Judas Iscariot, A Son of Perdition?

One of the interesting and unanswerable questions that is discussed periodically by church members concerns the topic of whether Judas Iscariot eventually will be judged to be a son of perdition or not. This writing comes by way of preparation for the almost inevitable discussions to occur in many if not most church units as we study the New Testament during 2011. In this as with so many matters concerning God’s actions, it would be wise for us not to rush to judgment.

Matthew reports the following exchange during the course of the “last supper.” “And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said” (Matthew 26:21-25). During His ministry, the Lord referred to Judas as being a devil (John 6:70). In His intercessory prayer to His Father, the Savior referred to Judas as “the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled” (John 17:12). In this dispensation, the Lord revealed to the Prophet Joseph Smith that through His atonement “all might be saved whom the Father had put into his power and made by him; . . . except those sons of perdition who deny the Son after the Father has revealed him” (Doctrine and Covenants 76:41-48). However, does this information really tell us what Judas’s circumstances will be in the eternities?

While we actually know nothing of what was in Judas’s heart or head, that has not stopped some from speculating on this matter. Some years ago, I read concerning Judas’s motivation in a work written by an Anglican minister who lived in the nineteenth century. While his views are interesting in light of what we do know of Judas’s nature and of his position among the Twelve, we are still left wanting as to how he could justify to himself the traitorous bargain he concluded with the Lord’s enemies. “The entry to Jerusalem had kindled his [Judas’s] hopes, after many chagrins and disappointments, for the popular excitement promised to force on Jesus the part of a National Messiah. But, blind, to His own interest, as Judas must have thought Him, He had thrown away the splendid opportunity. Instead of allying Himself with the dignitaries of Judaism, and inaugurating a mighty Jewish uprising, with high priests and chief Rabbis as His supporters, He had assailed both Temple and School, and proceeded to open rupture with them. Instead of a crown, He had spoken of a cross; instead of honours for His followers, He had foretold persecutions and martyrdom. . . . If ruin were certain, he would profit, if he could, before all was over. If Jesus must fall into the hands of His enemies, he might as well get money by what was unavoidable. Had not He, argued the diseased spirit, disappointed him; led him about, for years, in hopes of gain in the end; and had He not, now, told him that the only inheritance he could expect was poverty and suffering? He would go to the chief priests, and see what could be done” (Cunningham Geikie, The Life and Words of Christ, 1896, p. 433).

In what sense was Judas Iscariot a son of perdition? After multiple readings of Jesus The Christ, this writer is left with the distinct impression that James E. Talmage believed Judas was a son of perdition in the eternal sense. Of course, I may be in error. The relevant discussion is found on pages 649 through 651 of his outstanding effort.

Other Latter-day Saint writers do not judge Judas with such finality. In 1918, the President of the Church, Joseph F. Smith, said, “No man can sin against light until he has it; nor against the Holy Ghost, until after he has received it by the gift of God through the appointed channel or way. To sin against the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of Truth, the Comforter, the Witness of the Father and the Son, wilfully[sic] denying him and defying him, after having received him, constitutes this sin. Did Judas possess this light, this witness, this Comforter, the baptism of fire and the Holy Ghost, this endowment from on high? If he did, he received it before the betrayal, and therefore before the other eleven apostles. And if this be so, you may say, ‘he is a son of perdition without hope.’ But if he was destitute of this glorious gift and outpouring of the Spirit, by which the witness came to the eleven, and their minds were opened to see and know the truth, and they were able to testify of him, then what constituted the unpardonable sin of this poor, erring creature, who rose no higher in the scale of intelligence, honor or ambition than to betray the Lord of glory for thirty pieces of silver? But not knowing that Judas did commit the unpardonable sin; nor that he was a ‘son of perdition without hope’ who will die the second death, nor what knowledge he possessed by which he was able to commit so great a sin, I prefer, until I know better, to take the merciful view that he may be numbered among those for whom the blessed Master prayed, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do’ ” (Gospel Doctrine, 434-435).

Some members who think of themselves as liberal thinkers in gospel matters may find it interesting to note that Elder Bruce R. McConkie, who is still widely recognized for his understanding of the gospel and his rather strict interpretation of the scriptures by particularly those members of the more mainstream or conservative alignments, concluded that Judas “was probably not a son of perdition in the sense of one who is damned forever, but in the sense that he was a son or follower of Satan in this life” (Doctrinal New Testament Commentary 1:765).

I believe that President Joseph F. Smith’s reasoned and merciful statement concerning Judas’s eventual fate should be our approach in discussions stemming from our study of the New Testament this year.