A Study of John's Gospel. Pt. 25 A Judgment for Unbelievers

Good morning...

In today's post we explore the continuing dialogue between the Jewish religious leaders and Christ. 

Two distinct resurrections.

John 5:28-29  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 29) And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. 

I skipped ahead to verses 28-29 to show you the two very different resurrections that Jesus is speaking of. Please refer to the blog index since you can find the lessons I previously taught regarding the resurrections. In this post we will cover the resurrection of damnation.  

"Damnation" is a strong word that refers to the various judgments Jesus taught in His parables. In Matthew 13, we have the parable of the wheat & tares, the parable of the seed & sower and the parable of the net & the fish. 

All three parables involve separating the good from the bad. Another parable teaching this truth is the sheep and the goats (Matthew 25:31-46). The good enter into eternal blessing and the bad enter into eternal punishment. 

In John 5:28-29 Jesus speaks of those who have done good and those who have done evil. This is not referring to doing enough good works to merit God's favor. It speaks of responding to the gospel of Jesus Christ in repentant faith as that which represents doing good. Those who ignore or reject the gospel are those who have done evil. 

Christ will judge all sinners on what He hears. 

John 5:30-33  I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. 31) If I bear witness of myself, my witness is not true. 32) There is another that beareth witness of me; and I know that the witness which he witnesseth of me is true. 33) Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. 

Jesus expounded on His previous statement that the Father has committed all judgment to the Son. Jesus began this section by telling us that He can do nothing apart from the Father which connects to a previous revelation where Jesus said "I and my Father are one."

How will Jesus judge people at the resurrections of life and death? What He will hear in that day He will judge sinners? This is referring to the future judgment of separating the sheep and the goats or separating the wheat from the tares. 

A good question is "What will Christ hear that will inform His verdict as Judge? Praise God, we are not left in the dark about this important issue.

The Great White throne is God's final verdict against sinners. 

Revelation 20:11-15  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. 12) And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15)  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

First, this judgement of unbelievers from all ages is going to take place at the Great White Throne. This is the court room of heaven where Christ will measure out the final judgment of God upon sinners. 

White represents the perfect righteousness and holiness of God. This judgment is going to be a terrible great white throne of condemnation. All unbelievers will be judged according to their works and then be consigned to spend eternity in Hell.

This judgment is coming!

Heb 9:27  And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

This judgment where Christ will preside as Supreme Judge will be fearful and deadly. This judgment is certain because God is holy and He must judge sin. It is going to occur and there will be no escape, no covering up of sins, no evading eternal condemnation. 

Those who mock God will meet their fate. 

Galatians 6:7-8  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8) For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. 

All inhabitants will try to flee from the face of Christ but they will not be able to hide. All the wicked who have died are going to stand before God one by one. All who blasphemed the name of Jesus Christ and who took the name of God in vain will give an account to their Creator, the Son of God. All who made fun of sin and denied God's perfect moral law will be judged by His holy standard. 

What will Jesus hear? An angel is going to open these books and read their contents to Christ. There are several books mentioned. One book is the book of life that has the name of all who put their faith and trust in God from all ages written therein. The other books contain an accurate, divine record of all the sins of all unbelievers.

All the wicked works committed by billions of unbelievers throughout all human history have been accurately recorded by God in His books.  (Revelation 20:12). 

The wicked people standing individually before Jesus Christ the Judge at the Great White Throne will be judged according to their works. Every single person whose name is not written in the book of life will be cast into the lake of eternal fire. 

It is called the second death because most of these people died and then were resurrected for their final judgment where they face eternal separation from God. Holy God is going to settle all accounts with sinners who reject the gospel. He will give the death sentence, which is the wages of their sins. 

Thoughts to Ponder...

We must understand the severity of eternity that each unsaved person faces and we must faithfully share the truth of God's word and pray for the Lord to save them. 

We must not lose sight of God's heart in this matter. The Bible tells us that God is not willing that any should perish but that all men should come to repentance (2 Timothy 2:4 & 2 Peter 3:9). 

May the Lord Jesus put a sense of urgency in our hearts so that we readily share the gospel with those who are sinners and destined for hell. May Christ fill us with joy because He has regenerated our hearts and has given us an eternal home in heaven with Him. 

Bob