<p>10:31 <em>It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God</em>- This may well refer to Angelic punishment at the last day, as the hands of God is Angelic language, and &quot;the living God&quot; may well carry the idea in Hebrew of 'God of the living ones', i.e. the Angel-cherubim. But God is a living God in that He is alive in our lives through His risen Son.</p><p>What is written about the toughness of God&rsquo;s condemnation may seem awful. But actually, the condemnation and judgment of God is far softer than that of man. It was men who created the concept of eternal torment, not God. It was men who created Auschwitz and similar perversions of &lsquo;judgment&rsquo;. It is truly written in the context of God&rsquo;s final condemnation that it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Heb. 10:31). But David said that he would prefer to fall into the hands of God rather than into the hands of man (2 Sam. 24:14). To fall into the hands of God is thus a figure for judgment / condemnation by Him. Fearful as it is, it is actually far milder than the judgment of men. This is how cruel our judgment of others can be; this is how awful is human condemnation of each other. It is worse that God&rsquo;s. No wonder that the Lord established &ldquo;Judge not&hellip;&rdquo; as a foundation principle for His true people.</p>