Final judgment is inescapable, certain, and irreversible. The Lord will hold each accountable; sin is sin, and sin must be judged; sinners are sinners and will face the only righteous, eternal, true, and holy God in judgment. “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20.15). For some, this judgment will be a time of absolute horror, leading to eternal horror. If one’s name is not written in the “book of life,” the eternal book in which all names of those who have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ are found, they will be cast into the fiery pit of eternal hell. This place of judgment is described throughout Scripture as a place of absolute darkness and aloneness, of misery and pain, of constant weeping and gnashing of teeth, of living death in an unquenchable and unending fire. Having rejected the God of salvation during life, the unbeliever will spend eternity apart from the gracious and loving God in unimaginable torment.
How very different for us who believe in Jesus Christ, for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. We will be ushered into the holy presence of our loving and gracious Lord, and for all eternity enjoy the fullness of His holiness. This is not because of anything we have done, or any decisions we have made, or anything of our righteousness. Rather, this is fully the merciful work of our loving Savior; this is the work of Jesus Christ who shed His blood on the Cross for the cleansing of all our sin; this is the power of the Gospel, of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; this is the sovereign grace of our loving Lord who wrote our names in His eternal book. May all who do not claim Him as Lord and Savior, come to Him in repentance and faith, knowing He alone can and will save; may all of us who know Christ as Savior, bow in worship, thankfulness, and praise before Him, anticipating His soon coming.
Humbly waiting in anticipation – having much to be thankful for –
Terry Burlingame
My Morning Desk 