We Believe Series 3 Lesson 7 We Believe Jesus Will Return to Judge the Living and the Dead

Transcription

1 We Believe Series 3 Lesson 7 We Believe Jesus Will Return to Judge the Living and the Dead Objective: To understand what we are called to believe as followers of Christ more precisely and more deeply. This is not just an exercise in mental acumen, but a quest to deepen and enrich our relationship with God, our relationship with His people and how we relate to His mission. We hope to understand more deeply and fully what it means to be Christian, how this means we are unique. We are called to be the people of God and this does mean that there will be some differences in how we react to situations, to others, and to each other. We are called to be a people that is set apart for God (1 Peter 2:9). Materials: The Bible, Books, journal articles, dictionaries, the internet and other resources as may be appropriate. Procedures 1. To explore why we believe certain things from a Biblical perspective. 2. Next we will hope to understand more fully the nature of our God and in so doing comprehend his call upon our existence in order to fuloill our destiny as image-bearers. 3. We will seek to Oind out how these beliefs have played a role in the history of Christianity and how they continue to impact our existence and service to Him today. 4. We will provide a sheet to take home as a reminder of what has been examined and to provide additional opportunities for consideration of these truths and application in our daily living out of our eternal destiny beginning now. This sheet can also be used as a discussion guide for small group discussion. PAGE 1 OF 17

2 The issue of the return of Christ is highly controversial, as one might expect, however the concept of Jesus judging the living and the dead is a concept that is so highly controversial that it is virtually neglected, and often even totally ignored. The notion of the imminent, and Oinal judgment of all humanity, both the living and the dead plays a larger role in early Christian communities than in other religious communities of that time. 1 For us today, this highly controversial topic can often illicit very strong emotions that impede the actual examination of what Scripture has to say on this topic. Both elements, of this section of the creed, are very emotive, the return of Christ; what that will be like along with the additional issue of judgment. We live in a time and culture where relativism has become more the norm than has determinism. Even in our courts the language has often changed tone so that blame is dispersed across a spectrum of parties rather than laid Oirmly on an individual and their choices. Blame is placed on parents, society, and so forth, rather than upon the individual s choices. 1 Heiki Räisänen, The Rise of Christian Beliefs (Minneapolis MN: Fortress Press, 2010), p PAGE 2 OF 17

3 In a speech made by Margaret Thatcher, the former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom we have these words regarding society and responsibility: I think we have gone through a period when too many children and people have been given to understand I have a problem, it is the Government s job to cope with it! or I have a problem, I will go and get a grant to cope with it! I am homeless, the Government must house me! and so they are casting their problems on society and who is society? There is no such thing! There are individual men and women and there are families and no government can do anything except through people and people look to themselves Oirst There is no such thing as society. There is living tapestry of men and women and people and the beauty of that tapestry and the quality of our lives will depend upon how much each of us is prepared to take responsibility for ourselves and each PAGE 3 OF 17

4 of us prepared to turn round and help by our own efforts those who are unfortunate. 2 The concept of passing the blame, while retaining the credit for the things that go correctly, is highly popular and indeed has inoiltrated not only our society, but also our churches. Even in books on the Apostles Creed there is no actual chapter dealing with this section of the creed at all in several of those books. 3 Others recognize that the creed stands as a witness to the, past, present, and future of Jesus Christ: his birth, death, rising and ascension in the past; his reign now; and his coming at a future time to judge. 4 Some would prefer to skip over this section as if it reolects somehow bad news, or perhaps old news in the sense that Jesus has already proclaimed the verdict and now there is simply the time of waiting for the actual enactment of that verdict. Such views are neither scriptural, nor does it in any sense allow for the prominent concern of justice to remain view within a Christian conceptual framework. In order to leave silence on this issue, we must excise Michael F. Bird, What Christians Ought to Believe (Grand Rapids MI: Zondervan, 2016). Alister McGrath, I Believe (Downers Grove IL: IVP Books, 1991, 1997). 4 J. I. Packer, Af8irming the Apostles Creed (Wheaton IL: Crossway, 2008), p PAGE 4 OF 17

5 scriptures like Revelation 20: from our canon of thought. Certainly this text is not without its difoiculties as some see it as simply depicting the view of sinners being judged, while others see it as reolecting the judgment of all humanity. 6 Still others see it as in some sense nothing more than Oigurative speech that really has no applicability to us today. Revelation 20:11-15 is a passage that recites the third and last part of what is called the Oinal judgement. In 19:11-21 the victory of Christ over the beast and the false prophet is narrated. The culmination of this encounter is that they are both thrown into the lake of Oire (19:20). In Revelation 20:1-10 the victory over the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, is bound and then after the thousand years was ended (20:7) the devil is thrown into the lake of Oire where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown (20:10). Then we come to this third element (our passage of examination), or stage of judgement where the dead are judged according to what they had done (20:11-15). There are then two main theories as to what happens to those who are judged and found guilty before God: One view is 5 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven Dled from his presence, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the book of life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of Dire. This is the second death, the lake of Dire; 15 and anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of Dire. NRSV. 6 Jan Lambrecht, Final Judgments and Ultimate Blessings: The Climactic Visions of Revelation 20,11-21,8, Biblica 81:3 (2000), pp PAGE 5 OF 17

6 that they are annihilated in the lake of Oire and thus they are subjected to a punishment that has everlasting consequences. Lambrecht does not consider this to likely be what John was thinking here when it comes to death and hades that were thrown into this Oire. He would also say that there is no reason to believe that the lake of Oire (for unbelievers) means annihilation rather than the permanent torment that is experienced by the devil. Along with this he would say that Death and Hades are also punished eternally in this Oire (Revelation 20:107). 8 Others such as Edward Fudge see the language used here in Revelation 20:10 as symbolic language. He would go onto say that in the larger storyline of Revelation, the beast and false prophet represent persecuting civil government and its cohort, corrupt false religion. Neither institution can suffer conscious, sensible pain. Fudge is one of the greatest advocates of the concept of annihilation and gives a most detailed account of his ideas and research in this regard in his book The Fire That Consumes. There is also a movie entitled Hell and Mr. Fudge which gives a biographical account of Edward and his struggle in 1970s Alabama after he is hired by an Australian to 7 And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of Dire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. NRSV. 8 Jan Lambrecht, Final Judgments and Ultimate Blessings: The Climactic Visions of Revelation 20,11-21,8, Biblica 81:3 (2000), pp PAGE 6 OF 17

7 research the issue of an eternally burning hell. 9 This movie is well worth watching whether, or not you agree with the conclusion of the movie, or not. Edward served as a lawyer at the Lanier Law Firm until his passing on November 25th, There are also lectures online of Edward Fudge on this topic and one in particular in the Lanier theological Lectures series that is readily available. 10 This movie and lecture are very much worth watching whether they change your mind, or not. They challenge us to look at Scripture and examine it closely. They challenge us to understand the message of the Bible and perhaps challenge many of our notions. This lesson is not going to answer all of your questions about hell, judgment, or the afterlife, but hopefully it will open so doors that will allow you to explore your thoughts regarding some of these issues in a manner that actually looks at what is said, in context, within the pages of the Bible. This little phrase, in context is critical to this issue. If at the end of your exploration of these matters, and so many other Biblical concepts, nh you are not utterly convinced of one view over another then I would say that is perhaps not a bad place to be. There is a name for a god that can be totally comprehended and that name is idolatry. I believe that there are a great many 9 Edward William Fudge, The Fire That Consumes, third edition (Eugene OR: Cascade Books, 2011), p PAGE 7 OF 17

8 things about God and His plans that are not clear to us. I think the reasons for this are numerous: 1. Sometimes people have not yet examined carefully all that there is within Scripture to help them understand its message on this matter. 2. Sometimes Scripture does not clarify an issue to such a degree that we can come to a determinative conclusion. 3. Sometimes we are not capable of comprehending something because it is actually beyond our limited capabilities. 4. Sometimes God chooses not to be clear, I believe that God does this for our own well-being with issues that might harm us or push us toward making wrong choices. It the matter of punishment of those judged to have failed to accept God s grace there is a lack of deoinitive clarity that rules out either the concepts put forward by those believing in annihilation or in eternal punishment. There is however, not lack of clarity regarding the issue of the actual return of Christ, or that there will be judgement. The expectation that there is a consequence for our decisions in life is something that is taught to us from the very beginning of creation. Adam and Eve had a choice in the Garden of Eden and there was a consequence to the choice that they made. Cain had a choice and his choice had a consequence that not only affected him, it affected his brother and his ancestors. Because of our limited lifespan we are often unable to realize the vast signioicance of the choices that we make in life. This section of the creed serves as a reminder to PAGE 8 OF 17

9 us of the fact that our choices do indeed have a consequence. Just as we seek to teach our children that there is a consequence to their choices so also there are consequences to our choices and we are at some level accountable for what we choose. I realize this may not be a popular view in our society today, but it is a reality nonetheless. Whether one holds to the view that those who are not to be saved after the judgment of Christ are to suffer annihilation, or punishment for all eternity in the burning Oires of hell, the Christian view is that there will be a day when Christ returns. This is sometimes referred to using the term Day of Christ (Philippians 1:10; 2:16), or similar expressions such as the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6), the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 1:8), and the day of the Lord Jesus (1 Corinthians 5:5; 2 Corinthians 1:14). All of these passages refer to a future time when Paul had hopes that the recipients of his letter would be found blameless. Implicit in this expectation was the expectation that the Day of Christ would be a time when Christ would return and Christians (or perhaps all the people of the world) would be judged. In John s Gospel there are a number of passages that indicate that there will be future action on the part of Jesus on a future day. There are a series of verses in John 6 making the promise that Jesus will raise up certain persons at the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; cf. 11:24; 12;48). PAGE 9 OF 17

10 Jesus also promises to return to be with His followers on that day (John 14:18-20; 16:22-23, 26). 11 In this section I have taken great care not to go beyond the plain speech of the text. The other epistles, besides those written by Paul, and Revelation reolect a clear expectation of the return of Christ using a variety of phrases to express that expectation. James 5:7-9 promises that the coming of the Lord is near, indeed that the judge is about to appear. 1 Peter looks for the coming day of visitation (2:12) and gives the warning that Christ (or God) is ready to judge the living and the dead (4:5), and that the end of all things is at hand (4:7). 2 Peter demonstrates and awareness of the delay of the coming of Christ, thus far (3:3-9), but hints that the day of the Lord might come like a thief, at any time (3:10). There are also two other related references to denote this future time: the day of God (2 Peter 3:12), and the day of eternity (3:18). In 1 John the readers are admonished to believe that their time is the last hour (2:18) of the old world and to look to the appearing of God (3:2) and the day of judgement (4:17). The author of Jude calls attention to the judgement of the great day, and considered his own days to bear the marks of the last time (verses 17-19). The Book of Revelation then refers to the great day - the great day of God the Almighty (Revelation 16:14). Throughout the 11 Richard H. Hiers, Day of Christ, in David Noel Freedman, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2 (New York NY: Doubleday, 1992), pp PAGE 10 OF 17

11 Book of Revelation the author assured his readers that Jesus was coming back soon. 12 The concept of the Day of Judgement was generally seen as a reference to a time in the future when God, or some divinely appointed agent, would intervene in history, condemning the unrighteous and vindicating the righteous (those that had accepted His gracious gift of righteousness). In the New Testament, the Day, or time, of judgement was generally associated with the return, or second coming of Christ, the resurrection of the dead, and the coming of the kingdom of God in all of its fullness. New Testament texts warn individuals that they will be judged (e.g. 2 Timothy 4:8; Hebrews 4:1-12; James 5:7-11; 1 Peter 1:13-17). There are several texts that warn that all persons are to be judged (e.g. Romans 2:2-16; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Hebrews 4:13; Jude which quotes 1 Enoch 1:913). 14 To be sure there is some variety regarding the details of this return of Christ and the exact nature of judgement, but it is something that is universal across the spectrum of New 12 Richard H. Hiers, Day of Christ, in David Noel Freedman, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2 (New York NY: Doubleday, 1992), pp Behold, he will arrive with ten million of the holy ones in order to execute judgment upon all. He will destroy the wicked ones and censure all Olesh on account of everything that they have done, that which the sinners and the wicked ones committed against him. Charlesworth edition. 14 Richard H. Hiers, Day of Judgment, in David Noel Freedman, ed. The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 2 (New York NY: Doubleday, 1992), pp PAGE 11 OF 17

12 Testament literature and is also something that is prominent in the Old Testament. This section of the creed is meant to remind us of the Biblical teaching on this matter and how important that is in our overall view of Christian faith. This reminder challenges us to recognize that the standard of judgement that will be used to measure us will come from God and that the measurement will not be one of how we measure up in comparison to one another. Neither will the basis of our salvation rest in an objective measure of our righteousness, but upon our acceptance, or rejection of God s grace. Paul speaks of this most eloquently in Romans 3: But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, 22 the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction, 23 since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; 24 they are now justidied by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 whom God put forward as a sacridice of atonement by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; 26 it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justidies the one who has faith in Jesus. PAGE 12 OF 17

13 Synopsis The matter of the return of Christ is highly controversial for a number of reasons. Some of that controversy is related to the fact that we often seek more detail and clarity than is actually provided by Scripture. Because of this seeming lack of Scriptural clarity it is often the case that focus is given more to these lacking details rather than to the clear teachings of Scripture. We fail to focus on the fact that Scripture clearly teaches that there is a consequence to our actions. There is an individual element of responsibility to our actions. This has been proclaimed to us from the very beginning even in the account of the Garden of Eden. It has become popular to take credit when things go right to blame others when they go wrong, or when we behave in ways that are wrong. The view of the Christian faith has always been, and continues to be, that we do bear individual responsibility and that we have all fallen short of the glory of God. Christian teaching is that there will be a day of reckoning when we will all be judged. On that day, all will be found wanting if they have not relied upon the righteousness offered by God through His Son Jesus Christ. PAGE 13 OF 17

14 Jesus will come back again and there will with certainty be a reckoning upon His return. God seeks something better for His children in that He has opened a way to access His grace. The lack of clarity regarding the exact nature of the return, or the exact nature of the punishment to be administered is not essential for us to understand what God has done for us nor what He calls us to become. We are saved by grace and we are called to pour forth grace from our hearts into the great ocean of His grace as a token of our gratitude and trust in Him. We can never earn our salvation. PAGE 14 OF 17

15 Questions 1. Why do you think some people are reluctant to accept that Christ will return? 2. Why do you think the return of Christ is an important element of faith for Christians? 3. Why do you think people might be reluctant to accept the concept of the Oinal judgement? 4. Why do you think it is often the case that people want to blame others when things go wrong? 5. Why do you think the concept of individual responsibility is important? 6. How would you deoine justice? 7. What do you see as the relationship between justice and the second coming of Christ? 8. What is your view of punishment by God? Temporary, or eternal? Why? 9. Why do you think some people see the concept of eternal punishment as so important? 10.Why do you think there is an emphasis in Scripture regarding the concept that our actions incur consequences? 11.What do you think is the result of not comprehending that actions have consequences? PAGE 15 OF 17

16 12.How do you understand the phrase Day of the Lord? Why? 13.Why do you think it might be harmful to humanity for us to have all the details of the afterlife? 14.How do you see the relationship between judgement and grace? 15.Why do you think there are so many reminders that Jesus will return again? PAGE 16 OF 17

17 To Take Home What is Important to know? It is important to know that throughout Scripture there is the concept that there are consequences to our actions. In the New Testament, and especially among Christians, the concept of the return of Christ, and the judgement, is seen as a central tenet of faith. It is important also to know that in Scripture the information regarding the exact nature of the punishment of those who refuse to accept the grace of God is not clear enough to stiole a continual debate regarding whether that punishment is temporary in nature, with an eternal consequence, or eternal in duration of pain and agony. What are some ways that we teach our children that there is a consequence to their actions? Where is God in these words? God is in these words bringing hope that the way things are now, with all of its injustices, will not be allowed to continue forever. God in His gracious love has created a way to redeem us through faith; trust Him to do so. In truth, all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God and therefore all stand condemned without the intervention of God s mercy. How does the sacrioice of Jesus demonstrate the righteousness of God? What does any of this mean for how I live my life? This means that the way we live our life must be in the light of the grace of God. This means that we should be changed by this grace to become more like God in living for others rather than for our own seloish desires. Recognizing that there is a consequence to our actions should draw us toward the graciousness of God. What are some ways that understanding the nature of consequences should draw us closer to God? What is the word of God calling us to do? The word of God calls us to recognize our situation before God and to recognize His great offer of grace. This understanding should draw us toward relationship with God as the destiny for which we were created. It should also challenge us to change our priorities for life. What are some ways that the return of Christ should encourage us in the way we live our lives each day? PAGE 17 OF 17