A Judgment Day For Christians?

Biblegems #270

Question: Why does Jesus say in John 5:24 that Christians will not be judged, whereas Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that “we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ”?  

Here are the two verses in question:

Jesus:

         John 5:24  “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.”

Paul

         2Cor. 5:10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

These passages refer to two different kinds of Judgment. John 5:24 refers to what is also known as the Great White Throne Judgment. Those who die without having their names recorded in the book of life must appear before the Lord at this judgment to hear the verdict of eternity in hell (i.e., “the lake of fire”):

         Rev. 20:11-12, 15  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it… 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

        

John 5:24 teaches that those who trust in Jesus now have already “crossed over from death to life.” Jesus’ followers will not have to face the Great White Throne Judgment at all! In full agreement with this teaching, 1 Corinthians 6:2 points out that Jesus’ followers will sit with Jesus, exercising judgment over unsaved humanity and rebellious angels:

1Cor. 6:2  Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

“The judgment seat of Christ”  (2Cor. 5:10) is where Jesus’ followers must account for the way we put our earthly lives to use, good or bad.

         Rom. 14:10c—12  …For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. …“ So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

This judgment for believers is not about eternal life or eternal damnation, but about how we manage the resources God entrusts to us in this life. This has a direct bearing on the level of responsibility entrusted to us in the Kingdom of Heaven. In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:15-46), here is what Jesus says of those who invested the resources entrusted to them by the Master while he was away—

Matt. 25:23  ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The judgment seat of Christ” is where Jesus’ followers will be appointed to their roles and responsibilities for eternal life in heaven, based upon the way we conducted our lives here—after we put our faith in Jesus.

Hell—Literal Or Figurative?

Biblegems #177

Question: Is hell literal or figurative? If it is literal, is it really eternal?

Our word “hell” comes from the New Testament Greek ge÷enna (pronounced “gehenna”). Jesus taught about hell as a very real place:

         Matt. 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

To be “destroyed” in hell does not mean the person ceases to exist. “Destroyed” in the New Testament Greek means “ruined” or “lost.” God created human beings for eternal existence both physically and spiritually. “Death” is the temporary separation of the body from the soul caused by sin:

         Rom. 5:12  …sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men…

But eventually every human being will be physically and spiritually raised from death:

         John 5:28-29  Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.        

Hell is the final destination of those who die without having been rescued (saved) by Jesus Christ (Lk. 19:10). Jesus described this fearful place of physical as well as spiritual torment:

Matt. 5:30 …It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

         Mark 9:43 …It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Unfortunately, translators have sometimes supplied the word “hell” in our English Bibles inappropriately. When Peter writes about certain angels already in “hell” (2Pet. 2:4), he’s actually referring to a place called “Tartarus” (tartarw¿saß) where these angels are imprisoned until the Final Judgment.

The same is true of Jesus’ story of Lazarus and the rich man, where “hell” should be translated “hades” (Gk. aˆ‚dhØ), referring to the realm of the dead who are awaiting the Final Judgment (Lk. 16:23).

Hell was designed for Satan and the angels who rebelled with Him against God (Matt. 25:41). Nevertheless, through Adam and Eve humanity fell into that same rebellion. Sin has contaminated the human race ever since, locking all of us into both the contamination of sin and sinful behavior:

         Ps. 51:5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

God—because He is just, holy and all-powerful—cannot abide sinfulness and rebellion in His creation forever. Evil will be purged one day at the Final Judgment, and all sin and unrepentant sinners rendered powerless in hell. As sinful human beings then, our condition is hopeless, except for the way out provided by God alone:

         John 11:25-26  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

The Rapture and the Unsaved Dead

Biblegems #175

Question: If the dead in Christ rise first and those believers living at the time are caught up to join them in the sky (1 Thess. 4:16-17), what happens to the unsaved dead?  Do they stay buried, or join ones left behind on earth?

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 is the classic New Testament passage describing the return of Jesus Christ and the rapture of the church. It is in these two verses where we learn that those who already died as believers in Jesus will receive their resurrection bodies at the moment of Christ’s physical return to earth, immediately followed by believers still living on the earth who likewise receive their resurrection bodies—people who will never experience death. This is what the church has called the “rapture.”

This climactic event in God’s timetable of the redemption of mankind triggers four more critical events that conclude God’s grand plan:

1) The outpouring of God’s Wrath, where Satan and the Antichrist

are defeated and the earth is laid waste (Rev. 11:18; Rev. 19:19-20).

2) The reign of Jesus Christ from Jerusalem for one thousand years (the Millennium), during which the earth is restored and its survivors live in peace, health and under the righteous judgment of Christ:

Rev. 20:4-5 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

3) The temporary release of Satan, who instigates mankind’s final rebellion against God in a massive attack against Jesus’ seat of government in Jerusalem. Satan is defeated forever (Rev. 20:3, 10).

4) The Final Judgment (also called the Great White Throne Judgment), where all who have lived and died without Christ are bodily resurrected and condemned to an eternity in Hell (Rev. 20:11-15).

The Bible teaches that the souls of those who die without Christ spend their existence in Hades (Old Testament: Sheol) until the Final Judgment. Their bodies, of course, as with believers, decay until they are resurrected. For believers, the resurrection occurs at Christ’s return. For nonbelievers, their resurrection occurs at the Final Judgment following the millennial reign of Christ. Then, at last, death and Hades are both destroyed in Hell, “the Lake of fire” (Rev. 20:14) and God creates “a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away…” (Rev. 21:1).

It is important to remember that all of mankind is condemned. It is not Jesus who condemns us but our own sinful condition. God wants no human being to suffer the torment of Hell (2Pet. 3:9).

         John 3:16-17 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.