Our Eternal Destiny

by Chris Simmons

Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:9, “For God has not destined us for wrath, but for obtaining salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.” How is it that God has “destined” us? The word “destined” comes from the Greek word “tithemi” which literally means “to put, set or place.” We see in the New Testament that this word is used to define a destiny or an appointing that is based on decisions that we individually make. For example, we read in Acts 20:28, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made (‘tithemi’) you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” These men who were “overseers” of the church in Ephesus were “made” (i.e., appointed, destined) so by the Holy Spirit because of the decisions they each had made in their lives that enabled them to meet the qualifications of an elder or overseer as set forth in I Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:5-10. In like manner, Luke writes that those who choose to act wickedly and reject Jesus and not prepare themselves for His coming will be “assigned” (destined or appointed) “a place with the unbelievers” (Luke 12:46). Our choices will determine our destiny.

We need to clearly understand and soberly reflect upon the fact that our spiritual destiny is an eternal one. The scriptures teach that every person will be judged. Paul wrote in II Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” We are told in that passage that at the time of the judgment each one of us will be “recompensed” or rewarded for the lives that we have led, whether good or bad. The passage quoted earlier from 1 Thessalonians tells us that our choice is a destiny of “wrath” or “salvation” at the time of the judgment. What we need to soberly consider is that the outcome of this judgment is eternal. Human judgments, in our courts of law, may bear consequences of a few months, a few years or even the rest of one’s human life, but none the less, there is an end to the appointment for punishment made by the judge. The appointment of the soul of man to his eternal destiny is eternal and will never end, whether it be heaven or hell. We read in Hebrews 6:1-2, “Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of instruction about washings, and laying on of hands, and the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.” This teaches us, not that the day of judgment will last forever, but rather that the consequences of the judgment will continue forever. We need to carefully meditate on the two possible outcomes of that day of judgment.

Eternal Punishment

It is described as an “eternal destruction.” Paul writes in II Thessalonians 1:6-10, “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. And these will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed – for our testimony to you was believed.”

It is described in scripture as being kept in eternal bonds and enduring an eternal fire. Jude 5-7, “Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.”

It is an eternal separation from God. We read in Luke 16:10-31 of the rich man who was in agony in Hades looking upon Lazarus in Abraham’s bosom, seeking relief from the torment, and being reminded, “and besides all this, between us and you there is a great chasm fixed, in order that those who wish to come over from here to you may not be able, and that none may cross over from there to us” (verse 26). The rich man was eternally separated from God, even as we were reminded in II Thessalonians 1:9 that the “eternal destruction” will be meted out “away from the presence of the Lord”.

Eternal Reward

Paul describes the eternal reward as an “eternal weight of glory.” “For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (II Corinthians 4:17-18). Paul writes to Timothy about this “glory” in II Timothy 2:10 as something that is worthy of any degree of suffering or persecution, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (Cf., Romans 8:18).

Peter describes it as a reward which is “imperishable”, “undefiled” and “will not fade away” (I Peter 1:3-4). “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you.”

It is the opportunity to be part of the “eternal kingdom”, which will never be destroyed (II Peter 1:11). It is life which will not end, eternal life (cf., John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; Romans 2:7; 6:22-23; Titus 1:2; I John 5:11-13). Would we also, with an honest heart, ask the question we read in Mark 10:17, “good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Your eternal destiny depends on what you do with the answer to that question.