CHAPTER XII

Our Expectation of Future Life

INTRODUCTION

The affirmation of the Apostles’ Creed, “I believe in the life everlasting,” has not been very clearly understood by Christian people as a whole. They live on the earth. Their thinking tends to be of the earth. So they say when the body of some loved one is laid in a grave, “He is dead.” Or, “She died, and I have no hope left.”

Such statements belie the truth of the Bible. The concept of personality in the Bible teaches us to say, “I am a soul (personality, being), and I have a body.” Some people say just the reverse: “I am a body, and I have a soul.” If the latter statement be true, it means that the real person is a human body and that the soul is something that person has in his possession. This is not true from the point of view of the Bible. I am a living soul, made so by the creator, and reborn to eternal life through my faith in Christ. He has given me a physical body through physical birth. I have this body, but I am not limited to this body except in my life on earth.

Again, in the Gospel of John we have two words used for life. One is the word psuche, which means life in the physical body. A dog or a cat may have this kind of life. It is the life which comes through the normal functioning of the organs of the body. Examples of the use of this word may be found in John 15:13 and 10:17. Men in battle give up their lives for their country. The other word for life is the word zoe, which is the life of God made available to believers in Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Examples of the use of this word may be found in John 1:4; 10:10 and 3:16. Of the seventeen times this word is used in John’s Gospel, twelve times the word eternal or everlasting is used to describe it. Not once is this adjective applied to the word psuche. This is significant, for it reveals that while the life of the physical body is not regarded as eternal, the spiritual life of God in believers is eternal.

A. THE RELATION OF THE LIFE HERE TO THE LIFE HEREAFTER

In the light of what has been said, eternal life is a quality of life which belongs to believers here as well as hereafter. It is the life of God given to believers through Jesus Christ. It comes to believers through reproduction of Christ’s life in them, not through their efforts to imitate Him. As is so clearly stated in John 3:1-21, the birth from above is the necessary means by which this new life is experienced. It is like taking a cutting from a rosebush and rooting it in rich soil where it will grow and bloom like the parent rose. It is like the union of the Spirit of God with Mary to produce the Son of God in the flesh. So also the Spirit of God unites with the heart of the believer to reproduce His life in the experience of men.

Eternal life does not begin after physical death. It begins when the life of God is given to believers. As stated in John 5:24, the one who believes shall not come into judgment, but has already passed from death into life.

This means that life on earth is the testing ground which determines who will become believers and who will not. Life after death is a continuation of life here. But it is a continuation in a richer and larger way, without the weaknesses of the flesh to deter us. The point of view which has been expressed is well summarized in the Shorter Catechism, Answers to Questions 37 and 38:

“The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness, and, do immediately pass into glory; and their bodies, being still united to Christ, do rest in their graves till the resurrection.”

“At the resurrection, believers, being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged, and acquitted in the Day of Judgment, and made perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity.”

B. THE BODY OF BELIEVERS HERE AND HEREAFTER

We are sure of the fact that we have physical bodies suited to life here. We are not so sure of the kind of bodies we shall have hereafter. The message of Paul in I Corinthians 15:20-58 is instructive at this point. In reply to the direct question, with what body do they come? (verse 35), Paul answers that God gives a resurrection body according to His own wishes and pleasure. This body will be appropriate to the kind of life involved. Just as the grain of wheat dies to become a stalk which reproduces the grain, so the perishable earthly body is replaced with an imperishable body. The physical body is replaced with a spiritual body. Even for those who shall be alive in the flesh at the end, there will be a change of body from the earthly to the heavenly, from the physical to the spiritual.

We get some cues about the kind of bodies we shall have from the resurrection body of the risen Lord. He was not limited by time or space, but appeared and disappeared. From the experience of the risen Lord we gain confidence in the resurrection of our own bodies. In the words of the Apostle’s Creed we say, “I believe in the resurrection of the body.” Our Confession points to a final day when the bodies of the earth shall be somehow reunited with the souls of believers in the words:

“At the last day, such as are found alive shall not die, but be changed: and all the dead shall be raised up with the self-same bodies, and none other, although with different qualities, which shall be united again to their souls for ever.” (Chapter XXXIV, Article II.)

This doctrine, it should be stated in all frankness, is not easy to understand. But we may be sure that the creator is able to do for us all things well. He who transforms our personalities can easily transform the bodies that we leave behind in a grave. But the glorious truth is that while our bodies are changed, we live eternally with Christ in glory. That our bodies shall be like His is suggested in Chapter XXXIV, Article III of the Confession of Faith:

“The bodies of the unjust shall, by the power of Christ, be raised to dishonor; the bodies of the just, by His Spirit, unto honor, and be made conformable to His glorious body.”

C. THE RETURN OF CHRIST

Relatively little is said in scripture about the return of Christ, and still less in the Presbyterian Standards. In Chapter VIII, Article IV, this line appears: “and shall return to judge men and angels, at the end of the world.” (Compare answer to Question 28 of Shorter Catechism.) However, a fuller statement is given in the answer to Question 56 of the Larger Catechism:

“Christ is to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world, in that He, who was unjustly judged and condemned by wicked men, shall come again at the last day in great power, and in the full manifestation of his own glory, and of his Father’s, with all his holy angels, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, to judge the world in righteousness.”

It is clear from the above statement that Presbyterians believe in the return of Christ. The promises made by our Lord that He would return have been received at face value. The statement of Jesus concerning the time of His coming is also received as authoritative. “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” (Matt 24:36.) Since these words were spoken by the Son in the flesh, it is both possible and likely that He shares this knowledge with the Father now.

The passages in the Gospels that obviously deal with the return of Christ (Matthew 24:36-51; Mark 13:24-27, Mark 13:32-37; Luke 12:35-48; John 14:1-3) teach Jesus’ followers to live expectantly and faithfully. While no one knows when He will return, all are to be faithfully doing their tasks as though He will return at any moment. No one is to assume that because His coming is delayed, it will always be delayed. Whether He returns in our lifetime, or in millions of years, we are nearer that great day than we were yesterday. It may be today or tomorrow or in the distant future. But it is certain and should be prepared for at any moment.

1. THE STANDARDS NOT EXPLICIT CONCERNING DETAILS OF CHRIST’S RETURN

Some Presbyterians may ask why the Confession is not more explicit than it is concerning the time and the manner of Christ’s return. It is because the scriptures are not explicit about the time and because they teach that He will return on the clouds with great power and glory (note the poetic way of expressing this truth). To be sure, many interpreters of the Bible have tried to fill in the details, even to setting the time. But each one so far has been wrong. The average for correctness is zero even though the confident affirmations of certainty have been very high. Therefore, both because the Confession is careful in its statement and because the scriptures themselves are indefinite as to time (unless one assumes that they were written for our day and not for the nineteen centuries intervening, which is quite an assumption concerning our importance in God’s sight). Many Presbyterian ministers are guarded in setting any specific time for Christ’s return. They are not ignorant concerning the events of the present day, but they are aware of the fact that in other centuries from the first to the twentieth, events have been many times very similar for Europeans and Americans (if these were God’s primary concern) to present events.

Of course, this does not satisfy the curious speculators who want everything concerning the future worked out in a neat little package of theology. But the very brevity of the statement in the Larger Catechism leaves room for variety in expectation. It sometimes permits matters of opinion to become matters of faith. History has proved the danger of such practice. The Millerites of 1843 and 1844, who set a specific time for Christ’s return, and who found that they were wrong, not only lost face, but most of them lost their faith. This is the danger to be avoided. Let those who will, become definite as to the year or the lifetime in which Christ will return. Let all Presbyterians and all Christians live expectantly and faithfully, knowing that Christ will return either today or tomorrow or at such future time as God the Father sees fit.

It should be recognized further that the Larger Catechism does not elaborate on a system of events associated with the return of Christ. Nor do the scriptures until they are made to fit into a scheme already worked out and imposed upon them. One gets the impression from reading the Revelation, chapter 20, that the inspired writer follows his usual custom in the book by painting pictures with words. Verses 1-3 deal with the binding of Satan for a thousand years, and verses 7-11 tell of the final destruction of Satan after the thousand years are finished. Verses 4-6 seem to be describing the victory of the saints during the thousand years referred to in verses 1-3. Verses 11-15 describe the final judgment which logically and apparently chronologically follows the preceding verses. This chapter, as the writer has indicated elsewhere, [How to Study the Revelation, pages 92-99.] should be interpreted as a part of the book as a whole. It gives no clear indication of many of the charted or imaginary events that some men have associated with the second coming of Christ. It points to the return of Christ before the final judgment. Whether this return is literally one thousand years before the final judgment, or whether it follows exactly a thousand years of the coming of Christ in the hearts of men is a matter of interpretation.

2. THE MILLENARIAN VIEWS OF CHRIST’S RETURN

For those who would ask, “What is the difference between premillenialism, postmillenialism, and amillenialism?”, we would make the following reply. Premillenialism is a point of view which holds that Christ will return to the earth before (pre) the thousand year reign of Christ begins. Postmillenialism is a point of view which holds that Christ will return to the earth after (post) a thousand year reign of Christ in the hearts of men. Amillenialism is a point of view which refuses to literalize the thousand year period as being significant in one’s doctrine concerning the return of Christ. A person may be one of the three and still be a good Presbyterian.

In a previous chapter on the church we have dealt with the other question that ordinarily arises. It concerns the refusal of the Presbyterian Church to accept dispensationalism. Some congregations are dispensational in their point of view. On the whole, dispensationalists are in the minority in most of the churches where they are active. The 1944 Assembly adopted a report which set forth the reasons why dispensationalism is not approved in the Presbyterian Church. This report is available at your nearest Presbyterian bookstore.

Our concern here is to present the Presbyterian belief in the return of Christ. We repeat the fact that the Presbyterian Standards do not propose any specific system of interpretation concerning the return of Christ. They do teach that He will return to judge the whole world in God’s good time. They also teach that men are to remain faithful and watchful as they await His coming. In the words of the Confession of Faith, Chapter XXXV, Article III:

“As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from sin, and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity: so will he have that day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security, and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the Lord will come; and may be ever prepared to say, Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen.”

D. THE LAST JUDGMENT

Four things may be said about the last judgment. First, it is the judgment of Christ. Second, it is universal. Third, it is according to the thoughts, words and deeds done in the flesh. Fourth, it is final. Chapter XXXV of the Confession of Faith deals with this final judgment. It presents the basic doctrines we propose to discuss.

1. IT IS THE JUDGMENT OF CHRIST

In the Gospel, Jesus Christ is presented as Lord and Saviour. This is the teaching of the scriptures. This is the belief of the Christian church. He remains the Saviour as long as men live in the flesh. But in the final judgment Christ is the judge. He is fair and reasonable, but He is the judge. He will not forget that men are saved by faith, but will remember that their faith always expresses itself, not merely in words, but also in deeds. He will judge all men by the fruit of their faith as it is expressed in their deeds.

2. IT IS UNIVERSAL

The final judgment includes apostate angels and all persons who have lived upon the earth. It includes both the wicked and the righteous, both the dead and those who are then living. No one shall escape this righteous judgment. All humanity will be gathered before the throne of God. The saints whose robes are washed in the blood of the Lamb will stand before Him whom they have loved and served. The sinners who have refused to accept His pardon will likewise stand before Him whose love they have repudiated. The hypocrites will be there, who gave a show of religion, but whose hearts were far from God. The sincere but unsung heroes and heroines of the faith will be there, surprised perhaps at their feeling of “at-homeness”, [orig: homeness.”] but gazing with wonder and appreciation at the face of Him whom they have served. You and I will be there too, standing with our common humanity before the judgment bar of God.

3. IT IS ACCORDING TO THE THOUGHTS, WORDS, AND DEEDS OF MEN

Sometimes people tend to separate themselves into several compartments, as though the way they think may be the opposite of what they say or do. From experience many persons know that such a thing is possible. But it is possible as a habit only at the expense of warping personality. Before God there can be no such division, for He knows the secret intents and thoughts of the heart.

Jesus’ most dramatic description of the final judgment is recorded in the parable of the judgment in Matt 25:31-46. He pictures all the nations standing before the judgment throne. To those who have served Him by serving others, He gives the invitation to inherit the eternal Kingdom prepared for them. To those whose faith does not get expressed in an appropriate service for others, He will give sentence to depart to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For Jesus knew that one’s deepest and most determining thoughts will find expression in the way one lives. Faith is the rootage of conduct, but conduct is the fruitage of faith. We are saved by faith for good works in His name. We are judged according to the way we express the deep faith that is in our hearts.

4. IT IS FINAL

Nowhere in the scriptures is there the promise of a chance to determine one’s eternal destiny after he departs this life. In fact, Luke 16:19-31 tells a story which indicates clearly that there is no chance of a change in decision about one’s destiny after this life. A great chasm or gulf is fixed between those who receive the reward of their faith and those who receive the consequences of their careless unbelief. No one can cross over either way. The doctrine of purgatory did not originate in scripture. It originated in an entirely different source. This is why Presbyterians refuse to accept it. The judgment of men on earth is final.

In like fashion the final judgment settles things once for all. The parable in Matt 25:31-46 makes no mention of anything other than a final judgment. A similar picture is drawn in the Revelation 20:11-15. Human personality of one kind in this life need not be expected to change magically into something else. We become more and more like ourselves as each day passes. So finally we come to the last judgment when our reward will be confirmed for eternity and our wickedness will be judged in eternity. Let us pray earnestly for ourselves and those we love that we may be united in joyous worship and service about His throne.

E. THE EXPERIENCE OF THE RIGHTEOUS AND THE WICKED IN ETERNITY

The Confession describes this experience in the following words:

“For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive that fullness of joy and refreshing which shall come from the presence of the Lord: but the wicked, who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast into eternal torments, and punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power.” (Chapter XXXV, Article II.)

Chapters 21 and 22 of the Revelation give a poetic and vivid description of the New Jerusalem, which is our nearest approach to a picture of heaven. Everything is new in the new city of God. The water of life is freely offered to all who wish to receive it. Sonship to God for those who live victoriously is the blessed inheritance of the redeemed. Worship and service in the city of eternal light will consume the time of those who love Christ. All that is glorious and wonderful will belong to those who have loved and served their Lord.

“But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the polluted, as for murderers, fornicators, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their lot shall be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Rev 21:8.)

Whether we think of hell in terms of distance or of difference from the experience of heaven, we know that the remorse and the torment of unbelievers is terrible. We do not consider an eternal heaven merely because it is pleasant or an eternal hell simply because it is unpleasant. We accept both because they are taught in the word of God. Again we suggest fervent prayer that all of God’s own may respond in faith to the glorious Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ.

In this chapter we have discussed a number of things about which we have only a limited knowledge. We do have enough knowledge for our salvation and our growth in grace. We also know that our Lord is able to keep all that we have committed unto Him, and that He will do all things for His glory and for our good. In this confidence let us find peace and rest for our souls, and let us live expectantly as we await the end of our days or the coming of our Lord.