One day a little girl was watching her
mother wash the dishes. She suddenly
noticed that her mother had several strands of white in her brunette hair. Curious, she asked, "Mommy, why are some
of your hairs white?" Her mother
replied, "Well, every time you do something wrong and make me cry or
unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."
The little girl was silent for a while
and then said, "Poor Grandma. You must have been very, very hard to
raise."
*sigh*
Everywhere you go, there is a critic; someone is always judging our
behavior. We just don’t like being
judged… not by others and especially not by God.
The
judgment of God is one of those issues that creates deep divisions in our
world; even Christians are divided on this issue. People have a hard time accepting verses from
the Bible that speak of God’s judgment; they insist God would not do this to
someone. “God is a God of love,” they
claim; He would not punish someone this way.
While some people remove certain sins from the Bible - thinking that by
rewriting the list they will escape God’s punishment - others present different
interpretations of hell.[1] They do this because they refuse to accept
this period of judgment. What they are
doing is creating God in their own image… a God they can tolerate.
Even
throughout Christianity, people argue over the reality of hell; some Christians
cannot accept a God who judges us and punishes us for our actions.
One
particular section that is questioned can be found in Revelation 20:7-15. This is what happens at the end of the
Millennium – that period where Jesus ruled the earth with justice and fairness;
where the world was filled with peace, security, and long life. 7 When the thousand
years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison. 8 He
will go out to deceive the nations—called Gog and Magog—in every corner of the
earth. He will gather them together for battle—a mighty army, as numberless as
sand along the seashore. 9 And I saw them as they went up on
the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God’s people and the beloved city.
But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.
10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery
lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they
will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth
and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I
saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books
were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to
what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave
up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged
according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This
lake of fire is the second death. 15 And
anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into
the lake of fire.
[2]
Why
does this happen? Why does God permit
Satan to deceive these people? Well, it
happens to prove a point. During the
thousand-year reign of Jesus, mortals will enjoy countless blessings. Not only will they enjoy peace and long-life,
but they will also experience a time when even the animals are no longer
afraid; the wild deer or the gentle bunny will not run away in fear when people
are around. The baby will play safely near the hole of a
cobra. Yes, a little child will put its hand in a nest of deadly snakes without
harm [3]
(Isaiah 11:8). And yet, despite all
these blessings, these people are still easily deceived. When Satan is released, those who experienced
grace from the Lord will turn their backs to Jesus and rebel. And by their actions, they prove that they
have hearts like stone. Even after Jesus does all these things,
people will reject Him. And by their
rejection, they judge themselves guilty.
Yes. It is their actions that judge them; by their
actions, these people condemn themselves to hell. And not just this group of rebellious
people. John reveals that the mass of
people throughout history who had died separated from God will, at last, be
brought before Him and be judged by what they had done; their “deeds”
demonstrate the hardness of their hearts.
These are both the people who outright rejected Jesus and those who
never allowed Jesus to change them. And
yes, you heard me correctly. Those who
merely went through the motions – those who acted
religious – will find themselves rejected at this time. They never allowed Jesus to transform them;
they never allowed Jesus to address their sin nature, so they are judged guilty
(compare Matthew 7:21-23).
It
isn’t God who condemns someone to hell; we make that choice. Jesus warned us about this. Speaking to a large crowd, Jesus said, “All who reject me
and my message will be judged on the day of judgment by the truth I have spoken”[4]
(John 12:48). These souls will find
themselves standing before God already guilty; their actions in this life have
already condemned them. This is the day
of their sentencing. But, in contrast,
Jesus said, “those
who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They
will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death
into life”[5]
(John 5:24). True Christians – those who
have surrendered their life to Jesus – do not stand before God on this Judgment
Day. Christians have already passed from
death into life; they don’t need to be judged at this time.
This
chapter is also a stumbling block for some because they wonder what becomes of
those who never had the opportunity to hear the message of Jesus. What will become of those either too young to
know or too separated from humanity? Well, the good news is that, according to the
Bible, these people will be judged by their deeds (Revelation 20:13). Those who never heard the message of Jesus will be pardoned if they had acted in ways guided by their conscience… when they
“instinctively” follow God’s Laws without even knowing them. Paul argues this in Romans 2. “Even Gentiles, who do not have God’s written law, show that
they know his law when they instinctively obey it, even without having heard
it. 15 They demonstrate that God’s law is written in their
hearts, for their own conscience and thoughts either accuse them or tell them
they are doing right”[6]
(Romans 2:14-15). Those who have not heard are judged by their deeds.
And
thinking about the little children, we need to keep in mind that the judgment
of Christ will be both just and fair; no one will criticize the Lord for His
decisions. Even you and I know it is
unjust to condemn someone when they don’t know right from wrong. And if we
know this is unjust, how much more does our Lord who is holy. It is safe to say that we can place our
children in His hands, knowing that if they meet the Lord before they were old
enough to know, they will find comfort
and peace and love.
As
we consider this time of judgment, please keep in mind that these revelations
were given to the Church (Revelation 1:11).
They were a “wakeup call” to the Christians living throughout Asia Minor
and beyond. It was intended to light a
fire in the hearts of these 1st-century
believers. Maybe it should do the same
thing today.
I
accept what is written here in Revelation. I believe these words are true.
God does judge the unsaved people of this world; their deeds in this
life testify against them. But reading this
section made me think of certain people in my life; people I once knew but who have
died. I thought of neighbors from my
childhood. Sam and Carl had a horrible
home life; their parents were constantly
fighting. Sam and Carl would sometimes
come over to our house to play, and we would occasionally talk about life, but
we never talked about the Lord. We never
talked about church. And when Sam
recently died, I was filled with guilt for not doing more to bring him to
Christ. Or I think about a recent neighbor
named Paul. I would talk to him about
God and about the church, but he was
wounded by a legalistic Christian, so he
had no interest in attending any church.
When he died suddenly, I was filled with guilt that I had not done
enough. I had thought about doing more but never followed through on those
thoughts. I kept thinking “tomorrow I’ll
invite Paul to the Men’s Breakfast or to some church social activity.” But when “tomorrow” came, I didn’t follow
through; I felt I had enough time. Turns
out, I didn’t, and I must live with the consequences. I live wondering what awaits Paul, or Sam, in
the next life. What will they experience
as they stand before the Lord?
If
Christians were to take the words in Revelation 20 seriously, they would labor
with every ounce of strength to tell others about Jesus’ offer of grace. If we really believed that a person might
spend eternity in hell, we would do everything in our power to spare them that
punishment. We would not rest; we would
not be complacent. I feel that if the
Church truly believed this Day of Judgment was coming, there would be fewer
squabbles about decorations or music or furniture placement in a worship
building. We would be driven to reach
the lost in this world. Our decisions as
a church would be made as if tomorrow was too late.
So,
if you are already a Christian, this Revelation from the Lord should move you
to action; it should do the same for those who do not yet believe.
[1] Over the years, four
distinct perceptions of hell have emerged:
1. Literal: hell is a real place where
the condemned suffer and remain separated from God for eternity.
2. Metaphorical: hell is a concept, not a
real place. In this view, the wicked
person is simply never restored to God and, consequently, never receives any of
the blessings mentioned in the Bible.
Passages that speak of suffering and judgment are not taken literally.
3. Purgatorial: the idea that hell is a place
where our sins are “purged.” It is a
place where some people are able to pay for their sins; once paid, they are
restored to God.
4. Conditional: some feel that hell represents a second
death; a person’s spirit and soul cease to exist. Others, like the Universal Unitarians,
believe everyone will eventually be restored to God.
[2]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Re 20:7–15). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[3]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Is 11:8). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[4]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Jn 12:48). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[5]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Jn 5:24). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
[6]
Tyndale House Publishers. (2013). Holy Bible: New Living Translation
(Ro 2:14–15). Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.
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