JUDGEMENT OF THE DAMNED
As background for this diagram I will focus on the purpose for divine judgement of the unsaved. First off, we as creatures are given the priviledge of knowing God and His works, and we are not qualified in any way to call His judgement into question! So far as the legal aspects of Judgement are concerned, God's Justice is infinite and immaculate...above reproach. If any Christian arrives at that point that they are appauled by God's actions, or wonder how a civilized, peaceful God could rain such hell on humanity...they should bow their head in respect and assign that thought to the knowledge of God's essence. An inherent danger of second guessing God is the distortion that comes of pulling God down to our level. But God's purpose and motive are vastly higher than man's purpose and motive, even when the same actions are involved. When man judges or kills an enemy there are variables that may come into play. Humanity is ridden with variables. There may be blood lust involved, or anger, or arrogance...and human justice is flawed at best. The bedrock principle I always consider; Man's pain and suffering are curses which he brings down upon himself. Whereas God's Justice may be expressed, the sentence will always be fair and reasonable...suited to the nature of the transgression. God never acts arbitrarily, inflicting punishment just because a person has not obeyed Him. His punishment is always applied in Love, its' objective being instruction, enlightenment, protection. Sometimes the protection is for the victim of a crime, or a targeted victim. God may cause injury, or even death, to a criminal before or after he attacks an innocent citizen. The circumstances are as numerous as grains of sand, yet no act of God has ever been unjust or unreasonable. If it were entirely up to God, He would have all men be saved. The Bible says as much in several places. Christ died for "all mankind", "God so loved the world"...meaning all men. But when human volition gets involved things get nasty in a hurry! Things get out of control, but not for God. His power is irresistable, perpetual motion, managing the trillions of decisions He must make with ease. And the objective of His involvement is to perpetuate humanity, provide a measure of freedom, a client nation for His own, and all this to offset human volition, counter the natural destructive tendency of the human creature. The most horrible thing to imagine is what the Lake of Fire will be like. Most of all, because it's forever. Those poor souls will writhe in agony for life without end, without reprieve. That's pretty damned ghastly! But the reason those people will be their is entirely their call. God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that we who are yet sinners might be saved. Jesus Christ endured the eternal judgement of God for sin, not for Himself... but for them. God hounded every man in hell to believe, made the gospel open and available. But they all rejected His Love, His free gift of Eternal Life, life with Him. God can have no contact with sin. Call it a case of Superman and kryptonite. Sin and God are exclusive, self contained, absolute. What fellowship can darkness have with the light? Don't think of Hell as the act of a God who is angry, or spiteful. If it were possible, God would arrange a more palatable existence for the damned. He takes no pleasure in their anguish. All the elect creatures of His Kingdom will be just as unworthy as those in hell, so this isn't an issue of good and bad people... Hell is not created by God to be an inferno: It is the antithesis of God, that's what makes it so horrible a place. God is light, hell is darkness; God is Life, hell is the 2nd death; God is Happiness, hell is despair... Though God permits sin for a short season, one shouldn't arrive at the wrong conclusions. He does not sponsor sin. He does not tempt to sin. There will come a time when He must make an end of it, deal with it, put it away forever from His Person. What you get when you do that is hell. I will close this monologue with a note about the importance of volition, your will and mine. God gave each of us freedom on a spiritual plane. Even though we may live in human bondage, we are free in the soul to think what we wish. We are free to accept Christ as Savior. The bottom line is; We are responsible for our actions in this life. God holds us accountable. He has done all He can, short of violating our freedom, to defray the consequences of our guilt. He has absorbed the wrath of His own Justice. He has provided a solution to our corruption, and our terrible destiny. He has informed us in extreme detail of the situation. He has provided a system to enlighten us. He splashes His message across the media, whatever it takes to get our attention. He even tolerates the ministries of money-hungry frauds, greed ball chalatans, if their pitiful messages may win one single soul to Him. But the absolute will inevitably bring an end to toleration. The freedom to choose that He gave to all of us will be examined. And those who refused to accept Him will be rewarded with the bitter fruit of their intransigence. A Loving God, a Just God, can do no more than He has done. Reference Links: HOMEPAGE OPTIONS ICE PRINCIPLE (Mixed Bag) SPIRITUALITY vs CARNALITY (Christian Life) FILLING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT (Christian Life) THE CHURCH AGE (Christian Life) THE ETERNAL STATE (Christian Life) DIAGRAMS DEATH - BELIEVER & UNBELIEVER WINNER & LOSER BELIEVERS REBOUND - REGAINING COMMUNION WITH GOD Sound off on the "insights" bulletin board. ---> [ INSIGHTS ] |