Judgment

December 29

Zechariah 13-14

Psalm 148:7-14

Proverbs 31:20-23

Revelation 20

Judgment

“Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”  Revelation 20:15

There are different interpretations about the Judgment Seat of Christ and when that occurs for different groups of people.  I believe this explanation is consistent with Scripture, but I am not dogmatic about it.  At some point in the future, a trumpet will sound in Heaven and Jesus will appear in the clouds.  The bodies of everyone who has died who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior will raise out of their graves.  Their souls are in Heaven with Jesus so their bodies will meet their souls in the sky.  Then everyone who is alive at that time who has accepted Jesus will join them in the air and they will all be taken to Heaven for 7 years (I Thessalonians 4:13-18). During that time, they will stand before the Bema Seat of Christ and be judged for their works while on Earth.  This will not be to judge whether they will be allowed to get into Heaven.  If they are there, their name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. This will be a judgment to determine rewards in Heaven. We will have pure hearts so any rewards will be received in humility and gratitude recognizing that any good we ever did is because of His presence in our lives (Romans 14:10, 2 Corinthians 5:10). At the end of the 7 years, Jesus will return to Earth, and believers will return with Him.  There will be another time of judgment where Jesus will judge all the survivors of the Tribulation.  This is when Jesus will separate the sheep from the goats, the righteous from the wicked.  The people who were saved during the tribulation and either martyred or lived to the end will go into the Millennial Kingdom with the other believers.  The wicked who survived will be cast into Hell (Matthew 25:31-46).  Many believe that at this time the Old Testament saints will be resurrected and allowed to go into the Millennial Kingdom as well.  Satan will be bound and thrown into the Abyss and the Antichrist and False Prophet will be cast into Hell with the wicked.  At the end of the 1000-year reign, Satan will be released for a short time, finally and completely defeated by Jesus, and thrown into Hell.  At that time, all the wicked people throughout history will be resurrected to stand before the Great White Throne Judgment. Jesus will judge them based on their works and they will receive their final sentence and be thrown into Hell for eternity (Revelation 20). 

So, there are three different times of judgment for different groups of people.  I hope this explanation is helpful and relieves some anxiety about standing before Jesus for judgment.  For believers, there should be no fear about the future.  Our destiny is secured.  We don’t have to worry about “not making it in.”  This is a stark reminder for us that everyone will someday stand before God for judgment and those who don’t know Jesus will spend eternity in Hell.  We need to pray for opportunities to tell people the truth before it is too late for them.