Part 14 — The Day of Judgment
"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that
each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good
or evil." 2
Corinthians 5:10 (ESV)
Christian
has just witnessed the man in the iron cage, and what he has heard has clearly
troubled him. He asks the Interpreter if it is now time for him to continue his
journey, but the Interpreter tells him to stay because there is still one more
thing he wants Christian to see before he continues on his way.
Christian
is taken into another room, where he sees a man getting out of bed, shaking and
trembling. The Interpreter tells him to speak with the man, who explains that
he had a dream that night. What follows is one of the most frightening scenes
Christian has yet witnessed.
The man saw
the heavens grow exceedingly black. There was thunder and lightning, followed
by the sound of a great trumpet. He then saw a man seated on a cloud, attended
by thousands from heaven. The dead were raised, the books were opened, and all
mankind stood before the Judge. There was then a separation, with some gathered
to safety while others were taken away to destruction. The man in the dream saw
others welcomed, but he himself was left behind. His sins rushed into his mind,
and his conscience accused him. Then he awoke trembling.
Bunyan has
moved Christian from the man in the iron cage to the Day of Judgment. That
progression is difficult to miss. First, Christian is shown what can happen
when a man grows careless with the light he has received, and now he is shown
the end towards which every human life is moving.
Judgment.
Paul
writes, "For we will all stand before the
judgment seat of God." Romans
14:10 (ESV)
This is not
something we can postpone forever. There will come a day when every one of us
will stand before God, and Bunyan wants Christian to understand that reality
before he leaves the Interpreter's House.
The man's
dream is particularly disturbing because he does not simply witness judgment;
he sees himself standing on the wrong side of it. His conscience suddenly
brings everything back to him. There is nowhere to hide and no opportunity to
pretend that the life he lived was something other than what it was.
This takes
us back through the lessons Christian has already received. The dusty room
revealed to him the corruption that can lie beneath the surface. Passion and
Patience showed him the difference between temporary pleasure and eternal
treasure. The fire showed him that God's work continues even when there appears
to be opposition. The palace showed him that those who seek Christ will face
resistance. The man in the iron cage then showed him the terrible consequences
of hardening the heart.
Now
Christian is shown judgment.
Perhaps
Bunyan is ensuring that Christian understands why these lessons matter. The
Christian pilgrimage is not simply about redirecting our lives towards a better
earthly existence. Eternity is involved. The condition of the soul matters
because there is a destination beyond this life.
Jesus
Himself spoke of this coming separation. He said that those in the tombs would
hear His voice and come out, some to the resurrection of life and others to the
resurrection of judgment. John 5:28-29 (ESV)
Bunyan is
therefore not simply frightening Christian with an imaginative story. He is
taking biblical truth and presenting it to him in a form he cannot easily
forget.
Yet there
is something particularly interesting about where Bunyan places this lesson.
Christian has still not reached the Cross, and the burden remains on his back.
The Interpreter is showing him the reality of judgement before Christian
reaches the place where that burden will finally be removed.
I do not
think we should overlook that. Christian is being taught to understand the
seriousness of his condition before he experiences the fullness of his
deliverance.
Perhaps
this is one reason the Gospel is such wonderful news. If we never understand
the seriousness of sin and judgment, we will never properly appreciate the
grace that God has provided through Jesus Christ.
Paul puts
it beautifully: "but God shows his love for
us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 (ESV)
The
judgment Christian is being shown is not the end of the story. The Cross is
still ahead of him.
That is
important to remember because Christian does not yet understand everything. He
knows that he is lost. He knows that he needs deliverance. He knows that the
burden on his back must somehow be lifted. But he does not yet understand the
full answer to his problem.
I can
relate to that part of Christian's journey. Looking back over my own life, I
can see that God was dealing with me long before I understood what He was
doing. There were things changing around me that I could not explain at the
time. Things I had once pursued began to lose their grip, yet I had no idea
why. Only afterwards could I see that God had been moving me towards something
I could not yet see.
That makes
me wonder whether Bunyan is showing us something important in Christian. He is
being taught before he fully understands. He is being prepared before he knows
exactly what he is being prepared for. The Interpreter is opening his eyes to
realities that will become increasingly important as he continues on his
journey.
The man's
dream should therefore cause us to think carefully about our own pilgrimage.
Not because Bunyan has given us permission to decide exactly who will be saved
and who will be lost, but because he has put the reality of judgment directly
in front of us.
The man
woke trembling because he had seen something he could not escape. Christian has
now seen it too, though from the safety of the Interpreter's House. Bunyan
wants Christian to carry that lesson with him.
And there
is a remarkable balance here. The warning is severe, yet Christian is not
abandoned to fear. The Interpreter is preparing him for the road ahead. He will
soon leave the house and head towards the Cross, and ultimately towards the
Celestial City.
Christian
is learning that God's grace should never be taken lightly, that sin has
consequences and that eternity is real. Yet he is also being drawn towards the
One who alone can remove the burden from his back.
The
Interpreter's House has not given Christian every answer, but it has given him
enough understanding to continue.
Perhaps
that is the lesson for us as well. We will not understand everything at the
beginning of our pilgrimage, and we certainly will not understand everything
when we first come to the Cross. But when God opens our eyes to something, we
should not take it lightly.
Christian
has seen the iron cage. Now he has witnessed the judgment. The Cross still lies
ahead, and the journey continues.
Signing off
Tyrone
Scripture References: John 5:28-29; Romans 5:8; Romans 14:10; 2
Corinthians 5:10; Hebrews 9:27; Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:11-15.
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