Conversation with Luke

Salvation

John 3:16–18 NIV

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

Key points:

‘Whoever believes in him’ are the people who will not perish and receive eternal life

The point of Jesus’ coming wasn’t condemnation, HOWEVER - those who do not believe in Jesus stand condemned already, specifically because ‘they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only son’

How does God Deal with Sin

Prior to Death - Accepting the Offer of Salvation by Repentance

Acts 2:38 NIV

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 3:19 NIV

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Acts 10:43 NIV

All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

After Death - Final Judgment and Condemnation

Final Judgment:

NOT about sinfulness vs righteousness. Because we’re all sinners.

The final judgment is about separating those who have inherited sinlessness and righteousness from God through salvation (By believing in the name of Jesus), versus those who have rejected and not believed in the name of Jesus

The reason why the unrighteous are identified by their sins in the last judgment is simple - they still have their sins. The believers have had their sins removed from them.

Revelation 20:11–15 NIV

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens 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 they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Qualities of Final Judgment:

Heaven and earth ‘fled’ before the judgment seat

The difference between the people was, the people whose names are in ‘the book of life’ versus the ones who aren’t

The bible connects several times the idea of names being written in a book to believers (Philippians 4:3 , Luke 10:20) and also makes reference to there being people whose names are NOT written in the book of life (Revelation 13:8, Revelation 17:8, Exodus 32:33)

Death and Hades itself were destroyed.

Immediately followed by a new heaven and a new earth (Revelation 21), which contains:

No sea

a new jerusalem

no more death, or mourning or crying or pain

In the new heaven and the new earth, ‘Revelation 21:8 “the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”” Note the language is specificalfly not, ‘their sins’ - it is ‘the people who practice these things’.

Jesus’ Parables on the Final Judgment:

Parable of Wheat and Weeds:

Matthew 13:24–30 NIV

Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

Jesus later explains this parable:

Matthew 13:36–43 NIV

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Qualities of this Parable

The defining difference between the wheat and the weeds is that the wheat are citizens of the kingdom.

Up until the end of time, the world will be a mixture of people in the kingdom, and people out of the kingdom

At the end of time, Jesus will send angels to take BOTH ‘everything that causes sin’ AND ‘all who do evil’ and throw it into ‘the blazing furnace’.

Jesus uses the phrase, ‘weeping and gnashing of teeth’, a common phrase through his explanations to denote the final judgment (Luke 13:22-30, Matthew 8:12, Matthew 24:51, Matthew 25:30)

Jesus Asked about the End of Time:

Matthew 24:1–3 NIV

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. “Tell us,” they said, “when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?”

The disciples ask, ‘when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?’ . This sets the tone of the rest of the conversation being about ‘the end of the age’.

This is markedly NOT the end of the temple age - they learn this term from Jesus earlier (Matthew 13:39) when he’s talking about the very end of time, in the parable of the wheat and the weeds.

Jesus explains several things that will happen, but pointedly tells them that even He doesn’t know when it will occur, so to always be ready (Matthew 24:42).

He compares always being ready:

Matthew 24:43–44 NIV

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

Then he tells a string of parables to explain readiness.

The Parable of the Ten Virgins:

Matthew 25:1–13 NIV

“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise. The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. The wise ones, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep. “At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’ “Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’ “ ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’ “But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut. “Later the others also came. ‘Lord, Lord,’ they said, ‘open the door for us!’ “But he replied, ‘Truly I tell you, I don’t know you.’ “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Jesus says, "at that time the kingdom of heaven will be like”- tying back to what he just said about the ‘end of the age’ and pointedly saying ‘not like right now’.

Jesus tells the virgins who were not prepared, ‘I do not know you’ and shuts the door on them and does not allow them in.

In fact, those virgins were on their way to fix their mistake - but the announcement that the bridegroom had returned meant it was too late

Jesus connects this story and his warning to keep watch by saying in both, ‘therefor keep watch, because you do not know the day’

Parable of the Bags of Gold

Matthew 25:14–30 NIV

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “ ‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

Jesus says ‘again, it will be like’

Again, meaning, i’m telling you the same thing I just told you (parable of the virgins)

‘it will be like’ meaning ‘the kingdom in the future, not now’

The servant who did not serve prior to his master’s return was thrown into the darkness, ‘where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth’.

It’s important to note here - the point isn’t productivity (both prior servants earned differing amounts, and received word for word the same reward), the point is that the wicked servant chose to do nothing with what he was given. Then when the master returned, his choice to have done nothing with what he was given resulted in judgment.

The master pointed out to the servant what he should have done, and then immediately casts him out - no chance at that point to ‘do the right thing’.

The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats

Matthew 25:31–46 NIV

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 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. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ “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. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”

Jesus sets the time for this in the first verse - ‘Matthew 25:31 ““When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne.”’, a clear reference to Revelation 20:11 and the parable of the wheat and the weeds in Matthew 13.

At this point, Jesus will:

Separate people like a shepherd separates sheep and goats.

He will give the sheep, those people who served him, a kingdom prepared for them , and send them ‘to eternal life’ (Matthew 25:46)

He will take the goats, those people who did not serve him, and send them ‘to eternal punishment’ (Matthew 25:46)

It’s very clear in Jesus’ language (Matthew 25:46 ““Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”” ) that the people go - not their sins.

The people spoke to Jesus, but those who were condemned challenged his decision - and they were condemned none-the-less. There was no chance to turn around at this point.

When does this final judgment occur?

Previous Scriptures:

In the explanation about ‘the end of the ages’, Jesus told three separate parables (ten virgins, bags of gold, wheat and weeds) talking about a final casting out

Additional References:

Hebrews 9:27–28 NIV

Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

We face judgment after death

The sacrifice of christ took away the sins of many, but when He returns, he will bring ‘salvation to those who are waiting for him’.

This is a clear connection to Jesus’ parables on of the 10 virgins - those who ‘waited for him’.

SIDEBAR: Are we saved now or then?

Both. The bible describes salvation both as a single event (Ephesians 2:8) and a process (1 Corinthians 1:18).

The reason it is both, is that the promise of salvation (here meaning, complete removal of sin and access to eternal life) is given to us upon belief, whereas we actually receive salvation itself upon death (after all, we will struggle with sin, and death, clean until heaven / the new heaven and earth).

John 5:28–29 NIV

“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.

Jesus says, there will be a master resurrection later - and those people who have done evil will face condemnation

But he pointedly says earlier in this speech, ‘John 5:24 ““Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” )

This clearly connects again with Revelation 20

both explanations involve the dead returning and standing before the lord, to face judgment

Hebrews 6:4–8 NIV

It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age and who have fallen away, to be brought back to repentance. To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace. Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed. In the end it will be burned.

The author of hebrews says - it’s impossible for those who have fallen away to be brought back to repentance.

And he illustrates this point by connecting to the idea of a final ‘crop’ by saying, the land that produces a crop will be blessed, but land that only produces thorns is worthless and is in danger of being cursed - and ‘int the end, it will be burned’.

Final Thoughts:

The bible gives no indication that there’s an offer of salvation after death. While it doesn’t explictly say, ‘There is no offer of salvation after death’, the order of operations is clear - you die, you stand before the throne, and at that point you are given your final reward or punishment

In none of the parables were the subjects given the option to do anything different

In the parable of the bags of gold, the master pointedly says ‘here’s what you should have done’ and immediately then casts the servant out

The point to the master was, ‘you previously did not do the right thing’.

In the parable of the virgins, when the virgins were alerted that the bridgegroom had returned, the foolish virgins were literally on their way to rectify their mistake (they had gone out to buy more oil), but were denied entrance when they returned later with the proper oil

If the dead were allowed to rectify their mistakes, or to have their mistakes rectified by another - the virgins would have been allowed in after having procured oil for their lamps

the point to the virgins was, ‘you previously did not do the right thing’.

The bible also gives a clear indication that our present state of belief is what determines our eternal state (Jesus said, ‘those who do not believe are ALREADY condemned’)