Season 5 Podcast 71 A New Voice of Freedom, Argument for the Existence of God, Episode 44, “Dimensions of Life, Pt 6, Dimension Six The Final Judgment Pt C”

A New Voice of Freedom

Season 5 Podcast 71 A New Voice of Freedom, Argument for the Existence of God, Episode 44, “Dimensions of Life, Pt 6, Dimension Six The Final Judgment Pt C”

There is a wonderful verse in 1 John 3:2 that describes our relationship with Christ in the resurrection if we keep his commandments.

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

At death, some—perhaps many—may have the honor of seeing Christ, but it is a special gift and not the norm. The final judgment does not come until after the resurrection, and it is only after the resurrection that all, saint or sinner, good or evil, will stand before Christ to be judged. No one can become like Christ, who is a resurrected being, until after the resurrection. It is only then that their bodies will shine forth like the sun or like the moon or like the stars.

There are many temporal blessings for those who obey the laws of God; however, no one is immune to what Shakespeare called “the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune.” Few live in our world not knowing personal tragedy.

The gospel in our mortal life can help us cope with the uncertainties of mortality. The light and truth that comes from the scriptures can give us wisdom, understanding, and peace even in the middle of the storm. A story I have told before is pertinent here. When hurricane Hugo hit Charlotte, North Carolina, my father woke up very frightened. He woke up to a shaking house as if it would be destroyed. It was as if the roof were being torn off his small frame house on Roselles Ferry Road. He knelt by his bed and prayed to God. By his testimony to me a feeling of peace came over him, and he lay back down in bed and fell fast asleep. In the morning, he discovered the storm had done terrible damage to his house and yard. His roof had to be replaced and the yard cleared of debris. Insurance covered the damage, but my father was able to sleep through the storm.

In this life things are not always fair. However, the law of restoration will cover all inconsistencies, discrepancies, contradictions, variations, irregularities, injustices, and conflicts. Malachi explains it this way.

“Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee? Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts? And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered. Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name. And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him. Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not. (Malachi 3:13-18)

Comparing those who serve God to jewels shows how he values his children. He is talking in our language. We understand the worth of jewels as precious stones: diamonds, emeralds, and pearls. Christ compares the kingdom of heaven to a merchant seeking goodly pearls “who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.” In the Old Testament jewels are also referred to as “jewels of silver and jewels of gold.”