DAY OF JUDGMENT
Lesson 10 Part l
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Protestants in general still hold to
the teaching of the immortality of
the soul. There are several
problems with the idea that one goes
to heaven or hell at death.
These are:
1.
First, Bible does not say that
burning forever in hell fire is the
penalty for sin. On the
contrary, the Bible says that,
“the wages of sin is
death.” Romans 6:23
2.
If burning in hell forever is the
penalty for sin, then Jesus could not
have possibly paid the penalty for
sin by dying on Calvary for He was
resurrected on the third day.
3.
Going to heaven or hell at the time
of death presupposes an immediate
judgment decision upon every
individual. From Daniel 7 and 8 we
learned that the court did not
convene until 1844. Decisions
for eternal life or death were not
made before that time!
4.
If people go to heaven or hell
immediately at death, then what is
the purpose of the
resurrection? Notice that the
wicked and righteous are both
resurrected. Paul said,
“And I have the same hope in God
as these men, that there will be a
resurrection of both the righteous
and the wicked.” Acts
24:15 Some suggest the purpose of the
resurrection is to come back and get
the earthy body. According to
Paul, we won’t be able to use
the earthy body, which is
perishable! “I declare to
you, brothers, that flesh and blood
cannot inherit the kingdom of God,
nor does the perishable inherit the
imperishable…the dead will be
raised imperishable, and we will be
changed. For the perishable
must clothe itself with the
imperishable, and the mortal with
immortality.” 1 Corinthians
15:50,52,53
5.
Jesus clearly predicts two
resurrections, “…for 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
If people are burning in hell, why
would they be resurrected too?
Wouldn’t that be
a case of being condemned before
proven innocent?
6.
John saw the redeemed awake from
death at the second coming. He
says,
“ They came to
life and reigned with Christ a
thousand years.” Revelation 20:4
Death is like a sleep
Fifty-three times in
the New Testament, death is called
sleep. Death is simply a
condition of unconsciousness.
Solomon says, “For the living
know that they will die, but the dead
knows nothing; they have no further
reward, and even the memory of them
is forgotten. Their love, their
hate and their jealousy have long
since vanished; never again will they
have a part in anything that happens
under the sun.”
Ecclesiastes 9:5,6
Jesus said to His
disciples concerning Lazarus,
“…our friend Lazarus has
fallen asleep; but I am going to wake
him. His disciples replied
‘Lord, if he sleeps, he will get
better.’
Jesus had been
speaking of his death, but his
disciples thought he meant natural
sleep. So then he told them
plainly, ‘Lazarus is
dead.” John 11:11-14
When Jesus resurrected
Lazarus from death, Lazarus gave no
report of stoking fires in hell or
dancing in heaven. No!
He’d been sleeping and thus
unconscious of anything going on!
In our next lesson,
we’ll look at the story of the
rich man and Lazarus. Does it
prove people are burning in hell?
Summary
We have
chronologically located the Day of
Judgment described by Daniel.
The date is 1844. The courtroom
is in heaven. It is the
heavenly Day of Atonement pointed
forward.
Since that time,
Jesus, Judge of Mankind, has been
involved with determining the eternal
destiny of each person as the books
of record are reviewed. The
books clearly reveal the choices that
each person made. The record
books contain what the person knew at
that time, what they did and
why! Everything is exposed in
the judgment.
At the second coming,
those who have been granted eternal
life will rise in the first
resurrection. Later, those who
have done evil will rise to meet
their Maker and receive their due
reward at the end of the
millennium. We shall continue
in the next lesson.
Quiz
- Who came
before the Ancient of Days?
What did He receive?
- Daniel was
told the little horn power
would persecute the saints
for:
- Give one
reason why the judgment day
must precede the second
coming:
- What is the
wages of sin?
- How many times
does the NT refer to death as
sleep?
Revelation 22:12
“Behold I am coming soon!
My reward is with me, and I will give
to everyone according to what he has
done.”
Notes:
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