The Moral Necessity of the Universal Assize

The Moral Necessity of the Universal Assize

"It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment," saith the Scripture (Heb. 9:27). Again, God "hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17: 31). These and many other Scriptures stress the fact of the coming judgment for all people. Of a truth, "we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (II Cor. 5:10; cf. Dan. 7:9-10; Matt. 25:31-32; Rev. 20:11-13).

Aside from Scripture's incontrovertible declarations of the universal assize to come, there is another witness of it, which is of great weight. It is that of the moral necessity of the great judgment day, in which all people, "both small and great" shall appear before "the Judge of all the earth" for the final disposition of their cases (Gen. 18:25; Rev. 20:12). Since God is God and it is fundamentally a moral universe in which people live and have lived, logic shuts us up to the conclusion that ultimately God will call everyone before Him to account for the time they spent and the things they did in the flesh. So many things are never justly adjudicated in this life that the prevalence of any semblance of righteous authority and order demands that in the future there be a final determination and decree setting things thoroughly straight and meting out retribution and rewards.

Even on the level of earthly government, though greatly perverted in these days of general laxity and judicial corruption, this principle obtains. "In all human governments there must be an assize held. Government cannot be conducted without its days of session and trial." Obviously, this necessity is greatly intensified in the case of God's rule of the universe. "Inasmuch as sin and evil are in the world, it can fairly be anticipated that there will be a time of judgment. God will go on circuit, and will call the prisoners before Him, and the guilty shall receive their condemnation. Judge for yourself; is this present state the conclusion of all things? If so, what evidence would you adduce of the divine justice, in view of the facts in the case. The best of men are often in this world the poorest and most afflicted. The worst of men acquire wealth, practice oppression, and receive homage from the crowd.

"Who are they that ride in the high places of the earth? Are they not those, great transgressors, who 'wade through slaughter to a throne and shut the gates of mercy on mankind?' Where are the servants of God? They are in obscurity and suffering full often. Do they not sit like Job among the ashes, subjects of little pity, objects of much upbraiding? And where are the enemies of God? Do not many of them wear purple and fine linen and fare sumptuously every day? If there be no hereafter, then the "rich man" has the best of it (Lu. 16:19-30); and the selfish man who fears not God is, after all, the wisest of men, and more to be commended than his fellows.

"But it cannot be so. Our common sense revolts against the thought. There must be another state in which these anomalies will all be rectified. 'If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable', says the Apostle (I Cor. 15:19). The best of men were driven to the worst of straits in those persecuting times for being God's servants. How say ye, then, Finis coronat opus', the end crowns the work? That cannot be the final issue of life, or justice itself were frustrated. There must be a restitution for those who suffer unjustly; there must be punishment for the wicked and the oppressor."