John 12:31-33
“'Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all {men} to Myself.’ This He said, signifying by what death He would die."
There have been at various times in my lifetime large catastrophic events such as hurricanes, tornadoes, plagues, earthquakes, mass murders, etc. I have often heard it said that these situations were caused by God in an effort to “judge” the wicked for their wickedness. This notion and its promulgation is directly opposed to the above statement by Jesus Christ our Lord. He emphatically stated that at that time, the time that He would be crucified would be the time that the world would be judged. What Jesus was saying is that all of the judgment from God toward the world was to take place at the cross where all sin for all time would be placed upon Him for the sake of all mankind.
The word for “judgment” in John 12:31 is the Greek word #2920- “krisis” and it means trial or judgment. It is interesting that it is synonymous with the English word “crisis”. This event, the placing of all of the wrongs committed against God by all people for all time upon the physical person of Jesus Christ the Messiah was the biggest “crisis” that has ever occurred. It was the most powerful, the most impactful, the most life changing “crisis” of all time and because He, Jesus Christ endured this “krisis” we do not have to accept any “crisis” in our lives and we certainly mustn’t call any attack of the wicked one something from God!!! The world and its ways were judged at the cross so it would be unfair of Father God to continue to judge the world prior to Jesus’ return. When Jesus returns and raptures the church, the entire presence of Jesus Christ will be completely retracted from the Earth realm and when there is no Jesus, there is no propitiation for sin. Therefore, the Lord of Hosts is justified in exhibiting wrath against sin at that time. To that end, most Christians are not aware that the first half of what is known as the Tribulation- the first 3 1/2 years are not the “wrath of God”. They are, in fact the wrath of the enemy… the last hurrah of the wicked one on mankind.
In John 12: 32, the word “men” was added by the translators and I believe it is not a correct translation. I believe based on the surrounding context, that Jesus was not saying that He would draw all men to Himself, alas all men are not saved, but rather that He would draw all judgment to Himself. He would essentially draw all judgment from the Father to Himself. God is not “judging” the wicked in these perilous times. It is essential to remember that there is a difference between knowing something will happen and causing something to happen. God knows all things, but God is not responsible for “doing” all things.
The crises that come upon the earth this side of the cross are all a result of the fall. In fact if we, as believers, as new creations will not harden our hearts but will listen to the Lord, He will tell us of things to come. If we are honest, we can recognize that every time some occurrence- whether personal or global- was about to happen, God warned us or at least told us about it. It is up to us to respond.
Hear what the Spirit of the Lord says today and do not harden your heart…… God laid all of His judgment on Jesus Christ so that we are not subject to judgment now. Remember that Jesus told us that these things would come as birth pangs but the end is not yet.
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