Today, Tuesday November 16
God’s Final Judgement is Personal and Sure
Jude 1:14-15 “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying, "Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him."
Remember Jude is probably quoting these verses from the Book of Enoch as he describes the judgement and punishment that will come upon the false teachers. When I was preparing this chat I couldn’t help but remember some similar verses in Acts 17 when the Apostle Paul was bringing his great message on Mars Hill in Athens.
“Therefore, since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:29-31)
God has appointed a day for the judgement of all mankind and has ordained a Man, His own Son Jesus Christ, to be the Judge! This is what Jude is speaking about too! What does Enoch's prophecy say about the coming judgment?
It will be a personal judgment: God Himself will come to judge the world. He will not send a famine or a flood, nor will He assign the task to an angel. God Himself will come. This shows the seriousness of the event, and also its finality. "Behold, the Judge stands before the door" (James 5:9).
Though it is a personal judgment, our Lord will not judge alone; the saints of God will be with Him. The word saints in Jude 14 means "holy ones" and can also refer to the angels (Deut. 33:2; Matt. 25:31). However, we know from Revelation 19:14; Colossians 3:4; and 1 Thessalonians 3:13 that the people of God will accompany the Lord when He returns to earth to defeat His enemies and establish His righteous kingdom.
1 Corinthians 6:2-3 also indicates that we will participate in this judgement on the ungodly. Over the centuries, the people of God have suffered at the hands of the ungodly, but one day the tables will be turned.
It will be a universal judgment. God will execute judgment "upon all"—none will escape. Just as the Flood destroyed all who were outside the ark, and the fire and brimstone destroyed all in Sodom and Gomorrah except Lot and his wife and two daughters, so the last judgment will encompass all the ungodly. The word ungodly is used four times in this one verse! Peter referred to this day and event in 2 Peter 3:7: “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
Two things to think about today. First, we must make sure we have repented, which means we have turned from our way of living and from our sins to a new life in Jesus Christ by faith! Second, we need to be encouraged, despite how it appears the ungodly are enjoying their ungodly deeds and debauchery, there is coming a day when they will face judgement. We should pray for them and show them how to avoid the eternal punishment they will experience if they don’t repent!
God bless!
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