Full Bible Timeline

My Response

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1. Affirmation

We agree wholeheartedly that the Church is not called to pronounce wrath upon cities or to take delight in destruction. Intercession—not condemnation—is the posture of New Testament believers. Abraham interceded for Sodom, Moses for Israel, Jeremiah for Jerusalem, and Jesus Himself wept over the city that would reject Him.

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The Church is called to bless, pray, and preach the gospel—not to assume the role of judge.

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2. Clarification

However, the statement goes beyond rejecting human judgment. It claims that the last days themselves are not a time in which divine judgment occurs. This is incompatible with the testimony of Scripture, the teachings of Jesus, and the clear pattern of biblical prophecy.

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To deny that judgment occurs in the last days is to flatten the biblical narrative, remove the prophetic spine of Scripture, and disregard the very passages Jesus emphasized most.

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3. Correction

The Bible presents a consistent picture:

• God is good.

• God is patient.

• God desires all to be saved.

• And God judges wickedness.

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These truths do not contradict one another. They complete one another.
God’s goodness is the foundation for His justice.

To deny divine judgment is to deny a major theme from Genesis to Revelation.

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4. Evidence from Scripture

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Old Testament Pattern

God judges nations—always with the purpose of bringing repentance, humility, or restoration.

 

Examples:

• The Flood

• Sodom and Gomorrah

• Egypt in the Exodus

• Israel’s exile to Babylon

• The judgments in Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, Amos, and Micah

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Judgment is not a divine temper tantrum; it is the severe mercy of a patient God who refuses to let wickedness destroy His purposes.

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Jesus Himself Taught Last-Days Judgment

In Matthew 24–25, Jesus describes:

• wars

• persecution

• deception

• lawlessness

• the abomination of desolation

• cosmic signs

• separation of sheep and goats

• final judgment of the nations

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These events are explicitly connected to the last days, not only to AD 70.

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The Book of Revelation

Revelation—written decades after Jerusalem’s fall—describes future judgments that culminate in the return of Christ.

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These include:

• seals

• trumpets

• bowls

• the fall of Babylon

• Armageddon

• the binding of Satan

• the Great White Throne judgment

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To deny judgment in the last days is to deny the relevance of Revelation itself.

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New Testament Epistles

Paul writes:

• “The Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven… in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God.” (2 Thess. 1:7–8)

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Peter writes:

• “The heavens and the earth… are kept for the day of judgment.” (2 Peter 3:7)

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Judgment is not merely a single future moment—it is a process culminating at His return.

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5. The Real Issue — Misunderstanding Judgment

Many modern believers equate “judgment” with cruelty, anger, or retribution. But biblically:

• Judgment protects the righteous.

• Judgment confronts wickedness.

• Judgment restores justice.

• Judgment reveals God’s holiness.

• Judgment brings an end to oppression.

• Judgment prepares the world for Christ’s reign.

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God’s judgment is not the opposite of His goodness. It is the expression of it.

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6. The Church and Judgment

What the Church is not called to do:

• pronounce curses

• call down fire

• command destruction

• declare doom over cities

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This is clear.

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What the Church is called to do:

• intercede for the lost

• warn of coming judgment

• preach repentance

• call people to salvation

• be watchmen on the walls

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Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Daniel, Jesus, Paul, and John all functioned as prophetic warners—not prophetic executioners.

To warn is to love.
To intercede is to love.
To deny judgment altogether is to withhold truth.

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7. Historical Perspective

Your point is well-taken: if a believer today rejects the idea that judgment occurs in the last days, where does that leave persecuted Christians in the Middle East, North Korea, Nigeria, or China?

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How should the early Church have interpreted Nero?
How would Christians in the Holocaust interpret Hitler?
How would believers in communist regimes interpret their oppressors?

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Real evil requires a real Judge.

Hope is not found in denying judgment, but in trusting that judgment belongs to God alone—and that He will set all things right.

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8. Jewish Insight — The Talmud

Sanhedrin 97 articulates a traditional Jewish understanding that the Messiah’s arrival was delayed due to Israel’s sins, not God’s change in nature. They saw judgment as corrective, not contradictory to God's goodness.

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This aligns perfectly with the biblical narrative.

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9. Application

A theology that denies divine judgment often collapses under real-world evil. When tragedy strikes, when persecution intensifies, when wickedness appears triumphant—believers need a theology robust enough to interpret suffering without redefining God.

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Premillennialism provides this clarity:

• Judgment is real.

• Judgment is just.

• Judgment is God’s responsibility.

• Judgment precedes restoration.

• Judgment ends oppression.

• Judgment ushers in Christ’s reign.

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This does not diminish God's goodness; it magnifies it.

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10. Conclusion 

We agree that believers should not call for wrath, nor should they rejoice in calamity. But Scripture is clear: the last days include divine judgment, culminating in the return of Christ. A faithful eschatology does not deny this—it balances it with God’s mercy, goodness, and desire that all should come to repentance.

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Judgment does not compromise the nature of God.

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It vindicates it.

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