If you were to ask most evangelical Christians to explain “the gospel” – the good news – the reply would no doubt be that we are offered forgiveness and reconciliation with God through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross. And that is, indeed, a crucial part of the good news.
But what would most people say about God’s judgment? The vast majority of Christians regard God’s judgment as “the bad news.” Someday, God’s will unleash his wrath against all the wickedness, evil & injustice that has corrupted his good creation. The idea of God exercising his judgment is regarded as the dark backdrop against which the good news can shine out all the more brightly.
In my experience, this framework is ubiquitous among evangelicals, even most pastors and elders. The problem is that this viewpoint simply does not square with what the Bible actually says.
The final judgment of God is the bedrock upon which the Judeo-Christian worldview rests. The Jews were unique in the ancient world in claiming that there was but one true God who created all things. Although evil had manifestly infected the world, God was utterly determined to destroy all the forces of darkness and set things right again. Despite appearances to the contrary, the Jews clung to the hope that the Almighty would surely redeem and restore his creation.
This viewpoint is expressed throughout the scriptures, but nowhere more clearly than the Psalms. Psalm 96 is an excellent example: ”Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. For all the gods of the nations are idols, but the LORD made the heavens.” (v4) The Psalmist calls Israel to fear & praise the LORD, the maker of the cosmos. Meanwhile, the gods of all the other nations are mere idols, worthy only of contempt.
The Psalm continues, “Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns.’ ...he will judge the peoples will equity. Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it; let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them. Then all the trees of the forest will sing for joy; they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.” (v10-13)
There is an almost identical passage in Psalm 98: “Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.” (v7-9)
The Psalmist calls the whole world to celebrate God’s judgment! Of course, the imagery is anthropomorphic. The trees of the forest are obviously not capable of singing for joy, nor can rivers clap their hands. Only human beings, made in the divine image, are capable of recognizing & properly honoring God. The point is that when divine judgment occurs, the earth will be freed from all those things that threaten to thwart the good purposes of the creator. The world will be cleansed of idolatry, immorality, bloodshed, injustice and oppression. When that happens, God’s people will see the creation (the forests, the fields, the rivers, the seas, etc.) flourishing again; it will be a moment of unbridled jubilation and joy!
Clearly, for the Psalmist, God’s judgment is good news, worthy of celebration.
Notice how the theme of God’s coming judgment intersects with another key Biblical theme: the kingdom of God. The parts of Psalm 96 referring to Gods coming judgment are preceded by the declaration of his sovereign rule: “Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns.'” (v10)
I’ve written many times before about the kingdom of God. Like God’s judgment, it’s a topic which is badly misunderstood in today’s churches. It has nothing to do with people being transported to some heavenly realm after death. Rather, the kingdom entails the restoration of God’s wise order to the creation. And it is precisely God’s final judgment which will bring about the full implementation of his kingdom. True, this will be a time of trouble and distress for the enemies of God. But for God’s people, it will be a glorious moment of vindication.
Precisely the same themes are found in Psalm 97, which begins with a declaration of God’s kingdom: “The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad; let the distant shores rejoice.” (v1) This is followed by another reference to divine judgment, “Zion hears and rejoices and the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments, O LORD.” (v8)
There is no hint of gloominess or squeamishness here; there is only the elation of witnessing the triumph of good over evil. Righteousness and justice will prevail (v2); wickedness and injustice – and all those who perpetrate them – will be swept away.
Psalm 97 acknowledges that God’s judgment necessarily involves the unveiling of his wrath. ”Fire goes before him and consumes his foes on every side.” (v3) ”All who worship idols are put to shame.” (v7) ”[The LORD] delivers [his faithful ones] from the hand of the wicked.” (v10)
None of this is regarded as regrettable or embarrassing. Rather, God’s people ought to be filled with gladness at the thought of his judgment, for it is the simply the outworking of his perfect character.
How can we best recover the scriptural emphasis on the goodness of God’s judgment? Perhaps by simply taking a glance at one particular corner of the world, the hermit kingdom of North Korea.
North Korea is controlled by a brutal dictator named Kim Jong Un. Since 1948, the Korean Peninsula has been divided roughly along the 38th parallel. North Korea was tightly aligned with the Soviet Union until the collapse of the USSR in 1991; communist China is now its closest supporter. South Korea has allied itself with the United States and the free West.
Roughly 26 million people inhabit North Korea. Most live in poverty due to the abject failure of communism. The 2020 annual per capita income was estimated at a meager $1,187.
Meanwhile, democratically governed South Korea has a thriving free-market economy which has generated widespread prosperity. South Korean companies such as Samsung and Hyundai are well-known & respected around the world. The 2020 annual per capita income was estimated at $32,353 – more than 27 times greater than their northern counterparts!
North Korea routinely fails to feed its own people; the nation is heavily dependent on foreign assistance. However, international food aid is largely diverted to the ruling elite and military, leaving the general population in hunger and despair. The UN has estimated that a staggering 42% of North Koreans are malnourished.
A particularly severe famine plagued North Korea during the 1990’s, the result of government mismanagement & loss of Soviet aid. The extreme secrecy of the regime makes it difficult to assess the impact of this catastrophe, but it has been estimated that between 2.5 and 3.5 million North Koreans perished.
North Korea is a totalitarian state which demands that its citizens worship the ruling Kim family. The country has the worst human rights record on the planet. Persecution of Christians is particularly vicious and cruel. Christianity is strictly prohibited. Those found with a Bible in their possession face certain torture, imprisonment or execution. Their families face the same awful consequences. The North Korean government makes it extremely difficult for Christian parents to teach their children about the faith. Government agents teach the Korean youth to hate Christianity and encourage children to betray their own parents.
North Korea is a place of deep darkness, both metaphorically and literally. Nighttime satellite photos demonstrate that North Koreans have access to very little electricity. The capital city of Pyongyang – with a population of about 3 million – has a modest amount of power, but the remainder to this benighted country remains as black as the surrounding seas.
When we reflect on the plight of North Korea, the words of the Psalms ought to come into clearer focus. God created human beings to govern his creation wisely, so that the world might be a place of abundance, peace and joy. Kim Jung Un has instead made North Korea a place of misery, starvation, violence and oppression. All manner of atrocities are committed there.
Kim Jung Un has no fear of God. Perhaps he says to himself, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.” (Psalm 94:7) But the scriptures remind us that the Almighty will not allow such monstrous injustice to go on forever. Like the Psalmist, we ought to pray and long for God’s judgment, for it is the greatest of all news, worthy of rejoicing and wild celebration.
