EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 8/14/2025 7:37 PM
My Worship Time Focus PT-3 Introduction to:”The Coming Judgment on Apostates”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Jude 14-16
Message of the verses: “14 It was also about these men that Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, 15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him." 16 These are grumblers, finding fault, following after their own lusts; they speak arrogantly, flattering people for the sake of gaining an advantage.”
Now I mentioned in the last SD on this introduction to Jude 14-16 that there are two more items to look at as we have gone through the first five in the last two days, and I also mentioned that these two are longer that the first five were. This also will be a quotation from John MacArthur’s commentary.
“Sixth, God’s final judgment will occur in specific phases. It will begin during the seven-year tribulation period (which immediately follows the rapture—1 Thess. 4:13-17; cf. Rev. 3:10). During the tribulation, God will unleash His wrath against the ungodly, through the seal (Rev. 6:1-8:5), trumpet (8:6-11:19), and bowl judgments (15:5-16:21). His judgment will culminate in the battle of Armageddon (19:11-21) in which He will utterly defeat His enemies. After Armageddon, the Lord will set up His earthly kingdom, during which Satan will be bound and Christ will reign in Jerusalem for one thousand years (20:1-6). Satan will then be released and lead one final rebellion, before he and his followers are cast into the lake of fire forever (20:7-15). That final sentencing (of all of God’s enemies) is at the Great White Throne Judgment. So the first phase of God’s judgment will be an earthly one during the tribulation period; the second and final phase will be a heavenly one at the foot of His throne.
“Finally, God’s retribution ultimately results in eternal damnation in hell:
40 “So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 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, 42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matt. 13:40-42; cf. 24:50-51; John 5:29)
During the course of His earthly ministry, the Lord had much to say about the reality of hell. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned of the danger of hell (Matt. 5:22) and spoke of the whole body entering it (5:30). This reality of a body in hell was clearly taught by the Lord in His words concerning the ‘the resurrection of judgment’ (John 5:29). In His references to hell, Jesus used the word gehenna. That familiar term, which identified the continuously burning city dump in the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, graphically illustrated to Jesus’ listeners the fiery torment of hell (cf. Mark 9:43-48). Near the end of the Sermon, Jesus pictured false teachers as trees that do not bear good fruit and were ‘cut down and thrown into the fire’ (Matt. 7:19).
“Perhaps Jesus’ most dramatic and frightening depiction of hell appears in the story of the rich man and Lazarus:
22 "Now the poor man died and was carried away by the angels to Abraham’s bosom; and the rich man also died and was buried. 23 "In Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom. 24 “And he cried out and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool off my tongue, for I am in agony in this flame.’ 25 "But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that during your life you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus bad things; but now he is being comforted here, and you are in agony. 26 ‘And besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, so that those who wish to come over from here to you will not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us.’ (Luke 16:22-26)
“God reserves the severest judgment for those who hear the truth and reject it. In addressing some of the Galilean towns that refused to believe in Him, Jesus warned,
21 “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 “Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 “And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. 24 “Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for you." (Matt. 11:21-24; cf. Luke 12:46-48)
“Jesus also excoriated the hypocrisy and false teaching of the scribes and Pharisees. He condemned them for their sanctimonious pride, legalism, greed, and overall spiritual blindness. In response to their self-righteous duplicity, Jesus pronounced this fate on them: “You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell? (Matt. 23:33; cf. the entire chapter; Matt. 16:6, 11-12; Mark 7:5-8; Luke 11:44).
“Such warnings of judgment are especially applicable to apostates and false teachers. Those who claim to represent Christ yet do irreparable damage to His message (such that souls are eternally lost) will receive the severest judgment of all. The writer of Hebrews issued this stern warning to anyone who trifles with divine truth—a warning particularly ominous for false teachers:
26 For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a terrifying expectation of judgment and THE FURY OF A FIRE WHICH WILL CONSUME THE ADVERSARIES. 28 Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. 29 How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know Him who said, "VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY." And again, "THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE." 31 It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God. (Heb. 10:26-31; cf. 2 Peter 2:1-2, 20-21; 3:7; Rev. 19:20).
“Jesus previously pointed out that the apostates ‘were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation’ (v. 4); cf. vv. 6, 13). Verses 14-16 reaffirm that truth and the truth of all the other New Testament judgment passages that precede it. The passage first underscores the fact of an ancient prophecy by Enoch; then it suggests three certainties regarding God’s final judgment. The Lord will come, He will not come alone, and He will come to execute judgment on deserving recipients.”
This has been a long SD, but I pray that the Lord will use it to bring glory to His Son.
Lord willing we will talk about “The fact of Enoch’s Ancient Prophecy” in tomorrow evenings SD.
8/14/2025 8:20 PM
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