REFORMED HERALD
September 1995
A Publication of the Reformed Church in the United States
"Heralding the Good News of Jesus Christ"
The Last
Judgement
Rev. Howard Hart
Then all men will personally appear before this great Judge, both men and women and children, that have been from the beginning of the world to the end thereof , being summoned by the voice of the archangel, and by the sound of the trump of God. For all the dead shall be raised out of the earth, and their souls joined and united with their proper bodies in which they formerly lived. As for those who shall then be living, they shall not die as the others, but be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and from corruptible become incorruptible. Then the books shall be opened, and the dead judged according to what they shall have done in this world, whether it be good or evil. Nay, all men shall give account of every idle word they have spoken, which the world only counts amusement and jest; and then the secrets and hypocnsy of men shall be disclosed and laid open before alL
And therefore the consideration of this judgment is justly terrible and dreadful to the wicked and ungodly, but most desirable and comfortable to the righteous and elect; because then their full deliverance shall be perfected, and there they shall receive the fruits of their labor and trouble which they have borne. Their innocence shall be known to all, and they shall see the terrible vengeance which God shall execute on the wicked, who most cruelly persecuted, oppressed, and tormented them in this world, and who shall be convicted by the testimony of their own consciences, and shall become immortal, but only to be tormented in the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels.
But on thecontrary, the faithful and elect shall be crowned with glory and honor; and the Son of God will confess their names before God His Father and His elect angels; all tears shall be wiped from their eyes; and their cause which is now condemned by many judges and magistrates as heretical and impious will then be known to be the cause of the Son of God. And for a gracious reward, the Lord' will cause them to possess such a glory as never entered into the heart of man to conceive.
Therefore we expect that great day with a most ardent desire, to the end that we may fully enjoy the promises of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. AMEN.
Amen, come, Lord Jesus. -- Rev. 22:20
(Belgic Confession Chapter 37)
Our martyred brother, Guido deBres, ends his long statement of faith with the word finally. This word is not given with a sigh of "finally being finished" with a long statement of the Reformed Faith, nor with a whimper of contemplation of end times, de Bres ends with a shout of triumph. Jesus, at an appointed time, will come to gather His elect and to judge all men. Here our dear brother makes a decisive exposition of God's appointed last judgment. Though this Article 37 is not very long, our fellow laborer in Christ says just enough. He does not speculate. Rather, he presents in outline what the Scriptures teach.
deBres' article presents to us succinctly five basic truths of the Christian faith: 1) Jesus will come again in glory, physically and visibly in history. 2) The purpose of His coming in majesty is to gather His elect and to judge all mankind. 3) The standard for judgment will be God's own concept of right and wrong. 4) The consequence of Jesus' second advent will be the separation of the human race into two groups of persons, i.e., the wicked and the elect. 5) God will reward the righteous.
Jesus will come a second time in majesty. He will come in the company of others - angels, trumpets, and the souls of deceased believers. (II Thessalonians 4:13-18). The host (armies) of heaven come with the community of heaven (II Thessalonians 1:7; Revelation 19:14). de Bres has suffered the martyr's fire, but he will see the Lord in His Shekina fire of glory.
First: Jesus will come a second time with His physical body. He will not hide His coming; men will see it. (Matthew 24:30; 26:64; Acts 1:11; Titus 2:13; Revelation 1:7). Jesus will not sneak onto our planet as a ghost and then hide behind the clouds, as a few of the cults believe.
It appears that de Bres takes what many may call an amillennial view. He says that "the number of the elect" will be complete at the second advent. Premillennialists from Irenaeus until now take the position that some will be saved after Jesus comes (during an imagined 1000 year reign of Christ on earth).
Premillennialists believe that the elect are not completed before Christ's return. Thus it seems that de Bres is implicitly amillennial. It may be said in passing that our good brother does not say the coming of Jesus follows a glorious millennium of church rule before the second advent de Bres knew the radical chiliasm of his day. He does not fall into any of their traps.
Second: The time of Jesus coming is known to no one but the Father in heaven. Not angels, nor men, nor demon, nor the Son of Man knows when Christ will be sent to the earth. (Mark 13:32). Jesus, however, will not come upon the elect unawares. The saints are to watch for Him to come. (I Thessalonians 5:4; paragraph 1 of Article 37).
Third: Jesus will come to bring judgment and restoration. Fallen man will give an account of his personal evil and pollution. (II Corinthians 5:10). All men, says de Bres, "both men and women and children" will be brought before the bema (judgement seat) of Christ. These will be judged in their resurrected bodies "in which they formerly lived." (paragraph 2). The judgment of the wicked "is justly terrible and dreadful." (paragraph 4).
Christ also brings restoration. The elect will find the judgment "most desirable and comfortable." (Acts 3:21; paragraph 4). The faithful and elect "shall be crowned with glory and honor." (paragraph 5). The elect will rule over the new earth. (Revelation 21).
Even creation that is "groaning under the pain of Adam's sin" (Romans 8:21f) will be restored by fire. (I Peter 3:13). In the end time God will be "burning this old world with fire and flame, to cleanse it." (paragraph 1).
Fourth: The principles upon which God will judge man will be His own Nature. He determines what is good or bad. Men will be judged by what God constitutes as right and wrong. Men shall give account "of every idle word they have spoken . . . . and then the secrets and hypocrisy of men shall be disclosed and laid before all." (Psalm 19:9; paragraph 3).
Note again that our author of the Belgic Confession maintains that the Christian will experience judgment. When the elect appear before the judgment seat of Christ, their "full deliverance shall be perfected, and they shall receive fruits of their labor and trouble which they have borne. Their innocence shall be known to all ..." (paragraph 3). The faithful will not be condemned (Romans 8.1), but will receive ultimate salvation (I John 5:24). God will confess their names, "all tears shall be wiped from their eyes. (paragraph 5).
Fifth: One of the end results of Jesus' coming will be the condemnation of the goats as well as the salvation of the sheep. These unregenerate people "most cruelly oppressed and tormented the elect in this world." The ungodly shall be "tormented in that everlasting fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels." (paragraph 5). They are condemned not only for persecuting the saints, but through lack of performance of righteousness. (paragraph 3).
In this life men would not listen to God - in the end, God will shut His hearts to their voices. In hell, the worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. This creed does not teach pointless annihilation. "Terrible vengeance . . . God will execute on the wicked" for eternity. (paragraph 4). The evil people and evil angels will be separated from God, exiled from the new earth, and ignored by the Creator.
The elect sheep of Jesus, though they have sinned, are covered by the blood of the Lamb. These the "Lord will cause to possess such glory, as never existed in the heart of man to conceive." (Revelation 19:1; paragraph 5).
This teaching does not reflect an ethereal view of the future estate. The new earth will not be an everlasting existence of harp strumming, guitar plucking, Psaim singing, endless sermons, infinitely worded prayer, or continuous passing of the plate. This is not what is meant by the worship of the new earth Mark Twain once remarked that if heaven was like some of the worship services of his day, "Why would anybody picture heaven as consisting in the performance of activities we neither can nor want to do now?"
We will worship on the new earth. There we will love to sing hymns and pray However, the new earth is more than that. We will be on the new earth with real physical bodies. "For all the dead shall be raised out of the earth, and their souls joined and united with their proper bodies in which they formally lived." (paragraph 2).
The grand Confession also states that God will be "burning the old world with fire to cleanse it." (paragraph 1). The new earth is not another world; it is this world, but renewed (II Peter 3). There will be forests, fields, people, and cities. We shall have work to do, mountains to climb, ideas and science to explore, music to write, government to exercise, and family to love. The Old Testament prophecies about a blossoming earth with sweet wine, lions and lambs together, and young children not harmed by spiders is what Jesus brings. We will stand on solid ground with a physical resurrected body. (Job 19:25-27). The entire creation is redeemed from the effects of sin. (Romans 8:21f; Heidelberg Catechism question 32). There is continuity between the old earth and the new earth. The new earth will have perfection. Man will not be able to sin.
de Bres holds to a view of a dualism of body and soul. This is not the Greek view of Plato, but rather a Biblical notion. (Luke 16:19-31; 23:43; Acts 7:59; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23-24; Revelation 6:10; 20:4; paragraph 2).
At death our bodies decompose, but the person lives on. At the resurrection the same soul and the same body that were separated are reunited. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. At Christ's second coming, even the bodies that have been in the earthly grave for centuries and the bodies buried at sea shall be raised. (Revelation 20:13).
In the intermediate state there is no Limbus Patrum (a limbo in which the Old Testament saints are suspended). Nor is there a Limbus Fantum (the limbo state in which unbaptized infants are retained forever). The Catholic theologians of the Middle Ages concocted these places. de Bres has none of the above, nor a Purgatory. You die and you are with God or you are in hell.
In all, our expositor of the Reformed Faith, does not do what Calvin called, "subtle and extravagant speculation... an inordinate desire of knowing more than is right." de Bres is wary and careful not to speculate.
Finally, let us take note of the fact that our creedal writer entitled his ending article, "The Last Judgment." The article is called "Last Judgment" because there are other judgments brought about by the Sovereign God. Adam and Eve were cast out of Eden; the flood destroyed an ancient civilization; Sodom and Gommorah were brimstoned out of existence; the Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel and Judah were taken into captivity. This is not to mention Babel and the destruction of Palestine in 70 A.D.
God is still executing judgment on this world. Psaim 75:7 says He "executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another." The Lord topples and sets up governments. He brings AIDS. However, there will be a final reckoning with all men in which you will take part. If you are elect, thanks be to God for His grace. (Ephesians 2:8-10). If you are unbelieving, "repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand." (Mark 1:15).