Read and pray: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches: He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death." (Rev 2:11)
There are many passages in the Bible that mention God’s punishment for defeated Christians in the millennial kingdom. Let us now examine these passages and later draw a conclusion from them.
ENTRY AND POSITION IN THE KINGDOM
Let us first consider Matthew 18:1-3: "At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And calling to him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."
Here the disciples asked a question about the kingdom of heaven, a question regarding position in the kingdom. This is not a question of salvation or perdition, but of being great or small, higher or lower, in the kingdom.
The Lord Jesus shows us that unless we turn and become like children, we cannot enter the kingdom of heaven. Then verse 4 says: "Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."
Verse 3 gives us the condition for entering the kingdom, while verse 4 gives us the way to be great in the kingdom. Verse 3 says we must turn and become like children before we can enter the kingdom, and verse 4 says that if we continue as children and humble ourselves, we will be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This shows us that in the kingdom we must continue in the same way we began. The direction we take to enter the kingdom must be the same to continue in it. To enter the kingdom of heaven, we must turn and become like children; and to be great in the kingdom of heaven, we must continue to be humble like children.
Here the Lord continues to stress the matter of being like children. Then He says: "Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me" (v. 5). Whoever receives one who has turned and become like a child and continues to be humble as this child does, receives Christ.
"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (v. 6).
This word shows that causing someone to stumble is a greater problem than suffering and being killed. Suppose someone killed you and cast your body into the sea. You would not even have a proper burial, which would surely be a tragedy. Yet if you cause someone to stumble, your end will be worse than that.
Verse 7 says: "Woe to the world for temptations to sin! For it is necessary that temptations come, but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes!"
THE GEHENNA OF FIRE IN THE KINGDOM
Verses 1 to 7 of Matthew 18 are general words of the Lord, and we may mention them briefly. We want to give more attention to the words that begin in verse 8. Here the Lord Jesus extends the matter to emphasize that not only is it wrong to cause others to stumble, but even causing yourself to stumble is a serious and grave matter.
Verse 8 says: "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away." To whom does the "you" here refer? In verses 3 to 7, "you" refers to the disciples who asked the question in verse 1. After the Lord Jesus answered them, He told them to be watchful and not be a stumbling block to others.
The Lord’s words in verse 8 are addressed to the same people. If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, it is better to cut them off and throw them away. Of course, this must not be taken literally. If your hands steal and your feet walk in improper paths, that is, if there is sin and lust in you, you must deal with them.
"It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire" (v. 8). The Lord shows us here that if Christians commit sins and tolerate them, they will suffer: either they will be thrown into the eternal fire with two hands and two feet, or they will enter into life with one hand or one foot.
There are also those who will not control their lusts and will be thrown into the eternal fire. The fire is eternal fire, but it does not say here that they will remain in the eternal fire forever. What the Lord Jesus did not say is as significant as what He said. If a person has become a Christian but his hands or feet continually sin, he will suffer the punishment of eternal fire at the time of the kingdom of heaven; he will not suffer this punishment eternally, but only during the age of the kingdom.
What does it mean to cut off a hand or a foot? When a man cuts off his hand or foot, he can still sin. If he has no foot, he can ride in a car. If one hand is cut off, he can still sin with the other. The Lord’s intention is not that we literally cut off the hand or the foot, for even if we do, we may still not remove our lust.
Therefore, this word must not refer to the outward body but to the inward lust. What we must cut off is that which forces us to sin. Another thing we must realize is that the person spoken of here is a Christian, for only a Christian already has his whole body cleansed and can thus enter into life after dealing with lust in a single member of his body.
For unbelievers it would not be enough to cut off a hand or a foot, because even if they cut off both hands and both feet, they would still go to hell. In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, it is better for a Christian to have an incomplete body than to go into eternal fire because of incomplete dealing.
Then verse 9 says: "If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into the Gehenna of fire." This shows us that if a saved person does not deal with his lust, he will not be able to enter into life but will go into the eternal fire. The eternal fire here is the Gehenna of fire. The Bible shows us that a Christian can suffer the Gehenna of fire. Obviously, although he may suffer the Gehenna of fire, he will not suffer forever, but only during the age of the kingdom. Matthew 18 is not the only passage of Scripture that says this. Other portions of the Bible also contain the same teaching.
For example, in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5–7, there are clear words of the same kind. Matthew 5:21-22 says: "You have heard that it was said to those of old, You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, You fool! will be liable to the Gehenna of fire."
At the beginning of chapter five, we read that the Lord Jesus saw the crowd, but He did not teach the crowd. Rather, He taught the disciples (v. 1). The Sermon on the Mount is for the disciples. Therefore, the one who insults another in verse 22 is a brother.
He calls another brother "Raca," which means "worthless" or fool. When he calls his brother this way, he becomes liable to the Gehenna of fire. This does not refer to an unsaved person, for an unsaved person will go to hell even if he never calls anyone a fool.
Every time the Bible speaks about works, it refers to someone who belongs to God. If a person does not belong to God, there is no need to mention such things. Here, it is a saved person, a brother, but because he offended his brother, he is liable to the Gehenna of fire.
Verse 23 says: "So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you." Many times people hold things against us deliberately, and there is nothing we can do about it; but if someone has something against us because of our insult, we must be careful when bringing our offering to the altar.
If you have thought ill of a brother and spoken something against him, you must go to him and settle the matter. "Leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift" (v. 24). The important thing is to be reconciled to your brother.
Verse 25 says: "Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court." Your brother is the one who complains, and you are the defendant. Now he is taking you to court: "Lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison" (v. 25). This will take place in the kingdom.
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