JUDGMENT

What does the Bible have to say on the subject of righteous Judgment? Does it mean Salvation for the obedient few, but condemnation to eternal torment for the many who are disobedient or unbelieving?

Let us examine a scripture which shows us righteous judgment in action: the separating of the sheep and the goats, at Matthew chapter 25. We will see that it all ends with Universal Salvation.

Matthew 25: 31-36: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.36. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.' "

At the Judgment, the sheep -those who are righteous - inherit the Kingdom.

But what about the judgment on the unrighteous goats?

Matthew 25: 41-43 continues: "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; 43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; naked and you did not clothe Me; sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.' "

The goats omitted to do the things they ought have done, and so they are sent into the everlasting fire.

So how can this possibly be describing Universal Salvation? Indeed, most people would probably say, "This scripture is talking about anything but salvation where the goats are concerned. It is quite plain: the goats are sent away from the presence of Jesus; away from any hope of salvation."

Many believe that those who choose to reject God (the goats) will follow Satan right into eternal torment. There will be no way out from the fires of hell, and no second chance. It is a commonly held view of the meaning of the Judgment - that if you end up in hell, there is no way back.

But let us analyse one very good reason why the Judgment on the goats can not possibly mean that they will be tormented for all eternity. It is contained in a prophecy about Jesus in the book of Isaiah, chapter 42, which is generally acknowledged to be a prophecy of the Messiah. Isaiah 42: 1-4: "1 Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. 2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. 3 A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. 4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law."

In this scripture, the Messiah is prophesied to dispense justice; in fact, the word " justice" is mentioned three times: Verse 1: "He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles."

The Hebrew word for "Gentiles" here refers to the non-Jewish, unbelieving nations of the world: this verse must mean that the Messiah, when He comes, is to deliver justice to all the nations of the world.

Verse 3: "He will bring forth justice for truth." The New American Standard Bible translates this: "He will faithfully bring forth justice." The Hebrew here carries the meaning of certainty and dependability. In other words, we can utterly depend upon Him to dispense justice to all, because He is utterly faithful.

Verse 4: "He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth."

And so we see that this prophecy in Isaiah becomes increasingly emphatic; the Messiah, when He comes, will deliver justice to all the earth; believers and non-believers alike; and obviously, the complete fulfilment of this prophecy is still in the future. But what we need to know is this: what, exactly, does Isaiah mean here by justice? Does he mean that the Messiah will inflict eternal torment on the unrighteous and unbelieving?

Here is one dictionary definition of justice: a lawful and impartial process, which determines guilt or innocence; it is also the imposing of an appropriate sentence on those found to be guilty.

But to appreciate more clearly what Isaiah meant here, we need to examine the Hebrew definition of justice: and we will see that, when Jesus comes to judge the nations, He can not possibly send anyone into eternal torment. The Hebrew word for "justice" is mishpat.

Mishpat is about much more than the English definition of justice we have just examined: it is basically to do with the execution of righteous government. It is to do with the handing down of decisions which will result in peace, order and harmony being maintained. Or, where those conditions do not presently exist, it is the handing down of decisions which will result in their being restored: this is what righteous government is all about.

So any decision that the Messiah makes, in any given situation, must maintain, or restore, order, peace and harmony. Otherwise, according to Isaiah's prophecy, justice will not have been done.

Bearing these facts in mind, let us go back to the scripture at Matthew 25, and re- read those decisions that Jesus is going to hand down when He returns to judge the nations.

Matthew 25:34: "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.' "

The decision is that the sheep, because of their good works, inherit the Kingdom. That is a just decision which will maintain peace, order and harmony. But it can not mean that only the sheep will ever receive salvation, because good works can not earn salvation.

Ephesians 2:8-9 says this: "8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 Not of works, lest anyone should boast."

The decision handed down to the goats shows us how they, too, will receive salvation: Matthew 25:41: "Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.' "

And most people assume that Jesus is pronouncing on the goats a curse of everlasting fire.

In the Greek, the word "cursed" in this scripture is known as a perfect passive participle. It means that the word "cursed" is describing a process which has already taken place in the past, but its results continue on into the present. At the time of speaking, Jesus is merely acknowledging the fact that the goats have already been cursed, and are still cursed, because they omitted to do the things they ought to have done. Cause and effect. But, according to Isaiah's prophecy, Jesus must now hand down a decision which will result in peace, order and harmony being restored to the goats. Otherwise, justice will not have been done.

Verse 46 tells us how His decision is carried out: " And these will go away into everlasting punishment".

But how does everlasting punishment restore peace?

The word "everlasting" here is an adjective, which means that it describes something: in this scripture, it describes the punishment which the goats will receive. According to the Greek scholar, I.T. Ramsey *, this word "everlasting" is known in Greek grammar as a qualifier.* In other words, it is a reminder that the word it describes is being used in a non-literal sense.

It is not the punishment itself that is everlasting, but the effect of the punishment. The Greek word for "punishment" in this scripture is kolasis, which means "corrective punishment." What is everlasting is the corrective effect that the punishment brings about. It is quite clear that Jesus is not going to send the goats into eternal torment. He is simply going to ensure that justice is done to all, just as Isaiah said He would; the judging of the nations is all part of the execution of righteous government.

After all, Jesus himself tells us His motive for the decisions He makes, at John 5:22-23: "For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 That all should honour the Son just as they honour the Father."

His sole purpose in judging the nations is that all should honour the Son and the Father. "All" must mean the goats as well as the sheep. How else could there be peace, order and harmony?

One day, that purpose will be fulfilled. Revelation 5:13 tells us this: "And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: Blessing and honour and glory and power be to Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, forever and ever!' "

This is a vision of the future, when all will honour the Son and the Father. "Every creature" has to mean the goats as well as the sheep.