Walk
339. Judgment and the Second Coming of
Christ
People are more accountable for what is INSPECTED than what
is EXPECTED.
When you send a child to go do a task, is it wise to ask
him to return and show you how he finished it? Or do you think it would be wise to ask this young child to
go do the task and tell him that you will never check to see how he has done?
God is a judge.
He will call every person, every deed and every word into
accountability, and He will grant reward or lack thereof based upon the facts.
“Far be it from You to do such a thing as this, to slay the
righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous should be as the wicked; far
be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis
18:25).
“Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what
they deserve” (Psalm 94:2).
“…before the LORD; for He is coming, for He is coming to
judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the people
with His truth” (Psalm 96:13).
“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the
general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God
the Judge of all, to the spirits of
just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the
blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel” (Hebrews
12:22-24).
Here in this verse of Hebrews 12:22-24, God is shown
as Judge. However, if
that is all that He is we have much to fear. The Word shows us that God the Judge is also Jesus the
Mediator. He is the only One who
can come between a righteous and holy God and lost sinful men. Notice also in this passage of Hebrews
that there is a revelation of the blood of Jesus being both the means and the
price by which reconciliation has been achieved.
“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some
count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).
Judgment has been transferred from the Father to the
Son.
“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all
judgment to the Son, that all should honor the Son just as they honor the
Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him”
(John 5:22-23).
The subject of judgment can be very lengthy and we will only attempt to cover what many consider to be
the two main judgments here. In
respect to these judgments we will only attempt to cover them in outline and
not in detail.
Reference is made to “Throne of
(Christ’s) glory”. We will not
cover this judgment in this book (Matthew 25:31, Matthew 19:28).
1. Judgment of
believers. In
the first judgment, the seat upon which the Judge will be seated is the
Judgment Seat of Christ. Those to
be judged here will be Christ’s own followers and servants. We will cover the future and the
present applications of this judgment.
2. Judgment of
unbelievers. The
second judgment seat is called the “Great White Throne”. Believers in Christ will escape this
judgment because their names are written in the “Lamb’s Book of Life.”
We recommend the book “The Spirit-Filled Believer’s
Handbook” by Derek Prince, chapters 48-52 for a more complete study on the
subject of judgment. [1]
1A. Judgment of believers: The Judgment Seat of Christ (future).
2 Corinthians 5:10 says, “For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” Notice this does not say anything but good or bad, there is
no in-between.
This judgment is not for condemnation, but for reward. I believe that if we knew more about
this judgment, we would live our lives differently. Have you ever watched an Olympic event and seen the
“judgment” at the end? The fastest
runner was judged first, and given a Gold Medal; second place was judged
Silver, etc.
I don’t think any of us know everything there is to know
about Heaven, eternity, and the afterlife. As for me, I don’t want to waste this life and forfeit
something that will go on for eternity!
We are told that there will be a test of fire. 1
Corinthians 3:11-15 says, “For no other foundation
can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if
anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each
one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be
revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. If anyone’s
work which he has built on it endures,
he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he
himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
It seems like most of the time the rewards are defined as
obtaining more authority and becoming closer to Jesus.
1B. Judgment of believers: The Judgment Seat of Christ (present).
There is also a present day judgment for believers.
I believe that we are all in a continuing process as
follows:
a. Jesus sows the seed of the
Word of God in our life for a need that He wants to meet.
b. Satan tries to steal the seed,
and/or make the growth of it unfruitful.
Mark chapter 4.
c. We go through the trying
of our faith during a period of time.
d. Jesus comes back to deliver us
and bring our “judgment”.
When He comes to bring us what was promised, will He find
us faithful and standing in faith?
If so, we win; if not, we loose.
Our faith will be tested by fire. 1 Peter 1:7 says,
“that the genuineness of your faith, being much more
precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to
praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Are you standing for a healing, for a financial situation,
a family situation, as an intercessor for someone, for more godly character, or
whatever? Jesus returns for
“judgment,” for reward, now, while you are still living on this earth. Psalm 96:13 says, “…before the LORD;
for He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, and the
people with His truth.”
Jesus tells His disciples about a judgment that will
take place here and now on this earth.
Matthew
16:26-28 says, “For what profit is it to a man if
he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in
exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father
with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. Assuredly, I say to you, there are some standing here who
shall not taste death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”
I submit that one could take many of the judgment
Scriptures having to do with believers in the New Testament, and apply them
both to the judgment we will receive when we get to Heaven and to these present
day circumstances. If you don’t
agree with me, that’s okay. That
is just my opinion, and in fact, has been my experience. But I do not wish to
step on your theological toes in this matter.
2. Judgment of unbelievers.
The following is a quote from “The Spirit-Filled Believer’s Handbook” by Derek Prince,
pages 513-515. [2]
(Revelation 20:11-15) “Then I saw a great white throne and
him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was
no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the
throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of
life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the
books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up
the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had
done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire
is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of
life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
This is the ultimate end of
all sin and rebellion against the authority and holiness of almighty God; to be
cast forever into the lake of everlasting fire. Only those whose names are written in the Book of Life will
escape this final judgment. The
names recorded in this book are those who during their life on earth availed
themselves, through faith, of God’s mercy and grace. These fall into various categories.
All those who put their
faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice on behalf of mankind will already have been
resurrected at the commencement of the millennium. They will have passed through their own appropriate judgment
before the judgment seat of Christ, not for condemnation, but to assess their
reward.
It seems certain that the
majority of those who appear before the great white throne will not have
fulfilled the conditions for receiving God’s mercy and will therefore be
condemned to the lake of fire.
Nevertheless, as was pointed out in chapter 46, there will definitely be
at least two categories of people before the great white throne who will escape
condemnation and enter into eternal life.
The first category will
consist of people such as the queen of the South and the men of Nineveh, who
availed themselves of the mercy which God offered to them in one brief but
decisive revelation of Himself.
Scripture does not indicate how may others there may have been in the
course of history who were given a similar opportunity.
The second category will
consist of all those who died in faith during the millennium.
Can we anticipate that
there will be others to whom God will extend mercy from His great white
throne? The answer to this is
locked up within the omniscience of God.
For us, with our limited knowledge and narrow perspective, it is foolish
to speculate.
Let us rather adapt the
attitude expressed by Abraham.
(Genesis 18:25) “ Far be it
from you to do such a thing – to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating
the righteous and the wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the Judge of
all the earth do right?”
Those who have tasted God’s
measureless mercy are assured that He will never withhold His mercy from any
who qualify for it. Let us beware,
however, of assuming that we can every fully comprehend all that is included in
the outworking of God’s judgments.
(Romans 11:33) “Oh, the
depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his
judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!”
There is one final thing to remember about judgment
of unbelievers. The wrath of God was put on Jesus as
the final judgment of sin. The
choice is really yours to accept or reject God’s free gift of salvation. The only safe place to be is to be sure
that you have been born-again.
That is when your name is listed in the “Lamb’s Book of Life.”
One final thing to remember about the judgment of
believers is that God is seeking ways
of rewarding you, not of condemning you.
Purpose to live your life on earth in obedience to the Lord’s voice and
in total abandonment to Him so that you will receive all the possible rewards
for eternity.
The Second Coming
Another aspect of judgment is the Second Coming of Jesus
Christ to this earth. We will not
give a complete teaching on the subject here, but the Bible is VERY clear. He is coming again. The Lord purposely does not give us
very much detail about when He is coming again. Notice in Acts 1:7, Jesus in effect tells His disciples just
before He ascends back into Heaven, “None of your business when I am coming
back, you concentrate on being My witnesses” [author’s paraphrase].
He came the first time as our suffering Saviour, our
substitute, our Lamb to take away our sin. The second time He comes, He is coming as King, to set up
His Kingdom.
The Old and New Testaments are filled with Scriptures on
the Second Coming of Jesus to this earth.
Here are just a few.
“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning
those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For
if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him
those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that
we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede
those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the
dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And
thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these
words” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).
“So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait
for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation” (Hebrews
9:28).
“And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He
appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming” (1
John 2:28).
“Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet
been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall
be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is”(1 John 3:2).
“…who also said, ‘Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing
up into heaven? This same Jesus, who
was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him
go into heaven’”(Acts 1:11).
“Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God,
believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so,
I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you
may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know”(John 14:1-4).
“knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last
days, walking according to their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise
of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of creation.’ For this they willfully forget: that by
the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water
and in the water, by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded
with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same
word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly
men. But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is
as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack
concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward
us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens
will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent
heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up. Therefore,
since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to
be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the
day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and
the elements will melt with fervent heat? Nevertheless we, according to His
promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by
Him in peace, without spot and blameless” (2 Peter 3:3-14).
However or whenever He comes back, or if you meet Him when
your body dies, makes little difference.
Your theology on end times really does not matter, expect for one
thing. He is coming! You will meet Him eye to eye; you will meet Him as
judge. You need to be ready!
We need to keep Jesus’ perspective in mind.
He is anxiously waiting to receive His Bride, the
Church. In Jewish tradition the son
prepared the wedding house on his father’s property, working on it constantly
in anticipation of the wedding day.
The father would continually inspect the house to see when it was ready. Also, in the Jewish tradition there was
no wedding date set. The bride had
to be ready all the time. Matthew
25:10 says, “And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who
were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.”
“‘And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with
Me, to give to every one according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ Blessed are those who do
His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may
enter through the gates into the city. But outside are dogs and sorcerers and
sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a
lie. ‘I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the
churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning
Star.’ And the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say,
‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water
of life freely” (Revelation 22:12-17).
Our story starts with a curse due to man’s disobedience.
“…Cursed is the ground for your sake;
In toil you shall eat of it All the
days of your life” (Genesis 3:17b).
Our story ends with the Lamb taking our curse so we could
be blessed. “And there shall be no
more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His
servants shall serve Him” (Revelation 22:3).
Amen!
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