End Times (7b): The Beautiful Judgment of God

Wednesday, July 26, 2023

The Great Tribulation

We will use this lesson to lead into a much deeper/difficult lesson that will include the Tribulation or, if you prefer, the GREAT Tribulation.

In preparation for that lesson please read Daniel 9 (the whole chapter for context).

Take some extra time to re-read and study verses 24-27 (just 4 verses , but they are l-o-o-n-g verses that contain complex information.

To tie into what Daniel writes, please look at what Jesus said in Matthew 24:15-28

End Times: Jesus is the Judge

I firmly believe we are living in the end of the end times.

One of the ways Jesus WILL appear at the end, is as Judge.

James 5:7–9 (LSB) Therefore be patient, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the soil, being patient about it, until it receives the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not groan, brothers, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged. Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.

2 Timothy 4:1–2 (LSB) I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and teaching.

We have talked about viewing God’s judgment as beautiful.

And it is if we think of it as Chris Davis says, writing in his book Bright Hope for Tomorrow says:

If we think of judgment as shining a light, unveiling the reality of things, then anticipating the coming of the Judge can be a welcome hope rather than the stuff of nightmares. And indeed, Jesus’ return as Judge is all about shining the light.

… when the New Testament pictures Jesus as Judge, the emphasis is not only on what He will look like but also on what we will look like in His presence.

What will the world look like as it stands before the Judge?

Guilty!

[I read.] Sunday, in talking about the return of Jesus I read:2 Peter 3:10 (NLT) But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

What in and of this earth deserves judgment?

[Whiteboard]

Sin: [The Lexham Bible Dictionary] Human activity that is contrary to God’s will.

[Lexham Theological Wordbook] Sin is any deviation from a divinely revealed will. It is the source of evil, corruption, and death, and is what humanity and all of creation must be saved from, according to the Scriptures.

Concept Summary

In biblical usage, sin may be expressed in the negative, indicating a lack of conformity to divine standards (e.g., 1 John 3:4), or in the positive, referring to a condition or act which explicitly opposes divine standards (e.g., Rom 8:7). Sin may also refer to a habitual state, specific act, or an evil force in and of itself (e.g., Rom 7:8).

1 John 3:4 (LSB) Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.

Romans 8:6–8 (LSB) For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh are not able to please God.

Romans 7:7–8 (LSB) What shall we say then? Is the Law sin? May it never be! Rather, I would not have come to know sin except through the Law. For I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, “YOU SHALL NOT COVET.” 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, worked out in me coveting of every kind. For apart from the Law sin is dead.

Revelation 20:11–15 (LSB) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sits upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 Then I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Matthew 11:20–24 (LSB) Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. 21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 “And Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.”

Romans 2:4–11 (LSB) Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance? 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, 6 who WILL REPAY TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS WORKS: 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and anger. 9 There will be affliction and turmoil for every soul of man who works out evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, 10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who works good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 11 For there is no partiality with God.

2 Thessalonians 1:5–10 (LSB) This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. 6 Since it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7 and to give rest to you who are afflicted and to us as well at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, AWAY FROM THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD AND FROM THE GLORY OF HIS MIGHT, 10 when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our witness to you was believed.

What will [we] look like on that day? What will be exposed? How do you feel about what will be seen? Do you want to hide from the prospect of not being able to hide, run away from the inescapable?

Last week Romans 8:1 was read.

In Christ there is no condemnation.

Not condemned:

Romans 8:33–39 (LSB) Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will affliction, or turmoil, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “FOR YOUR SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; WE WERE COUNTED AS SHEEP FOR the SLAUGHTER.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Purpose: To discover how the future judgment of God brings meaning to the present through repentance, faith and hope.

Judgment. Hardly what most people look forward to, whether from a parent, a church leader, an employer or a court of law.

Hardly anyone, if given the opportunity, would choose to face the judgment of God at the end of time.

But contrary to our normal way of envisioning the future, many Old Testament saints longed for the judgment of God because they lived in a society in which justice was often denied to the ordinary person.

Malachi, a relatively unknown prophet, was convicted that God would hold his covenant people accountable for what they knew and how they lived.

Malachi’s perspective makes an important contribution to understanding how to live in the end times.

He paints a picture of a judgment that also offers hope.

What Is Going On?

Read Malachi 2:17–3:5.

1. The response the prophet make to those who say things like “God appears to favor the wicked” and “life is not fair”?

2. Have you said or thought this?

3. The identity of the “messenger of the covenant” (3:2–3)?

There are a lot of people interested in the End Times — but they are not ready for them.

While the people of Malachi’s day claimed to be “seeking the Lord” (3:1), they would find the day of the Lord less comforting than they expected (see Amos 5:18).

Amos 5:18–20 (LSB) Woe, you who are longing for the day of Yahweh, For what purpose will the day of Yahweh be to you? It will be darkness and not light; 19 As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him; Or he goes home, leans his hand against the wall, And a snake bites him. 20 Will not the day of Yahweh be darkness instead of light, Even thick darkness with no brightness in it?

Those persisting in sin, as we shall soon see, will get their due, but even the righteous will be purified.

Images of Judgment

4. Find the images Malachi uses to describe the judgment of God (3:2–3). From these images what do we learn about the Lord’s purpose in judging his own covenant people?

Image …

of a smelter

of fuller’s soap (bleach?)

of a Father not honored.

Question 4. The concept of covenant (God’s unconditional agreement to belong to his people) is fundamental to Malachi’s teaching.

Because of the covenant God views himself as Israel’s Father (1:6; 2:10)

Malachi 1:6 “‘A son honors his father, and a slave his master. Then if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is the fear of Me?’ says Yahweh of hosts to you, O priests who despise My name. But you say, ‘How have we despised Your name?’”

Mal 2:10 “Do we not all have one father? Has not one God created us? Why do we deal treacherously each against his brother so as to profane the covenant of our fathers?”

and wants to bless his children (3:10–12).

Mal 3:10-12 “10 “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says Yahweh of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and empty out for you a blessing until it is beyond enough. 11 “Then I will rebuke the devourer for you so that it will not corrupt the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field fail to bear,” says Yahweh of hosts. 12 “So all the nations will call you blessed, for you shall be a delightful land,” says Yahweh of hosts.”

Thus the essence of Israel’s sin was a breach of relationship with God.

Both priests and people failed to love God (1:6, 13; 3:8)

Demonstrated in: Despised Him, defective sacrifices (stolen, etc.), cheating God

Words are cheap (I love You, Lord!)

Obedience is the true test of our love of God.

and as a consequence promoted broken relationships in society, including divorce (2:14, 16).

Mal 2:14 “14 “But you say, ‘For what reason?’ Because Yahweh has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant.”

Mal 2:16 “For I hate divorce,” says Yahweh, the God of Israel, “and him who covers his garment with wrong,” says Yahweh of hosts. “Be careful then to keep your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously.””

How does our society and how does the church feel about divorce today? How should we feel? How do divorced people handle this scripture?

Start with those who have gone through divorce.

It is because of this fundamental covenantal relationship that God is determined in his judgment not to obliterate his people but to cleanse them.

To do this the Lord must first cleanse the priesthood and then the immorality of the people.

The order is significant.

So are the metaphors chosen to describe the judgment of God.

The refiner does not intend destruction but purification.

So does the fuller’s soap (really alkali), the latter being used to whiten cloth.

Many of the prophets use the refiner’s image, and with good reason, as J. Neil suggests:

“The beauty of this picture is that the refiner looks into the open furnace, or pot, and knows that the process of purification is complete, and the dross all burnt away, when he can see his image plainly reflected in the molten metal” (Everyday Life in the Holy Land [Church’s Ministry Among the Jews, 1913], p. 163).

The Process of Judgment

5. In the light of this, why do you think judgment begins at the sanctuary and with the priestly tribe of Levites (see 1 Peter 4:17)?

Malachi 3:2–3 (LSB) “But who can endure the day of His coming? And who can stand when He appears? For He is like a smelter’s fire and like fullers’ soap. 3 “And He will sit as a smelter and purifier of silver, and He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, so that they may present to Yahweh offerings in righteousness.

1 Peter 4:14–19 (LSB) If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; 16 but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be put to shame, but is to glorify God in this name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 AND IF IT IS WITH DIFFICULTY THAT THE RIGHTEOUS IS SAVED, WHAT WILL BECOME OF THE GODLESS MAN AND THE SINNER? 19 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God must entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing good.

6. In contrast to the refining process in 3:2–4 APPLIED TO THOSE WHO TRULY SEEK THE LORD, what will God’s judgment mean to those in the community who persist in disobedient living (3:5)?

Review: Mal 3:5 “Then I will draw near to you for judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers and against the adulterers and against those who swear falsely and against those who oppress the wage earner in his wages, the widow and the orphan, and those who turn aside the sojourner and do not fear Me,” says Yahweh of hosts.”

Question 6. Fundamental to the biblical idea of judgment is that it is not merely a collection of individuals that will be judged but the community that is purified by removing the base elements.

The people concerned are not merely sinners but those who will not repent.

So the Lord has no alternative but to grant them their unspoken request—to live away from him in the deprivation of all that is good.

Judgment is based on facts already known and choices already made.

The entire Bible, and especially the New Testament, shows that human beings sentence themselves to hell in advance by loving darkness rather than light (Jn 3:19–21).

John 3:19–21 (LSB) “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. 21 “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been done by God.”

That seems to especially be the case of

sorcerers, adulterers and liars

Employers who cheat employees

Those who oppress widows and orphans

Those deny justice to refugees (?)

7. Why do you think the Bible connects true holiness with concern for social righteousness?

Micah 6:8 (LSB) He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does Yahweh require of you But to do justice, to love lovingkindness, And to walk humbly with your God?

Matthew 25:31–33 (LSB) “But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 “And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

James 1:27 (LSB) Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

James 2:15–18 (LSB) If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead by itself. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; and I have works. Show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

Question 7. The basis of judgment throughout the Bible, and certainly here, is our works as an evidence of true heart condition (Mt 12:36; 25:35–40; Rom 2:16; 1 Cor 4:5; 2 Cor 5:10; Rev 20:12).

Works do not save us, BUT works will come after salvation or true salvation hasn’t occurred. (Agree/Disagree)

SCRIPTURES not GIVEN

2 Corinthians 5:10 (LSB) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

James 1:22–27 (LSB) But become doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; 24 for once he looked at himself and has gone away, he immediately forgot what kind of person he was. 25 But one who looks intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and abides by it, not having become a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does. 26 If anyone thinks himself to be religious while not bridling his tongue but deceiving his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless. 27 Pure and undefiled religion before our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Except for sorcery, the sins mentioned in 3:5 all have a social bearing: breaking the marriage covenant, perjuring oneself (2:10–16) and so becoming untrustworthy, underpaying employees, and oppressing powerless widows and orphans (people who are the special concern of God in the covenant obligations—Ex 22:22–24; Lev 19:10).

Biblical faith is never merely personal but always involves public discipleship and social justice. In these matters, as Joyce Baldwin says,

“Malachi is the faithful pastor who faces his people with the possibility of ultimate rejection but hopes all the time to win them” (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: An Introduction and Commentary [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1972], p. 244).

8. In what ways has Malachi answered those who ask, “Where is the God of justice” (2:17)?

Will you be punished an evildoer who complains about evildoers and are one? (Oh, may God help us to be very careful!)

Are we even ready for justice?

Read Malachi 3:13–4:3.

Malachi 3:13–4:3 (LSB) “Your words have been strong against Me,” says Yahweh. “But you say, ‘What have we spoken against You?’ 14 “You have said, ‘It is worthless to serve God; and what gain is it that we have kept His charge and that we have walked in mourning before Yahweh of hosts? 15 ‘So now we call the arrogant blessed; not only are the doers of wickedness built up, but they also test God and escape.’” 16 Then those who feared Yahweh spoke to one another, and Yahweh gave heed and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear Yahweh and who think upon His name. 17 “And they will be Mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him.” 18 So you will return and see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve Him. 1 “For behold, the day is coming, burning like a furnace; and all the arrogant and every worker of wickedness will be chaff; and the day that is coming will set them aflame,” says Yahweh of hosts, “so that it will leave them neither root nor branch.” 2 “But for you who fear My name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings; and you will go forth and skip about like calves from the stall. 3 “And you will tread down the wicked, for they will be ashes under the soles of your feet on the day which I am preparing,” says Yahweh of hosts.

9. What assurance does Malachi give to those who feel that living righteously “does not pay” (3:14)?

Question 9. Malachi once again takes up the theme that the “arrogant” (3:15) appear to thrive, a subject that concerned the psalmist as well (Ps 73:2–14).

Those who were complaining are probably the same people as those “who feared the Lord,” only they now have (vs 16) taken the rebuke, repented and encouraged each other to renew their faith.

To demonstrate further that God’s judgment is his saving judgment, Malachi reports the Lord’s listening response (3:16) and the believers’ security that they will not be forgotten in the Lord’s record of names of those who are his (Ex 32:32–33; Ps 69:28; 87:6; Dan 12:1; Rev 21:27).

Verses 3:17–18 offer the joy of covenant security and covenant consummation (you are mine and I am yours). Simultaneously, they offer a positive incentive to repent now (you will see the difference, now), rather than wait for the final and irrevocable separation (v. 18).

As J. I. Packer says:

Judgment will be vindicatory, establishing justice, rather than vindictive, expressing malice. For God to judge justly is His glory, for which He is to be praised; his self-vindication is glorious (Rev 19:1–5). For God not to judge would be destructive of all serious morality and all moral responsibility. (“Notes on Systematic Theology IV”)

10. Assuming that the people mentioned in 3:14 are the same as those “who feared the Lord” (3:16), what do we learn about living in the light of God’s judgment?

Question 10. Malachi repeats the judgment-by-fire metaphor but now with a disturbing twist.

The wicked who do not serve God (3:18) will not experience the fire as purifying but as final destruction.

The same day produces gold and “tropical heat, when parched vegetation suddenly catches fire and dry fields become one vast oven in which even the roots of the plants are reduced to ash” (Baldwin, Malachi, p. 250).

But the righteous who serve God (3:18) will experience “a fair morning of God, as when dawn comes to those who have been sick and sleepless through the night, and its beams bring healing.… They break into life and energy, like calves leaping from the dark pen into the sunshine” (George Adam Smith, The Book of the Twelve Prophets, Vol. 2, rev. ed. [New York: Harper & Row, 1928], pp. 362–63).

11. How is the judgment here different from that which is applied to God’s own people (4:1–3)?

It is not corrective judgment but vindicatory AND punitive judgment.

Romans 1:18 (LSB) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

12. God’s people, while exempt from final condemnation, are not free from evaluation. What difference will this make to the way you live?

Romans 14:10–12 (LSB) But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. 11 For it is written, “AS I LIVE, SAYS THE LORD, TO ME EVERY KNEE SHALL BOW, AND EVERY TONGUE SHALL CONFESS TO GOD.” 12 So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.

2 Corinthians 5:9–10 (LSB) Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him. 10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

Prayer: Thank God that you are not left to invent the meaning of your own life. Ask that in the end you may be found in Him and all that you have done in this life be refined in fire and, purged of sin, find its place in the new heaven and new earth.

Now or Later

The final passage of the book—not included in this study—takes up again the messenger of 3:1 as the precursor of “that great and dreadful day of the Lord” (4:5).

Read Malachi 3:1–4:6.

This time, however, Elijah is named as the messenger who will prepare the way. Jesus considered John the Baptist as both the messenger (Malachi 3:1; Matthew 11:10) and Elijah (Malachi 4:5; Matthew 11:14), though John rejected the notion that he fulfilled the Elijah prophecy (John 1:21). John the Baptist was profoundly influenced by the prophecy of Malachi, to the extent that his hope for a fiery judgment was undoubtedly not fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus (Matthew 3:11–12; Luke 3:16–17)

Joyce Baldwin brilliantly explains how this Old Testament prophecy of final judgment was ultimately fulfilled in the New Testament: “An interval separated the first and second comings and the day of grace was extended to delay final judgment. This does not mean, however, that judgment has been averted. The warning that ends the Old Testament is not absent at the end of the New (Revelation 22:10–15), but the difference is that there grace has the last word (verse 21)” (Joyce C. Baldwin, Haggai, Zechariah, Malach: An Introduction and Commentary [Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1972), p. 253).

The most stupendous thought of which the mind is capable is that of personal accountability to Almighty God. — Daniel Webster[1]

[1]Stevens, R. P. (2004). End Times: 13 Studies for Individuals or Groups: With Notes for Leaders (pp. 33–36). IVP Connect: An Imprint of InterVarsity Press.