Good morning Hopefully you have some notes in front of you that say less than 85 London Baptist Confession of Faith chapter 32 the last judgment And I want to encourage you to turn to the 17th chapter of the Acts of the Apostles Acts chapter 17 and I'm going to read verses a 22 to 32 just to orient our mind to the subject at hand which is the last judgment and Acts chapter 30, excuse me, Acts chapter 17, beginning in verse 22. So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, to an unknown God. Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since he is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all people life and breath and all things. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live in all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, that they would see God, if perhaps they might grope for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. For in him we live, and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, for we also are his children. being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man." And verse 30 and 31 are especially germane to our subject this morning. Therefore, having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent because He has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, we shall hear you again concerning this." And now let us pray. Father, we come before thee this Lord's Day morning and we thank you so much that we can begin this day, especially the first day of the week, by fellowshipping together and interacting with your pure and precious and holy revelation. And Father, I pray that you would help me by your Holy Spirit just to communicate your truth as it relates to the final judgment, this great day of judgment, in a way that is pleasing to thee and in a way that is reflective of its character and its nature in a way that would be helpful to our thinking process and edifying to our mind. I pray the effect that it would produce in our own souls a greater and greater desire for holiness, a greater and greater desire to see unsaved people truly converted and come to Christ. So we just pray that you would bless our time together. Might it serve as a blessed preparation for further fellowship and praise and worship this day. So we commit our time to you. And we ask these things in Jesus name. Amen. Well, as you can see, the theme of this particular chapter, chapter 32, is of the last judgment, which has kind of an ominous ring to it, kind of like when you've ever heard the sounds of cell doors closing, it kind of has that sense about it. The outline that you have in front of you, it's from A. A. Hodge, in a work on the confession of faith, and that name, he's the son of Charles Hodge, the well-known Charles Hodge, And so he taught at Princeton Seminary in the 19th century, back when it was orthodox, and I found it very helpful. So our thinking this morning will be centered around his work, and there's seven basic observations that he puts forth, and we'll be going through those. And this is just kind of a classy confessional take on the end times. It's not as detailed as some of the schemes that are in vogue today. It's reflective of historic Christian orthodoxy, as it would have been reflected, I think, in other confessions of faith as well. Paragraphs one and two is what we'll particularly focus on this morning. And again, we'll organize our thinking around seven propositions. Let me just read these two paragraphs in your hearing, and then we'll work through some of these propositions that are just based on these two paragraphs. Paragraph one says, God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father, in which day not only the apostate angels shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds. and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil. Paragraph two reads, the end, or we might say the goal of God's appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect and of his justice in the damnation of the reprobate who are wicked and disobedient. "'For then shall the righteous go into everlasting life "'and receive the 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 be punished with everlasting destruction "'from the presence of the Lord "'and from the glory of his power.'" So those are the two paragraphs. There's actually three paragraphs, but those are the two that were considered today by means of these seven propositions. So the first one, pretty straightforward, is that God has appointed a day of general judgment, a day of general judgment. And the two verses that we looked at in Acts chapter 17 are pretty straightforward about this. Acts 17 is a helpful chapter because it gives clarity about a future day of judgment, also certainty about this future day of judgment. And it has a certain applicability and relevance to it as well. because the Apostle Paul is speaking here to pagans. He's speaking to those who are unfamiliar with biblical history. And so we have somewhat of a template here for how we might speak to people that are somewhat unfamiliar with the Bible, don't have a history about the Old Testament and that sort of thing. So the basic point that we've brought this out many times here is the Apostle Paul, he starts with the character of God and the being of God and placards that upon their thinking. First of all, this is what God is like. And so it's helpful from that perspective. And also the idea of future certain judgment is helpful to our thinking process in that it consoles the conscience in the face of massive evil that we see. This is not in your notes, but just a word from A. A. Hodge here in his work on the confession of faith in this section. He says, It's a dictate of natural reason and conscience that in some way, formally or informally, severally or collectively, God will call all the subjects of his moral government to an exact account for their character and actions. It is obvious, as the author of the 73rd Psalm declares, and as many other perplexed souls have thought, that justice is not executed upon men in this world. All this suggests the probability that God will, at a future time, adjust the disturbed balances and call all men to a strict account. This presumption of reason and conscience is confirmed and declared to be a fact in the Word of God. And the additional information is conveyed that this judgment of men and angels shall be general and simultaneous, and shall be conducted on a certain predetermined day in the future. So I think that's just kind of a helpful, polarizing statement from, from A. A. Hodge. So there's extremely evil things that happen in this world, violates our sense of justice. And we might tend to think, well, justice is not being served. It will be, the day will come when justice will be served and the scales will be balanced. So we have these two verses, I'll just reread. from Acts chapter 17. Then another text would be Romans 2.16. on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Jesus Christ. And then kind of an extended statement here. For more, Lord, this is from Matthew chapter 25, and verse 31 says, but when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and that will be on the particular day of judgment, and you might jot down 2 Thessalonians 1.10, and it makes it clear that when He comes in His glory, it's on that future day, the same day that we're reading of in these other chapters. Verse 32 says that all the nations will be gathered and we're getting a little ahead of ourselves But this is a verse that helps us to understand that every everybody is going to be there Everybody will be there at the final judgment all the nations will be gathered before him And we'll separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats and he will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left and And the king will say to those on his right, come, you who are blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in, naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you, or thirsty, and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger, and invite you in, or naked, and clothe you? And when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you? And the king will answer and say to them, truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me. Then he will also say to those on his left, depart from me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, you gave me nothing to eat. I was thirsty, you gave me nothing to drink. I was a stranger, you did not invite me in. Naked, you did not clothe me. Sick and in prison, you did not visit me. And then they themselves also will answer saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of you? Then he will answer them, saying, Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. OK, so there's proposition number one. Proposition number two. There's gonna be a final day of judgment. Proposition number two, he has committed this judgment into the hands of the God-man in the character as mediator. He's committed this judgment into the hands of the God-man in his character as mediator. The judge on this great occasion is to be, not God absolutely considered, but the God-man in his office as mediatorial king. All judgment is said to be not inherently his, but committed to him by the Father. And some of the texts that are helpful in this way are John 5.22, for not even the father judges anyone, but he has given all judgment to the son. John 5.27, he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man. A text we just looked at, Matthew 25.31, but when the son of man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then, He will sit on his glorious throne and all the nations will be gathered before him. And he will separate them from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And Acts 17 31, because he has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead. And then, Matthew 25 31 but when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then all that he will sit on his glorious throne and all the nations will be gathered before him and he will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. Okay. All right, okay, so we're good there. Then number three, proposition number three, that the persons to be judged include apostate angels and the whole human race, good and bad. So it's very, very comprehensive. It includes everybody who has ever had an existence. The persons to be judged include apostate angels and the whole human race, good and bad. The subject of the judgment will embrace the entire human race of every generation, each individual appearing immediately after his resurrection in the completeness of his reintegrated person, both soul and body. And then some of the texts that help to bring this out, 2 Corinthians 5.10, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. And some of these texts are the ones that A. A. Hodge includes. So let me just read Revelation 20, 11 through 14, but especially verses 12 and 13 that I think are germane to this particular point. I saw a great white throne, and he who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And then verse 12 says, I saw the dead, the great and the small, so that would be both saints as well as those who worship the beast, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which are written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds." So you see this repetition of the dead being raised, that they will be a part of this final judgment. Also 1 Corinthians 15, 51, "'Behold, I tell you a mystery. We should not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. Just a few more texts. 1 Thessalonians 4, 16. For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout. with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shall rise first. And the next two verses relate to angels. Angels who did not keep their own domain but abandoned their proper abode. He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. And 2 Peter 2.4, for if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness reserved for judgment. And then good angels will be concerned in it as attendants and ministers. Attendants and ministers. Matthew 13 41 the Son of Man will send forth his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who commit lawlessness and Will cast them into the furnace of fire in that place though shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth and 2nd Thessalonians 1 7 and to give relief to you who are afflicted, and to us as well, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God, to those who do not obey the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. So we see here the part the angels have in this positive sense. Well then, number four, that these persons are to be judged as to all their thoughts, words, and deeds. As to all their thoughts, words, and deeds. And Hodge writes, the judgment will not rest upon appearances, nor testimony, nor any partial judgment, knowledge of the facts, nor upon the technical grounds of law, nor specific actions disassociated from the state of the heart and the motives which prompted them. John chapter 7 and verse 24 speaks directly to this idea that it won't be based on appearances. Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. And we have noted that judgment does not take place on account of works, but I am persuaded that works are a manifestation of what is in the heart. Another text would be Romans 2 and verses 12 through 15. Luke 12, 47 is there, but I think this speaks a little bit more clearly to the issue. Romans 2, 12, for all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when Gentiles who do not have the law do instinctively the things of the law, these not having the law are a law to themselves." Verse 15, in that they show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness in their thoughts alternately accusing or defending them. Then Hebrews chapter 2 and verses 2 and 3 and chapter 10 verses 28 to 29, bring out every man who has lived under the dispensation of the gospel shall be judged by the gospel. Hebrews 2 and verse 2 says, for if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, Verse 3, how shall we escape, that is those of us that are living in the dispensation of the gospel, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation after it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard? Hebrews 10, 28 and 29 speaks to the same point. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Verse 29, how much severe punishment do you think he will deserve who's trampled underfoot the son of God? That is again, one who is in the dispensation of the gospel. And is regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted the spirit of grace. And then the next few verses especially deal with the idea of the motives of men's hearts being disclosed. 1 Corinthians 4, 5, therefore, do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and disclose the motives of men's heart and then each man Man's praise will come to him from God. Ecclesiastes 12.14, for God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. Luke 8.17, for nothing is hidden that shall not become evident or anything secret that shall not be known and come to light. Luke 12.2, But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms shall be proclaimed upon the housetops. And Mark 4, 22, for nothing is hidden except to be revealed, nor has anything been secret but that it should come to light. Okay, then proposition number five with respect to this great day is that the great end of God in the appointment of the day is the manifestation of his glorious justice in the condemnation of the reprobate and of his glorious grace or mercy in the glorification of believers. The great end of God in this public unveiling of secrets and manifestation of character in connection with his final disposition of his creatures is, of course, the manifestation of his own glorious excellencies as moral governor and redeemer. Hodge writes, this has already been shown, but he says, if this was his end in the original creation, that is, this manifestation of his own glorious excellencies as moral governor and redeemer, if that was his goal in his original creation, it, of course, must be so in every subsequent step, consequent up on it. Now, he makes reference here, and you might turn for a moment to Romans chapter nine, Romans chapter 9 he makes reference to verses 22 and 23 Romans chapter 9 verses 22 and 23 Which say this Romans chapter 9 verses 22 and 23 what if God although willing to demonstrate his wrath and to make his power known endured with much patience and vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, and he did so to make known the riches of his glory upon vessels of mercy which he prepared beforehand for his glory. " Well, what he's reflecting there is the first sentence of the second paragraph, and that reads like this, that the end of God's appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy in the eternal salvation of the elect and and of his justice in the damnation of the reprobate who are wicked and disobedient. So the point he's making is especially two perfections of God that will be demonstrated on this day of judgment. One is mercy, because you and I and every Christian are referred to as vessels of mercy. God has not dealt with us according to our sins. Mercy presupposes a kind of misery, and so he has condescended to our helpless estate. Now with respect to the, unrepentant, the particular perfection that is showcased is justice, is justice in the damnation of the reprobate who are wicked and disobedient. And the notes that you have here, I was going to go through those, but I thought it might get a little bit tedious. And so the main point I would make, what the Apostle Paul doing there, he's answering objections to those who would say, if God is choosing one to reject it and rejecting another, then how can God be just? And so these, if you want us to pursue that a little bit further. So these are some of the comments by Charles Hodge on that particular issue. So that's about all I'm gonna say on that one. And we will go to the next. Let's see here, the next proposition, which is number six. Proposition number six. But the great thing to remember there is that God's perfections are showcased on that day. His mercy with respect to believers, His justice with respect to those who reject overtures of grace. Then proposition number six. that the righteous are to be awarded admission to the presence of the Lord, which is to be consciously enjoyed by them in a state of unending holiness, happiness, and honor. Immediately upon the close of the judgment, the righteous being honorably acquitted are to be awarded admission to the presence of the Lord with whom they are ever to continue in a state of conscious and exalted happiness, excellence, and honor for an absolute unending eternity. And the reasons for the blessedness of this estate, number one, their blessedness flows from their perfect freedom from sin, which is never the case here. and from their being with God and Christ, and their sharing the glory of Christ as joint heirs with him. And some of the texts here, John 17, 24, this is in our Lord's High Priestly Prayer, Father, I desire that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. In order that they may behold my glory, which thou hast given me, for thou didst love me before the foundation of the world. Romans 8, 17. And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with him, in order that we may also be glorified with him. And 1 Thessalonians 4, 17. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord. In Revelation 21.3, I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and he shall dwell among them, and they shall be his people, and God himself among them. And then secondly, it shall be perfectly free from all evil of every kind. It shall involve every form of blessedness in an inconceivably great degree. 1 Corinthians 2.9, But just as it is written, things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, which have not entered into the heart of man, all that God hath prepared for those who love him. Colossians 1.12, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. And thirdly, it's to endure for an absolute unending eternity. It's called eternal life, everlasting life, an eternal way of glory, eternal salvation, an everlasting kingdom, and eternal inheritance. Matthew 19, 29, everyone who has left houses, our brothers, our sisters, our father, or mother or children or farms for my mother's sake shall receive many times as much and shall inherit eternal life." Matthew 25, 46, and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. Romans 2, 7, those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life. 2 Corinthians 4.17, for a momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison. Hebrews 5.9, having been made perfect, he became to all those who obey him the source of eternal salvation. 2 Peter 1.11, for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be abundantly supplied to you. 1 Peter 1.4, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. Hebrews 9.15, for this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant. In order that sense of death hath taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. I should have reversed number six and number seven. because number seven is more sobering than number six, but I'm just following the order of the paragraph here. So now we come to proposition number seven. That the reprobate are to be awarded a place with the devil and his angels, to be endured with conscious torment and shame through a ceaseless eternity. The reprobate will be immediately driven to the place prepared for the devil and his angels, or to continue in the conscience endurance of torment and shame for an absolutely unending eternity. The strongest terms which the Greek language affords are employed in the New Testament to express the unending duration of the penal torments of the lost. The same words are used to express the eternal existence of God, 1 Timothy 1.17, now to the king, eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Romans 1.20, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen. being understood through what has been made, so that they're without excuse, Romans 16, 26. But now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the eternal God, has been made to all the nations, leading to the obedience of faith. The eternal existence of Christ is used to refer to the unending existence of Christ, Revelation 1, 18. And the living one, and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. and I have the keys of death and Hades. The eternal existence of the Holy Spirit, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. And it's also used for the endless duration of the happiness of Christian believers. John 5, excuse me, 658, this is the bread which came down out of heaven, not as the fathers ate and died, excuse me, he who eats this bread shall live forever, Matthew 19, 29, and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for my name's sake shall receive many times as much and shall inherit eternal life, Matthew 25, 46, and these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. So the point being made here is that the exact same term is used for the endless or the eternal duration of the sufferings of the lost. Matthew 25, 46, these will go away into, excuse me, these will go away into eternal punishment. And Jude 1, 6, and angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, he has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. So Hodge says their condition is constantly set forth by such terms as the fire that shall not be quenched, fire unquenchable, the worm that never dies, bottomless pit, the necessity of paying the uttermost farthing, the smoke of their torment ascending up forever and ever. And I don't have the scriptures that go with this, but I have them if you're so inclined for them. So. I could just say, let's pray, and we'll do that in just a second. Let me just read the last paragraph here, just to kind of say one more thing about, this is paragraph three of the Last Judgment. As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there 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 ever be prepared to say, come Lord Jesus, come quickly. Amen let us pray Father, we praise you for your word and for how much that you have given us about this future great day and the things that are connected with it. I pray our consideration of it would be instructive to our hearts and to our minds. It would deepen our own thankfulness for the power and the glory of the gospel. It would increase our desire and our prayers for the salvation of the lost, and even the efforts that we would make to communicate the nature and the character of the gospel to those who we are surrounded by that don't know it yet. So we thank you for your goodness to us, and I pray that you would cause our fellowship to be blessed and sweet. And as we gather together for worship, we pray that you would be honored, and that you would be glorified, and you would be lifted up in our midst, and we ask these things in Jesus' name, amen.