Unity Series – Belief Systems and the Day of Judgment
Unity Series
Belief Systems and the Day of Judgment
We all have a belief system. What I mean by this is that we all believe or trust a great many things to be true. You may have a certain faith you believe is the true religion; you go along with most if not all the doctrines which make up that religion. Even if you are agnostic, that is part of your belief system.
There are many areas which make up our belief system — health, monetary, security, religion, probably others which I can't think of right now. In each of these areas, you believe that if you can only reach or maintain a place in each one, that your life will be as good as it can get. You may not have reached that perfect place yet, but you still believe that if you ever get there, you will be happy; things will be good.
"Belief systems are the stories we tell ourselves to define our personal sense of 'reality'. Every human being has a belief system that they utilize, and it is through this mechanism that we individually 'make sense' of the world around us."
— Science20
Hell, Judgment, and Our Belief System
I think that the hell talked about in the Bible is related to our belief system. If you and I were to compare our belief systems with each other, we would most likely find areas where we don't agree. Aren't our actions — our decisions — governed to a large degree by what we believe?
I believe the great day of judgment talked about in the Bible is God revealing to each one of us the places where our beliefs are flawed; where our thinking is wrong. This in turn will cause us to weep and gnash our teeth — to weep bitterly.
Have you ever believed something to be true, maybe about some person, and later found out that you were totally wrong? How did it make you feel? Or maybe, like I did, it led to a lie. My lie haunted me for a very long time — fifty-some odd years. I finally got it reconciled by asking forgiveness of those I had told it to. They had no memory of that lie — but still, it was something I needed to do to find peace about it.
Think about all of that unreconciled weight being brought to your attention all at once. How dreadful will that be? There are parables that Jesus told that speak directly to this.
Matthew 11:21–22 — Lexham English Bible (LEB)
21 "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
22 Nevertheless I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and for Sidon on the day of judgment than for you!"
How Long Will the Grief Last?
As for the length of time our grief — our torment — will last, I don't believe that it is like how we think of "everlasting." My wife and I have been watching a documentary on PBS about the brain; quite interesting. Our brain perceives time differently depending on what it is dealing with. Something painful can seem like an eternity. Another parable of Jesus hints at how long this season will be:
Matthew 5:26 — Lexham English Bible (LEB)
26 "Truly I say to you, you will never come out of there until you have paid back the last penny!"
Roots, Soil, and the Fruit Tree
The Bible so often uses symbolism and metaphors to say things. Think of yourself as a fruit tree. Could you see that the soil and your roots could be thought of as your belief system? Your sustenance, your anchor, and your support comes from the soil through your roots — your belief system. If you are rooted in good ground, you will be healthy, with healthy branches to bear good fruit.
Now think about what it says in Malachi:
Malachi 4:1 — Lexham English Bible (LEB)
4 "For look! The day is about to come, burning like an oven, and all the arrogant and every evildoer will be stubble. The coming day will consume them," says Yahweh of hosts. "It will not leave behind for them root or branch."
If your belief system is totally wrong, there won't be anything left — your whole belief system has to be rebuilt. It will all depend on where you are on that day. Jesus hinted at this:
Matthew 5:29–30 — Lexham English Bible (LEB)
29 "And if your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your members be destroyed than your whole body be thrown into hell.
30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it from you! For it is better for you that one of your limbs be destroyed than your whole body go into hell."
Why Is the Bible So Cryptic?
I've been wondering why the Bible seems to be so cryptic. Why doesn't God just come out and say things in a way we can all understand? I think it is because God knows us too well — some still won't believe, no matter how plainly it is said. If you are a parent, have you ever thought about how the teaching of our children so often goes? You can tell a child many times not to touch the hot stove, but there always seems to come a time where they have to touch it for themselves.
Jesus told another parable that shows — or at least hints at — the truth that it doesn't matter how we are told about God and Jesus. You will either believe, or you won't.
Luke 16:19–31 — Lexham English Bible (LEB)
The Rich Man and Lazarus
19 "Now a certain man was rich, and dressed in purple cloth and fine linen, feasting sumptuously every day. 20 And a certain poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, lay at his gate, 21 and was longing to be filled with what fell from the table of the rich man. But even the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 Now it happened that the poor man died, and he was carried away by the angels to Abraham's side. And the rich man also died and was buried. 23 And in Hades he lifted up his eyes as he was in torment and saw Abraham from a distance, and Lazarus at his side. 24 And he called out and said, 'Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus so that he could dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am suffering pain in this flame!' 25 But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you received your good things during your life, and Lazarus likewise bad things. But now he is comforted here, but you are suffering pain. 26 And in addition to all these things, a great chasm has been established between us and you, so that those who want to cross over from here to you are not able to do so, nor can they cross over from there to us.' 27 So he said, 'Then I ask you, father, that you send him to my father's house, 28 for I have five brothers, so that he could warn them, in order that they also should not come to this place of torment!' 29 But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the prophets; they must listen to them.' 30 And he said, 'No, father Abraham, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent!' 31 But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone rises from the dead.'"
Closing Reflection
The parable of the rich man and Lazarus is sobering — not because it is a story about wealth, but because it is a story about a belief system so set in its ways that even the testimony of someone risen from the dead would not move it. The rich man's five brothers had everything they needed. They had Moses. They had the prophets. And still, it would not be enough.
How is your soil? What are your roots drawing from? The day is coming when every belief will be examined in the light of truth. And this is not a message of condemnation — it is a message of mercy. The same God who reveals the flaw is the same God who rebuilds the root. He does not expose us to destroy us. He exposes us to restore us.
Take some time today to sit with your own belief system. Not to judge it harshly, but to ask honestly — where is this rooted? And does the fruit reflect good ground?
Closing Prayer
Father, we come before You with open hands and open hearts. We acknowledge that we do not always see clearly. Our belief systems — shaped by experience, by culture, by wounds and by wonders — are not always aligned with Your truth.
We ask that You would be patient with us, as You have always been. Search us. Reveal what needs to be revealed, gently if it is Your will, but completely. We trust that Your exposure is not punishment — it is preparation. You are a God who rebuilds, who restores, who makes new.
Root us deeply in You. Let the soil of our lives be Your Word, Your love, Your grace — so that the fruit we bear reflects the God we serve. In Jesus' name, Amen.
