Four words have made a difference in my grief:
we will judge angels
They are found in a verse that I never noticed before. “Do you not know that we will judge angels?” 1 Corinthians 6:3
Before my new grief-life, I would have skimmed over this verse and thought, “okay, whatever” But post-Tristan, the whole idea of this verse has lightened my load.
We talk a lot about how our suffering will finally end in heaven. But our suffering is not simply forgotten. It is not swept under the rug and answered with good things as if that would make up for it. No, any evil forces involved in our suffering will be JUDGED.
What does it mean to “judge angels”? There are three ways to look at it. It could mean we will “rule” over good angels in heaven. It could mean we will be involved with the judging of evil angels. Or, it could mean that in ruling over angels we will also judge them. The original language allows for any of these choices.
I hope we will judge the evil angels. Here’s why:
Evil angels delight in ruining those made in God’s image. They delight in sickness that mars and kills, like cancer, and mental illness that causes anguish of the soul that ends in death. Ephesians describes a whole list of forces on the evil side:
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. –Ephesians 6:12
Whatever “cosmic powers over this present darkness” that were part of Tristan’s death, they will one day be judged. This will happen.
God is THE Judge, completely righteous in all His rulings, so we can be certain a full punishment will be given to these evil forces. Isn’t it fitting that we may get to take part? I want to testify, alongside my son, in a heavenly courtroom. I hope there is a gavel. I hope each parent will get to pronounce their sentence and bang the gavel with a resounding echo throughout the judgment chamber.
We are familiar with court cases on earth where a guilty verdict and a fitting punishment can bring closure to a hurting family. But in our case, the person that died will be standing there testifying in their resurrected body and maybe THEY will get to bang down the gavel with the verdict, “GUILTY!”.
Somehow, this takes away some of the powerlessness I feel about how much my poor boy suffered. One day, He will face his spiritual tormentors and justice will be served!
This is why it’s important that God is not just a God of Love, but also a God of Justice. This is why we are so thankful that justice was met when Jesus died for us and we don’t have to pay on the day of judgment. We, with our children, sit in the righteousness of God, covered by Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
Integral to that justice is seeing the evil forces banished forever in hell. We will never, ever, think of them again. We will be ushered into our New Earth to live the way we were always meant to be. Glorified!! Together! Forever!
Dear God, I was always glad for our future forever happiness, but I didn’t know until today how it felt a little bit off because I was missing an important piece. Thank you for showing me that You are a God of vengeance and all the wrong done to Tristan will be paid for. You will hold those evil forces accountable and we will be satisfied with Your perfect ruling on their destruction. And it also makes me feel so thankful that You have removed our sin from us as far as the east is from the west. Thank you for paying that costly price just for us. We have inherited the right to sit blameless in that courtroom in the name of the One who bore it all, Jesus, our Lord, amen.
