The Last Judgment [eternal judgment]
At the end of the age, God will gather all the living and the dead before the heavenly throne of Christ for judgment. The righteous will receive eternal glory, the wicked damnation in the fiery lake. In Christ, the Lord makes gracious and just provision for all, even for those who, at the time of death, apparently did not believe the gospel. (Matthäus 25,31-32; Apostelgeschichte 24,15; Johannes 5,28-29; Offenbarung 20,11-15; 1. Timotheus 2,3-6; 2. Petrus 3,9; Apostelgeschichte 10,43; Johannes 12,32; 1. Korinther 15,22-28).
The Last Judgment
“Judgment is coming! Judgment is coming! Repent now or you will go to hell.” You may have heard some itinerant “street evangelists” shout these words, trying to scare people into making a commitment to Christ. Or, you may have seen such a person satirically portrayed in movies with a maudlin look.
Perhaps this is not so far removed from the image of "eternal judgment" believed in by many Christians throughout the ages, especially in the Middle Ages. You can find sculptures and paintings depicting the righteous floating to heaven to meet Christ and the unrighteous being dragged to hell by cruel demons.
These images of the Last Judgment, the judgment of eternal destiny, come from New Testament statements about the same. The Last Judgment is part of the doctrine of the “last things”—the future return of Jesus Christ, the resurrection of the just and the unjust, the end of the present wicked world to be replaced by the glorious kingdom of God.
The Bible explains that judgment is a serious event for all people who have lived, as Jesus' words make clear: "But I tell you that on the day of judgment people will have to give account for every careless word they have spoken. By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Mt 12,36-37).
The Greek word for "judgment" used in the New Testament passages is krisis, from which the word "crisis" is derived. Crisis refers to a time and situation when a decision is being made for or against someone. In this sense, a crisis is a point in someone's life or the world. More specifically, Krisis refers to the activity of God or the Messiah as judge of the world at what is called the Last Judgment or Judgment Day, or we might say the beginning of the "eternal judgment".
Jesus summarized the future judgment of the fate of the righteous and the wicked thus: “Do not be amazed at this. For the hour is coming when all who are in the graves 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.” (Joh 5,28).
Jesus also described the nature of the Last Judgment in symbolic form as the separation of the sheep from the goats: “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne, and all the nations will be gathered before him. And he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and he will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.” (Mt 25,31-33).
The sheep on his right will hear of her blessing with these words: "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" (v. 34). The goats on the left are also informed of their fate: "Then he will also say to those on the left: Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!" (v. 41) .
This scenario of the two groups gives confidence to the righteous and plunges the wicked into a time of unique crisis: "The Lord knows how to deliver the righteous from temptation, but to hold the unrighteous captive for the day of judgment, to punish them." (2Pt 2,9).
Paul also speaks of this twofold day of judgment, referring to it as "the day of wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed." (Röm 2,5)He says: “God will repay each person according to their works: eternal life to those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality; but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth but obey unrighteousness” (verses 6-8).
Such biblical passages define doctrine of eternal or final judgment in plain terms. It is an either / or situation; there are the redeemed in Christ and the unredeemed wicked who are lost. A number of other passages in the New Testament refer to this
"Last Judgment" as a time and situation from which no man can escape. Perhaps the best way to get a taste of this future time is to cite some passages that mention it.
The Epistle to the Hebrews speaks of judgment as a crisis that every person will face. Those who are in Christ, who are saved through his work of redemption, will find their reward: “Just as people are destined to die once and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sins, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebr 9,27-28).
Those saved, justified through his work of redemption, need not fear the Last Judgment. John assures his readers: “In this way, love is perfected among us, so that we may have confidence on the day of judgment, because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love.” (1Joh 4,17)Those who belong to Christ will receive their eternal reward. The wicked will suffer their terrible fate. “So also the present heaven and earth are being reserved by the same word for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the wicked.” (2Pt 3,7).
Our statement is that "in Christ the Lord makes a gracious and just provision for all, even for those who at death appear not to have believed the gospel." We do not say how God makes such a provision, except that what also whatever it is, such provision is made possible by Christ's redemptive work, as is true of those who are already saved.
Jesus himself pointed out in several places during his earthly ministry that care is taken for the un-evangelized dead to be given the opportunity of salvation. He did so by declaring that the population of some ancient cities would favor the court in comparison with the cities of Judah where he preached:
“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! …But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.” (Lk 10,13-14)“The people of Nineveh will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and will condemn it… The Queen of the South [who came to hear Solomon] will stand up at the Judgment with this generation and will condemn it.” (Mt 12,41-42).
Here are people of ancient cities - Tire, Sidon, Nineveh - who obviously did not have the opportunity to hear the gospel or know Christ's work of salvation. But they find the judgment endurable, and send a damning message to those who have rejected it in this life, just by standing before their Savior.
Jesus also makes the shocking statement that the ancient cities of Sodom and Gomorrah - proverbs for any gross immorality - would find the judgment more bearable than certain cities in Judea in which Jesus had taught. To put it in the context of how startling Jesus' statement is, let's look at how Judas portrays the sin of these two cities and the consequences they received in their lives for their actions:
“Even the angels who did not keep their heavenly rank but abandoned their proper dwelling place, he has held in eternal chains in darkness for the judgment of the great day. So also Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise practiced fornication and indulged in unnatural lust, are set as an example and will suffer the punishment of eternal fire” (Jud 6-7).
But Jesus speaks of the cities at the future judgment. “Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for this city [i.e., the cities that did not receive the disciples].” (Mt 10,15).
So perhaps this suggests that the events of the Last Judgment or the Eternal Judgment do not quite agree with what many Christians have accepted. The late Reformed theologian, Shirley C. Guthrie, suggests that we do well to reorient our thinking about this crisis event:
The first thought Christians have when thinking of the end of history should not be anxious or vindictive speculation as to who will be "in" or "going up," or who will be "out" or "going down." It should be the grateful and joyful thought that we can look forward with confidence to the time when the will of the Creator, Reconciler, Redeemer, and Restorer will once and for all prevail—when justice over injustice, love over hate and greed, peace over enmity, humanity over inhumanity, the kingdom of God will triumph over the powers of darkness. The Last Judgment will not come against the world, but for the good of the world. This is good news not only for Christians but for all people!
Indeed, this is what the last things are about, including the Last Judgment or eternal judgment: the triumph of the God of love over everything that stands in the way of his eternal grace. Therefore, the Apostle Paul says: “Then comes the end, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until God puts all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” (1Kor 15,24-26).
The One who will be the judge at the Last Judgment of those who have been justified through Christ and of those who are still sinners is none other than Jesus Christ, who gave his life as a ransom for all. “For the Father judges no one,” said Jesus, “but has committed all judgment to the Son.” (Joh 5,22).
The one who judges the righteous, the un-evangelized and even the wicked is the one who gave his life so that others could live forever. Jesus Christ has already taken the judgment on sin and sinfulness. This does not mean that those who reject Christ can avoid suffering the fate that will bring their own decision. What the image of the compassionate judge, Jesus Christ, tells us is that he desires that all men attain eternal life - and he will offer it to all those who place their faith in him.
Those called in Christ—who have been “chosen” by Christ's election—can face judgment with confidence and joy, knowing that their salvation is secure in Him. The unevangelized—those who have not had the opportunity to hear the gospel and put their faith in Christ—will also find that the Lord has provided for them. Judgment should be a time of rejoicing for everyone, as it will herald the glory of God's eternal kingdom where nothing but goodness will exist for all eternity.
by Paul Kroll
8 Shirley C. Guthrie, Christian Doctrine, Revised Edition (Westminster / John Knox Press: Lousville, Kentucky, 1994), p. 387.
Universal Reconciliation
Universal reconciliation means that all souls, whether the souls of humans, angels or demons, are ultimately saved through God's grace. Some followers of the Doctrine of All Atonement argue that repentance to God and belief in Christ Jesus are unnecessary. Many of the Doctrine of All Atonement deny the doctrine of the Trinity, and many of them are Unitarians.
In contrast to universal reconciliation, the Bible speaks of both "sheep" entering the kingdom of God and "goats" going to eternal punishment. (Mt 25,46)God's grace does not compel us to submit. In Jesus Christ, who is God's chosen one for us, all humanity is chosen, but that does not mean that all people will ultimately accept God's gift. God desires that all people come to repentance, but He created and redeemed humanity for true fellowship with Him, and true fellowship can never be a forced relationship. The Bible indicates that some people will persist in their rejection of God's mercy.
