Chapter Ten

THE DOCTRINE OF FINAL THINGS


While we recognize the Second Coming of Christ is the central theme of Bible prophecy, we want to consider the doctrines of a general resurrection and a general judgment.

The Bible does not teach these false doctrines. Study the Book for yourself to see whether or not I speak the truth.



The Resurrection of the Dead

Let us begin our study by looking at some Old Testament references concerning the resurrection.



Job said,

For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God.
(Job 19:25,26)

Your dead shall live;
Together with my dead body
they shall arise.
Awake and sing, you who
dwell in dust;
For your dew is like the dewv of herbs,
And the earth shall cast out
the dead.
Isa. 26:19)

And many of those who
sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and
everlasting contempt.
(Dan. 12:2)


Daniel tells us of a two-fold resurrection, but as far as he knows they could be simultaneous events.

The Lord Jesus said, "Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forththose who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation. "

Two distinct resurrections are spoken of, but the time element is not clear.

The fifteenth chapter of I Corinthians is the greatest chapter in the Bible on the resurrection of the dead, but in this chapter, Paul limits his discussion to the resurrection of Christians.

First Thessalonians 4:13-18 is a companion passage to I Corinthians 15:51-58. I quote this passage in full for your convenience. "But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the work of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words" (I Thess. 4:13-18).

Verse sixteen tells us "the dead in Christ will rise first." Nothing is said about the resurrection of the Christ- rejecting dead.

If we accept the twentieth chapter of Revelation for what it says, we find "the rest of the dead (the Christ- rejecting dead) did not live again until the thousand years were finished." "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priest of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years" (Rev. 20:4-6).

The Bible makes sense if you take it for what it says, but if you give it a figurative meaning, no one knows what it means.



A General Judgment at the End of the World?

The Bible does not teach a general judgment at the end of the world. At least seven judgments are taught in the Bible.

1. The Judgment of the Believer's Sins at the Cross of Christ:

When Christ died on the Cross, He completely paid our sin debt. He was judged in our place and stead (John 5:24; I Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 2:24; 3:18; I John 2:2). That is why the Lord Jesus could say, "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God" (John 3:18).

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life" (John 5:24).

The Apostle Paul could write in Romans 8:1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus." Let these words sink in! Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you their true meaning.

Since the judgment of our sins in the person of Christ on the Cross is the greatest of all judgments, I give the following illustration to help us understand what was accomplished when Jesus died on the Cross.

Suppose I go to the bank and borrow $10,000 to pay for a new car. In order to pay this money back I am to pay the bank $293.47 every month for the next three years. It is nice to drive the new car, but it is hard to make the monthly payments.

But, I have a wealthy friend who learns about the hard time I am having, so he goes to the bank and pays off the entire amount I owe the bank.

Since my friend has paid the bank, will I have to keep on paying too? Of course not. Would the banker be an honest and honorable man if he were to accept my friend's payment and make me pay too? Of course not.

My dear friend, this is exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ did for me, for you and for the whole world when He died on the Cross. HE PAID OUR SIN DEBT! This, along with the resurrection of Christ, is what the Gospel of Christ is all about.

Since Christ has paid our sin debt, the good news is that we do not have to pay too.

I make the next point reverently. God would not be a holy, just and righteous God to accept the payment Christ.

2. The Judgment of the Believer's Works:

The true believer will never be judged for his sins. They were judged in Christ on the Cross. We will not be judged for our sins, but we will be judged and rewarded according to our works (Rom. 14:10; I Cor. 5:10; I Cor. 3:9-15).

The judgment of the believer's works was discussed more fully in chapter seven, on rewards.

3. The Believer's Self-Judgment:

What happens to a Christian when he sins? Does he lose his salvation and have to be saved over and over again? Not according to the teaching of the Bible.

When a Christian sins he does not lose his salvation; he does lose the joy of his salvation.

When a Christian sins he does not lose his sonship; he does lose his fellowship.

When a Christian sins he does not lose the Holy Spirit; he does lose the power of the Spirit.

When a Christian sins, he is chastened by the Lord so that he will not be condemned with the world (I Cor. 11:32).

When a Christian judges himself, when he is willing to admit he is doing the wrong thing, and when he confesses his sin to God, he is immediately restored to fellowship with God (I John 1:9).

4. The Judgment of Nations:

"When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats" (Matt. 25:31,32).

5. The Judgment of the Nation of Israel:

"'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'surely with a mighty hand, with an outstretched arm, and with fury poured out, I will rule over you. I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you out of the countries where you are scattered, with a mighty hand, with and outstretched arm, and with fury poured out. And I will bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I will plead My case with you face to face. Just as I pleaded My case with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will plead My case with you,' says the Lord GOD" (Ezek. 20:33-38).

6. The Judgment of Angels:

"Do you not know that we shall judge angels" (I Cor. 6:3)? "For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them down to hell and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment" (2 Peter 2:4). "And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own habitation, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day" (Jude 6).

7. The Great White Throne Judgment:

"Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

"And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God and books were opened. And another book was opened, which was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

"The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

"Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:11-15).

If we are to rightly understand the Word of God, we must rightly divide the Word of Truth (2 Tim. 2:15).

Confusion results when we fail to distinguish between the different judgments. Confusion results if we do not distinguish between the judgment of the believer's sin and the judgment of the believer's works. Confusion results when we fail to distinguish between the judgment of the nation of Israel and the judgment of the nations. Confusion results when we fail to distinguish between the judgement of the nations in Matthew 25:31-46, and the judgment of the nation of Israel (Ezek. 20:33-44). Confusion results when we fail to distinguish between the judgment of the nations and the Great White Throne Judgment. Confusion results when we fail to distinguish between the Jew, the Gentile and the Church of God (I Cor. 10:32). Confusion results when we think God is trying to "win the world to Christ, or trying to bring in the kingdom," instead of recognizing that God's great purpose in the church age is to "visit the Gentiles, and to take out of them a people for His name" (Acts 15:14).

Yes, confusion results when we believe there will be a general resurrection and general judgment "at the end of the world."