"What is Judgment...
...And Why Is It Necessary?"

OME people look at natural disasters, where many perish, as judgment from the Creator against a sinful and wicked people, while others refuse to believe that a caring Creator would cause the helpless elderly, children and those too poor to escape to be harmed.

    What's the pure truth about judgment, anyway?

    The "g-d" of this world, the adversary known as "satan, the devil," that is; the one who is ultimately responsible for mankind's sinful conduct that often puts the poor and unprotected into harm's way, allows disasters to come without proper warning or protections, or even encourages this by inciting wicked conduct that removes our Creator's angels of protection from a sinful and unrepentant people.

    It's a lot like diet.   Eat what others eat, and you will suffer as they suffer.   But the choice is all yours.

    Or are you still confused over why "good people" come to harm in this world, or do you have trouble reconciling this with the concept of an all-wise, caring and merciful Creator who -- apparently, at times -- can also be a harsh, judgmental Creator that allows much grief and suffering to happen here on earth, or who even sends horrible plagues, terrible disasters, and allows man-made catastrophes that destroy many innocent lives, as punishments for those guilty of violating His laws?

    Let's look closely at this question of judgment, to learn the pure truth about what this is really all about, and who is right in the conflicting opinions over a caring and merciful, or an angry and judgmental, Creator of heaven and earth.

    Or is it just possible that there is a middle ground that reconciles both of these seemingly opposite concepts in a very real, Almighty Creator who is to be both honored and feared, respected and worshiped, imitated and obeyed?

    Let's look, for a moment, at how mankind deals with itself.

    We have military branches in which soldiers do the bidding of their commanding officers, without regard to the harm or grief their actions may cause other people, because they trust that their cause is supposedly just, and they are under an oath to obey orders under the threat of a death penalty for disobedience, insubordination, or rebellion against a higher authority.

    Even then, higher civilian authorities have held soldiers guilty for obeying orders, as happened at Nuremberg following World War II, and the war crimes trials against the Nazi military.

    The same holds true for the citizens of a government entity.   Those seen as disloyal, or worse traitorous, to a government can find themselves subject to censure, imprisonment, or even the death penalty, for treasonous activities that might -- not necessarily do -- cause harm to that nation's citizens or national interests.

    You probably don't see this as wrong, even if sometimes a few innocent people get "caught" and convicted, because you realize that chaos is the only alternative, and that this is not a viable option for the continuation of any form of government.

    The same can be said to be true of the spiritual realm, where a very real and ongoing "star war" has been raging for many millennia now.   And at the center of this great controversy is this very planet called earth, and its unhappy inhabitants.

    But haven't you ever wondered about why we cannot seem to live peacefully on earth, and always find ourselves embroiled in wars, and the victims of natural disasters?

    The answer to why mankind is so belligerent, warlike, hurtful, spiteful, and at times outright evil, goes back to the origin of a spiritual rebellion that launched a literal star war among the inhabitants of various far flung worlds, spanning countless galaxies and universes known and unknown to humanity.

    This very real war began with a major rebellion against the supreme authority -- the Creator of all that exists -- in a controversy over the future and purpose for this relative latecomer of a world, and its species of intelligent life known as humanity.

    Much weaker and shorter-lived than our other worldly alien (angelic) elder siblings, it seems that our Creator has in store -- for those few among us who qualify -- a much more glorious and blessed inheritance or heritage than those previous creations will, or could ever, know.

    And this prospect, and the restrictions against interference in our development here on earth, apparently gnawed at the hearts of some of those found less worthy of this prospective great honor -- to be bestowed at the conclusion of the time allotted for humanity to develop and produce the required number of worthy individuals to participate in this glorious purpose -- that a rift developed.

    This jealousy caused a vain, prideful, deceitful and militaristic minority (approximately one third) of those other species to rebel, and launch an all-out war for dominance, control and to attempt to put an end to the Creator of this plan, and His new creation here on earth, against which the remaining alien or angelic (whichever term you prefer) hosts have acted as humanity's guardians and protectors, to the extent that we are worthy of this providence.

    You might be wondering, right about now, why a supremely good, Almighty, all-powerful Creator would allow or tolerate such a harmful, vicious, vindictive, intolerant, evil rebellion in the first place?

    Why permit open warfare, harm, destruction of life and great distress here on earth, if it could be easily prevented?

    And why would an highly intelligent, all-knowing, merciful, peaceful, long-suffering and tolerant Creator need to impose any harsh, judgmental, destructive sentence of execution, by either natural, man-made or even extraterrestrial means -- throughout history, for thousands of years -- culminating in a terrible earth and heavens-shaking cataclysm just ahead, that will destroy the majority of those living on the earth at that time?

    How can a supposedly righteous or religious person reconcile these conflicting facts, or are most such people really nothing more than hypocrites who suffer from self-righteous bigotry and intolerance -- as so many who are quick to judge or condemn tend to believe today -- in response to disasters and major loss of life, which they claim to be judgments upon the wicked?

    Could it be possible that both sides of this controversy are way off-base, and do not truly understand the real nature of what is actually happening, and why?

    From a purely human perspective, we have come to view the idea of the end justifying the means as an indication of the evil intent of those who believe and act accordingly.

    Yet we are all guilty of thinking this way, since militarily all nations indulge themselves in the belief that they are right and on the side of good, and that their adversaries in every conflict are wrong and on the side of evil.

    And in any such conflict the victors often assume that they were and still are the possessors of a "righteous cause," and are the holders of a "superior right" to determine the portion or lot, not to mention the lives, of others and that all who disagree with these often self-appointed "saviors" of the world are "the enemy."

    "If you're not with us, you're against us!," they sometimes even threaten or bully those of their own nation who may rightly disagree or wisely withhold their support or aide and assistance in what may well be criminal activities that will some day justify future war crimes show trials by a vanquishing enemy combatant.

    Yet, even if -- humanly speaking -- mankind seems to make only the worst possible use of the concept that the end justifies the means, does this automatically prove this to be a corrupt and evil concept?

    Or is there perhaps a good, useful, intelligent and beneficial, truly righteous and benevolent place for this concept in our Creator's perfect point of view?

    Why does He allow bad things to happen to seemingly good people?   Is there an ultimate purpose that entirely escapes the attention and limited knowledge of most people, an overriding reason for this that leads inevitably to greater good?

    The fact is that, as most parents, and mature elders, realize, sometimes apparently harsh discipline is required to keep our children from harm, death or various forms of mental illness or flawed thinking that afflict so many today, and ruin so many lives.

    Yet despite this, some children still come to harm, or even die -- like the toddler, a young boy, who playfully jumped upon a glass table to answer a ringing phone, fell through it and was fatally cut by the broken glass, or like two adolescent girls who took a recreational off-road, all-terrain vehicle of their brother's for a "joy ride," drove it into a nearby cemetery, were thrown onto and dashed to death against the headstones -- and their parents doubtless regretfully wonder what they should or could have done to prevent these tragedies.

    Or was it something in their past or present way of life that opened the door to such catastrophes, by the removal of invisible angelic protection against possible harm or loss of life?

    And, if so, why would an all-caring, merciful Creator allow such bad things to happen to such innocent children?

    The enemy we call "the adversary" often seeks any occasion to dishearten and discourage, to attack and destroy the weak, the unprotected, and those less able to defend themselves.   But does this automatically mean that everyone who suffers such disasters are somehow unworthy of Creator Yahveh's protection, or even worse, subject to His harsh judgment for their own sinful conduct?

    That is what wise Yaveb's ("Job's") friends incorrectly assumed about him (cf. Job 42:7-8).   And it can, but this is not necessarily always the case, and we should wisely refrain from making such blanket assumptions, since we cannot see into anyone's heart or know their true motives or even past actions, inactions or thoughts.

    You see, humanly-speaking, we often misjudge by surface appearances, without benefit of insight or foresight into the marvelous future reality that our Sovereign Creator has in store for those among humanity who qualify to receive the blessing of His glorious purpose in the first resurrection.

    Those are mostly future blessings at this point in time, and so -- to many people for whom only the here and now matters -- they are discounted as "worthless" or imaginary.

    But what if everyone is wrong, and death after a physical lifetime, isn't really a curse at all but is instead really the means by which the righteous and deserving are taken to their reward -- apparently instantly for them, although thousands of years may have passed in the interim -- and those less deserving to be brought before the Judgment Seat, where true justice, despite all human opinion to the contrary, is to be determined and imposed, based upon our own words and deeds?

    Humanly speaking, why do we tend to look only on the negative side of judgment, without realizing that there is an overriding positive purpose and useful outcome to it?

    In the end judgment will sort all the truly evil from those who are not, and the wicked will be judged and punished according to their own words, thoughts, actions and motives (Revelation 20:11-13).

    How could anyone even remotely acquainted with the Creator's perfect law of liberty -- concerned, as it is, with doing to others as we would have them do to us -- see this any other way?

    For those not found worthy of death in the Lake of Fire, for all those whose lives are worthy enough to be spared the imposition of this final solution to rid the planet -- and indeed, the entirety of creation, in every galaxy and universe near and far -- of evil permanently and totally, the blessing of continued life in a truly peaceful and harmonious world will far override every past pain or anguish they have suffered to reach that point (Revelation 21:4).

    Then those alive and remaining will all know and fully understand the fact that evil justifies the means that must be taken to eradicate it -- and all those who dare to practice it -- from existence, and that only our heavenly Creator has the right to determine the time and place, as well as the means and methods required, to achieve this great and noble purpose!

    In fact, our Creator often hides His real purpose and motives, and conceals its true nature from the self-righteous people, as a means of guaranteeing the ultimate success and victory of His will in the final analysis, despite how things might seem to appear from our limited carnal human, short life span, perspective.

    As another human analogy, parent's motives may sometimes seem inscrutable to teenagers, who may arrogantly presume to judge matters -- and their elders -- that are beyond their ken, rebelling against restrictions that are imposed for their own safety and the peace of mind of those who have oversight of and care deeply for them.

    It is the rare teen, these days, who humbly accedes to parental controls, often imposed to keep peace and order in the family, and set a good example for any younger or elder siblings or friends they may have, especially those younger and more impressionable.

    And it is an even rarer young adult who acknowledges and consents to hear, consider and act upon the advice and wisdom of their elders, to do what they should, rather than what they may vainly want, at the moment or even at any future time.

    Although we "moderns" often arrogate to ourselves the judgmental attitude of condemnation toward the very idea, parents and the elders of our society are the only true and best judges of when and whom of their offspring or heritage have transgressed beyond all hope of redemption, and to impose whatever penalty -- including the death penalty, if necessary -- to both end the evil in our midst and serve as a warning to any who might dare follow the same path or imitate such wicked influences.

    And those influences often do stem from invisible spiritual sources that are demonic, violent, destructive and malevolent in nature.   These demons can inhabit or possess people, imitate "past lives" of prior generations, whom they also possessed, lie, deceive and otherwise "toy" with humanity, so long as we tolerate, or -- even worse -- ignore or disbelieve in the reality of their pernicious existence.

    Mistaught from our youth to believe in fictions as facts, and flush with the propagandistic thought that we are better informed, more knowledgeable, and more perfect in knowledge in every way compared to our ancestors -- whom we also often misjudge to have been but brute or primitive beasts in comparison to ourselves -- we moderns often trip over our own ignorant presumptions and arrogant assumptions.

    For instance, we think that all our thoughts begin or originate -- and end -- in the brain, little realizing that every cell in your entire body has the capacity to recall, and even consider or think in its own fashion, and that there are more neurons in your gut (as recognized in such phrases as "your gut feelings" or "a gut reaction") than there are in your entire brain, and that the heart is really a major memory center, chiefly for your emotions, likes, dislikes and even morals (or lack of same).

    Corrupted hearts can and do corrupt our conscious thoughts, and emotions more than rational thoughts often rule your actions, beliefs and interactions with and toward others.

    Your subconscious, in fact, can even include an unacknowledged connection to the thoughts -- and hearts -- of others, who often interact with you in your dreams in the night visions, or whose influence and thoughts can come into and, unbeknownst to you, cause you to act in concert or conformity.

    We recognize this influence, at least superficially, by referring to it as the "mob mentality," but you are more affected by the moods and intentions of crowds, traditions or conventions than you may realize.

    And this can also often take the form of a sort of mass insanity, causing many to commit atrocious acts of wanton violence, lewd or lascivious conduct, or other destructive, harmful and, yes, evil acts, both individually and collectively.

    The same influences can also lead groups of people to condone, cover-up, justify, and conceal their own and others' acts as a form of self-preservation.

    Yes, we have a Creator who is incorruptible, and far removed from such dishonest, dishonorable, or depraved motives and influences, who is high above all our base carnal human prejudices and biases, political and religious divisiveness, and often intolerant, narrow-minded, distorted conceits, who cannot be corrupted by our distorted, disingenuous or deceitful hearts, and the miserable evils they generate here on earth (Psalm 92:5-7; Isaiah 40:13-14, 55:9; Romans 11:33-34).

    It has been said that the "welfare" mentality -- contrary to the intended meaning of this word, as many other things in this world are, and is misleadingly named -- has deceived people into an attitude of dependency rather than self-sufficiency, and that this is the reason for great loss of lives in natural disasters such as floods, hurricanes, earthquakes and the like, in which plenty of advance warning for evacuation is given.

    In fact, however, it is a combination of this with many other evils of our modern society that have created such a situation in which tragically large losses of human and animal life take place.

    For instance, with no way or means to transport them, prisoners in jails and prisons have been simply turned loose to fend for themselves, prior to such catastrophes, and are abandoned to the elements and ensuing disaster -- just as those too poor or infirm to flee are sometimes also abandoned to suffer from the more violent of the natural disaster or these criminals -- not all of whom were incarcerated due to any guilt or lawlessness of their own -- as if turning them loose is a "humanitarian" gesture on the part of their jailers.

    The government's response to such disasters is often disorganized, inefficient and ineffective -- even downright negligent in many respects -- simply because this false "savior" we call "politics" both creates the "welfare state" mentality in the first place, and then refuses to live up to its many empty promises, because it is likewise bankrupt, both financially and morally, and can "give" nothing it does not first take away by force or threat.

    How could it do otherwise?   Government itself, including all public "servants," is itself the largest class of welfare recipients there is, leeching their often extravagant salaries, perks and "free" lobbyist's "gifts" (i.e. bribes) from a mostly gullible, long-suffering, overtaxed and foolish public.

    When the elderly, young children, the poor and others become victims of flooding, tornadoes, fires, earthquakes or other disasters (some of which are self-inflicted, even deliberate terrorist acts of our own government against its own citizens, believe it or not), where is our caring Creator, and why does He allow such things to happen?

    Couldn't an all-powerful Creator prevent such calamities and protect people?   Yes, indeed He could, and most certainly would, if only we humans were more deserving through our obedience and willingness to carefully observe His commandments, statutes, and judgments; indeed obey every word that proceeds from His mouth, even if we don't presently see or understand the sense for it.

    Despite your feelings toward this sometimes harsh reality, we are often left to our own devices, both to test the quality of our own character and -- for most of the victims -- because so many of us are unworthy of special angelic protection.

    For example, although we don't see our daily idolatries and media and sports worship as anything wrong -- even when "fans" (short for fanatics) riot, turn violent, or "accidentally" trample one another to death -- these particular human activities are a blight upon the hearts and motives of a so-called "progressive" or "enlightened" society.

    Consider, for a moment, the losers in every such endeavor -- those who try hard to succeed, but just don't measure up to the public's expectation of "winners."   Though they often compete in the same arena, put forth as much effort, and have the same hopes and dreams as the winners, when they lose -- as one half of every such sports event inevitably must, thanks to the rules of such a win-lose contest -- they are almost never given any praise for their efforts, the energy they expended, or to comfort and encourage them for trying.

    Instead, for 50% of all teams that compete, their best isn't good enough, because it's winner-takes-all when it comes to glory, fame, money and honor, which are thrown at the victors, although this encourages (and the public therefore often condones) sexual promiscuity, drug use, and other immoral, profligate, or vain and destructive conduct.

    The public, misled and deceived by their media idols -- those who often either lie or conceal facts and the truth to serve their corporate masters and employers -- is also prone to worshiping false idols in the medical profession, leading to much needless personal harm, loss of life from iatrogenic (drug or treatment-caused) mishaps, mistakes and the predictable harmful -- even life-threatening -- side effects, and exorbitant monetary costs.

    In scripture, the Creator -- who came to live among us as a man, who died as a ransom for your sins -- warned the people of His and every subsequent generation.   When told about the Galileans whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices, He said:

"Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way?   I tell you, no!   But unless you repent, you too will all perish.   Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Salach fell on them -- do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Yaravsalem?   I tell you, no!   But unless you repent, you too will all perish" (Luke 13:2-5).

    In fact, this prophetic warning was soon thereafter fulfilled -- less than 40 years later -- when Rome attacked and destroyed Yaravsalem and even the Temple and priesthood that officiated at it, in a bloody conquest that cost many of those same unrepentant people and their immediate descendants their lives.

    In such ways our Creator often sends His servants in advance to mercifully warn us beforehand.   But their message is also often ignored, hated, and rejected, just as these messengers also are.

    Who could blame our just and merciful Creator, who then steps aside, withholding His former protective, lifesaving help and angels, and allows such catastrophes to unfold?

    This is no different that the unrepentant wicked, mentioned in the prophetic book of Revelation, upon whom the end-time plagues will fall in the near future, who without humility incorrigibly shake their fists at heaven and curse their very Creator for the consequences their own criminal conduct causes them to suffer (Revelation 9:20-21, 16:8-11).

    Whether or not you like to admit this fact, we humans are no greater than our Creator has made us to be, and as we presently are slaves to sin, so we must become His servants before we can ever hope to be honored as His children.

    For as His children we must partake of His merciful nature, and reflect His spirit and values, as exemplified by His Law.   Otherwise, we are illegitimate and will not be counted among His living offspring!

    And what if even some whole tribes of people, due to the sinful choices of themselves and their forebears, are apparently incapable of ever achieving this blessed and protected inheritance, whose evil conduct and wicked oppressions will -- along with them -- be finally eradicated and erased from the face of the earth, and blotted out of the memories of all those who survive?

    Only profitable servants believe sufficiently in their Creator's providence to produce an increase of righteous "fruit," while the lazy and indifferent unprofitable servants dare to accuse their brethren and even their very Creator and master, of their own wicked, evil attitudes (Matthew 25:16-27).

    Who could rightly criticize our perfect Creator for His righteous and just reaction to those who are themselves so judgmental, critical and unproductive (verses 28-30; Job 34:10-12).

    Sometimes events happen that only the adversary -- otherwise known as "the devil" or "satan" (the false accuser), or the "G-d of this world" -- is responsible for creating.   And often there are those for whom there is no supernatural protection.

    Then there are those rare times when the Creator Himself mercifully intervenes in human affairs, to directly punish the unrepentant wicked, and return upon their own heads just a portion of the grief and suffering they have caused so many others unjustly.

    In neither case can the blame for any of this be laid anywhere other than upon the head of the goat of departure himself, who is the originator and author of sin and its final, brutal and inevitable consequences.

    Once the adversary is removed and destroyed, death and the grave -- his ultimate legacy to mankind -- will also be vanquished and vanish from the earth, never to be seen again (Revelation 20:10, 21:3-4).

    In the entirely new creation that will follow these momentous events (verse 5), those who are alive and remain will rejoice to know that it was all worth it after all, and that they owe their continued lives and happiness to a merciful, caring Creator who was ultimately willing to -- and actually did -- die an unjust death in order to redeem His creation from the throes of our life-and-death struggle over lawlessness and the corruption of our all too human hearts.

    Your spiritual rebellion made and makes judgment necessary just as, in the end, mercy will rejoice in victory over judgment (James 2:12-13)!