The last judgment of Jesus Christ was one of the most popular topics for painters during the renaissance. Michelangelo painted the last judgment on the wall of the Sistine Chapel in Rome in the 1530’s. Raphael painted the last judgment in the town hall in the city of Ghent, Belgium in 1600. But my favorite painting of the last judgment is the one by the German painter Hans Memling in the late 1400’s.
The central panel of Memling’s triptych shows Jesus sitting in final judgment over the world, while Michael the archangel is using a scale to weigh the souls of human beings. On the left-hand panel, the saved are being guided into heaven by St. Peter and the angels. On the right-hand panel, the damned are being dragged to hell.
Without exception, this painting makes an impression on everyone who looks at the vision of heaven and hell. The graphic images force us to contemplate the condition of our own soul and consider the souls of our loved ones. Most of us have either seen pictures like this or have at least heard something about the final judgment, but have you ever wondered if the pictures actually do justice to Judgment Day? Have you ever wondered what it’s really going to be like when Jesus returns to execute final judgment upon the world? What will heaven and hell be like?
As we move into the final phase of our sermon series “Foundations of the Faith”, we will consider the section of Christian theology called “eschatology” or the study of the last things. Next week, we will conclude the series by looking at Jesus’ return, but today we will focus our attention on the biblical doctrines of the final judgement and our final destination.
The Final Judgment
The Bible frequently affirms the fact that every person will face final judgment, believers and unbelievers alike. Jesus himself describes the final judgment in the famous “separating the sheep and the goats” passage in Matthew 25: 31-34, 41, 46:
When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world…” 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…” Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
The interpretation is passage obvious: when Jesus returns, he will execute final judgment on the whole earth. As a shepherd separates sheep from goats, he will separate believers and unbelievers. The believers will receive their inheritance in heaven and unbelievers will receive eternal punishment in hell.
Likewise, the final judgment is vividly portrayed by the Apostle John in Revelation 20:11-15:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
After Satan and his cronies are thrown into hell, the only thing left is the final judgment of humanity. John saw a great white throne and the one who was seated on it. Throughout Revelation, thrones are used as symbols of authority and justice. Likewise, the color white symbolizes purity and holiness. The description of the throne highlights the character of the one who is seated on the throne. As John does in other places, he doesn’t mention Jesus by name, but the symbols leave no room for mistaken identity: Jesus is the righteous judge who is sitting on the throne, and he has come to judge everyone. The earth and sky disappearing alludes to his power and foreshadows the coming of his new creation.
John sees all of the dead standing before the judgment throne. The term “great and small” emphasizes that all human beings will face final judgment—the living and the dead. All of the temporary places that receive the bodies of the dead, including the ground and the sea, will give up their dead and everyone will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Then God’s history books, which contain every deed that every human being has ever done, will be opened up and put on display. Everyone will be judged according to the deeds he or she has done.
Do these history books, that record everything we have ever done, make you nervous? They should—every little lie, every lustful look, every evil thought, every arrogant attitude, every selfish decision, and every secret sin that we have kept hidden will lay open before God. How embarrassing? How terrifying? God sees and knows everything that we have ever done and these record books show that we are all guilty! This is the bad news of the gospel!
This is why I am glad that God has another book in his personal library. This book is more important than the Bible and all of God’s history books combined—it is called the book of life! This book contains the names of everyone who has made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. This book records the names of those who have received forgiveness of their sins by trusting in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This book is heaven’s guest list. You can’t get into heaven if your name is not on the list. This is the good news of the gospel!
A young girl was sitting on an airplane with an intellectual (a man educated beyond his intelligence). He sneered at her reading the Bible. Asked if she believed it? “Yes.” “Jonah and the whale story?” “Yes.” “How did it happen?” “Don’t know, but I’ll find out when I get to heaven.” “What if Jonah isn’t there?” “Then I guess you’ll have to ask him for me.”
This little girl understood the implications of the final judgment! Do we?
Final Destination
Now that we have considered the certainty of final judgment, let’s shift our focus to final destination. The Bible speaks of only two possible final destinations: heaven and hell.
Earlier this week, I stumbled upon a meme which quipped: “The fact that there is a highway to hell and only a stairway to heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers!”
Since it is always better to begin with the bad news, lets look at hell first!
Hell
Hell may be defined as the place of eternal conscious punishment for the wicked. It is described in multiple places throughout the Bible. As we have already seen in Matthew 25:41, Jesus alluded to hell as “the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” In Revelation 14:9-11, the Apostle John paints a more vivid picture of hell:
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.”
This passage describes hell in horrendous detail. Just look at the metaphors: “drink the wine of God’s fury”, “cup of his wrath”, tormented with burning sulfur”, “the smoke of their torment rises forever, and “no rest day or night.” This is what it will be like for those who do not trust in the gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of their souls. They will suffer in hell forever!
One day, when Vice President Calvin Coolidge was presiding over the Senate, one Senator angrily told another to go “straight to hell.” The offended Senator complained to Coolidge as presiding officer, and Cal looked up from the book he had been leafing through while listening to the debate. “I’ve been looking through the rule book,” he said. you don’t have to go.”
Coolidge was right—you don’t to go to hell! And if you commit your life to Jesus Christ, you won’t!
Heaven
After the final judgment, believers will enter the full enjoyment of life in the presence of God forever. When referring to this place, Christians often talk about living with God “in heaven” forever. But in fact, the biblical teaching is richer than that: it tells us there will be new heavens and a new earth—an entirely new creation—and we will live with God there. The Apostle John gives us the best glimpse of this in Revelation 21:1-7:
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 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.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
Popular myths picture heaven as a fanciful place where angels sit on clouds playing harps and people floating around in nebulous space. However, the Bible says that Jesus is building mansions in heaven for those who receive his gift of salvation. He is preparing real buildings with real tangible materials for real people who will inhabit them.
The Bible even refers to heaven as a country (Hebrews 11:16). Before sin came into this world, it was a physical paradise—a beautiful garden full of fruits, trees, and animals. Similarly, when sin is finally eradicated from this universe, we will get to live life as God originally intended for mankind when he first created the Garden of Eden—not as spirits on clouds, but in a tangible, material heaven.
Real earth, real houses, real gardens, real work, real hobbies, and real people are all part of the perfect future in store for those who are faithful to God’s Word. This becomes more believable when we realize that the Bible says that the greater part of the future existence of human beings will take place right here on earth, which will be recreated and restored to its original perfection. Heaven will be free from sickness, war, crime and anything harmful. The future life will have the best of this life plus additional joys beyond our imagination.
Earlier this week, during family devotions, I was discussing the topic of heaven with my children. After reading these same words from Revelation 21, I asked the question: What do you think heaven will be like? Amid multiple descriptions of a perfect paradise, one of my children (who will remain nameless) piped up: “I think we will all be petting lions and singing, “Whoop! There it is! Whoop! There it is!” Conclusion
Heaven will be more wonderful than our wildest dreams. It is the place of eternal love, peace, and joy. Hell will be worse than we can possibly imagine because! It is the place of eternal torment, pain, and sorrow. When Jesus returns to the earth, we will all stand before his judgment seat. Will you be among the sheep or the goats? Is your name recorded in the Lamb’s Book of Life?
Let me conclude with a little poem by John Newton, author of the hymn “Amazing Grace.” This lesser known hymn titled “Day of Judgment! Day of wonders!” Listen:
Day of judgment! Day of wonders! Hark! the trumpet’s awful sound,
louder than a thousand thunders, shakes the vast creation round.
How the summons will the sinner’s heart confound!
See the Judge, our nature wearing, clothed in majesty divine;
you who long for his appearing then shall say, “This God is mine!”
Gracious Savior, own me in that day as thine.
At his call the dead awaken, rise to life from earth and sea;
all the pow’rs of nature, shaken by his looks, prepare to flee.
Careless sinner, what will then become of thee?
But to those who have confessed, loved and served the Lord below,
he will say, “Come near, ye blessed, see the kingdom I bestow;
you forevershall my love and glory know.”