May 16
A parable: The great day of judgment
By Richard BeckPage:
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On the great day of judgment, all of humanity was called before the judgment seat of God. There the angels sorted the people.
On the right side of the judgment seat was a small group. These were the elect. The angels moved among them and gave each person a small golden box.
On the left side of the judgment seat was a vast multitude, as far as the eye could see. Here were all the others, every person who had ever breathed in God’s creation. Men and women, the elderly and children, from every tribe and nation across the eons. Billions upon billions of souls. Like the sands on a seashore. These were the damned.
After the great sorting, the King Upon the Throne delivered his judgment. To those on the right he said: “You are the elect, the few I have predestined from the beginning of time to share in my bounty and live in the Holy City. I also have a gift for you. Inside the golden box you hold is this gift, the gift of eternal life. Come into your rest!”
Turning to the vast multitude on his left the King continued: “You are the damned. Although it is in my power to do so, I have chosen not to save you. To bring glory to myself I have chosen to save only these few. So depart, you wicked ones, into the fires I have prepared for you before the beginning of time!”
There was a great and heavy silence in heaven as these terrible words of judgment were uttered.
This stillness was broken when a small, lone figure on the right side of the judgment seat stepped forward and away from the elect.
It was a young girl. She moved slowly to the foot of the throne, and there she kneeled. The heavenly host held its collective breath.
The girl began to speak with a trembling voice: “Most Holy God, Lord and King. I have no right to speak to you. No right to make a request. But as I look on the vast multitude of the damned, my heart breaks within me. These are the ones you have asked me — for my whole life and with all the strength I have — to love and serve and forgive. And I do love them as you have taught me to love them. And there are so, so many. And I also know I deserve the same punishment they deserve. Your salvation is a gift freely given, and I deserve it no more than any other human being.
“So this is my request, Most Awesome King. I ask that my gift be given to one of these. Save one of them rather than me. Please number me among the transgressors. I wish to give my life so that another might live.”
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Comments
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On the great day of judgment, all of humanity was gathered in a celestial banquet hall. It was a huge space, with a massive round table in the middle. The table was so big that it accommodated what seemed to be thousands of people, maybe more. As one looked to the left or the right, there were people as far as the eye could see. Yet somehow, by some seemingly supernatural optical illusion, one had no trouble seeing clearly who was seated directly across the table. In a position of prominence was the Almighty herself, who interestingly had an appearance not unlike the way God was portrayed in Monty Python's "Life of Brian," yet whose Voice was unmistakably feminine. After a while, much grumbling was to be heard around the table, as people began to take notice of who was there. Finally, a lone voice cried out, a voice with a heavy Brooklyn accent, saying, "Hey God, I'm very happy to be here, of course. But I see my old neighbor Moshe sitting over there and I know that rascal should be in the other, fiery place. What gives?" And the Almighty replied, in soft mellifluous tones reminiscent of Lauren Bacall (who was seated just to my left, by the way): "Well, just as I asked all of you during your earthly journeys to love your enemies and to forgive others over and over again, why would you expect me to do any less? As for the fiery place, it doesn't exist. Never did. It was an unfortunate myth created by men for the purpose of excluding others. So sad. It doesn't matter, though, because I'm now going to render my Final Judgment. And here it is: I judge you, each and every one of you, every single human who has ever lived on earth, to be my children, my friends, whom I love and cherish with all my heart. And I welcome you to this special banquet, prepared just for you." And there were audible gasps, and many sighs of relief, to be heard around the room.
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Ah, Charlie, Charlie, Charlie. Very clever and I agree with you, but you knew that! I'd have to disagree on the existence of hell, though. It's right here on earth, every single day, visible to anyone who has the sense to look.
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I really try hard not to comment on many of the blogs and responses as there is very little that could be gained from it - but this blog/responses takes the cake.
Am I to understand, on an Anabaptist Christ centered publications' blog, that we are to dismiss Jesus' 70+ mentions of hell in the New Testament and the 162 total references to hell contained therein?
What passes for serious theology these days.....wow.......
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I don't know what passes for serious theology these days, nor do I care, as theology interests me not one whit. But to simply tally up the number of mentions of "hell" in the bible, as if it's a bean-counting exercise, means nothing. One authentic assertion by Jesus about the mercy and compassion of God trumps everything else that would seem to contradict it. FYI: Universalism has a long and respected history, including within the anabaptist tradition.
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The endless arguments about heaven and hell are rooted in the presumption that every human being is somehow entitled to live forever.
If one starts with the assumption that we will perish like the grass of the field unless we find delight in what is delightful to God, then a really interesting and world-changing discussion ensues.
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Tell me, Berry, why are you (or anyone) entitled to live forever and i (or anyone) not entitled? There's no fair way to divide the entitled from the unentitled. Which is why, since i credit God with fairness, i don't believe there's going to be any such division. I'm not certain about much in this life, but i am pretty sure about this: the same fate awaits everyone on the other side. Personally i choose to believe i'll be returning from whence i came: the nectar-filled breast of the goddess.
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Charlie, in my view, none of us is entitled to live forever. Our pretensions in that regard simply reflect our vanity.
Some will live forever, at least in the memory of God. That is the witness of the Bible. But aside from some biblical characters, you and I can't be sure who they are.
As for fairness, well, we all have life now and enjoy the generousity of God every day. So that's a lot of fairness.
Is it all for naught if I don't live forever but you do? Nectar-filled breasts notwithstanding, I don't think so.
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Berry, it sounds to me like you don't believe in hell either. You believe that a select few (exactly who those few will be is unknown) will survive into the afterlife (possibly as mere memories in the mind of God), and the rest (the overwhelming majority of humanity) will cease to exist at all, in any form. Is that the place your christian journey has brought you to? Is it really that much more difficult to believe that everybody will enjoy the same reception when we cross to the other side? Why is it important in your mind that some people get a better shake at eternal life than others? What is the meaning of the Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matt. 20:1-15)?
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As Jesus said as he introduced his story, it is about the Reign of God in this time and place. The story describes a God who is generous to a fault and rewards all who join the struggle to transform the world.
As I think you know, Charlie, the story had little to do with what we commonly call "heaven".
Why is this important to me? The first followers of Jesus believed that in him, they had the opportunity to participate in a life that is without end. What "participate" meant to them isn't very clear, but they seemed certain (for example) that the martyrs would experience it beyond death. On the other hand, they seemed to believe that many would simply perish at death. I take seriously what those first followers of Jesus believed.
Second, I see in Jesus an unequivocal commitment to this life and an unequivocal respect for our choices. This has many facets but certainly means we should not claim for God any construct that renders our lives on earth mostly irrelevant, nor any construct that has God requiring those of us who hate the Way of Jesus to live eternally in that Way.
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Berry, my interpretation of the parable of the vineyard workers in Matthew 20 is that, at the end of the day (end of life), God intends to give the exact same reward to everybody, no matter what they did or didn't do, and even though many will object that others are not as deserving as they are. I don't think this is a unique interpretation, nor does it strain the text, in my view.
I also don't think this interpretation renders our lives on earth as irrelevant, at all.
As for your view that the first Jesus followers believed that "many would simply perish at death," do you have a chapter and verse for that? Because honestly I don't recall hearing anyone make that claim from the bible. Thanks.
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Charlie - at the risk of sounding critical, what you are peddling is complete fabrication. It runs counter to both the Old and New Testaments and to Jesus direct teachings. It is simply a new age concept wrapped in a messianic package that bears no resemblance to what Jesus and his disciples wrote, spoke about, or believed.
It insults the courage and witness of our forebearers, both the original persecuted Christians and our anabaptist forefathers to insinuate that their faithfulness and witness means nothing in light of God and salvation. How you expect anybody to walk in the way of the Lord based on that interpreation is beyond me - why not live for today?
'the nectar-filled breast of the goddess' takes the cake by far in my reading of the world together blog.
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BJW, first of all, since you bring up courage, I wish you'd have the courage to give your real name rather than hide behind your initials.
Secondly, Why not live for today? What exactly is wrong with such a perspective? Didn't Jesus tell us to do exactly that? "Don't be concerned about tomorrow, cause tomorrow's gonna take care of itself."
Thirdly, when you say something like, "How can you expect anyone to walk in the way of the Lord based on your interpretation," I get the impression that faith for you isn't much more than fire insurance. In other words, if you didn't fear hell, you'd have no reason to lead an upright life. I find that sad and depressing.
I don't know where you live, but here in NYC I'm surrounded by people from all walks of life and backgrounds. And I can tell you there are many non-christians leading highly ethical lives, not because their religion tells them to fear the consequences if they don't, but because the difference between right and wrong, and the preference for doing right, is self-evident to them.
Millions of people around the world live in accordance with Sermon-on-the-Mount values without believing in Jesus. God loves and accepts them as they are. Christians should do the same.
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Charlie, I’d start in the First Testament with texts such as Psalm 37: 20, 38 and Psalm 68:2. Such texts are important because they reflect the worldview of those first Jewish followers of Jesus. It did not include constructs of heaven and hell such as we have today.
Then there are texts like John 3:16, which contrast eternal life with perishing (destruction/annihilation). The modern evangelical contrast is very different: eternal life in heaven contrasted with eternal life in hell.
I feel it in Paul’s discussion in Romans 2:6-16: “To those who by patiently doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, God will give eternal life; while for those who are self-seeking and who obey not the truth, there will be wrath and fury. . . . . All who have sinned apart from the law will also perish. . . . .”
This understanding has long been part of the Christian tradition, although as a minority strain. Augustine combined Platonic (Greek) views of immortality with the Christian hope of physical resurrection. Ever since, many (most?) Christians have focused their hope on escaping this world for a better one, even though Jesus said he lived and died to save this one.
But all along the way, some have understood the Bible to speak of the annihilation of those who oppose God’s way. Annihilationism is one term associated with it. Another is “conditional immortalism”. It holds (as I do) that human beings are not naturally immortal but are only granted immortality (eternal life) as a gift from God. N.T. Wright in Surprised by Hope offers some support for this view.
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