But the Bible also says there will be judgment and incredible destruction in the end times because of man’s sinfulness, iniquity, and arrogance:
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD [is] at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man’s heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces [shall be as] flames. Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it. For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine. And I will punish the world for [their] evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir. (Isaiah 13:6-12)
But the physical judgment that is coming cannot compare with the eternal judgment that will follow. Eternal judgment, or the final judgment exists because God is just and there are consequences for breaking His laws. The ultimate consequence is to be separated from Him forever.
However, God is love, and He doesn’t want people to be separated from Him. That is the heart of God in the midst of judgment!
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16 ESV)1
His solution was to cause the punishment of all the sin of all people to fall upon Jesus. Jesus is God and had no sin of His own to pay for, so when He suffered and died on the cross He received the consequences for man’s sin, not His own. This solution enabled justice to be served and made a way for all people to be brought into right relationship with God.
God offers pardon to all people. He has given us the power to choose, and each person needs to choose to “come to repentance.”
The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. (2 Peter 3:9 ESV)1
A person escapes final judgment by turning from his sin to God and believing the good news. The good news is that although all people have broken God’s laws and have no means within themselves to bring about reconciliation with the Father, Jesus lived a life of complete obedience to the Father, and received the punishment that man deserves.
Through His death and resurrection, He offers forgiveness and reconciliation to all people who receive it. When a person believes the good news, chooses to turn from his sin to God and asks God for forgiveness, he is saved from eternal judgment.
Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. (Romans 10:9 ESV)1
Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God. (Matthew 3:8 NLT)2
The most important thing is that you know where you will spend eternity, based on what God says in the Bible. Please take a few moments to read more details about “The Heart of God in the Midst of Judgment” and know that God loves you!
1 Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2 Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.