The signs of the times

The Watchman (Ezekiel 3:16–21)

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Disaster unless repentance.

“‘Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction.’” (Jeremiah 6:1)

The whole of chapter six is of great importance for an understanding of the nature of God that is revealed through Jeremiah’s writing. There is probably no other chapter in the Book of Jeremiah that more clearly encapsulates both the justice and the love of God, and also the tenderness of his care for his covenantal people.

The Heart of God

In his times of standing in the Council of the Lord, Jeremiah senses the grief in the heart of God as he looks at what is happening among the people with whom he established a covenant relationship of love.

The chapter begins with the command to sound the trumpet warning of the approach of a mighty army that will bring destruction upon the cities of Judah. Then there follows: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Look, an army is coming from the land of the north; a great nation is being stirred up from the ends of the earth. They are armed with bow and spear; they are cruel and show no mercy’” (Jer 6:22-23).

Jeremiah then adds his own plea: “We have heard reports about them, and our hands hang limp. Anguish has gripped us,… Put on sackcloth, my people, and roll in ashes; mourn with bitter wailing as for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us” (Jer 6:24-26).

Although these reports are clearly about the Babylonian army being on the move, it would be a mistake to think that this was a warning from God telling them to prepare the defences of Jerusalem and put the army of Judah on red alert to resist an invasion. Certainly, this was an accurate description of the international situation. But the whole purpose of this chapter is not to warn about a Babylonian attack even though Jeremiah could see it as vividly as though it were already taking place.

Jeremiah senses the grief in the heart of God over his covenant people.

The Real Danger

The danger is not from the Babylonians. The danger is that God will withdraw his covering of protection over the land and over his covenant people because they have broken the covenant and poured out wickedness, violence and corruption like a fountain gushing out water from a well (Jer 6:7). The next verse delivers the heart of the message: “‘Take warning, Jerusalem, or I will turn away from you and make your land desolate so that no one can live in it’” (Jer 6:8).

This is a poor translation that fails to express the heart of the message that Jeremiah is trying to convey. The Authorised Version gets closer to the Hebrew for this verse – “Be thou instructed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest I make thee desolate, a land not inhabited.” The command to ‘be instructed’ (Hebrew ysr) or to ‘learn a lesson’ is not a warning or threat as the NIV states. It is a cry from the heart of God for the people he loves who are so unfaithful to him. It represents an element of indecision in the heart of God that is similar to that reflected in Hosea: “‘My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I devastate Ephraim again. For I am God, and not a man – the Holy One among you. I will not come [in wrath]’” (Hos 11:8-9).

That was said shortly before God withdrew his covering of protection over the northern Kingdom of Israel and allowed the Assyrian army to ravage the land and take the people into exile. Jeremiah was constantly aware that this same tragedy could fall upon the southern Kingdom of Judah where the people were just as idolatrous and unfaithful as their northern brothers and sisters had been. The fate that befell Israel was now looming over Judah.

The danger is that God will withdraw his covering of protection over the land because his people have broken the covenant.

Words of Warning

It was Jeremiah’s prophetic calling to blow the trumpet in Jerusalem, but all his words of warning were ignored, “To whom can I speak and give warning? Who will listen to me? Their ears are closed so that they cannot hear. The word of the Lord is offensive to them; they find no pleasure in it. But I am full of the wrath of the Lord, and I cannot hold it in.” (Jer 6:10-11).

Jeremiah’s dilemma was a reflection of what he saw in the heart of God. He knew God’s great love for his people, yet he knew God to be a God of righteousness who was utterly faithful in keeping his promises. Yahweh, the God of Israel, who had delivered his people from slavery in Egypt and had brought them into the Promised Land, had established a solemn covenant: so long as people were faithful to him, worshipping no other god and putting their trust in him, he would watch over them, protect them, bless them and give them prosperity.

But if they were faithless and turned away from him to the gods of the world, he could do no other than withdraw his presence and the power of his protection. This was the fate that had befallen Israel and was now about to fall upon Judah. Jeremiah sensed a moment of indecision in the heart of God: the fate of Judah did not depend upon Nebuchadnezzar or the army of Babylon. It depended entirely upon God.

Jeremiah knew God to be a God of righteousness who is utterly faithful to his covenant promises.

The Need for Repentance

There was still just the faintest chance that Judah would be spared the inevitable disaster. God had not yet declared: “‘Hear, you earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law’” (Jer 6:19).

If there were the slightest sign of repentance – a recognition of their wrongdoing and a willingness to seek the forgiveness of the Lord and put their trust in him, God would remain faithful to keep his word. The Babylonian army would be powerless to put a foot upon the soil of Judah: Jerusalem would be safe because God is a God who keeps his word and he is the God of Creation who could wipe out the Babylonian army at a stroke.

The fate of Judah depended upon people hearing and heeding the word of the Lord. Disaster was inevitable unless there was repentance. The “UNLESS” was still there: but for how long?

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here for previous instalments.

Finding the right path.

This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls. But you said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ I appointed watchmen over you and said, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But you said, ‘We will not listen.’” (Jeremiah 6:16-17)

Where and when this word from Jeremiah originated no-one can be quite sure. It is another of his words of warning during the reign of King Jehoiakim, who was quite unlike his godly father, Josiah. Jehoiakim and his political advisers were only interested in a life of carefree indulgence. The Mosaic traditions and righteous laws upheld during his father’s reign were being discarded and everyone was doing as they liked, including the priests and prophets at the Temple.

There is no direct evidence of Jeremiah leaving Jerusalem and wandering in the desert, but the words of this prophecy certainly do not reflect city streets. The ‘ancient paths’ is a well-known phrase for the wilderness and it is very possible that Jeremiah, like other prophets and spiritual leaders of Israel, loved the desert. For those who sought to be in communion with God, like Moses or Elijah, the solitude of the desert was a haven.

The desert was not a place of separation from God – quite the reverse – it was separation from the world. It was a place of seclusion with God where the prophets could speak with him and hear his voice clearly, without the cacophony of the city streets.

The ‘ancient paths’ is a well-known phrase for the wilderness. It is very possible that Jeremiah, like other prophets of Israel, loved the desert.

Ask for the Good Way

Jeremiah was probably thinking of the Judean wilderness south of Jerusalem, or the Desert of Paran near Beersheba. These places would have been familiar to David, the shepherd boy of Bethlehem, before he became King of Israel.

In the wilderness, there are many desert paths. Some are broad and inviting, but dangerous, running alongside a precipice. Others are narrow and difficult, but safe. The shepherds know every path in the wilderness, some of which are so narrow that the sheep have to go in single file. The good shepherd goes ahead of his sheep just as David would have done, leading them to a good pasture where there is both food and water. David beautifully expressed this in the 23rd Psalm: “He leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness…”

In his time of reflection, Jeremiah was probably thinking of the wilderness and a time when he reached a crossroads. Being more used to city streets, he would probably have stood there waiting for a shepherd to come along, to ask him for the good way. This is expressed in this prophecy, “Ask for the good way”. It would have been an ancient path over which shepherds had led their flocks for centuries.

Jeremiah might even have been familiar with the words of Isaiah some 200 years earlier, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isa 30:21).

A Voice in the Wilderness

Back in Jerusalem, the wilderness paths came into Jeremiah’s mind and he pronounced this reading, warning the nation of the dangers that lay ahead as a consequence of idolatry and unbelief. It grieved him to listen to the people and to know what would befall them. He longed to run away into the desert and to stay there. He wept before the Lord:

Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people. Oh, that I had in the desert a lodging place for travellers, so that I might leave my people and go away from them... (Jer 9:1-2a)

The shepherds know every path in the wilderness, some of which are inviting but dangerous. The good shepherd leads his sheep to safe pasture.

Jeremiah was a lone ‘voice in the wilderness’ patrolling the city streets, warning of the terrible consequences that would befall the nation if they no longer kept the terms of the covenant with God. He knew that God would not defend an unrighteous people and therefore disaster lay ahead.

God had already sent them many warning signs, all of which had been ignored, so Jeremiah now went on to make a devastating prophecy. In his quiet time in the wilderness he had heard God calling upon the whole world of nature to observe and to learn from what he was about to do with his own covenant people, who had deliberately discarded his teaching and ignored his warnings:

Hear, O Earth: I am bringing disaster on this people, the fruit of their schemes, because they have not listened to my words and have rejected my law. (Jer 6:19)

Truth Then is Truth Today

If God will not defend his own covenant people when they deliberately reject his teaching and despise his words, what hope is there for Gentile nations who have known the word of God for centuries and yet deliberately turn away, despising his warnings?

The tragic history of Israel shows what happened to Jerusalem and the people of Judah in Jeremiah’s own lifetime when God’s warnings were ignored. He allowed the invading army of Nebuchadnezzar to break down the walls of Jerusalem and take the people captive to Babylon. Jeremiah knew that there was no army in the world that could have conquered Jerusalem if the people had remained faithful to God.

Jeremiah’s words are as true today as they were in the 6th Century BC, because God does not change. His truth then, is truth today. He is still saying: “Ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls”.

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of the Prophet Jeremiah. Click here for previous instalments.

Who does God hold responsible for the state of the nation?

“The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord. “They have lied about the Lord; they said, ‘He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.’ The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them.” (Jeremiah 5:11-13)

This word is in the context of the instruction to Jeremiah to go up and down the streets of Jerusalem to see if he could find anyone who was behaving honestly and seeking the truth. He had listened to the ordinary people and he had gone to the political and religious leaders but found none of them were obeying the teaching of Yahweh – they had “broken off the yoke and torn off the bonds” of the God of Israel (Jer 5:5).

When Jeremiah reported his findings, the response he heard was, “Why should I forgive you? Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods” (5:7). Idolatry had spread rapidly since the death of King Josiah and there were altars to foreign gods on the streets of Jerusalem. The people were doing their business deals in the market and actually swearing by these idols. The righteous indignation of God can be seen in his words: “‘I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery and thronged to the houses of prostitutes…Should I not punish them for this?’ declares the Lord” (Jer 5:7-9).

These words are reminiscent of those given to Hosea in the northern state of Israel: “When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me” (Hos 13:6). Both Hosea and Jeremiah were astonished at the ingratitude and stupidity of those who were so blind that they did not recognise all the blessings that God had bestowed upon them. They still turned away and worshipped bits of wood and stone.

Both Hosea and Jeremiah were astonished at the ingratitude and stupidity of the people, who did not recognise all the blessings that God had bestowed upon them.

Will He Do Nothing?

Jeremiah recognised that God’s anger was not so much against the ordinary people but against their spiritual leaders – the priests and prophets who had no excuse. They knew the word of the Lord. They had rediscovered a Torah scroll during the repairs to the Temple ordered by King Josiah, who had re-affirmed the covenant with God. But the terms of this covenant were now being ignored by those who had responsibility for the spiritual life of the nation. They were not teaching the word of God to the people: “The prophets are but wind and the word is not in them!”

This was a devastating condemnation of the Temple priesthood, their preachers and teachers of the Torah. They had the scrolls containing parts of what we now know as Deuteronomy. There was no excuse for ignorance of the word of God. But the preachers actually undermined the faith of the people. Jeremiah declares this in 6:13: “From the least to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. ‘Peace, Peace,’ they say when there is no peace.”

The Temple priests and prophets had actually dared to say “He will do nothing!” Their teaching was that God was no longer active. They may have still acknowledged God as the Creator and that he had given the Torah to Moses, but they no longer believed he was active in his Creation. God had just dropped into the background (which is the view of many preachers today). He was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and he had done things for Israel in the past; but that was history. There was no need to worry about any misdemeanours in the nation because God was no longer doing anything! He was a god of the past, not of the present.

Proud and Haughty Leaders

The priests and prophets were part of a small elite under royal patronage at the Temple, enjoying a privileged lifestyle. They were practising mutual self-interest: the priests gave religious legitimacy to King Jehoiakim despite his licentious behaviour, and he gave Royal approval to the Temple hierarchy, who were greedy, self-indulgent and faithless men. They were far worse than the ordinary people because they were the official representatives of God.

Jeremiah recognised that God’s anger was not so much against the ordinary people but against their spiritual leaders – the priests and prophets who had no excuse.

They were a professional elite who did not have to earn their living by the work of their hands. It was their responsibility to teach the people the word of God, helping them to understand the requirements of the Lord and the terms of the covenant. They not only failed to do this, but by their false teaching and immorality, Jeremiah said, “They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness” (Jer 23:14).

This was a terrible condemnation. It meant that the priests and prophets were actually responsible for the state of the nation – for the idolatry and unbelief among the people as well as for the immorality and sexual perversion everywhere in Jerusalem. “They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife” (Jer 5:8). This is a highly significant analogy. Throughout the Old Testament, ‘horses’ were linked with the rich and powerful. Their owners were proud and haughty like kings. And this statement, in the context of the faithlessness of the nation, shows that the priests and prophets were anathema to God. The word of God was not in them.

Unbelief in the Pulpit

The most serious implication of these statements is that God was holding the religious leaders responsible for the fate of the nation. He was removing his cover of protection and giving the enemy permission to bring divine judgment upon Judah: “Go through her vineyards and ravage them, but do not destroy them completely” (Jer 5:10).

If we apply this teaching to our situation today in the Western nations that have turned their backs upon God, we have to conclude that God is holding the Church and its leaders – its priests and prophets – responsible for the state of the nation. They are not only held responsible for the moral and spiritual condition of the people, but also for the social and political corruption of the leaders who do not know the word of the Lord.

This is why the Bible says that judgment begins at the house of the Lord; because unbelief begins in the pulpit before spreading to the pew!

This article is part of a series on the life and ministry of Jeremiah. Click here to read previous instalments.

The Son of God is coming soon, along with fiery judgment

Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of Britain’s Brexit prospects, doom-and-gloom merchants have assembled in Poland for a Global Warming summit expected to paint an apocalyptic picture of a world choking to death on carbon emissions.

Indeed, Sir David Attenborough predicts the collapse of civilisation if suitable action is not taken.¹

Admittedly it’s a touch warmer than usual for the time of year, no doubt aided by the amount of hot air generated from the 200 nations represented at the symposium, but the heat that should really concern us is the fire of God’s judgment soon likely to be unleashed on our planet.

I like the poster I saw outside our local parish church not so long ago: ‘Global warning – the Son of God is coming’.

Signs of His Coming

It is appropriate at this time of year – known as Advent in the Church – to focus, not only on Christ’s birth but also on his promised return in power and great glory. And prophecies of end time chaos as a prelude to his Second Coming abound in the scriptures.

I mentioned a significant one last week, indicating signs of a 2,600-year-old prophecy of Ezekiel being fulfilled with the Dead Sea coming to life as fresh water and fish flow back into an area choked with salt for thousands of years.

Jesus too, a fulfilment himself of hundreds of Old Testament scriptures pointing to the coming Messiah, outlined a number of specific signs he said would indicate the imminence of his return.

And one of those would indeed be climatic chaos! Listen to what Jesus describes, especially bearing in mind the frightening tsunamis we have seen in recent years:

There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time, they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke 21:25-27)

Signs of Jesus’ return include environmental chaos – not primarily due to our mismanagement of the earth, but as a wake-up call sent by God that judgment is inevitable.

In addition, wars, famines and earthquakes would occur with increasing severity, as with labour pains for a pregnant woman (Matt 24:7f).

But all this would not primarily be due to mismanagement of the earth, though it is no doubt partly to blame as, out of our selfishness, we do not take care of our God-given environment as we should.

No, it is chiefly a wake-up call to flag up inevitable judgment on a wicked world along with the Second Coming of our Saviour, Jesus. The earth is experiencing the pains of childbirth (see also Romans 8:22) that will ultimately usher in the rule of Christ.

Yes, the Bible is clear that he is coming back to reign from Jerusalem for a thousand years of perfect peace. But his coming will be preceded by terrible times of violence, immorality and rebellion against the Creator.

The Mount of Olives, where Jesus will return, according to the Scriptures (Zech 14:4; Acts 1:11). Photo: Charles GardnerJesus will finally place his feet on the Mt of Olives overlooking Jerusalem (Zech 14:4) and put an end to war. Those who love him will welcome him with great joy, but those who have rejected him will mourn over what they have done to him (Matt 24:30).

Not Yet Fulfilled

Ezekiel also predicted a terrible war in the last days that would see a group of nations coming against Israel, but great numbers would perish in the conflict as God ‘sends fire’ on the aggressors (Ezek 39:6).

50 years ago an elderly woman in Norway shared a frightening vision of the time leading up to Christ’s coming and the onset of a ‘Third World War’ that would be ended, she said, with a ‘nuclear atom bomb’.

In view of the fact that much of her vision has come true – a long peace between the super-powers, a falling away from the Christian faith, a huge increase in violence and immorality and unprecedented immigration to Europe – it should at least be taken seriously.

Meanwhile a new book, Floodgates by David Parsons (Whitaker House), supports the biblical premise that while God’s judgment of flood on the ancient world at the time of Noah will not be repeated, judgment on the modern age is just as inevitable – except that it will be by fire, not water.

The Apostle Peter predicted that in the last days there would be much scoffing about such talk (of the Second Coming) by godless people suggesting life would continue as it always has done.

“But they deliberately forget”, he writes, “that long ago by God’s word the heavens came into being and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” (2 Pet 3:5-7).

In fact, if there is any delay in his coming, it is because he doesn’t want anyone to perish.

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth…will be laid bare. (2 Peter 3:10)

If there is any delay in his coming, it is because he doesn’t want anyone to perish.

Peace in Christ

One person who has already experienced apocalyptic horror of this kind is Kim Phuc Phan Thi, the nine-year-old girl pictured running in terror from the effects of a napalm bomb during the Vietnam War – a photo that shocked the world. Though scarred for life, she found peace after committing her life to Christ on Christmas Eve 1982.

The pastor spoke of how Christmas is not about the gifts we give to each other, so much as it is about one gift in particular: the gift of Jesus Christ…How desperately I needed peace. How ready I was for love and joy. I had so much hatred in my heart – so much bitterness…My faith in Jesus has enabled me to forgive those who have hurt and scarred me.²

Hers is a true peace following a particularly bloody war. And you too can experience such transformation through Jesus, who loved you so much that he died in your place to give you eternal life!

References

1 Live Science, 3 December 2018.

2 New Life, December 2018 – www.newlife.co.uk

We look set for a turbulent autumn and a winter of discontent.

Our political masters are back from their summer break, refreshed and reinvigorated and ready to set the world right. But do they come back to Westminster with any fresh ideas, or is it back to the same old policies, antagonisms and graft? Both main parties are riven asunder from top to bottom with division so we look set for a turbulent autumn and a winter of discontent, with the Brexit battle absorbing the Tories and anti-Semitism troubling Labour.

The resignation of Frank Field from the Labour Party whip and the bitter criticism of Jeremy Corbyn by Margaret Hodge are signs of the deep trouble in the parliamentary Labour Party. The outbursts from Boris Johnson, Jacob Rees Mogg and other strong Brexiteers who say that Theresa May’s Chequers plan is dead in the water are all adding to the sense of confusion and turmoil surrounding Westminster at the moment.

Signs of Judgment

But these are classical biblical signs of judgment. Deuteronomy 28 gives a list of curses that would come upon Israel if they turned their backs upon the word of God and got heavily into idolatry and rejection of the truth.

One of the consequences would be “The Lord will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him” (Deut 28:20). This prophecy was certainly fulfilled in 586 BC when Jerusalem including the temple, the palace and all the great houses of the city were destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar and the Babylonian army.

Coronation Oath

Of course, Britain is not in a covenant relationship with God as was the nation of Israel; but our Sovereign, on behalf of the nation, swore an Oath of Allegiance to the God of the Bible in her Coronation Ceremony in 1953. Since then, as a nation, we have steadily turned away from biblical truth, passing one law after another that is directly against the word of God such as: The Abortion Act 1967, The Divorce Reform Act 1969, The Children’s Act 1989, The Sunday Trading Act 1993, The Gender Recognition Act 2004, The Equality Acts 2010, and The Marriage Same-Sex Couples Act 2013.

"We have steadily turned away from biblical truth"

Warnings

It is simply not possible to do all these ungodly things without bringing upon the nation the retribution we deserve. Another warning in Deuteronomy 28:28 says, “The Lord will inflict you with madness, blindness and confusion of mind.” We are certainly seeing this among our politicians today. We have had the truth in the Bible for centuries and as a nation we have chosen to discard it and go our own way.

In so doing, Britain, that had been under the protective cover of God for 1,000 years, moved outside that cover of protection and what we are seeing today is the result. There is no greater example of the rejection of the ‘God dimension’ in public life than Jeremy Corbyn’s behaviour in regard to the Jews and Zionism. 

Zionism

Zionism is the recognition of God’s covenant with Israel that is at the heart of our Judeo-Christian faith. The promise goes right back to the time of Abraham: “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you” (Gen 12:2-3).

Has Corbyn never read the Bible? As leader of a major political party in Britain whose Sovereign has sworn on oath to uphold the word of God in the Bible, he surely should have some understanding of what this means and of his own responsibility for upholding biblical truth.

It is a simple historical fact that the people of Israel occupied the land of Israel for many hundreds of years until the Roman army slaughtered half a million Jews and drove the remainder out of the land, destroying Jerusalem, renaming it ‘Capitoline’ and renaming the land of Israel – ‘Palestine’ – ‘land of the Philistines’ – as a deliberate insult to the Jews. That was in AD 135 and they remained scattered across the globe until their land was restored to them in 1948. Until that date the hope of returning to their traditional homeland had been expressed in the term ‘Zionism’ since the 1890s. It was endorsed by British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour in a 1917 Declaration which was endorsed by Lloyd George and Winston Churchill and became part of British foreign policy.

Anti-Semitism

But anti-Semitic prejudice has plagued the British Foreign Office ever since the 1920s and that is what we see reflected in Jeremy Corbyn and his followers today. Their get-out-of-jail-free-card added to the international definition of anti-Semitism this week allowing them to criticise Israel is a pathetic cover for the anti-Jewish prejudice at the heart of their policy. But the prejudice they are trying to conceal is not just a social attitude. It is, at root, a hatred of God and of the Covenant he made with the people of Israel through whom he has given his teaching (Torah) and revealed his nature and purposes in the Bible; and as Christians believe – He has also given us the Messiah, our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Hope

Is there any hope for Britain? Of course there is! Bible-believing-praying Christians should be asking God to use this time of confusion to cause people to recognise our need of God’s help. The 100 young people who have died on the streets of London since the beginning of this year are evidence of a sick society that can only be cured by crying out to God for help. We have reached the stage in the corruption of society that only spiritual revival can cure! None of our problems can be solved by human ingenuity because at root they are spiritual rather than social problems that only God can solve.

None of our problems can be solved by human ingenunity.

Shaking the Nations

It is not only Britain that is in desperate need – the USA similarly is going through a time of political and social upheaval with President Trump under siege in the White House, and Democrats and Republicans hurling insults at one another in the run-up to the November mid-term elections.

Germany, Italy and many other European nations are also going through a period of political turmoil; so too is Australia. Throughout the Western world there are many signs that the great shaking of the nations prophesied in Scripture (Haggai 2:7 and Hebrews 12) are coming true in our generation.

We are rapidly moving towards the time when the situation will become so desperate that Christians will be battering the gates of heaven with their prayers calling upon God to send spiritual revival as the only hope of saving the nations from destruction!

A study on eternal judgment.

In our final article on the basic principles of Hebrews 6, Campbell MacAlpine turns to the subject of eternal judgment.

We now come to the last of the six truths which should be absorbed into our lives if we are going to continually advance to maturity. We considered in the previous two articles the glorious prospect and hope for the Christian who dies before Jesus returns. However, as well as a resurrection of the just, there is also a resurrection of the unjust. As well as salvation, there is condemnation; as well as heaven there is hell; as well as there being eternal bliss, there is also eternal judgment.

Why should this teaching be so important? How should it affect our lives? There are various answers:

• We should be continually grateful to God that he ever saved us. Daily we should be thankful for his mercy to us, and that he has “delivered us from wrath to come”. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him” (Rom 5:89).
  
• We should continually desire to see people saved. The truth is that man without Christ is lost, and lost forever. We are called to be signposts to Jesus, to intercede for the lost, and to be available to bring the good news of the Gospel so that people can be saved from eternal judgment. As the old hymn puts it, “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.”
  
• We should present the truth of the Gospel. Paul could boldly declare, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew; then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:16-18).

Paul states that the Gospel reveals two things: the righteousness of God and the wrath of God.

The Righteousness of God

First, the Gospel reveals that for man, who is totally unrighteous and can do nothing to make himself righteous, Christ's righteousness has been imputed to him when he believes in the Lord Jesus. “There is no-one righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10); “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21) and “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

Paul states that the Gospel reveals two things: the righteousness of God and the wrath of God.

What a powerful, life-changing message is contained in the Gospel. How gracious of God to pronounce a ‘not guilty’ verdict on us when we came to him. How merciful of him to look upon us as righteous because on the Cross Jesus took our unrighteousness.

The Wrath of God

The second thing the Gospel reveals is God’s wrath; his holy and just anger against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (Heb 1:8-9).

How is the wrath of God revealed?

• It is revealed in man’s conscience. If a man does something wrong, he knows it, and although he may not agree, knows his wrong deserves punishment. Therefore, his first impulse is to hide his sin.
  
• God’s wrath is revealed in history when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. The wickedness of mankind increased and increased, until God in his holy justice had to intervene and everyone was destroyed when the Flood came, with the exception of eight people who were saved in the ark. God’s wrath on cities rife with immorality was revealed in Sodom and Gomorrah.
  
• As well as nations and cities, God's wrath against all ungodliness has been revealed in his judgments on individuals such as King Belshazzar, Korah, Gehazi, King Uzziah, King Herod, Ananias and Sapphira and the Corinthian believers failing to discern the Lord's Body during communion.
  
• God’s wrath is revealed in death. Satan lied to our first parents and assured them that if they disobeyed God they would not suffer – “you will not surely die” he whispered to them. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” Every time we pass a cemetery, or see a funeral, or read an obituary, we need to remember that the word of God declares, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23).
  
• However, the greatest revelation of God's wrath against sin is seen at the Cross. There we see what it cost the Lord Jesus, sinless, holy, spotless, pure, taking the punishment for our sins, taking the judgment, taking the wrath, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Hallelujah, what a Saviour! “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5).

The greatest revelation of God’s wrath against sin is seen at the Cross.

Importance of Warning

There are two essential contents of good teaching. One is feeding, and the other is warning. When you study the ministry of the Lord Jesus you find that his teaching was punctuated by warnings. “Watch out for false prophets”; “Be on your guard against men”; “Watch out! be on your guard against all kinds of greed.”

You also find this content in the teaching of Paul and the other Apostles. When Paul was visiting the leaders in Ephesus for the last time he exhorted them to “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers”. Then he said, “…for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:28, 31).

So it is with the message of the Gospel. There is the proclamation and teaching of its glorious message which is “the power of God unto salvation.” It brings the wonderful invitation “whosoever will may come”, although the late Dr Tozer, in one of his wonderful writings, said the Gospel is not an invitation but an ultimatum: “God commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”

However, the message also brings a warning. The verse that says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned”, is the same verse that says, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).

We do not seem to hear much warning today. When did you last hear a sermon on hell, or the wrath of God, or eternal punishment? I am not speaking about preachers taking delight in dangling their congregations over the hot flames or hell to try and scare them into the Kingdom of God. In years gone by that kind of preaching seemed to be quite prevalent. However, I think the pendulum has swung in the other direction.

Years ago I asked God never to allow me to preach about judgment unless my heart was filled with his love for the lost. In his faithfulness he has answered that prayer, sometimes causing others embarrassment. Although I have not been embarrassed, I have had to pause and weep.

In the same way that we cannot fully anticipate the joy awaiting the Christian, neither can we understand the desperate loss for those who reject the message of his love and grace. At a conference in Belgium some years ago, I sat next to a lady from a Middle Eastern country one lunch-time. In conversation I asked her how she came to know the Lord Jesus. She told me it was the result of a dream. She dreamt that she was in hell and described some terrors and horrors that were shown her. One thing that so impressed her was that there was fire but there was no light. She never rested until she came to the place of yielding her life to Christ. Yes, the message speaks of the righteousness of God, and the wrath of God.

In the same way that we cannot fully anticipate the joy awaiting the Christian, neither can we understand the desperate loss for those who reject the message of his love and grace.

What Then is Eternal Punishment?

There is no need to conjure up some human description or pass one’s personal opinion. The safest thing to do is simply take what the word of God says. Eternal punishment is:

• Eternal separation from God: “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thess 1:7-9).
• Being in the company of the devil and his angels: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).
• Darkness and sorrow: They “will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 8:12).
• Everlasting shame: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:2).
• A place of no return: Jesus gave one of the most revealing insights when he told the story in Luke 16, of the rich man and Lazarus. To the rich man who lived without God, and died without God, he said, “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us” (Luke 16:26).

Who Will Be There?

Those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death” (Rev 21:8).

In the light of this sobering truth it is good to know that God does not want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). How great is the love and grace of God in sending the Lord Jesus to die and rise again that we might be delivered from wrath to come. What confidence we can have in the Gospel. It is the power of God for salvation to all who will believe it. So let us be thankful for his salvation and his keeping power. Let us proclaim the good news of a Saviour, and let us go on to maturity.

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptism, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (Heb 6:1, NKJV).

Let us take as our resolve the words of the next verse, “This will we do…”

Questions

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an invitation, and also a warning. Why is the warning so important?
   
2. Why is it, do you think, that so little is preached about God’s wrath?
3. How will this teaching affect your life in the future?
4. Why do you think that Jesus preached more about hell than anyone else?

This article is part of a series. Click here for previous instalments.