It is evident that this article was written in the days of persecution, for the church testifies that it will not continue forever; the day of deliverance is coming! The return of Christ is of great comfort for the church, since it is in a continual warfare with the three-headed enemy.

In this article we hear the language of faith as spoken by the martyrs of the sixteenth century. We must keep in mind that this article does not speak of the dream of the Jews, who still expect the restoration of David's kingdom, nor about the expectation of the chiliasts or millenialists (mille meaning a thousand), who teach that Christ will reign for a thousand years in Jerusalem. It speaks about the coming of Christ on the clouds of heaven to judge the quick and the dead.

Death is the end of this earthly life for every person. Only Enoch and Elijah entered heaven without dying, and Moses was raised from the dead when Satan, as the prince of death, tried to take his body for the unholy purpose of leading Israel into temptation by worshipping it. When a person dies, the body returns to the earth, but the soul is immortal and continues to live consciously after the separation from the body either in hell or in heaven. Thus man continues to exist in the soul.

This was known among the believers of the Old Testament, whereof also the Lord Jesus said, "I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living." The consciousness of the soul is taught by Christ in the parable of the rich man in hell, who spoke of his father's house and of his brothers, requesting that they be warned by Lazarus, who was in heaven. There is no doubt about the continuing existence of the soul, even though many deny it or are in error about it.

Rome teaches that the souls of the wicked and unbelievers go to the place of damnation, but that the souls of the believers go to heaven, although not immediately. First they must undergo a painful cleansing process in purgatory. According to their teachings, Christ only paid for original sin, while man must pay for his actual sins himself. By masses, prayers and other means, usually involving money, it is possible to shorten this time of pain; however, according to our fathers, this is nothing more than an accursed doctrine. Rome bases this doctrine of purgatory on Matthew 5:25-26, where it is written that the debtors shall remain in prison until they have paid the uttermost farthing; but God's Word speaks only of two places for man's eternal destination, and not of three.

The time of Christ's coming is unknown; it will be as a thief in the night. Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus has foretold of the signs of that time. At times Christ spoke about the destruction of Jerusalem, but at the same time about His coming, which would also be a dark time. The common signs of Christ's coming are: false Christs, wars, pestilences, persecution of the believers, growing power of sin, and the preaching of God's Word over all the world. These common signs are found throughout all ages. The special signs of Christ's coming are: the revelation of the anti-Christ, the conversion of Jews and heathens, revolution in church and society, and changes in sun, moon and stars.

We do not know the exact order of succession. This article does not tell us this, but it says only that Christ will come in glory, and that the resurrection will follow. Many in our day (Jehovah Witnesses and other sects) make a difference between the first and second resurrection. They say God's people will arise first and reign for a thousand years with Christ. Afterwards the second resurrection of all people will follow. The origin of this doctrine seems to have been with the Christians from among the Jews. It was sharply condemned by Augustine and then for a period of time not much mention was made of it, but in the days of the Reformation it revived. Luther, Zwingli and Calvin also con­demned this doctrine.

It is fitting that we make a few remarks about this doctrine:

1. This doctrine is against God's Word (see Matthew 25:31-46),
2. The defenders of the millennium expect two comings of Christ, whereas God's Word speaks of but one;
3. The chiliasts speak of a sepa­ration of believers and unbeliev­ers before the thousand years be­gin, while in several parables the Lord Jesus made it clear that this separation will take place at the end of the world (see parables of harvest and of fishes).
4. The chiliasts expect a thou­sand years without suffering and oppression for believers and then Christ will come again. The Lord Himself spoke of heavy persecu­tions and a very difficult time for God's people, a time when sin and unrighteousness will multiply, and then the Lord will suddenly appear.
5. The chiliasts base their doctrine on Revelation 20, which tells us that Satan will be bound for a thousand years. We must view this chapter in the light of that which the Lord has said before and that Revelation is an encouragement for the church that Christ will come again to take them into eternal glory. The Lord has never promised a thousand years, but rather an eternal salvation, to be always with the Lord.

But what is the meaning of the thousand years in Revelation? We must remember that the numbers in Revelation are always symbolic. For example, the seven churches of Asia-Minor, even though there were more congregations. The same can be said of the 144,000 of Israel, which is also symbolic. When John wrote of a thousand years, it means a long time and not exactly this number of years. Satan has been bound since the ascension of Christ. The angel at that time promised in the Name of the Lord that He will return once again. Before this will happen, Scripture must be ful­filled in every detail, also all the elect called from spiritual death to life. Then Christ will return, corporally and visibly, with great glory and majesty, surrounded by a great multitude of angels.

What a day that will be. Terrifying for the ungodly, but a deliverance for the church. Are we pre­pared for His coming? As the years pass by, our lives also pass by, but the world is also growing older and its end is approaching. May the Lord prepare us for that appearance before Him, which is only possible when we may take part in the merits of Christ, Whose birth we have commemorated at Christmas. May we not delay, but seek the Lord while it is yet the time of grace. When we die, the world also comes to an end for us.

This last article of our confes­sion speaks of the last day of the world – the day of judgment. It means that death is not the end of man, and this was also shown as the expectation of Job when he said, "For I know that my Redeemer liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."

In other places of God's Word we find that same expectation, but the Lord Jesus especially made this clear when He emphasized that His children should not fear them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. They must fear God, Who can destroy both soul and body. After the judgment soul and body will go to their eternal destination; "for all the dead shall be raised out of the earth, and their souls joined and united with their proper bodies, in which they formerly lived." The same body and the same spirit will be united. God's justice requires that the same body which sinned against Him will also be punished; otherwise God would not do justice to that man. It must also be the same body of God's people, since Christ merited salvation for His church and it is personally applied; it is therefore necessary that the same body which He had purchased be­comes partakers of His glory.

Some think that there will only be men then, and no women, and they base this upon Ephesians 4:13, "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the ful­ness of Christ." We do not agree with this, on the basis of what God's Word says in Matthew 22:30, "For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven." The Lord does not say that women will not exist, but that they will not be given in marriage.

The bodies which are raised, or are still alive at that time, will not need food any longer. "As for those who shall then be living, they shall not die as the others, but be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and from corruptible, become incorruptible." Christ will judge the quick and the dead, which for God's children will lead to eternal glory, but for the wicked will lead to eternal damnation. "Then the books shall be opened, that is to say the conscience." When Christ shall come to judge, all the inhabitants of the world shall see Him. What an impressive moment that will be; it is the day of reckoning.

When Christ came in the fulness of time and assumed our human nature, He was rejected, mocked, condemned and killed. God's justice now requires that Christ be restored in glory before all mankind as the true Son of God. The unbelievers will experience the terrible sin which they committed in rejecting the Son, Who was the only way of salvation; outside of Jesus no deliverance is possible. He will also deliver His people who have sighed under the persecutions of the enemy, those who have often wept and suffered because of oppression for the Name and sake of the Lord. God's people should not be too depressed, because the Lord promises that it is only for ten days, and then He, as the faithful Head of the covenant, will restore them before the eyes of the world. This is My people!

The books will be opened; this is our conscience. Some think it will take a very long time to judge all the inhabitants of the world, but when the Lord opens the conscience, they will in a moment see their whole life which was spent either in the service of Satan, or, by the grace of God, in the service of the Lord. All men must give an account of their thoughts, words and actions, and therefore the judgment will be terrible and dreadful to the wicked and ungodly. They shall become immortal, but only in order to be tormented in everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his an­gels.

This judgment will be accord­ing to the law which has been given to us and which is read every Sunday morning in church. The wicked and hypocrites will then pray to the mountains and to the hills to cover them before the Lord, but that will not be possible. With a curse in their heart they will have to confess, "God is just. I am guilty and worthy of death. Now it is too late for ever." Before then they were mocking with God's love and grace – but now salvation has become impossible. The words 'too late' will be terrible for all those who have not served the Lord in truth and uprightness.

This judgment will be terrible for the wicked, but most desirable and comfortable for the righteous and elect. They will receive the reward which the Lord has promised to the faithful servants, even though they have found themselves so unfaithful time and again. Are then the good works the ground of salvation? No, not at all; but as the fruit of faith, a good tree must bring forth good fruit. It is the fruit of God's own work in the hearts of His children. They may enter into eternal glory out of free grace. They are also sinners, but the Lord does no in­justice, because Christ has given perfect satisfaction to God's justice. He has been obedient to the law and has also suffered the punishment for the trespassing of the law for His church, which He re­ceived from the Father as wages upon His labor.

The faithful and elect shall be crowned with glory and honor; and the Son of God will confess their names before God His Father and His elect angels; all tears shall be wiped from their eyes.

At the end of this article it can be seen so clearly that the confes­sion was written in the days of persecution, in days when it was so difficult to confess the Name of the Lord. How different it is today; we live in free countries. We do not hope that persecutions will return; generally, however, they are the most fruitful times for the church. We do not know what the future will bring us, but we hope, young people, that the Lord may prepare us to meet him. We do not know whether Christ will come in this century, but many of us will die in this age, and then the world will come to an end for us. Ask the Lord that He gives us an impression of the shortness of our lives and that we may learn to count our days.

We have now come to the end of this series of articles about our confession. It is an old confession, but not old-fashioned. We hope and pray that the Lord has used or will yet use these explanations to the glory of His Name, and that among our young people a desire may be born to serve Him as the highest good.