13. The Last Things

Death and the Intermediate State

Death entered God’s good creation as a result of Adam’s sin, and now all people are subject to God’s curse of death.[1]Yet believers have no need to fear,[2] because Christ has conquered death and delivered us from its dominion.[3]Although our bodies return to dust for a time,[4] death for the Christian has become a doorway to paradise,[5] where our souls enter immediately into God’s presence[6] to behold and enjoy our Savior and to rest from our labors.[7] In company with all the spirits of the righteous made perfect,[8] we will await the redemption of our bodies[9] and our full and final salvation.[10] The souls of the unredeemed, however, are cast immediately into hades to experience torment[11] as they await final judgment for their sins.[12]

 

Christ’s Return and the Resurrection

At the appointed time known only to God,[13] Jesus Christ will return to the earth in power and glory[14] as Judge[15]and King[16] to whom every knee will bow.[17] Christ’s personal,[18] physical,[19] and visible[20] return is the blessed hope of all who trust in him.[21] At the end of the age the just and the unjust will be raised as their souls are reunited to their bodies: the just to a resurrection of life, the unjust to a resurrection of judgment.[22] When the dead in Christ are raised,[23] their perishable bodies will be redeemed and made like Christ’s imperishable, glorious, powerful, spiritual body.[24] Those in Christ who are alive shall likewise be changed,[25] and thus will all God’s glorified people forever bear the image of their Savior.[26]

 

Judgment and the Consummation

On the last day all people will appear before Christ, who is the judge of all.[27] Those who suppressed God’s truth in unrighteousness and did not obey the gospel of Christ [28] will suffer the righteous wrath of God[29] and be justly cast into the hell of fire with the devil and his angels.[30] There they will experience eternal, conscious punishment according to their sins.[31] Those saved by Christ, whose names are written in the book of life, will be welcomed into the joy of their master and richly rewarded for every good work done in his name.[32] God’s glorified people will inherit the kingdom[33] from which all sin, sorrow, suffering, and death will be banished.[34] Christ as king will set all of creation free from its bondage to corruption,[35] making new the heavens and the earth[36] and establishing his eternal rule in his consummated kingdom.[37] Surrounded by unimaginable beauty,[38] we will enjoy unhindered communion with our triune God,[39] beholding him, serving him, worshipping him, and reigning with him forever and ever.[40] Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! 

 

[1] Gen 3:17-19; Rom 5:12; 6:23.

[2] 1 Cor 15:56-57; 1 Thess 4:13; Heb 2:14-15.

[3] John 11:25-26; Rom 6:8-9; Gal 3:13-14; Heb 2:14-15; Rev 5:5-6; 21:4.

[4] Gen 3:19.

[5] Luke 23:43.

[6] Eccles 12:7; 2 Cor 5:6-8; Phil 1:23; Rev 6:9-11.

[7] Ps 16:11; John 17:24; Phil 1:21-23; Rev 14:13.

[8] Heb 12:23.

[9] Rom 8:23.

[10] Matt 25:31-36; Rev 6:10-11.

[11] Luke 16:23-24; Rev 20:13.

[12] Matt 25:31-33, 41-43.

[13] Matt 24:36, 44; Mark 13:33; 1 Thess 5:2-3.

[14] Luke 21:27.

[15] Ps 96:10-13; Isa 11:1-5; John 5:26-29; 2 Tim 4:1.

[16] Rev 19:11-16.

[17] Phil 2:9-11.

[18] Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thess 4:16.

[19] Luke 24:39-43; Acts 1:11; Phil 3:20-21.

[20] Mark 14:61-62; Matt 24:26-27; Rev 1:7.

[21] Titus 2:13.

[22] John 5:28-29; Acts 24:15; 2 Cor 5:2-4.

[23] 1 Cor 15:51-52; 1 Thess 4:15-17.

[24] Rom 8:23-24; 1 Cor 15:42-49, 53; Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2.

[25] 1 Cor 15:49-53; 1 Thess 4:15-17.

[26] 1 Cor 15:49.

[27] Matt 25:31-32; Acts 17:30-31; Rom 14:12; 2 Cor 5:10; 2 Tim 4:1; Rev 20:11-15.

[28] Rom 1:18-21; 2 Thess 1:8.

[29] John 3:36; Rom 2:5; Eph 5:6; Rev 14:10, 19; 16:19; 19:15; 20:10.

[30] Matt 5:22; 13:49-50; 25:41-46; Mark 9:43-48.

[31] Luke 12:47-48; Rev 14:9-11; 20:10-13; 21:8.

[32] Matt 10:42; 25:21-23, 31-40; 1 Cor 3:12-15; 4:5; Rev 20:12.

[33] Matt 25:34; Eph 1:13-14; 1 Pet 1:3-5.

[34] Rev 21:4, 27.

[35] Rom 8:20-22.

[36] Isa 65:17; 2 Pet 3:13; Rev 21:1, 5.

[37] Matt 25:31; 1 Cor 15:24; Rev 22:1-3.

[38] 1 Cor 2:9; Rev 21:9-13; 22:1-5.

[39] Ps 16:11; Matt 25:35; Eph 2:6-7; Rev 21:3.

[40] 1 John 3:2; 1 Thess 4:17; 2 Tim 2:12; Rev 3:21; 22:3-5.