Professional Documents
Culture Documents
There are certain issues about the judgment which have not
received adequate attention.
For whose sakes is the judgment held?
Does God need to make up His mind on some matters?
What aspects of the sin problem are being dealt with now
that were not dealt with at the cross?
Having been justified apart from works (RO 3:28 For we maintain that a
man is justified by faith apart from observing the law. RO 4:5 However, to the man who does not work
, why is the
but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.)
believer and the record of his works brought up for
consideration in the judgment ? (2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body,
whether good or bad. RO 14:10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on
your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat. 1CO 4:4 My conscience is clear, but that
does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 1CO 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the
appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will
expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.)
Satan's
deceptions
about God
Satan's Deceptions
About God ----> Broken Faith Relationship
God. The Bible terms it "the second death." (REV 20:6 Blessed and holy
are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will
be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. REV 21:8 But the cowardly,
the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the
idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.")
But when Adam and Eve did choose another master, God
immediately interposed, holding off what would have
otherwise resulted in their immediate destruction. God has
never wanted "anyone to perish"; instead He desires
"everyone to come to repentance," (2 Pet 3:9) And bringing
one to repentance takes time -- time to replace error with
truth and distrust with confidence.
Yet even though God had purchased for them time to repent,
still they knew that they deserved to die. This rightful
sentence of death, properly hanging over the heads of all
humanity, is passed because of our guilt.
The Sin Problem
Satan's Guilt:
Broken Faith
Deceptions ----> Relationship ----> Deserving the
About God Second Death
Satan's Guilt:
Broken Faith
Deceptions ----> Relationship ----> Deserving the
About God Second Death
you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of
Because Satan has had such great success in
the body, you will live,)
perverting the normal drives of the body and in taking
advantage of hunger, weariness, and pain, the body can
indeed be viewed as a "source" of sin. More precisely, it is a
"door of access" through which Satan most often gains
control over the mind. But God's plan must reckon with it.
The Sin Problem Selfish Character
and Values
Satan's Guilt:
Broken Faith
Deceptions ----> Relationship ----> Deserving the
About God Second Death
Sinful Flesh:
The Sin-damaged
Body
Keep in mind not only the different parts of the sin problem
as illustrated here, but also their sequence. For we would
expect that God's solution must match the problem in every
particular.
Next Chapter
Sinful Flesh:
The Sin-damaged
Body
Truth
about God Faith:
in Jesus' Reconciled to
Life and God in Love, Guilt:
Death
----> Trust, and ----> Deserving the
Second Death
Obedience
Satan's
Deceptions About Broken Faith Relationship
God
Sinful Flesh:
The Sin-damaged
Body
Truth
about Faith: Justification:
God in Reconciled to Pardon; Viewed
Jesus' God in Love, as Righteous,
Life and ----> Trust, and ----> Accepted
Death Obedience
Guilt:
Broken Faith Deserving the
Satan's Second Death
Deceptions Relationship
About God
Sinful Flesh:
The Sin-damaged
Body
Truth
about Faith:
Justification:
God in Reconciled to
Pardon; Viewed
Jesus' God in Love,
as Righteous,
Life and ----> Trust, and ----> Accepted
Death Obedience
Guilt: Deserving the Second
Satan's Broken Faith Death
Deceptions Relationship
About God
Sinful Flesh:
The Sin-damaged Body
Truth
about Faith: Justification:
God in Reconciled to Pardon; Viewed
Jesus' God in Love, as Righteous,
Life and ----> Trust, and ----> Accepted
Death Obedience
Guilt:
Broken Faith Deserving the
Satan's Second Death
Deceptions Relationship
About God
Controlled by the
New Spirit-led
Mind
Sinful Flesh: The
Sin-damaged Body
Next Chapter
The Cross:
Turning Point, Not End
So far we have discussed sin and salvation in the abstract,
using diagrams and words. Now let's look at the actions of
God as He moves into the realm of humanity and time to win
us back.
But first some distinctions. To ignore these is to lose the flow
of the rest of this book, so note them carefully.
. There is a difference between the winning the battle
between Jesus and Satan and the the ending of the battle.
Age-old arguments between a "complete atonement" and
an "incomplete atonement" have missed this distinction --
with those who hold our far a complete atonement trying
to say that Jesus won the victory on the cross, and those
who stress and incomplete atonement trying to explain
why the rebellion goes on more that 1900 years later.
Thus we suggest the phrase "atonement in progress to
better describe what God has been doing since the cross."
B. There is a similar difference between the necessary
That is, you can count of God always to tell the truth,
even if the truth is costly. (What is more, He is even
willing to bear the cost!)
2. On the cross, the nature and extent of God's totally
self-giving love was fully revealed. the impact of that
extreme sacrifice for undeserving rebels was electrifying
through the whole universe. Angels, perceiving its
meaning more quickly than men, were entralled. (7) It
shattered the last link of sympathy between Satan and the
heavenly hosts. Having seen the malicious hatred of
Satan toward their loving Commander in stark contrast
with Jesus' compassionate forgiveness toward His
murderers. the heavenly hosts would never again be
duped by Satan's lies about God. And the record of those
events was preserved for us humans to ponder, that --
with the Spirit's aid -- we might come to the same
conclusions.
3. Having died in our place, Jesus won for us all the right to
stand free from all guilt when we are joined to Him by
the bond of faith. (8) This is the great truth of
justification by faith: that God is eager to view us all as
though we had never sinned. The sentence of death which
we have borne is not only repreived, it is fully cancelled.
Nor is this because we have done anything which would
deserve a different treatment. It is entirely an expression
of God's gracious love to the prodigals who have come
file:///D|/Gunawan Collections/Adventist/Judgement/TheCross.htm (4 of 11) [02/12/1999 16:53:57]
If God won the War,
Next Chapter
--------
1. Galatians 6:14.
2. Genesis 3:4.
3. Romans 3:25.
4.Matthew 27:46.
5. Psalm 85:10.
6. Romans 3:25.
7. 1 Peter 1:12.
8. Romans 8:1.
9. 1 John 5:11-13; Romans 6:23; John 5:24.
10. John 19:30.
11. Revelation 5:12.
12. 2 Corinthians 5:18-20.
13. Matthew 29:19, 20.
14 John 8:32.
15. Isaiah 28:21.
16. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.
17. Zechariah 3:1-7 (see also Psalm 24:3-5; 1John 3:2, 3, 8-10).
18. Remember the promise made by Christ to the dying thief: LUke 23:39-43.
19. 1 Thessalonians 4: 13-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51-55.
20. Romans 8:18-24.
21. 2 Corinthians 7:1.
22. Revelation 22:11.
23. Revelation 13:16 and chapters 17 and 18.
24. Revelation 7:3.
25. Matthew 24:14, emphasis supplied.
26. Joshua 24:15.
Who Needs
an End-Time Judgment?
Most of the negative comments one hears about the concept
of an ent-time judgment are reactions against what can only
be viewed as a caricature of the judgment. This distorted,
confused scenario of the judgment suggests some very
strange ideas about God and how He works, and as such it
deserves to be questioned by thoughtful people. In its various
forms, this view of the judgment goes something like this:
God simply cannot make up His mind about whom to save in
the judgment. So He must convene a court in order to
reexamine the evidence before casting a decision. The books
of recrd, listing the good and bad works of each person, are
opened and examined. As the lists of sins are reviewed, the
Father's face darkens, and the verdict looks doubtful for the
individual in question. Bu then Jesus steps froward, and in
the true adversary fashion typical of earhly courts, pleads the
gracious merits of His blood over against the stern justice of
the Father. Perhaps if the believer has registered enough
good works on his record, Jesus can win his case.
one and the same. He can judge one or the other and come up
with the same answer. But the apostle James voiced a
familiar complaint -- that many people were simply giving
lipservice to faith. (17) He urged the right to see real live
works as an evidence of faith -- a request which God sees as
still falid in the judgment. Theus, for everyone else's sake,
He keeps track of works. He has nothing to hide. He has no
intent to nominate for judgment anyone whose faith cannot
be vindicated by his works.
Once again, it is man's opinion of God, not God's opinion of
man, which needs to be changed before the great controversy
can end. Thus the purpose of the judgment is not for God to
form an opinion of man, but for man to see God dealing so
fairly, so livingly in the settling of the final issues that man
will form an unchangingly loyal opinion of God!
Next Chapter
-------
1. Daniel 7:9-13.
2. Notice Romans 8:33, 34 and Micah 7:7-9.
3. John 16:26, 27.
4. 1 Peter 5:8.
5. Revelation 12:10.
6. Zechariah 3:1-7.
7. Revelation 14:7.
8. Job 1:8.
9. 2 Timothy 2:19.
10. See Zechariah 13:8, 9.
11. Daniel 12:1.
12. Job 13:15; 23:6. 7, 10; 27:2-6; Zephaniah 3:11-13.
13. Daniel 7:10; Exodus 32:32; Psalm 56:8; 69:28; 139:16; Malachi 3:16.
14. Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10.
15. 1 Samuel 16:7.
16. 2 Timothy 1:9,
17. James 2:14-24.
Job would not have suggested himself as ready for the trial,
but God named him because he was indeed ready. (So also
Isaiah and John the Baptist. (20))
The beauty of holiness is its utter selflessness. Oh, the
privilege of being thus transformed by our selfless Lord!
Next Chapter
-----------
1. 2Peter 3:11-14
2. Philippians 3:12,13
3. Ephesians 1:6
4. Matthew 5:16
5. 2 Corinthians 5:20
6. John 17:4
7. v. 6
8. v. 10
9. v. 11
10. v. 18
11. v. 17
12. Ephesians 3:19
13. v. 10
14. Matthew 1:21
15. 1 Peter 2:9
16. 2 Corinthians 5:14, 15
17. 2 Corinthians 4:10
18. v. 11 also Glatians 2:20
evil one.
In marked contrast to the way virtually every other animal
was dealth with in the sanctuary, the scapegoat was not
sacrificed. Instead, it was carried away from civilization,
never to return. (3) Clearly, the people understood this to be
a promise that the time would come when sin would be more
than forgiven; it would be removed forever from the
universe.
But remember: God has always had but one way to remove
sin -- only one method to eradicate sin from the universe. He
does not strong-arm Satan out of reach, for power is not the
issue. He does not command Satan into silence, for authority
is not the issue. Rather He exposes Satan for the fraud that he
is and fully reveals the more than adequate basis for trust in
Himself, for truth is the issue!
The Day of Atonement is a promise that the time will come
when Jesus -- in His role as High Priest -- will step forth
from the supreme court of heaven and, in the presence of the
entire universe, declare what the evidence has
overwhelmingly shown: Satan is the father of all lies, there is
not one tiny reason to distrust God, and the vote of the jury is
unanimous. Every decision which God has made -- about
Satan, the redeemed, even the lost -- has been fair beyond
question. This is how sin is removed from the universe.
Throughtout the year, as individual worshpers have brought
file:///D|/Gunawan Collections/Adventist/Judgement/FinalJudgment.htm (3 of 8) [02/12/1999 16:53:59]
F
their sin offerings to the altar, the priest has carried a portion
of the blood inot the sanctuary, sprinkling it before the veil.
This represents the fact that, though he as accepted the
Sacrifice to be made on his behalf and is thus forgiven, some
aspect of the sin problem remains to be solved. It doesn't
mean (as some have suggested) that the Father is uncertain
about accepting the Son';s sacrifice as ade1quate to secure
forgiveness. Rather, by accepting that blood into His most
holy place, the Father is saying that He will assume
accountability to see to it that Satan is ultimately shown to be
the cause of that sin.
Repeated by Daniel
This same fina;-judgment motif is repeated in the prophecies
of Daniel 7 and 8, which is connected to leviticus 16 by far
more than just the word cleansed (Daniel *:14, ), as some
have suggested. The similarities between the Daniel and
Leveticus accounts are striking:
. Both accounts describe the judgment as happening in the
presence of a vast assembled throng. In the eartly type,
the whole camp of Israel was intensely involved. (4) In
Daniel's view of the heavenly antitype, he beheld a
virtually numberless throng. (5) Thus the pre-advent
judgment is no private affair, taking place in the
seclusion of some forbidden chamber.
B. The setting portrays an ultimate showdown between the
file:///D|/Gunawan Collections/Adventist/Judgement/FinalJudgment.htm (4 of 8) [02/12/1999 16:53:59]
F
Next Chapter
-------------
1. Acts 2:1-4, 14
2 Leviticus 16:32; 23:27-29
3. v. 20-23
4. Leviticus 23:28-31
5. Daniel 7:10
6. v. 25
7. Leviticus 16:20-22
8. Daniel 7:22, 26, 27
9. v. 22, 27. note in Leviticus 23:26-33 that the day of atonement come immediately fefore the Feast of
tabernacles.
10. Daniel 8:17
11. v. 12
12. v. 14
13. see book
14. Revelation 14:7,
15. Revelation 18:1-4
16. 2 Timothy 4:8
A Distinctive Message
About the Judgment
Since its very beginning, the Seventh-day Adventist Church
has been enthralled with the theme of final judgment. And
not without good cause! It is a message which makes
astonishing good sense when seen in its fullness. Like a
golden thread of internal logic, it weaves together soteriology
(beliefs about final events) and eschatology (beliefs about
final events). It is a motivator for action and a guard against
indifference.
But more than that, it is the judgment message which -- to a
large degree -- comprises the Seventh-day Adventist's
distincitive message as a Christian group to the rest of the
world. In addition to all that we share with other Christians,
Seventh-day Adventists have something special which we
are persuaded needs to be said to the worlds before the end
can come. And this distinctive message can well be
organized around the theme of final judgment.
We can look at that distinctive message under the following
five heading:
A. Judgment Is Good News!
file:///D|/Gunawan Collections/Adventist/Judgement/Message.htm (1 of 8) [02/12/1999 16:54:00]
If God won the War,
---------------------
1. Revelation 14:6
2. Daniel 1:22
3. Micah 7:9
4. Revelation 15:3, 4
5. Revelation 6:10
6. Revelation 14:7
7. Matthew 5:16
8. Matthew 25:1-13
9. Isiah 60:1
10. 2 Corinthians 5:15
11. Isiah 43:21
12. Deuteronomy 4:5-8
13. Hosea 4:1, 6; 5:4; 6:1-3
14. Galatians 3:14-16, 29; 1 Peter 2:9-12
15. Ephesians 3:10, 11
16. Jeremiah 32:38, 39