Gerhard F. Hasel - The Theology of Divine Judgement in the Bible (1984).pdf

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The Theology of Divine Judgment in the Bible
A Study of God’s Past, Present, and
Future Judgments and Their
Implications for Mankind
Gerhard F. Hasel
Formerly of Andrews University
June 1984
The biblical concept of judgment is a major theme in Scripture permeating both the Old and the New
Testaments. The topic of judgment has many facets and aspects that call for attention. The expectation
of judgment is present in both Testaments and our study will survey major aspects of this theme in the
Bible. First we will turn to the Old Testament and then our attention will be directed to the New Testa-
ment teaching on this subject. Our discussion cannot hope to exhaust the subject. It seeks to delineate
the concept of judgment in its various emphases.
I. Divine Judgment in the OT
1. God as Judge
The OT depicts the Lord as the merciful God who saves, but also as the holy Lord who will punish
(Ex 20:5-6; Isa 6:3-5). God is Judge from the beginning. After Adam and Eve fell into sin God enters
this new arena of experience by calling man to repentance with the question, “Where are you?” and
by judging the serpent who allowed himself to be used by Satan to be condemned to crawl on the
belly and to eat dust (Gen 3:14). 1
God is seen as Judge of the whole antediluvian world by bringing a flood over the whole earth,
(Gen 6:9), but saving a faithful remnant in the form of Noah and his family (Gen 7;23). 2 Later God
judges the builders of the tower of Babel by confusing their language and thus scattering them (Gen
11:1-9). Abraham knows that God is Judge and appealed to “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25) 3
who will deal justly.
Throughout the OT God is referred to as the One who will judge righteously (Ps 96:10, 13; 98:9).
The psalmist cries to God to be his Judge and to judge him according to His righteousness. “Judge
me, O Lord my God, according to thy righteousness” (Ps 35:24; cf. 7:9; 43:1). Thus God is seen as
Judge in the past and in the present. As will be seen He is also Judge in the near and distant future.
2. God’s Judgments Upon the Nations, Israel, the Individual and the World
a. God’s judgment upon the nations. There are numerous passages in the OT where state-
ments are made regarding God’s judgment upon the heathen nations. In Amos 1:3-2:5 God brings
judgment upon Syria, Philistia, Tyre, Edom, Ammon, and Moab. This judgment comes upon them
because of specific sins which brought their cup of iniquity to overflowing. 4
In Isaiah 13-23 we find judgment prophecies against Babylon (13:1-22; 21:1-10), Assyria (14:24-
28), Philistia (14:29-32), Moab (15:1-16:14), Syria (17:1-14), Ethiopia (18:1-7), Egypt (19:1-25; 20:1-
6), Edom and Arabia (21:11-17) and Tyre (23:1-18). 5 The prophets Joel (3:9-17), Jonah, Zephaniah
(2:4-15), Obadiah (chs. 1-6), Zechariah (9:1-17) and particularly Jeremiah (chs. 46-51) and Ezekiel
(chs. 15-32) continue with judgment prophecies against the nations. 6 These prophetic judgment
speeches against the nations indicate that God is truly Judge over all the nations and that His sphere
of judgment activity is as universal as is the sin and guilt of the nations.
b. God’s judgment upon israel. God is not merely Judge of the heathen nations of the closer
and more distant surroundings of ancient Israel. God also judges His own people Israel on the basis
of their faithfulness to the norms that govern the beneficent covenant between Him and His people.
God had saved His people from Egyptian slavery in the Exodus miracles and entered into a pro-
found covenant relationship with His people on Mt. Sinai (Ex 19-24). In His covenant He graciously
provided in the Decalogue (Ex 20:1-17) the ethical norms that govern the God-man and man-man
relationships. God also established the sanctuary and its services so that Israel would not be lost if
they fell into sin. 7 They may indeed be forgiven and restored in full covenantal fellowship with God.
The gracious covenant was renewed by Moses (Deuteronomy 27) and later by Joshua (Joshua 24). If
Israel, however, should persist in rebellion God would have to judge His people. This judgment
comes often in the form of a lawsuit based on the covenant. 8 This so-called “covenant lawsuit” ( rîb )
was announced by the prophets against Israel by Isaiah, 9 Hosea, 10 Amos, 11 Micah, 12 and
Jeremiah. 13 These prophets reveal God’s case against Israel to indicate that God’s case against His
people is based on her covenant breach and that this calls for condemnation and judgment if they do
not repent. In a larger sense it demonstrates that God is Lord of History and that the punishment of
his people is deserved and righteous, 14 because of their continued breach of the covenant norms
(Hos 11:17).
What does the reality of divine judgment upon God’s people Israel reveal about God as judge?
The first fact that emerges is that God is both prosecutor and judge. As prosecutor He is the plaintiff
who prosecutes in order to demonstrate Himself as protector and maintainer of the covenant. As
Judge He maintains His righteousness and justice. The second fact that emerges is that God as
judge is not capricious or arbitrary. The covenant lawsuit ( rib ) is grounded in the norms or regulations,
i.e., the laws, on which the covenantal relationship is based. 15 Israel persists in breaking these laws
of God. The third fact that presents itself is that God is the Protector of His people and the One who
must intervene when His people have overstepped themselves in disobedience. Thus no curse came
automatically upon God’s people but the curses (Deuteronomy 26-32) came as a result of purposeful,
divine judgment. God brings punishment as a result of deliberate judgment which is grounded in
divine righteousness just as God brings salvation which is grounded in His unspeakable grace and
love. Finally, we must be reminded by Isaiah that “the Lord of hosts will be exalted in judgment, and
the holy God will show Himself holy in righteousness” (Isaiah 5:16, NASB). As we look back in time
we can see that the judgments of God on Israel are already a part of history.
c. God’s judgment upon the individual. We must note that in the OT divine judgment also
comes to the individual. 16 The story of Eli and his sons need not be rehearsed (1 Sam 3:11-14). In
the book of Ezekiel we find the sentence: “And as for you, My flock, thus says the Lord God, ‘Behold,
I will judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and the male goats” (Ezk 34:17,
NASB). Judgment is not collective, but for each individual in the commonwealth of God regardless
whether pious or impious. Ecclesiastes 3:17 emphasizes this: “God will judge both the righteous man
and the wicked man” (NASB). Thus all human beings regardless of whether they are righteous or
wicked will be judged by God. Indeed all mankind will be judged. This points forward to a future in
which there will be a judgment of all human beings.
d. God’s judgment upon the world. In the first book of the Bible we discover the execution of
God’s judgment upon the whole world. The narrative of the Flood in Genesis 6-9 indicates that man’s
sins had reached such unprecedented proportions that the human heart was so perverted so that
God was no longer able to assist and save humankind. 17 The execution of the judgment of God was
experienced in the watery destruction of the wicked antediluvians and the antediluvian world. Yet
God, as always, had a remnant that was saved (Gen 7:23). The Flood event is a type of the event of
the execution of judgment at the end of time.
The OT contains a number of major passages that deal directly with the theme of a universal
apocalyptic judgment at the end of time. For lack of space we will restrict our description of a univer-
sal or global apocalyptic judgment to texts and passages in the various prophetic writings of the OT.
The prophet Joel’s major theme is the day of the Lord ( yom Yahweh ). In the first part of the book
(1:2—2:17) Israel experiences the judgment of the day of the Lord according to which the Lord leads
the armies of the nations to destroy unfaithful Israel. In the second part of the book (2:18—4:12) a
faithful Israel is saved by the Lord from its enemies. However, “all the nations” (Joel 3:2, 11, NASB)
are called to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (3:12, NASB) where God will “sit to judge” them in the end-
time and bring about their destruction while “the Lord is a refuge for His people” (3:16, NASB). Joel
predicts a universal judgment on the nations in the apocalyptic end-time (3:1-3; 9-14) 18 in the Valley
of Jehoshaphat which is a symbolic designation of the “valley of decision” (3:14, NASB) where God
executes His judgment. 19
The book of Isaiah contains a number of passages that deal with the theme of the universal world
judgment. In Isaiah 2:6-22 the day of the Lord comes again into view and moves in a masterful pic-
ture from Israel (vs. 6-11) to a universal judgment of “everyone who is proud and lofty, and against
everyone who is lifted up” (vs. 12, NASB; cf. vs. 17) at the “day of reckoning” (vs. 12). This is the day
of the universal judgment at the time of the end when men hide in “the caverns of the rocks and the
clefts of the cliffs” (vs. 21, NASB; cf. Rev 6:15; 9:20). 20
Isaiah 13-23 contain judgments against the nations. The beginning of this section, namely Isaiah
13:2-16, is a prophecy that seems to be universal in its judgment upon “the proud,” “the ungodly,” “the
tyrants” indeed “the whole land” (13:5) 21 and “every man” (vs. 7). It seems to refer to a universal
future judgment which involves the whole world and all men. 22
The apocalyptic end-time judgment is clearly presented in Isaiah 24-27. 23
These four chapters have frequently been called the Isaiah Apocalypse. They present a picture of a
universal judgment upon the whole earth (Isa 24:1-23). It is a punishment upon the earth’s inhabitants
(24:1) and “the host of heaven” (24:21). The earth itself “will be completely laid waste and completely
destroyed” (24:3). At that time there will be a resurrection of the dead (26:19), that is, of the righteous
dead, 24 and “the Lord God will wipe away tears from all their [His people’s] faces, and He will remove
the reproach of His people from all the earth” (25:8). God’s people will rejoice in His salvation (25:9)
and sing a song of trust in divine protection (26:1-10).
There are also such passages as Isaiah 59:15b-20 which speak of judgment and its outcome in
“absolute and universal terminology.” 25 In this passage is found the great principle of judgment: “Ac-
cording to their deeds, so will he repay” (Isa 59:18). 26 This passage seems to comprise a universal
apocalyptic judgment. 27
The universal end-time judgment is understood to be depicted also in Isa 66:15-16, 17, 24. Eter-
nal damnation is the fate of the enemies of God whether Israelite or non-Israelite.
We cannot belabor such pregnant passages as the Gog and Magog prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39
which depicts judgment and events “after many days . . . in the latter years” (Ezk 38:8) and “in the
latter days” (vs. 16). 28 Also the judgment pictures in Zechariah 9-14 have apocalyptic features that
call for more extended treatment. Mal 4:1-3 contrasts believers and unbelievers in the setting of
God’s fire of judgment.
3. God’s Heavenly Judgment at the Time of the End
The texts from Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah and Malachi all speak of a universal judgment at the
end-time in apocalyptic contexts. The book of Daniel makes its own unique contribution in its well-
known “judgment scene” 29 in Daniel 7. The judgment is described three times in this chapter in vss. 9-
10/13-14 and in vss. 21-22 and 25-26. 30
This apocalyptic vision reveals several major ideas about the judgment it describes:
a. The timing of the heavenly judgment. The flow of events of the vision is the sweep of history
from the time of Daniel to the establishment of the everlasting kingdom at the transition of the present
historical reality to the future reality of the new age at the time of the end. The judgment is timed to take
place in heaven during the end of time after the period of domination of the little horn over the saints of
the Most High is ended, i.e., after 1798, and before the everlasting kingdom is given to the saints (Dan
7:21-22, 25-26) at the second coming of Christ. Thus it is a pre-reception of the kingdom judgment or in
better terms a preadvent judgment.
b. The nature of the heavenly judgment. In Daniel 7:10 we read, “The court sat and the books
were opened.” The opening of records in the heavenly judgment indicates that there is an investigation
in this judgment session. It has been noted that God’s book or books are mentioned outside of Daniel
7:10 six times in the OT (Ex 32:32-33; Ps 56:8; 69:28; 139:16; Mal 3:16; Dan 12:1) and refer in each
case to books related to God’s people. The same holds true for the NT 31 so that the pattern for both
Testaments reveals that book(s) of God in heaven have to do with God’s people. Accordingly all pro-
fessed people of God would be under investigation. This is supported explicitly in Daniel 7:22 which
reveals that a “judgment was given for [or ‘in behalf of’ or ‘in favor of’] 32 the saints of the Most High.” 33
Thus the heavenly preadvent judgment is investigative in nature, so that we may speak appropriately of
an investigative preadvent judgment.
c. The result of the heavenly judgment. In Daniel 7:9-10 the beginning of the heavenly judgment
session is depicted. The Ancient of days presides in the presence of myriads of heavenly beings and
the records (books) are opened about God’s professed people.
According to verse 14 an aspect of the result of the heavenly investigative preadvent judgment is
revealed. The Son of man receives “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom” which “shall not be destroyed.”
This kingdom of the Son of man will be given to the saints of the Most High who will possess it forever
and ever (vs. 17).
In contrast to the kingdom which will be given to God’s people at the second coming of Christ, the
little horn’s “dominion will be taken away, annihilated and destroyed forever.” The contrast between the
dominion of the Son of man and that of the little horn could hardly be described more starkly. Christ’s
“dominion, glory and kingdom” will last forever, but the little horn’s dominion “will be taken away, annihi-
lated and destroyed forever.” Once again it is evident that God’s saving plan succeeds and that even the
most powerful counterfeit force on earth will not succeed but will experience eternal destruction. Fur-
thermore, in the heavenly preadvent judgment a final verdict is made regarding those who will inherit the
everlasting kingdom.
The investigative preadvent judgment so profoundly depicted in Daniel 7 is complemented in Daniel
8. In this apocalyptic chapter we move again from the succession of world empires to “the time of the
end” (Dan 8:17). The end-time grand climax involved the “cleansing” of the heavenly sanctuary, that is,
a cleansing, restoring, justifying and vindicating activity which is judicial and redemptive in nature as
regards the divine purposes of those that are truly God’s own. 34
The last great apocalyptic sequence in the book of Daniel is found in Daniel 11-12. Again there is the
movement of successive world empires to the time of the end (Dan 11:40; 12:1). Daniel 12:1-4 depicts
the results of the prior judicial-redemptive and investigative preadvent judgment of Daniel 7 and 8. The
advance of Prince Michael is to bring rescue and salvation of “everyone who is found written in the
book” (12:1, NASB). There is a climactic onslaught of the enemy on God’s people in “the time of trouble,”
but Prince Michael Himself stands up and delivers His people and raises the faithful to “everlasting life”
(12:2). “This takes place at the apocalyptic turning point of the aeons and inaugurates the eternal
kingdom which is inherited by the surviving remnant and the resurrected righteous.” 35
In the book of Daniel the grand climax is not the judgment, as important as it is for the resolution of
the sin problem. The grand climax is the manifestation of God’s glory, his rulership over history, his
Lordship over life, and the apocalyptic rescue of the faithful remnant and the awakening of the righteous
to everlasting life. Thus all of God’s people can live a life of fellowship and communion with God in the
everlasting kingdom of the new aeon. The preadvent judgment is a decisive prelude to the accomplish-
ment of God’s final and lasting purpose of redemption for mankind and cosmically for the universe.
4. Divine Judgment and the Sanctuary/Temple
There are a number of passages that relate divine judgment to the place from which such judgment
comes or in which God engages in judgment. There is an extensive and representative study on this
subject by W. H. Shea from which great value can be gained. 36 We shall refer selectively to some
aspects of divine judgment in relation to the sanctuary.
a. Divine judgment from the earthly sanctuary. Within the ritual rounds of the cultic year the Day
of Atonement was the grand climax. 37 It brought about a cleansing of the sanctuary from the sins of the
Israelites (Lev 16:19, 30). Every Israelite was to humble himself or herself on the Day of Atonement or
“he shall be cut off from his people” (Lev 23:29, NASB). The “cutting off” is an act of judgment being
executed upon the impenitent and bringing about the offender’s premature death. 38 The judgment on
the Day of Atonement brought life or death from the sanctuary depending on the Israelite’s relation to
God.
There are various instances in which judgment comes from the earthly sanctuary. The Aaronite
sons, Nadab and Abihu, are consumed by fire that “came out from the presence of the Lord” (Lev 10:2)
because they offered strange fire before the Lord in the sanctuary (Lev 10:1-7). The murmuring of
Miriam is punished by God who came in “a pillar of cloud and stood at the doorway of the tent” (Num
12:5) to bring judgment to Miriam (Num 12:1-16).
The grumbling of the Israelites causes the Lord’s glory to appear “in the tent of meeting” for judg-
ment (Num 14:10, NASB), but Moses’ intercession causes the Lord to revoke the judgment to a rebuke
(Num 14:11-25). Yet the Lord pronounces that only those under twenty years will enter Canaan (vss. 26-
35). The sons of Korah are consumed by the Lord from “the doorway of the tent of meeting” (Num
16:18-19, NASB).
In another instance God communicates a judicial decision made in the sanctuary about inheritance.
This is communicated to Moses in the sanctuary (Num 27:1-11).
Some Psalms are very explicit on relating divine judgment to the earthly sanctuary. The Psalmist
enters “into the sanctuary of God” (Ps 73:17) and perceives from there the end of the wicked. In Psalm
99 the Lord takes His seat upon the cherubim (vs. 1) in the temple in Zion and manifests His acts of
grace and judgment in history (vss. 6-9).
The prophet Amos hears the Lord roaring from Zion/Jerusalem (Amos 1:2), that is, from the sanctu-
ary, to bring judgment upon the nations (1:3-2:5) and Israel (2:6-8).
These texts from the books of Moses, the Psalms and the prophets (see also Ezekiel 1-10, and Mal
3:1-3) clearly demonstrate that divine judgment comes from the earthly sanctuary. Yet we must be
reminded that the earthly sanctuary is but the miniature of the heavenly sanctuary which is God’s true
abode. Thus our attention needs to turn next to divine judgment that issues from the heavenly sanctu-
ary.
b. Divine judgment from the heavenly sanctuary. The subject of the heavenly sanctuary and the
judgments that issue from there is important for the topic of divine judgment in the OT. We shall briefly
survey the designations for the heavenly sanctuary in the OT and then we will describe the heavenly
sanctuary judgments.
(1) Designations for the heavenly sanctuary. The Psalter contains many references to the heav-
enly sanctuary. In three texts the designation “temple” ( hêk
l ) is employed (Pss 11:4; 18:6; 29:9) for the
heavenly sanctuary; four times the term qodeš is used and rendered “sanctuary” (Pss 60:6; 63:2; 102:19;
150:1) and twice miqdaš which is also translated “sanctuary” (Pss 68:35; 96:6) in English. There are
three passages which use the word “house” ( beth ) and refer to the Lord’s heavenly sanctuary (Pss 36:8;
29:9; 27:4). 39 These passages in the Psalter and at least five texts in the prophetic books of the OT 40
give ample evidence that there is a sanctuary in heaven and that it is a place of activity. Of course, the
famous texts in Ex 25:9, 40 affirm the same. 41
We must add to these typical designations for the heavenly sanctuary two more. The first is “dwelling
place” ( m
kôn ) and refers to God’s heavenly “dwelling place” or sanctuary 42 in 1 Kings 8:39, 43, 49 (= 2
Chr 6:30, 33, 39); Psalm 33:14; and Isaiah 18:4.
The second designation is one that is employed in the judgement scene in Daniel 7:9-10 where in
the heavenly sanctuary “thrones” are being set up and the Ancient of days takes up His seat on His
throne for judgment.

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