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I. The judgment on the cross:
А. The time — approximately A.D. 30.
B. The place — Golgotha.
C. The Judge — the righteous God.
D. The One being judged — Christ — the believers’ Substitute.
E. The basis — the righteous requirement of God’s law.
F. The result — justifying all those who believe so that they would not be judged.
II. The judgment of the church:
А. The time — whenever needed.
B. The place — within the local church.
C. The judge — the local church.
D. The one being judged — a believer who commits a blatant sin and refuses to repent.
E. The basis — blatant sin.
F. The result — being removed from the church — cut off from fellowship.
III. The judgment of God’s discipline:
А. The time — any time.
B. The place — any place.
C. The Judge — the Father God.
D. The ones being judged — the believers who sin and do not judge themselves.
E. The basis — the Father’s love and good pleasure.
F. The result — profiting the believers lest they be condemned together with the world.
IV. The judgment before the judgment seat of Christ:
А. The time — at the Lord’s return.
B. The place — in the air.
C. The Judge — the Lord.
D. The ones being judged — the believers.
E. The basis — the believers’ actions and work.
F. The result — some receiving a reward and some suffering loss, but themselves being saved.
V. The judgment before Christ’s throne of glory:
А. The time — when the Lord comes.
B. The place — the earthly Jerusalem.
C. The Judge — the Christ who comes in glory.
D. The ones being judged — the nations living on earth at the time of the Lord’s coming.
E. The basis — treating the Lord’s brothers, the believers, well or evilly.
F. The result — some entering eternal life and some entering eternal punishment.
VI. The judgment before the great white throne:
А. The time — after the millennial kingdom, before the new heaven and new earth.
B. The place — perhaps in the air.
C. The Judge — the Lord.
D. The ones being judged — all the dead unbelievers.
E. The basis — their works which are written in the scrolls.
F. The result — being cast into the lake of fire.
VII. A comparison of the fifth and sixth judgments.
After studying the topics of death and resurrection, we need to consider the topic of judgment. Sin gives birth to death, and death brings in judgment. These topics are interrelated, so we must consider them together.
Judgment is a matter of God’s administration. The Bible shows that God executes His judgment according to His righteousness, by His holiness, and for His glory. His judgment is the execution of His government in the universe. The Epistles of Peter speak of God’s government and God’s kingdom, so they especially speak of God’s judgment. God’s judgment is an important part of His rule and government. The fact that He judges the devil, the people of the world, and the angels shows that He is the sovereign Lord of the universe with the authority to rule. Without His ruling, there would be no government. God is the Ruler of the universe, so the universe has a government. Since there is a government, there is also judgment. God’s judgment is a part of the exercise of His government.
In this chapter we will focus on God’s judgment of man. When some look at this matter in a general way, they think that God’s judgment concerns only the matter of whether a man will go to heaven or hell. But if we carefully examine what God reveals in the Bible, we will see that this is not the case. The Bible speaks of God’s judgment on man that is very particular and that has many distinctions. There are at least six kinds of judgment. Thus, we must spend some time to study God’s judgments carefully. This also will help us to understand the Bible and its prophecies.
We will look at the six judgments of God on man according to six different aspects: (1) the time of judgment, (2) the place of judgment, (3) the one who is judging, (4) the ones being judged, (5) the basis for judgment, and (6) the result of judgment. If we clearly see these six aspects with respect to each type of judgment, we will fully understand each of the judgments of God on man. The chart on the following page will be helpful.
According to the Bible, God’s first judgment on man was at the cross of Christ. Man’s sins were judged by God on the cross so that He could forgive and save man. Without judging man’s sins, God, as the Ruler of man, would have no way to forgive or save man. In order for God to forgive and save man, He had to judge man’s sins on the cross of Christ.
God’s judgment upon man at the cross of Christ occurred at the Lord’s death in the year a.d. 30 approximately.
1. “The Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified Him” (John 19:17-18).
God’s judgment of man at the cross of Christ occurred at a place called Golgotha in Hebrew, which means “skull.” Golgotha was translated into Latin as “Calvaria” and anglicized as “Calvary.” Golgotha was a small hill outside of Jerusalem.
1. “Jehovah was pleased to crush Him, to afflict Him with grief. / When He makes Himself an offering for sin” (Isa. 53:10).
The One who judged man at the cross of Christ was the righteous God. God crushed Christ, as the Substitute for man, and afflicted Him with grief as an offering for sin. It was God who judged and punished Christ on His cross. On the one hand, men nailed Christ on the cross to kill Him, but on the other hand, God crushed Christ on the cross and killed Him. According to the record of the Bible, during the first half of Christ’s time on the cross, from 9:00 A.M. until 12:00 noon, man was putting Him to death (Mark 15:25-33). During the second half of His time on the cross, from 12:00 noon until 3:00 P.M., God was striking and judging Him. When God forsook Him, darkness fell over all the land (Matt. 27:45-46).
2. “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf” (2 Cor. 5:21).
According to this verse, God made Christ, who did not know sin, sin on our behalf. God judged us in Him.
3. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46).
Since Christ was our Substitute upon the cross and was struck with God’s judgment, God left Him and forsook Him. When Christ was without sin, God was absolutely pleased with Him and never left Him. But when Christ was made sin on our behalf on the cross, God forsook Him. This proves that when God was judging and punishing Him, He considered Christ as our Substitute.
1. “Christ also has suffered once for sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous” (1 Pet. 3:18).
On the cross Christ was judged by God as the believers’ Substitute. He suffered on the cross as the Righteous on behalf of us, the unrighteous. He was judged by God for our sins.
2. “Him who did not know sin He made sin on our behalf” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Christ, who did not know sin, was made sin on our behalf on the cross to bear God’s judgment in our place.
3. “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24).
Christ was hung upon the tree; that is, He was crucified on the cross to bear God’s judgment for us. Thus, He bore up our sins in His body on the tree.
4. “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf” (Gal. 3:13).
On the cross Christ became sin on our behalf, bore up our sins in His body, and was judged by God in our place; therefore, He became a curse on our behalf and was forsaken by God. He was not a martyr, because God does not curse or forsake those who are martyred for His name. On the contrary, He is pleased with such ones and will remain with them. However, Christ was cursed by God on the cross and then forsaken by God. This proves that He was not a martyr; rather, He was our Substitute, bearing God’s judgment for our sins. As sinners, we should have been judged by God. Without Christ’s substitutionary death, we would have had to bear God’s judgment for our sins; instead, we were judged in Christ’s judgment on the cross on our behalf.
1. “The soul who sins, he shall die” (Ezek. 18:20).
God’s judgment of us at the cross of Christ was based upon the righteous requirement of His law. God judged Christ on our behalf because He is righteous, and we are sinful. The righteousness of His law required Him to judge Christ for us. Without His judgment of Christ, we would have to die and perish eternally; that is, according to the righteous requirements of His law, we would have to die and perish eternally.
2. “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf” (Gal. 3:13).
The righteous requirement of God’s law is that sinners deserve death; this is related to the curse of the law. This requirement is according to God’s righteous condemnation. Because of this requirement, this condemnation, Christ became a curse upon the cross for our sake. Since Christ was cursed for us on the cross according to the righteous requirement of God’s law, we were redeemed out of the curse of the law. The judgment upon Christ on the cross satisfied the righteous requirement of God’s law. The law cannot place further requirements upon us, nor are we under the curse of the law. Now God can forgive and save us according to His righteousness.
God’s forgiveness and salvation must be righteously based upon the righteous judgment of His government. If Christ had not borne God’s righteous governmental judgment on our behalf and had not satisfied God’s righteous requirement on our behalf, God would have had no way to forgive us or save us. Since Christ did all this for us, God can forgive us and save us.
1. “That we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
The result of God’s judgment of Christ on the cross is that all those who believe into Him are justified by God. God made Christ sin on the cross so that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ. This not only justifies us before God but also makes us the righteousness of God in Christ. We were sin and should have been judged; now we are the righteousness of God in Christ. We are completely justified according to God’s righteous requirement. We will no longer be judged by God for our sin, and we are completely pleasing to God.
2. “He who believes into Him is not condemned”; “Does not come into judgment” (John 3:18; 5:24).
Since God caused Christ to bear our sins on the cross and to be condemned on our behalf, receiving God’s judgment on our behalf, He will not condemn or judge those who have believed into Christ. God cannot condemn or judge us twice, because He is righteous. Since He condemned and judged us in Christ, He cannot condemn or judge us again. Since Christ bore God’s righteous judgment for us, fulfilling His righteousness and satisfying His righteous requirement, according to God’s righteousness, we cannot be judged by Him again. We can no longer be condemned or judged by God for the sins that we committed prior to our salvation.
God’s second judgment on man is in His church. After Christ bore God’s judgment on the cross, He rose from the dead, ascended, and poured out the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit was poured out, the church was produced. From the time of the church’s existence, there has been judgment in the church. God’s judgment on the cross is one kind of judgment, and His judgment within the church is another kind of judgment.
God’s judgment in the church is called the judgment of the church because it is carried out through the church on sinning believers. Most people are unaware of this matter, and most believers ignore this matter. This judgment, however, is an important link in God’s government, and it is also a part of God’s government in the church. If we want to understand God’s government and live within the church, we cannot be ignorant of this judgment.
1. “The one who has done this deed might be removed from your midst” (1 Cor. 5:2).
The church’s judgment against sinning believers occurs whenever it is needed. Whenever there is a sinning believer, the church should judge him without delay. In the early days there was a sinning believer in the church in Corinth, but the church did not judge him. The apostle Paul had to rebuke them for not removing the one who committed the deed of fornication and for not judging him. Whenever there is a sinful believer in the church, the church should judge him without delay.
1. “Be removed from your midst” (1 Cor. 5:2).
The church’s judgment upon sinning believers is within the local church. It does not need to be taken to the apostle or even to another local church. In the early days the apostle commanded the church in Corinth to judge the sinning brother by judging him themselves, that is, by judging him within their own local church. This shows that the judgment of sinning believers is within a local church.
1. “Do you not judge those who are within the church?” (1 Cor. 5:12).
The apostle told the church in Corinth to judge the sinning brother among them. Therefore, concerning the judgment of sinning believers, the church that judges is the local church. This judgment is carried out by the local church. It is not carried out by the apostle, by other people, or by another group.
1. “Now I have written to you not to mingle with anyone who is called a brother, if he is a fornicator or a covetous man or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a rapacious man, with such a one not even to eat” (1 Cor. 5:11).
When the church judges sinning believers, the church judges believers who commit blatant sins and refuse to repent. The apostle spoke of those who are called brothers (in the house of God even sisters are brothers) being fornicators, covetous, idolaters, revilers, or being drunken or rapacious. With such ones we are not even to eat with them. This is to judge and separate ourselves from them. The six sins that the apostle lists are very offensive to God and man. They are blatant and immoral. With the exception of idolatry, even unbelieving Gentiles condemn these sins. Therefore, any brother or sister who commits any of these sins and who refuses to repent should be judged by the church and removed from the church. The church must judge such a one by removing him in order to avoid corruption inwardly and to care for the church’s name outwardly.
1. “A fornicator or a covetous man or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a rapacious man” (1 Cor. 5:11).
The church’s judgment of sinning believers is based on blatant sins committed by a believer. It is based on the six blatant, gross sins listed by the apostle in 1 Corinthians 5. The basis for the church to judge believers is related to their committing any of these blatant, gross sins and refusing to repent and deal with them. However, there must be strong evidence that the believer committed a blatant sin. Judgment cannot be based on conjecture.
1. “Remove the evil man from among yourselves” (1 Cor. 5:13, see also v. 2).
The result of the church’s judgment on a sinning believer is to remove the sinning and unrepentant believer from the church and to cut off his fellowship with the church. This prevents the church from being corrupted, defiled, involved in the sin, and thus being brought low. God gave the church authority to judge a sinning believer because He wants the church to preserve itself in holiness. If the church could be contaminated by a sinning believer, the church should surely judge and remove him. Such a one should not be allowed to remain in the fellowship of the church.
2. “Not to mingle...with such a one not even to eat” (1 Cor. 5:11).
The church judges a sinning believer by removing him from the church, that is, by causing him to be cut off from the fellowship of the church so that he may not mingle with the brothers and sisters, not even to eat with them. On the one hand, this prevents other brothers and sisters from being corrupted by the sinning believer and the church from being defiled. On the other hand, it is a punishment and a discipline to the sinning believer that causes him to suffer, be unhappy, repent, and return. It is not an eternal rejection, which results in his perishing, but a temporary punishment and discipline that causes him to repent. If a believer who is removed repents, the church should forgive him and receive him back in love. This is according to the apostle’s word to the church in Corinth (2 Cor. 2:6-8).
Another exercise of God’s judgment is His judgment of discipline on the believers. Although God wants the church to judge and discipline the believers, there are many problems in the believers that the church cannot touch. For example, a brother might constantly quarrel with his wife, or a sister might frequently lose her temper with her husband. These are not gross, blatant sins like adultery, nor are they the sins spoken of in 1 Corinthians 5, so the church cannot judge and deal with them. Instead, God will reach out His hand to discipline and deal with them. God’s discipline of the believers is a third kind of judgment.
God can exercise the judgment of His discipline on the believers at any time. Whenever God thinks that a believer has a need, He exercises His disciplining judgment.
The judgment of God’s discipline on the believers can occur at any time and in any place. If God thinks it necessary and appropriate, He will exercise the judgment of His discipline.
1. “‘Whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He scourges every son whom He receives.’ It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons. For what son is there whom the father does not discipline?” (Heb. 12:6-7).
In His judgment of discipline on the believers, God is the Judge. The believers are the children of God, and God is our Father. All fathers discipline their children. As our Father, God also disciplines. His discipline is proof that He accepts us as His children. Therefore, this judgment is a matter of God’s governmental administration within His household.
1. “If we discerned ourselves, we would not be judged. But being judged by the Lord, we are disciplined” (1 Cor. 11:31-32).
Since God’s disciplinary judgment of the believers is focused on the believers, the ones being judged are believers. However, if we discern ourselves first, that is, if we judge ourselves first, we can avoid this disciplinary judgment from God. If we have sinned and do not judge ourselves, God will discipline us by judging us so that we will be corrected by Him to leave our sin.
1. “What son is there whom the father does not discipline?” (Heb. 12:7).
God’s disciplinary judgment on the believers is based upon His love. He disciplines not only because He is our Father but also because He loves us. He is not simply our Father; He is our loving Father. He must discipline us because He loves us. What children are loved by their father but are not disciplined by their father? God disciplines us not because He dislikes us but because He loves us. He strikes us in discipline because He loves us. Therefore, God’s love for us as our Father is the basis of His disciplinary judgment upon us. For this reason God’s disciplinary judgment can be considered His loving discipline, His loving judgment.
2. “For what is profitable” (Heb. 12:10).
On the one hand, God’s disciplinary judgment on the believers is based upon His love, and on the other hand, it is also based upon His good pleasure toward us. Hebrews 12:10 says that God disciplines us, judges us, for our profit. His good pleasure for us causes Him to think about our profit and to discipline us. Whatever comes to us through His disciplinary judgment is out of the arrangement and exercise of His good pleasure toward us. Thus, His good pleasure toward us is also a basis for Him to judge us in His discipline.
1. “For what is profitable that we might partake of His holiness...It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness” (Heb. 12:10-11).
The judgment of God’s discipline of the believers results in profit for the believers by causing them to partake of His holiness and to bear the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Believers should be separated from the world and live a holy life that matches God’s holy nature. Our behavior and actions should match God’s righteousness, and we should be harmonious and peaceable toward God and man. However, we often do not live like this after we are saved; instead, we continue to mingle with the world. Our living often does not match God’s holy nature, and our behavior does not match God’s righteous procedures. We have problems and strife with God and man. This forces God to discipline and punish us. Every time we pass through God’s disciplinary judgment, however, we come out of the world a little more. This makes our living more in accord with God’s holy nature and our behavior more in accord with God’s righteous ways. It brings us into more harmony and peace with God and man. If everything in our life were easy, if we were healthy, if things always went smoothly, if we did not have God’s disciplinary judgment, it would be very easy for us to be in the world. It would be easy for us to be loose and to have problems with God and man. But when God disciplines us, we must leave these conditions because God causes us to partake of His holy nature and to match His righteous ways. We also have more peaceable fruit. These are the result of God’s exercising His disciplinary judgment.
2. “That we may not be condemned with the world” (1 Cor. 11:32).
The result of God’s disciplinary judgment upon the believers is not merely to profit us but also to cause us to escape from being condemned with the world. God will judge all sinners, and God cannot avoid judging man’s sinful actions because He is righteous. However, God does not want His children to be condemned and judged with the world. Therefore, before God judges the world, He will exercise His discipline to punish and judge His children, as indicated in 1 Peter 4:17, which says that God’s judgment begins “from the house of God.” This is typified by both God’s judgment of David (2 Sam. 12:13-18) and God’s promise to David and his descendants (7:14-15).
The judgment of the church and God’s disciplinary judgment both deal with the believers for their profit in order to separate them from the world. Both are matters of God’s governmental administration within His own household.
God will also exercise judgment on the believers at the judgment seat of Christ, where the actions and work of every believer will be judged. The sins of a believer, which occurred before salvation, were judged in the first judgment of God at the cross of Christ; after a believer’s salvation, God continues to exercise judgment upon a believer’s sins through the church and through His discipline in order to correct the believers. However, after a believer is saved, his actions and work before God must also be judged at the judgment seat of Christ. Our actions and work after salvation must pass through a final pronouncement of judgment. This judgment, which will occur at the judgment seat of Christ, is the fourth judgment in God’s administration of His government. Since it is something that will happen to us in the future, we must pay careful attention to it.
1. “Until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts, and then there will be praise to each from God” (1 Cor. 4:5).
The believers’ actions and work will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ when Christ returns at the end of the church age. The Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness in us and make manifest the counsels of our hearts. He will judge us according to our motives and actions so that we will receive praise from God according to our true condition.
2. “The Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense me in that day” (2 Tim. 4:8 see also 1 Cor. 3:13).
This verse shows that the Lord will judge us in order to reward us in that day, the day of His return. He will judge our actions and work according to His righteousness after we are saved, and He will reward us according to what we have done.
3. “The master of those slaves came and settled accounts with them” (Matt. 25:19).
In this parable the Lord indicated that His judgment of our actions and work will be a settling of accounts. When we were saved, we received the Lord’s grace; His gift is likened to a sum of money that has been given to us for doing business. The Lord will settle accounts with us according to how much we have earned for Him, that is, how we have lived and served Him since our salvation. He will settle accounts with us when He returns. He will require us to give an account of all that we have done since our salvation in order for there to be a full settlement.
4. “It will be repaid to you in the resurrection of the righteous” (Luke 14:14).
The Lord will judge us in order to determine if we will be repaid with a reward at the resurrection of the righteous. The resurrection of the righteous will take place at the time of the Lord’s return. Luke 14:14 proves that the Lord will judge us at the time of His return. Whatever we do for the Lord today will be repaid by the Lord.
1. “The Lord Himself...will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are living, who are left remaining, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air” (1 Thes. 4:16-17).
When the Lord returns, He will descend from heaven to the air. At that time the believers who are dead will rise first, and then the living believers will be changed (1 Cor. 15:51-52). All believers will be caught up together in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then the Lord will judge our actions and work that occur after our salvation. The judgment at the judgment seat of Christ will occur at the Lord’s return, and it will take place in the air to which the Lord will descend and the believers will ascend.
1. “He who examines me is the Lord” (1 Cor. 4:4).
The Judge at the judgment seat of Christ is the Lord. He will examine us. He will be the Judge who examines and judges our actions and work after we were saved.
2. “The Lord, the righteous Judge” (2 Tim. 4:8).
The Lord will be a righteous Judge at His judgment seat. He will righteously judge our actions and work after we were saved.
3. “The judgment seat of Christ”; “The judgment seat of God” (2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:10).
These two verses show that the judgment seat of Christ is also called the judgment seat of God. When Christ judges us in the future, God’s judgment will be carried out by Christ. All matters of judgment have been given over to Christ (John 5:22, 27). At the judgment seat Christ will judge from His position of God, as God who is our Judge, just as He will later be the Judge at the throne of His glory and at the great white throne.
Roman emperors often sent high-ranking officials throughout the empire to judge important cases. Whenever these officials came to a city, they established a judgment seat and began to judge. When the apostle Paul spoke of Christ judging the believer’s conduct and work, he used this practice as an analogy. Christ will be the “highest ranking official” sent to carry out God’s judgment upon His children and to clear up any problems with their actions and work.
1. “We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10).
It is the believers who will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ. We and all refer to all the believers. All believers will be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ to be judged. The judgment seat of Christ will be established in the air, so the ones who are manifested are those who have been raptured into the air. Since only believers are raptured to the air, only believers are judged before the judgment seat of Christ.
2. “Why do you judge your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God...So then each one of us will give an account concerning himself to God” (Rom. 14:10-12).
These verses refer to the ones who are judged before the judgment seat of God, which is the judgment seat of Christ, as brothers. Therefore, it is believers who will give an account to the Lord. We will have to explain our treatment of our brothers. Therefore, we should not judge the brothers or speak against them. When we speak against our brothers, we should remember that one day we will stand before the Lord to give an account concerning ourselves. This will not be easy — it will be very difficult! When we criticize our brothers today, we should remember that we will stand before the Lord one day to give an account concerning ourselves. If we truly saw this matter, we would stop judging the brothers and deal severely with ourselves, correcting ourselves and behaving carefully lest we receive judgment from the Lord.
1. “Each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10 see also Rev. 22:12; Matt. 16:27).
The Lord’s judgment of us before His judgment seat will be based on our actions after we were saved. There the Lord will judge us according to what we have practiced, whether good or bad, and He will repay us according to His judgment.
2. “The work of each will become manifest; for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will prove each one’s work” (1 Cor. 3:13).
The Lord will judge us at His judgment seat not only for our actions but also for our work after being saved. The work that we have done for the Lord after our salvation will be manifested at the judgment seat of Christ to be proved and judged by His fire.
Thus, after we are saved, we cannot be loose in the way that we behave and work for the Lord. These matters will both be judged by the Lord before His judgment seat. The Lord does not save us and then forget us, allowing us to act and work as we please. All that we have done since our salvation will be judged by Him. He will judge us according to these things and give us a recompense. Therefore, it is very important how we live and act after we are saved.
1. “Each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad”; “My reward...to render” (2 Cor. 5:10; Rev. 22:12).
At the judgment seat of Christ every believer will receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad. If we have practiced good things, we will receive a good recompense, a reward. If we have practiced evil, we will receive an evil recompense, a punishment. Therefore, the judgment that we receive before the judgment seat of Christ depends upon our actions after we were saved. The judgment seat of Christ will manifest the nature of our actions after we were saved.
2. “If anyone’s work...remains, he will receive a reward; if anyone’s work is consumed, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:14-15).
These verses are clearly worded. At the judgment seat of Christ some will receive a reward, and others will suffer loss. Some will be rewarded because their work will remain after passing through the Lord’s testing fire of judgment. Others will suffer loss because their work will be consumed by the Lord’s testing fire of judgment. Although they will suffer loss, they themselves will be saved. They will be saved, but it will be as if passing through fire. According to God’s salvation, believers are saved eternally. The quality of our work cannot affect or change this matter. Although we may suffer loss, we will not lose our salvation. Although we may suffer loss, we will still be saved. Salvation alone, however, does not mean that we will be without problems. We can still suffer loss as if passing through fire.
The judgment we will face at the judgment seat of Christ is not related to eternal salvation or perdition. It is related to whether or not we will receive a reward or punishment. The matter of our eternal salvation was resolved through God’s judgment of Christ at the cross. However, there is still the matter of reward and punishment, which can be decided only at the judgment seat of Christ. Salvation or perdition is related to our sins before salvation; reward or punishment is related to our actions and work after salvation. Our sins were dealt with at the cross of Christ, but our actions and work will be dealt with at the judgment seat of Christ.
Unbelievers will not be judged at the judgment seat of Christ; only believers will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Since the matter of our salvation has been resolved, we will never perish. Only believers need to be judged at the judgment seat of Christ in order to manifest of what sort our actions and work are after our salvation. To the extent that we please the Lord, we will be rewarded. To the extent that we displease the Lord, we will suffer loss. This determination will be made at the judgment seat of Christ. In addition to the verses above, Matthew 25:19-30, Luke 19:15-26, and James 5:9 also refer to this matter.
God will also judge man before Christ’s throne of glory. The first four judgments of God are related to the believers. The fifth and sixth kind of judgments are related to the nations, the Gentiles, who will be divided into two groups — the living and the dead. God’s judgment of the Gentiles will occur at two different times. He will first judge the living nations, the Gentiles, and later judge the dead unbelievers. In the fifth judgment the living Gentiles will be judged, and in the sixth judgment the dead unbelievers will be judged.
1. “When the Son of Man comes...He will sit on the throne of His glory” (Matt. 25:31).
The fifth judgment will occur when the Lord returns. At this time the church age will be over, and the believers will have been raptured to the air to be judged before the judgment seat of Christ. Following Christ’s return, He will come to the earth and sit on His throne of glory to judge all the people from the nations living on the earth at that time.
1. “At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations will be gathered to it” (Jer. 3:17).
When the Lord returns, Jerusalem will become the throne of Jehovah, the throne of Christ, and all the nations will be gathered to it. When the Lord comes to earth and sits on His throne of glory to judge the nations who are living, He will be in the earthly Jerusalem. The earthly Jerusalem will be the center of God’s government and rule on the earth. Therefore, it is reasonable that the Lord would establish His throne of glory there to judge the nations.
1. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory...All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:31-32).
In chapter 48 we saw that these verses refer to the nations who are living on earth, the Gentiles. They will be gathered before Christ to be judged by Him. The Judge of the nations who are living on earth will be the Christ who comes in His glory. He will gather all the nations living on earth and separate them, just as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. Even the Gentiles are His flock (Psa. 100:1-3); therefore, as their Shepherd, He is the only One with the authority to judge them.
2. “He has set a day in which He is to judge the world in righteousness by the man whom He has designated” (Acts 17:31 see also John 5:22, 27).
Christ is the man whom God has designated to judge the people in the world. God has given all judgment to Christ. He has given Christ the authority to judge. On the day that God has set, Christ will judge the people in the world in righteousness.
3. “Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living” (2 Tim. 4:1 see also Acts 10:42).
Christ will judge the people living on earth. God has designated Him as the Judge of the living.
1. “All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matt. 25:32).
Christ will judge the nations living on earth at His throne of glory when He returns. The nations are the Gentiles who are living on earth at that time. The nations do not include believers or Jews. When the Lord returns to the earth, the nations will be gathered before His throne of glory to be judged by Him, just like a shepherd separates his flock.
2. “Judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31).
The Lord will judge the world in righteousness. The world means the people in the world. Those who come before the Lord’s throne of glory to be judged by Him will be all the people living on the earth.
3. “Who is to judge the living” (2 Tim. 4:1 see also Acts 10:42).
The Lord will judge the living people on the earth before His throne of glory.
1. “Inasmuch as you have done it to one of these, the least of My brothers, you have done it to Me...Inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, neither have you done it to Me” (Matt. 25:40, 45).
Christ will judge the living nations before His throne of glory based upon how they treated the least of His brothers. If they treated the least of the Lord’s brothers well, the Lord will call them righteous and consider them sheep. If they treated the Lord’s little brothers evilly, the Lord will condemn them as evil and consider them goats. In chapter 48 we saw that these brothers of the Lord are the believers who are left in the tribulation. They are not yet mature, so they are the least of the Lord’s brothers. How the people of the earth treat these brothers of the Lord is the basis for the Lord’s judgment upon them when He comes to the earth.
1. “Then the King will say to those on His right hand...inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...He will say also to those on the left, Go away from Me...into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels...And these shall go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:34, 41, 46).
When the living nations are judged before Christ’s throne of glory, some will enter into eternal life, and others will go away into eternal punishment. Those who enter into eternal life are those who treated the least of the Lord’s brothers well. They will be the righteous sheep. Those who go away into eternal punishment are those who treated the least of the Lord’s brothers evilly. They will be the evil goats. The righteous will enter eternal life, that is, the kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. Eternal life will be a realm to them. Entering eternal life is different from the believers obtaining eternal life. Eternal life is not simply a realm to the believers; it is also a life. But to the righteous eternal life is only a realm. Obtaining eternal life means that, on the one hand, God’s life enters into us when we believe in Christ, and on the other hand, we enter into eternal life when the Lord returns; that is, we will inherit eternal life in eternity (Mark 10:30; Matt. 19:29). However, for the righteous to enter into eternal life is merely an entrance into a realm of eternal life in order to inherit the kingdom that God has prepared for them. This kingdom is earthly, and its blessings are earthly. God prepared this for them from the foundation of the world. It is different from the kingdom we obtain. The kingdom we obtain is heavenly, and its blessings are heavenly. Our kingdom was planned by God before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:3-4). The righteous will enter into a realm of eternal life in order to inherit the earthly blessings of the kingdom that God prepared for them from the foundation of the world. These are the blessings that God prepared for man to enjoy on the earth when He created him. These blessings were lost when created man sinned and fell. In the millennial kingdom, however, all things will be restored (Acts 3:21), including these blessings. Thus, God will enable the righteous, earthly people to enjoy these earthly blessings. The kingdom that God prepared for them is the earthly part of the millennial kingdom. These righteous ones will be its inhabitants.
The evil ones will enter into eternal punishment, that is, the lake of fire (Rev. 20:15). The lake of fire is clearly a realm of eternal punishment. This matches the fact that eternal life for the righteous is also a realm. Both eternal life and eternal punishment are realms for these people. One will be a realm of eternal enjoyment, and the other will be a realm of eternal punishment. Both are realms that can be entered. The righteous people, the sheep, who enter into eternal life, will be God’s blessed subjects in His kingdom; the evil people, the goats, who enter into eternal punishment, will be the suffering companions of the devil in the lake of fire. These are the result of the judgment before Christ’s throne of glory. The parable of the net in Matthew 13:47-50 that we studied in chapter 48 also speaks of this judgment. The good sea life, spoken of in that parable, equals the sheep, and the foul sea life equals the goats.
The sixth judgment of God on man is His judgment at the great white throne. This is God’s last judgment on man; therefore, it is a great matter in God’s administrative government over man. Although the fifth judgment deals with the living nations, the dead from all the ages still need to be judged. Thus, there is the need for a final judgment. This is the judgment before the great white throne. All the dead unbelievers from every age will come before the great white throne to be judged to determine their eternal destiny.
1. “The rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed...And when the thousand years are completed” (Rev. 20:5, 7).
The judgment at the great white throne will take place after the millennial kingdom and before the new heaven and new earth. Therefore, there will be one thousand years between this judgment and the judgment that occurs at Christ’s throne of glory. After the millennial kingdom all the dead, that is, all the unrisen dead, will rise and be judged.
The judgment before the great white throne perhaps will take place in the air because by then the heaven and earth will have fled away, and no place will be found for them (Rev. 20:11).
1. “A great white throne and Him who sat upon it” (Rev. 20:11 see also John 5:22, 27).
The One who will judge the dead at the great white throne will be the One who is spoken of here as “Him who sat upon it.” This One must be the Lord Christ. God has given all judgment to Him and designated Him as the Judge of both the living and the dead.
2. “Christ Jesus, who is to judge...the dead” (2 Tim. 4:1 see also Acts 10:42).
This verse says that Christ will judge the dead. God has established Christ as the Lord who will judge the dead. He will judge the living at His throne of glory, and He will judge the dead at His great white throne.
1. “I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne...And the dead were judged” (Rev. 20:12).
Those who are judged before the great white throne are the dead unbelievers. All the dead from every age will stand (standing implies that they had been resurrected) before the great white throne to be judged by the Lord. Those who stand in this judgment will not be saved believers. Since the believers were judged by God at the cross, they will not be judged again at this time related to eternal condemnation. However, those who have no part in the judgment of Christ at the cross must be judged at this time related to eternal condemnation and perdition.
2. “Judge...the dead” (2 Tim. 4:1 see also Acts 10:42).
Those who are judged at Christ’s throne of glory will be the living, that is, the living nations; those who are judged at the great white throne will be the dead, that is, the dead unbelievers.
1. “The dead were judged by the things which were written in the scrolls, according to their works” (Rev. 20:12).
The judgment of the dead unbelievers at the great white throne will be based on their actions which God recorded. God records in scrolls every single thing that one does while he is living. The Lord will judge according to this record, that is, according to everyone’s actions while they were alive.
1. “If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15).
The dead unbelievers who are judged at the great white throne, who were not found written in the book of life, will be cast into hell in the lake of fire to perish and suffer eternally. Since they sinned with the devil when they were alive, they will suffer the punishment of eternal flames with him for eternity.
The fifth and sixth judgments determine whether or not a person perishes. Both of these judgments are before thrones. One is before the throne of glory, and the other is before the great white throne. They are different from the judgment before the judgment seat of Christ. The judgment before the judgment seat determines whether a believer receives a reward or a punishment; the judgments before Christ’s throne of glory and the great white throne determine whether or not a person perishes.
The first four judgments of God are related to believers, whereas the last two are related to the nations and unbelievers. The believers have passed through the judgment at the cross, resolving the matter of eternal salvation and becoming the church, the children in the house of God. In the church, the house of God, believers can receive the judgment of the church related to blatant and unrepentant sins and can also receive God’s judgment of discipline in order to partake of and manifest His holiness. Prior to the Lord’s return, the believers will be raptured to the air to be judged before the judgment seat of Christ to determine either their reward or punishment. When the Lord returns, the living nations will be judged before Christ’s throne of glory to determine whether they will enter into eternal life or into eternal punishment. Then the dead unbelievers will face the final judgment at the great white throne at the end of the millennial kingdom to determine their eternal punishment. Through these six judgments every problem related to the satisfaction of God’s righteousness, holiness, and glory will be fully cleared up among both believers and unbelievers.
In addition to these six judgments, the Bible also speaks of angels being judged (2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 6). The judges in this judgment are the saved children of God (1 Cor. 6:3).
