judgment

Day of the Lord

“The day of the Lord holds an important place in prophecy. Old Testament prophets declared that it signaled judgment for Israel. Several prophets referred to it as God’s day of judgment upon individual nations, such as Babylon, Egypt, Edom, and others. Zechariah 14:1-4 explains that the events pertaining to Christ’s second advent are included in the day of the Lord” (note on 1 Thessalonians 5:2). This passage states:

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. (Zechariah 14:1-4)

Paul’s focus on the day of the Lord in his first letter to the Thessalonians was in the context of Christ’s return (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18). Paul said that it “will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians 5:2). If the day of the Lord began after Christ’s second advent, “it could not come as a ‘thief in the night,’ unexpected and unheralded, since that particular advent is accompanied by signs (Matthew 24:30, 31). Consequently, the only way these events could occur unexpectedly would be for them to begin immediately after the rapture of the church. The day of the Lord, therefore, is that extended period of time when God will deal with Israel after the rapture of the church. It will continue through the second advent and the millennial age, which precedes the creation of the new heaven and new earth. God will actively intervene throughout the time period to punish sin” (note on 1 Thessalonians 5:2).

Isaiah’s prophesy about the day of the Lord made it clear that the Lord will establish his exalted position on the earth (Isaiah 2:11) and he will at that time rid the world of all idol worship (Isaiah 2:20). Isaiah said:

For the Lord of hosts has a day
    against all that is proud and lofty,
    against all that is lifted up—and it shall be brought low…
And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled,
    and the lofty pride of men shall be brought low,
    and the Lord alone will be exalted in that day.
And the idols shall utterly pass away.
And people shall enter the caves of the rocks
    and the holes of the ground,
from before the terror of the Lord,
    and from the splendor of his majesty,
    when he rises to terrify the earth. (Isaiah 2:12-19)

The title used in Isaiah 2:12, LORD of Hosts refers to God’s position of leadership over both human and heavenly armies and therefore, signifies Christ’s intention of conquering the world when he returns to earth. Isaiah’s statement, “And the haughtiness of man shall be humbled; and the lofty pride of man shall be brought low” (Isaiah 2:17) suggests that mankind’s usurping of God’s authority is the main driver behind God’s use of force to regain control of the world that he created and which rightfully belongs to him.

Jesus’ disciples and others whom he taught did not completely understand the purpose of the day of the Lord, nor did they initially comprehend the reason for the removal of Christians before it began. Jesus used parables to describe the events that were going to take place (Matthew 21:33-22:14) and only explained certain details to his twelve apostles before his death (Matthew 24:15-31). On one occasion, Jesus responded to a question from the Pharisees about when the kingdom of God would come by telling them it had already arrived. Then, Jesus told his disciples what to expect at the time of his second coming. Jesus said:

“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

And he said to the disciples, “The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. And they will say to you, ‘Look, there!’ or ‘Look, here!’ Do not go out or follow them. For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it. I tell you, in that night there will be two in one bed. One will be taken and the other left. There will be two women grinding together. One will be taken and the other left.” And they said to him, “Where, Lord?” He said to them, “Where the corpse is, there the vultures will gather.” (Luke 17:20-37)

Paul’s statement that the Lord would come like a thief in the night (1 Thessalonians 5:2) echoed Jesus’ sentiment that people will be caught off guard in the days of the Son of Man (Luke 17:24). Jesus compared the initiation of the day of the Lord to the days of Noah and the days of Lot when God destroyed everyone. Paul said, “While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security.’ Then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape” (1Thessalonians 5:3).

Unlike the Jews who were warned about the sudden destruction that was awaiting them in the day of the Lord, believers in Christ welcomed Jesus’ return and expected the day of the Lord to be a time of great celebration. Paul described the event as a moment of immediate transformation that would result in immortality. Paul said, “I tell you this, brothers, flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (1 Corinthians 15:50-52). The Greek word that is translated changed, allasso (al-lasˊ-so) means “to make different…to change for the better” (G236). Allasso also appears in Hebrews 1:11-12 where the final destruction of the earth is described. Quoting from Psalm 102:25-27, the writer states, “You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the work of your hands; they will perish, but you remain; they will all wear out like a garment, like a robe you will roll them up, like a garment they will be changed.”

“God did not intend for the earth to be eternal…the most graphic account of the end of the entire physical universe is found in 2 Peter 3:10” (note on Genesis 8:21-22). Peter’s account of the day of the Lord focused on the destruction of the ungodly. Peter said scoffers will come in the last days, “following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation. For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and the earth that now exists are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (2 Peter 3:3-7). Peter cautioned believers to not overlook the fact that God’s timing is not the same as ours. Peter said, “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 3:9).

Peter concluded his discussion of the day of the Lord by refocusing his readers’ attention from the bad news to the good news of Christ’s return. Second Peter 3:11-13 states, “Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” Revelation 21:1 tells us that a new heaven and new earth will be created after the great white throne judgment (Revelation 20:11-15). “The new heaven and the new earth are not duplicates of the heaven and earth that now exist. The word ‘new’ is a translation of the Greek word kainon (2537), which means ‘qualitatively new.’ To some, this suggests that the new earth will be as the current earth was at its creation” (note on Revelation 21:1-22:5). The connection between believers being changed (allasso, 1 Corinthians 15:51) and the earth being changed (allasso, Hebrews 1:12) suggests though, that there will be at least one difference between the current earth and the new one. The new earth will be imperishable. Paul said, “When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (1 Corinthians 15:54).

Set free from sin

Paul’s explanation of Christ’s substitutionary death on the cross in the book of Romans was intended to establish the basis for believers being justified by faith. Paul said, “Therefore since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:1-2). Paul went on to say that because of one man’s trespass, death reigned, but those who receive Christ’s free gift of salvation will “receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness” and will reign in life (Romans 5:17). The Greek words thanatos (death) and zoe (life) were used by Paul to depict the two states of being that humans can exist in. “Often in the Septuagint, thanatos has the sense of destruction, perdition, misery, implying both physical death and exclusion from the presence and favor of God in consequence of sin and disobedience. Opposed to zoe (2222), life and blessedness (Septuagint: Deuteronomy 30:19; Proverbs 11:19; 12:28). In the New Testament, this sense is applied with more definitiveness to the gospel plan of salvation, and as zoe is used to denote the bliss and glory of the kingdom of God including the idea of a joyful resurrection, so thanatos is used for the opposite, i.e. rejection from the kingdom of God. This includes the idea of physical death as aggravated by eternal condemnation; sometimes with the idea of physical death being more prominent, and other times subsequent perdition being more prominent (John 8:51; Romans 6:16, 21, 23; 7:5, 10; 8:2, 6; 2 Corinthians 2:16; 3:7; 2 Timothy 1:10; Hebrews 2:15; James 5:20; 1 John 3:14; 5:16, 17). Called also the second death (Revelation 2:11; 20:6, 14; 21:8), referring to eternal spiritual separation from God” (G 2288). Paul concluded, “Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life” (Romans 5:18).

Paul’s explanation of what happens when a person is baptized indicated that just as Jesus Christ died and was raised back to life, so everyone who identifies himself with Christ’s death and resurrection will experience the same thing. Paul asked:

Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)

Paul went on to explain that it is the believer’s union with Christ that causes him to be set free from sin and to walk in newness of life. Paul stated:

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Romans 6:5-11)

Paul made note of the fact that one who has died has been set free from sin (Romans 6:7) and death no longer has dominion over him (Romans 6:9). Dominion refers to having absolute authority over someone (G2962). Jesus told his followers, “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). The Greek word that is translated set free in Romans 6:7 is dikaioo (dik-ah-yoˊ-o). This is the word that Paul used when he talked about being justified by faith (Romans 3:28, 30; 5:1). Therefore, being set from sin is related to God’s justification of those who put their faith in Christ.

Although justification by faith is a declaration that a person has been restored to a state of righteousness through belief and trust in the work of Christ rather than on the basis of his own accomplishment, Paul indicated that being set free from sin involves an act of one’s will. Paul instructed believers to, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness” (Romans 6:12-13). Presenting our members to sin has to do with us being in the immediate vicinity or proximity of something that we know is morally wrong and could cause us to sin. Instead, we must stay close to God and be ready and willing to do what he wants us to.

Paul equated being set free from sin to becoming slaves of righteousness. Paul explained:

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

Paul indicated that becoming slaves of righteousness leads to sanctification, the resultant state of purification that enables us to be holy as God is holy. “The only kind of sin whose power is broken in the lives of people is canceled sin—sin that has already been punished in Christ’s death and forgiven through faith. Thus is it necessary to fight sin in the strength and in the freedom of that gracious reality. Believers in Christ can be victorious over sin only because—and must be victorious over sin precisely because—Christ has conquered sin in them by virtue of his death and resurrection. As has already been implied, however, the believer enjoys this decisive victory over the dominion of sin as a result of union with Christ, his heart and life are not totally purified. Though the penalty of sin is paid and the power of sin is broken, the presence of sin still remains in the believer’s flesh and therefore must continually be put to death. Thus the sanctification that begins definitively at regeneration necessarily continues throughout the entirety of the Christian life. This continuous aspect of sanctification is called progressive sanctification” (Biblical Doctrine, MacArthur and Mayhue, p. 635).

Paul concluded his discussion of being set free from sin with a reminder of the spiritual endowment that believers receive as a result of being adopted into God’s family. Paul stated, “For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at the time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have becomes slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:20-23). Paul linked sanctification to the end result or final outcome of eternal life. Revelation 21:1 tells us that after the second death, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, “for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away” and “the dwelling place of God is with man” (Revelation 21:3). John indicated God himself will be with his people, and “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall their be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4). The fact that former things have passed away is an indicator that in eternal life there will be no reminders of the sin that was once a part of our daily lives.

God’s kingdom

God’s covenant with Abraham was based on a promise that he would make of him a great nation (Genesis 12:2). After the Israelites were delivered from slavery in Egypt, and were preparing to enter and take possession of the land that God told Abraham he would give him, Moses said, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth” (Deuteronomy 7:6). About 400 years into their existence as a nation, Israel demanded that a king be placed over them. It says in 1 Samuel 8:4-5, “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, ‘Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the nations.’” From a biblical standpoint, judgment is the primary function of a king and is based on his authority over the people. Since God is the source of all authority, he “will eventually conduct all judgments (Psalm 96:13)” (H8199). Abraham identified the LORD as “the Judge of all the earth” (Genesis 18:28).

Samuel was upset that the people wanted to have a king appointed over them, but God told him, “Obey the voice of the people in all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected me from being king over them” (1 Samuel 8:7). God said the people of Israel had rejected him, which meant they had refused to accept his authority. In spite of this, God granted Israel’s request and chose Saul, then David to lead the nation of Israel. After David was established as King of Israel. God made a covenant with him that expanded on and clarified God’s promises to Abraham. “It represents an unconditional promise to David that he would be the father of an everlasting kingdom” (note on 2 Samuel 7:4-16). The LORD told David:

“I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, that you should be princeover my people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you went and have cut off all your enemies from before you. And I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth. And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may dwell in their own place and be disturbed no more. And violent men shall afflict them no more, as formerly, from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover, the Lord declares to you that the Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me.Your throne shall be established forever.” (2 Samuel 7:8-16)

When God said that David’s son would build a house for his name and he would establish the throne of his kingdom forever, he was referring initially to Solomon, but this promise was ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, who was identified as the “’Son of David’ (Luke 1:31-33; Acts 2:25-35)” (note on 2 Samuel 7:13).

The books of First and Second Chronicles were originally one book and the generally accepted author of them was Ezra, the man who led Israel’s effort to rebuild the temple of God after they were released from captivity in Babylon. These books restated the history of Israel and Judah as it related to their spiritual condition. Second Chronicles opens with Solomon worshipping at Gibeon and praying for wisdom. Solomon prayed, “O LORD God, let your word to David my father be now fulfilled, for you have made me king over a people as numerous as the dust of the earth. Give me now wisdom and knowledge to go out and come in before this people, for who can govern this people of yours, which is so great?” (2 Chronicles 1:9-10). The Hebrew word that is translated govern here is the same word that is translated judge in 1 Samuel 8:4-5. Solomon realized that he had been placed in a position that belonged to God and so he asked for God’s help to carry out his responsibility. Solomon asked God for wisdom and knowledge, qualities that only God could give him. “God imparted wisdom to His people by His Spirit (Exodus 31:3), but His Anointed One, the Messiah, the Branch, would have His Spirit rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom (Isaiah 11:2), in abundance” (H2451). In this respect, King Solomon and Jesus Christ were much alike. God told Solomon, “Because this was in your heart, and you have not asked for possessions, wealth, honor, or the life of those who hate you, and have not even asked for long life, but have asked for wisdom and knowledge for yourself that you may govern my people over whom I have made you king, wisdom and knowledge are granted to you. I will also give you riches, possessions, and honor, such as none of the kings had who were before you, and none after you shall have the like” (2 Chronicles 1:11-12).

An example of Solomon’s wisdom in judging his people is described in 1 Kings 3:13-27. Two prostitutes came to him, each of them claiming to be the mother of an infant that one of the women was likely carrying in her arms. 1 Kings 3:23-28 states:

Then the king said, “The one says, ‘This is my son that is alive, and your son is dead’; and the other says, ‘No; but your son is dead, and my son is the living one.’” And the king said, “Bring me a sword.” So a sword was brought before the king. And the king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her heart yearned for her son, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means put him to death.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him.” Then the king answered and said, “Give the living child to the first woman, and by no means put him to death; she is his mother.” And all Israel heard of the judgment that the king had rendered, and they stood in awe of the king, because they perceived that the wisdom of God was in him to do justice.

The people determined it was the wisdom of God that had resulted in justice being done for the mother of the living child, and they respected Solomon because God had given him the ability to judge in the same way he would.

Psalm 72 gives a closer look at Solomon’s desire for justice in Israel. Solomon prayed, “Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!…May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!” (Psalm 72:1, 4). Solomon associated defending the cause of the poor and giving deliverance to the children of the needy with the salvation that only comes from God (H3467). As Solomon continued his prayer, it is evident that what he had on his mind when he prayed this prayer was the future Messiah’s kingdom on earth. Solomon prayed, “In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, til the moon be no more! May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!…For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper. He has pity on the weak and the needy and saves the lives of the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight” (Psalm 72:7-8, 12-14). The Hebrew word that is translated redeems, gaʾal (gaw-alˊ) is used theologically to convey both “God’s redemption of individuals from spiritual death and His redemption of the nation of Israel from Egyptian bondage and also from exile (see Exodus 6:6)” (H1350).

The Apostle Paul said in his letter to the Romans that we should not pass judgment on one another because we will all stand before the judgment seat of God (Romans 14:10). Paul asked:

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confessto God.”

So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. (Romans 14:10-12)

Paul explained in his second letter to the Corinthians that the reason we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ is “so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10). “This accounting has nothing to do with justification, which is credited to the Christian fully and forever through faith in Christ; instead, it refers to what we have done with our lives as Christians (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:11-15)” (note on 2 Corinthians 5:10, KJSB). Jesus referred to rewards that believers will receive in his parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) and then, went on to talk about the judgment. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:31-34).

Like everyone else

God’s miraculous deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt was an important turning point in the nation’s history. Numerous times, God referred back to that pivotal point to remind the Israelites of their relationship with him and of their dependence upon his mercy for their continued sustainment. Psalm 124 captures the essence of Israel’s situation from the time they were delivered from bondage in Egypt to the time when they were taken into captivity by the Babylonians. Psalm 124:1-5 states:

If it had not been the Lord who was on our side—
    let Israel now say—
if it had not been the Lord who was on our side
    when people rose up against us,
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
    when their anger was kindled against us;
then the flood would have swept us away,
    the torrent would have gone over us;
then over us would have gone
    the raging waters.

The imagery of being swallowed up alive and of a flood sweeping them away were meant to depict the consuming destruction that comes on people who are enemies of God. This kind of imagery was used in the book of Jeremiah in connection with God’s judgment on the Philistines. Jeremiah 47:2-4 states:

“Thus says the Lord:
Behold, waters are rising out of the north,
    and shall become an overflowing torrent;
they shall overflow the land and all that fills it,
    the city and those who dwell in it.
Men shall cry out,
    and every inhabitant of the land shall wail.
At the noise of the stamping of the hoofs of his stallions,
    at the rushing of his chariots, at the rumbling of their wheels,
the fathers look not back to their children,
    so feeble are their hands,
because of the day that is coming to destroy
    all the Philistines,
to cut off from Tyre and Sidon
    every helper that remains.
For the Lord is destroying the Philistines,
    the remnant of the coastland of Caphtor.”

The Philistines were among the nations that the LORD left in the Promised Land to test Israel by them. “They were for the testing of Israel, to know whether they would obey the commandments of the LORD, which he commanded their fathers by the hand of Moses” (Judges 3:4). After the household of Eli was rejected by God as Israel’s priests, Israel was defeated by the Philistines and the Ark of the Covenant was captured by them. “The Philistines took the ark of God and brought it into the house of Dagon and set it up beside Dagon” (1 Samuel 4:2). “Canaanite deities, such as the Baals and the Ashtoreths, remained a problem for Judah until the Babylonian exile. Other Canaanite deities included the Asherahs (Judges 3:7) and Dagon (Judges 16:23)…Overall, the religion of the Canaanites was extremely corrupt. It was characterized by the practices of human sacrifice, ritual prostitution and homosexuality, and self-mutilation” (note on Judges 2:13). The Philistines’ placement of the Ark of the Covenant next to their god Dagon was intended to signify his dominion over the Israelites, but God caused Dagon to fall face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD (1 Samuel 5:3-4) and eventually, the Philistines voluntarily returned the ark to Israel (1 Samuel 6:1-14).

Samuel’s duel role as a judge of Israel and also a prophet was a part of the shift in leadership that occurred when Israel demanded a king to rule over them. 1 Samuel 8:1-5 tells us, “When Samuel become old, he made his sons judges over Israel. The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second, Abijah; they were judges in Beersheba. Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice. Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah and said to him, ‘Behold, you are old and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint for us a king to judge us like all the nations.’” “Like Eli, Samuel neglected to discipline and teach his sons properly. The failure of Samuel’s sons led the people to reject their authority as judges and to reject God as well, who in his sovereignty had set the judges in place to rule over his people” (note on 1 Samuel 8:3). “God knew that the Israelites would someday desire a king. He had previously given guidelines that were to be followed by the people and by the kings that would reign over them (Deuteronomy 17:14-20). The people seemed to be motivated by the desire to avoid further military losses (1 Samuel 8:20) and to get rid of corrupt potential leaders, the sons of Eli and Samuel. Samuel saw their request as a rejection of himself, but God affirmed that they had actually rejected him. The people were no longer satisfied with the system of judges that had been established. They improperly attributed the failures during that time to the system itself, not to their sin. They rejected God because they wanted to be like the other nations, not a peculiar people, set apart as the chosen ones of God. They wanted a visible deliverer in whom they could place their trust (cf. Judges 8:22). They wanted to walk by sight, not by faith. In so doing, they sought to escape the moral demands of the law by doing away with the theocracy under which they had been living” (note on 1 Samuel 8:5-7).

When the Israelites arrived at Mount Sinai, after being delivered from slavery in Egypt, God declared his intention of transforming them into a unique people. It says in Exodus 19:3 that God called to Moses out of the mountain and instructed him to tell the people of Israel:

“‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.” (Exodus 19:4-6)

The Hebrew word that is translated treasured possession in Exodus 19:5, çᵉgullah (seg-ool-lawˊ) “signifies ‘property’ in the special sense of a private possession one personally acquired and carefully preserves. Six times this word is used of Israel as God’s personally acquired (elected, delivered from Egyptian bondage, and formed into what he wanted them to be), carefully preserved, and privately possessed people” (H5459).

Moses reminded the Israelites of their special status just before they entered the Promised Land. Moses said, “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the LORD set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all people, but it is because the LORD loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the LORD has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt” (Deuteronomy 7:6-8). Moses used the Hebrew word bachar (baw-kharˊ), which means “to choose” (H977), to refer to Israel’s election as God’s holy nation and indicated that God’s motivation for choosing Israel was his love for them. The Hebrew word that is translated love in Deuteronomy 7:7, chashaq (khaw-shakˊ) means “to cling, i.e. join” (H2836). The Apostle Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians that God’s election of those who would be redeemed by the blood of Christ took place before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) and that all who will receive an eternal inheritance from God will do so by “being predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will” (Ephesians 1:11). The Greek word proorizo (pro-or-idˊ-zo) or predestined, “is used to declare God’s eternal decrees of both the objects and goal of his plan of salvation (Romans 8:29, 30), of the glorious benefits that will come from that salvation (1 Corinthians 2:7), and of our adoption and inheritance as sons of God (Ephesians 1:5, 11)” (G4309).

The Israelites’ desire to be like everyone else was rooted in the fact that they were worshipping the Baals and the Ashtaroth (Judges 2:13). Samuel challenged the people of Israel to be faithful to God. Samuel said, “If you are returning to the LORD with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the LORD and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines” (1 Samuel 7:3). In spite of his faithfulness in subduing the Philistines, the people of Israel refused to accept God’s authority over them (1 Samuel 8:7). 1 Samuel 8:19-22 states, “But the people refused to obey the voice of Samuel. And they said, ‘No! But there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all nations, and that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.’ And when Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the LORD. And the LORD said to Samuel, ‘Obey their voice and make them a king.’”

One of the epithets of Jesus was King of the Jews. During the time when Jesus was living on the earth, the nation of Israel couldn’t have a king of their own because they were under the Roman government’s authority. King Herod was the Roman Jewish client king of Judea and Matthew 2:1-2 tells us that wise men from the east came to Herod the king, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” After Herod determined the location of Christ’s birth, he sent the wise men to Bethlehem, saying, “Go and search diligently for the child, and when you have found him, bring me word that I too may come and worship him” (Matthew 2:8). The wise men were warned in a dream not to return to Herod and when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, Herod “became furious and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men” (Matthew 2:12, 16). At his trial before the Roman governor, Jesus was asked, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (Matthew 27:11). Later, the governor’s soldiers stripped Jesus “and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisted together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” (Matthew 27:28-29). At his crucifixion, the title of King of the Jews was used to condemn Jesus to death. Matthew 27:37 states, “And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, ‘This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.’”

Israel’s tragic mistake of asking for a human being to rule over them instead of God is evident in the final book of the Bible, Revelation which deals with end-time events. The nation of Israel isn’t mentioned in the book of Revelation, but instead its contents are addressed “to the seven churches that are in Asia” (Revelation 1:4). Both Peter and Paul elude to the fact that the holy nation that God intended for Israel to become was replaced by the church that Jesus established before his death on the cross (Matthew 16:18). Peter stated:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For it stands in Scripture:

“Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone,
    a cornerstone chosen and precious,
and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.”

So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe,

“The stone that the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

and

“A stone of stumbling,
    and a rock of offense.”

They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Peter 2:4-10)

Peter pointed out that believers in Christ are considered to be God’s people. He said, “Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people” (1 Peter 2:10). Paul echoed this thought in his letter to Titus where he spoke of Christ’s followers as “a people for his own possession” (Titus 2:14). The Greek word that is translated for his own possession, periousios (per-ee-ooˊ-see-os) means “being beyond usual, i.e. special (one’s own)” (G4041).

Paul talked in his letter to the Romans about the people of Israel being grafted back into the tree from which they were cut off through their unbelief. Paul explained:

So I ask, did they stumble in order that they might fall? By no means! Rather, through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make Israel jealous. Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their failure means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their full inclusionmean!

Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry in order somehow to make my fellow Jews jealous, and thus save some of them. For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? If the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, so is the whole lump, and if the root is holy, so are the branches.

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast through faith. So do not become proud, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off. And even they, if they do not continue in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. For if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Romans 11:11-24)

Paul indicated that Israel’s rejection of their Messiah made it possible for the world to be reconciled to God and identified them as the firstfruits of God’s plan of salvation. The grafting back in that Paul was referring to in this passage may be the purpose behind the great tribulation that is depicted in the book of Revelation.

According to Paul, one of the key outcomes of believing in Christ is being conformed into the image of God’s Son, “in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29). Paul warned believers to not be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of your mind. Paul said, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect” (Romans 12:1-2). Paul explained in his letter to the Ephesians that Christ had made both Jew and Gentile one “by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross” (Ephesians 2:14-16). God’s ability to transform the minds of both Jews and Gentiles and bring people from both groups into the body of Christ has been demonstrated through the conversion of many Jews to Christianity, but God’s ultimate goal of grafting the nation of Israel back into the tree from which it was cut off seems to be a larger objective that has yet to be accomplished.

The book of Revelation, which opens with John’s greetings to the seven churches, focuses primarily on God’s judgment of the earth and his overthrow of a world system that is opposed to the kingdom of heaven. Before God’s angels are allowed to harm the earth or the sea, John tells us that 12,000 from each of the twelve tribes of Israel are set apart to serve God. Revelation 7:3 states, “’Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of God on their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of the sealed, 144,000, sealed from every tribe of the sons of Israel.” Later, John says:

Then I looked, and behold, on Mount Zion stood the Lamb, and with him 144,000 who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. And I heard a voice from heaven like the roar of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder. The voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, and they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins. It is these who follow the Lamb wherever he goes. These have been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb, and in their mouth no lie was found, for they are blameless. (Revelation 14:1-5)

John indicated that the 144,000 had been redeemed from mankind as firstfruits for God and the Lamb (Revelation 14:4). The Greek word that is translated firstfruits, aparche (ap-ar-khayˊ) means a beginning of sacrifice, i.e. the (Jewish) first-fruit” (G5360). This seems to suggest that the 144,000 will be the first to be martyred for their faith during the great tribulation. Revelation 13:15-16 states that anyone who would not worship the image of the beast would be slain. “Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name.” It seems that God intends for the 144,000 to not be like everyone else and to be killed because they refuse to submit to the false prophet’s demands.

The day of judgment

Peter addressed his second letter “to those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:1). Peter’s intention in addressing his audience as equals may have been to let them know that the topics he was going to cover were not meant for people outside the faith or for those who thought of him as being different because he was a Jewish believer. Peter talked about things in his second letter that were important to every believer. Peter encouraged his followers to be eager to grow spiritually and warned them about false teachers “who will secretly bring in destructive heresies” and “exploit you with false words” (2 Peter 2:1-3). Peter referred to false teachers as “the ungodly” (2 Peter 2:6), a group of people that do not worship the true God (G765). Jude said about the ungodly, “For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). The phrase crept in unnoticed means “to settle in alongside, i.e. lodge stealthily” (G3921). This implies that the ungodly people Jude was talking about were members of the church.

Jude indicated that ungodly people were designated for condemnation (Jude 1:4). Being designated for condemnation meant that the ungodly were not predestined for adoption into God’s family through Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:5). Jude said ungodly people “pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:4). The Greek word that is translated deny, arneomai (ar-nehˊ-om-ahee) means “to contradict, i.e. disavow, reject, abnegate” (G720). Arneomai is used in John 18:25-27 in connection with Peter’s denial of the Lord shortly before his crucifixion. It states, “Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, ‘You also are not one of his disciples are you?’ He denied (arneomai) it and said, ‘I am not.’ One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, ‘Did I not see you in the garden with him?’ Peter again denied (arneomai) it, and at once the rooster crowed.” Peter’s refusal to admit that he was one of Jesus’ followers is recorded in all four of the gospels. In Luke’s account of the incident, it says, “And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed. And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.’ And he went out and wept bitterly” (Luke 22:60-62). In Jesus’ statement, “you will deny me three times,” the word aparneomai (ap-ar-nehˊ-om-ahee) is used, which means “’to deny utterly,’ to abjure, to affirm that one has no connection with a person…The strengthened form is the verb used in the Lord’s warning as to being ‘denied’ in the presence of the angels (Luke 12:9)” (G533).

The fact that Peter wept bitterly after he realized what he had done shows us that he was remorseful for his behavior. Peter’s relationship with the Lord was restored after Jesus’ resurrection. At the end of a conversation in which Jesus asked Peter three times, “Do you love me?” (John 21:15, 16, 17), Jesus repeated his original invitation to Peter, stating, “Follow me” (John 21:19). The book of Hebrews asserts that it is impossible for those who have once been enlightened to be restored after they have fallen away from their faith (Hebrews 6:4-6). It states, “For land that has drunk the rain that often falls on it, and produces a crop useful to those for whose sake it is cultivated, receives a blessing from God. But if it bears thorns and thistles, it is worthless and near to being cursed, and its end is to be burned” (Hebrews 6:7-8). According to this passage, the fruit or outcome of one’s actions determines the condition of the person’s heart. Jesus told his disciples, “Beware of false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:15-20).

Romans 2:4 tells us that God’s kindness is meant to lead us to repentance. The Greek word metanoia (met-anˊ-oy-ah) “as a noun, means ‘afterthought, change of mind, repentance,’…In the New Testament the subject chiefly has reference to ‘repentance’ from sin, and this change of mind involves both a turning from sin and a turning to God” (G3341). Paul went on to say, “But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality” (Romans 2:5-11).

When Jesus’ disciples asked him about the sign of his second coming and of the end of the age, he told them, “See that no one leads you astray. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray” (Matthew 24:4-5). Jesus went on to say, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been from the beginning of the world until now, no, and never will be…But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man…Who then is the faithful and wise servant whom his master has set over his household, to give them their food at the proper time, Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 24:21-51).

Jesus compared the faithful and wise servant with the wicked servant and said that it was his master’s delay that caused the wicked servant to neglect his responsibilities. Peter addressed the issue of the Lord’s delayed return in his discussion of the judgment of the ungodly. Peter said:

This is now the second letter that I am writing to you, beloved. In both of them I am stirring up your sincere mind by way of reminder, that you should remember the predictions of the holy prophets and the commandment of the Lord and Savior through your apostles, knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly. 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. 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 3:1-9)

Peter indicated that the heavens and earth that now exist are being stored up for fire and being kept until the day of judgment (2 Peter 3:7). Peter compared the day of judgment to the flood that caused all life on earth to perish and said that it would result in the destruction of the ungodly. The Greek word that is translated destruction, apoleia (ap-oˊ-li-a) refers to “the second death, perdition, i.e. exclusion from the Messiah’s kingdom” (G684).

The book of Revelation provides some insight into what the second death is about. It says in Revelation 2:11, “The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.” Hurt in this instance has to do with Satan’s ability to harm people (G91). In the second death, anyone whose name is not written in the book of life is thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). “Thanatos, death, has the basic meaning of separation of the soul (the spiritual part of man) from the body (the material part), the latter ceasing to function and turning to dust…Death is the opposite of life; it never denotes nonexistence. As spiritual life is conscious existence in communion with God, so spiritual death is conscious existence in separation from God. Death, in whichever of the above-mentioned senses it is used, is always in Scripture, viewed as the penal consequence of sin, and since sinners alone are subject to death (Romans 5:12), it was as the Bearer of sin that the Lord Jesus submitted thereto on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). And while the physical death of the Lord Jesus was of the essence of His sacrifice, it was not the whole. The darkness symbolized, and His cry expressed, the fact that He was left alone in the universe, He was forsaken (Matthew 27:45-46).

Jesus encouraged believers to enter by the narrow gate and said, “For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter are many. 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). Jesus went on to explain to his disciples that knowing God’s will and doing it are not the same thing. Jesus said:

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:21-27)

Jesus’ analogy of a house built on the rock was particularly meaningful to the Jews because their Messiah was referred to in the Song of Moses as the Rock (Deuteronomy 32:4, 15, 18, 30, 31). Jesus also used the analogy of a rock when he affirmed Peter’s declaration that he was the Christ. Matthew tells us:

Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ. (Matthew 16:13-20)

Jesus said that he would build his church on this rock, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18); meaning that, just as the rain, floods, and the wind beating against it could not bring down the house built on the rock, so also, the forces of Satan would not be able to bring down Jesus Christ’s church.

The nation of Israel was intended to be “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” (Exodus 19:6), but shortly after they received God’s Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17), “the people gathered themselves together to Aaron and said to him, ‘Up make us gods who shall go before us.’” (Exodus 32:1). Aaron “made a golden calf. And they said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” (Exodus 32:4). After the Israelites took possession of the Promised Land, idolatry became a problem for them and “remained a problem for Judah until the Babylonian exile” (note on Judges 2:13). It says in Judges 2:19-22. “They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways. So the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he said, ‘Because this people have transgressed my covenant that I commanded their fathers and have not obeyed my voice, I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died, in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the LORD as their fathers did or not.” Judges 17:6 states, “In those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” The corruption that developed among the people of Israel is evident in a situation that resulted from a man traveling through one of the towns inhabited by the people of Benjamin. The man and his concubine were taken into the home of an old man living in Gibeah. Judges 19:22-30 tells us:

As they were making their hearts merry, behold, the men of the city, worthless fellows, surrounded the house, beating on the door. And they said to the old man, the master of the house, “Bring out the man who came into your house, that we may know him.” And the man, the master of the house, went out to them and said to them, “No, my brothers, do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not do this vile thing. Behold, here are my virgin daughter and his concubine. Let me bring them out now. Violate them and do with them what seems good to you, but against this man do not do this outrageous thing.” But the men would not listen to him. So the man seized his concubine and made her go out to them. And they knew her and abused her all night until the morning. And as the dawn began to break, they let her go. And as morning appeared, the woman came and fell down at the door of the man’s house where her master was, until it was light.

And her master rose up in the morning, and when he opened the doors of the house and went out to go on his way, behold, there was his concubine lying at the door of the house, with her hands on the threshold. He said to her, “Get up, let us be going.” But there was no answer. Then he put her on the donkey, and the man rose up and went away to his home. And when he entered his house, he took a knife, and taking hold of his concubine he divided her, limb by limb, into twelve pieces, and sent her throughout all the territory of Israel. And all who saw it said, “Such a thing has never happened or been seen from the day that the people of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt until this day; consider it, take counsel, and speak.”

This low point in the nation’s development shows that not all the people of Israel were committed to doing things God’s way. All who saw it were stunned by what happened in Gibeah and were prompted to “consider it, take counsel, and speak” (Judges 19:30).

Judges 20:1 tells us, “Then all the people of Israel came out, from Dan to Beersheba, including the land of Gilead and the congregation assembled as one man to the LORD at Mizpah.” The unification of the people of Israel was an important first step in their attempt to correct the problem that had developed in Gibeah. It says in Judges 20:8-11, “And all the people arose as one man, saying, ‘None of us will go to his tent, and none of us will return to his house. But now this is what we will do to Gibeah: we will go up against it by lot, and we will take ten men of a hundred throughout all the tribes of Israel, and a hundred of a thousand, and a thousand of ten thousand, to bring provisions for the people, that when they come they may repay Gibeah of Benjamin for all the outrage that they have committed in Israel.’ So all the men of Israel gathered against the city, united as one man.” The Hebrew word that is translated united, chaber (khaw-bareˊ) has to do with fellowship and is similar to the Greek word koinonia (koy-nohn-eeˊ-ah). Koinonia is derived from the word koinonos (koy-no-nosˊ) which means “a sharer, i.e. associate” and is used “figuratively, of those who eat meats offered to idols, partakers or companions either with God or with demons (1 Corinthians 10:18, 20).” Koinonos is also used “figuratively, of those who serve Christ, partakers of divine blessings” (G2844). Peter used koinonos to refer to himself “as a partaker in the glory that is to come” (1 Peter 5:1) and said of God, the Father, “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, though the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers (koinonos) of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Peter indicated that the divine nature is shared among believers and is obtained through the knowledge of Jesus Christ. When the people of Israel became united as one man, they were operating in the same way that the body of Christ is expected to.

Judges 20:12-17 states:

And the tribes of Israel sent men through all the tribe of Benjamin, saying, “What evil is this that has taken place among you? Now therefore give up the men, the worthless fellows in Gibeah, that we may put them to death and purge evil from Israel.” But the Benjaminites would not listen to the voice of their brothers, the people of Israel. Then the people of Benjamin came together out of the cities to Gibeah to go out to battle against the people of Israel. And the people of Benjamin mustered out of their cities on that day 26,000 men who drew the sword, besides the inhabitants of Gibeah, who mustered 700 chosen men. Among all these were 700 chosen men who were left-handed; every one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss.And the men of Israel, apart from Benjamin, mustered 400,000 men who drew the sword; all these were men of war.

The battle that took place between the Benjaminites and the rest of the people of Israel initially resulted in 40,000 of Israelite soldiers being killed. Judges 20:26-28 tells us, “Then all the people of Israel, the whole army, went up and came to Bethel and wept. They sat there before the LORD and fasted that day until evening, and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. And the people of Israel inquired of the LORD…saying, ‘Shall we go out once more to battle against our brothers, the people of Benjamin, or shall we cease?’ And the LORD said, ‘Go up, for tomorrow I will give them into your hand.’” It says in Judges 20:34-5 that “the battle was hard…And the LORD defeated Benjamin before Israel, and the people of Israel destroyed 25,100 men of Benjamin that day. All of these were men who drew the sword” Further details of the event are provided in Judges 39-41. It states:

Now Benjamin had begun to strike and kill about thirty men of Israel. They said, “Surely they are defeated before us, as in the first battle.” But when the signal began to rise out of the city in a column of smoke, the Benjaminites looked behind them, and behold, the whole of the city went up in smoke to heaven. Then the men of Israel turned, and the men of Benjamin were dismayed, for they saw that disaster was close upon them.

When the men of Benjamin saw that disaster was close upon them, they realized that the day of judgment had arrived for them. The Hebrew word that is translated disaster, raʿ (rah) “combines together in one the wicked deed and its consequences. It generally indicates the rough exterior of wrong-doing as a breach of harmony, and as breaking up of what is good and desirable in man and in society. While the prominent characteristic of the godly is lovingkindness (H2617), one of the most marked features of the ungodly man is that his course is an injury both to himself and to everyone around him” (H7451). The Hebrew word that is translated destroy in Judges 20:35, shachath (shaw-khathˊ) is used in Genesis 6:11-13 in reference to the corruption that God saw in the world before he destroyed it with the flood. “This word especially marks dissolution or corruption and also to the physical destruction of all that was living on the earth and of the earth itself” (H7843). The writer of Hebrews tells us, “it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

Ministering to God’s people

Moses was selected by God to act as an intermediary between the children of Israel and Pharaoh, an Egyptian king that was afflicting them through forced manual labor (Exodus 3:7). God gave Moses a specific message to deliver to his people. He said:

“Go and gather the elders of Israel together and say to them, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has appeared to me, saying “I have observed you and what has been done to you in Egypt, and I promise that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, a land flowing with milk and honey.”‘” (Exodus 3:16-17)

Moses didn’t think the children of Israel would listen to him and so he responded, “But behold, they will not believe me or listen to my voice, for they will say, ‘The LORD did not appear to you'” (Exodus 4:1).

The challenge that Moses faced was that the Israelites hadn’t heard from God in more than 400 years. The long period of silence may have been due to the children of Israel being content with their circumstances and determined to stay in Egypt in spite of the oppression that they were experiencing there. Moses’ objection to delivering God’s message was centered around the people’s lack of faith, which was evident to him when he tried to intervene in a physical dispute between two Hebrew slaves (Exodus 2:14). In order to bolster Moses’ confidence and to strengthen his influence with the Israelites, God gave Moses the ability to perform three signs or you might say marks of authenticity (H226) that would make his divine authority evident. Exodus 4:8-9 states, “‘If they will not believe you,’ God said, ‘or listen to the first sign, they may believe the latter sign. If they will not believe even these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it on the dry ground, and the water that you shall take from the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.'”

Moses argued that he couldn’t accept the assignment God was giving him because he wasn’t qualified to express divine communication (Exodus 4:10). This led to his brother Aaron being designated his spokesman to the children of Israel. Exodus 4:14-17 states: “Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against Moses and he said, ‘Is there not Aaron, your brother, the Levite? I know that he can speak well. Behold, he is coming out to meet you, and when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. You shall speak to him and put the words in his mouth, and I will be with your mouth, and I will be with his mouth and will teach you both what to do. He shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be your mouth, and you shall be as God to him. And take in your hand this staff, with which you shall do the signs.'” The King James Version of the Bible states Exodus 4:16 this way, “And he shall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he shall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God.” The idea that Aaron could be to Moses instead of a mouth and Moses could be to Aaron instead of God had to do with their spiritual interaction with each other and the children of Israel. What God was saying was that Moses’ responsibility as the deliverer of God’s people could not be abdicated to anyone else, but he could use Aaron as a spokesman or more literally his voice (H6310) instead of delivering God’s message himself.

Even though Moses was able to receive assistance from his brother in conveying the message God wanted him to the children of Israel, Moses was specifically instructed to perform the miracles that God intended to use to convince Pharaoh to let his people go. Exodus 4:21 states, “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the miracles that I have put in your power. But I will harden his heart, so that he will not let the people go.'” The Hebrew word that is translated miracle, mopeth (mo-faith’) “signifies a divine act or a special display of divine power” (H4159). God said that he had put these miracles in Moses’ power. In other words, Moses had the ability to perform miracles without God’s assistance. The Hebrew word that is translated put, siym (seem) “means to impute” (H7760). In the King James Version of the Bible, James 2:23 is stated this way: “And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.” Imputation is an accounting term that is used to designate that an account has been reconciled. “Imputation has three steps: the collecting of all charges and remissions; the totaling of these debits and credits; the placing of the balance or credit on one’s account” (G3049).

God credited Moses’ account with a specific amount of divine power that enabled him to perform the miracles that God wanted him to. Moses’ special role in God’s deliverance of the children of Israel was noted during Jesus’ transfiguration when Moses along with Elijah appeared “talking with him” (Matthew 17:3). Elijah was also know for performing extraordinary miracles including raising a widow’s son from the dead (1 Kings 17:22). At the time of his death, Elijah’s successor Elisha requested from him, “Please let there be a double portion of your spirit on me” (2 Kings 2:9). Elisha’s reference to a double portion suggests that Elijah’s miraculous ability was measured or you might say portioned out and could be transferred from one person to another. The purpose of the miracles that Elijah and Elisha performed was similar to that of Moses’, to convict the Israelites of their sins and cause them to repent. Matthew often referred to the miracles Jesus performed as mighty works and also associated them with people being brought to a point of repentance. Matthew stated this about Jesus’ ministry. “Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. ‘Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you” (Matthew 11:20-22).

Jesus referred to the day of judgment in his Olivet Discourse when he said, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (Matthew 24:36-39). Jesus used a parable to illustrate the reason why people would be unaware of his return. He said:

“Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept. But at midnight there was a cry, ‘Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.’ Then all those virgins rose and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ But the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves.’ And while they were going to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast, and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, lord, open to us.’ But he answered, ‘Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.’ Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour. (Matthew 25:1-13)

Jesus’ portrayal of the virgins as being wise and foolish meant that they were depending on their cognitive abilities to discern the bridegroom’s arrival. The Greek word that is translated foolish, moros (mo-ros’) indicates that the mind is “dull or stupid (as if shut up)” (G3473). Moros is derived from the word musterion (moos-tay-ree-on) which “denotes, not the mysterious (as with the English word), but that which, being outside the range of unassisted natural apprehension, can be made known only by divine revelation, and is made known in a manner and at a time appointed by God, and to those only who are illumined by His Spirit” (G3466).

Jesus indicated that the five wise virgins took flasks of oil with their lamps. When the five foolish virgins asked them to share their oil with them, “the wise answered, saying, ‘Since there will not be enough for us and for you, go rather to the dealers and buy for yourselves'” (Matthew 25:9). The dealers that the five foolish virgins were instructed to go to appear to have been authentic sources of divine wisdom, but the foolish virgins missed the opportunity to attend the wedding feast because “the door was shut” when they returned (Matthew 25:10). Afterward, they were told “I do not know you” (Matthew 25:12). A clue to the five foolish virgins rejection might be the statement, “those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast” (Matthew 25:10). The Greek word that is translated ready, hetoimos (het’-oy-mos) “denotes ‘preparation’; it is found in Ephesians 6:15, of having the feet shod with the ‘preparation’ of the gospel of peace; it also has the meaning of firm footing (foundation); if that is the meaning in Ephesians 6:15, the gospel itself is to be the firm footing of the believer, his walk being worthy of it and therefore a testimony in regard to it” (G2092).

Jesus followed up his parable of the ten virgins with the parable of the ten talents to further clarify the connection between his gospel message being presented and God’s qualifications for entrance into the kingdom of heaven. He said, “For it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted them with his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away” (Matthew 25:14-15). The phrase “to each according to his ability” points to a distribution of miraculous power that was meant to be used for increasing the master’s wealth. The Greek word that is translated “according to” in Matthew 25:15, kata (kat-ah’) is used in Philippians 3:20-21 to link the believer’s transformation with Christ’s ability to subdue all things to himself. Paul also used kata to link God’s riches with his ability to supply all of the believers needs. Paul promised, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19, emphasis mine).

The fact that the master’s servants were given different amounts of resources according to their ability suggests that the master knew what his servants were capable of and wanted to capitalize on it. The Greek word that is translated ability, dunamis (doo’-nam-is) “almost always points to new and higher forces that have entered and are working in this lower world of ours. It is ‘power, ability,’ physical or moral, as residing in a person” (G1411). Therefore, the ability Jesus was referring to was most likely a result of the indwelling and/or filling of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them” (Matthew 25:19). The settling of accounts most likely had to do with the profit that was gained from the use of the talents that had been given to each servant. Jesus said, “he who had received five talents came forward, bringing five talents more” (Matthew 25:20). It could be that the talents in Jesus’ parable were meant to represent spiritual truths. For example, if the servant was given five talents or spiritual truths (perhaps through someone else’s instruction) and then, built on that knowledge by gaining insight into five more spiritual truths, the servant was given credit for the additional knowledge he had gained and was able to pass on to others.

The servant that received only one talent may have been entrusted with a single foundational truth such as John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” When he was asked to account for his activities while his master was away, he stated, “Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you scattered no seed, so I was afraid, and I went and hid your talent in the ground. Here you have what is yours” (Matthew 25:24-25). The master’s outrage that his resource had been wasted may have been due to the fact that his servant had likened him to a harsh, even inhuman character (G4642) when said, “I knew you to be a hard man.” Evidently, the servant didn’t know his master very well and demonstrated that he was not equipped to handle even the most basic responsibility of his master’s work. The servant said he was afraid and “hid” his talent in the ground. His master responded, “You wicked and slothful servant!” (Matthew 25:26), suggesting that his servant’s behavior was a disgrace to him.

Jesus talked about the final judgment of mankind in terms of a separation and elimination of anyone that did not display certain characteristics. Jesus said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:31-32). Jesus indicated that the sheep would inherit the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world because “I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me in, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me” (Matthew 25:35-36). Jesus’ use of the terms sheep and goats indicated that he was using figurative language and wasn’t referring to actual food, drink or clothing being given to him. In his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus stated, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matthew 5:3, 6). The Greek word that is translated naked, gumnos (goom-nos’) is used figuratively of being destitute of spiritual goods (G1131) and sick or astheneo (as-then-eh’-o) of being not settled in the faith (G770). Therefore, the remedies would have needed to be spiritual nourishment i.e. the gospel.

Jesus contrasted the responses of the sheep and the goats to show that they were both unaware of their spiritual service to the King. The sheep asked, “And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?” (Matthew 25:38-39). The sheep’s lack of awareness seems to confirm that the activities identified were spiritual rather than physical because they didn’t remember ever doing the things they were credited with. On the other hand, the goats replied, “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?” (Matthew 25:44). The goats claimed to have taken care of every needy person and may have actually done so from a physical standpoint, but they clearly misunderstood what was expected of them. The Greek word that is translated minister, diakonia (dee-ak-on-eh’-o) technically means to act as a Christian deacon (G1247). Diakonia is used in Matthew 20:28 where it says, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (KJV). The Apostle Paul used the word diakonia when he said, “But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints” (Romans 15:25, KJV).

Jesus concluded his lesson on the final judgment by stating about the goats, “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matthew 25:45-46). It might be easy to assume from this lesson that ministering to God’s people is a requirement for entrance into the kingdom of heaven, but the point I believe Jesus was making in his parable of the ten virgins and the parable of the talents was that the indwelling and filling of the Holy Spirit was what made service possible and also made the virgins ready for the marriage feast when the bridegroom arrived. The presence of the Holy Spirit is what differentiates believers from unbelievers and may differentiate the sheep from the goats. Jesus’ description of the final judgment in Matthew 25:31-46 is similar to the Great White Throne Judgment mentioned in Revelation 20:11-15 which indicates that “the dead were judged…according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:12). The Greek word translated dead, nekros (nek-ros’) refers to “the actual spiritual condition of unsaved men” (G3498). Therefore, ministering to God’s people could be a type of escape clause that enables the unsaved to enter God’s kingdom, but Revelation 20:15 indicates, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

The judgment

The covenants God established with Abraham and his descendants were divine pledges to be Israel’s God as her Protector and the Guarantor of her blessed destiny with one condition “Israel’s total consecration to the LORD as His people (His kingdom) who live by his rule and serve His purposes in history” (Major Covenants in the Old Testament). The covenant between God and Israel was initiated at Mount Sinai and was an outgrowth and extension of the Lord’s covenant with Abraham and his descendants 600 years earlier (note on Exodus 19:5). At the time the Sinaitic Covenant was initiated, Moses was given the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17) and other laws that were to govern the Israelites’ behavior. Afterward, Moses affirmed the covenant when he “took the book of the covenant and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient” (Exodus 24:7).

Jesus’ arrival on Earth marked a transition from the Sinaitic Covenant to the New Covenant which was “an unconditional divine promise to unfaithful Israel to forgive her sins and establish His relationship with her on a new basis by writing His law ‘in their hearts’ – a covenant of pure grace” (Covenants of the Old Testament). Jesus parable of the unrighteous steward (Luke 16:1-13) showed that Israel’s unfaithfulness had brought about a new approach to salvation. Jesus told the Pharisees, “Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed amongst men is abomination in the sight of God. The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it” (Luke 16:15-16). The point Jesus was making was that John the Baptist concluded the ministry or work of the law and the prophets. From that point forward, God’s grace was being made available to everyone and people were eagerly receiving it.

As he concluded his three-year ministry on Earth, Jesus prepared his disciples for what still lay ahead of them in their mission to save the world. Jesus indicated in his parable of the talents there would be a period of time when he would be absent from the world, but his work of salvation would continue. Then, he would return and establish his kingdom on Earth. According to the book of Revelation, there will be two separate judgments that will take place after Jesus returns. The first takes place before the millennial reign of Christ (Revelation 20:4), and the second judgment takes place afterward. Revelation 20:11-12 states, “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 book, according to their works.”

Jesus’ description of the judgment that will take place “when the Son of man shall come in his glory” (Matthew 25:31), could be one or the other of the judgments that are mentioned in Revelation 20, or a different one altogether. It seems likely that Jesus was referring to the great white throne judgment because it signifies the ultimate completion of his work on Earth. Jesus said “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…And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (Matthew 25:32-33, 46). The basis of this judgment could be the new commandment that Jesus gave his disciples (John 13:34) or the great commandment that was summarized in Mark 12:29-31. Either way, the central focus of Jesus’ judgment will be the love that is shown to others based on the example he gave during his three-year ministry on Earth (Matthew 25:34-40).

Hypocrites

Jesus condemned the scribes and Pharisees because they pretended to be servants of God, but were actually agents of Satan. Jesus used the word hypocrites eight times in Matthew 23 to describe their behavior. He said, “woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in” (Matthew 23:13). When Jesus said, “ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men,” he was basically saying that the scribes and Pharisees were closing the door to salvation. Because of them, no one was getting saved. Jesus went on to say, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves” (Matthew 23:15). In other words, the scribes and Pharisees were winning souls for the devil and his kingdom rather than for God.

The Greek word Jesus used that is translated hypocrite, hupokrites (hoop-ok-ree-tace´) refers to a stage player, “an actor under an assumed character” (G5973). The word hypokrites is derived from the word hupokrinomai (hoop-ok-rin´-om-ahee) which means to decide (speak or act) under a false part (G5971). You could say that a hypocrite is a false believer, someone that calls himself a Christian, but is actually not saved. One of the characteristics of the scribes and Pharisees was that their behavior appeared to be consistent with the Mosaic Law. They seemed to be doing everything the law said they were supposed to. Jesus said of these men, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Even so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within ye ar full of hypocrisy and iniquity” (Matthew 23:27-28). The implication being that the scribes and Pharisees were intentionally deceiving people into thinking they were model citizens.

On a previous occasion, the scribes and Pharisees had brought a woman to Jesus that they said was “taken in adultery” (John 8:3). John’s account of this incident suggests that the woman’s accusers had caught her in the act (John 8:4). After hearing their accusation, John said, “But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lift up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:6-7). The problem with the situation Jesus was dealing with was that only the woman was brought to him for judgment. According to the reference note on John 8:3, “The incident was staged to trap Jesus (v.6), and provision had been made for the man to escape. The woman’s accusers must have been especially eager to humiliate her, since they could have kept her in private custody while they spoke to Jesus.” The scribes and Pharisees apparently thought Jesus would be willing to condemn the woman based only on their testimony.

When Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her,” he knew these men were guilty of breaking one or more of the Ten Commandments. His strategy was to get them to see that they were no better than the woman they were asking him to punish. John said, “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst” (John 8:9). No one knows for sure what Jesus wrote on the ground, but I’ve heard it suggested that Jesus wrote the Ten Commandments or perhaps, the specific commandments that each of the scribes and Pharisees had broken. Of course, they were all guilty of some crime and may have even committed adultery themselves. Therefore, Jesus’ strategy was effective in exposing their hypocrisy and getting them to realize that they also deserved to be stoned.

Guilty conscience

While Jesus was teaching in God’s temple, the scribes and Pharisees brought a woman to him that they said, “was taken in adultery, in the very act” (John 8:4). The religious leaders hoped to trap Jesus in a situation where he would say or do something that contradicted his own teaching and make himself out to be a hypocrite like they were. The men that brought the adulteress to Jesus suggested that she should be stoned according to the Mosaic Law, but Jesus’ compassion for the woman caused him to say to them, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7). The phrase “without sin” means without any sin. In other words, Jesus was making sinlessness a requirement for executing judgment against the woman that had committed adultery. It says in John 8:9, “And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst.”

Jesus used the example of these men’s guilty consciences to teach the Pharisees a lesson about his divine purpose as the savior of the world. Jesus said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). The Pharisees were used to condemning others for their sins against God, but Jesus wanted them to know that it wasn’t necessary for them to judge lawbreakers. God was able to bring conviction of sin, or give someone a guilty conscience, through the love and compassion of his son Jesus Christ. The two Greek terms Jesus used, phos (light) and scotia (darkness) were meant to show the contradiction between love and hate in our actions toward others. Scotia (skot-ee’-ah) is used of secrecy and describes a condition of moral or spiritual depravity. The men that condemned the adulteress might have been guilty of adultery themselves or some other crime that could be punished by death. It may have been their own guilty consciences that caused them to lash out at this woman and expose her to public humiliation.

Jesus’ statement, “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12) was a declaration of his ability to expose the inner thoughts and feelings of people trapped in a lifestyle of sin. It says in John 8:9 that the men that wanted to stone the adulteress were convicted by their own consciences when they heard Jesus say, “He that is without sin among you.” The human conscience is a mechanism by which God is able to reveal his will to us (4893). The Greek word suneidesis (soon-i’-day-sis) means “co-perception.” Another way of saying it would be to see both sides of the story. We are usually aware of our own thoughts and feelings, but not those of others, and in particular, the thoughts and feelings of God are typically hidden from us or outside of our awareness, but our conscience enables us to see what God thinks about our behavior. After the men that were convicted by their own consciences left the scene, Jesus asked the adulteress, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee?” (John 8:10). The woman’s response acknowledged her submission to Jesus’ authority. She said, “No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11).

Conversion

Jesus told his disciples, “Verily, I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become like little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). The Greek word Jesus used that is translated converted in this verse, strepho (stref’-o) is typically translated as turn or turned. Strepho means “to turn quite around or reverse” (4762). At the time when Jesus spoke these words, there was a little child standing in the midst of his twelve apostles and they were discussing who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. What Jesus likely meant by becoming like little children was the reversal of his disciples spiritual development. He wanted them to start from the beginning and learn all over again what they knew about God.

Jesus said emphatically, “Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:4). The word humble had a specific connotation to God’s people because of their history as slaves in Egypt. The Greek word Jesus used, tapeinoo (tap-i-no’-o) is used figuratively to express humiliation and it suggests that he wanted his disciples to be willing to humiliate themselves in order to please God. Mark’s record of this conversation indicated a responsibility on the part of Jesus’ disciples to keep themselves from leading others into sin by way of their bad behavior (arguing about who was the greatest Mark 9:34). Jesus said, “And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believeth in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea” (Mark 9:42). This may have been a picture of the typical burial of a worthless servant.

Jesus’ lesson about true discipleship was an extension of his Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) in which he warned against anger, adultery, and divorce. Jesus was intentionally reminding his disciples that the slightest infraction of the law was considered to be enough to bring judgment against an individual. Jesus said about the sin of adultery, “That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell” (Matthew 5:28-29). Jesus’ repetition of this illustration (Matthew 18:9) of the drastic measures that needed to be taken in order to avoid sin in his lesson about true discipleship was no doubt meant to jolt his disciples back into reality and make them aware of the fact that their status in God’s kingdom was not based on spiritual accomplishments. Conversion, “turning back again to Him from whom sin has separated us” (7725) is a lifelong process that ultimately brings us to the conclusion that our only purpose as members of God’s kingdom while we are alive on earth is to preach the gospel to unbelievers (1 Corinthians 9:16).