Endtimes, Judgment, Grapes of Wrath, etc.

C.S Lewis in his excellent book The Problem of Pain says the following:

“A recovery of the old sense of sin is essential to Christianity. Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. We lack the first condition for understanding what He is talking about. And when men attempt to be Christians without this preliminary consciousness of sin, the result is almost bound to be a certain resentment against God as to one always inexplicably angry”

The problem is the same with reading Endtimes prophecy. Judgment can only make sense when there is some acknowledgment of guilt. The Bible calls that sin and makes it clear that it is hereditary.

“The Worst we have done to God is to leave him alone — why can’t he return the favor?”

In fact, leaving God alone is NOT the worst we’ve done to him, so the easy way out isn’t going to work.

So this sets the stage for a quick look at who God is, who we are, and why there is this narrative in the Bible about Judgment, culminating in the Endtimes. In modern times the culture rarely considers the spiritual corruption problem of mankind, and even less about judgment, while in days past the ‘men are bad‘ statement was somewhat understood. This is what Lewis was getting at. Today we think that if someone is kind, that person is basically a good person! (In God’s eyes as well) Lewis correctly concluded, as should those communicating the gospel today, that men and women “…lack the first condition for understanding, as Romans 3 says “There is None Righteous, Not Even ONE, There is None who understands…There is none who does good, There is not even one.”

So let’s review the two most important prerequisites to understanding the reason behind God’s judgment, before we get into the Endtimes. (The main pages of Endtimes.org will get into this in more detail)

• Who is the God of the Bible? (very specifically)
• Who are we, or What’s wrong with us that we would deserve judgment?

Who is the God of the Bible?

His Position

Unlike many polytheistic religions (many gods) the Judeo/Christian Bible teaches that there is only one God, and that he created the Universe. He himself is Eternal and had no beginning. The first verse of the Bible makes the most important statement –  “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1)

So this was a bold and clear declaration when compared with the many world religions that would come, and it is expanded on throughout the Bible.

Job 38 – talking with Job, God says “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth“

We learn further that God is…

Omnipotent

God is all powerful and can do anything that his nature allows, and as his omniscience is unlimited, there is perfection in his actions. To take that a step further, there is no other action that God could take other than what he does.

Omnipresent

God is Omnipresent in that his presence fills all space. There is no place (from a human perspective) that we could go where God is not there. That doesn’t contradict the Christian view of the Trinity, as God’s presence can be seen to be in a specific location, while still being everywhere, even in Hell.

Omniscient

God knows all things. Having created the Universe and the laws, God is the source of all knowledge. When human beings seek after knowledge in the universe, they are merely examining the mind of God. They are discovering God’s design.

God is Soverign

God is therefore uniquely Sovereign over his creation and created beings

His Personhood

Answering the Who question is critically important. To add to what is shown above about God’s attributes, God is also an intelligent personal being, (having personhood) and NOT a force. He created the Universe with Intellect and power. (to go further is guessing) His character is not flawed. He is pure, holy and righteous. In fact, He is the only model we have to more fully understand goodness. Any intuition we have about what is good has come from him when he created us in his image, and many other intuitions we have are corrupted and convenient.

To give more evidence of this, note the discussion God has with Israel in the book of Isaiah chapter 1.

Come now and let us reason together, says the LORD

He discusses and reasons with people. He does not only converse with angelic creatures. This is seen all over the Bible.

Key Point: God is personal and reasoning. He can’t be bargained with, and we can’t project our image of God onto him. He is who he has revealed himself to be in the Bible and more, but no less.

His Holiness 

God said to the Jews in Leviticus 11:45 For I am the LORD who brought you up from the land of Egypt to be your God; thus you shall be holy, for I am holy.’” So the Model for us is God and his holy character. (Not being exhaustive here)

His Personality or Emotion – (e.g. Love and Anger)

The idea many have of God is that he is a cold impersonal force, and yet Isaiah 1 demonstrates something quite different. God is genuinely repulsed or angered by evil, and the very personal sins of mankind.

Alas, sinful nation,
People weighed down with iniquity,
Offspring of evildoers,
Sons who act corruptly!
They have abandoned the Lord,
They have despised the Holy One of Israel,
They have turned away from Him…
I hate your new moon festivals and your appointed feasts,
They have become a burden to Me;

As to His Love

Hebrews Chapter 1 says this about Jesus and his relationship to God the father: And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature

and John 11:33-35 tells us…

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, ³⁴and said, “Where have you laid him?” They *said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” ³⁵Jesus wept.

If Jesus is the exact representation of God’s nature, and he wept over the people, He is NOT cold or emotionless, and his ultimate love was demonstrated on the cross. God is Not too big to care.

Who are We?

According to the quote above from the Bible in Romans 3, we are not good by God’s standards, and we are people that cannot confidently stand before God without fear of judgment. We need help badly!

Also, God created us in his image, and therefore we are not evil by design. (The corruption of mankind, involving Satan, came after he created us.) So this is personal with God. The wrath of God is his righteous judgment against sin and evil. Thankfully there is a solution.

By contrast, in his love God sent his son, Jesus Christ, even allowing the people of the world to kill him. What they didn’t know was that at that moment Jesus was himself vicariously taking the punishment for the sins of any who would believe in him, nailing their sins to the cross, thereby allowing them (us) to stand before God without fear of judgment. (Isaiah 53) (Romans 8:1) (Redemption)

In Conclusion

This is the backdrop and starting point of the Endtimes. As C.S Lewis pointed out, If God seems inexplicably angry it is our misunderstanding of our condition and his holy character. In a state of denial we don’t know why we need help. God is NOT angry with those that believe in him, and for everyone else, God is “not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance” – 2 Peter 3:9

The Endtimes judgment is necessary since many will NOT accept God’s free offer of forgiveness through his Son, and Satan the angel must also be judged. God gave us the freedom to choose him or not, and that freedom is what has led to the necessity of Judgment. The final judgement is what we find in the Endtimes.

Romans 8:1 – Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

John 3:16-18 – For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷“For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God

Romans 3:21-23– But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, ²²even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

— Mark Esposito