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| The Six Basic Teachings
of Christianity (Part 6) Eternal Judgment Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone! The subject of eternal judgment is a very grim subject, for it presumes that once a decision has been made it is irreversible. And that is true. The Bible makes it very clear that there is a day coming when every human who has ever lived will be judged by God Almighty. On that day there will be no lying, hiding, self-defending, turning the attention onto someone else, or any such thing. Excuses won't count then. We will be totally naked before Him. And there will not be another chance to come back to earth and live it over again. This is our opportunity right now—in the here and now! The decisions we make now will determine where we spend eternity! Eternity is a long, long time. It is for ever and for ever. Eternity never ends. As human beings we cannot even comprehend the fact that eternity will never end. But, nonetheless, it is true. The Old Testament “For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord.” Exodus 12:12 “ . . .and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, . . .” Exodus 12:13 “And you shall make the breastplate of judgment . . .” Exodus 28:15 “. . . you may know there is a judgment.” Job 19:29 “ Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, or sinners in the congregation of the righteous.” Psalm 1:5 “But the Lord shall endure for ever: He has prepared His throne for judgment.” Psalm 9:7 “Justice and judgment are the foundation of Your throne: mercy and truth shall go before Your face.” Psalm 89:19 “ . . . every man's judgment comes from the Lord.” Proverbs 29:26 “Rejoice, O young man, in your youth; and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth, and walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes: but know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment.” Ecclesiastes 11:9 “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:14 “ . . .by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.” Isaiah 4:4 “A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.” Daniel 7:10 “But let judgment run down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream.” Amos 5:24 Jesus “But I say unto you, That is shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.” Matthew 11:24 “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account for it in the day of judgment.” Matthew 12:36 “But it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment, than for you.” Luke 10:14 “For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son :” John 5:22 “God has given Him (Jesus) authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man.” John 5:27 “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” John 7:24 “And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.” John 9:39 The Apostle Paul “ . . . knowing the judgment of God . . .” Romans 1:32 “But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.” Romans 2:2 “But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you set at naught your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” Romans 14:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 “And it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:” Hebrews 9:27 The Apostle Peter “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17 “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment; . . .The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:” 2 Peter 2: 4 & 9 “But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” 2 Peter 3:7 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are in it shall be burned up."” 2 Peter 3:10 “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in all holy conversation and godliness, Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?” 2 Peter 3: 11-12 Jude “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 1:6 Revelation “Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” Revelation 14:7 “ . . . Come here; I will show you the judgment of the great whore that sits upon many waters:” Revelation 17:1 “ . . . Alas, alas that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour is your judgment come.” Revelation 18:10 “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.” Revelation 20:13 “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:15 “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” Revelation 20:10 “If any man worship the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, The same shall drink of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: and the smoke of their torment will ascend up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day or night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receives the mark of his name.” Revelation 14:9-11 Luke 16 In this chapter Jesus makes it extremely clear what happens to someone who goes out into eternity unprepared. The rich man did not go to hell because he was wealthy. He went to hell because of the selfish way in which he lived. The poor man did not go to heaven because he was poor. There is nothing about being poor that guarantees a person a place in heaven. He went to heaven because his heart was right with God. But the point we are making here in relation to our study of eternal judgment is that the judgment of God is eternal—forever. What we do while we are here on the planet earth in this lifetime determines where we will spend eternity. That is a very awesome, solemn thought. There will be no second chance. It is now or never! From the moment the rich man entered hell he was tormented beyond human comprehension. The Scripture declares, “And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.” Can you imagine being so thirsty that you would want to lick someone's finger? And do you think that the thought ever occurred to the rich man when he was living that he might some day want to lick the finger of Lazarus the beggar? Of course not. The situation in eternity is much, much different than the way things are now. He was not even allowed to lick Lazarus' finger. Abraham told him, “Remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus received evil things: but now he is comforted, and you are tormented.” And then he went on to say that even if he wanted to send Lazarus to him with some water he could not do it. A great gulf is fixed between heaven and hell. Anyone who would want to pass from one place to the other cannot do it. It is impossible. Jesus told this story more than 2,000 years ago. The rich man is still in hell—and eternity has barely begun for him. The time to pray for our friends and relatives is now. Don't waste your time praying for them after they die. The place where they spend eternity is set forever and once they die it cannot be changed. That is why it is so very important for us to take the message of salvation to all men. Now is the time to repent. Now is the hour to get our hearts right with God. Today is the day of salvation. I almost shudder when I hear some people flippantly remark, “Some day I will get right with God.” We never know how much time we have. It is only God's mercy that allows our hearts to continue beating. Eternal judgment is sure. The books will be opened. Each of us will be judged according to our works—those things we have actually done. If we can “open” a file on the computer, then think how easy it will be for God to “open” His file on us. Everything we have ever done, said, or thought is in the file. As we think about this, one might ask the question: “What possible chance do any of us have for making it to heaven?” That is an excellent question. Left on our own none of us would make it. God knew that we needed a Savior; so He sent Jesus to rescue us. He, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our only hope of entering heaven and escaping the awful judgment of Almighty God. Romans 10:9-10 presents it this way: “If you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” There is no other way to prepare for eternity. If there were, then God made a horrible mistake by allowing His son to come here and die on the cross for the sins of mankind. If we could get to heaven by our own good works, then there would have been no need for Jesus to come and suffer. God knew that there was no other way. That is why He made the greatest sacrifice anyone has ever made. He loves us so much that he gave His only son for us! We cannot comprehend such love. None of us would do such a thing for anyone. Yet, He did it for us. The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell; it reaches to the lowest hell, and stretches to the farthest star! Say out loud right now: “I confess you Lord Jesus.” “I believe in my heart that God raised you from the dead.” If you said this and mean it, then the Bible declares that you are saved. You are ready for the judgment—not because of your goodness or good works but because of what Jesus did for you on the cross. I do believe that when the books are opened for those who are saved, the blood of Jesus will cover all of our sins. None of us deserve heaven, but God has provided a way for us to get there because He actually loves us and cares about us. You can be ready for eternal judgment. <-- Back to TEACHING Main Page Contact Us! Full Life Crusade 1-574-267-7546 EMAIL |