Facing the Uncertain Future
BY ROGER WAGNER
Matthew 10:28 Although the COLLAPSE of the former Soviet Union has substantially reduced the danger of a nuclear holocaust, there still are many, many things that produce great fear in people as they look into the future.
Most of us, for example, are afraid of contracting cancer, AIDS, or other serious diseases. We are fearful of being poisoned by toxic waste or contaminated foods. And because the ozone layer surrounding this earth has been thinning, we are now afraid of exposing ourselves to too much sun.
And as though we need to be reminded all the time, the news media bring us everyday reports of violent crimes, riots, famines, or natural disasters taking place somewhere in the world. They present documentaries to make us aware of the problems resulting from drugs, pollution, rising medical costs and whatever.
Meanwhile, Americans are increasingly afraid of the ever mounting government spending and fiscal deficit on the one hand, and the prospect of sharply increased taxes on the other.
Strange answer. How can we find strength and courage to face such an uncertain future? The answer is a paradoxical one. To be able to face the dangers that may hit us in this uncertain life, we need to realize that the future that is certain to come will be far worse than we can ever imagine.
To be specific, Judgment Day is coming and it will be infinitely more frightening and terrifying than all the problems of this life combined and multiplied a thousand times!
Yet, you will never see a documentary on television warning you about the day of final judgment. In fact, our society sort of laughs at hell-fire and brimstone, ridiculing it as something that went out with the 19th century.
Judgment Day Is Coming
But, you know, our Lord was very much motivated by and concerned with the certainty of coming judgment. And He has emphatically conveyed that truth to us in His word. Among other places, He says in Matthew 10:28:Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy both soul and body in hell.By nature, you see, we are hell-bound sinners. Barring an intervention of God's grace, we all go our own way. And all those who have not trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ will be cast in hell when the Lord returns on the last day.And hell is not imaginary. Jesus talks a lot about it. In fact, Jesus says more in the Bible about the reality of hell than anyone else. Let's look at some of the statements He's made on this subject.
What is hell like? In a parable concerning the end of this world, Jesus says:
This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them (the wicked) into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Have you understood all these things? (Matt. 13:49-51)Do we have ears to hear what Jesus is telling us, that at the end of the age, all the wicked will be thrown into a place of fiery torment, a place of weeping and gnashing of teeth? From all indications, we are living very close to the end of time.Eternal punishment. In Matthew 25, Jesus also underscores the certainty of the final judgment. Verse 41: "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.'" And verse 46: "Then they will go away to eternal punishment."
It is going to be an eternal punishment. When we are suffering any of the pains and trials in this life, there is always the hope that it will end one day. But the punishment in hell will be eternal, everlasting, unchangeable.
In Revelation 14, the Lord again describes the reality of the place of judgment that He has prepared for His enemies. We read in verses 9 and following:
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name."Hell is a place of eternal punishment. The smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for the condemned.No second chance. In the familiar parable about the rich man and Lazarus, God reminds us that once we have diedor once Christ returnsthe opportunities for repentance and salvation are forever past. Luke 16:22 and following:
The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, "Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire."Now is the day of salvation. When we die or when Christ returns, whichever comes first, it will be too late. We'll find ourselves in an irreversible position facing a terrible judgment.But Abraham replied, "Son...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."
He answered, "Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment." Abraham replied, "They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them." "No, father Abraham," he said, "but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent." He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead."
To face the dangersin this uncertain life, we need to realize that the future that is certain You often hear people say: "Hell is all the torment that we go through in this life." It sounds philosophical, but it is foolish. All the miseries in this life are but a minuscule foretaste of the judgment in store for those who stubbornly resist the invitations of God's Son to come to Him.
Total separation. But, you know what the worst of it is? Behind the fire, behind the torment, behind the pain and the eternal duration of those things, is the fact that hell is that judgment that finally banishes sinners from the presence of God forever.
The Bible says in II Thessalonians 1:9,10:
They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.We have never known what it is like to be out of the presence of God, not even in our worst rebellion. In this life, we are always enjoying some blessings from God. But in hell, there will be no sense of His presence whatsoever. And that's what makes the darkness so utterly, utterly dark.Heads in the sand. The Holy Spirit says it is given for men once to die, and after that, the judgment. But people can't handle that reality. They don't want to believe it. And so, they try to deny it or cover it up.
They say: "Oh, that idea of hell-fire and brimstone is old fashioned. That's an exaggeration, that's just an outmoded way to scare people. But we in the 20th century know that God is love and a loving God simply won't make anyone suffer."
But they are desperately wrong. God is true to His word. When He declared that the wages of sin is death, He meant it. To pay for the sins of believers, even Jesus Himself had to endure the wrath of God in full. Perfect justice therefore demands that other sinners must be punished as well. No, hell cannot be rationalized away.
Nor is hell a party where all the fun-loving people go, as some like to think. It's not the place where Satan rules as some Backus. Satan himself will be a prisoner in hell of the judgment of God. Hell is real and we must face it squarely.
The Proper Response
How should we respond to these realities? We should be frightened. We should be scared to death. As the Holy Spirit says Himself, it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.The Bible gives us an example of what a man, who was standing at the brink of hell, thought and did.
The Bible gives us an example of what a man, who was standing at the brink of hell, It was the Lord Jesus Himself in the Garden of Gethsemane, in the darkness of that night before His crucifixion. Ladened with the sins of His people, He was about to endure the wrath of God, to be cut off from the presence of God.
Even in His unique divine nature, He prayed, "If it is possible, let this cup pass from me."
Now, I ask you: If the Lord of glory Himself pleaded with His heavenly Father that if there was any way to escape the realities of hell, do it, shouldn't you plead with the Father?
True, the Lord also said: "Not what I want, but what you want." And He did subsequently subject Himself to the reality of hell and was separated from the Father.
But that's because He was paying the price for the sin of believers. What we believers deserve, He paid. What we ought to expect from the reality of hell as a sinner, He suffered.
It was so horrible that He cried out in the darkness, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Whoever believes. Because Christ tasted death and endured hell for His people, all those who come to Him, put their trust in Him, and rest upon His finished work will never, ever, ever have to taste that horrible death.
So, if you plead with the Father for His mercy, if you do so with all your heart and soul, you will find mercy. By putting your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you can indeed escape the wrath of God.
Once you have become saved, you will have a perspective upon which to face all the uncertainties in this life. Learning how to fear God and what He is able to do will give you the strength to face your tomorrows fearlessly, boldly and confidently.
Walking by faith. This doesn't mean that when you become a Christian, God will map out for you the rest of your life and tell you how all things will happen. No, Christians walk by faith and not by sight.
But there is no uncertainty about who God is. And there is no uncertainty for the Christian about our relationship with God and our justification in His presence. God holds the future. God holds the end of your life and mine. And because He does, those who trust Him and love Him don't need to be afraid.
That's why Paul can say from his prison cell there in the first chapter of Philippians: "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Even the worst thing that Satan can do is powerless to hurt you. And if Satan's worst shot has no sting in it, then nothing else can separate you from the love of God.
And so, the New Testament ends with this delightful and hopeful picture that stands in stark contrast to the realities of hell. Revelation 21:3,4:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."And then God declares in chapter 22, verses 3 and following:No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.If that was a fairy tale, it would be a beautiful fairy tale. But it's not! It's reality! Jesus has said: "Be of good courage. I have gone to prepare a place for you. And if I go, I'll be back so that where I am, there you will be also." oRev. Roger Wagner is pastor of Bayview Orthodox Presbyterian Church, 505 East Naples Street, Chula Vista, CA 91911.