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Eternal judgment, part 3 (final)

Once we see that the biblical term translated “eternal” actually refers to an unknown or hidden period of time rather than infinity, we can understand the meaning of “eternal judgment.” Is God’s judgment for sin never ending or does it last for an indefinite period of time? The evidence shows that God’s righteous judgments are for an age (aion), not “forever.”

The law itself demands forgiveness of all debt (sin) in the year of Jubilee.

Sin Incurs Debt

In Scripture, all sin is reckoned as a debt, as so many of Jesus’ parables indicate. If a man steals $100, the judge reckons his sin as a debt and demands that he repay his victim $200. If a man steals $1 trillion, he owes $2 trillion. This is the meaning of “eye for eye” in Exodus 21:24. It means the judgment must always be proportionate to the crime. If the two parties cannot agree on a restoration price for destroying one’s eye, then the judge, as a last resort, would sentence the criminal to have his own eye destroyed.

No matter how enormous the sin is, the debt can always be calculated—except, of course, for such crimes as intentional murder, which invokes the death penalty.

The death penalty itself is a way to appeal to the higher court, which then hears the case at the great White Throne when all are raised and summoned for judgment (Revelation 20:12). The death penalty is necessary because the earthly courts are incapable of dispensing justice for capital crimes. Justice is not done until all the victims of injustice are restored.

A judge dealing with a case of murder is incapable of enforcing justice unless he is able to raise to life the one who has been murdered. A man who is convicted of kidnapping (another capital crime) cannot restore double to satisfy the justice of the law. And what could a judge do to restore a married or betrothed woman who has been raped? Because earthly judges are limited in their ability to do justice and restore the lawful order, such crimes are appealed to the higher court at the end of the age, where God has the ability to deal with all types of crime.

The Age of Judgment

The final age is an age of judgment, pictured in Revelation 20:13-15 as “the lake of fire.” This is the judgment of the “fiery law” (Deuteronomy 33:3 KJV). In Daniel 7:10 God is pictured seated on a fiery throne, because a throne symbolizes the law. When a judge is seated on a throne (or “bench” in the modern world), he judges matters according to the law. Of course, when God judges, He judges according to His own law—not man’s law.

This is the fiery law. It is not a literal fire. Every judgment of the law, including restitution and being sold into slavery, is an application of the fire. The fire itself speaks of the divine presence and His nature, for we see how God manifested Himself to the Israelites in the fire when He gave them His law (Deuteronomy 4:12, 15, 36).

God’s law sentences men to pay double restitution (Exodus 22:4). If he is unable to pay, then his property must be sold, and if this is yet insufficient, he and his family must be sold so that he must work to pay off the debt (Exodus 22:3). Whoever purchases the debtor assumes the debt of the debtor and pays the victim. The purchaser is a redeemer, one who buys the debt of another.

The debtor then serves his redeemer until the debt is paid. If he is somehow able to find sufficient means to pay the debt early, he is allowed to redeem himself. But if not, he must serve the full sentence of the law. If there is still debt remaining when the year of Jubilee arrives, he will be set free, purely by grace, to reclaim his property (Leviticus 25:10), because God does not allow “eternal judgment.” The law reflects God’s nature, and it is God’s nature that demands limited judgment.

The age of judgment, in my view will last 42,000 years. At the present time (2024), we are nearing 6,000 years of history since Adam’s sin. It will be another thousand years to the great White Throne judgment, and this ends the first great “week” of history. There will be another six weeks, or 42,000 years, before the Creation Jubilee. This great Jubilee will be reached after 49,000 years of history. By this time, those who are being judged will all be mature believers, and all of creation will then experience the Jubilee.

Creation’s Jubilee

Romans 8:20, 21 says,

²⁰ For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected in hope ²¹ that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

All of creation was affected by Adam’s sin, but the law of Jubilee gives creation hope. Biblical hope is based on the expectation that God will fulfill His own law. Creation is not lost forever, as many assert. Creation will be restored, and all things will be put under the feet of Christ. Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 15:27, 28,

²⁷ For He has put all things in subjection under His feet. But when He says, “All things are put in subjection,” it is evident that He is excepted who put all things in subjection to Him. ²⁸ When all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, so that God may be all in all.

The purpose and goal of history is to subject all things to the rule of Christ. As believers, our calling is to work toward that end. Our mission is made clearer if we have an understanding of the milk of the word. Our goal is not merely to go to heaven and retire on a cloud while playing a harp. Our mission is to restore creation under the rule of its rightful king, Jesus Christ.

Limited Judgment for Misdemeanors

The Jubilee ends all debt and judgment for major crimes. For lesser crimes, for which no specific monetary amount is due, the law prescribes a flogging with a maximum of 40 lashes. We read this in Deuteronomy 25:3 says,

³ He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes.

This law, as with the law of Jubilee, limits judgment, because God knew that man’s tendency was to increase judgment beyond genuine justice. So too we ought to learn the law of God, so that we are not deceived into thinking that “eternal judgment” is a loss for God. God is not a loser. He will never lose, nor will He fail to reach His goal of being “all in all.”

The Hebrew word for “sin” is khawtaw, “to miss the mark, to fail to reach an intended goal.”

The meaning is seen in Judges 20:16, speaking of the tribe of Benjamin—

¹⁶ Out of all these people 700 choice men were left-handed, each one could sling a stone at a hair and not miss [khawtaw].

God can throw a stone into the heavens and not miss. His goal is to save creation itself, first by causing men to repent, and later through judgment. Sinners will be “sold” for their sin-debt into the hands of redeemers who are called to reign with Christ. These redeemers will rule by love and will train their slaves in the ways of God. They will not be abused, as we have seen with men’s slavery throughout the centuries. They will manifest Christ to their slaves, and it will take only a few years for these to understand the principles of the Kingdom.

No doubt these new believers will be taught the milk of the word before learning the deeper truths of the Kingdom—the meat of the word.

Conclusion

Just as faith and repentance are closely connected, so also are resurrection and aionian judgment. One can hardly understand one without the other. Of necessity, aionian judgment cannot be understood without studying the law of Jubilee and the restoration of all things.

There are many more great truths in Scripture that are built upon these few principles in the milk of the word. If we lay the foundations properly, we will be able to assimilate the meat of the word and thereby understand the deep things of God.