“From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.”
In this brief article of the creed, the oft over-complicated doctrine of eschatology (i.e., matters related to the end-times) is addressed.
Eschatology only appears complicated because most Americans subscribe to a convoluted scheme that was invented by a couple theologians in the nineteenth-century and then popularized by fiction books in the twentieth. The Bible, on the other hand, presents a relatively simple sequence of end-times events:
Jesus will appear on clouds of glory in so conspicuous a manner that every eye will see him, even they who pierced him (Rev. 1:7). This will be possible because every person who ever lived will be raised from the dead to stand before the tribunal of Christ (John 5:25-29, Rev. 20:13).
Those who believed the gospel will be acquitted and welcomed into the new heavens and new earth, where they shall experience inexpressible bliss in the presence of God and the elect angels (2 Peter 3:13, Rev. 21).
The who rejected the gospel will be cast into eternal torments, be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and be tormented by God in body and soul forever (2 Thess. 1:7-10).
Confess these truths today and comfort one another with these words. Also, be wary of those who unnecessarily complicate our blessed hope as Christians.