Special note - This
introduction has been rewritten (On
It is now divided into several different parts. The first part gives the
basics of what the scriptures have to say about judgment of the nations; the
other parts build on the first part.
Remember, I have shown
all scripture in red because Christ was the Word from the beginning. He is speaking through all of the
scriptures.
PARTS INCLUDED IN THIS
INTRODUCTION:
PART I – THE NATIONS JUDGED
PART II – BELIEVERS COMING INTO
JUDGMENT
PART III – CAUGHT UP TO MEET HIM IN THE
AIR
PART IV – JOEL SAW THE NATIONS BEING JUDGED
PART V – THAT NEW WORLD TO COME
PART VI – THE FIRES OF HELL
PART VII – LIFE IN THE NATIONS OF THAT
NEW EARTH
HE WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS
PART I – THE
NATIONS JUDGED
For fifty years I had some vague ideas
of what judgment and heaven and hell would be like. It was based on my
learning experiences from preachers and teachers and my own Bible studies.
In recent years I have come to realize that my picture of judgment has
been restricted because I had not been listening to what the scriptures were
saying. Because of my beliefs about the subject, I had been reading in
things that were not there and ignoring some things that were there.
After years of ignoring what some
scriptures were saying, I have decided to take a new look at what the future
holds, regarding judgment and beyond, by listening to all scripture that I can
find that addresses the issue.
Following, I will try to show how some
of our Christian beliefs about judgment and the hereafter may not be supported by
scripture. I will also present some possible alternatives that could be
scriptural. Read what I have written but your real duty will be to listen
to the word of God and believe Him. Let's listen to Jesus describe
judgment.
In Matthew, chapter 25, beginning in
verse 31 He speaks of the day when He will come in glory with His angles and
sit on His glorious throne. He will have
all of the nations gathered before Him and He will separate them like a
shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
He will put the sheep on the right and the goats on the left. He says, "Then the King will
say to those on His right, `Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Matthew 25:34)
Jesus will tell those on the right that they are heirs to the kingdom because they did good
deeds for Him. They gave Him food when He was hungry, water when He was
thirsty, etc. He will explain how they did them to Him when they did them to, “one of these brothers
of Mine, even the least of them”.
He will then tell those on the left how
they are condemned because they did not do those works of love for His
brothers. He will judge the nations and reward them based on the works
of love that they will have done (Or not done) for His brothers.
What about faith in Jesus? Why
does Jesus not mention faith? The scriptures tell us repeatedly about how
we are justified by our faith in Jesus, not by our works. Some other
scriptures, however, do mention people being judged based on their deeds
(Ezekiel 24:14 and Revelation
I had pictured every person who will
ever live being selected for one side or the other, the saved on the right and
the damned on the left. We know that the saved will be saved by
faith. Is Jesus really saying that? If He is, we should be able to
see it confirmed in other scripture. We need to look a little deeper into
the scriptures to find the answer to that question.
We have just seen what Jesus said about
how He will judge the nations on that day when He comes in glory. Other
scriptures mention that day and what will take place when He comes. What
else is mentioned about that day? One thing has to do with how that day
will begin. If we back up one chapter in Matthew, we can listen to Jesus
speak of how the day will begin.
In Matthew, chapter 24 He tells us how
the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all of the tribes of the
earth will see Him coming on the clouds of the sky with power and glory (Verse
30). He says, "And He will send forth His
angels with A GREAT TRUMPET and THEY WILL GATHER TOGETHER His elect from the
four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.”
This is how the day will begin when
Jesus comes in glory. It will begin with the sign of the Son of Man
appearing in the sky. When His sign appears, all of the tribes of the
earth will see Him and mourn.
As we read in another place where
the scriptures speak of Christ's coming with the clouds, "BEHOLD, HE IS COMING
WITH THE CLOUDS, every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all
the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him." (Revelation 1:7)
Seeing the Lord coming on the clouds of the
sky is not something that will happen for just the few believers. Every
eye will see Him coming with the clouds, including those who crucified Him.
That last day will begin at different
times of the day on this earth (Depending on time zone) but it will be the
beginning of a new day, Judgment Day. Jesus will send forth His angels and
gather together His elect from the four winds; from one end of the
sky to the other. In Mark He said that it would be from the far end of
the earth to the end of heaven (Chapter 13).
No matter where they have been
scattered, they will be found and brought to Jesus. His elect are really
His brothers, so He will be gathering together His brothers from every nation
on earth.
If He will gather together His brothers
from among the nations and then judge the nations based on how they treated His
brothers, why not keep His brothers with Him as He judges the nations. Is it possible that
He will be doing exactly that? Is it possible that
the mental picture that I had of what would be taking place on that day was
wrong?
Is that why He will
tell those on the right that they are blessed of the Father because they did
those works, for one of these brothers of mine, rather than tell them they are blessed for having done them for each
other? Will His brothers be with Him at the throne?
We will begin our
study with these basic questions and search the scriptures for answers. We will search knowing that all
scripture must be consistent with other scripture. As we read more
scripture about the future and judgment, more questions will come up. We
will see some possible answers but some things may remain unanswered. The
true answers must be consistent with all scripture.
We began our discussion of judgment by
looking at Matthew, chapter 25, telling of how the nations will be gathered
before Him and judged. That whole chapter is about judgment. When
we read of Jesus coming in glory and sitting on His throne to judge the
nations, He had just finished giving the parables of the ten virgins and of the
talents.
Both of those parables are telling us
about judgment of the Lord's servants. The parable of the talents tells us how
He will judge His servants based on their faithful service. In that
parable the master’s slaves were entrusted with his talents and they must give
an account for what they have done with them when he returns.
When He returned He
came to settle accounts with His slaves. The first one was the slave who
had received five talents and gained five more. When the slave who gained
five talents reported what he had done, the master told him, "Well done, good
and faithful slave. You were faithful with a few things, I will put you in
charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master." He praised the
one who had gained two talents in like manner. The one talent man that
did nothing but hide his talent was condemned and cast into outer
darkness.
Each of the master's
slaves was judged based on their faithful service. Those who are faithful will
be brought into the joy of their master. That applies to the elect.
His faithful servants will have completed their work and they will enter into
His glory and become children of God and they will
inherit the
They are the brothers
of Jesus. On that last day His brothers will have been His faithful slaves on
this earth. His brothers will be rewarded for their faithful service and be put
in charge of many things in His kingdom.
After Jesus told the
parable of the talents His next words were to tell us how He will come and sit on
His throne and judge the nations before Him and He will judge them based on the
works of love that they did for His brothers. He began to tell about that
judgment by saying, "But when
the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will
sit on His glorious throne.”
The word "But" (In that statement) is
not found in most modern translations but it is in the NASB translation and it
is in the original Greek. It is a trivial word that usually adds
little to the meaning but maybe not in this case.
Is He telling us the difference between
judgment of His servants verses judgment of the nations? Is He telling us
that He will judge His servants based on their faithful service "But"
He will judge the nations based on the works of love they will have done
for His brothers?
We will all be judged and that includes
believers. Paul tells us about when he says, “For we must all appear
before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his
deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2
Corinthians 5:10).
He said the same thing
in Romans, chapter 14. He said that we
will stand before the judgment seat of God and give an account of ourselves. All will be judged
and that includes the elect of God, the brothers of Jesus.
With regard to the possibility that the Lord will
judge His servants before He judges the nations, Peter spoke of
those who are called to suffer as Christians and said, “For it is time for
judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first,
what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God” (1 Peter
When Peter said it was time for
judgment to begin with “us”, he included himself.
He says that judgment will begin with the household of God first.
Is he saying that judgment of unbelievers will come later?
Peter seems to be saying that judgment of unbelievers who will not have obeyed the gospel will come after Jesus has judged His own. Peter also said that the time had come for that judgment to begin with the household of God and he said those words nearly two thousand years ago.
If he meant exactly what he said, then
it appears that there are separate judgments, one for the saints and another
for unbelievers and it also appears that judgment of the saints began back
then. It
sounds like the souls of the saints are being judged when they depart this life.
Will only those
unbelievers and those who have not obeyed the gospel be out before Jesus with the nations on that last day? If so, the elect would
not be judged when the nations are brought into judgment.
Was Jesus speaking of that when He told
a crowd of Jews, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My
word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into
judgment, but has passed out of death into life.”
(John 5:24)
Notice, those who hear the words of Christ and
believe what He says have eternal life and will not come into judgment but they
have passed out of death into life. That means they were dead before
they became believers. All unbelieving
sinners are dead.
Did He mean that the elect will not come into
judgment with the nations in the resurrected flesh on that last day because
their souls will have been judged before that? Will the souls of
believers be judged when they depart this life? If so, there would need
to be the exception of those who will still be alive when Christ returns.
We know that some of the faithful will
still be alive when Christ returns. If the household of
God will be judged first then they must be judged before the nations are
judged.
We read of His coming on the clouds of the sky, in Matthew, chapter 24. After He described His coming, He told a parable about the slave who was placed in charge of the master’s house.
Regarding the slave who was faithful and
gave the master’s other slaves their food at the proper time, if the master
finds him so doing when He comes, he will be blessed and put in charge of all
of the Master’s possessions (Verses 45-46).
Jesus said that for
the evil slave who served unfaithfully and mistreated his fellow slaves, the
master of that slave will come on a day when he will not be expected and he, “will cut him in pieces and assign him a
place with the hypocrites; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth”.
When Jesus gave a
similar parable in Luke, chapter 12, He said of the unfaithful slave that He
will cut him in pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. When
the Lord returns those unfaithful servants will be judged and placed with the
unbelievers.
After Jesus spoke those parables of how He will judge His servants who are still serving when He returns at the end of Matthew, chapter 24, then He gave the parables of the virgins and the talents at the beginning of the next chapter (Matthew, chapter 25).
It appears
that He may still be speaking of how He will judge those servants who will be
alive and serving on earth when He gave those parables. In the parable of
the talents He said, "Now after a long time the master of those slaves came
and settled accounts with them.”
It sounds like those servants who will still be
alive on earth will be judged before the nations are judged. He will
judge them based on their faithful service but then it sounds like He will
judge the nations based on how they will have treated His brothers.
If judgment of the
nations will only include unbelievers and those who will not have obeyed the
gospel, will that be the same judgment that John spoke of in Revelation,
chapter 20? He spoke of judgment of the dead.
John writes, “I saw the dead, the
great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and
another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged
from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (Revelation
20:12).
John saw the dead standing before the throne
and being judged. They will be judged by their deeds, not by their
faithful service. He appears to be seeing the same judgment that Christ
spoke of when He described judgment of the nations. Remember, they will
be judged based on how they will have treated Christ’s brothers. That
will happen after the resurrection.
In the same chapter where Peter said that it was time for judgment to begin with
the household of God and if it begins first with us what will happen to the
others, he said something else about judgment. He spoke of those who
malign us and said, “but they will give account to Him who is ready
to judge the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:5)
Remember, Jesus said
that those who believe His words have passed out of death into life. Believers are the living. Unbelievers are dead. It appears that there will be separate
judgments for the living and the dead. It also appears that the dead may
be judged after the living will have been judged.
It appears that only the dead will be before
the throne when He judges the nations on that last day. Believers are not dead and
Jesus said, "everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die." (John 11:26) If
believers will never die then how could they be with the dead being judged that
John spoke of?
If those who will be separated to the right
hand side will not be the brothers of Christ will they be the same ones that
the LORD was speaking of when He called Abraham? The LORD told him to
leave his country and his father’s house and go to a land that the LORD would
show him. God promised him that He would make him a great nation and He
would make his name great and he would be a blessing.
He then told Abraham, “And I will bless
those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you
all the families of the earth will be blessed." (Genesis 12:3)
When the LORD made the promise to Abraham that
He would bless those who would bless him and curse those who would curse him
and in him all of the families of the earth would be blessed He was speaking of
three different groups of people.
The first part of that promise had to do with
outsiders and how the LORD will respond to them based on how they will have treated
Abraham
(And his descendants). Some will be blessed and some will be
cursed. The last part of that promise is speaking of Abraham’s
descendants by faith.
Regarding the last part of the promise that all
of the families of the earth will be blessed in him, Paul said that it was
really the gospel message being preached. In Galatians Paul made reference
to the LORD’S promise to Abraham and said, “The Scripture,
foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel
beforehand to Abraham, saying, "ALL THE NATIONS WILL BE BLESSED IN YOU
." So then those who are of faith are blessed with Abraham, the
believer.” (Galatians 3:8-9)
When God made that promise to Abraham He
was preaching the gospel to him. It was to Abraham and to his
descendants of faith. It was foretelling them how the gospel was to
be preached to all nations and everyone who believes and obeys that gospel will
become spiritual descendants of Abraham and they will be blessed in Abraham by
having been brought into Jesus Christ, Abraham’s true descendant of promise (Mark
16:15-16 and Galatians 3:16-29).
Their
promise is the kingdom of heaven.
What about the first part of God’s promise to
Abraham that He would bless those who would bless him and curse those who would
curse him? He is speaking of outsiders.
He will bless some outsiders who will have blessed Abraham and his
descendants and He will curse others who will have cursed them. Will He keep
that part of His promise on the last day also?
God will keep His promises to all
people. He will not just bless a few and curse a few of those
that He said that He would bless or curse. Each person who is not of the
descendants of Abraham will be blessed or cursed according to how they
will have treated Abraham’s descendants of faith.
If He will bless some outsiders and curse some others based on how they will have treated Abraham’s spiritual descendants and if it will only happen on this earth that would create some problems.
If it is only happening on this earth then "all"
of the wicked ones who will have caused problems for or cursed God’s people
will be living miserable lives and "all" of the good people of this world who
will have been a blessing to God’s people will be living lives with great
blessings.
That is obviously not happening on this earth. The exact opposite is happening in many cases. We can see some of the evil people of this world living in splendor and comfort.
With regard to the wicked people of this world (At least for
some of them), the Psalmist tells us that he had come close to stumbling, “For I was envious of
the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked. For there are no
pains in their death, And their body is fat. They are not in trouble as
other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind.” (Psalms 73:3-5)
Just as we all have seen some evil people
living the good life of comfort and pleasure in this world we have seen some
very good people having difficult times in their lives. Some of the most
awful tragedies happen to some very good people.
Speaking of those outsiders who would bless
God’s people, if the LORD was only referring to blessing those outsiders with
blessings in this life, that promise would mean very little. Our lives on
this earth are as vapors that appear for a while and then vanish away (James
4:14). Any promise of being blessed in this short life for someone that
would later be cast into hell fire for all eternity would be of little
benefit.
We are looking at the promises of God that we read about in Genesis, chapter 12. When God made those promises to Abraham they were conditional. If Abraham would go forth from his country and from his father’s house to a land that God would show him, God would keep His promises and one of those promises was the gospel promise of the kingdom of heaven that would be given to his descendants of faith. He also promised to reward outsiders based upon how they will have treated Abraham and his descendants.
Abraham obeyed God and he went to that earthly
How can we know that? We can know that
when we hear Paul say how the promise to bless all nations in Abraham was the
gospel being preached to him. The true gospel promise
is for the
We can also know
it when we observe that Abraham never did receive that earthly land as a
possession and none of his descendants would receive it for some six hundred
years after God made that promise. What about God’s promise to
them?
God keeps His promises to all people, therefore,
we can know that earthly land was never the true promise. God must have
shown Abraham the true land of promise and he knew it was not that earthly land
because the Hebrew writer tells us that when Abraham was called, “by faith” he
obeyed God and he went out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance
but he did not know where he was going (Hebrews 11:8).
The writer then tells us that, “By faith he lived as an
alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with
Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the
city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.”
Abraham heard the
gospel message being preached
and he believed that message and followed the LORD to that earthly land but the
Hebrew writer said that he did not know where he was going. He went to that earthly land but he would
come to know it was not the place that had been promised. Somehow, God had shown Abraham
the place of promise because he would be looking ahead to that city built by
God.
Abraham spent the rest
of his life in that earthly land living as if he was an alien in a foreign
land. The only property that he ever
owned in that land was a piece of ground that he had to purchase to become a
burial place for his family’s dead bodies (First bought for Sarah – Genesis
23:16-20). He knew they would only stay
there until the day when God would keep His promise and resurrect them from the
dead and take them to their true land of promise.
God will keep His promises to all people and He
will fulfill His promise of that heavenly home to Abraham and to his
descendants of faith on that last day. His descendants by faith will be
the ones who will have believed and obeyed the gospel message and they will follow
the LORD to the land that God has promised.
They will have Abraham’s faith and they will know
that they are aliens passing through this earth as they are looking ahead for
that city built by God. They will show
their faith by not having settled down to a life on this earth. They will know that their citizenship is in
heaven (Philippians
Remember, the other part of God’s promise to Abraham was how He would respond to outsiders based on how they will have treated His people. As God’s people are passing through this world on their way home, some of the people of this world will treat them badly and cause problems for them.
Some, however, will show respect for them and
will give whatever help and assistance they can for God’s sojourners as they are
traveling through this world. God will
bless those who will have shown love and respect for His people and He will
curse the others.
Will it happen when Jesus tells those on the
right hand side that they are blessed of the Father and will inherit the kingdom
prepared for them? For the
others, those on the left who will have seen Abraham’s descendants in desperate situations of need and will have
ignored them, God will curse them. They will be condemned to hell
fire.
How can God bless some outsiders if they will
have not believed and obeyed the gospel message? All of those outsiders will be people of this
world who will not have believed the gospel message and scripture says they
will all be condemned (Mark
All unbelievers will be condemned but God also promised to bless some of them for their having blessed Abraham’s descendants. He will keep that promise just as He keeps all promises. If He is not keeping that promise on this earth will He keep it on that new earth?
How could some outsiders be condemned but also be blessed? Will those who had shown love to
God’s people be condemned to be forever
separated from God and His heavenly city but be blessed with life out on that
new earth?
Notice, the ones on the right are not being
told that they are to inherit the
Is Micah telling us about that when he speaks
of how the LORD will judge and render decisions for distant nations and “- -Then they will
hammer their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning hooks; Nation
will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they train for war.
Each of them will sit under his vine And under his fig tree, With no one
to make them afraid, For the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken.” (Micah 4:3-4)
When he said that the
nations will never again train for war and the people will never be afraid, He
is not speaking of the nations dwelling in peace on this earth. We know that there will be wars and rumors of
wars and tribulation until Christ descends in glory. If it will not happen on this earth it must
take place on that new earth because God always keeps His promises.
If there will be nations out on that new earth
it will not include the saints because they will be living with God in that
city of gold and they will reign forever and ever (Revelation 22:5) If they will reign with God forever and ever,
there must be someone out there to reign over.
Will they reign over the nations and kingdoms that will have been given
to those who will have blessed Abraham’s descendants?
We read what Jesus said about how He
will judge His servants based on their faithful service in the parable of the
talents. Jesus gave a similar parable in the parable of the minas (Luke,
chapter 19). The master was going away to another country where he was to
be given a kingdom and then return. Before he went, he called ten of his
slaves in and gave each slave one mina to do business with while he was gone.
Jesus tells how he judged
his slaves when he returned. He commanded that his slaves be called to
report what they had done. He says, "The first appeared, saying, `Master, your mina has
made ten minas more.” The master will praise him much like the
master did in the parable of the talents.
Notice how the Master will praise that
servant. "And he said to him, `Well done, good slave, because you have
been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten
cities.” The one who gained five more was told the same thing and
was put in authority over five cities. The one who did nothing with his
mina was condemned.
Just as in the parable of the talents,
the master is judging his slaves based on their faithfulness. It appears
that those who will have been more faithful in their service will be permitted
to sit in greater positions of authority. Will their new positions begin
when the nations are brought before the Master for judgment?
In the parable of the minas, after the
master had judged his slaves, he passed judgment on his enemies. His
enemies were the ones who did not want him as their king. They were
citizens of that land and they had previously sent a delegation to request that
he not be made king over them. He was made king in spite of their
objections.
After judging his slaves, the king
said, “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them,
bring them here and slay them in my presence”.
We are seeing separate judgments for the Master’s servants and for those who refused to accept Him as Lord. Those who will not have wanted Him as their King will not be brought in until after He will have judged His servants.
That
appears to be the same group of people as those of the nations before
Christ on that last day. If the nations will not have
accepted Him
as their King it sounds like they will be judged after the saints are
judged. It sounds like He will slay those evil ones.
Will He
have mercy on some who will have assisted His faithful servants?
The Lord’s servants will be judged
first based on faithful service. Those who believe in the Master will do
their duty and He will reward them beyond all expectations. It sounds
like the nations will then be judged based on their deeds. From Matthew,
chapter 25, it appears the Master’s faithful slaves will have entered into the
Master's joy and in the parable of the minas they will reign with
Him.
HE
WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS
PART
II – BELIEVERS COMING INTO JUDGMENT
We heard Jesus speak of believers not coming
into judgment and say, “Truly, truly, I say to
you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and
does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John
5:24)
We also heard Peter say, “For it is time for
judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first,
what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God”
(1 Peter
Based on how Peter worded it there will
be separate judgments for God’s household and unbelievers. He said that God’s household will be judged
first and it began back there in the first century. That means judgment of unbelievers would take
place on that last day.
After Christ spoke of those who have passed out of death into life because they believed His word, He then says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live”.
He
is speaking of unbelievers who will become believers because they heard His
word and will become alive by having showed true belief
with obedience to God’s word. Only those who obey His word really believe it. They will
have obeyed the gospel and gained eternal life by faith in Christ Jesus.
After speaking of how those who believe His
word have passed out of death into life and will not come into judgment He spoke of that last day and
said, "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is
coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will
come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who
committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." (John 5:28-29)
What Jesus says here appears to be in conflict with what we have been hearing when we read about the nations being judged. Those on the right hand side in judgment will have been judged and blessed by the Father for their good deeds.
How can it be that when the dead are raised
and come forth, those who will have done good deeds will be raised to life
while those who will have done evil deeds will be raised for judgment? It is obvious that those on the right will have
done good deeds but they will be there before Jesus in judgment.
We need to look at what the word “judgment”
means. According to Strongs Definitions the
word “judgment” in John
That being true then it
appears that Jesus may be saying that some who will have done good deeds will
come before His judgment seat and be judged but they will not be
condemned. They may be given life. That is what we may be seeing happen when we read about the
nations being judged. Those on the right hand side will receive eternal
life.
Christ was the Word that became flesh
(John 1:1-14). He tells us that he who hears His voice and believes Him
who sent Him has eternal life. John 3:16 tells us that whoever believes
in Jesus will have eternal life but from what we just read, if we don't believe His words
then we do not have eternal life.
John
If those who believe His words have
passed out of death, into life, that means they were dead before they believed.
He is telling them that unbelievers were still dead but any believers
were alive. Those unbelievers standing before Jesus were very much alive
in the flesh. Was He not telling them they were spiritually dead?
Adam was the first to refuse to believe
God's word and die, spiritually. He died on the day he rejected God's
word and disobeyed Him. The unbelieving world is still dead.
When Jesus said that believers “have” eternal life and will not come
into judgment was He speaking of coming into judgment with the nations on Judgment
Day? We know that some of the faithful will still
be alive and serving when Christ returns. If the saints will be judged first,
then Christ must judge them before He judges the nations.
Can we see the saints being judged when
they depart this life in the story that Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus
(Luke
Jesus tells how the poor man died and
the angels carried him away to Abraham’s bosom.
He then tell how the rich man died and was buried. He
said of the rich man, “In Hades he lifted up
his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom”.
The
rich man was in torment in Hades
but Lazarus was in comfort. The rich man cried out to Abraham for
help but he was denied any help for himself. When he knew that he
could not be helped he became concerned about his brothers.
He wanted Lazarus to go back
and warn them about that place.
His brothers were still living on earth. If his brothers were alive on earth, then
Judgment Day had not come and the dead had not been raised. The rich
man’s body was still in the tomb. Only his soul would have been in torment, in
Hades.
Remember, on that last day, all who are
in the tomb will hear His voice and come forth. On that day, the dead
will be raised and they will be brought into judgment in the resurrected
flesh. They will be judged and those who will be damned will
be damned in body and soul (Matthew
With regard to the rich man and Lazarus
it appears that they were both Jews and it also appears that a
decision had been made to cast the soul of the rich man into torment and allow
the poor man to rest with Abraham until Judgment Day. That required some
type of judgment as to where their souls would abide after their bodies had
fallen asleep.
If the servants of the
Lord will be judged when they depart this life, will it happen when they depart
this life to be where Christ is?
In his letter to the
church at
How could he depart to
be with Christ if our souls go to Hades when we die?
Remember, after he died the rich man found himself in torment in
Hades but his body was still in the tomb. His soul would have been in
Hades. It appears that all souls will be in Hades after we die because
Christ’s soul was in Hades.
Regarding souls in
Hades, remember how Peter mentioned the soul and body of Jesus after
His death (From Old Testament), saying,
“BECAUSE YOU WILL NOT ABANDON MY SOUL TO HADES,
NOR ALLOW YOUR HOLY ONE TO UNDERGO DECAY” (Acts, chapter 2).
It appears that Christ's Soul descend
into Hades when His Body went to sleep. The Father rescued His Soul from
Hades when Christ’s Body was resurrected from the dead.
If Christ’s Soul was in Hades He would not have
been in torment. Will there be one place of comfort in Hades and another
place of torment? The poor man was in a place of comfort and the rich man
was in a place of torment.
How can we be in Hades
after death when Paul said that he would be with Christ? Christ is not in
Hades; He is in heaven with the Father. Are the scriptures telling us
that we will be in both places? Will we be in two different places
because the soul and the spirit are different?
There is a difference
between the soul and the spirit. Paul tells us that when he writes, “Now may the God of
peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body
be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Paul says that our
complete make up consists of our spirit and soul and body. We must have
all three to be made complete.
When we die will our
soul be in one place and our spirit in another? Will our soul go down to
Hades and will our spirit go up to
It appears that Paul
was speaking of his death in the flesh and of his spirit departing his body at
death and going to that heavenly home. That is where Christ is presently
seated at the Father’s right hand. Does that mean it will happen to us
also?
It happened to Stephen
when he was stoned to death. He had been arrested for preaching Jesus and
the kingdom of heaven and he would be stoned. Just before he died he
called on the Lord and said, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!" (Acts
It appears that when
our body falls asleep our spirit will return to God who gave it ("then the dust will
return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave
it." - Ecclesiastes 12:7) and our soul will go down
to Hades. On that last day the faithful will be sanctified entirely in
spirit and soul and body.
Will unbelievers not
be sanctified entirely? Will Christ only bring the spirits of the saints
with Him when He returns? Will the spirits of unbelievers not be
coming back for their resurrected bodies? If so, some will come into
judgment incomplete without their spirit. Will they come into judgment only in body and soul?
If that is true they
will be dead because James said that the body without the spirit is dead (James
If our spirit will go
to be with Jesus when our body falls asleep will our spirits come before His
throne and receive judgment for our bodies and souls? Will the souls of
those who will not have done their works of love be condemned to torment?
The rich man had not done works of love for his poor brother and he found
himself in torment in Hades.
Christians “have” eternal life by faith
in Christ. That means they already have that life. Their names are
already recorded in the Book of Life. If they remain faithful until the
end their names will not be erased from that book. Will some others be given
eternal life when they are judged by their deeds (If they have done those works
of love)?
Notice something else about the difference between judgment of the Master’s servants and judgment of His enemies. In the parable of the minas, the Master’s servants will be judged one at a time before his enemies are brought in. Only after all of the servants were judged did the king order that His enemies be brought in.
In that parable
scripture says that when the master returned after he had received his kingdom
he called for his slaves to be brought to give an accounting of what they had
done. Notice how Christ words
it. He says "The first appeared, saying, `Master, your mina has
made ten minas more.' After the first had been rewarded, the second one
came. Later, another came.
After examining His
servants, one at a time, the king had His enemies brought before Him to be
executed. When His enemies are brought before Him it appears that they
will be brought as a group after He has completed judgment of His
servants. It appears that they were not present before the throne when He was
judging His servants.
It sounds like His enemies who did not want Him to rule over them will be brought before Him just as the nations will be brought before Him. The same judgment is being described in both places.
It appears that the misdeeds of the Lord’s
faithful servants will not be mentioned or be broadcast and made known to everyone but the evil
deeds of all unbelievers will be made known in the presence of everyone.
Is Paul telling us
about that when he spoke of those who have been justified by faith and quotes
from what David had said. He says, “just as David also
speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from
works: "BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND
WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. "BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD
WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT." (Romans 4:6-8)
That sounds like what
James said when he spoke of those who would turn a sinner back from his
error. He “will save his soul from
death and will cover a multitude of sins.” (James 5:19)
Wow, it sounds like the Lord's faithful
servants will be judged in private and their misdeeds will not be remembered. They will also not
be revealed to everyone. It also sounds like the unbelieving nations will
be judged in the presence of everyone. It sounds like every evil thought
and deed of those unbelievers may be revealed to all on that last day.
HE
WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS
PART III – CAUGHT
UP TO MEET HIM IN THE AIR
We are looking at the day when Jesus
will come and judge the nations. Paul was speaking of that day in 1
Thessalonians. In chapter three, Paul wrote to encourage them to endure their
afflictions. He ended by asking the Lord to cause them to increase in
love for each other and for all people, “so that He may
establish your hearts without blame in holiness before our God and Father at
the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints”.
He says that Jesus will come with all
His saints. What did he mean when he said Jesus would return with His
saints? He answered that question in the next chapter. In chapter
four Paul continues to speak of the coming of Jesus and how He will descend
from heaven with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and with the
trumpet of God. Paul tells
how those who had fallen asleep will not be left behind, saying, “God will bring with Him
those who have fallen asleep in Jesus”.
Those coming back with Him are the ones
who have fallen asleep in Jesus. They are His brothers. His brothers will
be returning with Him. Will the spirits of the saints be coming back to
receive their resurrected bodies?
If those who have fallen asleep in
Jesus will be returning with Him but no mention is made of others returning
then there would have been a judgment for their faithfulness before that day
comes.
He says that when Jesus descends from
heaven, “the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who
are still alive will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the
Lord in the air”. He
is speaking of the same day that Jesus spoke of in Matthew, chapter 24.
If it is the same day, the elect (His brothers) will be gathered to Jesus
before He sits in judgment of the nations.
If it should be true, as some have
said, that the, “caught up”, described by Paul,
will really happen many years before Judgment Day, the same thing would apply.
We read where the saints will be caught up “in
the clouds to meet the Lord in the air”. Paul then added
something to that statement. He said, “and
so we shall always be with the Lord”.
Whether judgment of the nations will
happen only a short while later or hundreds of years later, the same thing will
be true. The saints will have been caught up to Jesus and will forever be
with Him. It will happen before the nations will be judged.
If they are “caught
up” and will ascend to
meet Jesus to always be with Him, they will always be with Him. They
would not be removed from Him to be judged when the nations are judged.
Jesus will have
gathered His elect (His brothers) from among the nations and some time after
that He will judge the nations. When Jesus speaks of works of love being
done for, “these brothers of mine”,
will He word it that way because they will be with Him at the throne as He
judges the nations?
We will all stand before Christ and be
judged but it appears that the souls of the saints will be judged before their
bodies are raised from the dead (Except for those who will be alive on earth
when He returns). If so, it appears that they will not come into judgment
with the nations on Judgment Day. It also appears that the saints may be
with Jesus at the throne when He judges the nations.
If we will be at the throne, will we be
involved in judgment? Jesus told the apostles that they would be involved
in judgment. He told them, "Truly I say to you, that you who have
followed Me, in the regeneration when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious
throne, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
The regeneration will happen when
bodies are resurrected and living bodies are changed. When that day comes
and He sits on His throne to judge the world, the apostles will also sit on
thrones, judging
The apostles will be judging with Him but will not
His other elect be there at the throne, also? Will the other brothers of
Jesus be assisting in judgment of the Gentile nations as the apostles judge
Was Paul speaking of that in 1
Corinthians, chapter 6? Paul was addressing some of the problems in the
church at
He told them they should take care of
their differences within the church. He also told them, “do
you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by
you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not
know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life”?
The angels who sinned will be judged on
that last day (Jude 1:6). Paul said that Christians will judge
them. He also said that Christians will judge the world. If the
saints will judge the world and if they will also judge angels, it should
happen as Jesus is sitting on His throne in judgment of the nations. Will
the saints be judging those who had either treated them well or treated them
badly?
It sounds like Jesus may judge His servants first based on their faithful service and then He and His faithful brothers will judge the world based on their works of love (Their deeds) for the brothers of Jesus.
Will those who will have blessed His brothers with works of love have been condemned to be seperated from God and His city because of their unbelief but be blessed to receive eternal life in the nations outside of that New Jerusalem?
HE WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS
PART IV – JOEL SAW THE NATIONS BEING
JUDGED
The big
question has to do with the nations before Jesus in judgment on that last
day. Will it include God’s spiritual
We have (For the most part) been reading New
Testament scripture that may be telling us that only outsiders will be out
there. We did look at what God's promises were to Abraham when He called
him. There are other Old Testament scriptures that may be telling us the
same thing.
Some of the prophets saw the end of time and
God’s judgment. One of those prophets was Joel. He ended chapter 2
speaking of when the LORD would pour out His Spirit on all mankind. He
says that "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit
in those days.” (Verse 29)
Those were the same scriptures that Peter
referred to when he preached that first gospel message on the Day of Pentecost
(Acts, chapter 2). Peter said that prophesy was being fulfilled on that
day.
Joel was speaking ahead of the new
covenant and the Christian age and the
Joel will begin the next chapter with the LORD
speaking of the judgment to come. In chapter 3 the LORD is speaking
through Joel of how He will repay all of the nations that surround
As we read what Joel
writes it sounds like God is speaking of His earthly Israel and of those
earthly nations around them and how He will judge those nations based on their
treatment of Israel but when we look closely we can see that He is speaking in
spiritual terms about His spiritual Israel.
The LORD says of those nations, “Let the nations be aroused And come up to the
That
sounds like an earthly judgment of the surrounding nations until we keep
reading and hear the LORD say that, “The sun
and moon grow dark And the stars lose their brightness.” - - - “Then you will
know that I am the LORD your God, Dwelling in
Joel
ends that chapter with the LORD saying, “But
When the
LORD spoke of how the sun and moon will grow dark and the stars will lose their
brightness but He will dwell on His holy mountain and
The only
The LORD
is speaking through Joel in earthly terms of the spiritual to come. He is also speaking of how He will judge the
surrounding nations to avenge the blood of His people. We are actually hearing the Spirit of Christ
speak about that.
Peter tells us that when the prophets of old
spoke to foretell of our salvation and of Christ and His sufferings, it was “the Spirit of Christ
within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the
glories to follow” (1 Peter
Remember, Christ speaks to the crowds in
parables (Matthew
Notice, He is speaking of judging the
surrounding nations on behalf of
If He will judge the surrounding nations
to avenge
When the LORD spoke through Joel of how He will
judge the nations He was speaking of the day of the LORD being near in the
What Joel records about how the LORD will judge
the surrounding nations sounds like what Zechariah had said about judgment of
the nations. Zechariah records how the LORD
will gather all of the nations against
He says that the LORD “will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He
fights on a day of battle.” Zechariah
records that the LORD will stand with His feet on the
Zechariah says, “Then the LORD, my God,
will come, and all the holy ones with Him! In that day there will be no
light; the luminaries will dwindle. For
it will be a unique day which is known to the LORD, neither day nor night, but
it will come about that at evening time there will be light.”
It will be a day when the LORD will be king
over all the earth and
Just as the Spirit of Christ spoke through Joel
in earthly terms of the spiritual judgment to come He also speaks through
Zechariah of that judgment. He
is speaking of that final Judgment Day and judgment of the nations.
It will be judgment of the nations that will have been gathered against
The LORD speaks through Zechariah of judgment
of those nations and says, “Now this will be the plague with which the LORD will strike
all the peoples who have gone to war against Jerusalem; their flesh will rot
while they stand on their feet, and their eyes will rot in their sockets, and
their tongue will rot in their mouth.”
He will also speak of
some who will have been left out of those nations. He says, “Then it
will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against
Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts,
and to celebrate the Feast of Booths.”
It appears that there
will be some from among those nations who will not have chosen to fight against
When He speaks of those
who will have been left of all the nations is He speaking of those who Christ
had said will be placed on the right hand side when He judges the nations? Remember, they will have shown kindness to
His brothers with their works of love. Will
they have been rewarded and given their inheritance out in the nations of that
new earth?
Speaking through
Zechariah of the nations who had gone to war against Jerusalem, some of them
will not go up to Jerusalem to worship, “And it
will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem
to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.” - - - “This
will be the punishment of
It appears that those
who will not have gone up to
For those nations who will not go up to
worship, there will be no rain on them but there is more. We read where their flesh will rot while they
are standing on their feet.
That sounds like what may come to those who will be placed on the left hand side when Christ judges the nations before Him on that last day. They will be condemned to the fires of hell which is the second death because they will have gone to war against His brothers.
Are we hearing of the spiritual fires of hell? If the LORD is speaking of hell then it will be an awful hell for those who will be there. Their flesh will rot as they stand on their feet. That sounds like a second death.
HE
WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS
PART V – THAT
NEW WORLD TO COME
Speaking of that new world to come, the Lord
showed John a new heaven and a new earth and a New Jerusalem coming down from
God. John describes that new heaven and new earth and that new city in
Revelation, chapter 21.
He writes, “Then I saw a new heaven
and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away”. John then says, “And I saw the holy
city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God”.
He tells us how there will be no more death or
crying or pain and He also tells us that, "He who overcomes
will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son.”
John mentioned something about the nations of
the earth as he was describing that new earth and
If the nations are to walk by the light of that
city then it will be the nations of that new earth because the old earth will
no longer exist. If God’s sons, who were His faithful servants of this
earth, will live with God in that city of gold, but there will be nations of
the earth in that new world, then there will be people living out in that new earth.
If there will be people living out on that new
earth would they be the nations of that new earth that God’s people will reign
over? Will they have been the nations
that will be before Christ on that last day?
Those from the right hand side in judgment will
inherit kingdoms. Will they not receive kingdoms out on that new
earth? Will they rule over the damned, those from the left hand
side?
As John continues to describe that
Earlier in Revelations Christ said something else
about what would come to those who overcome. He said that “He who overcomes, and
he who keeps My deeds until the end, TO HIM I WILL GIVE AUTHORITY OVER THE
NATIONS; AND HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON, AS THE VESSELS OF THE
POTTER ARE BROKEN TO PIECES, as I also have received authority from My Father” (Revelation
2:26-27).
It appears that everyone who will have ever
lived on this earth will be on that new earth.
We know that the faithful will be living in
Daniel spoke of other kingdoms to come on that
new earth. He told of the Son of Man coming before the Ancient of Days to
receive His kingdom. “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom,
That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away” (Daniel
Daniel speaks of the court sitting for judgment
and he says, “Then the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the
kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of
the Highest One”.
The saints will not have dominion of all
kingdoms under heaven on this earth. It will happen on the new earth
because Daniel will continue by saying, “His kingdom will be an everlasting
kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him”. That would have to take
place in the world to come because this world is not everlasting.
It appears that the damned will be the dead out on that new earth. Will they be the spiritually dead? Will it be like the spiritually dead on this earth? All unbelievers are spiritually dead on this earth.
HE
WILL JUDGE THE NATIONS
PART VI – THE
FIRES OF HELL
When John describes that heavenly city in
Revelation, chapter 21, he tells how those who overcome will be sons of God and
heirs in that city. He then tells us what will happen to the damned and
says, "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers
and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will
be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death." (Verse 8)
Jesus is speaking of the second death.
Only unbelievers die a second death because believers will never die.
Remember, Jesus said that "everyone who lives and believes in Me will
never die." (John 11:26)
As John continues to describe that city of gold
in chapter 22, he will speak of those who will have a right to enter by the gates
of that city but he will also say that “Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers
and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who
loves and practices lying.”
Those are the same ones that he earlier said
will be in the lake of fire. It sounds like Hell will be located outside
that city on the new earth. That sounds like the lake of fire will be
outside the city. If so, it will be hell fire to those who will be
burning in it but not to those who will be living out there in the
nations.
The dead will be in the lake of fire.
Will that be a spiritual fire on that new earth? Was Isaiah speaking of hell fire as being a
spiritual fire out on that new earth in Isaiah, chapter 66?
The LORD spoke through Isaiah and said, "For just as the new heavens and the new earth Which I make will endure before Me," declares the LORD, "So your offspring and your name will endure. And it shall be from new moon to new moon And from sabbath to sabbath, All mankind will come to bow down before Me," says the LORD. Then they will go forth and look On the corpses of the men Who have transgressed against Me. For their worm will not die And their fire will not be quenched; And they will be an abhorrence to all mankind." (Isaiah 66:22:24).
The LORD is speaking through Isaiah of what will come in that new world not in this world. All mankind will not be coming before the LORD to bow before Him before the end of time in this world. The mankind that will be coming before the LORD will be those people who are alive out on that new earth. Living mankind will be out there on that new earth but the dead will also be out there. Remember, the lake of fire is the second death.
When Isaiah wrote of that new world and of
those corpses where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched he was
describing the fires of hell. Jesus said
the same thing because He used those same words when He told His disciples that
if your eye causes you to stumble then
you should throw it out because it is better for you to enter the kingdom of
God with one eye, "than, having two eyes,
to be cast into hell, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT
QUENCHED.” (Mark 9:48)
If the day will come that all mankind will come
to bow down before Him at the New Jerusalem and then go out and look on the
corpses of some who will be burning in unquenchable fire it would likely be a
different kind of fire. It appears as though it will be a spiritual hell
fire only to those who are in it but not to the others who will be living out
there.
The evil ones will be cast into hell
fire. If it were to be
a spiritual fire what kind of spiritual fire would it be? Would it be
somewhat like the spiritual fire that Christians must face on this earth?
It began with Christ and the cross. Christ had to burn in a spiritual
fire when He became our sin offering on the cross.
The Hebrew writer tells us how those old
Israelite priests were doing a copy and shadow of our worship (Hebrews
8:5). They were doing that copy and shadow of our worship as they offered
those old sin offerings that could never remove sins.
When that writer referred to those special sin
offerings where the high priest took blood into the outer room, he said that
body was to be burned outside the camp to foretell our sin offering.
Scripture says, “For the bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the
holy place by the high priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the
camp. Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people
through His own blood, suffered outside the gate.” (Hebrews 13:11-12)
That old earthly sin offering fire foretold the sin offering fire that “Therefore Jesus also” had to endure. We have been commanded to take up our cross and follow Him and suffer with Him.
When we follow Christ and suffer with Him are
we enduring a spiritual fire? Was
Christ speaking of spiritual fire when He said that "- everyone will be salted with fire” (Mark
Peter may have been referring to spiritual fire when he
wrote to first century Christians and said, “Beloved, do not be
surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing,
as though some strange thing were happening to you; but to the degree that you
share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the
revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation.” (1 Peter
4:12-13) He told them that if they were reviled for the name of Christ
they were blessed.
Christians must face spiritual fires in this
life when some outsiders will revile them and persecute them but God will bring
vengeance for His people in that next life. Those who will have cursed
them will be cursed with a vengeance.
What Jesus said about why those before
Him will be judged based on how they will have treated His brothers would fit
with the day of vengeance that Paul describes in 2 Thessalonians, chapter 1.
He spoke of the persecutions they were enduring from outsiders. He
then spoke of those who were afflicting them and of God’s vengeance.
He writes, “For after all it is
only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to
give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will
be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out
retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the
gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction,
away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power.”
Christians will suffer for the
The gospel message of love is how our
God gave Himself for us. Our Gospel obedience demands that we copy His
works of love by doing works of love for others, especially for the brothers of
Jesus. We must love God above all others and we must show that love by
obedience to His word and that includes His command to love His
children.
There will be some unbelievers who will not
have accepted the Lord and obeyed the gospel but they will have shown love for
His children. Those on the left hand side, however, will not have obeyed
the gospel nor will they have shown love for His children. God is love (1
John 4:8) and they will not have known love.
Paul said that Christ will return in flaming fire and He will repay with affliction those who will have
afflicted God’s people. If He will repay them with affliction, would
that be like the affliction that Isaiah was speaking of when he saw that new
world and God’s new city? He will speak of God’s vengeance for His
people and how He will bring affliction on the ones who will have afflicted
them.
We can see that Isaiah is speaking of that new world to come because it will be a time when, "No longer will you have the sun for light by day, Nor for brightness will the moon give you light; But you will have the LORD for an everlasting light, And your God for your glory.” (Isaiah 60:19)
He will also say how, "Your gates will be
open continually; They will not be closed day or night, So that men may bring
to you the wealth of the nations, With their kings led in procession.” (Verse 11)
Isaiah is speaking of God’s spiritual
In chapter 61, Isaiah continues to speak of
God’s vengeance and how the Spirit of the LORD was upon him and He had anointed
him to bring good news to the afflicted.
He says that it will be a day of vengeance of our God to comfort those
who mourn.
After he spoke of the day of vengeance of God,
Isaiah then says that, “Strangers will stand and pasture your flocks, And foreigners
will be your farmers and your vinedressers. But you will be called the priests
of the LORD; You will be spoken of as ministers of our God. You will eat the
wealth of nations, And in their riches you will boast.”
It sounds like those who will have afflicted
God’s people on this earth will be repaid with the affliction of having become their servants on that new
earth. Remember what we heard about those who overcome and keep Christ’s
deeds until the end. They will have
authority over the nations and they rule them with a rod of iron.
That fits with what Daniel said. We heard Daniel say that the saints of the highest one will be
given, “the sovereignty, the dominion and the greatness of all the kingdoms
under the whole heaven”. Theirs will be an everlasting dominion
which will not pass away.
The Psalmist speaks of foolish
ones whose thought is that their houses are forever. He says, “As sheep they are
appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall
rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume
So that they have no habitation.” (Psalms 49:14)
Did we hear that? When morning comes,
the upright will rule over the foolish. He also says the foolish will
have no habitation. Will they have no home or place of rest in that new
world?
Will they have no habitation because they
will never be allowed to rest? One would need no dwelling place If they
will be working and have with no rest for their souls day or night forever.
Remember, those who overcome will rule over the nations with a rod of
iron.
Is that what is meant when we read of those
who have worshipped the beast and how “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." (Revelation
14:11)
In that same chapter he also speaks of the
saints who have kept the commandments of God and says how they will obtain
rest. He writes, "And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, "Write,
`Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!' " "Yes,"
says the Spirit, "so that they may rest from their labors, for their
deeds follow with them."
The brethren have (Already) passed out of
death into life because they love the brethren (1 John
Will hell fire be a spiritual fire of
everlasting slavery out in the nations? Was Paul speaking of some
becoming slaves when he quoted David saying,“LET THEIR TABLE BECOME
A SNARE AND A TRAP, AND A STUMBLING BLOCK AND A RETRIBUTION TO THEM. LET
THEIR EYES BE DARKENED TO SEE NOT, AND BEND THEIR BACKS FOREVER." (Romans 11:9-10)
Will the wicked bend their backs forever and
have no rest day or night forever because they will be in eternal bonds of
slavery day and night? Could there be a worse hell than for those who had
valued freedom in this life to be cast into the fires of eternal slavery?
For those who have done their work on this earth, the deeds of love that they have been created to do, they will find rest in that land of rest. For those who have not done their work on this earth, they will never find rest on the next earth. They will have no rest forever and ever. It appears that only their masters will rest.
HE WILL JUDGE THE
NATIONS
PART VII – LIFE IN THE NATIONS OF THAT NEW EARTH
The Great
Commission statement in Mark, chapter 16, was the command to
“Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. He who has
believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall
be condemned”.
If some of those on
the right heard the gospel message but they did not believe and obey the
gospel, they stand condemned for their unbelief.
If those from the
right will be given eternal life in the nations but will never be allowed to
enter that city and behold the face of God, they will be condemned to be
separated from God and to forever dwell out in dark nations.
It sounds like they
may be allowed to walk by the light of that city (Revelation
It sounds possible that only those who
had never been given life in the Son will be brought into that final judgment
to determine if they are worthy of being given eternal life out in the nations
of that new world. They cannot have eternal life with God because they
will not have been made perfect by the blood of Jesus.
God’s sons will reign in
If those on the right on that last day
will be given eternal life, they must be recorded in that Book of Life.
It appears that they may be recorded in that book for life in a kingdom
out in the nations. Jesus will tell them that kingdom will have been
prepared for them from the foundation of the world.
Was Isaiah telling us that there may be
several lists in the book of life in Isaiah, chapter 4? He speaks of
those who will dwell in
The only
Remember, all mankind will be coming to
If there will be more than one list of names for those who are to live on the new earth, that would be somewhat like the old list of names that Moses had recorded for the ones who were to live in that earthly land of promise.
Members of each tribe were listed with their place of inheritance in that land but the priesthood was listed separately. They were not heirs in that land because the scripture tells us, “the LORD is their inheritance” (Deuteronomy 18:2).
God's
new covenant priesthood is His household of faith. They are not
recorded for life in the nations and their inheritance is not out
there. Their inheritance is The LORD.
Anyone not recorded in the Book of Life
will be dead. Those who will be coming to that city to worship will be
living mankind. That does not include the dead out in those dark nations.
Those corpses will not come to that city to worship because God is the
God of the living, He is not the God of the dead (Luke
Remember, under the old earthly copy of that Hebrew worship, the Holy of Holies was that inner room in the temple. That room was God’s dwelling place among His people. It was a perfect cube of twenty cubits each way. It was completely covered with gold cladding.
It was
foretelling of the everlasting home of God in that New Jerusalem. John
tells us that city will be a perfect cube and stand fifteen hundred miles high
(Its length, width and height are equal – Revelation
That new Jerusalem will be a city of
pure gold. Was not that old Holy of Holies telling of God’s true Holy of
Holies, that city of gold? Only those
made perfect by His blood will live there.
John said an angel, “carried
me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy
city,
It may be fifteen hundred miles
high as we know miles because the angel who measured it used a gold
measuring rod to measure the city and its gates and walls. John tells us
that the wall measured seventy-two yards high “according to human
measurements".
It sounds like the city will stand
fifteen hundred miles high according to human measurements because he used the
same rod to measure the city. According
to human measurements the highest mountain on this earth stands less than six
miles in elevation above sea level. Compare that with a city fifteen
hundred miles high. It is hard to imagine any mountain on which that city
would stand.
It appears that the New Jerusalem is
the great and high mountain that John spoke of. Whether or not he is speaking of earthly miles, as
we count miles, does not matter, the lesson is the same. It will be one
really high dwelling place, relative to anything else around on that new earth.
It sounds like the
We are seeing the same mountain that Isaiah spoke of. Of the nations coming there to worship, he says, "Now it will come about that In the last days The mountain of the house of the LORD Will be established as the chief of the mountains, And will be raised above the hills; And all the nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say, "Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, To the house of the God of Jacob; That He may teach us concerning His ways And that we may walk in His paths" (Isaiah 2:2-3).
Isaiah says that it
will happen at a time when nation will no longer lift up sword against nation
and never again will they learn war. That will not happen on this earth.
Remember, there will be no sun or moon for light on that new earth. If the only light of the world will
come from that city, the righteous from the nations will walk by the light of
the Lord (“The nations will walk by its light, and the
kings of the earth will bring their glory into it” – Revelation
Jesus spoke of the darkness of
unbelievers. He said, “I have come as Light in
to the world, so that everyone who believes in Me will not remain in darkness”
(John
We read where only believers have
passed out of death into life and now we see how believers have also passed out
of darkness into light. It sounds like unbelievers are spiritually dead
and are in spiritual darkness on this earth. Will the death and darkness
of the new earth be like the spiritual death and darkness on this earth?
We heard Christ speak of His coming and of those evil servants who will have mistreated their fellow slaves and tell how He will cut them into pieces and assign them a place with the hypocrites. He is speaking of how He will judge those before Him by the word of God.
The
word of God is the sword of the Spirit. Scripture says, “For the
word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and
piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow,
and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
It
appears that when Christ judges them He will cut them in pieces and kill them
with the sword of the Spirit when He separates their spirit from their soul and
body. Their soul and body will die
because the body without the spirit is dead.
Those souls and bodies will be cast into hell fire.
Will the dead outside
that city be something like the living dead that dwelled outside that old
earthly city? Those who had been struck with leprosy in that old covenant land
were like the living dead. They were unclean and were banished from the
presence of God's people. Their bodies were rotting away as they stood on
their feet.
Was Zechariah
foretelling that which was to come on the new earth when he wrote of those who
had gone to war against
Paul tells us that Jesus is the only
heir (Galatians
A few verses later he will say how that
by His one offering He has perfected for all time those who have been
sanctified. We must be made perfect in order to draw near.
Remember, only holy ones will be recorded for life in that
God's covenant promise to Abraham
(Genesis, chapter 17) was to be God to Abraham and his descendants and to give
them the
The old covenant was faulty (Hebrews
8:7). It was faulty because man is faulty. It could never give man
an everlasting
John mentioned something about the tree of life and it’s leaves in Revelation, chapter 22. He saw the river of life coming from the throne of God and the tree of life on either side of that river. He said “the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations”.
God’s sons
will dwell in
Remember, Paul describes our new bodies
in 1 Corinthians, chapter 15. He tells us that we will
have imperishable and immortal bodies. Paul also wrote how Jesus
will, “transform the body of our humble state into
conformity with the body of His glory” (Philippians
God’s sons will have
been made perfect in Jesus. Their bodies should not require healing. They will be
like Jesus. All of God’s sons will be perfect and immortal. Imperishable
and immortal bodies will have no pain and no tears and will need no leaves for
healing.
Will those kind hearted ones from the right-hand side be the only ones from the nations to receive those leaves? Will the evil ones remain unhealed? That would make sense because it is likely that the dead can’t be healed.
We can't
be sure of that if they will be spiritually dead. There is some healing
for the spiritually dead on this earth but that may not be the case on the new
earth.
God will destroy this earth and its
heavens and there will be a new heavens and earth with a New Jerusalem. That
city is the everlasting dwelling place for God and His holy ones. It will
be on a new earth where the elect will rule over the nations with a rod of iron.
What nations would it be except those nations before Jesus in judgment?
Regarding judgment and heaven and the
world to come, my picture has changed greatly within the last few years.
It appears that Judgment will not be comprised of everyone being either
saved in heaven or damned to hell. The saved will not go to heaven.
They will be brought into the heavenly home of God but that home will be
the New Jerusalem coming down out of heaven to the new earth.
Will it be more tolerable for those
unbelievers who know how to love with deeds of love than for the evil ones who
did evil deeds? God requires that His sons be treated with respect and
that everyone show their love for them with works of love.
Will the loving ones from the nations
be allowed to come to the gates of that city to worship God and be allowed to
walk by the light of God’s glory in a new world because of their good deeds for
the brothers of Jesus? Will they, however, forever be tormented with the
knowledge that eternal glory with God was theirs for the taking if only they
had believed?
Do I believe that this book presents a
perfect picture of judgment and the coming world? No, because, after you
read the book, you will see that many questions have been presented but many
answers will still be hidden. We can see some obvious answers and some
possible answers but much of what I have presented here and what will be
presented as possibilities in the book is just that; just possibilities.
If some of the things that we have been
seeing as possibilities turn out to be true, then we need to have been very
careful in our judgment of others (Even of unbelievers) in this life.
Jesus may allow me to sit with Him in judgment on that last day but I must be
careful about judging others in this life.
If some unbelieving outsiders will
really be called “blessed of My Father”
and will be given eternal life in the nations
of that new world, then what Jesus said about judging others, in Matthew,
chapter 7 (“Do not judge so that
you will not be judged") may also apply to
them if our judgment is to send them to hell.
They may be unworthy of the kingdom of heaven but some of them may not be damned to everlasting hell fire. I fear that I may have been guilty of doing that in the past.
There is little doubt about what is waiting
for God’s sons in glory. The questions have to do with judgment and the
future of unbelievers who have done deeds of love. Remember, Paul said that
some Gentiles who do not have the Law will have been “justified”
by having done “instinctively”
what God requires (Romans 2:11-16). We know that
believers are justified by faith in Jesus and they will obey His commands to
love others. Some others will love by instinct.
Jesus expects us to keep listening and He will keep revealing more to us. All scripture is true, so the true answers to our questions must reflect that. I have seen enough to know that my old beliefs about judgment were not consistent with what Jesus has said.
I may not be able to see everything about judgment and the new
world to come but I can see that my old ideas that had everyone either being
put on the right and given heaven or placed on the left and being damned to
hell may not scriptural.
I am not from one of the schools of
theology. I am a Christian and a retired engineer. It has only been
within the last few years that I have come to realize that God means exactly
what He says when He speaks and that includes what He says about judgment and
the new world to come.
You will notice that I have used the
New American Standard translation for the copied scriptures in this book.
You may wish to also read the same scriptures from the translation that
you normally use.
Johnny Rogers
Revised
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