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Judgment On The World
In light of this new understanding of the punishment for sin (namely, that the unsaved cease to exist beyond this world), we certainly have some questions about judgment. After all, haven’t we always been taught that on the last day the unsaved will stand before the judgment throne of God, answer for their sins, and then be cast into hell to be tormented forever? If the unsaved never again come to conscious existence after they physically die, then what about the judgment throne? Aren’t there verses in the Bible that speak of that?
We have to keep in mind the way God wrote the Bible. We know for certain that it was His intent to hide certain things from mankind. Since we were going to have the completed Bible for nearly 2,000 years He had to use difficult and confusing language to keep these things hidden.
The fact that God’s Word is filled with confusing statements should come as no surprise to us. Just look at all the conflicting doctrines today. One would think every church had its own unique version of the Bible. This outcome is a product of God’s intentionally difficult Word.
We really have to study carefully and look at everything in the Bible that might relate to a particular topic. If the Bible seems to be teaching that the unsaved do not consciously stand before a judgment throne, then we have to face the verses that seem to contradict that. Everything must harmonize because, ultimately, there are no contradictions in the Bible.
Then Why Is God Spoken Of As A Judge?
When we think of a judge we normally think of someone who makes a determination of right or wrong and then declares a penalty. This is also how most of us (myself included) have always thought of God when the Bible speaks of Him as the Judge at the end of time.
However, now that we know the unsaved are not going to be thrown into a place of eternal torment we are compelled to look at this role as judge more closely. As it turns out, the Bible’s definition of a judge does not entirely line up with our traditional thinking.
The Bible speaks of judges as being deliverers from the enemy:
“Nevertheless the LORD raised up judges, which delivered them out of the hand of those that spoiled them.”
(Judges 2:16)
The Bible also speaks of judges as going out on the frontlines and fighting the battles:
“That we also may be like all the nations; and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, and fight our battles.” (1 Samuel 8:20)
The judges also ruled as kings:
“But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. And Samuel prayed unto the LORD.”
(1 Samuel 8:6)
These are all roles that come to mind when we think of Christ. He is the King:
“The LORD sitteth upon the flood; yea, the LORD sitteth King for ever.” (Psalm 29:10)
He deliverers the believers from the enemy:
“Deliver me, O LORD, from mine enemies: I flee unto thee to hide me.” (Psalm 143:9)
One of His roles as Judge was to communicate the law to us:
“For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.” (Isaiah 33:22)
But Won’t God Judge the Quick and the Dead?
We read that God will judge the quick and the dead near the end of time:
“I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom” (1 Timothy 4:1)
At first, this seems contradictory to the idea that once the unsaved die they never return to conscious existence to stand before a judgment throne. How then can they be judged as this verse is indicating?
We get some help when we look at First Peter 4:5:
“Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead.”
Here we find the same phrase, “judge the quick and the dead,” in connection with the unsaved giving account. We have always understood this to be teaching that the unsaved will have to consciously stand before God and answer for their sins at a judgment throne. The Greek word for “give” in this verse is apodidomi and we can get a better understanding of this if we look at how God used that word in other verses.
We see that it can be defined as making payment:
“Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay [abodidomi], his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment [apodidomi] to be made. The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay [apodidomi] thee all.” (Matthew 18:23-26)
We also see that it can be defined as administering punishment:
“But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render [apodidomi] to every man according to his deeds” (Romans 2:5-6)
So, the phrase “give account” in First Peter 4:5 could be translated as “make payment on account.” What’s the payment for sin? Death:
“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
The death in view is eternal death and that is finalized on the last day when everything except the believers is completely destroyed:
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” (Revelation 20:14)
In the end, there will still be a huge population of unsaved people alive on this planet. They, along with the dead, will have to make payment at that point. The graves will open so that the dead can be exposed as they are shamed in their spiritual nakedness along with the living. Then both the living and the dead will be utterly destroyed on the last day.
The Law Judges The Unsaved
There will be no need for a formal trial because the unsaved will have already been judged. Remember, the Word of God judges the unsaved throughout their lives:
“For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12)
“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” (James 2:12)
Then that judgment is finalized on the last day… by whom? We read that it is the Word that judges unsaved man on the last day as well:
“He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” (John 12:48)
This is why we read that the unsaved are already condemned:
“He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18)
There is no need for a formal trial at the end. Mankind has already been declared guilty.
We might ask, “Why doesn’t the law judge the believers then too? They’re sinners as well.” Before we become saved we are under the law of God:
“But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed.” (Galatians 3:23)
Once we become saved we are no longer under the law of God:
“But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” (Galatians 5:18)
Instead, once we are saved we have come under the grace of God:
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.” (Romans 6:14)
“To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” (Galatians 4:5)
The Bible also speaks of this transition in terms of marriage. Before we are saved we are married to the law, but once we become saved we become married to another (Christ):
“Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.” (Romans 7:4)
The situation with Adam and Eve is an example of how it works. God gave them the law: “Eat of this tree and you shall die.” They broke the law and so the penalty was spiritual death. No trial held. Likewise, God gave mankind the law and declared that the penalty for breaking it is death. Mankind has broken that law so he pays the penalty. No trial held.
What About The Judgment Throne?
We read that all must stand before the judgment throne of Christ:
“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” (Romans 14:10-11)
The first thing we need to do is recognize that the word “all” is not always used in the Bible the way we traditionally understand it. For example, consider the following verse:
“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.” (Luke 2:1)
This verse is not teaching that Caesar Augustus taxed those living in North America or those living in South Africa. He taxed those that would have been subject to the taxation; namely, the entire Roman Empire. The word “all” in this verse is conditioned by its context.
Likewise, consider the following verse:
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Corinthians 15:22)
We know from the rest of the Bible that the first “all” does point to the entire human race because the effects of sin were passed on to every human being. However, we know that not everyone becomes saved as the second “all” would seem to indicate. Here again the word “all” is conditioned by the context and is referring to all of the believers, not all of the human race.
In the passage above (Romans 14:10-11) we find the phrase, “for it is written,” which indicates that God has spoken about this before. We find that God is referencing Isaiah 45:23:
“I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.”
If we back up a few verses we can pick up the context and see that God is speaking of the believers:
“Assemble yourselves and come; draw near together, ye that are escaped of the nations: they have no knowledge that set up the wood of their graven image, and pray unto a god that cannot save.” (Isaiah 45:20)
So when God says that “all” must stand before the judgment throne He is once again referring to all of the believers, not all of mankind. Remember that in actuality Christ stood before the judgment throne in place of the believers, but in principle it was as though the believers were the ones who paid the penalty:
“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20)
In that sense, the believers have already stood before the judgment throne.
What About Revelation 20:12-13?
This passage appears to clearly indicate that the unsaved will be resurrected to some kind of conscious existence so they can be judged:
“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. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” (Revelation 20:12-13)
This is a prime example of how God hid the truth. Only when we understand what the rest of the Bible says about judgment can we understand this passage’s actual teaching. Twice this passage says, “and they were judged.” When we don’t compare it to the rest of the Bible we get the idea that God is saying here that event #1 happened, and then event #2 happened, and then they were judged… indicating a chain of events, at the end of which is the judgment of man.
However, the word “then” is not there. Careful review of the original Greek is a great help in understanding this passage. The Greek phrase translated "they were judged" is in the aorist tense in the indicative mood, which indicates that a past action is in view; it's speaking of something that has already taken place. In other words, the phrase, “and they were judged,” should be understood as, “and they had been judged,” or, “and they were already judged.” The translation isn't wrong; it's just not clear. We have always understood the statement to be, "the books were opened and THEN they were judged," when we should have been understanding it as, "the books were opened and ALREADY they were judged." It’s referencing the judgment the unsaved received when the law judged them throughout their lives. No further trial is necessary. Their dead remains are resurrected only to complete the payment for sin: complete destruction.
How Does This Differ From “Annihilation”?
I did not grow up in a church that taught the doctrine of annihilation so I am not familiar with all the variations of the doctrine, but I do know of two common discrepancies.
One version teaches that some of the unsaved will be resurrected to life again and be given a second chance after the Great Tribulation.
Another version says that the unsaved will be resurrected to life just for judgment and punishment before being annihilated.
Neither of these teachings harmonizes with the Bible.
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