DISRUPTING THE FOUNDATIONS

Publication #21

(Part 4)

JUDGMENT ACCORDING TO ORTHODOXY
ETERNAL JUDGMENT
ETERNAL JUDGMENT -- HOW WILL IT BE?
DO THE SAINTS JUDGE?
WHAT MANNER OF JUDGMENT

"Therefore...not laying again the Foundation of...eternal judgment," for "if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Heb. 6:1-2 & Ps. 11:3).

It appears that many today have taken Hebrews 6:1 literally, as it is written in the King James version, and have applied it to their own detriment. Hopefully, we can dispel some myths about this verse, and in the process supply some knowledge for the foundation so vitally needed in the house of God.

Our first step in this venture is to properly translate the scripture in question in order to bring everything into proper perspective. "Therefore...

NOT DISRUPTING AGAIN the foundation of...eternal judgment." This, in effect, is not telling us to forsake the foundations, regardless of what they might be; but rather, to build continually upward from them. And of course, David in Ps. 11:3 confirms this and warns of the dangers if the foundations are disrupted by posing the question, "...What can the righteous do?" The simple answer would be, "They can do nothing!" This is what I see has happened with some of those in the Kingdom teachings today. They have trusted so much in having and receiving greater truths and revelations, that they have forsaken the very thing the deeper truths are to rest upon; and in doing so, their building is beginning to (or will shortly) crumble and fall into a heap. One primary cause of such a thing comes from attempting to build a great tower (the kingdom of God) to reach up to heaven, to make a name for ourselves, and this without the Lord building it. Remember? "Except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the Lord keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain." (Ps. 127:1). Nimrod was doing this, and God confused their tongues because of it and stopped their folly of building the tower of Babel (confusion). It is so clear, the same thing is happening in some areas of the kingdom message today. There are many authentic truths and facts to build with, PRAISE GOD, but more often than not, THE SPIRIT AS LORD IS LACKING, and we are seeing a CONFUSION OF TONGUES in the ranks of Sonship. This same thing has happened over and over with every truth and move of God throughout the ages. Is it any wonder that we see it in these present truths also? "Take heed therefore HOW YE HEAR" (Lk. 8:18), for in these trying times we are in, we do not need any unnecessary division.

I write this as an encouragement, but no doubt, to some as a warning, depending on where you stand in Christ at the moment. If you receive this word as a blessed rain, rejoice then, and let it be as such to the increase of your fields. However, if it is as a flame of fire, be encouraged anyway, for whatever it is that we have or are into, it needs the testing to prove its worth. Or perhaps, what is written in these pages will mean nothing to you at all and will be so much rubbish. This is allright too, just put it away until God deals with you one way or the other about it.

The foundation of the many truths of God we are concerned with in this paper is "ETERNAL" JUDGMENT, or as translated by some authorities: AIONION, EONION, or AGE-LASTING JUDGMENT. We have noticed, however, there are some, if not many, who think it is the capstone rather than one of the elementary things of the building of God. It is very strange to see people casting aside the five other foundations Heb. 6:1-2 speak of, while thinking this one is the ultimate. It is a great thing to know the judgments of God are CORRECTIVE, AGE-LASTING dealings with man; but what good is it to know what God's purpose and end result of aionion judgment will be if we don't know how to perform the thing? The revelation of aionion judgment is merely the foundation, but the understanding and DOING what we understand is the building of that structure -- this is what we want, to not only have the revelation but to be able to finish the house that God is building.

In our previous study (Publication #20) we covered some areas dealing with the word "ETERNAL." Much more could have been written on the subject of the "ETERNITIES" of God, but we elected to be concise and keep to the basics of this thought and only touch upon a few of the primary points of what eternal things in the Bible are really speaking of. Hopefully, we were able to see beyond some of our inconsistent versions of the Bible that were highly influenced by ancient Greek mythology and Roman Catholicism, and lay hold of the reality of God's purpose for man in the predestined AGES.

It should have been made clear in our minds, that many of our modern Bibles not only have translation errors, but the Bible itself IS NOT a book about "ETERNITY" but is one that speaks of TIME. It is a book that was written of things that pertain to time and was written to creatures of time who have been and are now being created, born, and perfected by Christ Jesus through the AGES WHICH CONSIST OF TIME. With this understanding, let us now proceed into some of the thoughts concerning JUDGMENT and see a few of the LOGISTICS God has in store for bringing man into His EXPRESS IMAGE (Heb. 1:3 says "THE EXPRESSION OF HIS SUBSTANCE"). However, we will begin by taking a quick look at what most of us have been taught concerning the Judgments of God. We do not want to be critical of these things, but I do believe it is important to compare some of the things we have assumed to be God's truth and what the record actually discloses.

ETERNAL JUDGMENT ACCORDING TO ORTHODOXY

Eternal judgment has been viewed as the most severe punishment any creature or deity could ever imagine. It has, without many exceptions, been thought of as being an act of God that does nothing more than to appease his anger upon mankind for their ignorance and rebellion against Him. Some feel that He is an all loving God and full of compassion for all; and at any time, regardless of the sins been committed, when one repents and turns to Him through Jesus, He will forgive and save them. This is all well and good, but the same people believe that He becomes an unloving, vindictive God of ETERNAL ANGER and totally UNFORGIVING once the person goes to the grave if they haven't done what they were supposed to beforehand.

By merely being "different" than people's concepts (not measuring up to "their" creeds and doctrines) will usually be enough justification in their minds to feel it is well deserved for such unbelievers to be subjected to an eternal hell. One reason for feeling justified in these thoughts is: Those who are not one with them are often viewed as "out-right enemies," and if they are enemies, well then, it makes it very easy to say they deserve it. And if they deserve it, I guess they would feel real comfortable and be able to rejoicing when the enemy burns. This would cause one to wonder what ever happened to "love your enemies," wouldn't it?

This type of judgment (called "hell") is said to consist of a roaring lake of fire which will span the horizons in every direction as far as the eye can see and beyond (some believe it to be in the center of the earth). Nonetheless, this lake of fire is said to be the eternal prison for almost the totality of humanity. It matters not whether it is dear old Grandma or a hardened criminal, if they do not "measure up" by saying the "sinners prayer" or what ever else their church dogma says is required before they are laid in the grave, eternal hell will be their lot. (We might ask, WHERE IS SUCH A THOUGHT WRITTEN [according to an accurate translation]...that the grave makes everything final and eternal?)

Many have been schooled to believe, at the second resurrection, Jesus will return to sit upon His throne in Jerusalem, and at that time the damned will temporarily come out of their everlasting torment for their sins to be read to them from books the angels had compiled of the deeds of their lives. Afterwards, judgment will be passed as they stand naked before Jesus and all the saved who came down from heaven to witness these judical proceedings. It is said, they will hear those terrible words that will jolt the very core of their being and will forever be resounding and echoing in their pleading minds throughout all eternity -- "Guilty as charged, ETERNAL DAMNATION OF HELL FIRE AND BRIMSTONE...with no possibility of pardon or parole. Thus saith the Lord!"

To some, this sounds well and good, saying, as we mentioned above, "They deserve it, and not only that, they were warned in plenty of time to repent and do what was required of them. If they choose eternal hell over eternal life, then it is their choice and they will have to live with it...forever." There are many avenues of thought that such statements prompt. One is, what types of punishment will those in hell be receiving? The reason we ask, is that we can't imagine everyone receiving the exact same punishment, for we are familiar with the scriptures that tell us every man is to be judged according to what is done in the body (I Cor. 5:1-2), and many stripes are laid to those who know better and do wrong, while only a few stripes are laid to the ones who do not know to do right (Lk. 12:47). Therefore, we question, how will a judgment of an eternal lake of fire work? Will the extremely evil ones who know to do good but refuse to, will they be burned with everlasting flames of 10,000 degrees of heat, while the ignorant ones will be burned with only 200 or 300 degrees of heat? Don't laugh now, for these are legitimate questions if hell is what we have been taught it is.

Brethren, we don't want to burst anyone's bubble or sway you from such "loving" thoughts (but I guess in reality we do); however, some glad day we are going to have to face up to the truths of God and His purposes for creation regardless of what the heart's desires might be. The above concepts come from too literal interpretations which were given as SYMBOLS and are to be understood by the SPIRIT OF CHRIST who inspired the writers in the first place. It is as simple as that! God does have a better way of dealing with His creation than roasting them in what one brother calls the "Last-Day Bar-B-Que," Hopefully, some valuable light will be shed on the Judgments of God in this study.

ETERNAL JUDGMENT

Many of us have realized the Bible speaks of various judgments of God; even so, it seems that Christendom has been mindful of only ONE judgment, which some say will befall mankind at the climax of His fierce anger. When He can't, or won't, take any more from the rebellious lot, it is said He is going to push the button on the whole rotten mess. However, contrary to this type of dogma, the scriptures speak of MANY JUDGMENTS! Some of them are already PAST, SOME ARE CONTINUOUSLY PRESENT, and some are YET TO COME. In reading the Bible we can see there is a judgment of unholy angels (messengers), of Satan, of Israel, of cities, of nations, of sin, of death, of the believer, of servants, of Sons, of unbelievers, etc. etc. Each of these various judgments take place at different times, in different surroundings, and in different ways. Nonetheless, what we want to know today is something about when, where, and how the ETERNAL JUDGMENT, that is recorded in Hebrews 6:2 (KJV), is to be.

JUDGMENT carries the thought of a TRIAL, a VERDICT, and the RESULT of the verdict imposed. Any humanitarian court of law has three basic thoughts in mind when judgment is being administered. RESTITUTION to the one who has been offended, PUNISHMENT to the offender, and REHABILITATION of the offender, which results from the punishment that has been measured out. This format, however, is not what we have normally heard when it comes to the judgments of God, even though He is the One who sets the pattern and standard for man to follow. For some reason, man seems to have the nack for attributing to God the things we have deemed to be unjust and inhumane.

The Hebrew word "mishpat" (translated judgment) means "A VERDICT" which may be either FAVORABLE or UNFAVORABLE. It is not always used in the context of a criminal being tried for a wrong doing. More often than not, it is used in the positive sense rather than the negative. Too many look at judgment as only bad, and this is perhaps because the many are bad. However, as an example we will use a judge in a beauty contest to clarify the positive aspect of judgment: When the ladies finish all they are required to do, the judge does not condemn or damn any of the contestants who fail, he merely renders a VERDICT as to whom, in his estimation, is "the fairest of them all." We see here that the word JUDGMENT does not of necessity have to be a word of negative meaning; such as when David cried out, "JUDGE ME, O GOD" (Ps. 43:1). Only if we are in need of correction would it be a terrible thing to us, but even so, it will eventually work to our good.

There are, however, judgments that are not so pleasant. The first great one has been of such magnitude that there has never been one like it since, but we sometimes fail to see it as such, or that it has been on going for so long we have become complacent about it. This judgment was at the beginning, in Eden, when the whole human race, as represented in its head -- Adam stood on trial before God. The result of that trial was the verdict -- guilty of disobedience, his sin being worthy of punishment and correction; and the penalty inflicted was death -- "...dying thou shalt die." (Gen. 2:17, margin). And so it is that "In Adam ALL DIE." (I Cor.15:21-22). It should be clear --this was a JUDGMENT DAY for mankind. There was a trial, a sentencing, and the sentence was, and is, as we all know, FULLY CARRIED OUT. Every human-being who has been born of Adam (every man, woman, and child), has suffered the punishment of that verdict, for we were born into death when we came forth from our mothers' womb. However, we now see another judgment of humanity whose head is CHRIST! For being holy and righteous Jesus was tried (by man as moved by the spirit of Satan), sentenced to death, but was RESURRECTED, because there was no legal claim upon Him. As the one head, ADAM, representing ALL humanity subjected them to death, not willingly on their part (I Cor. 15:22 & Rom. 8:20); even so, the One head, JESUS CHRIST, also representing ALL MANKIND, has subjected them unto LIFE! (I Cor. 15:22, ALL in Christ made alive; Eph. 1:10, ALL will eventually be brought into Christ; Rom. 5:18-21, Justification came upon ALL, and God's grace of salvation abounds more than sin's bondage of death; Jn. 6:37, 39, 44, ALL God gives to Jesus WILL come to Him & He will not loose one; and Jn. 12:32, He will draw [drag, Grk.] ALL unto Himself).

Judgment, as mentioned earlier, includes the idea of a TRIAL, that renders a decision based upon that trial which will ideally correct the wrong that has been done and will rehabilitate the offender back into a right standing with society. From what I read and have experienced, AIONION JUDGMENT (EONION, or JUDGMENT OF THE AGES) is the only judgment which will permenantly turn people from their sins. It matters not whether this judgment of God is passed upon one man, one nation, or the whole human race, when it is executed the end result is the same -- they are brought to a Godly sorrow that works repentance to salvation (DELIVERANCE) (II Cor. 7:10). No longer is it a judgment of times past that merely worked a temporary repentance, but the AIONION JUDGMENT DELIVERS PEOPLE! PRAISE GOD! it doesn't torment them forever because of God not being able to ever whip them into shape. But at last there is a judgment that changes them, and in that change they are delivered from the worst enemy of all -- THEMSELVES! This judgment that transforms men's lives and delivers them from all bondage and sin is not for only a small handful, but it speaks of the entire world! Again, brethren, PRAISE GOD if you can say Amen to it!!!

If you can't see this and you don't believe me, then believe the scriptures, if you will:

"...For WHEN THY JUDGMENTS ARE IN THE EARTH, THE INHABITANTS OF THE WORLD WILL LEARN RIGHTEOUSNESS (Is. 26:9). Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice: and let men say among the nations, The LORD reigneth. Let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof: let the fields rejoice, and all that is therein. Then shall the trees of the wood (people of the earth) SING ALOUD AT THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD, because He cometh to JUDGE THE EARTH. O give thanks unto the LORD; for He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever. (I Chron. 16:31-34). "Say among the heathen that the LORD reigneth: the world also shall be established that it shall not be moved: [because] He shall JUDGE THE PEOPLE RIGHTEOUSLY. Let the heavens rejoice, and let THE EARTH BE GLAD; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof. Let the field be joyful, and all that is therein: then shall ALL THE TREES [people] OF THE WOOD [world] REJOICE BEFORE THE LORD: for He cometh, for He cometh TO JUDGE THE EARTH: He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people with His truth (Ps. 96:10-13). Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, ALL THE EARTH: make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise. Let the sea [raging, surging multitudes of humanity] roar, and the fullness thereof; THE WORLD, and THEY THAT DWELL THEREIN. Let the floods [armies] clap their hands, let the hills [small kingdoms, third world nations] be joyful together before the Lord; for HE COMETH TO JUDGE THE EARTH: with righteousness shall HE JUDGE THE WORLD, and the people with equity (Ps. 98:4, 8-9). God be merciful unto us, and bless us; and cause His face to shine upon us; That Thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among ALL NATIONS. Let the people praise thee, O God; let ALL THE PEOPLE PRAISE THEE. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: FOR THOU SHALT JUDGE THE PEOPLE RIGHTEOUSLY, and govern the nations upon earth...yea, ALL KINGS shall fall down before Him: ALL NATIONS SHALL SERVE HIM. His name shall endure for ever: His name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in Him: ALL NATIONS SHALL CALL HIM BLESSED. (Ps. 67:1-4 & 72:11, 17).

"Arise, O God, JUDGE the earth: for thou shalt inherit ALL nations. ALL nations whom thou hast made SHALL COME AND WORSHIP BEFORE THEE, O LORD; and shall GLORIFY THY NAME. For thou art great, and doest wondrous things: Thou art God alone. O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt JUDGE the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Let the people praise Thee, O God; let ALL the people praise Thee. then shall the earth yield her increase; and God, even our own God, shall bless us. God shall bless us; and ALL THE ENDS OF THE EARTH SHALL FEAR HIM (reverence Him) (Ps. 67:4-7).

"But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain [government] of the house of the Lord [the Sons of God] shall be established in the top of the mountains [strong kingdoms, super powers], and it shall be exalted above the hills [weaker kingdoms, third world nations; and people shall flow unto it. And MANY NATIONS shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain [government] of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us His Ways, and we [the nations] will walk in His paths: for the law of the Lord shall go forth of Zion (Sons of God), and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem [the Church]. And He shall JUDGE among many people, and rebuke STRONG NATIONS afar off; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks: NATION shall not lift up sword against NATION, neither shall they learn war anymore. He shall sprinkle [cleanse, sanctify] MANY NATIONS; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them they shall see; and that which they had not heard they shall consider" (Micah 4:1-3, Is. 52:15).

And also, brethren, it is my firmest heart's conviction that due to God's righteous judgment upon ALL humanity, Psalm 22:27-29 WILL unequivocally be fulfilled: "ALL THE ENDS OF THE WORLD shall remember and TURN UNTO THE LORD: ALL the kindreds of the nations shall WORSHIP before Thee. For the kingdom is the Lord's: and He is the governor among the nations. ALL they that be fat upon earth SHALL EAT AND WORSHIP: ALL THEY THAT GO DOWN TO THE DUST SHALL BOW BEFORE HIM: and none can keep alive his own soul [only through Christ]."

ETERNAL JUDGMENT -- HOW WILL IT BE?

According to what we read and hear today, just prior to the great and dreadful day of "eternal hell" for the damned, there will be such a catyclismic irruption of crime, pestilence, weather, hunger, wars, earthquakes, etc., that if God did not shorten the days, there would be no flesh to be saved.

(To set the story straight, I believe these things are to be at the END OF THIS AGE, of which are already in the process. I also believe what Jesus was speaking of (Mt.24:1-22) has already come to pass, but if His words were prophetic of our day, then it will not be "for the elect's sake" that the days will be shortened, but will be "THROUGH THE ELECT" (dia [through] de tous eklektous) that they will be shortened. However, even though these calamities are now presently upon us, and become much more intensified, they are only a beginning of the end; however, I do not believe that end will be what some believe it to be.

I mention this because it has been said and written of some (one just recently and well known) that the Kingdom teachers do not believe there will be any negative type of judgment upon the world, that we are going to just skate into the kingdom with the greatest of ease. I do not know who they have been listening to, but they are greatly misinformed. Perhaps some misguided "Kingdom" teachers hold to such variations, but this is not our views. It could be too, that those who are fighting these truths have imagined we are saying something we are not, especially if their eye glasses are tinted with the hues of the many Pharisaical colors of their doctrines and traditions.

During the fifteen years we have been seeing the purposes of God for mankind, I cannot recall one instance where a Kingdom teacher even suggested we would have no tribulation; to the contrary, it has consistently been taught, "...We must through MUCH TRIBULATION enter the kingdom of God." (Acts 14:22). To believe otherwise would be foolish to say the least; for you would think any fool could read the printed page and see there will be birth pangs upon the earth (for the saints too) in these last days. However, the few counterfeits of the true Kingdom message are doing their share to malign the pure word. Along with this, it seems that the "wise" Pharisees in this age are no different than the ones of old, they can't seem to see beyond their age-old traditions and realize God has a people of whom He will be establishing His kingdom upon the earth with -- HE IS CALLING OUT A PEOPLE FOR HIS NAME! (Acts 15:14).

It is beyond me, why it is that most of Christendom wants to fly away somewhere into the sky-blue yonder, rather than to remain and set creation free, even as the Sons of God are called to do (Rom. 8:19-21). It's really amazing, the very thing the enemies of this word are accusing (unjustly) the Sons of, they are guilty of the same. They say we are expecting to enter the Kingdom on earth without going through any tribulation. Well, isn't that what the "rapture" teaching promotes -- flying away into heaven just before the tribulation hits? (This is the "Pre-Trib-Rap theory, rather than Mid-Trib-Rap, Post-Trib-Rap, and Pan-Trib-Rap [It will eventually all "PAN" out]).

If the rapture doctrice is true, in my natural mind I would be one of the first ones to want to leave this sin ridden world and instantly change to a glorified, righteous man (without it costing me a thing); however, there is One greater within me who I believe would over-ride my selfish desires and perhaps say something to this effect, "Go if you must Church, but our Father has not finished the work He sent Me (Christ) to do, which is to take away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29) and to set creation free (Rom. 8:19-21). Therefore, we and the others of like compassion and chosen of the our Father elect to stay and complete the work."

Brethren, this is not a day to be wishy-washy about doctrines and what we are called to do. It is a day to know the fullness of Christ and to learn and know about what is happening. Some may believe ignorance is bliss, saying, "What was good enough for Grandma and Grandpa is good enough for me." Continue thinking that if you want, but when the chips are down and it is time to advance into battle, if ignorance is predominant, don't think it strange when GREAT LOSS is suffered, and you find yourselves weeping and gnashing (grinding) your teeth. (Mt. 24:51). It wouldn't be so bad if it were only the hypocritical preachers, pastors, teachers, self-made prophets, T.V. evangelists, and every other wolf in sheep's clothing who miss the glory of God's present calling; but not only do they stand in the door and refuse to go in, but they won't allow others to enter either. -- "Woe, to you scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye devour widows' houses [begging for and taking their money], and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, HYPOCRITES! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto to ye BLIND GUIDES...I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee." (Mt. 23:13-16 & Mt. 11:24).

Now to get back to our thought of the positive aspects of eternal judgment, or rather, JUDGMENT OF THE AGES (even for the hypocrites, there is a positive aspect of judgment -- they will also eventually confess Jesus is their Lord). This judgement is to be brought forth by God and manifested primarily through HIS BODY OF SONS. In the same manner He revealed His glory through His first begotten Son, and men were judged by His mere presence (it revealed their sinful hearts), so will it be with the many Sons. God will finish delivering creation through His second begotten Sons, and the process to be used is called, as we have already mentioned numerous times, "ETERNAL JUDGMENT" (as rendered in some of our modern translations).

DO THE SAINTS JUDGE?

All of this might sound like a blasphemous assertion, and may seem to have the ear marks of self-exaltation (the one thing that caused "Lucifer" to fall from his original place of glory). I can agree, for if any man or woman attempts or desires to judge and rule man of themselves, then certainly, it would be a self-exalting, blasphemous thing to do and that individual would be in need of judgment. However, as we view the scriptures, we should of a truth be able to see that God will surely use the Saints to judge the world.

Daniel 7:21-22 sheds much light on the subject. These verses read, "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; Until the Ancient of days came, and JUDGEMENT was given TO THE SAINTS of the most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the kingdom." Another record is found in Obadiah 21. "and SAVIOURS [or deliverers & notice the PLURAL form] shall come up on mount Zion [government of God -- His Sons] to JUDGE the mount of Esau [government of man -- the flesh]; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's." Then we have the apostle Paul enlightening us with, "Do ye not know that the SAINTS shall JUDGE THE WORLD? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall JUDGE the angels?" (I Cor. 6:2-3). And of course, we shouldn't omit Rev. 3:21 and 20:4, for they not only add to this thought, but 3:21 tells us WHO will be judging. "To him that OVERCOMETH will I grant to sit with Me IN My THRONE...And I saw THRONES, and THEY sat upon them, and JUDGEMENT was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded [no longer having man's mind but the mind of Christ] for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads [carnal minded], or in their hands [carnal works]; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years."

There are no words to expound upon what is already written in the above verses in reference to the SAINTS, the OVERCOMERS, i.e. the SONS OF GOD if you will, JUDGING, RULING, and REIGNING upon the earth. However, before anyone is counted worthy of such a thing, other than being able to overcome all obstacles Satan could possibly place in the way, there is a slight factor we should not overlook. The apostles Peter and Paul assured us that WE must first be judged before anyone else is. Listen to what they said, "For the time is come that JUDGMENT must begin at THE HOUSE OF GOD: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? [No doubt, a very severe consequence.]" (I Pt. 4:17). And Paul's statement in II Cor. 5:10 was this: "For WE must ALL appear before the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST; that every one may receive the things done in the body, according to that he hath done whether it be good or bad."

(A question to consider: Why is it, when the saints are the ones to be judged, it is easy to see the judgments are something that brings correction in due time, but if it is to the sinner who has never known Christ -- it is supposed to be punishment only, and that punishment is to never end?)

There are many who believe the saints will judge the world, and it is sad but common to see some of them with the attitude of, "Ah, what a prestigious position to fill. Just think, We (with a capital "W") are going to be judges over the whole world. Won't our friends, neighbors and relatives be surprised to see us placed in such honor?" Imaginations run wild with such grand thoughts of the carnally minded zealots and "wild asses who are used to the wilderness." (Jer. 2:24). But where are those who understand and are willing to submit to the chastening hand of our loving God, that it may come to pass?

It seems as if they are under the allusion that receiving and believing "deep" revelations will set them in such high places. Don't be deceived, dear ones, for the only way up is down. When one is truly called to such a position, and they have the slightest glimpse of what it is really all about -- oh, what a humbling thing. For they would be able to see themselves in God's light, and all their inadequacies would be revealed. The cry would then be, even as it was with Isaiah, "WOE IS ME! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips...FOR MINE EYES HAVE SEEN THE KING, the Lord of hosts." (Isa. 6:5). I do not hesitate to declare, when anyone sees any portion of the glory of God, whether it is His love, mercy, grace, aionion judgment, or whatever, they will be so humbled that they will say, "O Lord send someone else who would be more worthy." However, when God calls a person, it is that individual He desires, and He will bring him to a place of worthiness in due process, and it will be in the same manner as He brought Isaiah -- BY JUDGMENT WITH A BURNING COAL FROM HIS ALTAR PLACED UPON THE MOUTH (Isa. 6:6-7). Then we will hear,"Thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." (vs. 7). And following this judgment the Lord will ask, "Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" (vs. 8). Those who have been judged and purged and have truly taken on His name (nature) can then say with humility, "Here am I; send me." (vs. 8).

The prophet Jeremiah was also very humbled when the Lord called him to speak His warnings and judgments to the people. He said, "Ah, Lord God! I cannot speak: for I am a child." (Jer. 1:6). Here we have two of the greatest prophets who ever lived, ones you think would have reason to be just a little bit proud, but when God spoke and called them to declare His word -- they became humbled beyond compare. But today, on one hand we see the proud who THINK they have heard the voice and command of the Lord to be judges, and on the other are those who fail to see at all that we will be judged and then in turn administer judgment upon the world. One faction walks proudly in their own deception of knowing some facts about deeper things, while the other knows nothing about God's proceedings and are waiting to be whisked away into the sky just in the nick of time, before things really get rough. Both ways are out of balance: being proud and cocky with false humility, or being fearful that the devil lurks around every corner and is going to deceive them with some cultish teaching if they listen to anything but what their "pastor" feeds them. Evidently, they must not be very stable in what they have, if they believe that a "lie" would be stronger than the "truth" they have. Nonetheless, both, the proud and the fearful, are hay-wired and crooked and will never fit into the economy of God.

WHAT MANNER OF JUDGMENT?

We have already covered the basic concept of Christendom's views of God's judgment, and that being due to the influence of the ancient Greek's mythology upon translations of the early manuscripts by Roman Catholicism; and then taking these less accurate scriptures too literally. This being the case, what then, might God's aionion judgment be?

In Rev. 14:10-11 we have a word that relates to this as referring to those who have taken the mark of the beast: "...he shall be TORMENTED WITH FIRE and BRIMSTONE IN the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up FOR EVER AND EVER..." Taken as it is written (from a not so accurate version, KJV), it looks as if there is to be a literal, everlasting torment by fire, and this everlasting torment will be IN THE PRESENCE OF THE SAINTS AND OF JESUS (Angels can be translated messengers here, and can be either angelic messengers or men who are messengers).

Two other very similar verses read this way: "Who shall be PUNISHED WITH EVERLASTING DESTRUCTION FROM the presence of the Lord, and from the Glory of His power; When He shall come to be glorified IN HIS SAINTS, and to be admired in all them that believe in that day." (II Thes. 1:9-10). Again, when we take these verses to be literal, then we have some problems; namely, a glaring contradiction. In both areas of scripture we read that the judgment appears to have no end. In one the smoke of their torment is ascending "for ever and ever," while in the other their punishment is "everlasting." However, if we will notice in Rev. 14:10 it is recorded that it will be IN THE PRESENCE FOREVER, but with II Thes. 1:9 the "EVERLASTING" judgment is FROM THE PRESENCE of Christ; now this, brethren, presents a paradox -- we can't have it both ways. If that were possible, then we could justifiably say, "the black cow is white, the cold water is hot, the raging storm is calm, "the condemned will always be in the presence of our Lord while away from Him", etc., etc.

Think about it for at a few seconds, and I believe you will find it a little hard to reconcile this in your own minds; for how can something that is totally the opposite of the other be one and the same? It cannot be! Those being IN the presence of the Lamb forever certainly cannot also be FROM His presence at the same time throughout the remainder of eternity.

Yes indeed, something is amiss, but when "for ever and ever" and "everlasting" is translated properly (into the ages of the ages & age-lasting) the two thoughts can be reconciled and harmony begins to take form. With the first (Rev. 14:10-11), their torment is one that will continue into at least two ages that stand out among all other ages (eis aionas aionon, into ages of ages), and this torment is a result of being in the presence of Christ and those who are His Holy messengers. The second (II Thes. 1:9), their punishment is one that lasts only for an age (aionion, age-lasting), and that age cannot be determined to be any particular length of time. Whenever that which God has begun is finished, then that age will be over with and time for another one to begin. Whether it is for one person or all mankind, when God is working a particular thing and it requires special dealings to accomplished His will, this is called an age, and when the processing is completed, the age will have ended.

The picture so many have had of those being tormented forever in the presence of Jesus Christ and His saints has been such a distorted view of God's glorious dealings (judgments) with humanity. It has been told to me that one of the well known T.V. evangelists says, "hell" is inside the earth, and there will be a large hole leading down to it, and when ever Jesus or the saints want to take a look at the squirming mass of burning flesh of the eternally damned, as a reminder of how good they have it, all they will have to do is peak over the edge and check it out. This will supposedly be a spectacle throughout eternity, and for some ungodly reason, there is also supposed to be some sort of glory to God in it. One British writer who ministers often in the U.S. has written that by being able to see the teaming billions writhing in unbearable, eternal pain will be one of the many joys of the saints in heaven. Such sadistic ideas, really make me wonder who is really their lord; for it is very evident, a man will take on the same attitude and nature of the god he submits himself to. No doubt, many call their lord by the name of Jesus, but this means nothing, for Satan has no qualms about being called by the highest name in all the universe -- I am sure he delights in it. Until I see Christ as the testimony, the witness, the confession in one's life, regardless of what their words might be (good or bad), I have to seriously doubt that their Lord is in reality Jesus Christ. Never forget, dear saints, Jesus came to TAKE AWAY the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29), not to magnify it and preserve it throughout eternity in the souls of mankind while they burn endlessly in hell fire.

Think about these things, and start glorifying the name of our Father, rather than defaming it as it has been done for centuries.

To Be Continued...

Elwin R. Roach

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