by jimwalton » Sat Dec 26, 2015 9:37 pm
To answer your question directly, there's every reason to believe Judas is in hell. The prophecies pertain to the sequence of events as God knew they were going to unfold, but that doesn't mean God made Judas do that. Knowledge is different than causality. Judas made his own choices from his own free will and not under the constraint of God.
There is evidence that Judas had never really submitted his life to Christ or was a true follower. He was a betrayer long before Jesus' Passion. We know that Judas skimmed off the money purse, betraying his own discipleship group (Jn. 12.6). God didn’t force Judas to do what he did, Judas chose it.
Jesus had repeatedly tried to persuade him not to do what Judas had chosen to do. Jesus had empowered Judas to do miraculous things, along with the other disciples (Mt. 10.1-4). That should have had some effect on Judas, but it apparently didn't. Jesus appealed to Judas over and over to turn away from what he was going to do, especially at the Last Supper, washing his feet and dipping the sup with him (an act of friendship). Judas had every opportunity to turn, to exercise his free will to do what was right and be godly. But he didn’t.
In contrast, look at Peter. There was also a prophecy that Peter would deny, and that Peter would fall away, and what Jesus said about that was, "Satan wants to sift you like wheat, but I will pray for you." In other words, Peter had the same choice. Peter chose what Judas could have: Peter chose to turn back. Judas never made that choice.
Read Jeremiah 18.1-12 (esp. vv. 6-10). Many prophecies are not set in stone, but are still dependent on the choices of the people involved. In that sense a prophecy is more like a class syllabus than a prediction. The syllabus for a course doesn’t "predict" what will happen in each class period of the term, but presents the instructor's plans and intentions for each period. The significance of the document is that the instructor is in a position to carry it out. Likewise, when a judge passes a sentence on a convicted criminal, he is not "predicting" what will happen to that person. Rather, he is decreeing what ought to be done and is in a position to see that it is done. In prophecy, God is declaring his intentions, but the persons involved are always acting in free will.
The conclusion is that Judas was acting willfully, not robotically determined by God. Judas was acting on his own recognizance, motivated by Satan (Lk. 22.3), not determined by God. Read Romans 9.14-33. Even those who are evil, ignorant, misshapen, and rebellious have a chance, through their own free will, to turn to the Lord and be remade as new creations. Judas didn't choose that, and so is fully responsible and accountable for his decisions and actions.
To answer your question directly, there's every reason to believe Judas is in hell. The prophecies pertain to the sequence of events as God knew they were going to unfold, but that doesn't mean God made Judas do that. Knowledge is different than causality. Judas made his own choices from his own free will and not under the constraint of God.
There is evidence that Judas had never really submitted his life to Christ or was a true follower. He was a betrayer long before Jesus' Passion. We know that Judas skimmed off the money purse, betraying his own discipleship group (Jn. 12.6). God didn’t force Judas to do what he did, Judas chose it.
Jesus had repeatedly tried to persuade him not to do what Judas had chosen to do. Jesus had empowered Judas to do miraculous things, along with the other disciples (Mt. 10.1-4). That should have had some effect on Judas, but it apparently didn't. Jesus appealed to Judas over and over to turn away from what he was going to do, especially at the Last Supper, washing his feet and dipping the sup with him (an act of friendship). Judas had every opportunity to turn, to exercise his free will to do what was right and be godly. But he didn’t.
In contrast, look at Peter. There was also a prophecy that Peter would deny, and that Peter would fall away, and what Jesus said about that was, "Satan wants to sift you like wheat, but I will pray for you." In other words, Peter had the same choice. Peter chose what Judas could have: Peter chose to turn back. Judas never made that choice.
Read Jeremiah 18.1-12 (esp. vv. 6-10). Many prophecies are not set in stone, but are still dependent on the choices of the people involved. In that sense a prophecy is more like a class syllabus than a prediction. The syllabus for a course doesn’t "predict" what will happen in each class period of the term, but presents the instructor's plans and intentions for each period. The significance of the document is that the instructor is in a position to carry it out. Likewise, when a judge passes a sentence on a convicted criminal, he is not "predicting" what will happen to that person. Rather, he is decreeing what ought to be done and is in a position to see that it is done. In prophecy, God is declaring his intentions, but the persons involved are always acting in free will.
The conclusion is that Judas was acting willfully, not robotically determined by God. Judas was acting on his own recognizance, motivated by Satan (Lk. 22.3), not determined by God. Read Romans 9.14-33. Even those who are evil, ignorant, misshapen, and rebellious have a chance, through their own free will, to turn to the Lord and be remade as new creations. Judas didn't choose that, and so is fully responsible and accountable for his decisions and actions.