Warnings

 About  Hell  

David Feddes
 Worth  worrying  about?  
•  A national survey found that 38% of
adults worry “a lot” about not having
enough money and health insurance.
Only 8% worry that they will go to hell.
•  “Do not be afraid of those who kill the
body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be
afraid of the One who can destroy both
body and soul in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)
 Facts  to  Face  
•  God’s wrath is real. Though God is love,
he will punish unrepentant unbelievers.
•  Scripture often warns of hellfire.
•  Warnings must be heeded.
 Will  a  loving  God    
really  punish  sinners?  
We know him who said, “Vengeance is
mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord
will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing
to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Hebrews 10:30-31)
 Old  Testament  judgments  
•  Flood that spared only Noah and family
•  Fire that destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah
•  Plagues that crushed Pharaoh’s Egypt
•  Extermination of Canaanites
•  Punishments for covenant breakers
•  Bears that mauled mockers of Elisha
•  Fall of Samaria, Nineveh, Jerusalem, Tyre,
Babylon
New  Testament  judgments  
•  Deaths of Ananias and Sapphira
•  Angel striking King Herod with worms
•  Blinding of Bar-Jesus by Paul
•  Deaths of sacrilegious participants in
the Lord’s Supper at Corinth
•  Jesus’ warning that Jerusalem and the
temple would be destroyed
•  Final judgment and eternal hell
 Does  God  give    
fair  warning  of  hell?  
“I am in anguish in this flame… I beg you,
father, to send him to my father's house
— for I have five brothers—so that he may
warn them, lest they also come into this
place of torment.”
“If they do not hear Moses and the
Prophets, neither will they be convinced if
someone should rise from the dead.”
(Luke 16:24-31)
 Warning  in  Moses  
For a fire has been kindled by my wrath,
one that burns to the realm of death
below… It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In
due time their foot will slip; their day of
disaster is near and their doom rushes
upon them. (Deuteronomy 32:22,35)
 Warnings  in  Psalms  
Your hand will find out all your enemies; your
right hand will find out those who hate you.
You will make them as a blazing oven when
you appear. The LORD will swallow them up in
his wrath, and fire will consume them.
(Psalm 21:8-9)
Righteousness and justice are the foundation
of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns
up his adversaries all around. (Psalm 97:2-3)
 Warnings  in  Nahum  
The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful; the LORD
takes vengeance on his adversaries and
keeps wrath for his enemies. The LORD is
slow to anger and great in power, and the
LORD will by no means clear the guilty… Who
can stand before his indignation? Who can
endure the heat of his anger? His wrath is
poured out like fire. (Nahum 1:2-6)
 Warnings  in  Isaiah  
But rebels and sinners shall be broken
together, and those who forsake the LORD shall
be consumed… And the strong shall become
tinder, and his work a spark, and both of them
shall burn together, with none to quench
them…. And people shall enter the caves of
the rocks and the holes of the ground, from
before the terror of the LORD, and from the
splendor of his majesty, when he rises to
terrify the earth. (Isaiah 1:28,31; 2:19)
 Warnings  in  Isaiah  
And the LORD will cause his majestic voice
to be heard and the descending blow of his
arm to be seen, in furious anger and a
flame of devouring fire… For a burning place
has long been prepared; indeed, for the
king it is made ready, its pyre made deep
and wide, with fire and wood in abundance;
the breath of the LORD, like a stream of
sulfur, kindles it. (Isaiah 30:30,33)
 Warnings  in  Isaiah  
The sinners in Zion are afraid; trembling has
seized the godless: “Who among us can dwell
with the consuming fire? Who among us can
dwell with everlasting burnings?” (Isaiah 33:14)
Behold, they are like stubble; the fire consumes
them; they cannot deliver themselves from the
power of the flame. (Isaiah 47:14)
Their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be
quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to
all flesh. (Isaiah 66:24)
 Warnings  in  Daniel  
Multitudes who sleep in the dust of
the earth will awake: some to
everlasting life, others to shame and
everlasting contempt. (Daniel 12:2)
 Warnings  from  Jesus  
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they
will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin
and all law-breakers, and throw them into the
fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 13:41-42)
Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the
outer darkness. In that place there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt 22:13)
 Warnings  from  Jesus  
From the one who has not, even what he has
will be taken away. And cast the worthless
servant into the outer darkness. In that place
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(Matthew 25:29-30)
He will say, “Depart from me, you cursed, into
the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels…” And these will go away into eternal
punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
(Matthew 25:41,46)
 Warnings  from  Jesus  
And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It
is better for you to enter life crippled than with
two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable
fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it
off. It is better for you to enter life lame than
with two feet to be thrown into hell.  And if your
eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better
for you to enter the kingdom of God with one
eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell,
“where their worm does not die and the fire is
not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-48)
 Warnings  from  Jesus  
You will begin to say, “We ate and drank in your
presence, and you taught in our streets.” But
he will say, “I tell you, I do not know where you
come from. Depart from me, all you workers of
evil!” In that place there will be weeping and
gnashing of teeth. (Luke 13:26-28)
If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown
away like a branch and withers; and the
branches are gathered, thrown into the fire,
and burned. (John 15:6)
 Warnings  from  Paul  
[On the last day] the Lord Jesus is revealed
from heaven with his mighty angels in
flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those
who do not know God and on those who do
not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They
will suffer the punishment of eternal
destruction, away from the presence of the
Lord and from the glory of his might.
(2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)
 Warnings  from  Jude  
And the angels who did not stay within their
own position of authority, but left their
proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal
chains under gloomy darkness until the
judgment of the great day—just as Sodom
and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities,
which likewise indulged in sexual immorality
and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an
example by undergoing a punishment of
eternal fire. (Jude 1:6-7)
 Warnings  in  Revelation  
Then the kings of the earth and the great
ones and the generals and the rich and the
powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid
themselves in the caves and among the rocks
of the mountains, calling to the mountains
and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the
face of him who is seated on the throne, and
from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day
of their wrath has come, and who can
stand?” (Revelation 6:15-17)
 Warnings  in  Revelation  
People gnawed their tongues in anguish and
cursed the God of heaven for their pain and
sores. They did not repent of their deeds.
(Revelation 16:10-11)
The devil who had deceived them was thrown
into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast
and the false prophet were, and they will be
tormented day and night forever and ever… if
anyone's name was not found written in the
book of life, he was thrown into the lake of
fire. (Revelation 20:10,15)
 How  should  we  respond?  
•  Trust in Jesus (John 3:16)
•  Praise God for saving us from the agony
we deserve, and marvel that God the Son
endured the horrors of hell for us.
•  Grieve for the lost, pray for them, warn
them, and show them the way to be saved.
•  Rejoice that promises of eternal joy are as
sure as warnings of eternal punishment.
 What  is  the  gospel?  
•  My sin: I am sinful. God’s holy law condemns
my crimes and requires punishment in hell.
Without Jesus I am spiritually and eternally
dead, serving Satan, unable to save myself. 
•  Christ’s cross: God in love put my sins on His
sinless Son, the God-man. By suffering and
dying on the cross, Jesus took my punishment,
cancelled all charges against me, and
disarmed Satan. God raised Jesus bodily,
showing Jesus to be divine ruler of all.
 What  is  the  gospel?  
•  My sin
•  Christ’s cross and resurrection
•  New life: The Holy Spirit causes me to be
born again as a child of God through faith.
When I believe in Jesus, God credits Jesus’
perfect goodness to me. The Spirit lives in
me, and connects me with Christ and his
eternal life. Trusting Jesus, I leave the old
behind and join the new humanity in Jesus.
 How  do  I  become  a  Christian?  
A Admit that you are sinful and totally unable to
save yourself.
B Believe the gospel facts, and apply those facts
to yourself. Trust Jesus to save you, personally.
Make God your greatest treasure and pleasure.
C Commit your life publicly to Jesus as your owner
and ruler. Be baptized, if you are not already
baptized. Become a daily disciple by listening
to God in Scripture, talking to him in prayer,
and seeking to live for the Lord in all you do.
Join a Bible-believing, Christ-honoring church.
Questions  About  Hell  

David Feddes
Questions  About  Hell  
•  Who goes to hell?
•  What happens between death
and Jesus’ return?
•  What is hell like?
•  Are there different levels of
punishment?
•  Is hell really endless?
•  Whose fault is hell?
 Who  goes  to  hell?  
•  eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels (Matt 25:41)
•  the devil … the beast and the false prophet
… anyone whose name was not found
written in the book of life (Rev 20:10,15)
•  his adversaries ... his enemies... the guilty
(Nahum 1:2-6)
•  rebels and sinners ... those who forsake
the Lord (Isaiah 1:28,31) the sinners... the
godless (Isaiah 33:14)
 Who  goes  to  hell?  
•  law-breakers (Matt 13:41-42)
•  worthless servant (Matt 25:29-30)
•  those who do not know God and … do not
obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thess
1:8)
•  drift away... neglect such a great salvation
(Hebrews 2:1-3) fallen away (Hebrews 6:6)
go on sinning deliberately after receiving
the knowledge of the truth (Heb 10:26)
Between  death  and  Jesus’  return  
Unsaved souls go to a place of punishment
and pain, an inescapable jail. They stay there
until Jesus returns, raises their bodies, and
sentences them to the prison of eternal hell.
•  The Lord knows how to … hold the unrighteous
for the day of judgment, while continuing their
punishment. (2 Peter 2:9)
•  In Hades, being in torment … he called out…
“I am in anguish in the flame.” (Luke 16:23-24)
•  Man is destined to die once, and after that to
face judgment. (Hebrews 9:27)
 Raised  to  life  or  judgment  
When Jesus returns and raises dead bodies,
saved souls who have been in heaven will get
splendid bodies to enjoy the new creation
forever. Damned souls will get bodies suited to
unending suffering and shame in eternal hell.
•  There will be a resurrection of both the just and the
unjust. (Acts 24:15)
•  All who are in the tombs will hear his voice and
come out, those who have done good to the
resurrection of life, and those who have done evil
to the resurrection of judgment. (John 5:28-29)
Questions  About  Hell  
•  Who goes to hell?
•  What happens between death
and Jesus’ return?
•  What is hell like?
•  Are there different levels of
punishment?
•  Is hell really endless?
•  Whose fault is hell?
 What  is  hell  like?  
•  Fire: agony, destruction
•  Worms: gross, ghastly, rotting
•  Darkness: no truth, joy, love, or hope
•  Left alone: “Depart from me.” “away
from the presence of the Lord”
•  Shame: exposed, despised, loathsome
•  Loss: missing out on eternal blessings
•  Ruin: becoming worthless garbage
 Are  there  different    
levels  of  punishment?  
•  The more serious the sins committed,
the worse the punishment.
•  The larger the abilities and advantages
squandered, the worse the punishment.
•  The greater the revelation rejected, the
worse the punishment.
 Levels  of  punishment  
But whenever you enter a town and they do not
receive you, go into its streets and say, ‘Even the
dust of your town that clings to our feet we wipe off
against you. Nevertheless know this, that the
kingdom of God has come near.’ I tell you, it will be
more bearable on that day for Sodom than for that
town. Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you,
Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes.
But it will be more bearable in the judgment for
Tyre and Sidon than for you. (Luke 10:13-14)
 Levels  of  punishment  
That servant who knows his master’s will
and does not get ready or does not do what
his master wants will be beaten with many
blows. But the one who does not know and
does things deserving punishment will be
beaten with few blows. From everyone who
has been given much, much will be
demanded; and from the one who has been
entrusted with much, much more will be
asked. (Luke 12:47-48)
 Neglect  such  great  salvation?  
Therefore we must pay much closer attention to
what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For
since the message declared by angels proved to
be reliable, and every transgression or
disobedience received a just retribution,  how
shall we escape if we neglect such a great
salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and
it was attested to us by those who heard, while
God also bore witness by signs and wonders and
various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit
distributed according to his will. (Hebrews 2:1-4)
 Crucify  Christ  again?  
For it is impossible, in the case of those who
have once been enlightened, who have tasted
the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy
Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the
word of God and the powers of the age to
come, and then have fallen away, to restore
them again to repentance, since they are
crucifying once again the Son of God to their
own harm and holding him up to contempt.
(Hebrews 6:4-6)
 Much  worse  punishment  
For if we go on sinning deliberately after
receiving the knowledge of the truth, there
no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a
fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury
of fire that will consume the adversaries…  
How much worse punishment, do you think,
will be deserved by the one who has
trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has
profaned the blood of the covenant by which
he was sanctified, and has outraged the
Spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:26-29)
 Are  there  different    
levels  of  punishment?  
•  The more serious the sins committed,
the worse the punishment.
•  The larger the abilities and advantages
squandered, the worse the punishment.
•  The greater the revelation rejected, the
worse the punishment.
Questions  About  Hell  
•  Who goes to hell?
•  What happens between death
and Jesus’ return?
•  What is hell like?
•  Are there different levels of
punishment?
•  Is hell really endless?
•  Whose fault is hell?
 Two  denials  of  endless  hell  
Universalism: belief that in the end all will be
saved, including Satan and his demons, as
well as humans who died unrepentant. All will
eventually turn from their rebellion, accept
God’s love, and enjoy eternity with God.
Annihilationism: belief that unrepentant
sinners will be wiped out and become non-
existent. They will not suffer forever but God
will cause them to become nothing, perhaps
after a period of suffering and punishment.
 Endless  Punishment  
Hell is dreadful and everlasting. Universalism
and annihilationism are wrong. Punishment
never ends but goes on forever.
•  “eternal fire” (Matt 18:8, 25:41; Jude 1:7)
•  “unquenchable fire” (Matt 3:12; Mark 9:43)
•  “eternal punishment” (Matt 25:46)
•  “eternal destruction” (2 Thess 1:9)
•  “eternal judgment” (Heb 6:2)
•  “eternal chains under gloomy darkness” (Jude 1:6)
•  “worm does not die and fire is not quenched”
(Isaiah 66:24, Mark 9:48
 Whose  fault  is  hell?  
•  Is God horrible for sending people to
hell? No, God is just and good. Hell isn't
only what God does to you. It's also what
you do to yourself.
•  Self-centered sin is horrible. When we
choose our sinful self and reject Jesus,
we become more and more hellish until
hell is the only place we belong.
•  Either you tell God, “Your will be done,” or
God tells you, “Your will be done.”
•  God would rather pardon than punish.
 God  is  gracious  and  just  
The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and
gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in
love and faithfulness, maintaining love to
thousands, and forgiving wickedness,
rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the
guilty unpunished (Exodus 34:6-7)
They perish because they refused to love
the truth and so be saved. (2 Thess 2:10)
He is patient with you, not wanting anyone
to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance. (2 Peter 3:9)
 Turn,  and  live!  
“Are my ways not just? Is it not your ways
that are not just? Therefore I will judge
you… every one according to his ways…
Cast away from you all the transgressions
that you have committed, and make
yourselves a new heart and a new spirit!
Why will you die…? For I have no pleasure
in the death of anyone, declares the Lord
GOD; so turn, and live.” (Ezekiel 18:29-32)
 Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ,
alienated from the commonwealth of Israel
and strangers to the covenants of promise,
having no hope and without God in the world.
Ephesians 2:12
✦✦✦
The keener the memory of our awful rescue,
the more naturally we pity those in a similar plight.
The more deeply we feel how undeserved and free
was the grace that plucked us from the flames,
the freer will be our benevolence to sinners.
✦✦✦
When the heart no longer feels the truth of hell,
the gospel passes from good news to just news.
The intensity of joy is blunted
and the heart-spring of love is dried up.

20

Brothers, Feel the Truth

of Hell
Is not our most painful failure in the pastorate the inability
to weep over the unbelievers in our neighborhoods and the
carnal members of our churches? A great hindrance to our
ministry is the gulf between our biblical understanding and
the corresponding passions of our hearts. The glorious and hor-
rible truths which thunder through the Bible cause only a faint
echo of fear and ecstasy in our hearts. We take a megaton of truth
upon our lips and speak it with an ounce of passion. Do we believe in
our hearts what we espouse with our lips?
132
 JOH N PI PE R 133

I know for myself that in order to be a true shepherd and not a

hireling, in order to grieve over the straying lambs, and in order to
summon with tears the wild goats, I must believe in my heart certain
terrible and wonderful things. If I am to love with the meek, humble,
tender, self-effacing heart of Christ, I must feel the awful and glorious
truths of Scripture. Specifically:

• I must feel the truth of hell—that it exists and is terrible and

horrible beyond imaginings forever and ever. “These will go
away into eternal punishment” (Matt. 25:46). Even if I try
to make the “lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15) or the “fiery furnace”
(Matt. 13:42) a symbol, I am confronted with the terrifying
thought that symbols are not overstatements but understate-
ments of reality. Jesus did not choose these pictures to tell us
that hell is easier than burning.1
• I must feel the truth that once I was as close to hell as I am
to the chair I am sitting on—even closer. Its darkness, like
vapor, had entered my soul and was luring me down. Its
heat had already seared the skin of my conscience. Its views
were my views. I was a son of hell (Matt. 23:15), a child of
the devil (John 8:44) and of wrath (Eph. 2:3). I belonged to
the viper’s brood (Matt. 3:7), without hope and without God
(Eph. 2:12). I must believe that just as a rock climber, hav-
ing slipped, hangs over the deadly cliff by his fingertips, so
I once hung over hell and was a heartbeat away from eternal
torment. I say it slowly, eternal torment!
• I must feel the truth that God’s wrath was on my head (John
3:36); His face was against me (Ps. 34:16); He hated me in
my sins (Ps. 5:5); His curse and fury were my portion (Gal.
3:10). Hell was not forced on God by Satan. It was His design
and appointment for people like me (Matt. 25:41).
• I must feel in my heart that all the righteousness in the uni-
verse was on the side of God and against me. In the balances
of justice, I was lighter than air. I had not one fraction of a
13 4 BROT H E R S W E A R E Not PROFE SSION A L S

right to appeal my sentence of condemnation. My mouth was

stopped (Rom. 3:19). I was corrupt and guilty through and
through, and God was perfectly righteous in His sentence
(Ps. 51:4; Rom. 3:4).

Brothers, you have heard it said, “Do not think such negative
thoughts, do not preach such negative things, do not look back. Speak
of the blessed love of God and look to the new creation.” But I say
to you, on the authority of Scripture, remember, remember, remember
the horrid condition of being separated from Christ, without hope
and without God, on the brink of hell. “Remember that you were at
that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of
Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and
without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).
If I do not believe in my heart these awful truths—believe them
so that they are real in my feelings—then the blessed love of God in
Christ will scarcely shine at all. The sweetness of the air of redemp-
tion will be hardly detectable. The infinite marvel of my new life will
be commonplace. The wonder that to me, a child of hell, all things
are given for an inheritance will not strike me speechless with trem-
bling humility and lowly gratitude. The whole affair of salvation will
seem ho-hum, and my entrance into paradise will seem as a matter
of course. When the heart no longer feels the truth of hell, the gospel
passes from good news to simply news. The intensity of joy is blunted,
and the heartspring of love is dried up.
But if I remember these horrible things and do believe them in
my heart; if I let every remaining sin and every moment of indiffer-
ence to spiritual things remind me of the smell of hell lingering in
the remnants of my corruption; if I let my knees become weak as on
the day when I tottered on the cliff of my doom; if I recall that, apart
from absolutely free grace, I would be the most hardened sinner and
now in the torments of hell; if all this I remember and believe in my
heart, then, oh, what a contrition, what a lowliness, what a meekness
will be effected in my heart.
 JOH N PI PE R 135

Then the gulf between my biblical understanding and the pas-

sions of my heart will be taken away, and love will abound.
To whom can I return evil for evil as the Great Physician carries
me from the crematorium of the universe into His intensive-care room
alive, alive, alive? What disease will I be able to look on with scoffing?
Where is the lowest sinner over whom I could feel one millimeter of
superiority? Instead I become a brokenhearted leaper for joy. Tears for
all my wickedness (yes, clean, middle-class, nice-boy wickedness of
pride and unbelief and indifference and ingratitude and impurity of
mind and worldliness of goals). Yet leaping with joy for the free and
inexhaustible mercy of God.
We may remember Jonathan Edwards as the preacher of “Sinners
in the Hands of an Angry God,” but we may not remember the
powerful practical effect of Edwards’s vision of hell. What becomes
of a person who has seen it and fled to the arms of Jesus for rescue?
Edwards answers:

A truly Christian love, either to God or men, is a humble

broken-hearted love. The desire of the saints, however ear-
nest, are humble desires: their hope is an humble hope; and
their joy, even when it is unspeakable, and full of glory, is a
humble, broken-hearted joy, and leaves the Christian more
poor in spirit, and more like a little child, and more disposed
to an universal lowliness of behavior.2

A broken, leaping heart will love like Jesus. And the power of the
love will be proportionate to the felt fearfulness of our nearness to
destruction. The keener the memory of our awful rescue, the more
naturally we pity those in a similar plight. The more deeply we feel
how undeserved and free was the grace that plucked us from the
flames, the freer will be our benevolence to sinners.
We do not love as passionately as we ought because our belief in
these things is not real. So our pride is not broken and our demeanor
not lowly. And we do not look with aching and longing on the
13 6 BROT H E R S W E A R E Not PROFE SSION A L S

crowds that pass us in the airport or the straying members of our

flock. John Newton, the author of “Amazing Grace,” is a model of
such compassion:

Whoever . . . has tasted of the love of Christ, and has

known, by his own experience, the need and the worth of
redemption, is enabled, Yea, he is constrained, to love his fel-
low creatures. He loves them at first sight; and, if the provi-
dence of God commits a dispensation of the gospel, and care
of souls to him, he will feel the warmest emotions of friend-
ship and tenderness, while he beseeches them by the tender
mercies of God, and even while he warns them by his terrors.3

Brothers, we need to feel the truth of hell and the nearness of our
own escape. Otherwise the gospel will be vapid, and we will be unable
to count others better than ourselves in all lowliness (Phil. 2:3). Then
who will tell our people of these things? Who else in their lives will
love them enough to warn them with tenderness and tears?

Notes
1. Every pastor should be concerned in our day about the open commit-
ment, as well as secret leanings, of so many Christian scholars and leaders
toward annihilationism—the belief that hell does not involve eternal conscience
misery but is the cessation of existence. I have tried to answer the arguments
for annihilationism in John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad: The Supremacy of
God in Missions (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2003), chapter 4. See
also Ajith Fernando, Crucial Questions about Hell (Wheaton, IL: Crossway
Books, 1991); Larry Dixon, The Other Side of the Good News: Confronting the
Contemporary Challenges to Jesus’ Teaching on Hell (Scotland: Christian Focus,
2003); Edward William Fudge and Robert A. Peterson, Two Views of Hell: A
Biblical and Theological Dialogue (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000);
Robert A. Peterson, Hell on Trial: The Case for Eternal Punishment (Phillipsburg,
NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1995). For some excellent
audio messages on this issue by Sinclair Ferguson, visit www.desiringGOD.org
and take note of the album of cassettes titled “Universalism and the Reality of
Eternal Punishment.”
 JOH N PI PE R 13 7

2. Jonathan Edwards, Treatise Concerning the Religious Affections, in The

Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2, ed. John E. Smith (New Haven, CT: Yale
University Press, 1959), 339–40.
3. John Newton, The Works of the Rev. John Newton, vol. 5 (Edinburgh:
The Banner of Truth Trust, 1985), 132.
Chapter XXX: The Resurrection, the Last Judgment,
and the Final State
1. The Resurrection

Scripture teaches us that at the return of Christ the dead will be raised up. The Old
Testament clearly speaks of it in Isa. 26:19, Dan. 12:2. The New Testament contains more
abundant proof if it, John 5:25-29; 6:39-40, 44; 11:24-25; 1 Cor. 15; 1 Thess. 4:13-17; Rev.
20:13.

a. The character of the resurrection. Scripture teaches us to look forward to a bodily

resurrection, similar to the resurrection of Christ. The redemption in Christ will include
the body, Rom. 8:23; 1 Cor. 6:13-20. Such a resurrection is clearly taught in 1 Cor. 15, and
in Rom. 8:11. It will include both the righteous and the wicked, but will be an act of
deliverance and glorification only for the former. For the latter the re-union of body and
soul will issue in the extreme penalty of eternal death.

b. The time of the resurrection. According to Scripture the general resurrection will
coincide with the return of Christ and the end of the world, and will immediately
precede the final judgment, John 5:27-29; 6:39-40, 44, 54; 11:24; 1 Cor. 15:23; Phil. 3:20-21;
Rev. 20:11-15. Pre-millennarians teach a double resurrection: one of the just at the return
of Christ, and another of the unjust a thousand years later, at the end of the world. But
the Bible speaks of the resurrection of both in a single breath. Dan. 12:2; John 5:28-29;
Acts 24:15. It connects the judgment of the wicked with the coming of Christ, 2 Thess.
1:7-10, and places the resurrection of the just at the last day, John 6:39-40, 44, 54; 11:24.

2. The Last Judgment

The doctrine of the resurrection leads right on to that of the last judgment. The Bible
speaks of the coming of a final judgment in no uncertain terms, Ps. 96:13; 98:9; Eccl. 3:17;
12:14; Matt. 25:31-46; Rom. 2:5-10; 2 Cor. 5:10. 2Tim. 4:1; 1Pet. 4:5; Rev. 20:11-14.

a. The Judge and his assistants. Christ as the Mediator will be the Judge, Matt. 25:31-32;
John 5:27; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Phil. 2:10; 2 Tim. 4:1. This honor was conferred on Christ as

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the reward for His atoning work. The angels will assist Him, Matt. 13:41-42; 24:31; 25:31,
and the saints will also have some share in His judicial work, 1 Cor. 6:2-3; Rev. 20:4.

b. The parties that will be judged. It is perfectly evident from Scripture that every
individual of the human race will have to appear before the judgment seat, Eccl. 12:14;
Matt. 12:36-37; 25:32; Rom. 14:10; 2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 20:12. Some think that the righteous
will be excepted, but this is contrary to Matt. 13:30, 40-43, 49; 25:31-36; 2 Cor. 5:10.
Clearly the demons will also be judged, Matt. 8:29; 1 Cor. 6:3; 2Pet 2:4; Jude 6.

c. The time of the judgment. The final judgment will naturally be at the end of the
world, and will follow immediately after the resurrection of the dead, John 5:28-29; Rev.
20:12-13. The duration of the judgment cannot be determined. The Bible speaks of “the
day of judgment”, but this does not necessarily mean that it will be a day of twenty-four
hours. Neither is there any ground to assert with the Pre-millennarians that it will be a
day of a thousand years.

d. The standard of judgment. The standard by which saints and sinners will be judged
will evidently be the revealed will of God. Gentiles will be judged by the law of nature;
Jews by the Old Testament revelation, and those acquainted with the fuller revelation of
the gospel will be judged by it, Rom. 2:12. God will give every man his due.

3. The Final State

The final judgment serves the purpose of setting forth clearly what the final state of
each person will be.

a. The final state of the wicked. The wicked are consigned to the place of punishment
called “hell”. Some deny that hell is a place and regard it merely as a condition, but the
Bible uses local terms right along. It speaks, for instance, of a “furnace of fire”, Matt.
13:42, a “lake of fire”, Rev. 20:14-15, and of a “prison”, 1Pet. 3:19, all of which are local
terms. In this place they will be totally deprived of the divine favor, will experience an
endless disturbance of life, will suffer positive pains in body and soul, and will be
subject to pangs of conscience, anguish, and despair, Matt. 8:12-13; Mark 9:47-48; Luke
16:23, 28; Rev. 14:10; 21:8. There will be degrees in their punishment, Matt. 11:22, 24;

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Luke 12:47-48; 20:47. It is evident that their punishment will be eternal. Some deny this,
because the words ‘eternal’ and ‘everlasting’ may simply denote a long period of time.
Yet this is not the usual meaning of the words, and there is no reason to think that they
have that meaning when applied to the future punishment of the wicked. Moreover,
other terms are used, which point to endless punishment, Mark 9:43, 48; Luke 16:26.

b. The final state of the righteous. The final state of believers will be preceded by the
passing of the present world and the establishment of a new creation. This will not be
an entirely new creation, but rather a renewal of the present creation. Ps. 102:26-27; Heb.
12:26-28. Heaven will be the eternal abode of believers. Some think of heaven merely as
a condition, but the Bible clearly represents it as a place, John 14:2; Matt. 22:12-13;
25:10-12. The righteous will not only inherit heaven, but the entire new creation, Matt.
5:5; Rev. 21:1-3. The reward of the righteous is described as eternal life, that is, not
merely endless life, but life in all its fulness, without any of the imperfections and
disturbances of the present. This fulness of life is enjoyed in communion with God,
which is really the essence of eternal life, Rev. 21:3. While all will enjoy perfect bliss,
there will be degrees also in the enjoyments of heaven, Dan. 12:3; 2 Cor. 9:6.

To Memorize. Passages proving:

a. A general resurrection:

Dan. 12:2. “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to
everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

John 5:28-29. “Marvel not at this: for the hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs
shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the
resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.”

Acts 24:15. “Having hope toward God, which these also themselves look for, that there
shall be a resurrection both of the just and unjust.”

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b. A resurrection of the body:

Rom. 8:11. “But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He
that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies
through His Spirit that dwells in you.”

1 Cor. 15:35. “But some one will say, How are the dead raised? and with what manner of
body do they come?” Also verse 44. “It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual
body.”

c. A resurrection at the last day or at the coming of Christ:

1 Cor. 15:22-23. “For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. But
each in his own order: Christ the first-fruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming.”

1 Thess. 4:16. “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.”

John 6:40. “For this is the will of my Father, that every one that beholds the Son, and
believes on Him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”

d. A final judgment with Christ as Judge:

2 Cor. 5:10. “For we must all be made manifest before the judgment-seat of Christ; that
each one may receive the things [done] in the body, according to what he hath done,
whether [it be] good or bad.”

2 Tim. 4:1. “I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the
living and the dead...”

Rev. 20;12. “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and
books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the
dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their
works.”

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e. Eternal awards and punishments:

Matt. 25:46. “And these shall go away into eternal punishment: but the righteous into
eternal life.”

Rom. 2:6-8. “Who will render to every man according to his works: to them that by
patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and incorruption, eternal life: but unto
them that are factious, and obey not the truth, but obey unrighteousness, shall be wrath
and indignation.”

2 Thess. 1:9. “Who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the
Lord and from the glory of his might.”

f. Degrees in awards and punishments:

Dan. 12:3. “And they that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and
they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.”

Luke 12:47-48. “And that servant, who knew his lord’s will, and made not ready, nor
did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and
did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever
much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him
will they ask the more.”

2 Cor. 9:6. “But this I say, He that sows sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he that
sows bountifully shall reap also bountifully.”

For Further Study:

a. How does Jesus argue the resurrection in Matt. 22:23-33?

b. Does Paul in 2 Thess. 1:7-10 place the judgment of the wicked a thousand years after
the coming of Christ?

c. Does 1 Cor. 6:3 prove that the good angels will also be judged?

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Questions for Review:

1. How can you prove the resurrection of the body from the New Testament?

2. What Bible proof is there for the resurrection of the wicked?

3. How does their resurrection differ from that of the righteous?

4. What does the Bible teach respecting the time of the resurrection?

5. How would you disprove the doctrine of a double resurrection?

6. What Scripture proof is there for a last judgment?

7. Who will be the Judge, and who will assist Him?

8. What parties will be judged?

9. When will the last judgment be, and how long will it last?

10. By what standard will men be judged?

11. In what will the punishment of the wicked consist?

12. How can you prove that it will be unending?

13. Will the new creation be an entirely new creation?

14. What will be the reward of the righteous?

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The Rapture
By David Feddes

When is the rapture going to happen? When will followers of Jesus be caught up in the
clouds to meet their Lord in the air? So far nobody’s come up with the right date, but it’s not for
lack of trying. Back in the 1980s someone wrote a book titled 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will
be in 1988. Apparently those 88 reasons didn’t persuade the Lord. 1988 came and went. For a
while, the book sold like crazy, but nobody buys it anymore.
Someone else predicted Jesus would come for his people in the 1990s. Harold Camping, head
of the Family Radio network of stations, wrote a book titled 1994 and said that Jesus would
almost certainly come in October of 1994. When October of 1994 came and went, did Harold
Camping admit he was dead wrong and repent of his bad prediction? No, he simply adjusted his
views to say that we had arrived not at the end of the world but the end of the church. True
followers of Jesus would endanger their souls if they stayed in churches. There should be no
more baptism, Lord’s Supper, elders, or pastors. All true Christians must flee organized churches
and form their own little groups that would no longer call themselves churches. Meanwhile, true
believers should continue listening to Family Radio and keep sending money there.
Another person who made precise predictions was Charles Taze Russell. Russell was certain
Jesus would come in 1914, and when it didn’t happen, Russell explained that Jesus really had
returned, but he had done so invisibly. Later he would come visibly. Russell broke with historic
Christian teachings to found a group which became known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Russell’s
successor as head of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Watchtower Society was Joseph Rutherford. He
said, “Millions now living will never die” and predicted 1925 would be the year the world would
end. However, 1925 passed uneventfully, and Rutherford died in 1943.
There have been many attempts to set a timetable for Jesus’ coming and the rapture, and
they’ve all been wrong. To some people, the failed predictions are proof that they don’t need to
take Jesus’ return seriously at all. However, bad predictions don’t prove Jesus wrong. They
prove him right. Jesus said plainly, “You do not know on what day your Lord will come”
(Matthew 24:42). “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own
authority” (Acts 1:7). The only way anyone could be right about the exact date of the rapture is if
Jesus himself turned out to be wrong.
And then there are those who don’t fix a precise date, but who offer instead a blow-by-blow
description of the precise sequence of events associated with the Second Coming. The Bible is
treated as a jigsaw puzzle, with prophetic pieces scattered throughout its pages. In the hands of a
self-proclaimed expert, these pieces can be interlocked to form a clear picture. Pluck a sentence
from Ezekiel, a number from Daniel, a phrase from one of Jesus’ sermons, a word from
Thessalonians, a paragraph from Revelation--take a variety of pieces from very different parts of
the Bible, fit them all together, and you supposedly have a clear picture of how everything will
be at the end.
These “experts” specialize in matching the symbols of prophetic visions to exact political
events in the world today. Somehow, the various heads and horns of symbolic beasts, and
obscure biblical entities such as Gog and Magog, allegedly fit today’s news or to predict
tomorrow’s headlines. The nation of Israel is a big part of all the speculation, but many other
nations allegedly fit into the puzzle as well. One piece represents Russia, another China,
something else matches the European Economic Community, the United Nations, and so forth.

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 Of course, whenever the political situation changes, new books need to be written and new
videos need to be produced. With the end of the cold war, some modern prophets of
Armageddon seem almost disappointed. The scenario they predicted hasn’t unfolded the way
they thought it would. Their disappointment won’t last long, however. As soon as the next
political crisis comes along, they will again be scurrying to match the latest headlines with a new
and revised version of biblical predictions.
This constant stream of revised and updated prophecy may generate money for religious
marketers, but it often leaves Christians busy matching political events with biblical symbols
rather than living right now as citizens of the Kingdom of God and getting ready to meet their
King. And as each new scenario is discredited, it leaves those who aren’t Christians more
skeptical than ever about Christ’s return.
Maybe you’re a person who thinks the rapture will never happen and Jesus will never come
again. If so, please think again. Although date-setters have made lousy predictions, Jesus will
surely come again and his people will surely be caught up to meet him. God tells us about the
rapture, not so we can calculate exactly when it’s going to happen, but so that we will be ready at
all times. Our response shouldn’t be speculation but preparation. Jesus said, “So you also must
be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him” (Matthew
24:44).
The rapture is an event so astonishing that some people can’t imagine it will really happen,
while others let their imaginations run wild, rather than sticking to what the Bible says about the
rapture. To avoid these errors, let’s focus on four main things the Bible says about the rapture: it
will be public, it will be overwhelming, it will be sudden, and it will be final.

Public
First of all, the rapture will be public. When it happens, everyone will know it, both those
who go up to meet Jesus and those who don’t. It won’t be a secret. Jesus emphasized the public
nature of his return so that people wouldn’t be fooled by phonies. Jesus said, “If anyone says to
you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it… For as lightning that comes
from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew
24:23,27).
When Jesus comes again, it will be in great power for all to see. If a person pops up here or
there with messianic claims, whether it’s Rev. Moon or someone like him, don’t believe them.
When the true Messiah comes again, it won’t be a secret revelation but a public coronation.
Every eye will see him and every knee will bow. Jesus says,
“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the
earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power
and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his
elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” (Matthew 24:30-31).
Jesus’ coming will be public, and the rapture of believers will be public. Some Christians don’t
believe this. They think that before Jesus returns for all to see, he will first come secretly. At that
point, they think, followers of Jesus will vanish from earth and be caught up to Christ. He will
take them bodily into heaven with him and leave everyone else behind, wondering what
happened to those who vanished. Speculation on such a scenario led to the bestseller Left Behind
and other popular books. It’s interesting fiction, but the whole notion of a secret rapture is
fiction.

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 I’m not bashing fellow Christians who believe in a secret rapture. Many have hearty faith,
deep love, and lively hope that Christ will come for them, and that matters far more than getting
every detail exactly right. I honor their faith, hope, and love, and I too believe in the rapture. But
I believe that the rapture is part of the visible coming of Christ at the end of the world, not a
separate, secret event even that takes place earlier.
According to the Bible, the rapture will be part of something noisy enough for all to hear and
obvious enough for all to see. In 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17, the Bible says:
For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of
the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After
that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to
meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
Now, if this rapture, this being caught up to meet the Lord in the air, is preceded by a loud
command from the Almighty, the thunderous voice of the greatest angel, and the trumpet call of
God, how can it be hidden or secret?
The notion of a rapture in which Christ comes unseen to take believers away secretly, and
only later come back yet again for everyone else publicly—this whole approach is quite new to
the Christian church. It was almost unheard of until John Nelson Darby formulated it in the
1800s as part of a new approach to the Bible, sometimes called “dispensationalism.” C. I.
Scofield published a study Bible with notes teaching the dispensational system. But before Darby
and Scofield, few churches taught a secret rapture and few Christians believed it.
Through many centuries of proclaiming the Bible’s message, Christian churches taught that
Christ would come just once, publicly, for all to see, that he would then raise the dead, and that
he would confirm his verdict of eternal life for his people and eternal punishment for all who
have rejected him. This has been the teaching of the historic Christian faith, and it is still the best
way to understand what the Bible is saying.
The whole world will know when King Jesus has arrived. The whole world will see bodies
rise from graves, living believers transformed, and all of them rushing upward to meet their
Savior. Those who are not caught up to meet Christ will desperately look for somewhere to hide,
some way to escape, but they will find none. Those who don’t rise up to meet Jesus will be left to
face his fire. But whether a person is delighted or terrified, each one will know the King has
come. The rapture will be very public.

Overwhelming
These events will also be overwhelming. Jesus’ coming and that marvelous moment of
rapture will occur after terrible tribulation and persecution by the Antichrist. The rapture won’t
happen before the tribulation, as some believers in a secret rapture have thought; it will happen
after the tribulation.
Bible scholars sometimes disagree over whether humanity will be getting better or worse
when Jesus returns. The answer is “both.” The bad will keep getting worse; the good will keep
becoming better. God’s enemies will be at their cruelest, but God’s friends will be at their
bravest. The world will have horrors such as it has never seen before and heroes such as it has
never seen before. Just when the horrors are trying to make an end of the heroes, the King of
kings will appear on the scene. The Antichrist and his evil forces will be utterly overwhelmed.
Jesus’ appearance on the scene would be enough in itself to devastate all enemies. And Jesus
won’t be alone. Angel armies will be with him, millions of heavenly warriors, each angel strong

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enough to devastate hosts of humans. Joining those armies will be all God’s people from every
age.
The souls of dead believers who have gone to heaven will accompany Jesus when he comes
to earth, and those souls will enter their resurrected, glorified bodies. Resurrected believers will
then physically rise up to meet the Lord. Right after that, all believers who are still living will be
transformed, glorified, and added to the Lord’s army. One moment they may be hunted,
surrounded, on the verge of being wiped out, but the next moment they will be liberated, not only
from the power of Antichrist, but from the very force of gravity. They will rise up to meet their
Lord as he comes down to save them. They will join Jesus in triumphing over evil, in judging the
world, and in ruling over a new heaven and a new earth. This will all happen “in a flash, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised
imperishable, and we will all be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:52).
You may wonder why Jesus’ followers will rise up to meet him in the air. The answer is
found in the overwhelming nature of Jesus coming: believers will be so overwhelmed with joy
that they want to meet him as he comes, and Earth will be so overwhelmed with fiery judgment
that believers need to be evacuated before the fire hits.
Believers will be overwhelmed with joy when they hear the voice of the Son of God and see
him coming. Almost every night when I get home from work, my little sons fly out the door to
meet me. They don’t just sit around waiting for me to come into the house; they rush outside,
even though they know I’m on my way in. Why do they do this? Because they love me, they’re
delighted to see me after I’ve been away, and they’re eager to welcome me. They know that
we’ll be hugging, playing tag, reading stories, doing things they enjoy. For a similar reason,
believers will rush upward to meet the Lord Jesus. His return is the moment they’ve been waiting
for, the time for them to be with the one they love and to enjoy many delights with him.
In ancient times, there was a custom that when a king came to a city, his loyal subjects would
go out to meet him and welcome him and accompany him into the city. If you didn’t come out to
meet him, it meant you weren’t happy to see him, and you weren’t loyal to him. When Jesus
comes to earth, millions will rush to meet him because they love him and are loyal to him. The
instant he appears, they will have transformed bodies like Jesus’ glorified body. As Christ is not
limited by gravity, so his people won’t be held down by gravity. They will race upward to meet
their dear Lord and accompany him on the last part of his return to earth. They will join him in
judging the world and in transforming it into a new creation.
Overwhelming joy is part of the reason for going up to meet Jesus in their air; another part of
the reason is overwhelming judgment. Believers will be taken up to the Lord in order to get out
of the line of fire. The Bible tells Christians, “God is just. He will pay back trouble to those who
trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the
Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those
who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus (2 Thessalonians 1:6-8).
When God’s people rise from the dead, wicked people will also rise from their graves in bodies
that cannot die, but those bodies will suffer God’s eternal punishment on their rebellion. The fire
of judgment will sweep the godless away into hell.
The fire will also clear the earth for a fresh start. Scripture says, “That day will bring about
the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with
his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness”
(2 Peter 3:12-13). After demolition comes rebuilding. After rebels against God are cleared from

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the earth, the meek will inherit the earth. But first the fire of judgment and cleansing must rage
across sky and earth. Raptured believers are taken out of the way in order to be overwhelmed by
joy and not judgment.

Sudden
The rapture will be public, it will be overwhelming, and a third biblical fact is that it will be
sudden. If you’re not on the lookout, you won’t be ready. “Therefore, keep watch,” says Jesus,
“because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner
of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch
and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of
Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him (Matthew 24:42-44). Jesus will come like
a thief in the night. Unlike a thief, he won’t sneak in and out secretly; but like a thief, he will
come suddenly and unexpectedly.
Maybe you don’t take Jesus’ return and the rapture seriously. You just go on as you see fit.
You may work side by side with followers of Christ, but you don’t follow Jesus yourself. You
are in danger of being among those who will be going about business as usual, when suddenly
the trumpet will sound and the Lord will appear. As the rapture occurs, some people will go up to
join Jesus, but the others will remain on the ground. Two men will be working in the same area.
“One will be taken, the other left,” says Jesus. Two women will be working side by side at the
same task. “One will be taken, the other left” (Matthew 24:40-41).
The Lord’s coming will be sudden, and only those who are already prepared will be taken up
to meet him in joy. The rest will be left on earth to shrink from him in terror. If you’re not ready,
you can only await his judgment. Despite signs and events which lead up to the rapture and
fulfill biblical prophecy, the actual event will be unexpectedly sudden. Rather than try to figure
out dates and times, we must be ready at all times. Right after the Bible tells about believers
being caught up to meet the Lord in the air at the end of 1 Thessalonians 4, it goes on to say in 1
Thessalonians 5:1-3,
Now, brothers, about times and dates we do not need to write to you, for you know very well
that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, “Peace
and safety,” destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman,
and they will not escape.
In Matthew 24 Jesus compares the time between his ascension and return to a master
leaving for a considerable time and putting one of his servants in charge. When the master comes
back, if the servant has been doing a good job, he will be rewarded and promoted.
But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, ‘My master is staying away a long
time,’ and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is
not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where
there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 24:48-51).
The sudden coming of Christ means that the date-setters should give up making predictions,
but even more seriously, it means that skeptics had better stop scoffing and start getting ready.

Final
The rapture will be public, it will be overwhelming, it will be sudden—and it will be final.
Anyone who is not caught up to meet the Lord will never be saved. There will be no second

5
chance. Before the great flood, God gave the people years and years to repent in response to
Noah’s preaching, but then one day, Noah entered the ark, and God shut the door. After that it
was too late for anyone to change their minds.
The same is true of the second coming. When the Lord delays his coming, it’s not because he
is slow. “He is patient with you,” says the Bible, “not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to
come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief” (2 Peter 3:9-10), and when it
does, it will be too late for those who aren’t already prepared.
Once Jesus comes back, there will no more time to get ready. God will shut the door to his
Kingdom, just as he shut the door to Noah’s ark, and there will be no more opportunity to enter.
There won’t be any people left behind on earth who will have another chance to repent during a
time of tribulation. The reign of Antichrist and the time of tribulation will occur before the
rapture, not after. In fact, the Antichrist will be massing his forces to wipe faith from the earth
when Jesus will suddenly appear. The dead will be raised, living believers will be instantly
transformed, and as Jesus comes down to earth, his people will all rise up—be raptured—to meet
him. The Lord will defeat and scatter the forces of evil. Then the Lord will sit on his throne and
separate those destined for glory from those who are destined for hell (Matthew 25:31-46). The
rapture is final. If you’re not caught up to meet Jesus, you will never be with him for all eternity.
If you’re alive at the time of the Lord’s coming, the door will close the moment he appears. If
you die before Jesus comes again, the door closes for you at the moment of death. The Bible says
that “man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Either way,
you need to be ready to meet Christ at all times, and you need to be living each moment in
anticipation of his return.
Jesus’ coming isn’t a topic for speculation and mind games. It is the ultimate horror for all
who are not right with God. It is the ultimate hope who for all who know the Lord. Scripture
speaks of it as “the blessed hope, the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus
Christ” (Titus 2:13). Jesus tells us that he is coming again, and that his coming will be public,
overwhelming, sudden, and final. He tells us this, not to make us curious, but to make us ready.
Are you ready?

Originally prepared by David Feddes for Back to God Ministries International. Used with permission.

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Judgment Day
By David Feddes

How would you feel if you knew someone was keeping an exact record of every moment in
your life? Everything you've ever done, recorded by a video camera. Every word you've ever
spoken, picked up by a microphone. Every thought, every mood, every secret desire that passed
through your mind, picked up by some sort of mind reader. Even worse, imagine all this
information being brought into the open and made public.
Sometimes we're glad when the rotten behavior of certain people has been recorded and
brought into the open. A politician tries to cover up a scandal, only to have clear records of his
crimes uncovered, proving his guilt. A drug kingpin counts on high-powered lawyers to keep
him out of prison, only to be confronted with a recording that shows him in the act. Most of us
are glad when these people have to face up to their crimes; but how would you like it if your
entire life was placed on record and then laid bare for inspection and judgment?
Well, like it or not, it's reality. Whatever your secrets might be, they won't remain secret
forever. Every moment of your life is being entered into a complete record, and that record is
going to be evaluated publicly. Oh, there's no camera or tape recorder following you around and
no secret mind-reading device attached to you. But something more penetrating and accurate
than any of these things is keeping track of you.
The eye of God is on you. God knows everything you do, everything you say, everything you
think, and he stores every detail in his memory with perfect accuracy. Nothing escapes his
notice, and he forgets nothing. The day is coming when you will stand before God, and every
detail of your life will be examined and judged by the standards of divine justice.

Actions, Words, Thoughts

At the final judgment, all your actions will be examined. The Bible says, "For God will bring
every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes
12:14). Every action, whether good or bad, is on record: the gentle touch and the brutal blow; the
time you helped your neighbor when he was sick and the time you cheated on your wife or
husband and nobody found out; the check you wrote to help needy children and the shady
business deal that made you richer at someone else's expense; the days you worked hard and the
nights you got drunk. God has a complete record of your best actions, your worst, and everything
in between.
Along with all your actions, all your words are part of God's record. Everything you've ever
said is recorded word for word in God's memory. As Jesus put it, "There is nothing concealed
that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What you have said in the dark
will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be
proclaimed from the roofs" (Luke 12:2-3).
Everything you've ever said, good or bad, has been recorded word for word: the hymns and
the swear words; the encouraging compliments and the angry insults; the helpful instructions and
the racist slurs; the promises you kept and the promises you broke; the helpful discussions and
the cruel gossip. It's all on record, and at the final judgment you will answer for each word. Jesus
said, "I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless
word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be
condemned" (Matthew 12:36-37).

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 At the final judgment you will have to give account not only for all your actions and words
but also for all your thoughts. When you act polite on the outside but are full of anger and hatred
on the inside, God knows. When you undress someone in your mind and burn with lust for
another person's body, God knows. When you act religious, not because you love God, but
because you want to impress others, God knows. God says, "I the Lord search the heart and
examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds
deserve" (Jeremiah 17:10) Scripture says, "[God] will bring to light what is hidden in darkness
and will expose the motives of men's hearts" (1 Corinthians 4:5). Hebrews 4:12-13 puts it this
way: "The word of God... judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. Nothing in all creation is
hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom
we must give account.” God can read your mind, and he judges the thoughts he finds there.
At the final judgment, there won't be any need for DNA evidence or expert testimony or
eyewitnesses—God knows it all and will bring it all into the open. There won't be any lawyers or
loopholes or appeals—the judgment will be fair and final. The Judge will issue his verdict and
announce your destiny.

The Appointed Judge

The Judge presiding on judgment day will be Jesus. In many nations, the supreme court is a
panel of judges offering different opinions based on laws, precedents, and sometimes on political
calculations and personal preferences. But the ultimate supreme court on judgment day has only
one judge, Jesus. His rulings are not based on opinion or precedent or politics but on truth.
Sometimes the appointment of judges involves political wrangling and quarreling. Judges
have a lot of power, so parties and people struggle to get their kind of judge appointed and to
prevent the appointment of a judge who doesn’t suit them. But the most important court
appointment has already been made. It’s not up for grabs. Nobody can prevent or undo the
appointment of Jesus as judge. The Bible says, “God has set a day when he will judge the world
with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him
from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
Maybe you’ve never connected Jesus’ resurrection on Easter with his appointment as judge,
but the Bible often makes that connection. Jesus said, “Just as the Father raises the dead and
gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it. Moreover, the Father
judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son” (John 5:21-22). After Jesus’
resurrection, the apostle Peter declared, “God raised him from the dead… he is the one whom
God appointed as judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:40-42). God hasn’t left us
wondering who will be the supreme judge. In raising Jesus from the dead, the heavenly Father
showed his approval of his Son’s perfect justice and his qualifications to preside as judge.
Jesus’ appointment can’t be blocked by political delays, mudslinging, or filibusters, and
Jesus’ decisions on judgment day can’t be influenced by payoffs, bribery, or expensive lawyers.
Jesus is one with the Lord whom the Bible describes as “the great God, mighty and awesome,
who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes (Deuteronomy 10:17). Some corrupt politicians
and judges base their decisions on who pays them the biggest bribes or donates to their campaign
fund, but bribery won’t work on judgment day. Jesus already owns the universe; he doesn’t need
anyone’s money. Money won’t buy Jesus off, and lack of money won’t matter. He will judge
rich and poor alike according to his justice, not according to their wealth or influence.
If you’re guilty, no high-powered lawyer will be able to help you. If you’re innocent, lack of
a lawyer won’t hurt you. On judgment day, Jesus will judge based on perfect justice and

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complete information. For some people, this will be the happiest of all moments, and for others,
the most horrible. When the Lord Jesus comes in triumph to carry out the final judgment, every
eye will see him. In that moment, some will be deeply wailing, while others will be gazing at
Jesus with rapture and joy.

Opening the Books

In Revelation 20, the Bible reveals a stunning vision of judgment day. The apostle John says:
I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his
presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing
before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of
life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The
sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them,
and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were
thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not
found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
That's not just a vision or dream; that's a glimpse of the future. When Jesus returns in blazing
majesty, every last person who ever lived will be resurrected and will appear before the great
white throne of God's judgment. Those who died at sea will be there; those who died on land will
be there. The important people will be there; the little people will be there. You'll be there, and
so will I. It's a moment no one can avoid.
In that moment we'll find that God has been keeping a complete and exact record of every
moment of our lives. He has stored it all in the books of his perfect memory, and at the final
judgment those books will be opened. All the facts will be right there. Not one item will be
missing.
It may be hard to understand how God can keep track of every last thing about billions and
billions of people, but remember: God has no limits. With God all things are possible. That's why
he's God. Besides, if even humans can devise computers that store mind-boggling amounts of
information, surely the one who created and controls the entire universe won't have any trouble
keeping track of the facts.
When God opens the books, he will display the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the
truth, about your entire life. Then he will declare his judgment about you, and the outcome will
be final and irreversible: the Lord will either welcome you to live forever in his splendid new
creation, or he will banish you to suffer torment without end in the fires of hell. The final
judgment will confirm one of these two destinies for you.
The Bible teaches over and over that every person will rise from the dead and that God's
judgment of each person results in either everlasting blessing or everlasting damnation. Scripture
says, "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to
shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2). Jesus himself said: "A time is coming when all
who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done good will rise to
live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned" (John 5:28-29).

The Book of Life

At the final judgment people will be divided into two basic groups: those whose names are
written in the book of life, and those who are not in the book of life. The book of life differs from
the other books we've been talking about. Those books contain detailed records of your entire
life, but the book that determines whether you go to heaven or hell is the one the Bible calls "the

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Lamb's book of life." The Lamb is the Lord Jesus Christ, and the book of life is the record of all
who belong to him by faith, who have been saved by his blood.
The Bible makes it clear that all whose names are in this book will be saved, but Scripture
also says that some are not listed in the book of life, and that all these people will go to hell.
They are missing from the book of life for one simple reason: they don't belong to Jesus. They
have never personally put their trust in him. They have never welcomed him to live in their
hearts. They have not submitted to his rule over them.
If your name doesn't appear in the book of life, nothing can save you at the final judgment.
The other books that record the various details about your life certainly won't save you. They
will only heap up more evidence against you. Even the good things on your record are corrupted
by impure motives, and they are outweighed by the evil things you've done. You'll be judged and
punished for every selfish action, every wicked word, every impure thought that is part of God's
detailed record.
When you turn away from Jesus, you show that you don't want a place in the book of life,
and you add to all your other sins the terrible sin of spitting in God's face. God sent his only Son,
Jesus, to open the way to heaven, so when you refuse God's dear Son, you are insulting God
himself. You ignore God's revelation, you refuse his love, you reject his beloved Son, Jesus, and
for that, there is hell to pay.

Eternal Punishment
In the Bible, the prophet Isaiah writes, "See, the Lord is coming with fire, and his chariots are
like a whirlwind; he will bring down his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire"
(Isaiah 66:15). Jesus himself declares, "The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will
weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them
into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 13:41-42).
And the apostle Paul, inspired by God, says that the Lord Jesus will be "revealed from heaven in
blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not
obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut
out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power" (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).
Maybe you're a person who likes to believe in life after death, but you don't believe that hell
is real. However, that's not what the Bible says. So unless you have a source of information
about the final judgment that's more reliable than the Bible—and you don't—you'd better take
God's Word for it that hell is real. Wishful thinking won't make hell go away, and it won't keep
you from going there.
You may laugh about "fire and brimstone" preachers who shout about judgment and hell and
try to make you feel the heat and smell the smoke. Well, maybe some preachers do get carried
away with detailed descriptions of hell, but the fact remains that the Bible and Jesus speak of hell
as a lake of fire, where God's enemies endure torment and remorse, and where there is no escape.
Hell means unending physical torment and the utter mental anguish of despair and complete
hopelessness.
Hell will be dreadful for everyone who goes there, but the Bible shows that it will be worse
for some than for others. There will be degrees of punishment. The more you sin, the more
intense the suffering you are earning for yourself. This is where the books we talked about
earlier, the detailed records of each person's life, come into the picture. Those books record the
amount of evil that each person is guilty of, and each person will receive the appropriate degree
of punishment.

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 Equally important, the books also record the opportunities that God gives each person to
respond to him. Some people have had much greater opportunities than others, and they will be
judged accordingly. Everybody is responsible to at least some degree for displeasing the Lord—
nobody can plead total ignorance—since God's eternal power and divine nature are displayed in
the creation around us (Romans 1:20), and every one of us has a conscience to remind us of right
and wrong (Romans 2:15). Still, though all of us are responsible to some degree, some have
much greater opportunities than others. The more you know, says the Bible, the greater your
punishment if you reject what you know. If you've had access to the teachings of the Bible and
you've been called to put your faith in Jesus and you still turn away, your punishment will be
more severe than those who've never seen a Bible or heard the name of Jesus.
The Old Testament city of Sodom was wicked and deserving of hell, but Jesus said that even
Sodom would be better off on the day of judgment than the towns where his gospel was preached
openly and people still refused to repent and believe (Matthew 10:15). Sodom hadn't heard about
Jesus, while these people had. The more you know, the more responsible you are, and the more
severely you will be judged. Jesus said,
That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his
master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does
things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been
given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much,
much more will be asked (Luke 12:47-48).
The fact that you're reading this means that you know about Jesus, and you know about the
judgment to come. If, after knowing all this, you still turn away from Jesus, the judgment will be
even more unbearable. So if you haven't yet yielded your life to Jesus, change your ways before
it's too late.
Flee from the wrath to come. Turn your life over to Jesus. Depend on him to put your name
in his book of life, and commit yourself to living in such a way that when the details of your life
are exposed on judgment day the evidence will show that you belong to the Lord. When your
name is in the book of life, you don't have to live in terror of the final judgment.

Eternal Reward
In fact, the judgment will be a glorious time for the children of God. Everybody who belongs
to Christ, all those whose names are written in his book of life, will receive beautiful and
immortal resurrection bodies, and they will be guaranteed a permanent place in God's new
creation and in its magnificent capital city, the new Jerusalem. In Revelation 21 the apostle John
describes it this way,
I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and
he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be
their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the older order of things has passed away. (v.3-4)
The final judgment will confirm this wonderful destiny for all God's people, and they will
rejoice in God forever.
But, you might wonder, what about those books with all that detailed information about
believers? Well, some of the record will be good, evidence confirming that Jesus really did make
a difference in the lives of his people. You may have times that you do something kind, or when
you work hard for a good cause, or when you pray to God in secret, and nobody seems to notice.
But God notices. He’ll bring it all into the open on judgment day.

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 However, the books will also reveal your darker side. The fact that you're a Christian,
forgiven and accepted by God, doesn't mean that you won't be faced at the judgment with the
reality of your many sins. According to the Bible, God will show each of us the full record of our
lives, including the wrong we've done. Professor Anthony Hoekema explained it like this:
The failures and shortcomings of believers will enter into the picture on the Day of
Judgment. But—and this is the important point—the sins and shortcomings of believers
will be revealed in the judgment as forgiven sins, whose guilt has been totally covered by
the blood of Jesus Christ.
You'll see the complete record of all the sins that God has forgiven you, and you'll be even
more astonished and grateful at the forgiving and saving power of Jesus Christ. You'll realize
just how much Jesus did for you when he paid for all those sins.
The Bible also teaches that the books will be important for another reason: there will be
different degrees of reward in heaven. If you have Jesus Christ as the foundation of your life, you
can be assured of eternal life, but you still must be very careful how you build on that foundation
once you've become a Christian.
In 1 Corinthians 3, the Bible emphasizes this, and says that every person's work will be tested
by the fire of God's purity. "If what he has built survives," says the Bible, "he will receive his
reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping
through the flames" (v. 14-15). In other words, if you belong to Jesus but seldom build on eternal
values, you'll make it to heaven, but barely, as it were, and you'll have a lesser reward than those
who served the Lord more faithfully and spoke his Word more truthfully. If you're a Christian,
the thought of the judgment shouldn't terrorize you, but it should move you to make the most of
every moment of life that God gives you.
So how about it? Are you ready to stand before the great white throne as the books are
opened? Have you received Jesus as your Savior? Is your name in the book of life? Are you
living in the awareness that you will answer to God for every thought, word, and deed? Are you
ready for the judgment day?

Originally prepared by David Feddes for Back to God Ministries International. Used with permission.

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Chapter XXIX: The Second Coming of Christ
The New Testament clearly teaches us that the first coming of Christ will be followed by
a second. Jesus referred to His return more than once, Matt. 24:30, 25:19; 26:64; John
14:3; angels called attention to it at the ascension, Acts 1:11; and the Epistles speak of it
repeatedly, Phil. 3:20; 1 Thess. 4:15-16; 2 Thess. 1:7, 10; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:28.

1. Great Events Preceding the Second Coming

According to Scripture several important events must precede the return of Christ.

a. The calling of the Gentiles. The gospel of the kingdom must be preached to all nations
before the coming of Christ, Matt. 24:14; Mark 13:10; Rom. 11:25. This means that the
nations as a whole must be so thoroughly evangelized that the gospel becomes a power
in the life of the people, a sign that calls for decision.

b. The conversion of the full number of Israel. 2 Cor. 3:15 and Rom. 11:25-29 refer to a
conversion of Israel, and the passage in Romans seems to connect this with the end of
time. Some take these passages to teach that Israel as a whole, Israel as a nation, will
finally turn to the Lord. It is more likely, however, that the expression “all Israel” in
Rom. 11:26 simply refers to the full number of the elect out of the ancient covenant
people. The whole passage does seem to imply that in the end large numbers of Israel
will turn to the Lord.

c. The Great Apostasy and the Great Tribulation. The Bible teaches repeatedly that
toward the end of time there will be a great falling away. Iniquity will increase, and the
love of many will wax cold, Matt. 24:12; 2 Thess. 2:3; 2Tim. 3:1-7; 4:3-4. Wickedness
crying to high heaven will result in a terrible tribulation “such as hath not been from the
beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be.” Matt. 24:21. If those days were
not shortened no flesh would be saved; but they will be shortened for the sake of the
elect.

d. The coming of the Antichrist. The spirit of Antichrist was already in evidence in the
apostolic age, 1 John 4:3, and many antichrists had made their appearance, 1 John 2:18.

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But the Bible leads us to expect that at the end of the age a single individual will stand
out as the incarnation of all wickedness, “the man of sin,” “the son of perdition, he that
opposes and exalts himself against all that is called God or that is worshipped; so that
he sits in the temple of God, setting himself forth as God.” 2 Thess. 2:3-4.

e. Signs and wonders. The Bible also refers to striking signs as marking the beginning of
the end. There will be wars, famines, and earthquakes in diverse places, which are
called the beginning of travail, to be followed by the rebirth of the universe; and also
fearful portents in heaven, when the powers of the heavens will be shaken, Matt.
24:29-30; Mark 13:24-25; Luke 21:25-26.

2. The Second Coming Itself

After these signs the Son of Man will be seen coming on the clouds of heaven.

a. The time of His Coming. Some believe that the coming of Christ is imminent, that is,
may now occur at any time. But the Bible teaches us that the events and signs
mentioned in the foregoing must precede the return. From God’s point of view the
coming is always near, Heb. 10;25; Jas. 5:9; 1Pet. 4:5; but no one can determine the exact
time, not even the angels nor the Son of Man, Matt. 24:36.

b. The manner of His Coming. The person of Christ will return. He has already come in
the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, but He will return in the body, so that He can be seen,
Matt. 24:30; 26:64; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Rev. 1:7. Though several signs will precede His
coming, yet it will be unexpected and take people by surprise, Matt. 24:37-44; 25:1-12;
1 Thess. 5:2-3; Rev. 3:3. Moreover, it will be a glorious and triumphant coming. The
clouds of heaven will be His chariot, Matt. 24:30, the angels His bodyguard, 2 Thess. 1:7,
the archangels His heralds, 1 Thess. 4:16, and the saints of God His glorious retinue,
1 Thess. 3:13; 2 Thess. 1:10.

c. The purpose of His Coming. Christ will return to introduce the future age, the eternal
state of things, and will do this by two mighty events, the resurrection and the final
judgment, John 5:25-29; Acts 17:31; Rom. 2:3-16; 2 Cor. 5:10; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Thess.
4:13-17; 2 Pet. 3:10-13; Rev. 20:11-15; 22:12

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3. The Question of the Millennium

Some believe that the second coming of Christ will either be preceded or followed by a
millennium.

a. Post-millennialism. Post-millennialism teaches that the second coming of Christ will

follow the millennium. The millennium is expected during the gospel dispensation, in
which we are now living, and at the end of which Christ will appear. The expectation is
that the gospel will in the end become much more effective than it is at present and will
usher in a period of righteousness and peace and of rich spiritual blessings. In our days
some even expect that this will be the grand result of a purely natural process of
evolution. This whole idea, however, does not seem to fit in with what the Bible tells us
respecting the great apostasy toward the end of time.

b. Pre-millennialism. According to Pre-millennialism Christ at His return will re-

establish the kingdom of David on earth, and will reign at Jerusalem for a thousand
years. This theory is based on a literalistic interpretation of the prophets and of Rev.
20:1-6. It makes the kingdom of God an earthly and national kingdom, while the New
Testament represents it as spiritual and universal, a kingdom that is even now in
existence, Matt. 11:12; 12:28; Luke 17:21: John 18:36-37; Col. 1:13. The New Testament
knows nothing of such an earthly and temporal kingdom of Christ, but does speak of
His heavenly (2Tim. 4:18) and eternal (2 Pet. 1:11) kingdom. Moreover, this theory seeks
its main support in a passage (Rev. 20:1-6), which represents a scene in heaven, and
makes no mention of the Jews, of an earthly and national kingdom, nor of the land of
Palestine, as the place where Jesus will rule.

To Memorize. Passages pertaining to:

a. The calling of the Gentile:

Matt. 24:14. “And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a
testimony unto all the nations; and then shall the end come.”

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Rom. 11:25-26a. “For I would not, brethren, have you ignorant of this mystery, lest ye be
wise in your own conceits, that a hardening in part hath befallen Israel, until the fulness
of the Gentiles be come in; and so all Israel shall be saved.”

b. The conversion of Israel:

Rom. 11:26. Cf. above under a.

2 Cor. 3:15-16. “But unto this day, whensoever Moses is read, a veil lies upon their heart.
But whensoever it shall turn to the Lord, the veil is taken away.”

c. The Great Apostasy and the Great Tribulation:

Matt. 24:9-13. “Then shall they deliver you up unto tribulation, and shall kill you: and
ye shall be hated of all the nations for my name’s sake. And then shall many stumble,
and shall deliver up one another, and shall hate one another. And many false prophets
shall arise, and shall lead many astray. And because iniquity shall be multiplied, the
love of the many shall wax cold. But he that endures to the end, the same shall be
saved.”

Matt. 24:21-22. “For then shall be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the
beginning of the world until now, no, nor ever shall be. And except those days had been
shortened, no flesh would have been saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be
shortened.”

d. The revelation of the Antichrist:

2 Thess. 2:8-9. “And then shall be revealed the lawless one, whom the Lord Jesus shall
slay with the breath of his mouth, and bring to nought by the manifestation of his
coming; even he, whose coming is according to the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders.”

1 John 2:18a, 22. “Little children, it is the last hour: and as ye heard that antichrist
cometh, even now have there arisen many antichrists... Who is the liar but he that

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denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, [even] he that denies the Father and
the Son.”

e. The Second Coming of Christ:

Matt. 24:44. “Therefore be ye also ready; for in an hour that ye think not the Son of Man
cometh.”

Phil. 3:20. “For our citizenship is in heaven; whence also we wait for a Savior, the Lord
Jesus Christ.”

Titus 2:13. “Looking for the blessed hope and appearing of the glory of the great God
and our Savior Jesus Christ.”

For Further Study:

a. How would you explain the passages that speak of the coming of Christ as near?
Matt. 16:28; 24:34; Heb. 10:25; Jas. 5:9; 1 Pet. 4:5; 1 John 2:18.

b. Who are the “false Christs” or “antichrists,” of which the Bible speaks, Matt. 24:24; 1
John 2:18?

C. What would you say in reply to the idea that the second coming of Christ belongs to
the past, since He returned in the Spirit, John 14:18, 28.

Questions for Review:

1. What great events will precede the second coming of Christ?

2. In what sense must the nations be evangelized?

3. How must we understand the predicted conversion of Israel?

4. What is the great apostasy and the great tribulation?

5. What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the Antichrist?

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6. In what sense are there antichrists even now?

7. What signs will precede the second coming?

8. In what sense can it be regarded as near?

9. Can we regard the second coming as a past event? If not, why not?

10. Can you prove that it will be physical and visible?

11. How can it be sudden, when it will be preceded by signs?

12. What will be the purpose of Christ’s return?

13. What is the difference between post- and pre-millennialism?

14. What objections are there to these theories?

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