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Christian Chronicles, August, 2005 - Volume 7, Issue 115

The Editor's Pen

Judgment day: As the hip generation used to say in the sixties and seventies, “Different strokes for different folks.” Many devoted Christians are surprisingly uneducated concerning the various judgments revealed in the Scriptures. Most nominal Christians suppose that God is in heaven, awaiting the day when the whole human race will come before Him, and the sinners will be cast into hell and the righteous will get to go to heaven. The problem with that is that the Apostle Paul tells us that there are none righteous. If the majority view is correct, then according to Paul, no one will get into heaven. Fortunately, that view is incorrect. The Bible describes at least seven different judgments, most occuring at different times, some separated by centuries, and all concerning different people or groups of people. It is important for Christians to understand the differences between the judgments, not only for their own edification, but so that they may be clear in their ministries to the lost and their education of other Christians.

The August issue of Christian Chronicles will break these seven judgments down and explain who or what is being judged in each, and what the possible results of the judgments are and when they each occur. There are only three kinds of people in the world, Jews, Gentiles and Christians, and each kind faces a different judgment. Today, however, Jews and Gentiles alike are judged on the basis of their acceptance or rejection of the Gospel. Christians are those who have heard, understood and accepted by faith that which the Bible declares to be true. Sin is only an issue in a tangential way. The full judgment has already been executed for every sin that has ever been or ever will be committed. The issue today is faith in Christ crucified.

Perspectives

Let the heavens declare
His righteousness,
For God Himself
is Judge
(Ps 50:6)

“Come Judgment Day…” That is how many admonitions begin. “Come Judgment Day, you’ll be sorry you ________(fill in the blank)…” “Judgment Day” has come to indicate some vague point in the eternally distant future when God is going to drag every one of us from our graves and review every sin we ever committed in this earthly walk. Those who have sinned grievously go to hell and those who were just average folks, to heaven. There is indeed that judgment day, but it is not the only judgment day. Nor does it apply universally to all men. There are several other judgment days that pertain to those not judged at the great white throne. Neither are there any who sinned only slightly who will merit heaven.

There is a judgment day, but it is a different day for different groups of people. There is not a single “Judgment Day” that applies to every human being. For millennia, there was only one group of people on the earth, the descendants of Adam and his many offspring. The great “River Humanity” flowed in a single channel. Then God called Abram out and set him apart for His own use and purposes. Abram became a sort of tributary, drawn off from the main stream, and thereafter there were two channels through which flowed the human spirit. One was of the earth, earthy, and the other was a heavenly people, called by God: Abraham and his descendants, through Isaac and Jacob. They did not differ from their barbaric counterparts among humanity, but they were God’s own people. They still are.

Then, two thousand years ago, the Spirit of God descended upon a chosen few in the upper room in Jerusalem, and a third channel of humanity opened. A new form of human being emerged, one that had the indwelling Spirit of God. Those who received the Holy Spirit at Pentecost became separate, even from the Jews and the Gentiles. Whereas, when God called Abram, there was no essential change in the human nature, at Pentecost, a new living organism came into being. It became the third sort of human being, regenerated saints, Christians, born of the very seed of God (1 Jn 3:9).

Each of these three groups lives on the earth today. There are Jews, Gentiles and Christians. Everybody is one of those three. A person cannot be found in two or three groups, but only in one. A Jew is not a Christian. Neither is he a Gentile. He is distinct from both. The Christian is not a Jew. Neither is he a Gentile. When a Jew is saved, he ceases to be a Jew; he becomes a Christian. Gentiles have no relationship with God. They are wholly worldly in their view of life, seeking to satisfy temporal lusts, without reference to God. The only reference to God among Gentiles is that He is some stern Judge, sitting in heaven gleefully awaiting the day when He can cast them into hell. Gentiles are unsaved persons, but are not Jews. When a Gentile is saved, he ceases to be a Gentile, and becomes a Christian.

Each of these three groups has a different judgment day. At the same time, they all revolve around the same Judgment Day: that one in which our Lord was crucified. That was the day that the full penalty of judgment was executed upon sin. God judged Humanity, found it guilty of sin, and executed the full extent of punishment upon Himself. The Gentiles who are alive today, along with the Jews, will be judged, not for their sins, but for their unbelief in such astoundingly good news as the gospel of grace. Their sins have already been paid for, but they must appropriate that payment unto themselves through faith. Christians know and understand and accept this. Gentiles and Jews reject the sacrifice of Christ, and will face the awful judgment of God.

We are in a very special time in world history. For the brief span of two thousand years, two days, if you will; God has dealt with Jew and Gentile alike, offering salvation freely to all who will accept it. But each still has his separate judgment day. Soon, there will be only two groups of people on the earth, for at the rapture, Christians will be “recalled.” There will be Jews and Gentiles. Jews will be saved by acknowledging that Jesus is coming soon to become their Savior and their King. Gentiles will be judged at the Second Coming of Christ, based upon their attitude toward and treatment of the Jews.

Christians have a judgment day also. It is the Day of our reward, the Day of our joy, the Day of our righteousness. We shall stand before Jesus in the flesh and receive from His hand the treasures we have laid up in our lives, our reward for service to Him. Some will suffer much loss in that Day, but it is not too late to begin working for our Father in the harvest of souls. The wheat shall be separated from the chaff, and the sheep from the goat, but the Christian has a glorious judgment to eagerly watch for.

Middle East Update

“We are telling the entire world: Today Gaza! Tomorrow an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem as its capital!” That's what Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei said on July 28 in Gaza. The Muslim apologists, aided by our mainstream media, insist on painting Christians and Jews as the "bad guys" in the history of the Middle East. We never read about the Muslim/Arab sacking of Christian Rome in 846. There's silence about the Muslim armies, before and after the Crusades, that "burned and pillaged Christian towns all the way from Budapest to Bordeaux, or how lands from Tunisia to Turkey used to be Christian," as documented in the writings of Yaroslav Trofimov (Faith At War).
“Moreover, in the 20th Century, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem sided with Hitler against Jews and Christians. Arabs slaughtered religious Jews in Hebron and Jerusalem, Arabs destroyed ancient religious sites when they conquered a portion of Jerusalem in 1948, Arafat and his cohorts attempted to destroy ancient artifacts that proved a Jewish presence on the Temple Mount, and (until the 1967 unification of Jerusalem) Jews and Christians were denied access to our Holy places.

“When Bill Clinton offered Arafat a portion of Jerusalem, One Jerusalem organized the largest rally in Israel's history to protest. 400,000 Christians and Jews gathered before the walls of the Old City to tell the world Jerusalem must remain free and open under the State of Israel.

“At this troubled time, when there is pressure on Israel to abandon Biblical lands and when the terrorists are demanding Jerusalem as their capital, we must do all we can to protect our Holy City.”

(The above is quoted from the “One Jerusalem” newsletter of August 4, 2005).

Christians around the world must realize that there is a method in the Middle East madness. It is a certainty that politicians and business interests understand what the Palestinians are doing. But their concerns have nothing to do with Biblical positions. World leaders simply want the violence to end, because business and industry see a vast untapped marketplace, with hordes of workers that can be exploited profitably.

And what is it that the Palestinians are up to? All that is necessary is to listen to their speeches. But which speeches specifically? Well, if you listen to what the Palestinian Authority has to say to Israel, you would think that they were most sincere in their efforts to curb violence and live peaceably with their Jewish neighbors. But if you listen to the speeches and declarations to the Palestinian masses, you hear an altogether different message.

Diplomats dismiss the inflammatory remarks like the one by Qurei as nothing more than appeasement of the harsher elements in that society. “Oh that. That is just for public consumption,” they will tell you. But make no mistake about it, the aim of the Palestinians is not discovered in what they tell Israel and the rest of the world. The aim of the Palestinians is the same today as it was in 1948. While they speak publicly about peace and neighborliness, the ancient animosity lies burning at the core of their collective heart. They want the Jews out of Jerusalem, and out of the Middle East.

When Israel and the Palestinians finally arrive at a treaty that both feel they can live with, there will probably be a brief period of calm. It will not last. There is a radical element among the Palestinians that will not be silenced simply because a government that they neither respect nor obey has signed a piece of paper. There are other peoples in the region who will spur the radicals into violence against Israel; perhaps greater violence than has yet been witnessed. The difference will be that Palestine will then have internationally recognized borders, and if Israel retaliates, the world will quickly call on her to cease whatever military reprisals she launches.

All along, Israel has borne the brunt of the world’s disapproval when she has struck back against those who bomb her people. The difference is that Palestine will be considered a sovereign state, but will never be held accountable for the actions of the violent fringe groups that move freely within its borders. And as they now do, Palestine will harbor and protect the militants.

Fruit of the Vine

It is fear of judgment that makes the lost flee from God and from His saints. They have heard only that He will cast into hell those who have sinned. They know that they are sinners, and they hide from God, just as Adam and Eve did so many millennia ago. They hide from the light because their deeds are evil.

In witnessing to the lost, one need not bring judgment and condemnation to them, but what every lost person needs to hear is what is meant by the phrase, “Jesus died for your sins.” They need to learn of God’s grace; they already know more than they want to know about His judgment. And what they know of His judgment, they do not rightly understand. The unsaved already know that they are naked before God; again, just as Adam and Eve did. If you go to them shouting condemnation, they will merely flee. If you would see them saved, it must ever be with the goodness of God. They must understand that God loves even them so much that He sent His only Son to die in their stead. They need to understand that His blood paid the full price for their redemption, and that God loves them still as much as He loved them then. Rather than being more heavily laden with sin, their burden must be made light. It is the refreshing that comes from the living Spirit of God that saves. It is that living water of which Jesus spoke to the woman at the well that must be given to souls athirst for God if they are ever going to be saved.

The Sheep and the Goats - OMM

"But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne" (Mat 25:31). Here, the Lord Jesus, on the Mt. of Olives, sheds light on a judgment that is to take place after the Great Tribulation, at His Second Coming, before He sets up His Millennial Kingdom (Mat 24:29-31). The word But draws distinction between the two parables preceding, which are judgments of the people of Israel. The judgment described here is clearly not for Israel.

"All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Mat 25:32). The Lord gathers those to be judged: All the Nations (pas ethnos—all Gentiles; kol hagoyim). These are the Gentiles who survive the Tribulation and are alive at the Lord’s coming. "All the nations" or Gentiles are in question: there can be no mistake as to this.” William Kelly

C.I. Scofield writes, “This judgment is to be distinguished from the judgment of the great white throne. Here there is no resurrection; the persons judged are living nations; no books are opened; three classes are present, sheep, goats, and brethren; the time is at the return of Christ; and the scene is on the earth. All these particulars are in contrast with Revelation 20:11-15.”

“...and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left” (Mat 25:33). The right hand (“Benjamin”) exalts the lesser to a position of honor (cp. also Heb 7:7).

"Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world’” (Mat 25:34). Please note these are blessed with temporal, earthly blessing “from” the foundation of the world. The heavenly body of Christ (the Church) has been chosen “before” the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4, 1 Pet 1:20).

“For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me” (Mat 25:35-36). The Lord here, as always, seeks proof of the faithfulness of people by their response to the message of revelation sent by His messengers.

During the last 3 ½ years before the Lord’s coming, heralds will preach the message known as the Gospel of the Kingdom. These messengers are 144,000 Jews, 12,000 from each tribe (Mat 24:14, Rev. 7:4, 14:1). Their message will be the same message the our Lord preached consistently until His rejection in the twelfth chapter of Matthew: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!” (Mt 4:17).

J.N. Darby writes, “I believe the brethren here to be Jews, His disciples as Jews, whom He had employed as His messengers, to preach the kingdom during His absence. The gospel of the kingdom was to be preached as a testimony to all nations; and then the end of the age should come. At the time here spoken of, this has been done. The result should be manifested before the throne of the Son of man on earth. He calls these messengers therefore His brethren.”

"Then the righteous will answer Him, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?' The King will answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me’” (Mat 25:37-40).

Reception or rejection of the messenger is equivalent to honoring or disregarding the One who sent him. This principle is illustrated by the first sending out of the disciples of Christ:

"Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city” (Mat 10:14-15 ). Also, “He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward” (Mat 10:40-42).

Therefore, the test of the faith of the Tribulation-era Gentiles, and the outcome, eternal life or damnation, is their reception and treatment of the Messiah’s “brethren” which are the obedient remnant of Israel who also survive the tribulation.

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me?’ Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mat 25:41-46).

For all who read this article today, however, you will be judged by your response to this statement: “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

The Seven Judgments

Aside from the separate judgments of the Jews and the Gentiles and the saints, there are four other judgments. The seven judgments under discussion are: 1) Calvary — The Judgment of Sin, 2) The Believer’s Self-Judgment, 3) The Judgment Seat of Christ, 4) Gentiles Judged at the Second Coming of the Lord, 5) Israel Judged at the Second Coming of Christ, 6) The Judgment of the Angels after the Millennial Kingdom and , 7) The Great White Throne Judgment. Let us begin where Judgment fell, at the foot of the cross.

The World’s Sins are Judged: Our God is a gracious God. Man, steeped and studied in the ways of sin, cares not about God. God had a perfect right to execute the judgment that His righteousness demands upon us, and then to destroy the earth and be done with it. Our God is a loving and selfless God, One who would die for those who hate Him. And this He did. At Calvary, God the Father turned His eyes away from God the Son, who had taken upon Himself the full burden of the sins of the whole world. As He died, Jesus knew the awful darkness of separation from the Father. Just as Abraham was willing to offer Isaac as a sacrifice, so did our great God offer His own Son as a sacrifice for the sins of all the world. When the blood drained from Jesus’ body, He became the propitiation of the Law. He satisfied the demands of God’s righteousness by executing the penalty for our sin upon Himself. He gathered up that blood and poured it over the mercy seat in heaven, if the type be true. Our God is a just God, and One who must punish every evil deed or thought. By executing the penalty upon Himself, He fulfilled the just requirement for punishment. Jesus, predicting His crucifixion, said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself” (John 12:31-32). Just before He commended His Spirit to His Father, He shouted, “It is finished!” The full sin debt of the entire race was paid in full at Calvary.

The Believer’s Self-Judgment: “For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged” (1 Cor 11:31). In the context of the letter, Paul was discussing the Corinthians’ spiritual state when they partook of the Lord’s Supper. But he was also establishing a principle that applies to the Church as a body, and to the Church as individual Christians. The judgment that Paul speaks of is not unto condemnation. Rather, we exercise this judgment in order to avoid the hammers of conviction and chastisement. But more, we exercise this judgment by bringing our bodies into subjection, serving God with a devoted spirit. This judgment of ourselves is done privately, as we examine ourselves as to whether we are acting in faith or in folly. We are here to bear fruit, to be servants of God, ambassadors from heaven to earth, bringing to man the word of reconciliation (2 Cor 5:18-21). The Spirit of God prompts believers to assess their priorities from a spiritual perspective. When we harden our hearts and our necks, we let the old Adamic nature reign in our bodies, and we become subject to chastening, even unto death in some cases (cp. 1 Cor 11:23-34; 1 Tim 1:20; Heb 12:3-12). But there is no judgment for the believer that is unto condemnation. The believers’ self-judgment is to stay on the pathways of service to God.

The Judgment Seat of Christ: “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” (2 Cor 5:10). Neither Jew nor Gentile will be present at this judgment, but Christians only, from the time of Pentecost unto the end of this age. The question of sin will not be raised at this judgment. That question was answered at Calvary. It is our works that are judged. So many Christians think that the work we are supposed to be doing amounts to no more than sin-avoidance. They go through their entire lives focused upon themselves and their fleshly deeds. The thought of service to God is not in them. The concept of heavenly treasure is foreign to them. They go through life trying to be good, whatever that means, with no thought of putting themselves out in any way in service of ministry. Yet, the works that will be judged in that Day are the works of ministry that we have done in this age. What tragedy it will be as we stand before Him, shame-faced over the things we did not do, and the things that we did thoughtlessly and poorly, and all the opportunities to serve of which we did not avail ourselves. We will all have our moments of suffering losses in that Day, for we have all had our lapses. Our suffering will not come from any punishment, but from deep within ourselves. And some will have no joy over the spiritual fruit that they have borne. Some will be made kings and princes and governors and mayors and local officials, and some will have very menial work to do in the Kingdom of God. This is when the rich shall become poor, and the poor shall become rich. Oh, it is true that in heaven, all will be joyful. Those whose works were few, who serve in the lowest rungs of Christ’s government, will be as joyous as those who sit on thrones, but the knowledge will be with them that their priorities had been wrong all along; whereas those whose works were abundant, will receive great treasure and honor. This is what the Word of God declares. The judgment seat of Christ is not an event to fear, but one to embrace eagerly, and to wait for hopefully. But the time is short, and Christains must be about their Father’s work (see Mt 12:36; 1 Cor 2:2, 3:9-15 [esp 2:2 and 3:11]; 5:18-21; Phil 3:20; 2 Cor 5:10-11).

Gentiles Judged at the Second Coming of Christ: “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats: (Mt 25:32). This judgment occurs at the end of the tribulation period. Every Gentile person and nation will be judged according to its treatment of Israel. Those who aid Israel during those dark times, those who preached the Gospel to her, those who defend her against Gentile governments — these will enter the Kingdom Age to repopulate the earth after the vast devastation that the tribulation will bring. They do not become members of the Church, the Body of Christ. Rather, they will continue to occupy the nations of the earth during Christ’s Kingdom. Those who worked ill against Israel, even if only in their hearts, will not enter into God’s Kingdom, but will be slain, only to be raised on that final judgment day and cast into hell. In the passage quoted above, the sheep are saved Gentiles, the goats are unsaved Gentiles, and the brethren are the Jews (Mt 25:31-46).

Israel Judged at the Second Coming of Christ: “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant” (Ezek 20:37). The four verses that precede this one, and the one that follows it, together show that this judgment takes place after God has brought the Jews back into their own land, pouring His fury upon the Gentiles who scattered them. The judgment upon the Gentiles referred to here is the same as judgment number four in this study. The fury spoken of as being poured out is that which is poured out in the tribulation period. Here, it is shown that Israel is to be judged at the same time as the Gentiles—that is, at the Second Coming, but the Jews will be judged separately from the Gentiles, and upon a different basis.In this judgment, the criterion is personal faith in the crucified Savior. Those Jews who believe at that time will become part of national Israel; those who do not will receive their portion with the Gentile goats.

Angels Judged Following the Millennium: “And the angels who did not keep their proper domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great Day” (Jude 6). We know from Isa 2:9-22 that the great Day is the Day of the Lord. We also know from Rev 20:10 that Satan is judged after the millennial Kingdom. While we are nowhere specifically told that the fallen angels are judged at that time, there is no other place in the Scriptures where we are given any alternative date for this judgment. While we cannot say with certainty that it occurs at the same time as Satan’s judgment, it does seem reasonable to assume that it does. We may not know the time of this judgment, but we do know that the Church will be associated with Christ in it (1 Cor 6:3).

The Judgment of the Unsaved Dead: “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things written in the books” (Rev 20:12). This is the last judgment. It is what unsaved people think that Christians are discussing whenever they hear them talking about anything prophetic: the end of the world, Doomsday. This is the judgment called the great white throne judgment (Rev 20:11). It is the judgment at which all the unsaved dead from all the ages will be resurrected, judged and condemned. No saved person will be judged at this judgment. Luke 12:47-48 teaches that punishment will consist of varying degrees. We note in the above reference that there were books opened, and there was another Book opened. The latter is the Book of Life. It will be opened, and the unsaved will see the places where their names would have been written if they only had believed the gospel. It is this dreadful blank space that will condemn them. It is the failure to accept and believe the record (the Bible) that God gave concerning His Son Jesus that will condemn the unbelievers of all the ages (see Jn 3:17-21; 1 Jn 5:10). After the Book of Life is opened, and those standing before the great white throne are shown to be guilty of unbelief, then the books of their works will be opened and they will receive the varying degrees of punishment which their works have earned them. Some consider these bad works to consist of the amount of light a person has been exposed to and still resisted believing. This conclusion is based primarily upon Jn 3:17-21. Others hold that the works consist of the deeds which the unbeliever has done. As Christ paid for their sins as well as ours at Calvary, they are not subject to further punishment for sin. But their unbelief has earned them no name written in the Book of Life. Whatever the case may prove to be, it is wholly correct to understand this judgment to be a most awful event, a time of infinite despair.

It is important for Christians to understand and teach these judgments, for they bring grace to the believer and conviction to the unbeliever. Let us labor in the word of reconciliation, fruitful servants in the harvest of souls.

The Judgment Seat of Christ

“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.
Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord,
we persuade men…”
(2 Cor 5:10-11)

Somehow it just doesn’t seem right to think of judgment as our blessed hope. Yet, Paul wrote to Titus that our blessed hope is the rapture of the Church, at which point we stand before the judgment seat. At the same time, he wrote to the church at Corinth that some Christians will suffer loss at that judgment. In fact, every Christian will suffer some loss at that great event.

The judgment seat of Christ is the “bema” in Greek. Bema is the name of the place that Olympic athletes went to receive their laurel wreaths when they had won their competition. It is a place of honor, of recognition, or praise. It is at the judgment seat of Christ that Church Age saints will receive their rewards for the services they rendered to God in their temporal lives. Jesus said not to lay up treasures on earth, but to lay up treasures in heaven (Mt 6:19-21). It is at the judgment seat of Christ that believers will receive the treasures they have laid up in heaven, for those treasures constitute our reward. It is the place where those who will be kings and princes and high officials in Christ’s government will receive their crowns.

It cannot be said with certainty where this judgment takes place, whether in the air immediately after we rise to meet Him, or whether in heaven, the dwelling place of God, or even if it might be in the New Jerusalem, the home that Jesus is even now preparing for His bride (Jn 14:1-3). In keeping with typology, this writer believes that the bema will be in New Jerusalem, one thousand and seven years before the destruction of the present heavens and earth and the creation of the new. Whether the judgment seat of Christ will cover an extended period of time or be instantaneous, it is impossible to say. This is information that is not given, and we cannot be dogmatic about it. It has certainly been the subject of much speculation over the centuries since it was first revealed to the saints.

Sin is not judged at this judgment. In fact, sin will not be judged again. For it was judged at Calvary, and the penalty of it was executed upon Christ, our Savior. Preachers and teachers harangue their listeners with grave words of judgment upon sin, but all judgment upon sin was executed in Christ on the cross. The sin question was settled at Calvary, two thousand years ago. What then is judged? Ah, our works are judged. Not our deeds, but our works. Did we fulfill our ministries? Were our very bodies presented to God as living sacrifices, that God might work in us those works that He prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them (Eph 2:10)?

Paul tells the church at Corinth, “According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it. 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” (1 Cor 3:10-13).

Jesus Christ is the Foundation of our faith. In the Scriptures, Paul laid that foundation, upon which we are to build. There are six types of building materials: three that will endure a test by fire, and three that will be burned up. Precious metals and precious stones will be refined and purified by the flames of judgment, but those works that we do in Christ’s name that are for our own glory, or for selfish reasons, will turn to ash. Those things that we do in order to be seen by men will burn up. The works of gold, silver and precious stones are those things that we do through the exercise of our spiritual gifts, whether teaching, evangelizing, giving, preaching, ministering to the saints, visiting the sick and imprisoned, intercessory prayer, personal Bible study and prayer, or what have you. For these works, we shall receive a reward. Paul continues: “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” (1 Cor 3:14-15—see article on pg 8 “Saved So as Through Fire.”).

The crowns that we shall lay at Jesus’ feet are not our heavenly treasure. They represent that treasure. The new king of Saudi Arabia wears a crown as a symbol of his vast holdings and his supreme authority in the land. But his crown is not the extent of his wealth. So shall our crowns be. As surely as we shall lay our crowns before Jesus, so will He also return them to us to wear in our various positions in His government as He assigns us to those domains over which we shall rule. And those crowns will be representative of the gold, silver and precious stones laid up for us in our heavenly account in reward for our labors in this, our time of ministry.

There is nothing to fear in the judgment seat of Christ. Not even the suffering of our losses, for our suffering shall be overshadowed by our rejoicing. It is important, most of all, to remember that we are not judged at the judgment seat of Christ. It is our works of service that are judged as to whether they be of wood, hay or stubble, or gold, silver and precious stones. Let us labor for that which shall not be destroyed by the fires of God’s judgment.

Saved so as Through Fire

If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss;
But he himself will be saved,
Yet so as through fire.
(1 Cor 3:15)

To imply that those who haven't borne fruit will be thrown into the fire and burned is to say that we can lose our salvation. 1 Cor does not say that the saints will be burned, but that our works will be burned. It does say that his works will be burned, but that he will himself be saved “yet so as through fire.” But there is nothing purgatorial about his salvation.

Amos writes about God hating Israel's sacrifices at Bethel in Samaria. So many churches today are named Bethel, but those who name them do not understand that Bethel became the capital of Samaria, part of the ten tribes who broke away from Judah and became apostate. Anyway, God was pretty harsh in His indictment, delivered by Amos. In 4:11, Amos records the word of the Lord: “I overthrew some of you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah. And you were like a firebrand plucked from the burning; yet you have not returned to me.” That is the sense in which the unfruitful are saved “so as through fire.”

Jude also verifies this view, saying, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And on some have compassion, making a distinction; but others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh” (vv. 20-23).

There will be those at the bema who will have nothing of which to boast in that day, and were it not for the purest mercy of God, would've been lost. Many saints will have much reward, and most will have some, but some will have little or none.

As we suffer the loss of the rewards that we might have earned, we shall surely be ashamed and sorrowful. At the same time, it should be noted that the word “suffer” has no connotation of emotional or spiritual or physical anguish. A billionaire who loses a dollar has suffered the loss of that dollar. Our heavenly treasure is certainly worth many, many dollars, and the degree of our suffering shall be commensurate with the value of the treasure we have lost. None has done all that he could do in this life, so that all will suffer some loss. But greater than our suffering shall be our joy in His presence and in the reward we garner. Let us labor in the harvest, looking forward to that Day!

The Great White Throne Judgment

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And there was found no place for them.
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.
And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.
And the dead were judged according to their works,
by the things which were written in the books.
The sea gave up the dead who were in it,
and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.
And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
(Rev 20:11-15)

On the old television program, “Hee-Haw,” a jingle was sung every week. The jingle began, “Gloom, despair, and agony on me!” These are words that might rightly be used to describe those who must pass before that great white throne as their fate is sealed and their condemnation declared. No living soul has yet conceived of the depth of despair that those will experience when they see the blank space in the Book of Life where their names should have been written. This will be a despair so black and foreboding that terror will rip at their hearts as they kneel before the Lord and confess that He is God. What they would give for just a precious drop from the fountain of the water of life! How desperately must their hearts quake at the sight of God, the righteous Judge!

Throughout their lives, God was meaningless to them. But not all of them. To many, their gods were the centers of their lives. These are those who will say in that day, “Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?” (Mt 7:22). And Jesus has already forewarned them of His reply: “And I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’” (Mt 7:23). These are those who, pretending to be righteous, and even believing that they are righteous, constitute those tares of whom Jesus said, “Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mt 13:40-42). Gloom, despair and agony indeed! Those who cared not for God, and those who cared but believed not HisWord, shall wail in despair and gnash their teeth in agony, but there shall be no remedy, for, “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his neck, will suddenly be destroyed, and that, without remedy” (Prov 29:1).

How utterly awful! Yet, how infinitely just is our God. For those who have rejected His Word do not reckon God to be as worthy of honor and worship as He is. They bring Him down to their own level and judge Him in their temporal lives. How vain are those who accuse Him of being unjust in condemning unbelievers. They do not understand the magnitude of His righteousness, justice or love, and they count the blood by which they might have been sanctified as unholy. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of of the living God (Heb 10:31). Many Christians even—born again of His seed—also question God’s justice in His condemnation of unbelievers. They do not understand the magnitude of their own arrogance, that they should question God.

Every person who passes before the great white throne is already condemned, or he would not be there. None of their names will be found in the Book of Life. And because their names are not found there, the books of their works will be opened. Every sin in all their lives will be brought before them. Not a single insignificant sin (there are no insignificant sins) will be omitted or passed over. For they have rejected their Passover. Yet, it is not their sins which condemn them. Jesus said, “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (Jn 3:17-21).

The books of their works are opened and they see that their condemnation is just, but it is their unbelief that condemns them. From the descendants of Adam to the great Cainite civilizations, from Noah to Abraham and from Abraham to the cross, all rejected the light they were given, preferring reason over faith. From the cross to the Second Coming of Christ, and from the Second Coming to the great white throne judgment, all who were lost were lost because they did not believe the great Creator God’s testimony concerning His only begotten Son. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life” (Jn 3:14). The penalty for the sins of everyone judged at the great white throne judgment has already been paid, but because they rejected that payment in unbelief, they stand before the throne of God, guilty, having to pay it over again themselves. How unspeakably stupid!