Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine

by Wayne Grudem

It does not say that the great majority of the world will welcome Christ when he comes. But when the sign of the Son of man appears in heaven, “then all the tribes of the earth will mourn” (Matt. 24:30).

cannot satisfactorily account for the fact that Jesus says that all the tribes of the earth “will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory” (Matt. 24:30).

The essential element of the postmillennial view—the idea of a gradual, long-term increase in Christian influence on the earth before Christ returns—seems to make it impossible to hold a postmillennial view and also hold that Christ could return at any time.

A CONSIDERATION OF THE ARGUMENTS FOR PREMILLENNIALISM

(Isa. 65:20)

death and sin will still be present, for the child who is one hundred years old shall die, and the sinner who is one hundred years old “shall be accursed.” The larger context of this passage may mingle elements of the millennium and the eternal state (cf. vv. 17, 25),

(Isa. 11:6–9)

(Isa. 11:10–11)

All of this speaks of an age far different from the present age but short of the eternal state in which there is no more sin or suffering.

Those who come to life and reign with Christ in Revelation 20 include people “who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands” (Rev. 20:4).

THE TIME OF THE GREAT TRIBULATION

in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries a variety of premillennialism that holds to a pretribulational coming of Christ became popular. This is often called a “pretribulation rapture” view, because it holds that Christ will return (secretly) before that time of tribulation, and when he returns the church will be “raptured” or snatched up into heaven to be with him.

it must also be noted that pretribulationists then view the teaching about the tribulation in Matthew 24 and the warnings and encouragements given to believers in that situation as applying to Jewish believers during the tribulation, and not to the church generally.

Not just Jewish believers but those left behind

Much of the suffering is due to the fact that “lawlessness will be increased” (Matt. 24:12)

Of course all Christians (whether gentile or Jewish believers) will avoid the wrath of God at all times, but this does not mean they will avoid all suffering,

It is no argument for the pretribulation view to say that there must be some people in nonglorified bodies who will enter the millennium because

Many will simply surrender without trusting Christ and will thus enter the millennium as unbelievers. And during the entire period of the millennium no doubt many will be converted to Christ and become believers as well.

midtribulation rapture view.

The first three and a half years are characterized by the wrath of man, and the church is present at that time. The second three and a half years are characterized by the wrath of God, and during that time the church is absent from the earth.

The Final Judgment and Eternal Punishment Who will be judged? What is hell?

Scripture frequently affirms the fact that there will be a great final judgment of believers and unbelievers. They will stand before the judgment seat of Christ in resurrected bodies and hear his proclamation of their eternal destiny.

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11–15)

According to a dispensational view, there is more than one judgment to come.

Matthew 25:31–46:

From a dispensational perspective, this passage does not refer to final judgment (the “great white throne judgment” spoken of in Rev. 20:11–15), but rather to a judgment that comes after the tribulation and before the beginning of the millennium.

in a dispensationalist view there are different judgments: (a) a “judgment of the nations” (Matt. 25:31–46) to determine who enters the millennium; (b) a “judgment of believers’ works” (sometimes called the bēma judgment after the Greek word for “judgment seat” in 2 Cor. 5:10) in which Christians will receive degrees of reward; and (c) a “great white throne judgment” at the end of the millennium (Rev. 20:11–15) to declare eternal punishments for unbelievers.2

The final judgment will occur after the millennium and the rebellion that occurs at the end of it. John pictures the millennial kingdom and the removal of Satan from influence on the earth in Revelation 20:1–6

“when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations . . . to gather them for battle” (Rev. 20:7–8).

THE NATURE OF THE FINAL JUDGMENT 1. Jesus Christ Will Be the Judge

Peter says that Jesus Christ “is the one appointed by God to be the judge of the living and the dead” (Acts 10:42; compare 17:31; Matt. 25:31–33).

2. Unbelievers Will Be Judged

This judgment of unbelievers will include degrees of punishment, for we read that the dead were judged “according to what they had done” (Rev. 20:12, 13),

3. Believers Will Be Judged

“We will all stand before the judgment seat of God. . . . Each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:10, 12).

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor. 5:10; cf. Rom. 2:6–11; Rev. 20:12, 15).

“Whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).

Scripture also teaches that there will be degrees of reward for believers.

(1 Cor. 3:12–15)

4. Angels Will Be Judged

5. We Will Help in the Work of Judgment

(1 Cor. 6:2–3).

Scripture clearly affirms that God will be entirely just in his judgment and that no one will be able to complain against him on that day.

on the last day “every mouth” will be “stopped,” and the whole world will be “held accountable to God”

‘Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just’ ” (Rev. 19:1–2).

Those who deny the final judgment, Peter says, will be “scoffers” who “will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming?’ ” (2 Peter 3:3–4).

We may define hell as follows: hell is a place of eternal conscious punishment for the wicked.

The idea that there will be eternal conscious punishment of unbelievers has been denied recently even by some evangelical theologians.11 It has previously been denied by the Seventh Day Adventist Church and by various individuals throughout church history.

Arguments advanced in favor of annihilationism are (1) the biblical references to the destruction of the wicked,

(2) the apparent inconsistency of eternal conscious punishment with the love of God;

(3) the apparent injustice involved in the disproportion between sins committed in time and punishment that is eternal;