The Great Judgement Day Approaches, Consider The Implications
Posted: Wednesday, March 05, 2008
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
Men, through the ages, have attempted to show from the scriptures, when the final judgement day of our Lord will come. They have set dates, only to see them come and go, reset dates which also came and went. It is a futile effort and only those who do not believe the Bible to be inerrant, will give a serious attempt at it. We are plainly told in several places that it will come "as a thief in the night", "when we least expect it" and so on. But the scripture which explains it clearly enough that there should be no one to say differently, is Mark 13:32 which reads: "But of that day and [that] hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father." All we can know for certain is that it is coming and it is one day nearer today than it was yesterday. By reading of the nature of God and comparing that nature with His actions in the past, along side the conditions that now prevail, those who look forward to His coming can have hope that it is very near.
If we were to say that it is within the next 150 years, we would have no idea if that was correct. But within this dilemma, we can factor in our lifespan and we can all be assured that, for us, it will be less than 150 years. Less than 100 years for almost all, and even less than 25 years for some of us. Some may say that our individual deaths will not bring the judgement day. But just how accurate a statement is that? The dictionary lists death as a termination of life or a cessation of living. That is true in physical terms but does not take in the meaning of one's spirit, (soul). Death truly means a separation. The death appointed to all mankind (Hebrews 9:27), the first death, is a separation of the body from the soul. The second death is a separation of the soul (spirit) from God. All will suffer the first death, the disobedient will suffer the second death.
Once the spirit is separated from the body, it has entered into eternity and time will be meaningless in that realm. So from that angle, we can reason that the final judgment will occur at the time of our death. And even if that does not fully answer the question of when the earth will experience the final day, it does answer it for us on an individual basis. There is much conjecture concerning where the spirit goes after it separates from the body. And scriptures do not make it clear. We know a few things concerning this but it is far from clear. We know for a fact that Jesus died on the cross. His body and soul were separated. He told the thief on the cross that he would be with Him in paradise ...that day. We also know that He did not go to heaven. After He arose on the sabbath morning following the crucifixion, He spoke to Mary. (John 20:17), "Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God."
In connection with this, we can get some type of imagination by reading 2 Corinthians 12: 1-4. In order to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, those chosen men had to be an eye witness and have had instructions from Him. So in this Corinthian letter, Paul, who was chosen to be an apostle, "out of due season", tells of his being caught up to "the third heaven" where he heard "unspeakable" words. He also refers to this place as "paradise" and the inspired writer uses the same Greek word as was used in the statement referred to above where Jesus told the thief that he would be with him in paradise. So this must be the place, or state, of the spirit after death but not yet the final heaven since Jesus went there but the Father was not there.
So, what may we expect when the final day arrives? Seemingly, since we must consider the necessity of the sequence of the way things will happen, we can use what is said and try and place them in order. There is no question that it will be an awesome and frightening occasion. But let me line up the scriptures concerning the return of Jesus as best I can.
"And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree." (Isaiah 34:4)
"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works." (Matthew 16:27)
"Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." (Matthew 26:64)
"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 therein shall be burned up. [Seeing] then [that] all these things shall be dissolved, what manner [of persons] ought ye 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 3:10-12)
"Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." (1 Corinthians 15:51-52)
And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day. (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10)
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive [and] remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4;15-16)
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)
From the above we can assemble an awesome picture of how the end will start. Many will disagree with me on my assumptions of how this materializes. But my feeble efforts to rationalize cannot assemble it any differently. I believe the verses from second Peter 3:10-12, shows the way the time will start. When no one is expecting it, there will be an explosion beyond anyone's wildest imaginations that will cause the heavens to pass away "with a great noise" and the entire universe will melt with fervent heat. Isaiah describes it as "rolled together as a scroll". The souls of those who are alive will be separated from their bodies and then the scenario as explained in 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10 will occur. The incident will eliminate all physical materials and "in the twinkling of an eye" we will be changed. And as John records in 1 John 3:2 above, we will be like Him! Spirits.
Then there are a number of scriptures which depict the judgement itself, much of which are figurative unless I am mistaken. They refer to the judgement seat of Christ. Books will be opened. Every person will be judged according to his works whether they be good or bad. I don't question that judgement will be meted out by Jesus according to man's obedience and his works, but to consider it as going through the processes of an earthly courtroom is unthinkable. Jesus knows every sin that has been committed, every sin that has been forgiven and ever one that has not been. There will be no arguments made, no decisions changed. Here are some verses that probably describe it more accurately.
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. (Matthew 25: 31-33)
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: (Matthew 25: 41)
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. (Matthew 7:13-14)
Hence it is a positive fact that each of us alive today are swiftly approaching the judgement. There is no assurance of the rest of today, so it behooves us all to live as if today is the last day. "For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2)
(All biblical scriptures are taken from the King James Version)
(All biblical scriptures are taken from the King James Version)
This Article has been viewed 317 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.