#499 The Concept Of Eternal Judgement
Is The Visible Church Ignoring This Reality?
This Solid Foundation Is Essential To Complete God’s Purpose!
This IS The Sixth Of The Essential Foundations That God Requires!
November 27, 2011
Heb 6:1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again(1) a foundation of repentance from dead works and (2) of faith toward God, 2 (3) of instruction about washings ( Gr. Baptismos), and (4) laying on of hands, and (5) the resurrection of the dead, and (6) eternal judgment. 3 And this we shall do, if God permits.
None of these six foundations are optional or unimportant. The fact is clear that God requires each of these foundations as personal experiences BEFORE He will permit us to go on to maturity, completeness, fulness or perfection. Why? Because these are the basic beginnings that will later permit us to come to maturity. To ignore these foundations is to guarantee a very shallow Christian life! Developing to a mature man in Christ is no longer an option. Why? Because of the time in which we live and the process of restoration that God has designed. The immediate and next restoration of the church IS completing the maturity of the Outer Court, natural life, and making the transition to the Holy Place Priesthood ministry!
Eph 4:13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge ( epignosis-full knowledge) of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ.
It is clear that “a mature man” means one that is developed and has grown to the fulness of Christ. This includes coming to the full knowledge, recognition and discernment of the Son of God. The fact that the visible church has stagnated in its development (maturity) for the last 28 years should be very evident. An equal fact is also evident that these essential foundations are nearly ignored as personal experience in most all types of church groups. Could there be a connection between these two things and a simple solution? Does it at least appear that the lack of foundations will definitely produce a lack of development and maturity? The question we are presenting is this; Who will be held responsible to lay these foundations?
For the last twelve years we have been very critical of the visible church system as it has remained mostly unchanged (immature) up until today. Our real goal in this is NOT just to always criticize the visible church but to try to understand if it is possible to modify or correct the current system so it can complete God’s Eternal Purpose for our generation. Is it really [possible for the “Church” to change or modify society and compete with the world systems for the minds of the people?
Our deep concern is if God, Himself, is refusing to permit the visible church to advance further UNTIL they are effective in laying each of these foundations. Those “ministries” that ignorantly refuse to lay these foundations may find themselves fighting against God but wondering why nothing changes in the assembly. Praying and fasting for “change” will be a waste of time UNTIL all the foundations are experientially laid.
Why would these basic foundational experiences be so critical for equipping the church to make the transition to the next dimension? Because the next dimension will demand it. Then why is this so difficult for the visible church to yield to this requirement? The answer to this question is generally given as; “Well, we are already saved so these so-called foundations are irrelevant and since there is nothing “more” to “go on to,” anything more is just “works that can never save you.” Besides we only find these foundations mentioned once in scriptures and that is in the Book of Hebrews which is not even written for the church!
A portion of this ignorance is the direct result of a doctrine that says that the Book of Hebrews was only written to the Hebrews and is NOT for the church. However, it is the Book of Hebrews that reveals the Tabernacle of Moses is a copy and shadow of the TRUE TABERNACLE that is in heaven. It also reveals that the priesthood after the order of Aaron was done away with because it could not bring anyone to perfection. Therefore, it has now been replaced with the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. The Book of Hebrews reports that the Old Covenant was finalized because it could not bring anyone to perfection. Therefore, it has been replaced with a totally New Covenant that is completely different from the Old Covenant. The New Covenant contains provisions for the church to go on to perfection! Even the necessary experiences inherent within the New covenant are mostly ignored! The Law was impotent to perfect anyone so it was declared to be worthless. Also the sacrifices and the blood of bulls and goats could not cleanse sufficiently so we could go on to perfection. Therefore, they were done away with. ALL THIS reveals that “perfection” is the goal that God has established for the New Covenant Christian. Going on to “PERFECTION” then is not an option but a demand of the Kingdom AND the New Covenant AND God’s eternal Purpose. The Book of Hebrews was certainly written to the Church He is Building.
In addition to all this, God has established five special ministries for the express purpose of “perfecting the saints” so the saints are equipped to do the work of the ministries. We are identifying this “work of the ministries” as functioning in the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. In other words these special ministries are set in place for the perfecting of the saints which is to fulfill God’s exact REASON for enacting a completely New Covenant at Calvary.
If the PRESENT ministries are unable or unwilling to lay these necessary foundations as personal experiences, they soon become irrelevant within the purpose of God. It has been evident for many years that God by-passes these ministries and actively seeks for those who will do His will. Why? These callous ministries become a stumbling block to the zealous believers who really want to go on into the next restoration. We are identifying the next restoration as the Holy Place Priesthood ministry which becomes the functioning part of the Pure Gold Lampstand Church. Because God has chosen “leaders” to lead the church, it is essential that the “leaders” first advance to the Holy Place life and ministry themselves BEFORE they can lead anyone else into this experience. This is exactly why we believe that God will hold these “ministries” responsible for their failure to develop the believers into ministers.
However, by ignoring the understanding unfolded in the whole Book of Hebrews, many may assume that the “church” is established at “forgiveness of sins” and BEFORE all the foundations are laid and the believers make the transition into the Pure Gold Lampstand Church and its Holy Place Priesthood ministry. In the Tabernacle of Moses, the pure gold lampstand was ONLY seen in the Holy Place and ONLY by the sons of the high priest. Even the sons of Kohath, who carried the holy things, were not permitted to “see” the holy things. They were not permitted to even enter the Holy Place to carry the holy things until the holy things were securely covered. It is for that reason that we insist that each of these five special ministries MUST become mature sons of the High Priest. Why? Just to SEE the Holy Things. The Holy Things obviously cannot be seen with the natural eyes of the outer man. It is for that reason that we insist that each of the five special ministries, themselves, MUST have a fully developed and mature inner man with “eyes” that are capable of seeing into the next realm.
In the Book of Revelation it is very clear that the Pure Gold Lampstand IS the church that HE, the Son of Man, the Lord Jesus Christ, is building in each location!
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 13 and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle. 14 And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;
Rev 1:20 “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels (messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
From this simple understanding it becomes clear that unless the “ministries” can develop the believers to the “perfection” {or completeness or maturity} of ALL the Outer Court experiences, the believers will NOT be permitted to participate in the Lampstand Church that HE is building. This failure will certainly will prevent any Priesthood Ministry from developing.
The fact that the pure gold lampstand is NOT in the Outer Court but ONLY in the Holy Place is only known by acknowledging that the Tabernacle of Moses is a copy and shadow of the reality and given for us and our understanding. This ignorance of God’s patterns is pathetic because this lack of goals and understanding of God’s Purposes is NOT the believers fault. This failure must be laid directly at the feet of the “ministries” simply they are NOT doing their job. Then when we understand that the Kingdom is a Kingdom of Priests and NOT a kingdom of believers the impact of this ignorance exposes the blatant failure of the “ministry” and their lack of direction.
It is for that reason that we want to share on the sixth Outer Court foundation, which is Eternal Judgement. We are certainly NOT assuming that ALL the other 5 foundations have been, at this time, effectively laid in the visible church. On the contrary, in our travels it is evident that VERY few of these foundations have been experientially laid and in many groups ONLY forgiveness of sins have been experienced. In some cases ONLY a doctrine of salvation is even discussed. It is assumed that if a person understands the “doctrine” he is then “saved.” This counterfeit and non-scriptural “salvation” has left many with just a religious concept and not a valid salvation experience. Our understanding is that each of these six foundations must be experiential to be effective in our preparation for the Lampstand Church and the Holy Place ministry! Therefore, to be VERY clear we would like to coin a new term by combining all the six Outer Court experiences. To emphasize a more complete definition of “SALVATION”, as it relates to the Kingdom of God, our new term will be the “OUTER COURT SALVATION” which includes ALL SIX experiences!
Why should this be essential to Christian life? Because each foundation either removes something from us (through death and burial) or adds something to us (forgiveness and resurrection Life) to equip us for the next transition. How then could “eternal judgement” become personally experiential? It must begin by some revelation of the Absolute Sovereignty of God and His Eternal Purpose. Eternal Judgement must become an “ABSOLUTE” reality and it must become experiential within the new inner man by revelation.
To speak about “eternal judgement” it is essential that we know exactly what the scriptures reveal about hell. There are 12 references to “Hell” in the New Testament and 11 of these were spoken by Jesus in the gospels. The word “Hades” is used 4 times in the Gospels and by Jesus all 4 times. We mention that because there will be “eternal judgements” whether certain ministers believe it or not. We often hear “ministers” say “Well, the God I know will not cast anyone into hell forever because He is a merciful and loving God.” Of course, they must not know the same God that Jesus spoke about.
The word translated as hell in the New Testament is the Greek word “geena.” ( some use gehenna) This corresponds to the Hebrew word “ge-hinnon.” This is the word that appears 12 times in the New Testament. Without listing all 12 references to “hell” we could summerize what Jesus said was “the eternal fire’ and again “the hell of fire” and again “the unquenchable fire.”
Mark 9:43 “And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 45 “And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than having your two feet, to be cast into hell, 46 [where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.] 47 “And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48 where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED.
Mat 13:41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 25:46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
We all want to believe in “eternal life” but are reluctant to accept “eternal punishment.” 2Thes 1:9 And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed--for our testimony to you was believed.
2Pet 2:17 These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved.
Jude 1:12 These men are those who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; 13 wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
Rev 20:14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
This should be enough references to establish that hell is VERY real, that Outer darkness (black darkness) is a real place and people will be put there, forever.
Rev 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
The other word that speaks about this time is the word “hades.” This word is still in the Greek form and not translated. This was the region of the departed spirits of the dead. Some scholars dissect the word referring to the region of hades into its parts to determine what it means. The “place or region” is described from the word “a (a negative) and eido” which means “to see.” Together it means “the unseen.” This is never used as the “grave” or as the permanent region of the lost as some old translations use it. Therefore, I refer to it as the invisible realm. It seems to be an intermediate place (a holding place) between death and eternal judgement as a place for the lost to be warehoused. For this reason some think “hell” is the same as “hades” and is therefore, just for a time but then at the judgement will be released. However, these inhabitants, at the judgement, will be cast into the Lake of Fire which is the second death.
From this short study it should be clear that there is an eternal dimension into which every person who is contrary (opposite in character, direction and being) to God, or to His Kingdom rulership, or who stand against His absolute Sovereignty will find themselves unless they have a genuine repentance before they depart from this life.
The reason this foundation of Eternal Judgement is so important is to refute this happy gospel of “grace” that removes all responsibility from man and places it upon Jesus! Also the gospel of the give-a-ways or the gospel of the half-priced sale has reduced salvation down to just believing something about Jesus or limited to forgiveness of sins. If we understand that God is VERY determined to fulfill His Eternal Purpose through the Church during the church age, we may be able to understand the consequences of refusing to fit into and submitting to God’s plan. The question we need to ask is this; Will God’s love, mercy and grace cancel out His plan and purpose or does He extend these blessings to enable us to fulfill His Eternal Purpose? How we answer this question may affect our eternal destiny. Regardless of how we interpret the eternal things it is clear that Jesus taught eternal torment and suffering that will be inflicted for crimes against God.
Mat 25:41 “Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
Mat 25:46 “And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
And these shall go away - “These” meaning “these persons to whom this applies.” The churches that hold to the doctrine of “universal salvation” ( in the final end everybody will be saved) have created a doctrine that God would punish sin only but NOT the sinner. But Jesus Christ pointed to those who will be on His left hand and declared that THEY shall go away ( not “sins,” but “sinners.”) Besides, dealing with the offense of sin, which is the act of a sinner, must be carried out by punishing the offender himself.
Into everlasting punishment - The original word translated here as “punishment” means torment, or suffering inflicted for crime. The noun, punishment, is used in one other place in the New Testament. In both these places it denotes anguish, suffering, punishment. It does not mean simply a “state or condition” as is sometimes taught but refers to an absolute, positive suffering! There never seems to be any scripture that expresses the idea that the wicked would NOT suffer or that this lost condition would one day come to an end.
It is held by some that the sufferings of the wicked will not be eternal or without end but will be “fulfilled” and then they will be released. We have no desire to argue this point but just to present the scriptures the way they were written. In regard to the meaning of the word “everlasting” in this scripture it is clear that it means “absolute eternity” or “always belonging.”
If we modify this interpretation to deviate from the future punishment of the wicked as “eternal’ then we should also modify our interpretation of “eternal life” as coming to some end and not “forever.” Also we should interpret the six places where the same word “Eternal” refers to the future reign of the Messiah and the glory and future of the glorious church. In that case it would then indicate of a limited duration. But no one should insist that “eternal Life” refers to a limited duration. Therefore, in accordance with sound interpretation it seems that we should interpret “eternal Judgement” with unlimited duration which refers to future punishment.
Because we have permitted another gospel than the Gospel of the Kingdom to become the standard for the visible church, the seriousness and unchangeableness of His Purpose has grown dim and unimportant to the casual believer! “We are saved” has taken the place of “we are no longer our own, we have been bought with a price.” Even some of the Old Covenant saints were “saved” as far as the Holy Place. John the Baptist, for example went as far into God’s Purpose as was possible without the New Covenant provision. Still, the least in the Kingdom of God is greater that John.
Therefore, this “foundation of eternal judgment” surely will be a judgment whose consequences will be eternal. Of course, this does not mean that the court that sits in judgment will be eternal, or that the judgment day will last forever! However, the results of the “judgement” (or the consequences of that decision) will continue forever. There will be no plea bargain and no appeals from the sentence. This will be final and there will be no reversal of the judgment. What is decided at the judgement seat will be established forever.
Those who meet the qualification of being “righteous and all that means” will establish their eternal state in the eternal heaven and possibly be qualified to participate in the World yet to come. In like manner the condemnation of the wicked will establish their eternal state forever in the eternal hell and the final places that follow. Since this is the “doctrine” that was taught by the Savior and his apostles, it is reasonable to include this as an “eternal fact” in laying this foundations in the believers.
This “doctrine” will, of course, produce “fear” in the believers and, therefore, be rejected because of other scriptures that present fear as past tense.
2Cor 7:1 Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
The “fear of God” is always positive and is presented as an asset for the Christian. One of the characteristics of the heathen is that they have no fear of God. Fear of “Eternal Judgement” that is reserved for the wicked should inspire us to “cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. “
Is “eternal judgement” then a positive thing or just another negative thing? It is both! Why? Because “eternal judgement” affects both the righteous saved and the unrighteous, unsaved, sinner and the wicked. The saved who have completed the purpose of God will receive their “eternal” rewards for their faithfulness. The sinner, who has ignored God and lived for himself, will receive their just penalty for their rejection of God and His purpose.
But why would “eternal judgement” be the sixth foundation instead of the first in this sequence of Christian development? Because, in the process of development we should lay aside certain fallen characteristics that we had in Adam and put on certain holy characteristics that belong to Christ. AFTER these “characteristics” are in place in our experience we should have the capacity to begin to obey God and serve Him. Within that development there should arise within us a heathy FEAR OF GOD that will inspire each of us to continue on to fulfill the ultimate purpose of God and not get distracted into some casual Christianity. Since it is obvious that we must always CONTINUE to press on toward the final goal and prepare for the final judgement, the judgement seat of Christ, the “fear of God” is a positive asset. The final judgement will not be a slap on the wrist or just a strong rebuke but an absolute ruling that will not just affect of final destiny but that will place us in our final destiny.
2Cor 5:9 Therefore also we have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. 11 Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.
To teach that if we are “saved” we will NOT have to be judged is ignorant. Why? “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ.”