Introduction. There are times in the life of each Christian when the bottom drops out of their life. A tragedy, financial setback or health problem comes crashing suddenly into our lives, leaving us stunned, shocked, and unable to process it all. What happens next is based on our spiritual maturity, spiritual mental health, and depth of the trust we have in our God. Some, like Job or David, while grieving the loss can accept the tragedy and move on. Job saw his relationship with God as far more important than his possessions and family. Everything else but that relationship was only temporary. That is what led him to say: “Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; Blessed be the name of the Lord.” (Job 1:21). This is how the man God held up to us as “I have no one like him in all the earth” responded. We must not underestimate the importance of this response. Trusting God is easy while we are being blessed and surrounded by comfort and peace. What happens when we lose everything, either by time and chance, persecution or discipline? What happens to our trust in God then?
Introduction. Jesus offered a challenge to all who proclaim themselves a Christian. “But why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do the things which I say?” (Lk. 6:46). A second challenge is “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (Jn. 14:15). Thus, those who call Jesus “Lord” while not keeping His word are only token disciples. If we truly believe “for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Jn. 18:37), then we must meet His expectations or let go of the truth. If we want to be His genuine disciples, we must accept and submit and never question anything He said.
This critical decision can only be done fully or not at all. The very instant we decide there is a command to which we will refuse to submit, we are no longer of the truth and He is no longer our Lord. In setting aside a command we place ourselves as His equal in deciding what is truth and what it not. It also violates another challenge: “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (Jn. 8:31-32). This is a simple fundamental truth. Only if we abide in His word can we be genuine disciples because “Anyone who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God,” for only “the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.” (2Jn. 9). Jesus’ commands are the boundary between fellowship with truth, Jesus and God the Father or with error & lies. Introduction. Although Pilate did not trust Jesus enough to wait for Him to answer this question, Jesus did know the answer, and multitudes have accepted and based their entire life upon it. Before discussing His answer, it is important to look at the answer given by the world. Dictionaries define truth as: “the body of real things, real events, and facts,” “the state of being the case, true, genuine, actual, or factual”. Negatively truth is not false, dishonest, fiction, or a lie. The easiest way to explain and understand truth is in application and outcome. In physics, truth allows an airplane to fly, or a satellite to orbit the earth and function exactly as designed. If they don’t work, there is something false and in error. In retirement accounts, truth allows the investor to retire comfortably. If there is no money, it is evident to all that someone violated truth. In medicine, truth leads to the right diagnosis and a good outcome. Thus the true sign of truth is success!
The principle of truth in function not only works on a small scale, but also universally. Things man can neither control or fix also work on the basis of truth. The entire universe has functioned perfectly based on truth. The earth is in its orbit, along with the sun and moon perfectly placed bring light and heat, day and night, seasons and years. They never vary because they were designed to work based on truths that always succeed. God placed truth in His creation to reveal the same signs of mind and art that we have. Just as a car, computer, camera, or phone has many systems that must interact perfectly to function, so also does the universe. Just as the slightest divergence from the truth will cause what we create to fail, so also does the entire material creation. They both require careful planning and execution based on the truths of physics, chemistry and energy. Introduction. While Pilate’s question to Jesus: “what is truth?” might have been an honest inquiry, the fact that after “he had said this, he went out again to the Jews,” and did not wait for an answer makes it more likely a cynical challenge, a despondent sigh, or a question of doubt (John 18:38). Although Pilate had been ruler over the Jews from the beginning of the ministry of John the Baptist, whatever he knew about the teachings of John or Jesus had not created any interest. He had found nothing in Rome, Greece, or even in Judea to give him guidance or light to answer his question and evidently had no expectation Jesus could either.
The more one ponders the question the broader and more complicated it becomes. The simple truth is that unless the answer is tied to God and His revelation to man, there isn’t any answer. Since truth is absolute, undeniable and constant, nothing man can devise as an explanation could lead to an answer to such a fundamental and complicated question. Review. As we noted in part 1, there is a roughly 430-year gap in the Biblical narrative between the end of the Old Testament with the book of Malachi around 435 B.C. and the earliest events in the New Testament gospels around 7 B.C.. During this time, so far we have seen the rise of the Macedonian empire, the resulting introduction of Greek culture and language into the Jewish way of life, and the eventual revolt of the Jews with the establishment of the relatively independent Hasmonean dynasty around 141 B.C. But that independence would be short lived.
The Rise of the Roman Empire. While the Ptolemies and Seleucids were vying for power in the eastern Mediterranean region, the next regional empire prophesied in Daniel 2:40-43 as the “iron/clay kingdom” was rising to power. From their capital in Italy, the Romans under the leadership of Julius Caesar would defeat the Greeks and unite the entire Mediterranean region under their rule, bringing increased commerce, travel, and exchange of ideas. The Hasmonean dynasty and the Jews in Judea originally came under Roman influence around 65 B.C.. However, they eventually lost their independence, becoming a Roman province with Julius Caesar appointing Antipater the Idumaean to be procurator or governor. His son, Herod (a.k.a. Herod the Great) went on to first be the governor of Galilee and later the “King of the Jews” (the “Herod” of Matt. 2). Introduction. If you were reading the Bible in chronological order when events occurred without verse, chapter, or book divisions, you would encounter the following passage:
The first part comes from Malachi chapter 4 (the last book of the Old Testament) and the second part from Luke 1 (one of the four gospels at the beginning of the New Testament (NT)). Between them are three dots (ellipsis) which usually indicates an intentional omission from a text without altering its original meaning. It may surprise you, but that ellipsis here indicates roughly a 430-year gap in the narrative between roughly 435 and 7 B.C.. By comparison, this time span is slightly longer than all the events in U.S. history from the founding of the first colony in the New World at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, the rise of the 13 colonies, the declaration of independence in 1776, the civil war starting in 1861, the westward expansion to California, the invention of electricity, the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War, and the moon landings to the present day (2021). A Gap of Understanding and Interest. This time period is sometimes called the “Silent Years” or “the period between the Testaments”. For some Bible students, this period is a mental equivalent of an ellipsis – a gap in their knowledge with no understanding of what happened. And perhaps they reason that if God didn’t see fit to inspire anyone to record the events of that time, there must not have been anything significant occurring, right? Actually, just like with U.S. history, there were a number of major regional events, influential people, and cultural shifts that shaped the context of the New Testament. For example, you can see hints of this in words that suddenly appear in the NT, like baptism, synagogue, Pharisees, Hellenists, Caesar, centurion, and crucifixion. Without insight into what happened between the testaments, you may be somewhat handicapped in your appreciation of NT terms, customs, and events. So, in the interest of broadening your knowledge, let’s explore these “Silent Years”. Review. When all who are in the tombs hear Jesus’ voice, and come forth, there will be a resurrection of life and a resurrection of judgement. Life will be for those “who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality.” God has promised them “glory, honor, and peace.” The resurrection of judgment will convict those who were “self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness,” bringing “indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, on every soul of man who does evil.” All this will begin “when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction.” (Jn. 5:28-29; Rom. 2:5-10; 2Th. 1:7-9).
Introduction. The quality of life after the resurrection will be vastly different for the righteous than for the wicked. “For we know Him who said, ‘Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,’ says the Lord. And again, ‘The Lord will judge His people.’ It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:30-31). It will be fearful indeed to face our omnipotent Creator if He holds an attitude of wrath and indignation toward us. When contrasted against the mercy, grace and compassion God promised to those who obey the gospel, we see how vast the differences will be. This is also true of the final destination God has prepared. For those who have loved and submitted to Him, there are precious and exceeding great promises. The amazing abilities of the resurrected body with incorruption, glory, power, honor, and immortality,” are recorded in 1Corinthians 15. Added to this is the new home in heaven where we, “according to His promise,” are “looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.” There will also be “the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” “for He has prepared a city for them” (2Pet. 3:13; Heb. 11:10, 16). Jesus also said, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” (Mt. 25:34-35). God’s justice and righteousness have also led to preparations for the eternal destination of the wicked. When God renders to each according to His works, the punishment will be just and exactly fit the crime of sin. The description of this place is the most dreadful and terrible revelation in Scripture. Nothing reveals the terrible nature of sin more than the recompense that awaits those who rejected God’s gracious offer of mercy and forgiveness in the gospel. While the cost of forgiveness was the death of Jesus on the cross, the cost of sin for those who choose to pay it themselves is dire and grievous, rising up above our comprehension. All sinners will be placed in the midst of the most evil of all God’s enemies. Jesus’s prophesy made this clear. “Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” (Mt. 25:41-42). This everlasting fire is the punishment that fits the crime, even for the devil and his angels. It reveals that the sins men commit here are far more evil and corrosive than we can understand. Introduction. When all who are in the tombs hear Jesus’ voice and those who have done good come forth into the resurrection of life (Jn. 5:29), the judgment day for the righteous will be vastly different than that of the wicked. God has been very clear in many different ways that with the power of Jesus’ blood and obedience to the gospel, all sins, repented of and confessed, are removed.
What is left to judge when: He “casts our sins behind His back” (Isa. 38:17), and “casts them into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19)? As God will “forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more” (Jer. 31:34), “there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom. 8:1). He has “removed our sins as far as the east from the west” (Ps. 103:8-13), and promised: “Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they will be as wool” (Isa. 1:18). Those who “repent and are baptized” receive “remission of sins,” and “their sins are blotted out.” Even the “chief of sinners” (1Tim. 1:15-16) received mercy after being told “arise and be baptized and wash away your sins.” “Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 22:16; 2Tim. 4:8). So what will the judgment day mean for devout and faithful Christians? Since “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2Cor. 5:10), we will be present. But for those whose sins are forgiven, Jesus will say: “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world,” and “then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Mt. 13:41-42), for “when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe.” (2Th. 1:10) Introduction. Among the six foundation doctrines in Heb. 6:1-2 are “the resurrection of the dead” and “eternal judgment.” What was almost completely absent from the Old Covenant has become part of the foundation of the New. Brought to light through the gospel, they are called foundation doctrines because they became the fundamental reason and basis for faith, repentance and baptism. Even the Sadducees could see that they “preached in Jesus the resurrection from the dead” (Acts 4:2). Paul placed the resurrection as a cornerstone of the gospel he preached (1Cor. 15:1-4). Jesus’ resurrection was used to prove and confirm our own resurrection and judgment (1Cor. 15:12-38). God “commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31). Faith, repentance and baptism are based on the assurance of the eternal judgment proved by the resurrection of Christ.
Our previous article focused on the resurrection of life and the resurrection of judgment (Jn. 5:28-29). We explored the transition as the souls of the dead come out of Hades and their bodies come out of their tombs through the resurrection. What comes next is “eternal judgment!” This judgment is the final transition before the eternal destiny of each man and woman begins. For some, this eternal judgment will end in “eternal life” and thus become the resurrection of life. For the rest, it will end in “everlasting destruction,” in the resurrection of judgment and condemnation. Introduction. There is not much written in the Old Covenant about the resurrection. There is a glimmer in Daniel, “But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” and “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Dan. 12:2, 13). Even the faith of the early Patriarchs in “a city whose builder and maker is God” (Heb. 11:13), was not revealed until the NT was written. Details of the resurrection were kept “secret from the foundation of the world” (Mt. 13:35; Rom. 16:25-27). Only “by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel” do we know them today (2Tim. 1:10).
In one of Jesus most comprehensive statements, He revealed: “the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth — those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.” (Jn. 5:28-29). While He called it “the hour” here, in other places He called this the “day of judgment.” (Mt. 10:15; 11:22; 12:36). What is most important and revealing is the difference in the resurrection for those who did good and those who did evil. There are not two separate resurrections since all will hear His voice at the same “hour” and come forth. They are called the “resurrection of life” and “resurrection of judgment” because there will be both separation and different destinations. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory,” “He will sit on the throne of His glory.” “He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.” (Matt. 25:31-46) This is not symbolic language. It is Jesus own explanation of what will occur when the hour comes when all hear His voice and come forth. It is this separation and what happens after that led Jesus to call them by different names. |
Alan HitchenAlan is a preacher for the Holly Street church of Christ in Denver, CO. He has preached in various other locations in his +35 year career. He is also active in spreading the Gospel to Malawi, Africa. |