What
Does the Bible Say About
Eternal Judgment?
by Norman Scott Edwards
August 2000 (revised title page
and table of contents, new appendices added)
What happens to people after
they die? What will happen to those who believe in God?
What will happen to those who don’t? What about people who have never
heard of God?
What about people who claim to “know God”, but do evil?
Do the things that we do in this life make any difference?
Yes they do! These questions are answered in the Bible. Many hundreds of
Bible verses teach us about this subject. Unfortunately, they are not too
often read—myths and fables are taught instead. But all of us should
know the purpose for our life now, and understand how we will be judged for
it later.
A few hours may be required to read this paper—which consists mostly
of quotations from the Bible. But it may be one of the most significant few
hours that you ever spend—whether you are just beginning to study the
Bible or have studied it all your life. The important part of the message is
contained in the first pages. The appendices contain material for more
extensive study and to answer specific questions.
I encourage you to read all of the Bible quotations as you go
through—even if you are familiar with them. It is so easy for us to
assume that we know what the Bible says on a certain subject—and then
to read right over words that actually say something else. I have put some of
the Bible words in boldface type to draw attention to words that are too
often passed over too quickly. Because Bible translators have a variety of
opinions on eternal judgment and related doctrines, their translations differ
significantly on some related verses. I have chosen other translations when I
believe they better represent the original Greek and Hebrew texts.
Be ready for some surprises. Many traditional Christian teachings come
from the Bible, but some do not—they come from Greek philosophy or
other religions. When studying a particular doctrine, it is always important
to ask: "Where is this doctrine actually taught in the Bible?" Are
there any scriptures that actually establish the doctrine? Or are there only
scriptures that are compatible with the doctrine? In other words, can the
doctrine be taught simply by reading scriptures? Or does someone have to
teach the doctrine first and then read scriptures that go along with it, but
do not teach it?
This
paper may be copied and distributed free of charge.
Bible quotations are from the New
International Version (NIV) unless otherwise noted.
Other Bible abbreviations: Darby
(The Darby Bible), KJV (King James Version),
NAB (New American Bible),
NASB (New American Standard Bible), NJB (New Jerusalem
Bible), NKJV (New King James Version), NRSV (New Revised Standard Version),
and YLT (Young’s Literal Translation)
Words enclosed in brackets [ ]
within Bible quotations are explanatory notes added by this author.

Contents
Appendices
The appendices cover specific issues and do not
necessarily need to be read in order. They were published several months
after the first 40 pages. The first two appendices contain some significant
new information which should have been in the main section.

Permission
is granted to reproduce any article in its entirety
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