God's Judgements Part 4
By
Rick Sutcliffe
for AFBC Bible Class Fall 2002
The scriptures have much to say about God's judgements against sin, perhaps more than they have to say about his love, grace, and mercy.
Table of Contents (Links)
- Introduction
- Some history of God's past judgements
- Judgement in the here and now
- Future Judgements of God
Future Judgements of God
1. At death each of us is judged as to whether we can enter the presence of God or not.
Heb 9:27 ... it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment...
Christ illustrates this in Luke 16: 19-31 when he tells us the story of Lazarus the beggar and the rich man, one of whom dies and goes to "Abraham's bosom", the other to a place of torment. This story (it is not said to be a parable, so presumably is of real people) also ought to put to rest any idea that after death the soul sleeps unconscious awaiting the day of judgement.
(Recall also in this connection what Jesus said to the repentant thief on the cross:
Lu 23:43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
The scriptures make it clear that this judgement is on the basis of whether or not Christ's sacrifice applies to us, i.e. whether or not we have saving faith. They also make it clear that although we face this private determination of our fate immediately on death and receive heaven or hell as a result, there will also yet be several public judgements.
2. Judgment of the believer's service.
a. This judgement is certain and universal to believers
Besides the private determination made at the time of death, there is a second and public judgement of the believer. Because all believers are saved eternally and gain entrance to heaven on the basis of Christ's work on the cross alone,
Eph 2: 8-10 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no-one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Any judgement of believers' deeds could have nothing to do with salvation, for if it did, we could earn heaven, which is impossible, and that impossibility is the reason Christ came. If works could suffice, we would not need Him. But the verse above tells us we were created in Him (that is, re-created or born again) for the express purpose of doing good works. Therefore, it is reasonable that we will be expected to give account of what we were expected to do.
Ro 14:10 ... we will all stand before God's judgment seat.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due to him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.
Jas 2:12 Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom,
Jas 3:1 Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.
Jas 5:9 Don't grumble against each other, brothers, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!
Those verses are directed at believers, not unbelievers. They have to do with whether the person did indeed follow Christ faithfully, did indeed do the good works that He commanded. And why bother, if this is not related to salvation or punishment? Because it is for reward.
b. The purpose of this judgement is to determine rewards
The term here is "bema seat" and it refers to the special raised judging seat at the games, where the runners could be assessed as to whether they had run the race properly. Winners were chosen and the laurel crown awarded. This imagery of the Christian life as a race toward a prize is found in several other passages:
1Co 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.
Ga 2:2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
Heb 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Php 3:14 I press on towards the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.
Christ makes it clear that these deeds and the rewards from them are between Him and the believer, and have nothing to do with how those around us see the deeds.
Matt 6: 1-6 "Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honoured by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
NOTE: Because these judgements are about rewards, it is clear they are not about salvation, for the question of rewards can only come up in connection with those who are the servants of Christ, and does not arise for those who are not. That is, judgement for rewards assumes that the person being judged has already had his or her sins judged in Christ at the cross, for the works of anyone else count for nothing.
c. The reward given is described as a "crown"
1Co 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last for ever.
2Ti 4:8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
The nature of this "crown of righteousness" is not stated in great detail, but we are told
Jas 1:12 Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
So, in this passage, the crown is eternal life, realized fully in heaven by being in the presence of God forever. Other passages put the focus elsewhere:
Php 4:1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
1Th 2:19 For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you?
That is, to Paul, the crown consisted not just of the life he would receive, but of the souls saved and discipled under his ministry. This makes sense. After all, what else really counts for eternity but life in Christ, for self and for others? By the way, that passage in James, and also this one
Re 3:11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no-one will take your crown.
indicate that the crown of reward (beyond eternal life for ourselves) is something that we might not get. That is, we might make it into heaven, but without any additional reward beyond this.
1Cor 3: 10-17 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw,his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple.
d. The crown, to the extent that it is more than a symbol of trophies of grace actually belongs to Christ, rather than to us. Though his people have a share in his glory, a share in his rule, a share in the rewards his Father gives because of the cross, all the glory of the cross, all the glory of the trophies of grace really belong to Christ. We are his redeemed people, his servants to do his works, and cannot claim any personal credit even though some great thing may have been done by Christ using us as his agents. This is symbolized in
Re 4:10-11 the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being."
If those who are given the most honour by having crowns that entitles them to be called "elder" and sit near the throne of God behave in this way, we have to assume that all other redeemed will. Whatever the reward we receive we will acknowledge that the reward and the glory belong to Christ, who redeemed us, discipled and changed us, and worked through us to glorify the father.
3. Judgment of Israel as a nation.
Although Israel was judged as a nation more than once in Old Testament times, when we read prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled, it becomes apparent that these judgements are not yet finished. After all, Israel as a nation rejected its Messiah. Consequently, God is now judging Israel as a nation and will continue to do so unless and until she, as a nation, turns back to Him and accepts His Christ. We see this:
a. In the destruction of Israel, and especially its capital of Jerusalem by the Roman army of Titus and Vespasian in 67-70 A.D., and its complete devastation following the Bar Kochba rebellion 132-135 by the Emperor Hadrian, exactly as forecast by Christ.
Lu 21:6 As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.
b. In the fact that Israel ceased to exist as a nation for some 1877 years thereafter until a secular state by that name was re-established in 1947.
NOTE: During that time, many "Christians" (or, more accurately, people living in Christendom) incorrectly took it upon themselves to judge Israel and individual Jews by persecuting and killing them. Neither the church nor individual Christians were ever given instructions or authority by the Lord to do this. Whatever the judgements of God, the carrying out of them is His business, not ours, unless He specifically orders us to do so. He has given no such orders, and those who shed the blood of the Jews down through the ages, and especially those who did so while taking the name of Christ in vain, will themselves face judgement for their actions, just as did the nations whom God called up against His people in the Old Testament times.
[By the way, this same error was used by supposed Christians to justify the persecution and slavery of blacks. They claimed to take the curse of Noah against Ham and Canaan as applying to blacks and abrogated to themselves the right to enforce this curse. Even if their interpretation of the passage was correct (and it is a big stretch), they had no such instructions at any time. Assuming they did amounted to abrogating what is God's to themselves.]
Insofar as the here and now are concerned, the scriptures make it very clear that Jews come to salvation on exactly the same terms as Gentiles:
Ro 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,
Ro 10:12 For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile--the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,
Likewise, once in Christ, there are no spiritual distinctions, even though we have differing roles in the church.
Ga 3:28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Col 3:11 Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.
That there is still a role for national Israel is made clear by Paul:
Rom 11: 25-26 I do not want you to be ignorant of this mystery, brothers, so that you may not be conceited: Israel has experienced a hardening in part until the full number of the Gentiles has come in. And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: "The deliverer will come from Zion; he will turn godlessness away from Jacob.
We also see Israel specifically mentioned in
Re 7:4 Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.
Re 21:12 It had a great, high wall with twelve gates, and with twelve angels at the gates. On the gates were written the names of the twelve tribes of Israel.
c. But there is also a coming judgement for Israel as a nation. Chapters 38-39 of Ezekiel speak of a time when armies will come against Israel. The prophecy in
Zec 14:2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.
appears to speak of the same or another attack against Jerusalem,
and Jeremiah also appears to refer to this:
Jer 30:7 How awful that day will be! None will be like it. It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it.
As indicated earlier, God does judge his people, and continues to have a special interest in the descendents of Israel.
Ps 50:4 He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people:
Isa 3:13 The LORD takes his place in court; he rises to judge the people.
Eze 18:30 "Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offences; then sin will not be your downfall.
Given the comments in these sections on the judgement and ultimate salvation of Israel as a nation mentioned above, it seems improbable that we can simply say that all mentions of Israel should be taken as now referring to the Church, as if the church simply inherits the role of national Israel. The latter may be true to an extent, but it appears clear that there is yet an unfulfilled role for a national entity with that name. But, as a last caveat on this subject, the national entity by that name that plays a role in end-times prophecy is not necessarily the one that now occupies part of the promised land. Who knows? Secular states may fall and rise again under the name "Israel" several times before these prophecies are fulfilled. On the other hand, they might be fulfilled starting this very day. After all, there is a wide range of nations arrayed against national Israel today that will be satisfied with nothing less than the utter destruction of every Jew on the earth.
4. The judgment of the nations.
a. Like the judgements of Israel, this is another Old Testament theme that has not yet fully played out. One of the activities the Lord will yet engage in at His coming is a judgement against the nations that have opposed Him or His people.
1Ch 16:33 Then the trees of the forest will sing, they will sing for joy before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth.
Ps 9:19 Arise, O LORD, let not man triumph; let the nations be judged in your presence.
Ps 94:2 Rise up, O Judge of the earth; pay back to the proud what they deserve.
Ps 96:13 they will sing before the LORD, for he comes, he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples in his truth.
Ps 98:9 let them sing before the LORD, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.
Isa 2:4 He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.
Joe 3:12 "Let the nations be roused; let them advance into the Valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the nations on every side.
b. In part, this judgement takes the form of a military defeat, that is, a shaming of the power of the nation in question.
Ps 110:6 He will judge nations, heaping up the dead and crushing the rulers of the whole earth.
See Revelation 19:11-16 for a description of Christ making war against the nations in His role as KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
c. In part, it will be to establish peace, though this, too, can be seen as a way of setting aside the military power and might in which nations take pride and replacing man's wars with the peace of God.
Mic 4:3 He will judge between many peoples and will settle disputes for strong nations far and wide. They will beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war any more.
d. In part, it will take the form of a subjection of those nations to the power and authority of Christ. This appears, in part, to be the purpose of the Millennial kingdom.
1Sa 2:10 those who oppose the LORD will be shattered. He will thunder against them from heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth. "He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed."
Ps 9:8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will govern the peoples with justice.
Ps 82:8 Rise up, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations are your inheritance.
Ps 96:10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns.Ó The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity.
Although a different judgement is in view in Matthew 25, we see Christ portrayed there as King and Lord, and the people being judged are referred to as "all the nations". Once Christ is established as king over all the nations, He will rule over them personally (assisted by some of His people) for a period of 1000 years:
Rev 20:4-6 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
This is no doubt the same period of personal same rule and authority over the nations as described in
1Cor 15:24-28 Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he "has put everything under his feetÓ. Now when it says that "everythingÓ has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all.
e. One final judgement of the nations appears in
Rev 20: 7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
f. A final note on this judgement and its associated kingdom
Some people say that the millennial kingdom is a figure of speech for the Church age or a metaphor for Christ's eternal rule and authority in heaven. But since the purpose is to demonstrate his kingship over the nations that are His inheritance before putting them to judgement one more time, these explanations seem weak. A literal and personal rule over the nations appears to be a better explanation in view of these judgements of the nations that are associated with this kingdom. Moreover, there is plenty of prophecy about this personal rule over the nations:
2Ch 20:6 and said: "O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no-one can withstand you.
Ps 67:4 May the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you rule the peoples justly and guide the nations of the earth. Selah
Mic 4:7 I will make the lame a remnant, those driven away a strong nation. The LORD will rule over them in Mount Zion from that day and for ever.
Zec 9:10 I will take away the chariots from Ephraim and the war-horses from Jerusalem, and the battle-bow will be broken. He will proclaim peace to the nations. His rule will extend from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.
Ro 15:12 And again, Isaiah says, "The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him."
Re 12:5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron sceptre. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
Re 19:15 Out of his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. "He will rule them with an iron sceptre.Ó He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty.
5. Satan's final judgement
a. Satan, or Lucifer, or the devil, or the evil one, is God's personal opponent, behind all that is wrong, evil, twisted, broken, false, or antichristal. A rebel against God and a liar, his doom was foretold long ago when he was judged for deceiving Eve.
Ge 3:14-15 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, "Cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."
b. The prophet Isaiah saw Satan's end:
Isa 14:12 How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
c. Christ's work was all about breaking the power of Satan and destroying his work, in effect, judging him through his work.
1Jo 3:8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.
Indeed, Jesus commented on this after the seventy reported back on the miracles they had worked:
Lu 10:18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
d. Likewise, the work of the Christian is supposed to be a judgement against Satan and his followers by overcoming evil with good:
Ro 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.
1Jo 2:13-14 I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.
e. But Satan will not always trouble God and His people.
(i) He will lose his power and authority as a heavenly being.
Re 12:9 The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
Re 12:12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
(ii) During the time of Christ's personal rule over the earth he will be bound and unable to deceive the nations.
Re 20:2 He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
(iii) After that, his power over the nations (ones he promised to give Christ at one point) will be broken along with them
Re 20:7-9 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth--Gog and Magog--to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
(iv) Finally, the next verse tells us that he will be bound forever in torment, no more to work his mischief.
Re 20:10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
It is important to note that Satan is an actual person, originally an angel of God, and a being of great power, not an abstract force of evil. He is not to be trifled with now, but eventually God will hand him his final judgement, along with his demons and his confederates.
6. The judgment of the wicked, also known as, "The Great Judgment Day," or "The Great White Throne" judgement.
a. This judgement is also depicted in Revelation 20, and comes after the judgement of the nations. It is distinct from the latter because it is individuals that are judged in this case, but it appears that the judgement of the nations flows into this one. Perhaps in the former it is the leaders, decision makers and armies that are being judged as opposed to all the people of the nations.
Rev 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.
b. The fact that there will be an individual judgement for all sins committed that are not covered by the blood of Christ is well attested by many passages of Scripture. Both the judgement of the righteous and the one of sinners are mentioned in
John 5:24-29 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man. "Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out--those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.
Notice that in both passages it specifically says that a general resurrection will proceed this last judgement. So, the wicked will receive back a body in which they will be tormented. That is, the torment will be both spiritual (separation from God) and physical (involving the body.)
c. The fact that there is no escape from this judgement apart from the salvation God makes available in Jesus Christ is made abundantly clear. Also, numerous passages repeat that the one who will do this judging is Jesus Christ Himself, so there can be no doubt which people are his and are accepted into the Father's Heaven, and which people are not his and will be sent to hell eternally. Though there is still hope for the one who has not yet accepted Christ's salvation in this life, there will be no more hope on that day, and no excuses will avail.
Joh 12:48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day.
Ac 10:42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.
Ac 17:31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
Ro 2:12 All who sin apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law.
Ro 2:16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
2Ti 4:1 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge:
1Pe 4:5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
Re 6:10 They called out in a loud voice, "How long, Sovereign Lord, holy and true, until you judge the inhabitants of the earth and avenge our blood?
d. To some extent, the saints themselves will be a part of this judgement, and perhaps of others. That authority to judge (at some point) is given to certain of the saints is made clear in Revelation 20:4. This passage does not say when this authority is executed, but a passage in Jude seems to suggest that it comes in association with the judgement of the wicked in this section.
Re 20:4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshipped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
Jude 1:14-15 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: "See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him."
Summary
There are six distinct judgments yet to come, in addition to the judgements God now metes out in this life to believers, unbelievers, nations, and the church. They are :
1. At death each of us is judged as to whether we can enter the presence of God or not.
There is no "soul sleep" or delay, and admission to heaven or to hell is immediate upon death.
2. Judgment of the believer's service.
At the "Bema seat" the works of each person who is "in Christ" at judged for their faithfulness, to see whether they are "gold, silver, precious stones", or "wood, hay, and stubble". This is judgement of Christ's servants for the purpose of rewards.
3. Judgment of Israel as a nation.
There is still a role for national Israel, as, according to the prophecies of the word, God is not finished with either blessing or with judging his Old Testament people as yet.
4. The judgment of the nations.
The events before, during, and after the establishment of the millenial kingdom of Christ on the earth appear to form this judgement. Christ inflicts two military defeats on the nations, with a harsh personal rule of 1000 years between these events in order to demonstrate that he is King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
5. Satan's final judgement
Although long since cast out of heaven, Satan has been allowed to defy God and his people. Eventually he will be permanently judged and bound in the lake of fire.
6. The judgment of the wicked, also known as, "The Great Judgment Day," or "The Great White Throne" judgement.
This is the final judgement, at which all those whose names are not written in the book of life are judged for their deeds and condemned because they do not have the blood of Christ applied against their accounts.
Because "judgement" is a very general word, and because the various judgements are talked about in similar language, we have a tendency to run them together or interchange them. It is especially important to keep separate the judgement of the wicked at the great white throne from the judgement of the righteous at the bema seat. Everyone will participate in exactly one of these and not the other, for the blood of Christ is applied against the evil deeds of Christ's people and their judgement for those has already been taken by Him. The Christian's final judgement of deeds is for reward, not punishment. Because this is not true for the unregenerate, and the judgement that Christ took does not apply to them, they must answer for all their deeds, and can get no rewards for anything.
It is especially important to realize that the common notion that everyone's good deeds will be weighed against the bad to determine admission to heaven is false doctrine, a lie of Satan that, if believed, will take the sinner directly to him and his eternal doom.
On the other hand, if we realize that God's Christ (Saviour) took his wrath for sin and we need only believe in him,
Rom 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.
That is, anyone who believes in Christ for this salvation will never die, never face judgement for sin, never be condemned, never go to Satan's hell.
Believe in Christ now, and find eternal life.
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