We are looking at the subject of meditation. If we profess to be Christians that implies certain obligations on our part. A Christian will pray. Devote yourselves to prayer, Paul says (Colossians 4:2). A Christian will read their Bible. Psalm 1 says of the blessed person that their delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law they meditate day and night.
We should also give ourselves to meditation. Psalm 119:15 I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways. Philippians 4:8 Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Use your mind to go over these things.
To help us in this we are suggesting subjects that you can usefully meditate on.
Three weeks ago we spoke about how we can think about God himself - his nature and attributes. Rather than thinking of God in a vague and disorganised way take Question and Answer 4 of The Westminster Shorter Catechism. It asks "What is God?" and expects the answer "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth."
Then the week before last we thought about the states of Christ - his humiliation and exaltation. His humiliation begins with Christ's incarnation, the Word becoming flesh. Then there are the sufferings that he endured on our behalf all his life, culminating in his death, death on a cross and his burial in the tomb. His exaltation begins with his resurrection from the dead on the third day, followed by his ascension into heaven so that now he is in heaven where he is at God's right hand, interceding for his own and from where he will one day come to judge this whole world.
Last week it was human nature in its fourfold state -
1 Pre-fall man in the State of Innocence in Eden
2 Fallen man in the State of Nature in his sin and misery and inability to change, the state of all of us by nature
3 Reborn man in the State of Grace; our present state as beievers
4 Glorified man in the State of Glory in heaven.
To put it simply, there is Before the fall, After the fall, After regeneration and In glory.
This week I want to commend to you another topic for meditation - This is to do with Christian eschatology, or the last things. It is about what is often called the Four Last Things (theat is the last four things to do with man). These are Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. We are talking about the four last stages of the soul in life and the afterlife.
They are often commended as a collective topic for pious meditation. St Philip Neri apparently said "Beginners in religion ought to exercise themselves principally in meditation on the Four Last Things." Traditionally, the sermons preached on the four Sundays of Advent wold be on the Four Last Things.
The Puritans used to like to write on the subject. Among their tomes are The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven by Robert Bolton; published posthumously in 1639. Four Last Things - Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell by William Bates, which appeared in 1691. In 1683 John Bunyan published a poem on the subject. It was called One thing is needful or serious meditations upon the Four Last Things. The Four Last Things have become a common theme for artistic and literary works as well as theological writing but I'll leave you to explore that for yourselves if you wish. What I want to do is simply to stimulate you to think about these things.
1. Meditate on the first of the last things - death
First, we want to meditate then on death. In hebrews 9:27 it says people are destined to die once. There are four main things we want to say under this heading.
1. We want to define death. Death is to do with separation. In the beginning there was no death but Adam and Eve were warned that if they should eat from a certain tree in the Garden of Eden they would surely die. As you know, they did eat and so they died. First they died spiritually. A separation was introduced that had not been there before - a separation from God.
Spiritual death was followed in due time by physical death - the separation of body and soul or spirit. That is what happens when a person dies. On the cross Christ gave up his spirit. That was unique. Normally it is God who decides when a person's spirit and body are separted. Their visible body and their invisible soul are separated. The body remains here on earth and is either buried or cremated or whatever. The spirit or soul appears before God to be assigned to heaven or hell. It is only at that the resurrection that body and soul will be reunited.
2. We want to remind ourselves that we can all expect it at some point. As is often said death is a fact of life. It is true that there will be a generation that escapes death - those who are alive when Christ returns - but for most of us we can expect one day to die. It is good to meditate on the fact.
I think Adoniram Judson the 19th century missionary to Burma went wrong when he adopted the practice of sleeping in his own coffin at one time. We should meditate on the fact that we will one day die, however. As each day passes, the closer we come to that day.
3. We want to remind ourselves too that it is the last enemy. It is important too to see that death is an enemy, the last enemy the Bible calls it. Many people say they are not afraid to die. Woody Allen famously said so - although he added more realistically that he didn't want to be there when it happened! Stephen Hawking the scientist who suffered from a rare moto-neuron disease who died in 2018 often said it. For example in a 2011 interview he said “I have lived with the prospect of an early death for the last 49 years. I’m not afraid of death, but I’m in no hurry to die. I have so much I want to do first.” This is to underestimate what death is. Death is not natural even though it is so common It is a curse, an enemy to be faced and we ought to reckon with that.
4. Fourthly, we want to say that death is different for unbeliever and believers. It is a fair inference from Scripture that the death of the unbeliever is not the same as the death of the believer. This becomes clear once you ask the question - why did this person die, an unbeliever? Romans 5:12 tells us sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned. We are sinners and so we die. But what about believers? Why do they also die? The death of the believer is part of his sanctification. The believer is no longer in fear of death - Christ came to free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. (Hebrews 2:15). In 1 Corinthians 15:56, 57 Paul says The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Yes, death is still an enemy but an enemy we can face by the grace of God as we take the last step on the road that leads to heaven.
2. Meditate on the second of the last things - judgement
The second thing we want to think about is the judgement which immediately follows on from death. Hebrews 9:27 again people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. Romans 14:10 ... We will all stand before God's judgment seat.
Again there are several things to say.
1. When? - the time. It is clear that when Jesus comes again there will be a great and general resurrection from the dead of all and then the judgement will begin. Revelation 20:13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done.
2. Who? - the Judge and the judged. The Judge will be Jesus himself. Paul speaks in Acts 17 of God having set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. Jesus was raised from the dead for this work. Matthew 25:31, 32 When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him .... All the righteous will also be involved in the judgement with Christ, especially the Twelve. 1 Corinthians 6:2 Do you not know that the Lord's people will judge the world? Matthew 19:28 I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel.
The judgement will involve those of every nation (Genesis 18:25 - The judge of all the earth. Matthew 25:32 All the nations will be gathered before him ....). All people: Hebrews 12:23 - God, the judge of all. No-one will escape. It includes the angels too.
3. Where? - the place of judgement. This is open to debate but it appears to take place here on earth.
4. What? - the nature of the judgement. We are told that all will be gathered and then the books will be opened. Revelation 20:12a And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. The Puritan Thomas Vincent identifies these books as being five in number. He is probably right. What are these books?
1 The book of God’s remembrance - The names of all who ever lived are known to him. He knows when and where they lived and the various dispensations of providence to them for their good. he especially know all they ever did and thought, good or evil.
2 The book of men’s consciences - God has given each person a soul. Part of the function of the soul is to act as conscience. Conscience includes a record of good and evil. In this life conscience is often rather sleepy and defective. But it can be stirred up. $ Have you ever written a secret message with lemon juice? When the heat is applied the writing suddenly becomes clear. That's how conscience will be then and things long suppressed and forgotten will be brought to light.
3 The Book of the Law, God’s Law – this is known to God's people. It is on their hearts and it is written in Scripture. Its requirements are found on everyone’s conscience to a greater or lesser degree. By this standard we are all to be judged. The Law is summed up in the Ten Commands.
4 The Book of the gospel - This is the only answer to the Law. By this book all the sins of believers will be refuted. Even in the case of the weakest $ Ever read a book or heard an argument that looks unanswerable - then seen it answered. So the gospel answers the seemingly unanswerable Law. The gospel says that by repenting and trusting in Christ all your failure to keep the Law can be forgiven because Jesus has lived an died in your place to satisfy the justice of God.
5 The Book of Life - Revelation 20:12, 15 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. ... If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. This is the book containing the names of all the elect. No-one has ever seen it. It is no good trying to peer into it. All we know is that there is such a book with the names of all who trust in Christ and live for him in it.
1 Corinthians 4:5 God will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each will receive their praise from God. ... 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body.
3. Meditate on the third of the last things - hell
It is clear that after the judgement every person is assigned either to heaven or hell. No third alternative is suggested. The moment we die we are judged and our souls go to heaven or hell then there is the final detailed judgement and from then on body and soul are either in hell or heaven.
So, thirdly, we come to hell. This is where all who have failed to repent and trust in Christ will end up after death and judgement. This is where they will be forever.
Hell is a fact just a much as heaven is a fact. Jesus spoke of both. Therefore, as much as we may shrink from the task, we ought to consider it. In Matthew 25 three verses speak about hell. Verses 30 and 41 and 46. In those three verses, which draw on various Old Testament images we learn a number of things about hell. Know that hell is
1. A place outside. Matthew 25:30 Jesus says throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Some translations prefer to speak about throwing him into the outer darkness. Whichever, the point is that hell is outside, exterior, on the edge.
The picture, more specifically, is the one in Revelation 22:14 Outside outside the city are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, etc for (21:27) Nothing impure will ever enter New Jerusalem, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Hell means being shut out of heaven, shut out from God's presence. It is to be left outside.
2. A place characterised by darkness Hell is also spoken of as a place of darkness. Darkness often stands for ignorance and evil, chaos and disorder and death. Light speaks of life and darkness of death and decay and one day the distinction that God originally made between light and darkness, night and day, will be made permanent and lasting. In heaven there will be light and it will always be day, in hell it will be only darkness and night.
3. Where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth. The other thing verse 30 mentions is weeping and gnashing of teeth. Again it is the very opposite of heaven. Gnashing of teeth is a striking phrase. Commentators suggest it speaks of remorse of conscience, torture of mind, a sense of inexpressible pain, furious rage, black despair. No doubt all these are included. It is a horrible picture – people weeping, not quietly and meekly but grinding or gnashing their teeth. Sometimes people speak of the cries of hell. This is what we are talking about – the sound of weeping and anguished gnashing of teeth.
4. Where are those who are cursed. In verse 40 the King says to the goats on his left, the unbelievers, Depart from me, you who are cursed. A curse is something you can't shake off. If you are cursed then nothing you can do can lift that curse. It remains. Human curses, of course, cannot make any real difference to anything, but we should still refrain from them for it is very unkind to curse someone and it can play on some people's minds so that they believe that the curse is real. When God curses a person it does make a difference. There is non escape. That curse ends in hell. Now this whole world is under God's curse and we are all affected. The only way out is if the curse falls on someone else instead of you. And that's the great message of the Bible. Christ has taken the curse on himself at the cross so that all who trust in him, before it's too late, may be delivered and know God's eternal blessing.
5. A place of eternal fire. Perhaps the best known thing about hell is that it is an eternal fire. There are plenty of sceptics, of course. Some say that the word eternal doesn't mean eternal here and it is true that the word used can mean age rather than eternity. However, it is clear that when it says at the end of the chapter Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life eternal punishment and eternal life must last for the same amount of time and that is forever. Others ask how hell can be darkness and eternal fire when we know fire makes light. However, we know enough about electromagnetic radiation and microwaves, perhaps, to understand that intense heat may be unseen. Anyway these details are surely not to be understood in a literalistic way. They are there to help us to understand the horror of that place. One reason God has given us fire and the pain it causes is to warn us against hell. Let's take in that lesson. An everlasting fire is almost inconceivable. $ The nearest we come to it is the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem that was apparently always burning, its fire never going out.
6. A place of eternal punishment. Finally (46) we are told that this is eternal punishment. The idea of punishment is not a popular one today - that is the authoritative imposition of something negative or unpleasant on a person in response to behaviour deemed wrong. The idea is abroad that there should be no punishment – only therapy and rehabilitation, paying one's debt to society, etc. This is one reason that we have so many problems with law and justice. In fact there is such a thing. Indeed, there is endless punishment from God for all who refuse to come to him for mercy. It is a sobering fact.
4. Meditate on the fourth of the last things - heaven
Finally, heaven is not only where God lives but where his people will be with him forever and ever after death and judgement. Let me remind you of some things about heaven. In heaven
1. There will no longer be any sea. Revelation 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. The Bible is very clear that this present heaven and earth is not going to last forever. One day soon it is going to be destroyed and replaced by a new heavens and a new earth. One of the features of this new heavens and earth according to this verse is that there will no longer be any sea, which seems like a rather strange thing to say until, firstly, we remind ourselves where and when this final book of the Bible was written. John wrote this remarkable book while he was exiled, as a punishment for his Christian faith, on the small Island of Patmos and over 60 miles from Ephesus. Day after day John was surrounded by sometimes stormy sea and all the time to reminded him of how cut off he was from fellowship. But he knew that one day that would be over and he would be with the saints of Ephesus and of the other churches he wrote to in the new heavens and the new earth and there would be no more parting. It is out of the sea that the Beast comes in Revelation and the sea stands often in Scripture for restlessness and turmoil and trouble.
2. There will be no more tears or pain. Revelation 21:4 God will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. This is another aspect of God making everything new. Here is the refreshment his people will know, the victory that will belong to all who turn from sin and trust in Christ. I suppose it is true in this world that we cry less as we grow older, especially in public. Babies cry all the time, children quite a lot, teenagers rarely and grown ups hardly at all. But that is not because we do not want to weep at times. When we hear of a death of someone close to us or when we remember the times we had with them before they died, when we are in pain or suffering or in sympathy with others who are in pain or suffering. This world is full of tragedy. There are orphans, widows and widowers. There are people with no money or no friend in the world. People who just do not know what to next or where to turn. There are people learning today that they or their loved ones have life threatening diseases. This fallen world is a world of suffering, sickness, death. If a tear does not come to your eye from time to time then perhaps you are simply not looking at what is going on or have hardened yourself off to too great an extent.
3. There will be no Temple. Verse 22 another glorious negative. John: I did not see a temple in the city, and if that may seem strange it is immediately explained because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. No need for a temple when God himself and his Son are there! That is how it will be. It is a marvellous thing that now we can pray and immediately be in God's presence. That is an amazing thing and a taste of heaven. How much more so in heaven! Today we may have doubts of the Lord's nearness but never at all there!
4. There will be no night. Verses 23-26 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendour into it. On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. The glory and honour of the nations will be brought into it. Now in Scripture night or darkness also has a meaning that often comes out. It stands for ignorance and evil, for chaos and disorder. It is often used to describe unbelief (the kingdom of darkness) and hell – the very opposite of heaven.
5. There will be nothing impure. With that idea we can take verse 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. Not only will it be a place of sweetness and light, where there is no sin or evil of any sort but there cannot be in heaven any person who does what is shameful or deceitful. No, the only people there are those, as it says here, whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life. In other words only true Christians will be in heaven. That obviously raises the question for all of us of where we stand.
6. There will be no longer be any curse. Finally 22:3, 4 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. What spoils everything in this world and what means there is no escape from hell without Christ is the curse that it is under and has been under since man's fall. This is no idle or ineffective curse but one that is real and that reaches all not just some. But there is a place in this universe the curse does not reach and one day that kingdom will be revealed and set up and all who belong to Christ will find safety from the curse in that place.
