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CHRISTADELPHIAN BIBLE POSTAL COURSE No. 55 |
SOME FACTS ABOUT JUDGEMENT AND THE KINGDOM
Reading : 1 Corinthians 15
One of the arguments used in the past to persuade people that they should become Christians was the threat of the Judgment seat of Christ. The intention of these lessons is to explain to you the advantages and the need for you to be baptised in Jesus € name. Therefore, it is important that we look at this subject of judgment and explore the references to it in the Bible.
The subject of judgment is very serious but has to be seen against the promises made by God of forgiveness and mercy for those who seek him.
Because we will be looking at the future, most references will be taken from prophecies. You might expect these to be in the Old Testament; many however are from the words of Jesus and his apostles and others are to be found in the book of Revelation.
Those who unfortunately find themselves having to face a judge in a court of law will always want to know who the judge at their trial will be. The reason for this is that, however well-trained and knowledgeable a judge may be, he or she is human and therefore subject to personal views on what is right or wrong according to the law.
When we prepare to look at the subject of judgment as shown in the Bible we will also want to know something about the judge, so open your Bible at Psalm 72 and look at verses 2 to 7. € He shall judge the people with righteousness and the poor with justice € and € In his days shall the righteous flourish and abundance of peace as long as the moon endures € . Remember that these are God € s words and speak of true righteousness and justice as God intended for mankind from the beginning in Eden. Further description of this wonderful judge is given in the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 11 verses 1 to 5. The introduction to these words, € The rod out of the stem of Jesse € and the reference to the Branch when compared with other similar references show that this perfect judge will be Jesus the Son of God. Paul removed any doubt about this when he wrote with the power of the Holy Spirit these words to Romans chapter 14 verses 7 to 13 and showed plainly that it is Jesus who will be the future King over all of the earth. In his closing words to Timothy Paul wrote of his own personal hope and confidence before this very special judge. Look at the second letter to Timothy chapter 4 verses 6 to 8. Note that there is no fear in these words only eagerness that that day would come soon. This can be the same for us if we live our lives by Jesus € rules and follow his example.
Peter in explaining the details of the gospel to the Roman Centurion Cornelius also showed that Jesus would be the judge. You will see this in Acts chapter 10 verses 38 to 43. There is more information about the judgment here for Peter says that Jesus will judge the € living and the dead € .
James in his letter chapter 5 verses 8 and 9 writes with the hope that the return of Jesus would be in his lifetime. This was not so, but because our lives are so brief and at the time of death the next moment of thought will be at our resurrection we are never far away from this time of judgment no matter how many centuries have passed. More information on this is in the book of Revelation and we will look first at chapter 11 verse 18. Look at the words carefully and see that the purpose of God is first to give reward to those who have served and shown faith and reverence for his name. The punishment of those who have rejected Jesus is something I do not want to consider in this study.
Now turn to chapter 20 and look at verses 11 to 13. The image is impressive and should be; for compared with the small details of our lives, all of mankind € s cleverness and all of his works this is the real reason for our existence. The reason for the creation of man on the face of the earth was ultimately to bring about a state of tranquillity, justice and love that will be eternally pleasing to God. Note that many details of resurrection are shown here. How God will recreate those who have died from the dust and ashes of the earth is not revealed; but for the great intelligent power that was responsible for the whole of creation this will surely be very simple. It is also important to see the words in verse 12 € The dead were judged € according to their works € . This confirmation of all we have studied in earlier lessons is important. The connection between faith in God and putting that faith to work in our lives is observed each day by Jesus as our mediator and future judge. Nothing escapes his notice.
I want to turn now from this picture of the judgement to that of the Kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (Christ means € the anointed one € ). We have already read details of the style of the future Kingdom for it will come from the righteous Judge who will become the great King. The early days of the new age will however be filled with blood and retribution upon the nations of the earth that reach out to destroy the new King. The language of the prophets is not easy to understand and there are many examples to chose from. Start with Isaiah chapter 24 verses 21 to 23 where this picture of punishment is depicted. Now turn to
Zechariah chapter 14 and read the whole chapter. The references to war and destruction are inescapable but we have to expect this for the return of Jesus will be to an earth filled with wickedness.
What is very interesting in these prophecies is the constant reference to Jerusalem and to the Jewish people. They clearly have an important part to play in God € s purpose and the constant political crises in the State of Israel should be an indication to us of the nearness of Jesus € return. There is a picture of the blessings that God promises to all who are accepted into the Kingdom in Isaiah chapter 25 verses 8 and 9 which also has a reference to € His people € . The followers of Jesus are those spoken of in Revelation chapter 20 as being in the € Book of life € , so these special people have to be the Jewish people out of all nations gathered to their own land and blessed by God.
The very lovely image of God wiping away the tears of mankind in this future Kingdom is repeated in Revelation chapter 21 verses 3 to 5.
The blessings of the kingdom are many and are mentioned in many parts of the Bible as we have already seen. In many cases these details are in parts of prophecies that talk of war and destruction, the punishments to be brought upon those who are called the enemies of God and the enemies of his people the Jews. An example of this is in Isaiah chapter 35 where some of the advantages to mortal people in the kingdom are shown. There will be mortal (dying) people in the kingdom of Jesus as well as those who have been given immortality. Verse 5 speaks of the blind and deaf, verse 6 of the lame and the dumb. These are ailments of mortal people not the immortal saints of God. Some help on the length of time the Kingdom will continue is shown in Revelation chapter 20 verses 4 to 6 where the time of this Kingdom is given as 1000 years. Other references such as that to the Devil and Satan in verse 2 and the € Rest of the dead € in verse 5 will be for future study and will not be dealt with here.
Although information about the Kingdom is scattered throughout the Bible, you will by now have some idea of the nature of it. Paul in his first letter to Corinthians chapter 15 provides valuable information about the process of resurrection but also has things to say about the work of Jesus as King. It is good to read the whole chapter but for now, concentrate on verses 20 to 28.
From this we can see that the Kingdom is a time of preparation in which the earth and all its peoples, aided by those who have received immortality, will be brought to a state of peace and tranquillity. It will then be presented by Jesus as King to his Father, ready for the next stage of his purpose.
We do not know what this is, there is no information other than that there will be another resurrection and another judgment and the final removal of death from the earth. This means that mankind will no longer die, verse 26 € The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death € .