 “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you,
because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you
cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;
42 for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you
gave me no drink; 43 I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and
you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we
see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and
didn’t help you?’
45 “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell
you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to
me.’ 46 These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into
eternal life.”
III.
RELATED VERSES AND QUESTIONS:
A. Though we are living post-Cross now, we can look
back to Jesus’s death, that while dead, He ministered to those in prison (being
guarded and keeping watch, G5438)—not
in Hell, but Hades. He spoke the Truth of Himself and God’s Gospel of Grace so
that they were given the free-will choice on whether to believe in Him for
Salvation or not.
1
Peter 3:18-22 (WEB)
Because Christ also
suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring
you to God, being put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, 19
in whom he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, 20 who before were
disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was
being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water. 21
This is a symbol of baptism, which now saves you—not the putting away of the
filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God, through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who is at the right hand of God, having gone
into heaven, angels and authorities and powers being made subject to him.
Question: Is this fair to you that the Lord
ministered to those who didn’t have a chance to know Jesus then?
B. As
now, living post-Cross in the “year of the Lord’s favour” which is not one
year, but refers to a time-period that is from Jesus previously coming to His
next coming. And this Second Coming will be pre-empted by what is coined “The
Rapture”. This word isn’t in the Bible, but is a term created for the event
where all believers get lifted from this earth to meet the Lord Jesus in the
Heavens.
Of note, that when
referring to believers whose bodies have perished on this earth, it is
discussed as “sleep” (just as Jesus referred to the deceased Lazarus in John
11:11-15 as fallen asleep). Likewise for the phrase “the dead in
Christ”, it is not the same Death as being a non-believer whose eternal
destination is in Hell.
1
Corinthians 15:51-55 (WEB)
Behold, I tell you a
mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in
the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and
the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. 53 For this perishable
body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 But
when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will
have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed
up in victory.” Isaiah
25:8
55 “Death, where is your
sting? Hades, where is your victory?” See Hosea
13:14
1
Thessalonians 4:13-18 (WEB)
But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who
have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring
with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we tell you by the
word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the
Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord
himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel
and with God’s trumpet. The dead in Christ will rise first, 17 then we who are
alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds, to
meet the Lord in the air. So we will be with the Lord forever. 18 Therefore comfort
one another with these words.
Question: If the “dead in Christ” and all other
believers are “caught up together” (raptured) to meet Jesus, who is left on the
earth?
C. So,
when does the “rapture” take place? For me, it is in the middle of the Great
Tribulation. When reading Revelation
5, 6, and 7 as being in chronological order, “those who came out of the
great tribulation” did so after the sixth seal was broken and before the
seventh seal. When they came out (were raptured), it states from what we read
above, that “we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore comfort one another
with these words”. And we will read following that they are clothed in white robes,
and they are before the throne of God. We see that there is an immediate
transition from being on earth to being changed in that twinkling of an eye
into the imperishable. All those, “dead in Christ” and living believers go
straight to where the Lord is, shepherding them and leading them to springs of
life-giving waters.
Revelation
7:9-17 (WEB) {PoG}
After these things I
looked, and behold, a great multitude, which no man could count, out of every
nation and of all tribes, peoples, and languages, standing before the throne
and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands.
10 They cried with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation be to our God, who sits on
the throne, and to the Lamb!”
11 All the angels were
standing around the throne, the elders, and the four living creatures; and they
fell on their faces before his throne, and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen!
Blessing, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honour, power, and might, be to our God
forever and ever! Amen.”
13 One of the elders
answered, saying to me, “These who are arrayed in the white robes, who are
they, and where did they come from?”
14 I told him, “My lord,
you know.”
He said to me, “These are
those who came out of the great suffering {tribulation}. They washed their
robes, and made them white in the Lamb’s blood. 15 Therefore they are before
the throne of God, they serve him day and night in his temple. He who sits on
the throne will spread his tabernacle over them. 16 They will never be hungry or
thirsty any more. The sun won’t beat on them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who
is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of
life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Question: Are any who are “raptured” told or
shown to be judged—or separated-out for a later judgement?
D. This,
is not the only “rapture”. From the time that these living believers and “dead
in Christ” are taken up to heaven, earth and humanity still exist. And thus,
for a time period, with chaos ravaging the earth, other people will come to
believe in Christ Jesus as the great tribulation testifies of the Lord. The
next “rapture” is the harvest.
Revelations
14:6-20 (WEB)
I saw an angel flying in
mid heaven, having an eternal Good News to proclaim to those who dwell on the
earth, and to every nation, tribe, language, and people. 7 He said with a loud
voice, “Fear the Lord, and give him glory; for the hour of his judgment has
come. Worship him who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and the springs of
waters!”
8 Another, a second angel,
followed, saying, “Babylon the great has fallen, which has made all the nations
to drink of the wine of the wrath of her sexual immorality.”
9 Another angel, a third, followed them, saying with a great voice, “If
anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead,
or on his hand, 10 he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is
prepared unmixed in the cup of his anger. He will be tormented with fire and
sulphur in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. 11
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. 12 Here is the perseverance of the saints, those who keep the
commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.”
13 I heard a voice from
heaven saying, “Write, ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’”
“Yes,” says the Spirit,
“that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow with them.”
14 I looked, and saw a
white cloud, and on the cloud one sitting like a son of man, Daniel
7:13 having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. 15
Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him who sat
on the cloud, “Send your sickle, and reap; for the hour to reap has come; for
the harvest of the earth is ripe!” 16 He who sat on the cloud thrust his sickle
on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Another angel came out
of the temple which is in heaven. He also had a sharp sickle. 18 Another angel
came out from the altar, he who has power over fire, and he called with a great
voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, “Send your sharp sickle, and
gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for the earth’s grapes are fully
ripe!” 19 The angel thrust his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vintage
of the earth, and threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 20
The wine press was trodden outside of the city, and blood came out of the wine
press, even to the bridles of the horses, as far as one thousand six hundred
stadia.
Question: What
does it mean to you that, “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on…
that they may rest from their labours; for their works follow with them”? Is
this pertaining to the “work of God” (John 6:29)?
E. What
follows this harvest are bowls of wrath (Revelation
15 and 16) poured out over humanity to give one last set of signs and
wonders to have people come to believe in Him. More Grace and opportunity for
anyone to choose Him. But in heaven, multitudes and multitudes give praise (all
those believers who have come up from the earth in the previous “raptures”).
Yet, on earth, some humans come to believe in the Lord still.
Revelation
19:1-9;19-21 (WEB)
After these things I heard
something like a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,
“Hallelujah! Salvation, power, and glory belong to our God; 2 for his judgments
are true and righteous. For he has judged the great prostitute, who corrupted the
earth with her sexual immorality, and he has avenged the blood of his servants
at her hand.”
3 A second said,
“Hallelujah! Her smoke goes up forever and ever.” 4 The twenty-four elders and
the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who sits on the throne,
saying, “Amen! Hallelujah!”
5 A voice came from the
throne, saying, “Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear
him, the small and the great!”
6 I heard something like
the voice of a great multitude, and like the voice of many waters, and like the
voice of mighty thunders, saying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the
Almighty, reigns! 7 Let’s rejoice and be exceedingly glad, and let’s give the
glory to him. For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his wife has made
herself ready.” 8 It was given to her that she would array herself in bright,
pure, fine linen: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.
9 He said to me, “Write,
‘Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb.’” He said
to me, “These are true words of God.”
19 I saw the beast, and
the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against
him who sat on the horse, and against his army. 20 The beast was taken, and
with him the false prophet who worked the signs in his sight, with which he
deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped
his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with
sulphur. 21 The rest were killed with the sword of him who sat on the horse,
the sword which came out of his mouth. So all the birds were filled with their
flesh.
Question: Who is now left on the earth?
F. We
are now set up for Christ’s 1000-year reign. We have two groups of people left
now: the first are those already changed into their new bodies from being
brought up out of the earth, and secondly, those who are left on the earth that
came to believe in Christ Jesus (but who have not received their new bodies).
These believing survivors of the wrath of God are now free of evil as Satan and
the Devil are locked up. These people can now start repopulating the earth as
they are still in the original bodies. He is using these 1000 years of His
reign to demonstrate to humanity what earth would be like if Satan, the Devil,
and sin-conscience didn’t exist.
Revelation
20:1-6 (WEB)
I saw an angel coming down
out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 He
seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives
the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him
into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the
nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be
freed for a short time. 4 I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was
given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony
of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his
image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They
lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead
didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.
Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and
of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.
Question: Who are the “rest of the dead”?
G. God
always gives us free will. He will never force us to believe Him. Hence why,
after 1000 years, Satan will be released for people to choose between believing
the Lord or not.
Revelation
20:7-10 (WEB)
And after the thousand
years, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and he will come out to
deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog,
to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
9 They went up over the width of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the
saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God and
devoured them. 10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire
and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be
tormented day and night forever and ever.
Question: We are told that during this time, to
die at 100 years old is to die early and animals won’t kill each other (Isaiah
65:17-25)—why then only 1000 years of reign?
H.
The people
now remaining on the earth are believers still alive from before the 1000-year
reign, and anyone born during that 1000-years that did not get deceived and
believes in the Lord. We have to recall that those who were raptured before,
were already made new, given white robes, and have been with the Lord
perpetually. Thus, all who are to be judged now at the final judgement are:
believers that are still alive (but not in their new bodies) and all those who
are dead—whether those believers who died between the previous “rapture” and
through the 1000-year reign, or those that are dead non-believers (awaiting in
Hades—not Hell—for their final judgement). And it is at this final judgement
that two scrolls (books) are opened that tell of the persons’ works. But these
works are not talking about sins committed, but whether the “work of believing”
or the “work of not believing” in Christ Jesus:
John
3:16-18 (WEB)
For God so loved the
world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God didn’t send his Son into the
world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through him. 18 He
who believes in him is not judged. He who doesn’t believe has been judged
already, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
John
6:28-29 (WEB)
28 They said therefore to him, “What must we do, that
we may work the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
Revelation
20:11-15 (WEB)
I saw a great white
throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away. There was found no place for them. 12 I saw the dead, the great and the
small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was
opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which
were written in the books, according to their works. 13 The sea gave up the
dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They
were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown
into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 If anyone
was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
Question: Have you ever been threatened or told
not to commit sin because it will be revealed in final judgment from some “book
of sins”? Do you still think that believers that are already with the Lord will
be judged in a way that they might now be “removed” from the Lord and sent to
Hell?
IV.
FURTHER THOUGHT:
A. 1
Corinthians 13:4-8a (WEB)
Love is patient and is
kind. Love doesn’t envy. Love doesn’t brag, is not proud, 5 doesn’t behave
itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek its own way, is not provoked, takes no
account of evil; 6 doesn’t rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the
truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures
all things. 8 Love never fails.
Thoughts: We’ve learned before that ‘God = Love’ (1 John 4:16). So when we read that “love takes no account of evil”, it is directly
saying, “God takes no account of evil”. Meaning, there is no record-keeping of
any of your wrongs, sins, or evils. How can He judge us on something He does
not keep a record of?
Truly: what part of "God keeps no record of
our wrongs" (1 Corinthians 13:5b) and "God remembers your sins no
more" (Hebrews 10:17) do we not fully believe?
All your sins of the flesh were taken at the Cross “once and for all
time” (Hebrews 10:10). We need not fear final judgement because there will be no torment
(correction, punishment, penalty – penal infliction). We fear because we
“expect” punishment—yet, living in fear is tormenting. This is why when we can
fully understand, experience, and embrace what is God’s truly Unconditional
Agape Love, all that fear and torment go away—something so difficult to find in
this world where the “love” of this world always comes with expectations
(conditional love).
The only Sin that matters is the Sin of Not Believing in Christ Jesus
(being the works of God to believe); and this “Jesus’s words” about believing
in Him:
John
12:44-48 (WEB)
Jesus cried out and said, “Whoever believes in me,
believes not in me, but in him who sent me. 45 He who sees me sees him who sent
me. 46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in me may
not remain in the darkness. 47 If anyone listens to my sayings, and doesn’t
believe, I don’t judge him. For I came not to judge the world, but to save the
world. 48 He who rejects me, and doesn’t receive my sayings, has one who judges
him. The word that I spoke will judge him in the last day.
1
John 2:22-29 (WEB) {PoG}
Who
is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the Antichrist,
he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 Whoever denies the Son doesn’t have
the Father. He who confesses the Son has the Father also.
24 Therefore, as for you, let that remain in you
which you heard from the beginning. If that which you heard from the beginning
remains in you, you also will remain in the Son, and in the Father. 25 This is
the promise which he promised us, the eternal life. 26 These things I have
written to you concerning those who would lead you astray. 27 As for you, the
anointing which you received from him remains in you, and you don’t need for
anyone to teach you. But as his anointing teaches you concerning all things,
and is true, and is no lie, and even as it taught you, you will remain in him.
28 Now, little children, remain in him, that when he appears, we may have
boldness, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. 29 If you know that he
is righteous, you know that everyone who {has been made righteous} has been
born of him.
1
John 4:17-18 (WEB) {PoG}
In this, love has been made perfect
among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because as he is,
even so we are in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love
casts out fear, because fear has punishment {torment}. He who fears is not made
perfect in love.
A thank you to Kelly and Joshua who are inspirational in this life-journey. And to all the family, friends, sponsors, and donors who have fed into this ministry and outreach.
If you would like to support this ministry and outreach, you may do so via our website or at:
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