Monday, October 25, 2004

When Will the Judge Judge? (Pre Millennialist View) Have you ever thought about how we will be evaluated (judged) at the end of our life?   These thoughts from John MacArthur complemented by commentary from various study references shed some insight into the "stages" of life evaluation we as Christians face. The First Stage When the Lord takes the church out of the world (1 Thess. 4:13-18) , there will be an evaluation of believers at what is known as "the judgment seat of Christ" (Gk. , bema; 2 Cor. 5:10) . Christ will evaluate the good we have done and reward us accordingly. There will be no condemnation here because there is "no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1) . The bema is the first point of judgment in the end, and it is for believers only.  From The Geneva Study Bible:  Verse:  2 Cor 5:10 - For we must all h 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. Commentary:  That no man might think that what he spoke of that heavenly glory pertains to all, he adds that every one will first render an account of his pilgrimage, after he has departed from here. We must all appear personally, and enquiry will be made of us, that all may see how we have lived. The Second Stage The next point of judgment occurs on earth at Christ's second coming. It is the judgment of the sheep and goats (Matt. 25:14-30) , which is for both believers and unbelievers. In that judgment Christ will separate the godly from the ungodly. Believers will then enter His kingdom, but the wicked will "go away into eternal punishment" (v. 46) .  From John Wesley's Notes On The Bible:  Verse:  Matthew 25:46 - "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life." Commentary:   And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life everlasting - Either therefore the punishment is strictly eternal, or the reward is not: the very same expression being applied to the former as to the latter. The Judge will speak first to the righteous, in the audience of the wicked. The wicked shall then go away into everlasting fire, in the view of the righteous. Thus the damned shall see nothing of the everlasting life; but the just will see the punishment of the ungodly. It is not only particularly observable here 1. That the punishment lasts as long as the reward; but, 2. That this punishment is so far from ceasing at the end of the world, that it does not begin till then. The Third Stage The final point of judgment occurs in heaven at the end of the millennium. It is the Great White Throne Judgment, which is for unbelievers only. God will bring all the unbelieving dead from all the ages before His throne for final judgment and condemnation to hell. Revelation 20 says, "The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (vv. 13-15) .  From :  John Wesley's Notes On The Bible:  Verse:  Revelation 20:13-15 - 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. Commentary:  Verse 13 - Death and hades gave up the dead that were in them - Death gave up all the bodies of men; and hades, the receptacle of separate souls, gave them up, to be re-united to their bodies. Verse 14 - And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire - That is, were abolished for ever; for neither the righteous nor the wicked were to die any more: their souls and bodies were no more to be separated. Consequently, neither death nor hades could any more have a being. 10:48:16 AM    comment []