Everyone is aware of the Day of Judgement, to whatever religion he may be following, and all must appear before God to receive their just rewards. Some will be accepted and blessed while others will be cast into the fires of hell. All the good works of any individual will not decide his eternal fate, but his faith. It is what and who we believe in that will settle the final destination of all.
The mode of God’s judgement – When the curse of their unbelief and resultant disobedience came upon mankind, death was the immediate result. First was the spiritual death and separation from God and later came the physical death. To cause death, diseases and sickness also started, with the thorns and thistles that the earth produced, causing deterioration of the quality and quantity of the produce. Accordingly, we learn, ‘it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgement’ (Hebrews 9:27). Lord Jesus came to restore the relationship with God of all mankind. All His work was in the power of the Spirit of God that was upon Him (Luke 4:18). He came ‘to preach the Gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed’. All this is related to the control of the demonic forces over individuals for ‘the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8). God has never forced anyone in His creation to blindly follow His commands but use knowledge and wisdom to understand and choose to follow or reject, even salvation through His Son, which many do. Apparently, there will be a judgement of the believers who choose to follow Lord Jesus and this is different from the white throne judgement of others.
Apostle John was exiled to Patmos island, after attempts to kill him by placing him in boiling oil failed. On the island, he received the Revelation about Lord Jesus Christ pertaining to the ‘End Times’, when God’s judgement will take place. He saw that, in heaven the ‘Great white throne’ was set up and from the presence of the Occupant of the throne ‘earth and heaven fled away’ (Revelation 20:11-15). All the dead of all of mankind were brought before Him from under the sea, as well as from ‘Death and Hades’. To judge them ‘according to their works’, the ‘books were opened’ in which all their deeds were recorded in heaven. With that ‘another book was opened, which is the Book of Life’. With this judgement ‘Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death’. There will be no more death and separation from God, for this is the final and eternal spiritual separation from God’. Then all those whose name was ‘not found written in the Book of Life were cast into the lake of fire’.
Lord Jesus did disclose the signs that will indicate the arrival of the time of judgement but did not state about the day (Matthew 24:24-36). He said, ‘But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only’. As the Messiah, even He was not aware of that day, but of course, now He would definitely be aware. Among the signs is the appearance of False Christs, even performing many signs and wonders. Also, there will be great tribulation over the earth with famines and earthquakes. Then, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken’. These powers are the devil and his demonic forces and not the angels from heaven.
A prophecy about a similar situation was made by Prophet Daniel, and with that he also revealed the way of escape from this suffering. He said, ‘Now at that time Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise’ (Daniel 12:1). Speaking about the terrible distress of that time, he revealed, ‘everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued’. The only way to escape being thrown into the hell fires is to get one’s name written in the Book of Life.
But what is this Book of life? The first mention of this Book was made by Moses, while pleading for forgiveness of his people from the wrath of God, after the episode of the golden calf. Then Moses went back to the LORD, and said, ‘Alas, this people has committed a great sin, and they have made a god of gold for themselves. But now, if You will, forgive their sin – and if not, please blot me out from Your Book which You have written’. (Exodus 32:31-33). But God confirms removal of the sinner only ‘out of My Book’. Moses volunteered to suffer condemnation for his people to earn their forgiveness.
Lord Jesus had sent seventy of the chosen ones to preach the Gospel and heal the sick in the villages (Luke 10:17-20). They returned rejoicing and said, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name’. Lord Jesus confirmed their authority but warned them not to rejoice in this fact, but their joy should be in the fact that ‘your names are written in heaven’. Those who believe and diligently follow the commands of the Lord are thus blessed. Entry into New Jerusalem will be permitted only to those ‘who are written in the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’ (Revelation 21:27). The finished work of Lord Jesus on the cross has restored us back to a close relationship with God, the Father, whose children we become through faith. The citizenship of any country is based on birth or naturalisation through living there. As born-again children of God, we receive our ‘citizenship in heaven’ and this is part of the inheritance we receive in Lord Jesus (Philippians 3:20). Thus, all believers have their names entered in the Citizenship Book in heaven and we are thus protected from being cast into the hell fires due to this.
When the books will be opened, every single act of everyone will be evaluated and judged accordingly. Thus, there will be different levels of severity of judgement as per the acts performed in the body. The details of this will only become apparent at that time and no one on earth can give any details of this.
Difference in judgement of a believer and others – Whatever works one does in this life are based on faith and belief system, for our faith shapes our way of life. Even someone who claims to be an atheist, lives according to certain standards that he believes in. His faith and these works then become like a building in which that person lives. This difference in life-styles of people is clearly visible in their behaviour towards others, for it is based on what they believe and follow. Apostle Paul identifies the foundation of a believer’s life as Lord Jesus Himself, whose teaching defines two essential things (1 Corinthians 3:11-15). First, love God with all your being and also others as yourself, even loving your enemies, by trying to understand their problems and helping them overcome the same to turn them also into friends.
Our works of faith in God, who is love, are likened to two types in the Scripture. Ones that are permanent, like gold, silver or precious stones. Second, works that are weak efforts towards His glory but focused more on self only, and these are of wood, hay and straw, that are for personal glory, under worldly wisdom and under false religiosity. Permanent works are performed with pure motives and reliance on the Holy Spirit to bring joy and hope into others’ lives and show an enduring result. On the Day of Judgement, all this will be seen in the open and eternal rewards will be given as the good and faithful servant who is called and ‘enters into the joy of his Master’ (Matthew 25:23). Since salvation is a gift of grace, a believer with perishing works will be saved as if barely escaping the eternal fires and empty-handed in heaven.
Lord Jesus has warned us, ‘No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon’ (Matthew 6:24). Mammon represents the worldly treasures that we permit to occupy central place in our lives, thus replacing God. Whoever we serve, our focus will be on works to please him and follow his ways.
God revealed the glory of His Son as ‘Light of the world’ and separated darkness from that light (Genesis 1:4). God desires mankind to live in His light, while the darkness of evil wants to keep man away from that light and hide. A life committed to live righteously has nothing to fear, for the Light strengthens him in his walk. All that we do in the darkness, we want it to remain hidden but on the day of Judgement, it will all be revealed. When we live away from the light and are in closeness to the darkness, our life beyond this place will naturally go into darkness and not into the Light. That is the real judgement, but a believers’ works of darkness or sins are forgiven through Faith in Lord Jesu– Those who reject Him as their Saviour their guilt of sinful living carries them into eternal fires and condemnation.
Thus, there are two types of works of believers, one that earns him a reward and greater responsibilities and second, that saves him but with no reward or little reward. In like manner, there are people who live a holy life but do not believe in Lord Jesus as their Saviour, they will also suffer. Either it will be like separation from God or the type of eternal suffering. Their punishment may vary in their case as well as those who are blatant criminals. Whether we go before the judgement seat of Lord Jesus or before the White Throne Judgement, we have the choice today. One decision will get your name written in the Book of Life and definitely affect your eternal life
Why is sin against the Son of God forgiven but not against the Holy Spirit? Lord Jesus healed a man ‘demon-possessed, blind and mute’ but the Pharisees denied this and claimed to be done by Him under the power of Satan (Matthew 12:22-32). They claimed to be experts in Scripture and all the Jewish people were waiting for the coming of the Messiah, but the leaders failed to recognise or receive Him. Lord Jesus warned all, that a sin committed against Him will be forgiven ‘but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come’. The Greek word defines blasphemy as ‘deliberate, defiant irreverence’ and attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to the devil and his forces of evil, thus equating and bringing the two together at the same level. It is also connecting God to some evil or denying Him recognition for the good that He does in love. The Pharisees had said the Lord Jesus ‘has an impure spirit’, despite having been witnesses to various miraculous works performed by the Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit. Lord Jesus told them, ‘If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, that you may know and believe that the Father is in Me, and in in Him’ (John 10:37-38). Apostle Paul identifies such people as those, ‘whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe’ (2 Corinthians 4:4).
The presence of the Spirit of God has been on the earth right from the beginning of creation and His power brings God’s Word to effect (Genesis 1:2). The moment the Son of God emerged from the water, at His baptism, the Spirit of God descended and remained on Him like a dove (Matthew 3:16). Denying His works was to deny not only His Divine status but also the hand of God, the Father, working in and through Him. It was this blindness that caused them to say to Pontius Pilate, who had washed his hands off the sin of sending Lord Jesus to the cross, to call down a curse of themselves and their descendants (Matthew 27:24-25). They said, ‘His blood be on us and on our children’, thus committing generations to suffering.
Can a Christian commit this sin against the Holy Spirit? All believers know that ‘every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights’ (James 1:17). We know that only evil and suffering come from the devil and nothing good. Someone knowing God and His character and credits His blessing to the devil is guilty of this sin. A believer has the Holy Spirit within him and cannot commit this sin for it is not just about one action but is a progressive rejection and hardening of heart. Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, to get the Israelites freed in the name of LORD God of Israel (Exodus 5:1-2). But Pharaoh said to them, ‘Who is the LORD, that I should obey His voice to let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, nor will I let Israel go’. This hardening of his heart became so severe that even the voice of the Egyptian leaders also could not convince him. Suffering the devastation of the Plagues, they said to Pharaoh, ‘Do you not yet know that Egypt is destroyed’ (Exodus 10:7). The Jewish leaders’ condition of unbelief also worsened from overseeing Lord Jesus’ ministry to ultimately pay Judas Iscariot to betray Him and then condemn Him to crucifixion.
Lord Jesus’ command is to ‘love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you’ (Matthew 5:44). When we attempt to live in this manner, reaching out to others with the message of love, we walk secure in obedience and God empowers us to walk right. We pray for and reach out to those who do not know the Lord with our own and others testimony of having been blessed. The Holy Spirit starts working in them to let the seed of God’s Word take root. But those who continue to listen to the Word, yet are not convinced, become guilty of this sin of rejecting the Son of God and face eternal damnation.
Everyone has to face the Day of Judgement, some for rewards and being in God’s presence eternally while some into the bottomless pit and ‘outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’ (Matthew 25:30).
A wicked person cannot see God’s presence anywhere and he loses sight of life beyond this temporal life on earth. But those who believe and receive the Son of God as their Saviour, even their most heinous sins are made white as snow. The fear of the Day of Judgement also does not terrify them for the kingdom of God is already at work in them. This freedom is only available through faith in Lord Jesus, who alone is The Way to God the Father and the source of eternal life!
