New Apostolic Church International

The Lord as judge Part 1 The subject of “the Lord as Judge”, which will be explored in this article, is often pushed off to the side. This happens because the idea of God as judge is often seen to be inconsistent with the image of the loving God. Yet Holy Scripture speaks of both the love and the judgement of God in equal measure. Part 1 of this article will focus on God’s actions of judgement as attested in the Old Testament.

A God of love and of judgement Holy Scripture speaks of the loving God in many ways. Indeed, God Himself is even described as “love” in 1 John 4: 16. The sending of the Son of God is also understood as an expression of God’s love for the world and mankind: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3: 16). In this connection it is also mentioned that the Son of God was not sent “into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3: 17). The appearing of the Son of God among mankind serves the purpose of deliverance and redemption. Yet even this reference to the delivering actions of the Son of God is linked to the idea of judgement: “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already” (John 3: 18). Therefore the love and judgement of God are not mutually exclusive. The thought of judgement fills most people with discomfort or even fear. The idea of God’s judgement has even been subverted by many people in order to carry out their own agendas. This has led to a widespread marginalisation of the subject of God’s judgement. After all, the gospel is the glad tidings of liberation and is not to be used to threaten people! However, a closer look into the Scriptures reveals that God is always described as both a God of love and a God of judgement. Both of these aspects play an important role! For this reason it makes sense to explore the subject of judgement in greater detail in order to properly evaluate biblical testimony. After all, important aspects of the

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New Apostolic belief about the future have to do with judgement: we often speak of the Last Judgement, and even at the return of Christ we can identify certain actions of judgement.

God’s actions of judgement in primeval history ¹ The account of the fall into sin and its consequences already portrays God as a judge. God made His will known to Adam and Eve and forbade them to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Their violation of the divine will had far-reaching consequences. God punished their behaviour and condemned the woman to give birth under pain, while condemning the man to eat his bread under the sweat of his brow—in other words, He condemned them to lead an arduous and labour-intensive life (cf. Genesis 3: 1-18). Above all, however—and here it becomes clear that God’s verdict applies to all human beings—they were expelled into a state of remoteness from God, which comes to expression in death: “For dust you are, and to dust you shall return” (Genesis 3: 19). Nevertheless, God did not leave the crown of His creation to their own devices, but rather turned to them in grace even after having judged them. An image for this gracious care of God is found in Genesis 3: 21: “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.” This shows that God also always opens up the prospect of salvation for the sinner in need. God’s actions of judgement are a recurring theme in the Old Testament. For example, the great flood is understood as an expression of divine judgement upon the people of the earth, who had become godless: “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart” (Genesis 6: 5-6). God, the very embodiment of righteousness, pronounced a radical verdict upon mankind, who at this point no longer even inquired into the will of God, but instead acted in defiance of it. God’s actions of judgement are closely associated with His righteousness, and so it was that Noah—who had not embraced the general wickedness of his surroundings—found grace before God. He was spared from this divine judgement and saved: “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord” (Genesis 6: 8). The judgement over sinful mankind and the deliverance of Noah and his family are the two ways in which God’s status as judge is manifested in the world. Both punishment and deliverance are implications of divine judgement in equal measure.

¹ The accounts recorded in Genesis 1-11 are designated as the “primeval history” of the Bible.

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The covenant which God made with Noah and all life on earth after the flood expresses that the God of judgement does not act in an arbitrary manner, but rather cares for human beings and grants them security in life. For example, God saw to it that world reality would remain consistent, as it were, that it would be equipped with comprehensible structures, and that it would operate in accordance with an objective set of principles: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease” (Genesis 8: 22). From then on the rainbow served as a sign of the covenant in nature: “This is the sign of the covenant which I make between Me and you, and every living creature that is with you, for perpetual generations” (Genesis 9: 12).

God as judge and the law In the period before the law was given on Mount Sinai, God’s status as judge could only be inferred from a select few of His actions. In order to ensure that the actions of the judge are comprehensible, and to make it clear that he is not acting arbitrarily or despotically, there must be a set of objective and observable standards for his judgements. And where there is a judge, there must also be a law that governs his decisions, as well as sanctions in the event it is contravened. Already in the covenant established between God and Noah a new, quasi-statutory quality came into being in that reality itself was given an irrevocable structure under the protection of God: “Thus I establish My covenant with you: Never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood; never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth” (Genesis 9: 11). God Himself assured the continuance of reality, and it is on the basis of this security that man was from then on in a position to act and also provide security for his fellow human beings. As certainly as the seasons now followed in succession, every human being would now be in a position to rely on his neighbour. That which the covenant with Noah suggested in its best case became visible reality in the covenant God made with Israel. It is at this point that standards were revealed, according to which human beings were to act, and by which they would consequently also be evaluated, or judged. At the heart of the Mosaic Law are the Ten Commandments, which express fundamental statements about the relationship between man and God, as well as the interpersonal relationships of all human beings (cf. Exodus 20: 2-17). The statements made in the Ten Commandments were then developed into detailed laws intended to order the communal life of the people of Israel. The legal certainty that God granted the people through His law was also to guarantee security in the interpersonal relationships of the people. Those who destroyed this relationship could be certain of judgement. Here God’s status as judge became the foundation and starting point for all judgement among human beings, especially since the given law is of divine origin.

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God as judge over the nations and Israel The actions of God in His deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt were understood by His people as a judgement over the nations. In Exodus 6: 6 we find this thought expressed in words: “I am the Lord; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians. I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgements.” As we can see here, judgement and deliverance are closely related. In His function as judge, God is the Deliverer and Redeemer of His people, and at the same time, a judge over the Gentile nations. In Amos 1: 3 – 2: 3 we find announcements of divine judgement over the nations living in the vicinity of Israel and Judah. Here these heathen nations are reproached for heinous deeds committed against prisoners, which are now to come under the strict judgement of God. However, the experience of divine judgement was not restricted to the Gentile nations. The people of God also had to endure the punishments of God when He judged them for their misdeeds. A look at the history of Israel reveals long periods of transgressions against, and violations of, the divine law. The kings of Israel, as well as the people themselves, often failed to act in accordance with the divine will. Again and again the people turned to foreign gods and refused to trust in the word of God, the divine promises of salvation. At the same time they violated all the standards which the Ten Commandments provided in order to govern interpersonal and societal relationships. They violated the calls to protect the weak and the poor, and to respect the possessions and lives of their neighbours and not to harm them arbitrarily or out of selfinterest. All of these abuses were denounced by the prophets, who also announced the divine penal judgements that would come upon the people. For example, the fifth chapter of Isaiah enumerates the misdemeanours of the people and promises them woe—in other words, warns them of impending judgement—for their actions: “Woe to men mighty at drinking wine, woe to men valiant for mixing intoxicating drink, who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away justice from the righteous man!” (Isaiah 5: 22-23). These misdeeds led God to judge the people of Israel through another nation—it is likely that the Assyrians are meant here—by way of military action: “Therefore the anger of the Lord is aroused against His people; He has stretched out His hand against them and stricken them, and the hills trembled. Their carcasses were as refuse in the midst of the streets” (Isaiah 5: 25). The wars of other nations against Israel, and their victories over the people, were thus regarded as divine punishment. God made use of Gentile nations in order to judge His people and thereby lead them back to the right path.

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God’s judgement of the earth The previous examples demonstrate that God’s actions as judge applied to individual nations, and even to Israel. However, the Old Testament’s view of divine judgement goes beyond that to envision a judgement that will one day be applied to the whole world. This judgement is described as the “day of the Lord of hosts” (cf. Isaiah 2: 12). Further references to this judgement can be found in Isaiah 24-27. The catalyst for this judgement is the sinful conduct of the peoples of all nations: “The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws, changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant. Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate” (Isaiah 24: 5-6). There is no escape for transgressors in the judgement promised here: Fear and the pit and the snare are upon you, O inhabitant of the earth. And it shall be that he who flees from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit, and he who comes up from the midst of the pit shall be caught in the snare; for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth are shaken” (Isaiah 24: 17-19). But even here, these divine actions of judgement are not the end. Rather the certainty is expressed that God will conquer death and all suffering: “He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day: ‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation’” (Isaiah 25: 8-9). Nevertheless, not all the details contained in Isaiah 24-27 are clear, nor does this text readily coincide with all of the New Testament’s statements about the judgement. The Old Testament has a rather unclear understanding of the things that will come to pass in the future. It is only in the New Testament that we find clearer statements concerning the judgement and other events of the end time, which play a defining role in the eschatological teachings of the New Apostolic faith. In summary it can be said that God’s actions of judgement, as described in the Old Testament, were executed on the one hand through nature—for example in the great flood, periods of drought (cf. 1 Kings 16: 33; 17: 1), etc.—and on the other hand through historical events, for example in the deliverance of the Israelites from captivity in Egypt or even Babylon. The judgements of God have a pronounced educational character, as they are always intended for the betterment of the people. In the Old Testament it becomes clear that God judges wrongs and that His judgement is always intended for salvation.

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