|
and He will come to judge the living and the dead. |
Often dismissed
as an invention of the church, to keep believers “in line”; but Jesus Himself
is the prime source of this doctrine. |
Notice
that the creed makes no statement about “when” this will happen … quite
rightly, as we simply don’t know (see Matthew 24,36); the message of the New
Testament is (a) it’s certainty is guaranteed, and (b) believers must be ready
for it, whenever it happens, because by then it may be “too late”. However,
Jesus said that there would be “signs” that the date is drawing near (Matthew
24), and gave these hints …
·
Deception
is rife (4-5), with some falsely claiming to be the Messiah
·
Wars
and “rumours of wars” (6-7) … we have had two global wars; could the “rumours”
be referring to periods such as the “cold war” and/or terrorism (undeclared
wars)?
·
Famines
and earthquakes (7-8) … we are told that since the mid 20th
Century (after the 2 world wars) the frequency and devastation of these two
events have increased markedly.
·
These
are the early warning signs … Jesus goes on to describe the terrible sort of
events leading to His return.
But
the creed doesn’t dwell on speculation about these things. It focusses on “why”
Jesus will return – to judge all human beings; Scripture reveals two aspects of
this judgement
·
To
judge whether a human is worthy to live in heaven eternally.
·
To
judge what rewards, or areas of further service, a believer deserves.
A
final thought … it is so great that Jesus (not us) will be doing the judging;
He will be fair, and right.
Why
is this important?
·
Heaven
is going to be a “perfect place” … all the things that spoil life on earth will
not be allowed in.
·
The
perpetual problem of life (“Why do the wicked prosper?”) will be answered.
Return
to the “What we believe” page, or the “Faith” index, or the main
website index.