How to Not Stand in the Wrong Line on Judgment Day
Do you worry that on Judgment Day you might choose door number two instead of door number three?
Mention the phrase “Judgment Day” to the Thessalonians, the congregation to whom the apostle Paul wrote this brief letter, and you’d probably hear ten different explanations of the Bible term. Some promoted the false idea that Christ had already returned in some sort of covert mission and they all missed it. Others figured that Christ’s coming on the last day to end the world was such a long time off that they could eat, drink, and be merry with no concern for spiritual priorities. Still others accumulated their good works like vouchers for eternal life, waiting for the day when they could cash them all in to an extremely impressed God. With all this confusion, no wonder 18 of the 47 verses in the book of 2 Thessalonians deal with the topic of Judgment Day!
Do you think it’s a topic worth reviewing today, or has the cloud of confusion cleared? Have you noticed any of your friends planting themselves in this world as if it’s their permanent home, and they get you to pound in your stakes a little too far? Have any of the many Bible-toting TV preachers or Christian fiction authors made you second-guess what you were correctly taught about Judgment Day as a little child? Do you feel even just a little anxiety about where you’ll be on Judgment Day, how you’ll respond to the global chaos, and what kind of forms you’ll need to fill out at the pearly gates, if you even make it there safely? And what if, in heaven, they use Word Perfect instead of Microsoft Word, and what if dogs are allowed in heaven but no cats, and what if you can’t bring any beverage containers filled with your favorite soda, coffee or beer – we’ll only drink prune juice in paradise?
Similar to a promotional brochure for the perfect vacation, the Bible answers any anxiety about Judgment Day and heaven not with every specific little detail (although we do have a few) but with a few select pictures and truths.
Plan for it. Anticipate it. But don’t worry about it.
Like worrying that on Judgment Day we might choose door number two instead of door number three. We might zig instead of zag. We might be miles away from loved ones or minutes short of accomplishing a real good thing. How can we live knowing that we might mess it all up and miss out on heaven forever?
Here’s how: you can live knowing that God will never mess it up, and never miss the slightest technicality when it comes to taking believers to heaven. Your perseverance through earthly life as well as your perpetual heavenly life are both in God’s hands. “You will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God.” How? “As a result [of] God’s judgment,” not yours (2 Thessalonians 1:5).
Judgment Day, after all, is the day “of the Lord” the Bible says. Not the day of the most powerful nation on earth, or the day of a flu epidemic that fatally puts an end to the world’s population, or the day of wicked people or Satan himself, or the day of imaginative fantasies. It is real, and it belongs to the Lord even if you’re not too sure about the details. He’ll take care of all who, by faith in his promises, want his help. He’ll raise the dead. He’ll send his angels to escort believers safely through the chaos with priority, first-class service. He’ll welcome them warmly as a host expecting them to arrive.
PRAYER: God, in case you haven’t noticed I worry too much. It’s silly, I know, but I still do it. I worry about lots of things, including Judgment Day. It sounds scary. But you tell me not to be afraid, and I believe that. Most of the time. So when I am worrying about my eternal fate and that great day of Judgment and what will happen to me, tell me again not to be afraid. Reassure me with your words of comfort from Scripture. Put to rest my insecurity that dreads not being at the controls. And release me to live now and eternally with a confidence that rejoices in your acts of might and mercy. Amen.