If the individual facing judgment knows very little or nothing of God's will but has striven to be righteous according to his conscience, then it appears he will be given an opportunity to know more of the Lord. We see this in the case of Cornelius the centurion. His giving of alms prompted the Lord to bring the Gospel to him.

But if the person has been wicked, having seared his conscience, he will be assigned to the area of torment appropriate to his behavior.

The careless, negligent Christian, who has been given the knowledge of the Gospel (that which multitudes never have been given) but has ignored the task of abiding diligently in the Lord, will face torment when he dies. He is a lazy slave. Outer darkness is the proper place for him and there shall be no mercy. Rather, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

God's dealings are eternal. Whether we are in the physical realm or in the spirit realm we must obey the Lord. If we do not, punishment shall follow.

We hope we have presented this warning clearly; for those who count on receiving a crown in the spirit realm even though they have been lazy and foolish in the present world, or who are under the impression that even though they have not pursued the life of victory in Jesus they will be received warmly by the Lord, will be tormented with remorse and terror when they die physically and come to awareness in the spirit realm. They will discover that their laziness, foolishness, lusts, and self-centeredness have earned for them shame and contempt in the presence of the angels of God.

We have referred to the thousand-year Kingdom Age as the Day of Atonement, the Day of Reconciliation. During the Kingdom Age the nations of saved peoples of the earth will learn obedience to God. They will be reconciled to God. What was lost by the disobedience of Adam and Eve will be restored to mankind on the earth.

Three great platforms of salvation. The number three is prominent in the Scriptures with respect to the Divine redemption. There are three great platforms that we are to experience personally:

Death to the world and the resulting resurrection in the Kingdom of God.

Death to sin and the resulting resurrection in the Holy Spirit of God.

Death to self and the resulting resurrection in the Presence and power of the Father in Heaven.

There also are three "days" that have been appointed for the bringing of the Wife of the Lamb to unblemished perfection. These three days are the three thousand years that will occur between the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the coming into being of the new heaven and earth reign of Christ.

The three days are portrayed in the dimensions of the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The volume of the Holy Place was two thousand cubic cubits (the two thousand years of the Church Age). The volume of the Most Holy Place, which represents the thousand-year Kingdom Age, was one thousand cubic cubits.

To be continued.