Grace and hope for our eternal future

“And the Lord will become king over all the earth; on that day the Lord will be one and his name one.” Zechariah 14:9 (NRSV)

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body.” 2 Corinthians 5:10 (NRSV)

“For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.” Psalm 103:11-12 (NRSV)

“I, I am He
who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and I will not remember your sins.” Isaiah 43:25 (NRSV)

These four scripture passages give us a picture of the hope for the last days of this earth. The book of Zechariah tells of a destruction of Jerusalem, and a new order of law when the LORD rules the earth. Earthly governments are unstable and flawed. We will never have a perfect government until the day of the Lord, and then the law will be perfect, because God is one.

According to 2 Corinthians 5:10, under the law of God, we will all be judged. But, we who fear the Lord and seek Him will be judged as righteous.

The passage from Psalms tells us that God’s love for us is immeasurable and His absolution from our sins is complete. East and west are complete opposites and will never meet, so nothing can be farther away—except for our sins from ourselves!

In Isaiah 43, we learn that God blots out our transgressions, not for our sake, but for His sake. An analogy is that parents keep their children clean, not only for their children’s health, but also for the parent’s sake. Parents find joy in holding and cuddling clean children. God cleans us, for His own joy in fellowshiping with us. The other part of this verse is important because not only does God clean us of our sins, He forgets our sins so that He will be able to have fellowship with us.

As saved children of God, we do not fear the judgment day of the Lord. God will look at us and love us, and want us to be with Him. When we are in God’s courtroom, He will look for the list of sins that we are charged with, and He will be unable to find it. The great Judge will try to remember the sins we have committed, and He will have forgotten each and every one. Then He will pound His gavel and proclaim, “Case dismissed!”