Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Daily Devotional for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek

15 July 2024

Reading From Isaiah 13-17

“The realm of the dead below is all astir
    to meet you at your coming;
it rouses the spirits of the departed to greet you—
    all those who were leaders in the world;
it makes them rise from their thrones—
    all those who were kings over the nations.
They will all respond,
    they will say to you,
“You also have become weak, as we are;
    you have become like us.”
All your pomp has been brought down to the grave,
    along with the noise of your harps;
maggots are spread out beneath you
    and worms cover you.”

–Isaiah 14:9-11

     The Sadducees, a Jewish religious sect during the time of Jesus, did not believe in an afterlife with punishment for the wicked or reward for the righteous.  But here in Isaiah chapter fourteen we have this vision of the underworld contained within a prophecy delivered by the Prophet Isaiah concerning the king of Babylon.  I wish I could travel back in time and ask a Sadducee what they thought of this passage.  It has a rather spooky tone and reminded me of something that might be read at Halloween. 

     Once in a while we need a reminder that death comes to everyone and according the Scriptures, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”[1]  It is vital that we respond to the Good News of Jesus in this life, because we are saved by grace through faith.  We walk by faith and not by sight.  Immediately after death we will face judgment and faith will be made sight.  Therefore, there will not be a second opportunity to respond to the Gospel in the afterlife.  Today is the day of salvation.

     My wife and I occasionally watch true crime shows on television and one such show chronicles the efforts of law enforcement to close cold cases in the United States.  Of 10,000 cold cases, only a few are actually solved.  This means that thousands of criminals have evaded justice meted out by human authorities.  This deeply troubles us. 

     Yesterday evening we learned of a story in which a man molested and murdered a young girl and yet was sentenced to only twenty five years in prison.  To us this does not seem just.  Part of why I believe in the Supreme God of the universe, who is perfectly just and fair, is that without Him, these criminals would never be brought to real justice. They will never and can never truly pay for what they have done.  But because we look forward to the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, we are assured that no one will escape punishment or reward. 

“Lord God, I am so very grateful that You are all-knowing, all-powerful and that You see everything that goes on in the heavens and the Earth.  There is coming a great and glorious Day when every human being who has ever lived will be brought to account before Your judgment seat.  We trust You completely.  We trust that You will do what is right and just and fair for every single person.  In this we rejoice and eagerly await Your glorious appearing.  Amen!”

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

–Revelation 20:11-15

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[1] Hebrews 9:27-28