Life and Judgment. (John 5)

WE must not confound the immortality of the soul with eternal life in Christ. God breathed into man’s nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. He did not make man like the beasts which perish, nor necessarily to die; though with a body capable of dying. It was by sin that death entered the world and gained power over our bodies, but the death which destroys our mortal bodies touches not our immortal souls. All men have immortal souls by virtue of their creation, but none have eternal life save such as have received Christ.
Whether we receive everlasting life, or not, every man will live forever. Whether we die with or without Christ, our bodies will rise again. This frail tabernacle, though laid down to moulder in the dust, will be made alive, and will be once more the temple of the soul. “As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” (1 Cor. 15:22.) In Adam, who sinned, and whose sin brought death into the world, the vast multitudes of the human race die. In Christ, who willingly died for sinners, and who rose again, those who have life in Him will live again in resurrection, and not only them, for “The hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth.” (John 5:28.) Good or bad, all will be awakened from their death sleep.
The awakening will not be at the same period of time: “Every man in his own order;” “Christ the first fruits.” He rose first. Following His resurrection will be that of His people, those who have life in Him, “afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” Following after the resurrection of Christ’s people will be the kingdom and the great judgment, “then, the end.” (1 Cor. 15:24.) None will be left in the graves, “all that are in the graves... shall come forth.” The first resurrection will be that of life: “they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life.” The last will be that of judgment, “they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:29.)
There is no mingling of the two classes who will rise again, no union between the two periods of resurrection. All men’s souls are immortal, all men’s bodies will rise again; those who have life in Christ will rise at the first resurrection, those who have not life will rise at the second resurrection. “He that hath the Son hath life; he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.” “Blessed and holy is he who hath part in the first resurrection.” (Rev. 20:6.) “The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.” (v. 5.)
Man’s is an eternal destiny. Death ends his career on earth, but he dies not with the death of his body. Death is but the close of the first stage of his journey, and he himself travels onwards. The tent is taken down, while the tenant removes elsewhere. Man’s life on earth is but the brief preface of the book of his endless history in eternity. Consider, then, these solemn words, “After death!” What an opening out is there in them. Death comes to many, as we read in the book of Job, as the King of Terrors; but the terrors of “after death” are unutterably more awful than those of death itself. “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” (Heb. 9:27.) That judgment is more terrible than death. Once a criminal in the condemned cell, on his last night, was visited by some of his old companions. The man’s tremendous courage was well-known, but his companions found him with the sweat of agony upon him, and as they upbraided him for his weakness, he answered, “It is not dying that I fear, but at eight o’clock tomorrow morning I must stand before God.” It is sins which make “after death” so fearful a contemplation to the sinner.
Now the Father “hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22), and “we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hash done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:10.) And if we do not in this lifetime find Christ as our Life, we must, after death, stand before Him as our Judge. Soon, very soon, the current religious notion will give place to the great reality of having to meet the Son of God.
The Lord sets Himself before us, spiritually dead as we are, as the Life-giver, and as the Judge. He is the Life-giver now, He will be the Judge hereafter. He sits upon the right hand of God in heaven, and God’s throne is now a throne of grace. He is the Life-giver to dead sinners, but He will sit upon the great white throne, and judge according to their works those who died in their sins.
Now it is the day of grace, now there is life for the spiritually dead who hear the words of the Son of God. Those who hear Him honor Him, and shall not come into judgment. All religion without faith in the words of the Son of God is dishonor to Him, and all righteousnesses without Christ are as filthy rags. Thus does the Lord speak to us as the Life-Giver, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth My words and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but is passed from death unto life.” (John 5:24.)
It may seem a very simple thing to hear the words of the Son of God, but alas there are but few who listen. The man of the world is much too occupied with earthly things, and the religious man too full of the sound of his own creeds to hear the words of Jesus. Let us inquire of ourselves if we have ever, for one brief quarter of an hour, been alone with God, desirous only to hear the words of life? Have we ever taken the place of hearing? That is, have we given up every preconceived notion, to sit down in the presence of the word, and to obey it alone.
The Son of God speaks, and the believer depends absolutely upon the word. God has said in His word that eternal life is his who hears His Son, and the believer does not question God. He may not feel within him as he would desire, but the word of his God is sufficient. He knows that he has passed from death into life, that he shall not come into judgment, for the Lord has spoken. He knows that he has everlasting life, his Lord’s word is sufficient. Let us each inquire, have we honored the Son by hearing His words? Heaven and earth will pass away, but not one jot or tittle of His words till all be fulfilled.
It is not honoring the Son of God to put experience or efforts in any way instead of absolute faith in His own words. Nay, to do so is to sin against Him. And if we believe not we shall die in our sins. And when the day of judgment comes, we shall have to answer before the great white throne not only for each and every sin done in this life, but for the crowning sin of unbelief, which fixes the doom of all to whom the Lord speaks in this day of grace, and who will not hear.
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” (John 3:36.) H. F. W.
“ALL flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: but the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” (1 Peter 1:24, 25.)
Talks About the Tabernacle
“I suppose you cannot tell us much more about the tabernacle, Aunt Edith?” said Charley; “for we are getting near the time when Solomon built the temple, and then there was no more need for it.”
“I was thinking, the other day,” said May, “that I would much rather have seen the tabernacle as it was in the desert, with the tents of the Israelites all around it, than as it was at Gilgal or at Shiloh. Just think, Charley, how beautiful it must have looked by night, with the pillar of fire resting upon it, as if God were keeping watch over His people as they slept.”
“I should like to have stood on some mountain near, at sunrise, and seen the fiery pillar disappear when the morning came, and the pillar of cloud take its place, and then, perhaps, as I watched, the cloud might have risen, and I should have seen the great multitude fold their tents and move on through the desert, following the cloud by which God showed them the way. But of course the most beautiful part of the tabernacle was inside,” he added, thoughtfully. “I wish, Aunt Edith, you had been with us when we saw that model of which I told you. The more I think of it the more sorry I am that such a beautiful thing should have passed away.”
“It was, indeed, a beautiful thing, Charley; but you must not forget that it was only a shadow of that which can never pass away. Now that we have nearly come to the last days of the tabernacle,” continued their aunt, “it may be interesting to go back and speak a little of its first days. Have you thought of how the wonderful love of God shines through all the history of His people which we have been looking at a little since we began our pleasant talks?”
“I have not thought much about it, Aunt Edith; but I suppose if God had not loved the people and pitied them so, they could never even have got away from Egypt.”
“We are not told, Charley, that the people in Egypt had any thought of God. We know that they sighed by reason of their hard bondage, but we do not read that they cried to God, or asked Him to save them from their cruel masters; they groaned in the bitterness of their labour and sorrow, seeking rest and finding none, and their cry reached the throne of Jehovah. Before they called He heard, and the answer came: ‘I have seen, I have seen the affliction of My people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them.’ This was what the oppressed, heavy-hearted Israelites had never thought of. They did not even know the greatness of their misery and helplessness, but God did, and so He undertook to save them out of their distress.”
“So, when the Lord Jesus was here, He knew there were hundreds of poor people who were wanting what He could give, though they did did not know it, and He said, ‘Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,’” said little May.
“God said of the oppressed Israelites in Egypt, ‘I know their sorrows.’ He knew the unexpressed longings of their hearts, and He knows that, deep in the heart of each of us, there is a sore want, an unsatisfied longing, the dumb cry of a helpless human soul, not knowing its own need, understood only by Him.”
“Do you mean that we are unhappy because we have got away from God, and do not know how to come back?”
“You remind me of some words spoken by one who lived very long ago, Charley: ‘Thou hast made us for Thyself,’ he said, as he thought of these things, ‘and our heart is restless till it resteth in Thee.’ Even a child knows what it is to have desires and feelings which he cannot understand and cannot tell to any one. As soon as the consciousness that he is an immortal creature, and must live forever, breaks upon his mind, he is filled with thoughts of fear and unrest. Eternity stretches before him like a boundless sea. What is to become of him during that everlasting existence upon which he knows he has already entered?”
“I remember, Aunt Edith, once when I was staying with you, I woke in the night, and tried to think about what would never end, and I was so frightened that I called you; but when you came I could hardly explain to you how I felt, or what was the matter.”
“I have not forgotten that night, Charley; but I did not know that you would remember it; you were a very little boy then. What did I say to you?”
“You said such thoughts were too great for me, and I must just remember that God, who loved me, was greater than all my thoughts, and that everything belonged to Him, and that the Lord Jesus who had given Himself for me, and died to save me from all I was afraid of, was close to me, though I could not see Him, and took care of me, and loved me always. I remember I wondered what made Him care for me, but I was very sure He did, and I was not unhappy any more; though you stayed with me till I was asleep, I should not have been afraid if you had gone away.”
“You knew you had a Friend with you, One who had searched your inmost heart and found the trouble that was there.”
“Yes, that was just what I meant to say,” he interrupted. “I was so much afraid,” he continued, in a low tone, “because of my sins. I dared not look up; but all at once the hymn we used to sing came into my mind. I said it over and over again and it seemed better and truer each time:—
“‘But though we’re sinners, every one,
Jesus died.’
“Then I remembered how the Lord Jesus had once said to a sinner, ‘Thy sins are forgiven thee,’ and I thought He said it to me. I have never been afraid to die since, because I know if I left this world Jesus would have me.”
“God, who heard the sorrowful sighing of the poor oppressed bondsmen in Egypt, so long ago, heard your cry, and drew near to you that night as you lay, a little child trembling at the thought of the great unknown future. The heart, with all its strivings and longings, only gets further away from God, but at one word from Him all is peace, the struggle ceases, and there is a great calm.”
“I like that text,” said May, “We love Him because He first loved us.”
They were silent for a little, and then their aunt said—
“Will you tell me, dears, a little about that model you saw, which so much interested you?”
“I will try, Aunt Edith,” said Charley. “You must imagine a square, or rather an oblong open space in the desert, enclosed by pillars: twenty brass pillars on the north, twenty on the south, ten on the west, and six on the east, for there the entrance was. The tops of these pillars were of silver, and so were the hooks from which the curtains hung. We saw these curtains of white linen set up, and the curtain hung before the entrance.”
“Oh, yes, Aunt Edith, you know that beautiful curtain of blue and purple and scarlet was instead of a door, and we were told to think of how the Lord Jesus said, ‘I am the Way.’ The gentleman who explained it all to us said the altar, too, was a type of Christ; but Charley must tell you.”
“No one could come in to the outer court except by this veiled gateway, and just inside was the great altar, made of wood covered with brass, where the fire burnt the sacrifices. Every morning and every evening a lamb was offered on this altar for the whole people, and they could see the smoke rise up to heaven. It was to this altar, just inside the gate of the otter court, that the people brought their offerings; the offerer laid his hand upon the head of the offering and then killed it, and the priest sprinkled the blood around the altar, and put it also upon the four horns or corners of the altar.”
“Can you tell me why the sacrifices were offered?”
“To make atonement for sin. God saw the blood of the sacrifice, which was the life of the animal which had been killed, instead of the sin of the man who offered it.”
“And the man who offered it saw the blood, too, on the horns of the altar,” said May; “and you remember, Charley, when a priest had sinned the blood of his offering was put upon the horns of the golden altar on which the sweet incense was burnt in the place called the ‘holy.’”
“We learn from this, dear children, that God, against whom the sinner had sinned, alone could appoint what should make an atonement or covering for sin, and He had said that by blood, and blood alone—the life of another given instead of the forfeited life of the one who had done the wrong—atonement could be made. Thus God Himself provided the means by which His ancient people could approach Him, and because of which He could dwell among a rebellious people, with hearts no better than ours, sinning every day. You know why the offerer laid his hands upon the head of his offering, do you not?”
“Oh, yes,” said May, “it was to show that whatever creature it was that he brought was to be counted guilty of what he had done, and that he had deserved to be treated just as his offering was treated, It must have made him very sorry for his sin when he saw an innocent creature die because of it.”
“The sight must indeed have brought the solemn truth, ‘the wages of sin is death,’ right home to the conscience of the offerer: but how thankful he must have been to God, who thus allowed him to bring his offering, and who said of his sin, ‘it shall be forgiven him.’”
“God provided the sacrifices, and even appointed what the poorest of the people should bring; but we know that only the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, His holy Son, could ever really atone for sin: it was only after His precious blood had been shed that the veil which shut man from the presence of God was torn, and the way to heaven, of which the most holy place was a type, made open for every one who should come unto God by Him. But will you not go on with your description, Charley?
“Next to the altar stood the great brass laver, where the priests washed their hands and feet, and then came the tabernacle itself, in which the beautiful veil hung which divided the ‘holy’ from the ‘most holy.’ The outer court, where the great altar and the laver stood, was called the ‘holy place.’”
“You must not forget to say what was in the ‘holy,’” said May.
“The golden candlestick, the golden altar of incense, and the table of show-bread were there. The priests kept incense constantly burning on the beautiful little altar, and the great golden lamp, with seven branches, ornamented with flowery work, lighted up the whole place, so that the priests who entered it could see the blood that made atonement for their sin on the horns of the altar, and the beautiful curtain worked with figures of cherubim, and all the splendor of the gold.”
“The priests might see the beautiful veil,” said May, “but they could never go inside.”
“No,” replied her brother; “but don’t you remember what we were told about the great Day of Atonement? On that one day in the year, the high priest lifted the veil and went into the ‘most holy,’ where the ark was, and he carried in the blood of the sacrifice and sprinkled it upon the mercy-seat, which was the covering of the ark.”
“Were you told what the high priest going in and sprinkling blood upon the mercy-seat typified?”
“Yes, we were told, Auntie, but I can’t tell how to explain it.”
“God has Himself given us an explanation, so that we cannot doubt its wonderful meaning. In the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews we read (verse 12) that Christ, not by blood of goats and calves, but by His own blood, has entered in once for all into the holy of holies, having found an eternal redemption! Charley, will you read from the 24th verse to the end of the chapter?” C. P.