Judgment Day: Truth vs. Myth
Law of God vs. the Law of Man
One of the tragic aspects of religion is its absurd belief that God is going to use the Laws He gave to ancient Israel, to judge modern humans. In the age of the Bible, the Romans and Greeks etc. were not subject to the Law God gave to ancient Israel; yet, two thousand years later, religion claims that modern humans are subject to judgment under that Law. They would have us believe that God is going to raise humans from the dead, judge them according to the Law He gave to the ancient Israelites, and burn those who fail that judgment in an eternal fire. It is absurd to suggest that God is going to judge modern humans by a law that hasn’t been in effect (on earth) for over two thousand years. As for burning people in an eternal fire, even a shallow study of that doctrine will prove it to be false.
Sinners vs. Criminals
Modern humans are not under the Law of God given to the ancient Israelites; consequently, we cannot be judged by how we behave on the earth.
Sin: to break one of the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses.[1]
No one in the modern world is under the Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses; consequently, no one today can be a “sinner.”
The Ten Commandments are an excellent guide for judging yourself, but they are not to be used to judge others.
Criminals
Crime: to break one of the laws of mankind.
There is a vast difference between a “sin” and a crime. Modern humans are under the law of man. If you break one of man’s laws, it is a crime, not a sin; therefore, humans, not God, will put you in jail.
Biblical religions claim that we are under both the Laws of God, and the laws of man. You cannot be subject two laws. The only people who were under the Laws that God gave to Moses, were the ancient Israelites.[2]
Judgment Day
The Bible refers to a coming Day of Judgment. What is the meaning of the biblical term “Judgment Day?” To understand this doctrine, it is critical to know the meaning of the word “Day.” For instance, if I mention The Day of the Pharaohs, you don’t think of a twenty-four-hour day; you think of a specific period of time in history. The scriptures reveal that to the Eternal God, one day is equal to a thousand years; or, as King David put it, merely “A watch in the night.”
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 2 Pet. 3:8.
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as (merely) a watch in the night. Ps. 90:4.
Judgment Day is a thousand-year period in which all the descendants of Adam will be tested under the Kingdom (Government) of God in the life that follows death. It is a period of judgment, identical to the judgment of the ancient Israelites as recorded in the Bible.
The Bible provides an Example of God’s Justice
God’s Judgment is Pure. It is not tainted by the fear of being wrong that plagues the human Justice Systems. It is based in Truth. The case of Ananias and Sapphira, is an example of God’s Justice. This husband and wife had committed to a system of sharing assets with their fellow disciples; however, when they sold a piece of land, they held back a portion of the proceeds.
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession,
And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’ feet.
But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.
And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard these things.
And the young men arose, wound him up, and carried him out, and buried him.
And it was about the space of three hours after, when his wife, not knowing what was done, came in.
And Peter answered unto her, Tell me whether ye sold the land for so much? And she said, Yea, for so much.
Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? behold, the feet of them which have buried thy husband are at the door, and shall carry thee out.
Then fell she down straightway at his feet, and yielded up the ghost: and the young men came in, and found her dead, and, carrying her forth, buried her by her husband.
And great fear came upon all the church, and upon as many as heard these things. Acts 5:1-11.
In Acts 5, we see the great power of the Apostles after they had been indwelled by the Holy Spirit. For what we would consider a minor offence, Peter took the breath of life from Ananias and Sapphira. That is the exercise of Divine Authority and Judgment. There was no prosecutor, defense lawyer, jury, imprisonment, court of appeals, or executioner. Peter, directed by the Holy Spirit of God, merely described their offence, and Ananias and Sapphira fell to the floor dead. Compare Peter’s exercise of Divine Power to our powerless “biblical” religions that are unable to weed-out the corruption and sex abuse of their own clergy. No one, in any government or religion on the earth today, has the Divine Power wielded by the Holy Spirit filled Apostle Peter. There are many other examples of God’s Divine Justice in the Bible.[3]
The Second Death
After we pass from death into life, all of the descendants of Adam and Eve will, “each in their own order,” become subject to a period of Judgment under the Kingdom (government) of God chosen from the twelve tribes of ancient Israel. Those who pass that test will receive Eternal Life; those who fail will receive the Second Death. There is no resurrection from the Second Death. It is eternal.
Human Government
One of the lessons God wants us to learn while we are exiled in death on the earth is the impotence of human government. Human jurisprudence is hampered by the fear of being wrong; therefore, we need to second guess our juries by endless appeals. The justice system’s failure to accept the reality that our current existence is death, compounds the problem. Consequently, we torture our sentencing decisions by calling what in reality would be a Life penalty, a “Death Penalty.” As a result of Adam’s transgression in Eden, all humans are under a death penalty. When human governments execute criminals, we are shortening their death / exile, and sending their souls into Life. There, they will come under the Kingdom (Government) of God. In that period of time, referred to as Judgment Day, they will be apprised of the Law of God and become subject to the Second Death. Justice under the Kingdom of God is comparable to biblical account of the judgment of Ananias and Sapphira.[4]
Only God Can Exercise Pure Judgment
It is tempting to judge our fellowman according to the Laws of God and find their behavior “Evil.” Humans are not capable of being evil.[5] Neither are they capable or of implementing Devine Justice. Only the All-Knowing God, or one of His Holy Spirit filled Apostles, has the Godly Insight to issue a Divine Judgment.
In John 4:1-30 we find the incident of the Samaritan Women. Jesus looked at her and told her everything she ever did in her life.
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? John 4:28-29
Jesus did not judge this woman, because the Samaritans were not under The Law of God; however, he knew everything she ever did while on the earth. When resurrected humans first encounter God’s representatives in the Kingdom of God, we will have the same experience. They will know everything we have ever done while on the Earth.
It is informative to note that Messiah did judge the leaders in Jerusalem. They were under the Law. I suggest you read the account of Messiah’s condemnation of the Scribes and Pharisees in Mat. 23.
Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchers of the righteous,
30 And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.
31 Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.
32 Fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?
34 Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city:
35 That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar.
36 Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.
37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
38 Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.
39 For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord. Mat. 23:29-39.
Forty years later, in a.d.70, that temple was destroyed to the very foundation stones, and Jerusalem was left “utterly desolate.” Not a soul remained in Jerusalem.
In John 8:7, we find the incident of the adulterous women. As those gathered were ready to stone her, Jesus disarmed them by saying:
….He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. John 8:7.
Only God can implement Pure Justice. Be slow to judge your fellowman.
Judgment Day is a period of one thousand years in which each of the descendants of Adam, in their own order, will be judged for how we behave under the Kingdom of God. Those who pass that test will receive Eternal Life; those who fail will receive the second Death.
What does it Matter?
In a rejoinder to one of her father’s efforts to guide her behavior, my wonderful fourteen-year-old granddaughter Emma asked a good question; “If we’re all just apes, what does it matter?” Emma is absolutely right. If we are all just apes, in reality, it wouldn’t matter. Fortunately, we are not apes. Humans are the Ultimate Creation of the Almighty God. We have been given dominion over the Earth and are destined to rule over God’s Creation in eternity. Consequently, it really does matter.
If you teach children that they’re apes, they will behave like animals.
Conversely, children indoctrinated to believe they can communicate with God, will become frustrated when He doesn’t answer their prayers. Some will turn to fanaticism, jihad, holy war, or religious terrorism, others, to rebellion against their religious parents, substance abuse, crime, reactionary cults, or self-destructive lifestyles.
Science vs. religion is the problem. It’s time to resolve this destructive conflict.
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There is only One Man, One God, and One Truth
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[1] There were hundreds of Laws that God Gave to the ancient Israel; not just the Ten Commandments.
[2] God did judge and punish non-Israelites when they interfered with or threatened His Chosen People. 11 Ki 19:3237, 1Sam.17:2.
[3] Num. 21:6.
[4] Acts 5 & Rev. 2:11 & 20:6.
[5] Evil: to challenge the Almighty God, or to intentionally break one of His Laws.