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CATEGORIES OF HUMANITY
We can better understand the principles and premises of divine judgement if we identify the categories of humanity. These are:
[a] The Children
[b] The Wicked
[c] The Ignorant
THE CHILDREN
The Bible says, '....God's solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: "The Lord knows those who are his"....' [ II Tim 2:19 ]. Jesus said that He was sent to the 'lost sheep of Israel'
[ Matt 15:24 ]. By that He meant all believers in Christ; the Israel of God [ Gal 6:16 ], those whose names have been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world [ Rev 13:8; Acts 13:48 ].
What all this points to is that among the whole of humanity, there is a vast group that can be called "The Children of God". They had always been known by God and God had always identified with them, even before they were born on earth. Being born with the sinful nature alienated them from God, but the moment they believe the Gospel and accept the Lord Jesus into their life, they become reconnected with God. They've always belonged to Heaven; that is their home. They came to earth and became lost in sin. Jesus came to earth to find them, and even though He has returned to Heaven, His Gospel is still seeking out the lost.
If you are not born again, you may not know if you belong to this elite group of humanity until you surrender your life to Christ Jesus. God disciplines or judges His Children while they are on earth
[ Heb 12:6 ], so that they will not have to be judged after death. When believers in Christ die, what awaits them is not judgement, but a reward for their labour on earth. [ Matt 25:21 ].
THE WICKED
Psalm 19:17 proclaims, "The wicked return to the grave ( Hell or Tartarus ), all the nations that forget God". This category of humanity consists of people who are by nature evil. Even if they claim to be religious or to be serving God, God does not know them as belonging to His House. These are people whose hearts are continually filled with evil [ Gen 6:5; Ps 36:4 ]. They only do good in pretense; it is not in their nature. They can commit murder without any remorse, and if on a rare occasion they feel something close to remorse for an evil act, there is no repentance, because they are capable of doing it again.
The Wicked only get into a romantic relationship with someone for pleasure, or for some other selfish gain. This is because they are incapable of receiving or giving love.And if they are not getting what they want out of a relationship, they will stop at nothing to break the heart of their partner. The Wicked have a peculiar penchant for hurting others - especially the innocent - with their words or deeds. They take great pleasure in the pains or misfortunes of others.
For them, peace is an alien concept; if they cannot cause one form of choas or the other in the present, they work very hard in setting the machinery in motion to ensure it in the future. To these people, Heaven's Gates are forever shut.
THE IGNORANT
The Ignorant are the people who have no knowledge of spiritual things whatsoever, whether these are things that have to do with the Kingdom of God or the kingdom of the devil. So when it comes to spiritual matters, they are fools, even if they happen to be academic ( even theological ) professors. God ignores the foibles of the Ignorant [ Acts 17:23 ], but punishes their sins while they are still on earth. Unlike the Wicked, the Ignorant are incapable of evil because they always listen to their conscience [ Rm 2:15 ].
The conscience is God's voice of morality in every human being. Other beings in God's Creation don't have this peculiar gift. The Wicked have formed a habit of silencing their conscience, apparently to the point of searing it with a hot iron [ I Tim 4:2 ]. So in them, the conscience is seemingly dead. The Ignorant, on the other hand, revere their conscience like a wise old school teacher.
God does not consider the Ignorant as part of His Family, but He loves them all the same, the way a man may love his next door neighbours, even though they are not family. God loves the Ignorant because they have a good heart, what we sometimes call a 'good conscience'. He does not hold it against these people that they do not have a personal relationship with Him through His Son, Jesus. They are fools, remember? Incapable of comprehending spiritual mysteries like the mystery of Salvation. Nonetheless, God sympathizes with their ignorance.
When the Ignorant die, God does not send them to the Hell of torment ( Tartarus ). Rather they end up in realms similar to those of the aliens; places specially prepared by God for this group of people. These are realms in which the souls of the Ignorant continually relive the innocent pleasures of their earthly lives. Ironically, they remain enslaved to the fear of death, even though death cannot touch them anymore. They roam; they aspire; sometimes they experience peace, at other times they are overcome by some of the anxieties of their previous life, anxieties that are of no consequence now.
[ To be continued ]
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