Eckhardt's Homiletisches Reallexikon, 1907–1917

AI translation · machine

The Last Judgment. Essays. Zukunft. 86-110. Theol. 6, 133-137. Outl. The nearness of the last day according to Scripture, a fulfillment of our task. L. W. 51, 54-64. Eb. 110-121.

AI translation · machine

before the judgment seat of Christ. Matt. 25:31: When the Son of man shall come, etc. Note a. Christ is Judge not only according to his divine, but also according to his human nature. John 5:27: because he is the Son of man. Compare Dan. 7:13. Matt. 16:27. 19:28. 24:30. 26:64. What comfort for Christians: our brother, the Savior of the world, is the Judge! W. 88, 60. 61. Ma. 7, 346. 13, 334. Note b. The Judge is 1. majestic. 2 Sam. 7:19: is this the manner of man, O Lord GOD? 1 Cor. 2:8: the Lord of glory; 2. all-knowing. John 21:17: Lord, thou knowest all things. Heb. 4:13: all things are naked and opened unto his eyes; 3. wise. Col. 2:3: in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom. A greater than Solomon is here. Matt. 12:42; 4. righteous. Acts 17:31: judge in righteousness. Matt. 22:16: thou regardest not the person of men. 2 Tim. 4:8: the righteous Judge. Rev. 22:12: I give every man according as his work shall be. Rom. 2:5; 5. almighty. Matt. 28:18: all power is given unto me. Rev. 1:8. Note c. No one can flee this Judge, no one can deceive him, no one can bend his impartiality or alter his judgment. Objection: John 8:15: I judge no man. John 3:17: God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world. John 12:47. Matt. 18:11. — This is spoken of his first coming in the flesh. Note d. The holding of judgment is a work of the Triune God. The Father and the Spirit are not uninvolved in it. 1. The Father: Acts 17:31: God hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge, by a man. John 8:49-50: and judgeth. 1 Pet. 2:23: Christ committed himself to him that judgeth righteously. Compare Deut. 32:36. Ps. 2:5. 9:8. 50:6. 82:8. 98:9. Rom. 2:5. Heb. 12:23. 2. The Holy Spirit. Is. 4:4: by the spirit that will judge and kindle a fire. Antithesis. The Koran: Christ will be present only as a witness. Catholics: the chief judgment falls to Mary. Calvin: the searching of hearts belongs to the deity alone, not to the man Christ. The Reformed: Christ will judge only according to his divine nature. 4. The assessors at the judgment will be a. the holy angels. Matt. 25:31: all the holy angels with him. Compare 1 Thess. 4:16. 2 Thess. 1:7. Luke 9:26. 12:9. The angels will gather the elect, Matt. 24:31, separate the wicked from the righteous, and cast them into the furnace of fire. Matt. 13:50. Mark 13:27. b. The saints. The apostles will sit on twelve thrones and judge the twelve tribes. Luke 22:30. Matt. 19:28. The saints: 1 Cor. 6:2: know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? Jude 14: the Lord cometh with ten thousand of his saints, to execute judgment. Rev. 20:4: judgment was given unto them. Compare 1 Thess. 3:13. Rev. 2:26. 3:21. 4:2. 11:16. The saints will confirm God's verdict. Rev. 19:1, and appear as accusers against the ungodly. W. 88, 65. 66.

AI translation · machine

5. Upon whom does the judgment fall? It falls a. upon the devils. 1 Cor. 6:3: know ye not that we shall judge angels? 2 Pet. 2:4: delivered them to be reserved unto judgment. Jude 6: reserved unto the judgment of the great day. Matt. 8:29: art thou come hither to torment us before the time? Luke 8:31; b. upon all men. 2 Cor. 5:10: we must all appear, etc. Rom. 14:10: we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. God will judge all flesh. Is. 66:15: all the heathen, Joel 3:17; all the world, Gen. 18:25; the earth, Ps. 9:9; the world, Acts 17:31; all nations, Matt. 25:32; the living and the dead, Acts 10:42; the sea shall give up the dead which are in it, Rev. 20:12-13. Note a. No one will be able to escape the judgment, as so often happens in this life. Note b. The judgment also falls upon the saints. But Christ's verdict for them already lies in their resurrection with a glorified body. They do not come into judgment. John 3:18. Note c. The sins of believers will not be exposed; they are sunk in the depths of the sea. Mic. 7:19. God will remember them no more. Jer. 31:34. Is. 43:25. Ez. 18:22. Is. 38:17. 44:22. God cannot again hold forgiven sins up in accusation. — To uncover their sin would after all be a disgrace to believers. Antithesis. Those who are supposed to come into judgment are 1. not all men. Adventists. 2. not Mary. Catholics. This rests on the false doctrine of the immaculate conception, 3. not unbaptized children. This rests on false doctrine concerning baptism and original sin.

AI translation · machine

6. What will Christ judge? He will judge a. the works. 2 Cor. 5:10: according to what he hath done. Eccl. 12:14: God shall bring every work into judgment. Matt. 16:27: reward according to his works. Ps. 62:12: renderest to every man according to his work. Rom. 2:6. Rev. 22:12. 20:12. b. the words: Matt. 12:36: give account of every idle word; Job 34:11. Prov. 24:12. Jer. 25:14; c. the thoughts of the heart. Heb. 4:12: the word of God is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Rom. 2:16: God shall judge the secrets of men. 1 Cor. 4:5: will make manifest the counsels of the hearts. Note a. All this will be made manifest before men. A public judgment! Note b. Here on earth the rule is: De occultis non judicat ecclesia [the church does not judge hidden things].

AI translation · machine

7. Christ's coming to judgment. The return. Acts 1:11: this same Jesus shall so come. 1 Thess. 4:16: shall descend from heaven. 1 Cor. 15:24: when he shall come. 1 Cor. 4:5: until the Lord come. 1 Cor. 11:26: till he come. Rev. 22:12, 20: Behold, I come quickly. Ps. 98:9. 96:13. Second Article. And indeed Christ will come a. visibly. Luke 21:27: then shall they see the Son of man. Acts 1:11: like as ye have seen him go into heaven. Rev. 1:7: every eye shall see him. Matt. 24:30. All the tribes of the earth shall see the Son of man coming. Matt. 26:64. Mark 13:26. Note a. This too is an article of faith that we cannot make sense of before reason: Christ appears upon the cloud and is seen at once by all the inhabitants of the earth, even those on the opposite side of the globe! A miracle of Christ's omnipresence. Note b. Because Christ is also present with us now, and will one day come visibly, his return (Parousia) is also called a Phanerosis, an appearing, or an Apokalypsis, a revelation. Col. 3:4: when Christ shall appear. 1 John 2:28: when he shall appear. 1 Pet. 5:4: when the chief Shepherd shall appear. 2 Thess. 2:8: the brightness of his coming. 2 Tim. 4:1. Tit. 2:13. 1 Cor. 1:7. 2 Thess. 1:7. 1 Pet. 1:7, 13; b. gloriously. Luke 9:26: when he shall come in his own glory. Matt. 24:30: with power and great glory. 25:31: in his glory. Luke 21:27. 2 Thess. 1:10: to be glorified. Note. What glory that must be! A glory as of the only begotten Son. John 1:14. The glory of his Father and of the holy angels. Luke 9:26. 2 Pet. 1:16. c. in the clouds. Luke 21:27. Mark 13:26. 14:62. Rev. 1:7. — The cloud was elsewhere also God's chariot: Christ's ascension, the Transfiguration. Acts 1:9-10. Matt. 17:5. Luke 9:34. Mark 9:7. — But the cloud also signals the breaking forth of storm, lightning, and thunder. Is. 19:1. Ps. 97:2. 18:8. The pillar of cloud, Ex. 14:19, Ps. 105:39, was a protection to the godly and a terror to the ungodly; d. with a shout, and with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God. 1 Thess. 4:16. (Mere allegorical words! — a marginal objection.) What terror the sound of that trumpet will cause many! Luth. 63, 423. O. 1901, 55. 56. e. with all the angels. Matt. 16:27. They will form his escort. What a procession! Note. The one who returns is Christ, the God-man, who suffered for us, but he comes according to his human nature.

AI translation · machine

8. The particular circumstances of the judgment. a. The place. Joel, who in chapter 3 names the Valley of Jehoshaphat as the place, speaks figuratively, or is not speaking of the last judgment at all. From the words of 1 Thess. 4:17, "caught up... in the clouds," some conclude that the judgment will be held in the air. b. The gathering of all nations. c. The separation. Matt. 24:40-41. Luke 17:34: the one shall be taken, and the other left. Matt. 25:32. Note. This separation takes place with regard to faith and unbelief, intuitu fidei et incredulitatis, and is infallible and final. Only two classes! d. The opening of the books. Rev. 20:12. Hymn 433:3. In the books stand all the works of men; in the book of life, all the names of the elect. Phil. 4:3. Luke 10:20. Dan. 12:1. Ps. 69:29. Is. 4:3. Rev. 3:5. 13:8. 21:27. e. The examination. No investigation by witnesses is needed, as in worldly courts. John 2:25: and needed not that any should testify of man; for he knew what was in man. Before him everything is laid bare. f. The standard by which judgment is made is not our reason, but God's Word. John 12:48: the word that I have spoken. Rom. 2:16: according to my gospel. g. The duration of the judgment. Mohammed holds that the judgment lasts 50,000 years. According to Acts 17:31 a day is appointed, but this does not mean the judgment must last twenty-four hours. It can also happen in a single moment. h. The Judge's verdict will be 1. full of joy for believers, 2. dreadful for unbelievers. i. The grounds of the verdict: For I was an hungred, etc. Works come into consideration as evidence of faith or unbelief. 1 John 3:10. — Sermon by H. Sieck on the 26th Sunday after Trinity, pamphlet. Note a. The works of believers do not earn eternal life. Rom. 6:23: the gift of God is eternal life. Note b. Christ names only such works as anyone can do. Note c. Of the ungodly, Christ names only sins of omission. If even he who did not feed the hungry must go into the fire, what then of him who took the bread away from them? Antithesis. Papacy: men are judged according to their works as such, without regard to faith or unbelief. The sects: good works accompany a man up to the throne, speak for him, and find grace. Luth. 38, 114. k. The execution. The sentence is carried out at once. There is no appeal, no postponement, no second hearing, and no possibility of repentance. — Believers go into heaven with a thousand joys; the ungodly into damnation with howling. W. 88, 69. 70. Note a. It is the grandest and most solemn judgment ever held. Note b. The judgment is also depicted in images and parables. The return: the coming back of the householder, Matt. 24:43. Mark 13:34. The reckoning: the account of the entrusted pounds. Matt. 25:19. The separation: the sorting of the chaff from the wheat. Matt. 13:30. Note c. The purpose of the judgment is, on the part of 1. men: retribution, 2. God: his honor, the revelation of his truth and righteousness, see § 3, Note b, 4. Objection. It is contrary to God's righteousness to condemn sinners eternally. — Against this, Christians sing Hymn 434:9. Note d. Both parties will, on the last day, acknowledge the judgment to be just.

AI translation · machine

9. The time of the judgment. The day on which the judgment takes place is called the last day, John 6:39-40, 44, 54. 11:24. Matt. 10:15. 11:22, so called because no other day follows it. Note. Elsewhere in Scripture this day is also called 1. that day. Matt. 7:22: in that day. 2 Tim. 1:18. 4:8. 2. The day of the Lord. 1 Thess. 5:2. 2 Pet. 3:10. Rev. 1:10. 3. The day of Jesus Christ. 2 Cor. 1:14. Phil. 1:10. 2:16. 4. The great day. Jude 6. Rev. 16:14. 5. The day. 1 Thess. 5:4. Matt. 24:36. 25:13. 6. The day of wrath. Rom. 2:5. 7. The day of redemption. Eph. 4:30. When this day comes, we do not know. Matt. 24:36: of that day and hour knoweth no man. Mark 13:32. Acts 1:7: it is not for you to know the times or the seasons. Note a. The calculation that the world will stand for 6,000 years is idle speculation. Note b. All prophecies fixing the last day to a certain time have come to shame. The Adventists had set April 14, 1814. (Günth. 372.) Michael Stiefel set the Monday of the 42nd week of 1533, at eight o'clock in the evening (L. W. 51, 543-548. W. 88, 55.) Through such prophecies Christianity was made a laughingstock. Note c. The Chiliasts likewise fix the time of the judgment, insofar as they insert at least 1,000 years between now and the last day, within which time the Lord cannot come. Note d. If we knew when the last day would come, what disorder would prevail for years beforehand. Everyone would squander his money. 2 Thess. 3:11. Note e. The last day has long since been appointed by God. Acts 17:31: God hath appointed a day. — Men sometimes set a date for judgment, but nothing comes of it. Note f. When it says "no, not the Son," Matt. 24:36, this is spoken of the state of humiliation, in which he laid aside the use of his divine attributes. L. W. 40, 100. 101. Note g. God has hidden from us the time of the last day, just as he has hidden our hour of death, so that we may be found in constant readiness.

AI translation · machine

11. This much we know, that the last day a. comes suddenly. Luke 21:35: as a snare. Matt. 24:27: as the lightning. 1 Thess. 5:2, 4: as a thief. 2 Pet. 3:10. Rev. 16:15. It comes unexpectedly, at an hour when ye think not. Luke 12:40. Matt. 24:44. Then no more preparation is possible. Jo. 88, 46. Note. To the people before the Flood God gave 120 years; to those of Nineveh, a period of 40 days for repentance. At

AI translation · machine

2. the revelation of the Antichrist. 2 Thess. 2:8. c. natural events. 1. signs in the sun, moon, and stars. Luke 21:25. Matt. 24:29: the sun and the moon shall lose their light, and the stars shall fall from heaven. Mark 13:24-25. 2. the sea and the waves of the sea will roar. 3. the powers of heaven will be shaken. d. the sign of the Son of man. Some understand this to mean Christ himself, but nothing certain can be determined about it. O. 1901, 51. Note a. When these signs occur, people's hearts will fail them for fear. Note b. They will also make us Christians afraid, but we need not despair; indeed, we should lift up our heads. Sieck 1, 9. 10. Question 1. Are the words of Luke 21:25-26 to be understood figuratively? — It is better to understand them literally, since nothing compels us to depart from the plain sense. Question 2. Does the Lord here describe the beginning of the collapse on the last day, or does he speak of signs occurring throughout the whole time of the New Testament? Are these signs still to come, or are they occurring continually already? — Both views find their advocates. Note a. Particular signs are to occur before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes. Joel 3:3-4. When all this begins to come to pass, the kingdom of God is near. Luke 21:31. Note b. If all the signs occur only immediately before the last day, then it will not come like a thief in the night. Note c. Scripture says that we should hold ourselves ready every hour for the last day. Note d. The signs are fulfilled. Everything indicates that the hand of the world's clock has moved on toward midnight. Question 3. If these signs have already in part been present long since, and therefore had natural causes, can they indicate the nearness of the last day? — Has not God set the rainbow as a sign? Is not sickness a reminder of death, and old age and weakness, white hair, a sign that the time is soon up? So a Christian can let every solar eclipse and every falling star remind him of the last day. Note a. The world has made such progress and achievements in every field that one is led to think that the goal of striving will soon be reached and the collapse must come. Note b. The signs that occur serve to strengthen our faith. When a physician correctly predicts the course of a disease and it all comes to pass just so, then one's trust in him is strengthened. Note c. When the tribulations of the last times, Matt. 24:29, surround us, we Christians should be patient and joyful. With the return of Christ, eternal rest will dawn.

AI translation · machine

13. On right readiness for the day of judgment. Right readiness consists in true repentance (Acts 17:30), right faith, and a godly walk. Ma. 19, 348. We should therefore a. above all things remain in faith, so that we may have confidence and not be put to shame before him at his coming. 1 John 2:28; b. guard against sins, so that the Lord does not surprise us in sin. In particular we should not weigh our hearts down with surfeiting and drunkenness and cares for our sustenance. Luke 21:34; c. be fit through holy conduct and godly conduct. 2 Pet. 3:11, that we be found by him without spot. 3:14. Phil. 1:10; unspotted from the world, W. 89, 61-64; rich in good works, W. 88, 12; fervent in love, W. 89, 68-69; d. be zealous in the Lord's work and redeem the short time, to fulfill our heavenly calling all the more zealously. Rev. 12:12: the devil knoweth that he hath but a short time. John 9:4: the night cometh, when no man can work; e. watch. Mark 13:35: Watch ye therefore, for ye know not, etc. Matt. 24:42. 1 Thess. 5:6: let us not sleep. Luke 12:35, 37: blessed are those servants, whom the Lord, when he cometh, shall find watching. The foolish virgins! — Hymn 279; f. pray. Luke 21:36: pray, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape. — Worthiness does not lie in us, Walth. L. L. 27-28; it does not come by watching and praying, but watching and praying is the way in which God wills to preserve his own through faith. Ma. 21, 365;

AI translation · machine

Homiletics. 2nd Advent. — Gospel. The Lord will come with great power and glory a. for the destruction of the hostile world, b. for the perfecting of his congregation. — Ma. 15, 354. On the necessary readiness for the coming of the Lord. a. Why it is necessary, b. in what it consists. — Ma. 15, 369. The truth that the Lord can come to the world's judgment at any moment. a. How certain it is, b. what use it should be to us. — Ma. 1, 368. The irrefutable truth that Christ will one day come to judgment. a. On what it is grounded, b. to what it should encourage us. — Ma. 2, 184. The second advent of Christ to the judgment of the last day. a. How it will happen, b. how we should hold ourselves prepared for it. — Ma. 3, 370. On constant readiness for the coming of Christ. a. What belongs to it, b. how necessary it is. — Ma. 4, 365. The waiting of believers for the last day. a. They should wait for this day, b. they should wait for it with longing and joy. — Ma. 4, 379. The last great advent of the Lord. a. How near this advent of the Lord is to us all, b. how we are to rejoice over this advent, c. how we should go to meet it in true readiness. — Ma. 8, 370. The last day, a day of redemption. a. In what sense? b. For whom? — Ma. 8, 369. The return of Christ on the last day. Its a. great nearness, b. exalted comfort, c. urgent admonition. — Ma. 11, 374. What does the Lord tell us in his prophecy of the last day? We should a. heed the forewarning signs, b. rejoice over the day of our redemption, c. earnestly prepare ourselves for it. — Ma. 12, 374. The joy of believers over the last day. a. The grounds of this joy, b. the showing forth of this joy. — Ma. 14, 376. Know that the kingdom of God is near. a. By what we recognize this, b. what use it should be to us. — Ma. 14, 378. On the last great advent of the Lord. a. What the Lord teaches us about it, b. to what the Lord admonishes us in connection with it. — Ma. 17, 376. By what does it become plain that you are waiting for the appearing of your Savior? By this, that you a. heed the signs of his coming, b. prepare yourself for his appearing. — Ma. 18, 372. How should we go to meet the last day? a. In joyful hope, b. in constant readiness. — Ma. 21, 372. How foolish it is to feel secure in this our time, a. because of the signs already come to pass, b. because of the condition the world is in, c. because of the suddenness with which the last day is to appear. — Ma. 22, 73. Walth. Ev. 7. The Lord is near for judgment. A word a. of severe terror for unbelievers, b. of sure comfort for believers, c. of earnest admonition for all Christians. — Ma. 24, 370. Christ's coming to judgment. How Christ a. teaches the nature of his coming, b. comforts the godly against its terrors, c. admonishes to readiness for it. — Ma. 24, 160. Be ready for the return of Christ. a. Do not delay your readiness, b. much is at stake for you, c. help will be given you toward readiness. — Hön. Ent. 11. A good end. a. When does it come? b. Why is it a good end? c. What should we guard against for the sake of a good end? — Hön. Ent. 14. God's preparations and man's preparations for Christ's coming to judgment. a. Those which God makes, b. those which we men should make. — Walth. L. L. The signs preceding Christ's second advent. a. Nature of these signs, b. their purpose. — Mag. 2. 189. Christ's prophecy of his last coming to judgment. a. It happens amid dreadful signs, b. it is sweet and comforting for believers, c. but we should hold ourselves ready for this day at all times. — Ma. 21, 365. The day of the Lord: a. a day of great terror for the ungodly, upon whom it comes like a snare, b. a day of great redemption for believers, who wait for it in watching and prayer. — Ma. 21, 366. How the Lord comforts his own concerning his last coming. a. He foretells to them the tribulations of that day, b. promises them glorious redemption, c. pledges to them the truth of his Word, d. shows them the sure way of escape. — Ma. 21, 366. The first and second advent. a. The first quiet and hidden, the second public before all the world; b. the first in poverty, the second in glory; c. at the first as Savior, at the second as Judge. — Ma. 21, 366. The differing lot of men on that day. a. The ungodly are overtaken by the day as by a snare, from which they cannot escape; b. believers escape all this and stand before the Son of man. — Ma. 21, 366. The last day a day of joy for all true Christians. a. Why all true Christians look forward to the last day as a day of joy for them, b. what they must do so as not to be deceived in their joyful expectation. — Sieck 1, 9. On the coming of Christ unto judgment. He comes a. without delay surely, b. to the unbelieving terribly, c. to the believers comfortingly. — Kueg. 4. 20. Sunday Exaudi. — Epistle. The life of Christians who believe that the day of the Lord is near. a. In what it shows itself, b. to what the Christian looks in it. — Ma. 8, 172. 25th Sunday after Trinity. — Gospel. The Lord Jesus' teaching on the last day. a. We should hold ourselves ready for the last day as being near at hand, b. we should not let ourselves be led astray by fanatical lies about the present arrival of the last day. — Hön. Ent. 507. How shall we look for the last day? a. Watchfully, b. soberly. — Hön. Ent. 509. 26th Sunday after Trinity. — Gospel. The day of judgment, a day of separation and decision. a. The Judge of the world will on that day decide over the eternal weal and woe of men. b. He will decide according to faith and unbelief, and separate men accordingly. c. From their works he will demonstrate the righteousness of his judgment. — Ma. 18, 350. "The Lord is near for judgment" — a word a. of severe terror for unbelievers, b. of sure comfort for believers, c. of earnest admonition for all Christians. — Ma. 24, 370. Believers have no cause to fear the last judgment. They fear neither a. the Judge, b. the sentence, c. the execution of the sentence. — Ma. 7, 346. The last judgment. a. The gathering of all nations, b. the separation of sheep and goats, c. the twofold verdict, d. the final destiny of both parties. — Ma. 12, 345. A description of the last judgment of the world. a. The arrival of the Judge, b. the course of the judgment. — Ma. 12, 350.