In our scripture readings for today, the marriage of Jesus and his church is finalized with Jesus' return – this time not as a victim of crucifixion, but as a conquering victor. Jesus defeats Satan, his beasts, and his armies, and Satan is imprisoned for a thousand years. Those who were beheaded for their faith are given the perk of being resurrected first, and of exercising leadership with Jesus without the influence of Satan in the world. And then, in quick succession, Satan is released and defeated forever in a final battle, the earth and heaven cease to exist, and the life of the resurrection begins, starting with judgment....
There's an episode of the original Star Trek where the Vulcan Mr. Spock goes progressively insane due to hormonal pressure to find a mate. And so, they take him back to the planet Vulcan, where he can be married to his fiancee. Captain Kirk goes down to the ceremony with Mr. Spock, and Spock's conniving fiancee calls for a combat to prove Spock's worth, selecting Kirk as her champion. Kirk accepts, figuring he will put on a decent show of combat for the ceremony, and then bow out graciously...that is, until the celebrant informs him, “this combat...is to the death.” And then, of course, follows the best combat music ever heard in the history of television....
I think there is a pervading belief in the world and in the church that the return of Jesus and the judgment will be mere ceremonial formalities, but it will be “to the death.” Jesus is not coming back for group hugs and talking about his feelings. No, the husband of the church is coming back to do the most manly thing possible – destroy evil. The enemies of God have had their chances to repent, and now Jesus' sharp sword is going to fly. Only three prisoners will be taken alive from this vulture picnic: the beast, the false prophet, and the dragon, and that's because justice dictates their punishment must be more severe than death. The dragon is imprisoned, so that he can experience yet one more defeat, and the false prophet and the beast are thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulphur, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The same degree of severity applies to the judgment. All humanity will be resurrected to stand trial, and the works of everyone will be judged, but what will truly determine our eternal fate is the book of life. Anyone whose name is not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire, for eternal punishment.
“Wait a minute,” say some of the more kum-by-yah Christians, “didn't Jesus say to love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you? Jesus wouldn't come back as a warrior!” But the extenuating circumstances are different: Yes, WE have been told to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us...in the attempt to win them back for God, AND, to release our anger and our inappropriate desire for vengeance. By the time Jesus returns, those who are left are deemed unwinnable, devoted enemies of God, and they are all killed in the war that they started.
“Wait a minute,” say some of the more weak-kneed Christians, “are you telling me that if my name is not written in the book of life that I will be tormented for eternity – the same punishment as Satan? What if Satan tricked me, and it wasn't my fault!” But God has given us moral agency so that we are responsible for our actions. And God has ordained a binary result – there is either the new heaven and the new earth we will hear about next week...or there is the lake of fire. God's presence for eternity, or God's absence for eternity. For those who think religion is some kind of harmless hobby, or some kind of dangerous tool for political division – sorry, it WILL BE life and death.
And for those who remain faithful, the result will be amazing! Those who were beheaded for their testimony to Jesus will be resurrected first, and they will have the honour of reigning with Jesus for a thousand years, while Satan is in the pit. A nice little incentive for the reader of Revelation to keep giving their testimony to Jesus, even if threatened.
And for those whose names ARE written in the book of life – the reward is eternal life, in a new cosmos free of evil. AND, once death has completed its function, Death itself will be thrown into the lake of fire. As Dr. Paul Tripp states in our Griefshare video series, “those who overcome will witness Death's funeral.” I hope the sandwiches afterwards are good, because it will be the last funeral, ever.
With rewards this amazing for faithfulness, and punishments this severe for the opposite, all that is left is to ask the question, “how can we be sure our names are written in the book of life?” The extremely SHORT answer, is that we CAN'T be SURE, because it isn't our book. But the longer answer is that we can take Jesus at his word – that he died on the cross to reconcile us to God, that he sealed us with the Holy Spirit in our baptisms, that he accepts us as his bride the church, that he inspires us to testify in the face of adversity. We have the great hope that our names are INDEED written in the book of life, as a result of what our Saviour has done, and is doing in our lives.
Gracious God, salvation and glory and power to you, for your judgments are true and just. Prepare us for the marriage of the Lamb with the opportunity for righteous deeds, done through your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, in his name we pray, amen.