Death and Judgement

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgement:  (Hebrews 9:27)

We will all die, unless we are a select few that are alive when Jesus Christ returns to snatch us away and/or face judgement.  In this brief paper, I want to hit on just what “death” and “judgement” mean according to scripture.  I will preface this with the fact that death and judgement as presented in scripture are very different from the common belief of most people. 

First, let’s discuss death.  The bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:5 that the dead do not know anything and Psalm 146:4 says that when a person dies, their spirit leaves, they go to the ground, and their thoughts perish.  It is a common mistake for people to believe that a person’s soul goes somewhere after death and to believe that person lives either in heaven or hell or some intermediate state.  The bible makes clear that the dead are dead!  They are sleeping until the resurrection.  The scriptures say that those who are dead, their very thoughts perish and they do not know anything.  There is no feeling, pain, suffering, or joy in the state of being dead.  If there was a conscious existence, then these people would have thoughts and they would know something.  However, just like the creation of Adam, we will not regain consciousness until Jesus gives us a new body and breathes our resurrected life into it.  Then, we will be alive for ever, passing through the state of death never to experience it again.

So after death, judgement:  Judgement seems to be such a negative term as used in our society and by religious people.  But, what does scripture have to say about judgement?  Is it always negative?  Is it ever negative?  Without a doubt, judgement can be a scary and painful endeavor; however, I contest that scripture clearly reveals that judgement is for correction not punishment and is always for the good of the person being judged. 

If judgement were evil or devised to punish those who are evil with pain, eternal torment or other nonsense, then one would figure that judgement would begin with evil doers and followers of Satan.  However, in 1 Peter 4:17, it says – for the judgement to begin in the house of God.  You see, judgement begins with God’s people because God corrects them first.  He corrects believers first, and then he will correct unbelievers.  Judgement is corrective and has an ultimate, good purpose, though the process may be unpleasant.  So what happens when people are judged?  What is the end result?

When your judgments come upon the earth, the people of the world learn righteousness (Isaiah 26:9).  So what happens when judgement is hurled at people?  The answer is that they learn righteousness.  So we can conclude that judgement is corrective and God uses it to teach, change and redeem as opposed to punish for all eternity.  Why?  For whom the Lord is loving He is disciplining, Yet He is scourging every son to whom He is assenting (Hebrews 12:6).

I don’t really want to but I feel I need to include a verse that many Christians will use to prove that judgement is eternal and not temporary as the bible proclaims.  I will show you that though Christians use this verse to support eternal torment, it actually proves that judgement is corrective and temporary and not eternal and vindictive. 

The verse is found in Matthew 25:46.  The King James version reads: Then they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.   This verse really deals with eternal punishment?  No way, thankfully the King James translators were drunk or something worse, just like every time they mistranslated words in scripture.  The literal Greek words read as follows:  And these shall be coming away into chastening eonian, yet the just into life eonian.  Please don’t take my word for it, do an honest study on what the original language and meanings of words used.  THE WORDS THAT ARE TAUGHT TO MEAN ETERNAL PUNISHMENT ACTUALLY MEAN AGELONG CHASTISEMENT.  This is a period of time that God uses to correct the evil doer.  The judgment is for the corrective benefit of the one being chastised. 

The all-loving, all-mighty God would not send any part of His creation to a sick, vindictive hell hole with no chance of ever getting out for all eternity.  He has a plan for each and every one of us that ends with all of us alive and full of His spirit.  However, for some it will take longer to get home and they may have to go through severe, horrible, judgement.  But, in the end, they will be home with God.