To not be hurt of the second death (Revelation 2:11).
The second death is the Lake of Fire. The saints who are living in victory in Christ have been given the assurance in writing that they cannot be hurt by the second death. The inference is that the believer who allows himself to be overcome by Satan and the world continues to be in danger of being harmed by the Lake of Fire.
The Christian who is gaining the crown of life is acquiring authority over the authority of the second death. The maturing of the life of victory in Christ such that the first resurrection is attained, brings complete dominion over the power of the second death.
... on such the second death hath no power (authority), . . . . (Revelation 20:6).
The Lake of Fire is the area of spiritual torment into which will be cast Satan, his angels, sin, pride, and rebellion against the Father’s will.
As long as the Christian has in him any part of Satan’s personality or works there is a segment of his personality over which the second death possesses Divine authority and power (Revelation 21:8).
The crown of life provides us with authority and power mightier than the power of Satan. Through the power of resurrection life we can overcome the areas of our personality that still reflect the person and works of Satan (I John 3:8).
Abiding faithfully in the prison in which we are bound results in the destruction of our adamic nature. The destruction of our adamic nature enables God to release us from the various bondages that enslave us, because the bondages of sin and rebellion find lodging in our adamic nature. As soon as the natural man is crucified it becomes possible to destroy the sinful nature (Romans 6:6).
Little by little the attitudes and actions that yet are subject to the wrath of God, that can be harmed by God’s fire, are driven from our personality. It is possible to gain total victory over all such areas of our life as the Holy Spirit gives us the necessary wisdom and power.
When the Spirit of God testifies that the sin has been judged and removed from us, the second death cannot harm us. It no longer possesses authority over us. If we were placed in it we would emerge unharmed as did Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar.
If there is nothing in us that is subject to Divine condemnation, how, then, can the Divine fire hurt us? To be saved "as by fire" means God has burned up that part of our personality and behaviour that is displeasing to Himself. The remainder of us, especially our spirit, is saved in the Day of Christ (I Corinthians 3:15; 5:5). Lot is our scriptural example of what it means to be saved as by fire.
Lot was wealthy (Genesis 13:5,6). He had a wife, two daughters, and two sons-in-law.
Lot’s life and possessions were not consecrated to God. Unlike his uncle Abraham, Lot was not ruling with God. Lot chose to dwell in Sodom, in the midst of fleshly lust, in the city of material abundance and luxury. He was abiding in death, in the suburbs of Hell.
Then the "eternal fire" of God fell on the works of Satan in Sodom (Jude 7). Lot was pulled to safety by the prayers of Abraham. But Lot’s sheep were destroyed; his goats were destroyed; his camels were destroyed; his sons-in-law were destroyed; his wife was destroyed.
Lot was left with his two daughters. Instead of waiting for the opportunity to acquire husbands from the tribes that surrounded them, these two girls (whom the Scripture does not name) coerced their father to drink wine and then committed incest with him. No doubt incest was practiced commonly in Sodom and Gomorrah. The result of the incest was Moab and Ammon.
The Scripture terms Lot a "righteous" man. Yet, the fire left him only two daughters — girls who had learned in Sodom how to make their father drunk and then commit incest with him. The result was the people of Moab and Ammon who "met not the children of Israel with bread and with water, but hired Balaam against them" (Nehemiah 13:2).
Lot and his daughters were saved as by fire. But God burned up their home, their possessions, their fruitfulness. God portrayed His displeasure with the children of Lot by rejecting them. The Egyptian and the Edomite could become a part of Israel after the third generation, but not the children of Lot.
An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the congregation of the Lord; even to their tenth generation shall they not enter the congregation of the Lord for ever: (Deuteronomy 23:3)
Ruth, the Moabitess, was a divinely blessed exception.
What can we say about the prospect of being saved "as by fire"?
It is not the most desirable destiny. And Lot was a righteous man! If Lot was saved with difficulty, what, then, of the end of the ungodly?
So it is with us. Christ desires that we press forward until there is nothing remaining in our personality that can be harmed by the fire of God. The crown of life will clothe us with an authority greater than the authority of the second death.
Otherwise, we will face an uncertain future when we are raised from the dead. Consider this:
But that (speaking of neglectful Christians) which beareth thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned. (Hebrews 6:8)
The believers to whom the Book of Hebrews was written were not babes in Christ. They were experienced Christians who had accepted joyfully the confiscation of their properties by the Roman government because of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 10:32-34).
The Book of Hebrews was a solemn warning to them (and us) that if they should neglect their salvation, not pressing into the rest of God, not bearing the fruit of the Spirit, they would be in danger of Divine fire.
What did Jesus say to the Christian whose sin consisted of not using the gift that God had entrusted to him? "You wicked and lazy slave. Why did you waste my money? Depart from me and go into outer darkness!"
According to the Scripture, this can happen to the careless Christian.
The parable of the talents is found in the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. This judgement will take place when "the son of man cometh." It has to do with the Lord’s "own servants."
It seems reasonable, as we study the parable of the talents, that the "outer darkness" may be the same as the "lashes" that will be given to those who did not do the Lord’s will.
And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many lashes. (Luke 12:47)
When the trumpet of the Lord sounds there will be those who do not possess enough "oil," enough resurrection life. Notice that the parable of the talents follows in context with the parable of the ten virgins. There will be believers who, although they are working in the same field with another Christian, or sleeping in the same bed, will not be taken to meet the Lord when He appears. They will be left on the earth.
When the Lord returns with His saints, these careless servants will stand before Him. The wicked, lazy believers will be sent away into outer darkness.
These parables are not speaking of the peoples of the world. They are speaking of "virgins," of the Lord’s servants.
Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath ten talents. For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 25:28-30)
Paul warned us that we shall receive that which we have practiced in our flesh. The wicked and lazy servant did in fact receive that which he had done. He was lazy and overcautious. He buried the Lord’s money. He did not devote his time and efforts to the building of the Kingdom. He was thrust out of the Kingdom of God because he did not find the Kingdom to be of sufficient worth to compel his attention and diligence.
It is taught commonly that all who profess Christ will be raised from the dead and ascend to meet the Lord, and will spend eternity in Paradise with the Lord. But Christ and His Apostles did not teach this.
The writer’s opinion is that the fourth chapter of First Thessalonians and the fifteenth chapter of First Corinthians are speaking only of those persons whom Paul, Peter, John, James, and Jude would judge to be true and faithful disciples of Jesus. It is our point of view that being "in Christ" means vastly more than the token acceptance of Christ that is today’s standard of salvation.
The true saints are entering life now. They are being judged now. They already have been received of Christ. When the Lord returns they will be caught up to meet Him and immediately will be filled with exceedingly great glory. Their judgement has been accomplished, their iniquity has been pardoned.
If Christ were to return now, and the careless believers were to be raised from the dead and caught up to meet Him in the air, they would find themselves in a furnace of Divine fire and judgement. They would be unimaginably worse off than they are now. Our God is a consuming Fire.
The dead will be summoned from their graves by the voice of the Lord Jesus. Then each of us will receive that which he has practiced while alive in the flesh.
The resurrection from the dead will include people from all ages of history. Some of these have been in Paradise with Jesus for thousands of years. But in the hour when Jesus comes and their dead bodies come forth from the grave, they will be rewarded according to how they conducted themselves when alive on the earth.
The concept of Christian people being raised from the dead and then judged, and that judgement actually having far-reaching effects including vastly different rewards and severe penalties, is not always presented clearly.
When the writer was a young Christian he was taught that the Judgement Seat of Christ will prove to be, for the believers, some kind of sports banquet in which a few heroes receive trophies and everyone else receives a certificate for participating.
There is nothing to worry about, no "terror of the Lord" to cause us to tremble (II Corinthians 5:11). No believer will be rebuked sternly at the Judgement Seat of Christ, much less be carried into outer darkness. All believers will receive approximately the same reward.
The concept of the Judgement Seat of Christ being an awards ceremony is totally unscriptural. No passage of Scripture presents the Day of Judgement as an awards ceremony. In addition, the Greek term beema, that is translated judgement seat, is used consistently in the New Testament to mean a court where accused criminals are brought for judgement. There is no basis for regarding the Judgement Seat of Christ as an awards ceremony.
It is true that Paul spoke of running a race. It is true that those who run well will receive a crown. The eternal Word of God cannot be changed: every person will receive from the Lord’s hand what he has practiced in the flesh, whether his behaviour has been good or whether it has been wicked.
The tribulation that is at hand will cause a division in the Christian camp. The majority of believers will become part of Babylon, of the great whore. A remnant will stay with the Lord and will be forced to flee for their lives. To them God will restore the truth of the Scriptures.
The concept of the Judgement Seat of Christ being an awards ceremony in which no believer faces punishment is held by numerous Christians. As a result, the fear of God is missing from the Christian churches. The Christians lie, steal, behave treacherously, practice immorality, and pursue their self-centred, self-willed ways in the world.
Do the Gospels and the writings of the Apostles teach us we have no need to fear the Judgement Seat of Christ? Is it actually true that no matter how we behave we will not be punished provided we have made a profession of belief in Jesus? Is this what the Scriptures teach concerning judgement and rewards? Indeed it is not, and this monstrous deception has destroyed the moral character of the Christian churches. It is time for us to repent.
The current concept of the Christian redemption is that of the grand Divine pardon. The emphasis on the grand pardon has given rise to the belief that the Judgement Seat of Christ must be a presentation of rewards, followed by some sort of mild reproof directed toward those "believers" who have lived a worldly, self-serving life — a mild reproof followed by the drying of all tears and repeated assurances that all is forgiven.
This is incorrect but it is believed widely in our day.
It is true and scriptural that the Christian redemption is a grand pardon. Christ is crucified and Barabbas, the criminal, representing each of us, is set free.
The grand pardon concept of salvation has held out the hope of eternal life to many dying sinners. The pardon is available today, just as it has been since Christ died for our sins and rose again as proof we have been justified in the sight of God the Father.
However, there is another basic concept set forth in the New Testament writings. It is the concept of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth and our entrance into that Kingdom. The Gospel of the Kingdom includes the great Divine pardon — the unconditional pardon of the repentant sinner, but also the idea of freeing the sinner from the person and works of Satan and bringing him into eternal union with God through Christ.
In the Scriptures we have both the Divine pardon through Jesus’ blood and also the running of the race, the fighting of the conflict of the ages, the overcoming of every power that would prevent our gaining complete union with Jesus. Our present booklet on judgement and rewards is emphasizing the running of the race for the prize, while not minimizing the marvellous glory of the grand Divine pardon.
The true concept of redemption is that we are pardoned in order to run the Christian race. We are forgiven that we may fight the good fight of faith, that we may gain total victory over sin.
It is not God’s intention that we continue as forgiven sinners. He has "created [us] in Christ unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).
Believing Jesus of Nazareth is Christ, Christ, is not all there is to being a Christian. Receiving Christ gives us the authority to be a child of God. Now we must turn our attention to maturing into a son of God.
The belief that the Judgement Seat of Christ includes nothing but glory and praise for the Christian has arisen because the Divine pardon has been emphasized to the exclusion of running the race. Cross-carrying obedience to the Master often is viewed as a desirable but not critically important act; at least not critically important in the sense of seriously affecting the welfare of the believer when he or she stands before the Judgement Seat of Christ.
Do the Scriptures support such light-hearted confidence? Have we paid attention to the Scripture that emphasizes the unconditional Divine pardon and then ignored the numerous passages that emphasize the running of the race, the stern, totally demanding requirements of Christian discipleship?
The Scriptures stand eternally as written. It is the victorious saint, the conqueror in Christ, who will not be hurt by the second death, which is the Lake of Fire. Christians who allow themselves to be overcome by Satan, by the world, or by their own lusts and self-will, are carrying about in their personalities various works and attitudes that will not be able to survive the Presence of the Lord.
The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil; (Isaiah 33:14,15)
Such passages as the above have been removed from Christian thinking, as though faith in the Lord Jesus somehow supersedes them. This is a terribly destructive error. To change such Old Testament passages would be to alter what God Is — and that never shall happen!
Christian grace never changes the fundamental law of behaviour and consequences, of sowing and reaping. Rather, Christian grace changes how we behave, what we sow. Until Christian people come to understand grace alters what we sow, not what we reap, the churches will continue in immorality, covetousness, and drunkenness.
It is true that God suspends the consequences of our sins while Jesus is transforming us. Jesus died in order to make such suspension possible. But to pervert the Divine waiver into an abrogation of the basic Kingdom law of sowing and reaping is to turn the grace of God into an excuse for sin and rebellion.
It always has been true, in all of the Divine covenants, that when a sinner turned from his wicked ways and began practising righteousness, his wickedness was not mentioned to him (Ezekiel 18:22). That is the way God behaves toward people. Divine mercy is not limited to the new covenant. The unique aspect of the new covenant is that God’s Spirit writes the law of God in our minds and hearts so we do God’s will by nature. If we continue in the work of destroying Satan from our personality, the blood of Jesus keeps on forgiving us. It is an eternal redemption. God will cast our sins away from us, washing us whiter than the snow.
But to pervert transforming grace into an eternal amnesty in which God no longer judges the conduct of human beings, forgiving them on the basis of a profession of belief in Jesus, is to entirely miss God’s intention.
The Jews missed God’s intention by emphasizing the tithing of herbs and neglecting judgement, mercy, and faith. The Christians are missing God’s intention by emphasizing the gift of God’s grace and ignoring judgement, mercy and faith. Both the Jews and the Christians miss God because their hearts are far from God. Such will continue in deception unless God in His mercy opens their eyes to the truth.
Our God is a consuming Fire. No person can dwell in the Divine Presence when there is unrighteousness in his personality. The grace of God in Christ does not enable an individual who has sin in his heart to dwell with God. But it does give the sinner access to God in prayer, and suspends his judgement until the Lord Jesus has had an opportunity to lead him in paths of righteousness.
God’s holy fire is a blessing to the upright. But to those who have darkness in them it is an eternal torment, whether or not they name the name of the Lord Jesus.
The saint who is conquering and driving out the works and attitudes that cannot exist in the Divine fire is strengthened by food that is given only to those who are doing the Lord’s will.