The Final Day

The New Testament moves inexorably from the death of Jesus to the last hour when God will judge the wicked and reward the righteous.

Passages in the New Testament that describe the return of Jesus base his future triumph on his past Death and Resurrection. His crucifixion and subsequent resurrection and enthronement inaugurated “the Last Days,” the final era of Human History that will culminate with the arrival of the Son of Man, the resurrection of the dead, and the judgment of the wicked.

The New Testament in general, and the Book of Revelation in particular, link the final events that will conclude the present age to the Death, Resurrection, and Enthronement of Jesus of Nazareth. His sacrificial death launched the redemptive plan of God that will conclude with the vindication of the righteous and the final punishment of the Devil and those who serve him.

[Stopwatch - Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash]

At the conclusion of his ‘Olivet Discourse,’ Jesus gave the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. On the day when the “Son of Man arrives in glory,” all nations will be judged by the Son of Man. He will divide humanity into two groups: those who will receive “everlasting destruction,” and those who receive “everlasting life” – (Matthew 25:31-46).

The Book of Revelation does not include this parable, but its visions reflect the same process of sifting humanity that began at Calvary. This will continue until the end of the age when Jesus arrives. Those who follow the “Lamb wherever he leads” will inherit life in New Jerusalem. Men and women who give their allegiance to the “Beast from the Sea,” will partake of the second death. There will be no third alternative.

In his death, Jesus became “the Faithful Witness,” and “the Firstborn of the Dead” upon his resurrection. Consequently, he now reigns supreme over the Cosmos. He is “the Ruler of the kings of the Earth,” and his realm extends to the “uttermost parts of the earth” as foretold in the Second Psalm.

Even now, his servants are proclaiming his good news and lordship to every nation, and they must continue doing so until the moment of Christ’s return. The announcement of the Good News stimulates the sifting and judgment of mankind as men and women respond to Jesus, some positively, others negatively:

• “Yet I have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. I will tell of the decree: Yahweh said to me, You are my son! This day, I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession. You will shepherd them with a rod of iron. You will dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel” – (Psalm 2:6-9).

• “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth” – (Acts 1:8).

• “And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole habitable earth, for a testimony unto all the nations; and then the end will come” – (Matthew 24:14).

The Son of Man is shepherding the nations. Like any good caretaker, he is separating “the sheep from the goats” in preparation for the hour when he will gather his flock to himself and judge his enemies – (Matthew 25:31-46 – “Depart from me into the everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels”).

• “And then the sign of the Son of man will appear in heaven. And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send forth his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” – (Matthew 24:30-31).

• “And there will come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots will bear fruit. <…> And he will set up an ensign for the nations, and will assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth” – (Isaiah 11:1, 12).

• “I saw in the night visions, and behold, there came with the clouds of heaven one like a son of man, and he came even to the ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and tongues should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom that which will not be destroyed” – (Daniel 7:13-14).

The final settlement of accounts will not occur until the day when all men are gathered before “the Great White Throne of Judgment.” Every man and woman whose name is “written in the Lamb’s Book of Life” will receive everlasting life. However, everyone whose name is not found in the Book will be cast “into the Lake of Fire.” Life is granted to every human being who has been “purchased by the blood of the Lamb.” How we respond to the Crucified Messiah determines our fate – (Revelation 5:9-10, 20:11-15).

• “And to you who are afflicted, rest with us at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, rendering vengeance to those who know not God, and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus, who will suffer punishment, everlasting destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, <…> on that day” – (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10).

• “Behold, I come quickly. And my reward is with me, to render to each man according to his works. <…> Blessed are they who wash their robes, that they may have the right to come to the tree of life, and they may enter in by the gates into the city. Without are the dogs, and the sorcerers, and the fornicators, and the murderers, and the idolaters, and everyone loving and doing falsehood” – (Revelation 22:12-15).

TO THE CHURCHES

In the city of Sardis, the Risen Jesus, who has “the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars,” summons the congregation to repent and remain vigilant, otherwise, he will “come as a thief,” and there is no way for the church to know “in what hour I will come upon you” – (Revelation 3:1-3).

To the saints of Philadelphia, the one who has “the key of David” promises to keep them from “the Hour of Trial” that is coming on “the whole habitable earth.”

In the Book of Revelation, this final hour represents the time of judgment. The promise to the church is not escape from trials and persecution, but that overcoming saints will receive everlasting life rather than judgment and everlasting death – (Revelation 3:10).

• “To him who overcomes, I will give to him to eat of the tree of life that is in the midst of the paradise of God” – (Revelation 2:7).

• “He that has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death” – (Revelation 2:11).

• “He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments; and I will certainly not blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches” – (Revelation 3:5-6).

• “He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will go out from there no more. And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is descending out of heaven from my God, and my own new name” – (Revelation 3:12).

THE TIME OF JUDGMENT

The opening of the Sixth Seal in Chapter 6 reveals the day of wrath, the hour of the judgment of the Lamb on men and women who reject him. For all those who have followed the Beast rather than the Lamb, there will be no escape:

• “The stars of heaven will fall to the earth, and the heavens will be withdrawn as a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island will be shaken out of their place. <…> And the kings of the earth, and the princes, and the chief captains, and the rich, and the strong, and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains; and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him who is sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. for the great day of their wrath is come, and who is able to stand?” - (Revelation 6:12-17).

In Chapter 9, when the Sixth Trumpet sounds, four angels are released that have been “prepared for the hour and day and month and year.” When the Seventh Trumpet is heard, the final victory of the kingdom of God is declared and the hour of judgment arrives - (Revelation 9:14-15, 11:11-19).

• “And the seventh angel sounded. And there followed great voices in heaven, and they said, The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. And he will reign forever and ever. <…> And the nations were enraged. And your wrath came, and the time of the dead to be judged, and to give their reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear your name, the small and the great, and to destroy those who destroy the earth” - (Revelation 11:11-18).

Likewise, when the Sixth Bowl of Wrath is emptied, the kings of the Earth will be gathered to the final battle on the last day, and the forces of the Beast and the servants of the Dragon will be annihilated at “Armageddon”:

• “And the sixth angel poured out his bowl upon the great river, Euphrates. And its waters were dried up that the way might be prepared for the kings that come from the sunrising. <...> For they are spirits of demons, working signs, which go forth to the kings of the whole habitable earth, to gather them together to the war of the great day of God, the Almighty. Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watches and guards his garments, so that he does not walk naked and they see his shame. And they gathered them to the place, which is called in Hebrew, Armageddon” – (Revelation 16:12-16).

In Chapter 14, an angel proclaims: “The hour of his judgment has come,” which will cause the fall of Babylon and the destruction of those who give their allegiance to the Beast. This event will culminate in two “harvests” (“For the harvest of the earth is ripe”): The reaping of the righteous, and the “ingathering of the vine of the earth,” and the latter will be cast into “the winepress of the wrath of God” - (Revelation 14:6-20).

Likewise, in Chapter 18, we read of the destruction of Babylon, which will occur in one hour:

• “And the kings of the earth who committed fornication and lived wantonly with her will weep and wail over her, when they look upon the smoke of her burning, standing far off for the fear of her torment, saying, Woe, woe, the great city, Babylon, the strong city, for in one hour your judgment is come” - (Revelation 18:10, 18:17-19).

The three sevenfold series of Seals, Trumpets and Bowls of Wrath all conclude in judgment. When the Sixth Seal is opened, the day of wrath arrives for the unrepentant. The Seventh Trumpet signals the arrival of the day of judgment for the wicked and the vindication of the righteous. The Seventh Bowl completes God’s wrath, and like the opening of the Sixth Seal, it produces terrestrial and cosmic upheaval - (Revelation 6:12-17, 11:15-19).

• “And the seventh angel poured out his bowl upon the air. And there came forth a great voice out of the temple, from the throne, saying, It is finished! And there were lightnings, and voices, and claps of thunder, and there was a great earthquake, such as was not since there were men upon the earth, so great an earthquake, so mighty. And the great city was divided into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. And Babylon the great was remembered in the sight of God, to give to her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. And every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And great hailstones about the weight of a talent came down out of the heavens upon men. And men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail” - (Revelation 16:17-21).

The Book of Revelation is about much more than History’s final few years. Its visions provide us with insights into the great cosmic war that has been waged between the Lamb and the Dragon since the enthronement of Jesus. This conflict will end with the Son of Man’s final victory, the judgment and punishment of the wicked, and the descent from Heaven of the holy city, New Jerusalem.

All this began with the same Jesus of Nazareth who first appeared in Galilee proclaiming the Kingdom of God, the Messiah who “gave his life a ransom for many.” His return will consummate all things and bring total victory over sin, Satan and death.

• “And there will be no curse any longer. And the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants shall serve him. And they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads” – (Revelation 22:3-4).

And this is why the Book of Revelation concludes with the exclamation: “Yea! I come speedily. Amen! Indeed, come, Lord Jesus!”

For the “overcoming” saint, the last hour will mean vindication and everlasting life. However, for the impenitent man, the arrival of Jesus will result in the second death, “everlasting destruction from the face of the Lord.” We are each being sifted and evaluated now by how we react to Jesus and his Good News, but we will receive our well-deserved and final wages when Christ returns, whether reward or punishment.

Thus, when the clock strikes twelve, for the man who has rejected the Lamb, it will be too late.

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SEE ALSO:

• The Death of Death - (The return of Jesus in great glory will result in the resurrection of the righteous dead, and the end of Death itself - 1 Corinthians 15:24-28)

• The End - (The return of Jesus at the “end of the age” is portrayed as a singular event of great finality)

• The Son of Man - (The figure of the Son of Man in the Book of Daniel is the source of Christ’s self-designation, the Son of Man)

• Worthy is the Lamb! - (The reign of Jesus on the Divine Throne is based on his sacrificial death and resurrection, the unshakable basis of his universal authority)