After Life - Adult SS - Lesson 4: The Return of Christ & Judgement Day

There we go. We've seen that there's an intermediate state after death, a state between the point of death and the return of Christ, where we exist in soul form.

So our bodies remain on earth, but we go either to heaven, if you're a believer, hell, if you're an unbeliever, in soul form.

And then everyone is resurrected after that, believer and unbeliever, and then it's the final state.

And that's how eternity will be forever, never to change again.

And for the believer, that's living in the new creation, in our physical, resurrected, perfected bodies.

And for the unbeliever, it's eternity, body and soul in hell.

And so we've been following this timeline, but we've skipped something, haven't we?

Something critical. How do we get from this stage over here, this intermediate state or just life on earth, how do we get from this to the final state of new creation or hell?

Well, today, we're coming to the missing gap in the middle.

And we're going to find out what triggers all this final state.

And we'll see it's the return of Christ and judgment day.

That's our focus today.

We're going to peer into the future and see what will happen to the world and to us and to the church and to all people when Christ returns.

And the first thing to see is this.

The return will mean the end of this age.

So we're going to look at the first point today.

The return means the end of this age.

So cast your mind back a few weeks ago to our session on heaven.

Where is Christ now?

Christ is in heaven, isn't he?

So in Acts 1, he ascended into the heavenly realm bodily.

Do you remember?

Where are my pens?

There we go.

You can see this at the bottom.

So you remember God created all things.

So this is going to be small.

All things, all creation.

And then you have heaven.

It's one realm of creation.

Hell is another.

And then you just have the universe.

That's the visible universe.

All other things.

That's where we live.

And so Christ is in heaven right now.

Bodily.

He's ruling from there over all creation.

He's growing his church.

He's bringing his kingdom.

He's sustaining atoms from this realm.

And he's enthroned in heaven right now.

But what is promised as soon as he ascends into heaven?

Look at Acts 1 verse 11.

Acts 1:11

This Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

As soon as he goes, Jesus promises he will return to this earth.

And when he does, the Bible tells us that his second coming, so remember his first is Christmas, right?

That's his first coming.

But his second coming, when he comes down from heaven, that will bring a close to this age.

So look at what the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24.

They're asking about the end times.

What will be the sign of your coming and the close of this age?

The Bible speaks of two ages.

I've added to our diagram here.

I hope it's not complicated, but it's just getting fuller.

So the Bible speaks of two ages.

History is split into two ages.

This age and the age to come.

And you hear that language a lot through the Bible.

I've got some verses there, Matthew 12, Luke 18, Ephesians 1.

You often hear this, this age and the age to come language.

And the age to come refers to this final state.

Can you see it matches up with this final state here?

You have the age to come.

This is how eternity will be.

And so it's marked, for the believer, it's marked by perfection and eternal life.

It's the new creation that this is the age to come.

And so from now until that point, things run as they are.

So life as we know it, which is, how is it marked?

How is this life marked?

It's marked by sin and death and opposition to God.

Imperfection.

We are in this age.

Okay?

So remember, even if you go to heaven or hell, that earth still continues.

Life as we know it still continues.

And all of that together, that is this age.

And so because it's marked by sin, Paul calls it in Galatians 1, the present evil age.

It's an evil age.

And so this is how you can think of history.

It's split into two parts.

This age and the age to come.

But what triggers the age to come?

How do we get from this current present evil age to the age to come?

Well, the Bible says it's the return of Christ that closes this age and begins the age to come.

So look at these passages I've written, I've got there for you.

Matthew 24.

What will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?

The second coming and the close of this age go together.

They are one event together.

And look at 2 Thessalonians 1.

Christ's return marks the end of evil and persecution and injustice.

And it's the point.

It's the long-awaited relief for the church.

And look at 2 Peter 3.

The coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved,

and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn.

But according to his promise, we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

Christ's return triggers the purification of this current creation.

That's what the fire is referring to.

It's not talking about being incinerated.

It's talking about being purified.

And his return, it marks the commencement and transformation, the beginning of the new creation.

And look at 1 Corinthians 15.

In Christ shall all be made alive.

Remember, this is the resurrection.

But each in his own order.

Christ the firstfruits.

Christ's return triggers the resurrection.

At his second coming, we will all be raised from the dead.

And so there is a point in history when something cataclysmic will happen to the universe and to life as we know it.

Christ will return, bring a close to this age, wrap things up, and then he will begin the final state.

History is wrapped up and a new history begins.

A few mic checks.

There we go.

And what we need to realize is this will be a real physical event in history.

So remember Acts 1 again.

It's promised Jesus will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.

How did Jesus go up into heaven?

He was taken up physically, wasn't he?

He had a physical body visibly taken up.

The disciples saw him.

And he will return physically and visibly from the realm of heaven to this planet.

That's why the language of this event is not only called the coming or the second coming, but it's also called his revealing or his appearing.

There's a real emphasis in the Bible that this will be a public, visible event for every living creature to see.

It's something they must see.

And it will be an awesome sight.

So just listen to 2 Thessalonians 1.

When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus,

they will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.

When he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at among all who have believed.

Although heaven itself, the realm of heaven, it isn't actually kind of in the clouds up there.

He could well appear from the clouds above.

1 Thessalonians 4 says he's going to descend from the air.

And he's going to come in all his glory.

With his army of angels surrounding him.

And he will visibly appear in the full revelation of his glory and power.

It's Christmas time, isn't it?

When Christ first came, how did he come?

He came in a manger, didn't he?

In all humility.

His glory was veiled.

You can look at that little baby in a manger, but you wouldn't be able to tell that, oh, this is the glorious king of the universe.

But when he comes a second time, there is no veil.

And there will be no doubt about his glory.

And he could actually well be shining in his glory as he appears.

And when he does it, he will raise the dead.

Believer and unbeliever, do you remember last week, it's all will be raised from their graves.

He will transform creation and bring an end to life as we know it.

And so for the Christian, this is the day of relief for the church.

This is the day when all our troubles and sorrows will end.

And so it's what we're all longing for.

This is the deep desire of the Christian for Christ to return.

I mentioned this a few days ago in the Tuesday lunchtime service.

So don't answer if you were there.

But who knows what the final prayer in the Bible is?

I'll give you a clue.

It's Revelation 22.

Last chapter of the Bible.

Anyone know what the final prayer is?

Come Lord Jesus.

And that's no surprise.

When Jesus comes, what happens?

Sin ends.

Bodies resurrected.

Pain gone.

Death wiped out.

New creation begins.

The Bible paints it as an awesome day.

But it will be a wonderful day for the Christian.

It's a day of Christian hope.

History is heading somewhere, building up to something.

And there is going to be a climax, a resolution, a finale.

And it's this.

It's the return of Christ.

But let me ask, when will this be?

We know this is to come.

This is going to be an event in history.

But when?

Well, this is the second thing to see.

The timing.

The return.

The timing.

So when will this second coming be?

Well, here's the answer.

Write this down.

We don't know.

Okay.

Right.

Let's pray.

No.

We don't know.

So look at these passages.

Mark 13.

But concerning that day or that hour, no one knows.

Not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.

If you're going to ask, why not the Son?

Come back in the summer.

I'm going to do Sunday school on Christ.

So we'll answer it there.

Luke 12.

The Son of Man is coming.

And an hour you do not expect.

Acts 1.

It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority.

And the Bible repeatedly tells us that Jesus is going to come like a thief in the night.

So think about that.

What time does a thief break into a house in the night?

What's the time?

What time?

You don't know, do you?

That's the point.

It's a surprise.

It's sudden.

It's something you can't predict.

If it was, then the thief wouldn't come in, right?

Just like the second coming.

Now, the Bible does say that there will be signs and events in the build-up to the return.

But we're going to get onto that next week.

But even then, I'll give you a little sneak peek.

Even then, even with then, we still don't know.

We won't necessarily know if we're in those signs and events.

And so we don't know.

But we need to realise this.

It is a real date.

It's a coming event in history.

So if you have an iPhone, probably any smartphone,

if you have an iPhone, on your calendar,

if you zoom out to the year,

you can scroll down to the future years.

And I once scrolled.

I use my time really wisely.

I once scrolled all the way to the year 5,000.

Don't ask me how long that took.

And I could have kept going.

I think I just got a bit bored.

You could have kept going.

It's kind of built into the programme.

Which means, if you think about it,

in your iPhone,

there is a date in your calendar app

where you can click on add event

and you can type in Christ return.

And if I ask you to,

do you want to repeat, just say no.

You don't want to repeat that.

So we don't know when,

but it is real.

It is coming.

And that's why we should always live

like it could come any moment.

We should never think that we have time.

Now is the time to repent.

Don't delay anymore.

But also,

the return is going to trigger something else.

It triggers the final state.

But something must happen

at the beginning of the final state.

The return of Christ

triggers judgment day.

And this is the third thing to see.

Judgment day.

The return of Christ means judgment day.

So when Christ returns,

we've seen it's going to trigger the resurrection.

And we know,

think back to last week,

we know that includes

every single human being.

It's the resurrection of the just

and the unjust.

But it will not be the case

that people will be raised

and instantly sent to hell

or they can instantly run around

in the new creation.

No.

At first,

there will be judgment.

And I want us to read Matthew 25.

This is a key text

about the return of Christ.

Turn to Matthew 25,

Matthew 25:31

verse 31.

We can't cover everything in this.

But this is a really helpful insight

into judgment day.

Matthew 25,

this will be 831

of the church Bibles.

Matthew 25,

31 to the end.

This whole chapter

is Jesus talking about

the end of the age,

the second coming.

We get a peek

into the final judgment here.

So Matthew,

Matthew 25:31

chapter 25,

verse 31.

When the Son of Man

comes in his glory

and all the angels with him,

then he will sit

on his glorious throne.

Before him will be gathered

all the nations

and he will separate people

one from another

as a shepherd separates

the sheep from the goats

and he will place

the sheep on his right

but the goats on his left.

Then the king will say

to those on his right,

come you who are blessed

by my father,

inherit the kingdom

prepared for you

from the foundation

of the world.

For I was hungry

and you gave me food.

I was thirsty

and you gave me drink.

I was a stranger

and you welcomed me.

I was naked

and you clothed me.

I was sick

and you visited me.

I was in prison

and you came to me.

Then the righteous

will answer him saying,

Lord, when did we see you

hungry and feed you

or thirsty

and give you drink?

And when did we see you

a stranger

and welcome you

or naked and clothe you?

And when did we see you

sick or in prison

and visit you?

And the king

will answer them,

Truly I say to you,

as you did it

to one of the least

of these my brothers,

you did it to me.

Then he will say

to those on his left,

depart from me,

you cursed,

into the eternal fire

prepared for the devil

and his angels.

For I was hungry

and you gave me no food.

I was thirsty

and you gave me no drink.

I was a stranger

and you did not welcome me.

Naked and you did not

clothe me.

Sick and in prison

and you did not visit me.

Then they also

will answer saying,

Lord, when did we see you

hungry or thirsty

or a stranger

or naked or sick

or in prison

and did not minister to you?

Then he will answer them

saying,

Truly I say to you,

as you did not do it

to one of the least of these.

You did not do it to me.

And these will go away

into eternal punishment

but the righteous

into eternal life.

I just want us

to see a few things

from this.

The first is this.

When Christ returns,

he will raise up all humans,

everyone that has ever lived,

and he's going to gather us

all together.

Did you see that?

Gather all the nations

before him.

And this could well be

physically gathered

into one place

because we're going to be

resurrected,

standing in our resurrected bodies

and seeing Christ

visibly in front of us.

We don't know exactly

kind of how it will play out

but whatever it looks like,

every believer

and unbeliever

will be gathered

in some way

before him.

And second,

Christ will judge

every human.

Did you see?

He will sort out

who are the saved

and who are the not saved.

Those who are his sheep

whom he loves

and shepherds

and laid his life down for,

he's going to put

to his right.

And those who are the goat,

who never knew him,

who never belonged to him,

who never loved him,

he will put to his left.

Those whose sins

are forgiven

by believing the gospel

and those who rejected

the gospel.

He will judge

by separating them.

And this is why

we say in the Apostles' Creed,

but we're going to say it later,

I believe in Jesus Christ

that he shall come

to judge the living

and the dead.

This is what we mean.

It's this day,

judgment day.

And so he will publicly

and openly announce

who are the truly justified

and who are the damned.

And from there,

he will bring every Christian

into the eternal life

of the new creation

and every unbeliever

he will send to hell.

And it also seems like

he's going to send demons

and the devil

to hell along with him,

if you remember our session

on hell.

So look at Jude 6.

And the angels

who did not stay

within their own position

of authority

but left their proper dwelling,

he has kept

in eternal chains

under gloomy darkness,

currently in hell,

until the judgment

of the great day.

And so he's going to judge

them on those days,

on that day.

And in Revelation 20,

the devil was thrown

into the lake of fire

and suffered,

tormented day and night

forever and ever.

So the devil

and demons,

fallen angels,

are going to hell

along with the unbeliever.

And so when Christ returns,

we need to realise

that there will be

a day of judgment

and on that day

all evil will be purged

and wiped out

from this creation.

And so it's no wonder

that this point

of judgment day

coincides with the beginning

of the new creation.

You need to destroy

the germs

in order to have

a clean house,

don't you?

Well, you need judgment

in order to have

the new creation.

Well, this is why,

and this is why

Christ's return,

this is why

it's our comfort.

We know

that we will be saved

on that day

and we know

every wrong

will be made right.

Every sin

and crime

and evil

that was done

behind closed doors

and no one

ever knew about it.

All those sins

that never got punished

in this life,

all those crimes,

all those unsolved mysteries,

it will be judged.

No sin

will remain

uncovered

on that day.

And for every

injustice,

we know

for every injustice

in this life

that there will be

final justice.

And when is it?

It's on this day.

And the third thing

we need to see

is that this seems

to all occur

on a day.

So the question

of how long

will this take?

Well, this event

is often referred

to as a day.

So you've got

the day of judgment,

Matthew 10,

the great day

of their wrath,

Revelation 6,

the coming

of the day of God

to Peter.

Well, sometimes

it's just called

the day.

1 Corinthians 3.

And so this could

well occur

within the span

of a day,

kind of an actual

judgment day.

But we're not

entirely certain.

Sometimes it's

referred to as

the hour of his return.

So we're not

entirely sure

the exact length.

But the impression

we get is this,

that the resurrection

and judgment

are linked together.

They occur

at the same time.

And the judgment

will be

a climactic

historical event.

Not a

drawn out

process

where some

people kind of

get judged

first and then

some run around

the new creation

but then they're

brought back

and then they

have to go to hell.

It's not going

to be a process

like that.

No, judgment

is the first

thing that happens

in the final state.

And the fourth

thing to see is

that this will

be public.

Right now,

the world

doesn't know,

doesn't acknowledge

that Jesus is king.

that they don't

know that they

should bow to him.

We tell them

in the gospel,

we plead with them,

but Jesus

isn't acknowledged

in this world.

But on this day,

when he returns

and all the nations

are gathered

before him,

everyone who

mocked him

or ignored him

or persecuted him,

they will see him

face to face

and they will

finally realize

who is king.

Now,

they won't

worship him

at that point

but they will

know

who is the

real king.

And so,

the return of Christ

means judgment day.

But what will

that judgment

be like?

What will Christ

say and do

on that day?

How will he

judge these things?

And what does it

mean for the

believer to be

judged on that day?

If Christ has

already paid for

our sins,

if we're going

to be resurrected

along with the

unbeliever and

we're all going

to stand before

the judgment

seat of Christ,

what does that

mean if our sins

have already

been paid for?

Well,

what we need

to see next

is this.

Judgment day

means that

Christ will

dish out

different degrees

of punishment

and rewards.

And I want

to finish with

this and we

can stop for

questions at

the end.

So,

judgment and

rewards.

So,

the language

the Bible

uses is that

we will be

judged,

every human,

believer and

unbeliever,

we will be

judged according

to our works.

So,

look at these

verses.

And before we

dive into this,

if you feel

I'm heading in

an uneasy

direction,

don't worry,

I'm not going

that way,

let me assure

you,

your sins

are paid

for by

Christ.

The judgment's

already been

determined for

you in Christ,

okay?

But I want us

to see this,

just let's see

what the Bible

says.

So,

Romans 2

Romans 2:6

verse 6,

he will render

to each one

according to

his works.

2 Corinthians

5,

for we must

all appear

before the

judgment seat

of Christ,

all of us,

so that each

one may receive

what is due

for what he

has done

in the body,

whether good

or evil.

Romans 14,

for we will

all stand

before the

judgment seat

of God,

so then each

of us will

give an

account of

himself to

God,

an explanation

for what we

have done.

And Revelation

20,

I saw the

dead,

great and

small,

standing before

the throne,

and books

were opened.

Then another

book was opened,

which is the

book of life,

and the

dead were

judged by

what was

written in

the books

according to

what they

had done.

Let's just

see here that

there is a

link between

what we have

done in this

life and

how Christ

will treat

us on

judgment

day.

So the

books will

be opened,

this is the

book of God's

knowledge,

right?

God will

recall everything

we have

done,

every word,

thought,

deed,

intention of

our hearts.

And we're

going to be

consciously aware

of it because

we will have

to give an

account,

an explanation.

We don't

know how

that will

work,

we can't

really even

guess,

like is it

going to be

a video or

are we just

going to

mentally

recall it?

We don't

know,

but this

will happen.

And Christ

will treat

us in a

way linked

to all that

we have

done,

judged

according

to our

works.

Now,

to see what

this means,

let's break

this down.

Let's just

focus on the

unbeliever

first,

okay?

This means

the more

severe your

sin,

the worse

the punishment

you will

experience in

hell.

Now,

all sin

deserves hell,

even the

smallest,

slightest,

but there

seems to be

different

degrees of

punishment in

hell.

So,

Jesus even

tells a

parable

about this,

Luke 12,

and that

servant who

knew his

master's

will,

but did

not get

ready or

act according

to his

will,

will receive

a severe

beating.

But the

one who

did not

know and

did what

deserved a

beating will

receive a

light beating.

Everyone to

whom much

was given

of him,

much will

be required,

and from

him to

whom they

entrusted

much,

they will

demand the

more.

there seems

to be a

punishment in

hell in

accordance with

someone's

sins.

So,

the worst

the sin,

the worst

the experience

in hell.

But also,

there seems

to be a

link between

knowledge of

the gospel

and the

severity of

the punishment.

punishment.

So,

the one who

knows the

master's will,

this is the

gospel.

In Matthew

13,

when Jesus

is talking

about the

parables,

this knowledge,

this responsibility,

it's the

gospel,

essentially.

So,

the one who

knows the

master's will,

the gospel,

but ignores it,

will suffer more

than someone who

has never been

told the gospel.

Both sinners,

both guilty,

but different

degrees of

punishment.

which is a

sobering reality,

isn't it?

It should make

us all think,

okay,

now I know

the gospel,

what am I

going to do

with it?

But that's

Jesus' point

in these

parables.

And so,

if we try to

map it onto

this,

there's going to

be a temporary

punishment in

hell,

in the

intermediate

state,

but after

judgment,

there's going

to be full,

specific,

body,

and soul

punishment

according to

an unbeliever's

works.

Okay,

but what about

us?

What about

the church?

If we're going

to be a part

of this

judgment,

and we are

sinners,

what will that

mean for us?

Well,

it'll mean this,

and this is the

first thing,

and I really

want you to

remember this

one.

first,

when Christ

opens those

books on

that day,

our sins

won't be in

there.

They have

already been

written into

Christ's book

and already

judged on the

cross.

He remembers

our sin

no more.

There's no

condemnation.

We are

completely

covered in

Christ's

righteousness.

righteousness.

And so,

on that day,

our sins

will be

publicly

declared

forgiven.

The whole

world will

see that we

are justified,

but when

Christ moves

us to his

right hand

and calls

us his

sheep,

he will

say,

yes,

these are

the ones

I've

died for.

All their

sins are

covered.

They are

my sheep.

And so,

right now,

we already

know what

the outcome

of judgment

day is for

us.

There's no

doubt of

your salvation

on that day.

It will all

be because of

Christ,

his cross

and his

righteousness,

you will be

saved on

that day,

that there

is no

condemnation

now or

ever.

But at

the same

time,

we will

be judged

according to

our works,

but in a

good way.

Christ

will see

our good.

He will

see our

good Christian

works,

that the

love we had

for him,

the love

that we had

for each

other,

the fruit

of faith.

He will

see that

and he

will say

those works

show you

that you

are mine.

That's the

fruit of a

saved life.

All those

works,

that life

can only

come from

faith.

And so,

we won't be

saved because

we've done

good enough.

Christ won't

be like,

okay,

how much

good have

you done

in this

life?

Okay,

now you're

saved.

No,

we'll not

be like

that.

We're only

saved by the

blood of

Christ,

but our

works will

be evidence

in Christ's

scales to

show that we

are saved by

his righteousness,

not our

own.

But also,

it seems like

we will have

different rewards

in the new

creation.

I could

spend a lot

of time on

this,

but I'll

have to be

quite quick.

The parable

of the

miners in

Matthew 25

and the

parable of

the talents

in Luke

19,

in both

these parables,

the servant

who is given

a lot and

does a lot

with it,

so given

God's will,

given the

gospel and

does a lot

with it,

is given a

greater reward

by their

master.

So one

servant gets

to rule

over five

cities,

but the

one who

did a lot

with what

the master

gave him,

they're going

to rule

over ten

cities.

And Galatians

6 talks about

reaping what

we sow.

Our works

are going to

have a payoff

in the new

creation.

1 Corinthians 15

talks about

different degrees

of glory.

And so in

the new

creation,

there seems

to be

different

degrees of

glory.

So let's

be clear,

everyone will

be glorious

and perfect,

but there

will be

different

rewards for

different

Christians

linked to

the fruitfulness

of their

life,

to what

they've done

with the

gospel that

they've been

given.

So think of

it like this

way,

we're all

going to

have full

cups in

the new

creation,

right?

If you

all have

a cup,

and when

it's full,

you're perfect,

you're joyful,

you are so

satisfied.

we're all

going to

have full

cups,

but everyone's

cup will be

a different

size.

We won't

feel lacking

in any way,

but it will

be different.

And we

don't know

what that

will look

like,

what that

degrees of

glory will

be like,

maybe ruling

over more or

less land in

the new

creation,

I don't

know,

maybe you

have a

house closer

to the throne

of God,

I don't know.

But it

does say

here,

your faithfulness

to Christ,

your faithfulness

to Christ,

it won't be

ignored on

that final

day.

Your

perseverance

and your

labours and

your sacrifices

for the

kingdom,

it won't

go unnoticed.

And it

may not be

the big

names of

the church

who are

going to

be rewarded

with those

great rewards

in heaven.

That

faithful

missionary

family from

the 19th

century,

who nobody's

heard of,

and their

ministry never

boomed,

and they

think that

they achieved

nothing in

this life,

but they

were so

faithful and

loving and

persevered and

went through

so much for

Christ and

lost so much

for him,

but loved him

all the way

through,

it's people

like that who

will probably

be given

much in the

new creation.

And let's

be clear,

this isn't

salvation by

works,

okay?

Even these

rewards are

by God's

grace.

God doesn't

need to bring

us into the

new creation,

and he certainly

doesn't need to

give us degrees

of glory,

no.

He doesn't

need to do

this.

And so think

of this,

this is an

encouragement for

us.

In the best

way possible,

our works will

follow us into

the new creation,

our sins will

be forgotten,

the old will

pass away,

but your

faithful

labours,

they will

be graciously

rewarded in

heaven.

And so this

life still

matters for

the Christian.

And on that

final day,

when Christ

moves us over

to his right

hand and

calls us his

sheep,

we will know

that we are

only standing

there because

Christ on the

cross won this

eternal life for

us.

and in

all his

grace,

he will say

to us the

words that we

all long for,

well done,

good and

faithful servants.

Welcome to

the new

creation.

I'll stop

there and

open up to

questions.

Thank you.