Why Judgment Day Waits

The Bible describe three things which factor into the arrival of Judgment Day. They are the spread of the Gospel to all nation, a complete number of martyrs, and God wanting all to be saved.

The people of the first generation of the Christian Church were getting antsy. Jesus had not come yet. Some of their brothers and sisters in faith had been killed as martyrs. Others had even died naturally. Where was Jesus? He had said, “Yes, I am coming soon.” (Rev. 22:20). What is “soon”?

“Soon” is a relative word. Usually, it is a brief period of time by our accounting. In this case it is not. There were clues that this period of time before Jesus’ return was going to be protracted. As Jesus prepared his disciples for their work before Judgment Day, He shared the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14). While the Master in this story is on a journey, the servants were to work. It doesn’t say it, but it seems implied that this could be a long journey. There is work to be done first, a lot of work. Judgment Day isn’t delayed, but why hasn’t it happened?

First, you like me, we should be glad it hasn’t happened. If it had happened in the first century, we wouldn’t be a part of the Kingdom of God. We live at a time when there are more people on Earth than ever. In fact, some argue that there are more people now and there has been cumulatively. That means there is a lot of work to do.

The Bible does give some metrics for when Judgment Day will come, but these metrics do more to explain the work than they do to give a date. The first and most well-known is that the Gospel must be preached to all nations.

14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:14 (ESV)

This whole mission of spreading the Gospel started among a completely Jewish crowd. Then, quite controversially, it spread out among the Gentile peoples of the Mediterranean basin. The disciple Thomas, traveled a long distance to get things started in India. That was the reach of the first generation. People in my family tree maybe were exposed to the Gospel by 1000AD. Here we are still working at it. We are still working on people groups in India! When God said, “all nations” he meant all. How does He define “nations”? I don’t know. Maybe by language. Maybe by genetics. We will find out. The important thing is that it included you. Whoever you are. The New Heavens and New Earth were not going to kick off until you had a chance to get in on it.

There are other parallel metrics. Here is one you may not know.

10 They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been. Revelation 6:10-11 (ESV)

The full number of martyrs is not so much a goal, as is Gospel to all nations. It is more a parallel statistic that speaks to the nature of the Gospel mission. It is dangerous. Not everyone will receive you with open arms. Many will see the bringing of the Gospel as a threat to culture, or family tradition, or economic opportunity, or governmental control, or cherished worldview. They will deal with this perceived threat with death sometimes. Those who give their lives for the sake of others receiving salvation will be highly honored. It is as Christ-like as you can get.

Does the Gospel threaten the things mentioned above? Yes, some of them. Culture is formed by many things, including religion. If the religion within a culture is transformed or replaced then culture changes. It still can remain unique. God loves certain aspects of cultural diversity. There would be growing pains for families. Some would have to repent of their cherished ways. Worldview is radically changed and people resist that. I don’t see Christianity as a threat to government unless it dictated religion like North Korea or Rome, but in combination with other forces a governmental change could be facilitated anywhere.

There is one other Judgment Day metric that I overlooked for a long time, and it is so obvious.

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. 2 Peter 3:8-10 (ESV)

God’s timeline is not ours. We think He is slow. He is working quickly. It says God doesn’t want any to perish. How does this work? With successive generation more are saved, but even more are lost. I have to bring this passage along side of my most disliked passage:

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

Where is “destruction”? There are things to suggest that this is a reference to Gehenna, the lake of fire, Hell. A similar word is used to talk about the Antichrist as the “son of perdition/destruction”. Is that the son of the place or the son of process or condition? He destroys. I don’t feel like a word study of the Greek (apoleion) gets us anywhere. Jesus is saying most people will not experience life but will experience destruction. My question is where and is this permanent? If this is Sheol and before Judgment Day, is there some process that closes the gap that makes the 2 Peter 3 passage make sense?

The early Christian church fathers all taught about posthumous salvation in connection with Jesus’ descent to Sheol. Some (i.e. Origen) took it too far. We can see from other passages (like Matthew 25:31f) that there are people being eternally damned at Judgment Day. So if there is posthumous salvation it is not comprehensive. The percentage suggested by Matthew 7 for those saved during life seems small. “Few” is a relative word, too. But it seems below 50%. Is the delay of Judgment Day in order to give time to Christ’s work in Sheol? I hope so. I don’t know so.

In the end, we have our mission. We want people to avoid the ultimate judgment in Gehenna. We want them to avoid a more immediate judgment in Sheol. We want them to experience Heaven at their death. That is a worthy mission, even if it is dangerous. When God had established us with a place in eternity with Him through what Jesus did, then we have little to lose and people to gain. Judgment Day will come at just the right time. I won’t worry about it. I will worry about the salvation of others.

Judgment Day As the Final Reckoning

The article explores the concept of Judgment Day and its biblical implications, emphasizing that death serves as a preliminary judgment. It discusses interpretations of scripture surrounding judgment, the idea of Sheol, and the potential for the gospel to reach the dead, raising questions about the fate of those who never heard it in life.

The awareness of a judgment day runs deep in the Bible and in our culture. Romans 12 says, “we will all stand before the judgment seat of God”, and “each of us will give an account of himself to God.” There are important details of this day that I have shared in other articles (search “Judgment Day” in the box above). For this article I would like to focus on what can be modified before the final day.

Most of us will not live until Judgment Day. Our physical death will come first. I reject the idea that we jump to Judgment Day at our death. This collides with Revelation 6:9-11 and others. Death, however, is a type of Judgment Day. It is a small version of the actual thing. There is serious judgment that happens at death. We do not stay in this world but we go somewhere. Either Sheol if we do not have a solution https://afterdeathsite.com/2025/07/22/sheol-as-a-waiting-room/for our sinfulness or Heaven if we have been connected to Christ.https://givingchrist.com/2024/02/06/what-makes-a-person-a-christian/.

Is that the final judgment then? It would seem that Judgment Day would be a bit perfunctory if this is so. Yes, there is movement on Judgment Day from Sheol to a resurrected body to formal judgment to lake of fire for the damned. The period of time from death to Judgment Day is just waiting in discomfort and without hope in that case.

Maybe that is it. That model of understanding does combine strangely with this:

8 But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

2 Peter 3:8-9 (ESV)

It is hard to see how delaying Judgment Day would help “all” to come to repentance. It would help some who are still alive. The long “delay” in Judgment Day would only fill Sheol faster than it fills Heaven since Jesus made it clear that a minority “find” the gate to life (Matthew 7:14). This irony and relegating Judgment Day to a perfunctory role adds weight to the understanding of 1 Peter 4:6.

6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

1 Peter 4:6 (ESV)

This passage is in the larger context of a discussion of suffering for the faith. Within that discussion Peter recalls Jesus’ suffering which culminated with Jesus’ death. He then interjects a brief reference to Jesus’ “descent into Hell”. I use the phrase from how we speak the Apostle’s Creed. I make a distinction between “Hell”, which is what I would call the post-Judgment Day destination of the damned, and “Sheol” which is where I think Jesus went.

We are very conditioned to think of our death as the end of opportunity to be saved. Yet, can you point to a Bible verse that says that? Hebrews 9:27 is all that I have seen in this regard, and I don’t think it works. The context is not about this it all. It is talking about Jesus atoning for sin once with his death. To draw a conclusion that “just as it is appointed for a man to die once, and then comes judgment” means our judgment is sealed at our death adds to the verse and takes it from its context. We die once just like Jesus who died once. That is the meaning.

Does 1 Peter 4:6 in context speak about the gospel being preached to the physically dead rather than the spiritually dead? If 1 Peter 3:18-19 where not in the conversation, I would accept this as a reference to spiritually dead. Is the “preaching” in this passage past tense? That is so from the verb. Is it past like when they were alive or is it past as when Jesus did it to those in 3:18-19?

It is a tough passage. One would wish to have more to work with. If Christ still proclaims the Gospel in Sheol or if he doesn’t, our task doesn’t change. We want people to benefit from the promise, preferably sooner than later. If Jesus did respond to a need with a saving Gospel to those disobedient in the days of Noah and if he still does to other groups, then 2 Peter 3:8-9 makes sense. This is not to say that people don’t manage to be damned. It is pretty clear that they do. But it would explain God’s response to those who never heard the Gospel in life. It would also explain the purpose of an intermediate period between death and Judgment Day.

Can You Fall Away in Eternity?

The content reflects on the significance of our eternal relationship with God, emphasizing the effort needed for salvation through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It discusses the potential for free will in Heaven and examines the analogy of Adam and Eve’s fall, concluding that while sin might theoretically exist, the divine environment will prevent any deviation from God’s presence.

Our place with God in eternity is our most valuable asset by far. God had to do a lot to get us to that point. Jesus had to keep the Law perfectly. He had to absorb the worst part of the Law’s prescribed punishment for our sin: being forsaken by the Father. The Holy Spirit had to break through our sin hardened mind to give us a connection to Jesus. The Spirit also has to shepherd us through the rest of our lives without us falling away. So much work for God.

But once we are securely in Heaven, we can never fall away again, right? Let’s examine that. There is precious little written about this question, but the question is not uncommon. Let’s start with Adam and Eve. What caused them to fall?

Adam and Eve did not initially have bodies infected by sinful nature. Neither will we in eternity. They did not know what evil was. I think we still will know what it is. They had only one rule, the rest came naturally to them. I think good will come naturally to us in Heaven. I know of no equivalent to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil in Heaven or the New Earth. The Tree of Life will be around (see Revelation 22). They had to contend with Satan’s temptations, we will not.

Adam and Eve present the nearest analogy for what we will be in eternity. But it isn’t a one-to-one correspondence. God made humans to have a perfectly free will. Our will hasn’t been free since they sinned. Will we be fully free in eternity? If so, then we must be free to sin against God and fall away. We will know what evil is. At least we will at first. This thought is frightening. Currently, we dare not trust ourselves, because we have had a sinful nature our whole existence so far and it is not trustworthy. Heaven will be different. I don’t feel like I can get my head inside of what it will be like, however.

Angels know what evil is. They are free willed. A third of them fell from God and were cast out. Still two-thirds did not. The fallen third had Satan’s influence. I don’t know if this is comforting or disconcerting. It does show that you can be free-willed, know evil, and not choose it.

Perhaps this whole discussion adds some light to the strange text of Isaiah 65. The passage is about the New Earth. It says so at the beginning. Still it speaks of death and being accursed even though the rest of scripture speaks of eternal life.

No more shall there be in it
    an infant who lives but a few days,
    or an old man who does not fill out his days,
for the young man shall die a hundred years old,
    and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed.

Isaiah 65:20 (ESV)

It is clear from the rest of Scripture that Heaven isn’t just a long life. Perhaps God wasn’t ready to roll out the idea of eternal life at the time of Isaiah. The passage above could be read as hypothetical. I think that is what the answer to our initial question actually is.

Hypothetically, a person in Heaven and the New Earth could choose evil and be cast out of God’s presence. We will have nothing internal to drive us to such a decision and nothing externally to tempt us to such a decision. And we will not be so stupid as to think that we can be God and do things any better than Him. Fully satisfied and loved, we will eventually forget that sin is even possible.

“For behold, I create new heavens
    and a new earth,
and the former things shall not be remembered
    or come into mind.

Isaiah 65:17 (ESV)

We have plenty to worry about while still in this world. We don’t have to worry about the next. The ongoing indwelling of the Holy Spirit will keep us in place without robbing us of our will. Falling away will not be rare. It will be non-existent.

How to Grieve and Not Be Devastated

The passage discusses the inevitability of death and the importance of preparing emotionally for it. It suggests developing an eternal mindset, finding solace in faith, and accepting life’s temporary nature. Emphasis is placed on supporting loved ones, fostering a purpose-driven life, and understanding that grief can coexist with faith and hope in God’s promises.

There is one thing that I can guarantee to you, and that is that you and the ones you love will die someday. That is how this life works. It ends. Because this happens 100% of the time, one would think that we would be better prepared. We can end up emotionally unprepared for death because we have used denial as a coping mechanism (it is bad choice), we have been isolated from seeing death until there is no way to deny it, or the death or somebody happens in a tragic and pre-mature fashion. I would like to give you some ideas that can make you a lot sturdier when it comes to loss through death or receiving the shocking news that you are dying.

First, develop an eternal mindset. Our experience is limited to this life. That makes this step a little difficult. But there is plenty of evidence to say that we go on. Every world religion includes some form of eternal existence. Christianity not only has the revelation of what I share in this blog, it has proofs in the form of Jesus’ miracles including the raising of the dead and more. These miracles had many eye witnesses. If that is not enough, then consider the multitude of Near Death Experiences. This isn’t wishful thinking. This is something that needs to be throughly investigated and prepared for.

How am I prepared? I am now 64. When I think about my near future I project living to 90ish. The 26 years I have until 90 are not prime real estate. They likely will not be my best years physically or mentally. For this reason, I acknowledge that it could be far less. This would fill me with sorrow if not fear if it would not be for the certain faith that I have that I will move through death into Heaven, and that the best part of my existence is ahead of me. This certainty is not based on my behavior or the depth of my faith. It is based on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus; along with God’s promise, His character, and the experience I have had interacting with God.

As I think of the rest of my life, I can see great purpose. I will do what God gives me to do until my final hour. That is what this life is for. Part of that purpose is to ride this body down to the point where I can leave it. I can handle whatever that may look like. That is my mindset and determination. No living in denial here.

I also expect my loved ones to die someday. It could be before me or after me. I would prefer after me, but should it be before me, I have solace that they are also under the same promise of eternal life and we will pick things up again after we are all out of here. This may mean that I might have to spend some time here without them. I have thought about what I will do and how I will cope. I don’t need to figure this out in an urgent fashion.

What if your loved ones are not clearly connected to Christ? Another thing that I would suggest is be satisfied that you are doing all that you can.

I would be pleasantly surprised if my father’s father is in Heaven. In life, he seemed to have one god and that was himself. I loved/love my grandfather. I take solace in that while he was alive I tried to be a witness to him via letter, book, and speaking to him about Jesus. I don’t know if it took. The result has been a degree of emotional separation. In the end, I cannot force anyone to believe. So there is no grief in that regard. Still, I am not convinced that Jesus is done with him.

Most of the Western Christian Church either believes that death is the end of our opportunity to be saved or has even enshrined this belief in stated doctrine. The Eastern Church is not this way. The information God has given us on this topic is pretty scant either way. The belief that death is the line in the sand is pretty much one passage and that out of context. It is Hebrews 9:27:

27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,

Hebrews 9:27 (ESV)

This is a proof text that Jesus only had to die once. He is not sacrificed over and over. That is the context. It is also biblical proof against reincarnation. It says nothing about our physical death being like Judgment Day. Judgment Day is the end of hope for an individual. The opposite is not well supported either, but at least the passage is in context.

6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.

1 Peter 4:6 (ESV)

The context is Jesus’s decent into Sheol. https://afterdeathsite.com/2017/03/14/christs-descent-into-hell-part-1/. It is not clear what can happen if a person dies without Jesus, but there is at least reason to feel that there is some hope.

The final preparatory thing I would suggest is to hold on to this life lightly. We all have things that we like to do and places we like to go. Realize that these are all temporary, that you can live without them, and that there are better things coming.  I like to golf, but I could quit right now.  I like to travel, but I don’t need to see everything.  This life is for fulfilling God’s plans for me, not entertainment.  

If we can internalize these things then what is left to grieve is the temporary loss of enjoying things together. That is something. We can also grieve that death is a thing at all. It is wages of death and that is regrettable. So sorrow isn’t a bad thing or a lack of faith. It doesn’t have to be crippling either. Crippling sorrow is dangerous. Not only does it rock the faith of an individual, it can diminish their usefulness in life, and create a negative family dynamic and could have impact for generations.

So prepare yourself. God’s love and promises are resources to grieve well. Ponder them.

Was It His or Her Time?

How should we understand disaster and how should we grieve when disaster impacts us? The author looks at the concept of death happening because of a spiritual cause or at an appointed time.

Recently, my brother-in-law witnessed an accident. A fourteen year old boy came flying down a street to a blind corner on an e-bike. He was from out-of-town and consequently didn’t know the street or apparently see the stop sign. He flew through the intersection and was hit by a car and thrown quite a distance. He didn’t make it. My brother-in-law was quite disturbed by what he saw. Understandably so. He later asked me, “Was it his time?”

The idea that there are appointed times does come from the Bible. There are appointed times for demons, Jesus’ return, the length of pestilence and other forms of punishment, day and night, gestation, and as Solomon and the Byrds said, “A time for every season under Heaven.” God knows the length of our days. There are plenty of instances where a person’s death is foretold, but is that the same as fore-ordained? I don’t think so.

It is hard to completely comprehend what it is like to be God and to transcend time. Our experience is completely within time. We experience things sequentially and cannot fathom not being within time.

To help understand my brother-laws question’s answer, let me ask some adjacent questions. Did God know that accident would happen? Yes. Did He cause that accident to happen? No. Why did it happen? The boy made a mistake. Could it have been avoided? Sure. Could God have stopped it? Yes. Why didn’t He? See below. God does cause some disasters to happen, but they are rare. Most disasters have no immediate spiritual causation. They are just the cause and effect of every factor involved.

The next biggest cause is apparently Satan. The Book of Job is a tough one to understand. Job and his friends think that God caused all things based on whether a person deserved it or not. The story of Job and later Jesus would refute that belief.

Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? I tell you no.

Luke 13:4-5a (ESV)

God didn’t cause Job’s suffering, Satan did. God didn’t even allow Job’s suffering unless you want to go way back and say that God allowed Satan his powers and his time. Satan punished Job to make a point that Job was not blameless. God only limited Job’s suffering. The tower in Siloam fell because of poor engineering or unsafe building practices, not the guilt of the workers or likely anything else.

We live in a world that is impacted by sin and the curse. “The curse”, a biblical term, seems to mean that God doesn’t tightly control what happens on Earth during this age. He hasn’t abandoned us. We would know it if He did. But the world does free wheel under cause-and-effect. The cause can be people’s sin or carelessness. The cause can be Satan influencing people or environment. The cause can be God’s intervention, but don’t expect God to prevent every evil or even many of them. In general, we are to feel the effects of the curse. It is what Adam and Eve got started.

When we grieve, we want to find something to blame or to change after-the-fact. God tends to get a lot of blame, usually for inaction. This reveals false assumptions about life. We think that this life should be fair, like Job and his friends. It is not. We think that this life is all there is or that it is the main thing for us. It is not. We think disaster can only happen to other people. It can happen to anyone, including us.

If we don’t blame God, we blame ourselves. That is not usually justified either. Yes, we could have taken another course of action and that would have changed cause-and-effect, but we cannot foresee many things like this. The pain of our grief needs to go somewhere else.

It is far better to ponder such questions when we are not clouded by pain and raw emotion. Job, a man of great faith, didn’t do so; and eventually blamed God for being unfair. God balled him out. Job retracted his accusations. He didn’t understand the scope of the events that led to his suffering. As tough as it was, he should have continued to trust God. I doubt that I could have done better, even with knowing the end of the story.

Knowing the “end” of this chapter of our story and of that of our loved ones can be a source of incredible strength. Losses like a tragic death are devastating. The boy’s death was upsetting to my brother-in-law, a mere bystander. It was far worse for the father, whom my brother-in-law saw fall to his knees. I sure they devastated the driver, who was keeping the law. We must grieve, but do not let such things destroy you. There is no point in that: it can have generation over generation negative effects, and it can imperil your salvation. If your understanding about life-after-death is strong and based on the tangible, reviewable evidence of God’s promise and action in Jesus, you will do much better. This isn’t a mind trick or wishful thinking. This is having right expectations about this life and the life to come.

Fear God

God has been my friend and my mentor since childhood. God has never done me wrong. Even in His seeming inaction, I have found hindsight eventually as to why He didn’t act. With that said, it is hard for me to have fear of God in the classic way we understand fear.

As part of a summer Bible reading program that I am doing in my congregation, we have recently read Luke 12 which has provided the topic for today:

4 “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. 5 But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!

Luke 12 :4-5 (ESV)

Because I know what Jesus did and why, and have a firm belief in the promise of God and God’s character, I don’t think of my future as potentially including Hell (here the word is Gehenna, a reference to post-Judgment Day punishment), but it would be wise to do so at least in theory. People fall away from grace. It happens. They can mangle the Gospel until it is ineffective (see Galatians), fail to forgive when required, wilt under difficulty or choke out because the temptations of the world. I don’t think about that happening to me. I don’t ponder it. But I need to respect that God sticks to the letter of His Law even when it costs Him. I don’t want my connection to Christ to become compromised. I have only Christ’s righteousness as my hope.

The context in which Jesus speaks these words is one of the original disciples potentially being afraid of what Jewish leaders might do to them. It is scary to confess Christ in an environment where that is not going to be accepted. Worse, if it will probably be persecuted. I don’t live in a family or society where being a Christian is actively persecuted, but I would like to think that, if I did, I would be brave enough and certain enough to not be afraid to confess Christ. My confession would be based on a love of God, not a fear of God. But fear of God wouldn’t be without reason.

8 “And I tell you, everyone who acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man also will acknowledge before the angels of God, 9 but the one who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of God.

Luke 12:8-9 (ESV)

Here is a picture of Judgment Day that I don’t often ponder. People are separated to Jesus’ right and to His left. Some of those put on the left feel like they should be on the right. Before the angels of God, they are denied by Jesus. “I don’t know you”, is how it is expressed in a different passage. “I don’t believe/know Jesus”, is what got them there.

Denying Jesus is exactly what Peter did three times. Peter dared to hope for forgiveness, and he found it. Jesus gave Peter the chance to confess him three times a bit later. It was a chance to do things in reverse. There is forgiveness for being cowardly. It is tougher when the denial is adopting a different worldview that excludes Jesus as your Savior. Usually, people in that situation don’t seek forgiveness, but even in that situation, there can be hope.

All of these brushes with a Judgment Day disaster can be avoided with a healthy, non-surreal, fear of God. How can one get to that point? I think a great place to start is to ponder these words of Jesus and visualize being brave before you actually have to be brave. If you know that you are in a dangerous situation, ask God for bravery. Peter just thought he had it. There is also a difference between genuinely denying Christ and being clever enough to serve another day. God is not looking for people to invite martyrdom. Take comfort in these words if you are potentially in such a situation:

the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

Luke 12:12 (ESV)

We are saved by God’s grace in the end, and not by being brave. Being brave may be pivotal in remaining with Christ. A healthy fear of God and the power of the Holy Spirit can provide these things.

Entering Through the Narrow Gate

The author reflects on a passage from Matthew 7:13-14, expressing concern over the “few” who will find the narrow way to life compared to the many destined for destruction. They discuss the implications of this truth, emphasizing the urgency of sharing the Gospel, and contemplate the meanings of destruction and the challenges of faith in Christ.

Perhaps one should not dislike a passage in the Bible. Yet, I cannot like the message of what I am writing about today. It is good to know. It is a regrettable truth. I doubt that God is happy about it. The passage that I am speaking about comes from the mouth of Jesus toward the end of the Sermon on the Mount. It says:

13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.

Matthew 7:13-14 (ESV)

The last word really bothers me, “few”. Few is a relative term. This indicates a minority when compared to those headed for destruction. If indeed that is what is being compared. The best I could hope for is that those saved are few compared to those who could be saved. The death of Jesus is enough for all mankind to be saved. No extra works are required, there just needs to be a connection made with Jesus. If 98% were saved, that could be construed as “few” compared to 100%. I really don’t think that is what is being said here, however.

Unfortunately it is way too easy to understand how you get to below 50%. Using the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8) as a model of understanding, many people end up being a hard path. Billions are confirmed adherents of other world religions that exclude Jesus from the role of savior. Access to the Gospel is not a problem. You can find it on the internet, hear it on the radio, come in contact with some Christian. But many have not had any real exposure to the Gospel. They do not seek what they do not know. That should bother us and motivate us to get the Word out there. It is likely that a large group will have their first real exposure to the Gospel in Sheol. I don’t have much information on this, but it aligns with Jesus’ apparent mission when he descends to Sheol after his death (1 Peter 3:18-20)https://afterdeathsite.com/2017/04/11/christs-descent-into-hell-part-5/

Other people will have plenty of exposure to the Gospel, but it is like seeds on a hardened path. They understand the concepts and it perhaps occupies their mind for a while, but the birds (Satan) snatches it away before it can take root. With those two groups alone, we are probably past 50%. Then there are the groups described as people who believe but are too shallow to have a resilient faith that can endure hardship or are those choked out by the cares of life, love of wealth, or love of the pleasures of life. With them we are probably way past 50% leaving only a relative few.

Another bothersome word in Matthew 7:13-14 is “destruction”. It is not a place name like Sheol or Gehenna. It is a description. I think “destruction” could describe either. Other descriptors for Sheol are “fire” and “worm” which are classic destroyers. If this is Sheol then it gives a dim hope. The hope is that the “many” enter the gates of Sheol but not necessarily the final judgment of Gehenna post-Judgement Day. But if I am honest, “destruction” sounds more like Gehenna. Little is said about Gehenna directly, but Jesus’ experience on the cross informs it. The spiritual punishment Jesus must endure under the Law is being forsaken. That will fall on the individual who is not connected to Christ.

When God completely pulls his presence from a place or person what should happen? Physics might suggest an increased rate of entropy at all levels. Does destruction come to an end when you are destroyed? Maybe. The Bible speaks of eternal punishment, but in what sense? Time needs to be understood as part of our reality and not transcending it. Time itself could be destroyed for the forsaken.

Finally, why describe the route to eternal life as “narrow” and “hard”? It is narrow because there is only one way to receive it, and that is Jesus. If Jesus were one choice among many, it would seem that the Father would have allowed Jesus to skip the misery of crucifixion, flogging, and forsakenness. But he did not. Those who don’t like the idea that Jesus is the only way deride it as a bigoted teaching. Unfortunately, I think it is a logical teaching that clearly is expressed in the Bible.

“Hard” seems out-of-place because we are saved by grace. We would not come to Jesus unless the Holy Spirit does the hard work of getting through to us with the Gospel. It is hard as humans to make the Gospel available to others. It was hard for Jesus to fulfill the Law and still suffer the ultimate punishment for sin. It is also hard to persevere in faith from the moment we are “in Christ” to the time of our death. As noted above, people fail to do so.

At the end of it all, what do you have? “Few”. The only consolation is that the relative few still constitutes millions if not billions of people.

Do You Feel Hopeless?

At some point in your life the future might have seemed full of possibilities. You had dreams and they seemed reachable. But as time ran on life got in the way. You had troubles. Things didn’t pan out. It became obvious that your vision of the future was not going to happen. Perhaps you can add to this your concerns about the world in general. The promise of unending human progress seems fenced in by unfixable problems.

It is hard to live when all you have is the routine, and the problems of life seem entrenched. Without hope it seems that life is not worth living. Too many people reach this point and then act on it. In fact, very few people live their dreams. There is only so much room to be famous athletes, entertainers, or great leaders. That doesn’t mean that only those people get to have hope. In fact, these roles aren’t as great as might think them. If this is your dream, then in some respects you are shooting too high and in others too low.

In it sinfully natural to want to set your own agenda for life. In the end, your personal agenda won’t count for much. God has a plan for each of us. This plan may not be recognized by other people. Currently, it may not be recognized by you. Rather it is recognized by God. It may not change the world as a whole, but it will definitely change a part of it. It may not be rewarded in this life with money and ease, but it will be rewarded on the Day.

God-given hope starts with something that we did not have the right to hope for. It is a whole tapestry of things that are the true meaning of life. It starts with the right to call the Creator of the all things, “Father”. Normal people are far too sinful to be this presumptuous. This relationship allows us to navigate any set of problems. It is true that aging and illness moves us closer to death, but even that isn’t negative. God’s grace to us moves into having a God-given role in life. We can count on having a purpose even when all health has failed us. We only have to be faithful in what prepares for us. We do not have to compete with the world. These things make some space for hope that life will remain purposeful and do-able, but the big payout is yet to come.

The gifts of God are heavily back-loaded. This life is important, but it is nothing compared to what comes after it. Without Jesus this would not be hopeful. God’s Law requires sinners to forever banished. When God forsakes a person all good things are gone and so is hope. Jesus get us past this Law. Because Jesus fulfills the requirements of the Law, and we can be connected to Jesus through faith and baptism, we have a promise of eternal life.

The Apostle Paul, who went through some serious stuff in life, says this:

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (ESV)

Energizing hope comes from being able to see what is “unseen”. That means that God has had enough time to marinate you in His love and promises so that you have a clear grasp of what is coming to you when you leave this life connected to Christ. This blog is for sharing with you what God has shared about this through the Bible. It is exciting. Because of God’s Word and his action throughout history and in my life, I have hope. That hope will carry me through anything that may happen from today until my death. I can do anything because it all is temporary. I know that my life purpose will change, but it will always be something. After that the true living will commence.

Would I ever consider taking my own life. Nope. Not even to cut the corner and get to Heaven. I have things to do here for God. Do I get discouraged. Not really. It is short-term discouragement at best. In the end I know that I win.

Is this hope a form of self-delusion? When you consider that the whole construction of the universe down to the tiniest detail of life is clearly designed by a vast intelligence, no. When you consider the prophecies pointing to Jesus from deep in time, and the eye-witnesses of Jesus willing to suffer for their testimony, and the giant emergence of Christianity in an environment of persecution, there is plenty of evidence that this hope stands on fact.

I have also had plenty of experience of God teaching me and changing me, encouraging me through prayer and people, working through me in ways that I cannot take the credit, that tells me my hope is well placed.

Is this hope just for me and not for you? God loves the whole world. God wants all people to be saved and come the knowledge of the truth. God wants you. I have hope that He can reach you no matter of how far away you have been and no matter how hopeless you currently are. If you have lost hope, take a look at what the Bible has promised to people in general and to you specifically. Read through the other articles in this blog and get the lay of the land. It is a very hopeful message.

And This Is Eternal Life

Eternal life, as defined by Jesus, emphasizes knowing God and Him as essential to true life, beyond mere existence. Jesus’ sacrificial glory on the cross enables Him to grant eternal life to believers. This connection with God begins when faith is recognized and culminates in baptism, leading to a fulfilling existence in Heaven.

Eternal life can be seen as a conscious existence in an ideal place with an ideal body without end. Jesus, at the beginning of His “high priestly” prayer in John 17, gives a different perspective.

“Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.

John 17:1b-3 (ESV)

While Jesus would speak later about the “glory” He had with the Father before the world existed and His desire to return to that, the glory He speaks of here is His victory on the cross. Being crucified and forsaken by God is about as inglorious as it comes, but in Jesus’ situation He is doing it out of love for the Father and for us and for obedience to the Father’s plan. There is great glory in that.

Jesus will do this because He has been given “authority over all flesh”. Jesus has ultimate right to judge all humanity. That is part of His authority. But here it is the authority to give eternal life. He is in position to be the sacrifice for sin and thus bestow eternal life because: He is human, He has been sinless, and the Father has chose Him for the role. At the time of this prayer, Jesus is ready to get it done.

Verse 3 is an enlightening observation. To have eternal life is to know the Father and Jesus. Eternal life is not just eternal existence or consciousness. Those who find themselves in the final punishment of Hell will also exist and be conscious. You can’t call that “life”. That is eternal death because you are forsaken by God at that point. Life is being in connection and relationship with God. All good things come from God. Any joy of living comes when you have some degree of knowing God.

Are you alive in that sense when you are physically alive on Earth but don’t have any connection to God? The Bible would say no:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked,

Ephesians 2:1-2a (ESV)

In this situation we are still physically alive on Earth, we are not forsaken by God, but we do not “know” Him either. The same is true for those in Sheol. They are not forsaken yet, but clearly they are not living. They merely exist.

Life truly starts when Jesus “connects” us to himself. I use the word “connect” for lack of a better term. The connection is not a cognitive belief, because people who are too young or brain damaged can have this connection. It is not something that you can will for yourself. God gives it. For people of normal cognition, this happens when God breaks through whatever barrier exists in the human mind and/or soul or spirit and gives us a recognition that the story of Jesus is real and that the promise of God to give eternal life is true and that we now trust it. The next step is baptism, which is where Jesus promises to make this connection. At this point we are “in Christ”. We also “know” Him at this point. The actual mechanics of this at God’s level are not explained to us.

This life will carry over seamlessly through death and into a conscious existence in Heaven, unless we somehow separate ourselves from Jesus.

Heaven and the New Earth will be characterized by many joys which are all the creation of God. Chief among these joys is our ongoing and expanded interaction with God. It will be life to speak to Jesus face-to-face. It will be life to experience every way that the Holy Spirit and the Father manifest themselves in us and in our space.

As a Christian you are alive right now. Greater levels of life will be evident once we get rid of our sin-damaged flesh. That is something to look forward to.

The Current Kingdom of God

John the Baptist and Jesus spoke of the “Kingdom of God,” which signifies God’s reign rather than a worldly kingdom. Jesus’ life and sacrifice shifted heavenly authority, breaking Satan’s hold over humanity. While some expect a political kingdom, a true reign of God exists in believers’ hearts, with a future establishment on Earth.

“The Kingdom of God is near”, that is what John of the Baptist declared. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”, that is what Jesus often said. Are they the same thing? What exactly is being referred to? What is “near”?

It would be nice is the Bible had a glossary. Then you could know for sure the meaning of every term. As it stands you largely have to depend on context to figure out certain terms.

So what context do we have? Let’s start with the definition of a “kingdom”. That is where a king reigns. When talking about Jesus, you might want to say that He reigns everywhere, since He has created the universe with the Spirit and His Father and has been given authority over all things; but the wording of the Bible suggests that Jesus isn’t the “King” of this world, at least not yet. The Bible speaks like Satan is more of the ruler here:

2 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

Ephesians 2:2 (ESV)

Heaven is surely different. But when you look in the Old Testament for references about Satan, you find Him in Heaven. He may not be in charge, but He seems to have free rein. What is going on?

When John the Baptist or Jesus said the Kingdom of God is near, they were not being fast and loose with the definition of near. Within a few years there would be a major event that not only changed leadership in Heaven but it is also created a change of leadership within individuals on Earth. It did not create a worldly political kingdom, just yet. Jesus’ successful obedience to God’s Law all the way to death, and His subjection to being forsaken by His Father essentially broke the legal leverage that Satan held over all human beings. That “leverage” was the if Satan were damned for his disobedience, humanity would have to go with him. We were “captives” or better yet “hostages”. God didn’t want to damn all of humanity, nor is He the type of being to arbitrarily suspend His own Law. Having Jesus do the work and creating a means that we can be connected to Jesus, was God’s way of fulfilling His Law and saving people.

Jesus’ life and death changed the leadership in Heaven. Without the leverage mentioned above, it was just Satan’s power against God’s and Satan lost.

7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 10 And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

Revelation 12:7-10 (ESV)

Notice that when Satan and his angels are cast out of Heaven, only then the Kingdom of God and the authority of His chosen one (Christ) has come to Heaven, not before. This is why Jesus tells Pontius Pilate that His kingdom was not of this world.

For those who expect God’s kingdom to be an earthly, political entity this is disappointing, and they tend to deny that Jesus is the Christ. The benefits to people are far superior this way, however. First, we didn’t have a place in Heaven. There is not promise of our dwelling in Heaven ever in the Old Testament. This is a big add-on.

Also, God can now reign in us. We may still have a sinful nature that influences our will, but Satan has no internal influence. The Holy Spirit does. Satan must work with externals. In that situation, the Kingdom of God has come to us. It is what we pray to continue or to come to others when we say in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come.”

Will there ever be an earthly “political” kingdom of God? Yes. In due time. When God brings about Judgement Day and creates a New Earth, God will live and reign here. In this arrangement Jesus fulfills all of the Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah being a King and having a reign.