The Final Judgment

The final judgment is the divine act by which Christ publicly separates the just from the unjust and pronounces his verdict before all the world (Matthew 13:40-43; Matthew 25:31-46). While on earth the righteous and the unrighteous are permitted to exist together, in the final judgment a separation will occur. Judgment will be administered on the basis of their deeds. The wicked will be condemned on the basis of the law, which they have not kept (Revelation 20:12). They will be seen in the shame of rejecting the Savior, and they will be looked on with contempt (Daniel 12:2; Isaiah 66:24). For the faithful people of God, however, it will be a day of redemption. Having been declared righteous through faith, they will be pronounced blessed by the Father and will inherit his everlasting kingdom (Matthew 25:34). They will be publicly vindicated, and their good deeds will be seen as a service to Christ and as evidence of their faith. Their exalted and glorious status as the children of God will be seen by all the world.

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The Resurrection of the Body, Part 4

While the resurrected body of those who died with faith in Christ will be the same substance as the body that died, it will undergo change. It will be free of sin and glorified, shining with the reflected glory of Christ and bearing his image (Daniel 12:3; Matthew 13:43; 1 Corinthians 15:43, 49; Philippians 3:21). It will be a spiritual body, for it will have new characteristics and new qualities that will enable it to live in the presence of God. The body that is placed in the grave is a "natural" body. Its life and strength are sustained by God through eating and drinking. It bears all the marks of sin: it is unable to live in the presence of the holy God; it is perishable, weak, and lacking the glory of God's original creation. At its resurrection, however, the same body will be restored to its original condition: imperishable, immortal, and freed from sin and its consequences (1 Corinthians 15:42-49).

The children of God who are alive at Christ's second coming will experience a similar transformation. Their mortal bodies will be clothed with immortality and freed from sin and all its consequences (1 Corinthians 15:51-54).  First John summarizes its description of Christian's glorified state: "What we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is" (1 John 3:2).

Scripture does not describe the nature of the bodies of those who are raised to condemnation. It is clear, however, that while their bodies will continue to exist forever, terms such as "imperishable," "immortal," and "glorified" are inappropriate for describing them in their lost state. Those who in this life rejected Christ will awaken to "shame and everlasting contempt," where there will be "weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 24:48-51; Matthew 25:30-46; Revelation 20:11-15). The final judgment will follow immediately after the resurrection of the dead.

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The resurrection of the Dead, Part 3

The resurrection on the last day will include all of the dead, both the just and the unjust (John 5:28; Acts 24:15; Revelation 20:12-13). There is no indication in Scripture that the wicked will be annihilated by death. Nor does God's word teach that the resurrection of the just and the unjust will occur at different times. The resurrection spoken of in Scripture will occur in the context of Christ's second coming, and it will be followed immediately by the final judgment. The just and the unjust will arise simultaneously, and all will stand before the judgment throne of God to receive the verdict of eternal life or eternal punishment (Daniel 12:2; Matthew 25:31-32, 41-46; John 5:28-29; Revelation 20:13). The "first resurrection" spoken of in Revelation 20:5-6 refers to those who during their lives on earth did not worship "the beast of his image" (Revelation 20:4) but have "passed" from spiritual death to spiritual life through conversion (John 5:24-26). They are "blessed and holy," and after their death "they came to life and reigned with Christ" and the second death has no power over them (Revelation 20:4-6).

The devil will arise with their bodies. The same bodies that died will be brought back to life (Job 19:26-27; Isaiah 26:19). The identity of every individual who lived will be preserved in death. Moreover, that individual will appear in human form, as the clear precedent of Scripture indicates. Moses and Elijah on tge Mount of Transfiguration are the same persons who lived and served God in the Old Testament (Matthew 17:2-4). After his resurrection the Savior identifies himself as the one who was nailed to the cross and pierced with a spear. The risen Chrust has a human form that can be recognized and touched by his disciples. He had hands and feet, flesh and bones (Luke 24:39).

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The Resurrection of the Dead, Part 3

The fact of the resurrection is even more clearly attested in the New Testament. Jesus spoke of it in such familiar passages as John 5:26-29; John 6:39-40; John 11:23-26; Matthew 22:29-32 and Luke 20:27-38. The book of Acts contains a number of references to the resurrection, indicating it was taken for granted in the early church (Acts 4:2; Acts 17:18; Acts 23:6; Acts 24:15; Acts 26:8). The epistles of Paul explain in even greater detail the nature and significance of this mysterious event that will occur at the close of the age (Romans 8:11; 1 Corinthians 6:14; 1 Corinthians 15:20-22, 42-44; 2 Corinthians 4:14; Philippians 3:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17). The creeds and confessions of the Christian church confess belief in the resurrection of the dead.

The resurrection of the dead is a fundamental doctrine of Scripture. It stands in direct relationship to both the identity and the work of Christ, for if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised (1 Corinthians 15:13). If that were the case, it would destroy the Christian faith. Jesus would have turned out to be a liar, being neither the Christ nor the Son of God. There would be no atonement and nor forgiveness of sins, and those who died trusting in Christ would be lost ( 1 Corinthians 15:14-19). On the other hand, with Christ risen, the Christian faith is guaranteed, and the resurrection of all the dead has been assured (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).

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The Resurrection of the Dead, Part 2

The Psalms that speak of God delivering the righteous from Sheol certainly imply the resurrection from the dead (Psalm 16:9-11; Psalm 17:15; Psalm 49:15; Psalm 73:24). The testimony of the prophets is even clearer. Isaiah refers to a day when death will be swallowed up forever, when the Lord will wipe away tears from all faces, when the "dead shall live and their bodies shall rise" ISaiah 25:8-9; Isaiah 26:19). Through Hosea the Lord promises, "Shall I ransom them from the power of Sheol? Shall I redeem them from death? O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting?" (Hosea 13:14; 1 Corinthians 15:54-55).  Daniel prophecies, "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2). The resurrection is also proclaimed in the familiar words of Job 19:25-27: "I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me!"

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The resurrection of the Dead

God's people have the certain hope of the resurrection because God raised Christ from the dead. Since Christ has been raised, believers can be sure about the resurrection of the dead, because it has already begun with his rising ( 1 Corinthians 15:12-28). His rising, however, is the fulfillment of the hope of Israel, that is, it was "in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Corinthians 15:4; Nicene Creed) and it fulfilled "what God promised to the fathers" (Acts 13:32-33). This hope, moreover, is een not only in explicit references but is recognized in the very nature of God, as Jesus himself showed when he found the resurrection in the statement by which God identified himself to Moses, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abaraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (Exodus 3:6; Matthew 22:29-32; Luke 20:37-38). The writer of the letter to the Hebrews implies that the heroes of faith in the earliest times of history believed they would live after death, and they desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one (Hebrews 11:13-15, 19).

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Signs of Christ's Coming, Part 2

The Lutheran Confessions identify the papacy as the true end-times Antichrist when it invents doctrine that conflicts with the gospel and arrogates to itself divine authority. The papacy is establishing the kingdom of the Anitchrist when it defends the idea that humanly instituted traditions, human acts of worship, merit justification, grace, and the forgiveness of sins.

Indeed, it is a mark of the Antichrist when the papacy sets itself up "in the temple of God" (2 Thessalonians 2:4) - that is, when it rules and holds office in the church - and virtually assumes that is has divine authority, defending and promoting doctrine that conflicts with the gospel.

Such signs in the church, in human activities, and in nature are evidence that the present age will come to a close, and these signs are intended to encourage watchfulness (Matthew 24:4-8; Mark 13:5-8; Luke 21:8-11). But they do not necessarily indicate that the return of Christ is imminent. Such signs have occurred throughout history.

The present age will finally come to a close when the gospel of the kingdom has been proclaimed to all the nations as a testimony (Matthew 24:14; Mark 13:10). The earth's inhabitants will know that the close of the age has come when they see in the skies and on earth signs pointing to the destruction of this universe. Then they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matthew 24:29-30; Mark 13:24-26; Luke 21:25-28). The coming of Christ will also be heralded by a trumpet call that will gather the elect from all parts of the earth (Matthew 24:31). The first purpose of Christ's return will be to resurrect those who are in the grave so that they can appear before his judgment throne.

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