What will happen when Christ comes back? (part 4)

He will destroy the old creation

We learned in First Corinthians that the dead are resurrected “at his coming” (15: 23). The very next sentence says, “Then cometh the end” (15: 24). The end of what? After all God’s enemies are defeated, and all the dead are resurrected and judged, then what comes to an end?

To find out, we don’t need to consult prophecy “experts.” We only need to consult Scripture.

Peter sheds more light on this “end.” He tells us that the entire universe has a rendezvous with fire: “…the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men” (2 Peter 3: 7). So in a great conflagration the universe will end. And when does this happen? At “the day of judgment,” which is a day of perdition (spiritual ruin) for ungodly men. In case the message was lost on anyone, Peter goes on to state it more explicitly: “…the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Peter 3: 10). This passage leaves no room for figurative interpretations. The stars and planets will literally pass away. The elements—the very foundational units of all matter—will dissolve. The earth and everything on it will be incinerated. This is the end of the old creation and it happens right after the resurrection and judgment. As Christ told his disciples, the judgment of the just and the unjust will occur “at the end of the world” (Matthew 13: 49).

God promised us He would create “a new heaven and a new earth.” But before He can do so He must do away with the old. “For, behold,” he told Isaiah, “I create new heavens and a new earth: and the former shall not be remembered, nor come into mind” (Isaiah 65: 17). John recorded a vision of this promise being fulfilled in the next to last chapter of the Bible: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” (Revelation 21: 1). In John’s account, just as in Paul’s and Peter’s, this occurs immediately after the resurrection and judgment. And, as we have seen stated clearly in Scripture, the resurrection and judgment occur at Christ’s second coming.

This presents an insurmountable problem for those who claim that Christ is going to return to be a political leader on our present sin-cursed earth for many centuries to come. If the universe is burned up and passes away on Judgment Day, and if Judgment Day occurs at His coming, there will be no Earth left to govern.

What will happen when Christ comes back? (part 3)

He will judge everyone

The day of Christ’s return will be what Christians throughout the ages have called “Judgment Day.” Not only will all men be resurrected simultaneously, they will all be judged and sentenced to their eternal place of residence. Like the destruction of the wicked and the resurrection of the dead, the judgment ceremony occurs “at his coming.”

Christ Himself spells this out in language that is anything but cryptic:

“When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world…..Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels…… And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25: 31-46).

Notice this judgment is eternal. It’s not an earthly punishment but a permanent sentence to take effect immediately. Paul describes the same day of judgment in Romans:

“And thinkest thou this, O man…that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?...But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; Who will render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath” (Romans 2: 5-8).

Paul equates the “day of wrath” to the “revelation of the righteous judgment of God.” It will be a day of wrath for the wicked: a day of judgment for all. As with the previous passage it’s clear that this judgment is permanent. It will result in either “eternal life” or “indignation and wrath” (what Christ in the previous passage called “everlasting punishment”).

In Revelation, John paints another picture of Judgment Day:

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books…and they were judged every man….And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20: 12-15).

Now as we look at the same event from different angles we notice unmistakable overlapping. In Matthew we read “When the Son of Man shall come in his glory,” then “shall he sit upon the throne” and “before him shall be gathered all nations.” From this passage in Revelation we see “a great white throne and him that sat on it” and “the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened” and “the dead were judged….” These are the same event.

Christ gave us yet another view of Judgment Day with this analogy:

“…the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just” (Matthew 13: 47-49).

There are few teachings in Scripture more obvious than the judgment of all men at the last day. No one should be able to say they didn’t get the picture. Yet, surprisingly, many Christian leaders teach that several centuries will separate the judgment of the just from the judgment of the unjust. Such a doctrine is found nowhere in Scripture. It would make all the above passages meaningless. If we remember to consult Scripture alone, however, then God’s simple plan remains clear and consistent.

What will happen when Christ comes back? (part 2)

He will resurrect all the dead

Even this guy

Everyone who ever lived in history will be bodily resurrected and will ultimately fall into one of two classes. Christ made this crystal clear when He told His disciples “the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his [the Son of Man’s] voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5: 28, 29).

Remember the “shout” Paul wrote about when Christ descends? It immediately preceded the dead rising. Christ is here talking about the same event: the dead will hear His voice and come forth. How many of the dead does He say are resurrected? “All.” He then immediately divides “all” into two classes. Notice, too, that Christ says this happens at the same time—the same hour.

Paul makes reference to the same thing in a speech to Governor Felix: “…there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust” (Acts 24: 15).

There’s no ambiguity about who is raised up: both the just and the unjust. And how many resurrections will it take to achieve this? “A” resurrection (singular). The plain meaning of the sentence limits this to a single event.

In another passage, Christ tells His followers, “And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day” (John 6: 40).

How many who believed will be raised up? “Every one.” And when will “every one” be raised up? “At the last day”; not centuries before the last day. Here Christ is addressing the topic of believers only, but as the previous verses make clear, the “just and unjust” are resurrected simultaneously.

In Revelation we get another vision of the resurrection: “I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God… the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them” (20: 12, 13). Are only some of the dead raised up? No. The phrase “great and small” implies everyone from the least to the greatest. Homeless beggars will stand next to pharaohs. Nameless slaves will stand next to presidents and kings. Are any of the dead left out? No. Even those buried at the bottom of the sea are not forgotten. The passage goes on to explain that this resurrection immediately precedes the judgment and the destruction of earth: “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea” (20: 15; 21: 1).

All of the above passages, taken as a whole, suggest that there will be one general resurrection of all bodies at the last day.