A List of End Time Judgements
As the end of time draws near for this creation, (the time just before what Paul's refers to as the 'fullness of the times', Eph.1:10), every living being will be subject to judgement based on their individual motives and actions during their life and ultimately their faith in the existence of God and His Word. According to Hebrews 9 below, what one does during their life, their choices and actions, is what they will be held accountable for after they die.
Heb.9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment:
Let's list out the various judgements that will follow this age and provide a brief context of each.
1. Judgement of sin by Christ's crucifixion.
The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, is the center point on the timeline of God's great plan for humanity. The pivot point in the history of this creation rests on the life and sacrifice of Christ. Ultimately, all of humanity will be judged by the faith they placed in God's Son.
- 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
- Romans 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
- Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
2. Personal Judgement
1 Cor.11:31-32 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world
Although the above scripture is in reference to examining your heart before partaking in the communion, it can also infer to taking account for your lifestyle and actions while there is still opportunity. In other words, judge yourself now, taking account of your life in the present, or be judged by God at the end of the age. What do I mean by judge yourself?
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Firstly, judge yourself as guilty of sin and in the desperate need of a
Saviour. Acknowledge that there is NOTHING you can do to earn the
righteousness and respect of God by your own actions or means. The word
"if" means that it is conditional. If you does not take the
responsibility to judge yourself, then God will take up that
responsibility.
- Secondly, we must judge ourselves to remove anything from our lives that does not honour God and bring Him glory. This has nothing to do with condemnation, but a natural assessment of your current lifestyle to determine if things can be pruned or changed. Our sanctification is directed by the Holy Spirit, but we must be willing to recognize what He is enlightening us to and be willing to cut out or change it as he leads. Study the Word and allow its advice and wisdom to bring you to discernment, evaluating your life, looking within at your heart and motives, determining where your priorities lie, what your focus is on. Be a vessel of honour for God and an ambassador for Christ and the mysteries of our doctrine.
3. The Bema Seat (or Judgement Seat of Christ)
After the rapture of the Body of Christ, all its members will be judged by the Lord Jesus Himself, the Head of the Church. This judgement can also be referred to as the Bema Seat. The word is also translated court or tribunal. The platform could be either public (John 19:13) or private (Acts 25:22). The bema is a tribunal for rewards. For example and in context with 1 Corinthians 9:25-26, in the large Olympic arenas, there was an elevated seat on which the judge of the contest sat. After the contests were over, the successful competitors would assemble before the bema to receive their rewards or crowns. The bema was not a judicial bench where someone was condemned; it was a reward seat. Likewise, the Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judicial bench. The Christian life is a race, and the divine umpire is Jesus Christ. After the race is over for each believer, He will gather every member before the bema for the purpose of examining each one and giving the proper reward to each.*
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2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of
Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
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Romans 14:10-12 But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou
set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment
seat of Christ. 11 For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every
knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. 12 So then
every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
- 1 Corinthians 3:13-15 Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
4. The Judgement of Israel in the Tribulation
Rev.12:17 And the dragon was wroth [was enraged] with the woman [Israel], and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.
God's purpose for the tribulation is two-fold; one would be for a time of judgment and wrath upon humanity and the other would be for the conversion of Israel. The tribulation will be a time in which God, through evil agencies, prepares Israel for her conversion and acknowledgment that Jesus is their Messiah, resulting in the second coming of Christ.
The Bible teaches us that God will use the tribulation to bring His elect people to faith in Jesus as their Messiah. When we put together the biblical information it appears that God will accomplish this goal in the following way:
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Once the tribulation begins He
"shall make you pass under the rod, and I shall bring you into the bond
of the covenant; and I shall purge from you the rebels and those who
transgress against Me; I shall bring them out of the land where they
sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus, you will know
that I am the Lord" (Ezekiel 20:37-38). This tells us that the unbelieving Jews ("the rebels") will be removed
during the tribulation.
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Zechariah gives us a numeric ratio that will be purged.
"And it will come about in all the land," Declares the Lord, "That two
parts in it will be cut off and perish; But the third will be left in it.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is
refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, And I
will answer them; I will say, 'They are My people,' And they will say,
'The Lord is my God.'" (Zechariah 13:8-9).
Therefore, we learn that two-thirds of Israel will be purged through the fire of the tribulation, leaving the one-third elect who will be converted to Jesus as their Messiah. Thus, "all Israel will be saved; just as it is written, 'The Deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove ungodliness from Jacob. And this is My covenant with them, When I take away their sins'" (Romans 11:26-27).
5. The Sheep and Goats Judgement
At the end of tribulation, Christ returns to judge the Gentile nations; the people of all the nations who survived the horrors of the tribulation. These surviving Gentiles will be gathered near Jerusalem and separated into "sheep", who will go on as mortals into Millennial Kingdom, and "goats" who will be cast into the lake of fire. Believing Gentiles (the sheep) will be identified by their support of Israel during the Tribulation (because only believers would have had the motivation to support Israel during such severe persecution by the Antichrist).
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Joel 3:1-2 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall
bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 2 I will also gather all
nations, and will bring them down into the valley of Jehoshaphat, and will
plead with them there for my people and for my heritage Israel, whom they
have scattered among the nations, and parted my land.
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Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy
angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his
glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate
them one from another,
as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but
the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
6. Judgement of Satan and his minions
Rev.20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, ...
After the defeat of Satan’s armies at Armageddon, he joins the ruler of the Revived Roman Empire, the Antichrist, and his prophet in the lake of fire (Rev.19:20).
... and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Satan’s punishment, along with the beast and false prophet, is eternal, not temporal. There will never be any relief to this torment. There is no implication of annihilation in this passage. The fire in the lake of fire has no end.** See 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 6-7.
7. Great White Throne Judgement
All unsaved people will approach the Great White Throne and stand before Jesus Christ for judgment, (John 5:22, John 5:26-29). The Book of Life and the Book of Works will be opened as evidence of their guilt, judging them by Paul's gospel (Romans 2:16). All in this judgement of the damned are found guilty and thrown into Lake of Fire—the second death.
- Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
8. The 'judgement' of the heavens and the earth
Not an official judgement, but the corruption of the old heavens and earth will pass away with melting heat and will be replaced with a new heavens and earth for all eternity.
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2 Peter 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same
word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and
perdition of ungodly men.
- Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
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*Indicated content referenced in part from text in
the following web page
by Don Stewart
**Indicated content referenced in part from text in
the following web page
by Grant Richison
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