There are many judgments mentioned in Scripture that appear at different times. There was the judgment of Adam and Eve, the judgment of the people of Noah’s day, the judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.
There were various groups of people judged by God such as Egyptians, Babylonians, the Ninevehites, and of course the Israelites to mention a few.
There are also individual judgments as we who belong to God critique our lives to see if we are in God’s will.
There will be future judgments such as the Judgment Seat of Christ, the Sheep and Goat Judgment, and the Great White Throne Judgment.
The Sheep and Goat Judgment will settle who goes into the Millennium or to the “place prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:31-46) once the Tribulation is ended.
The two most important judgments are the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment.
The Judgment Seat of Christ will be for the Church and only the Church. It will take place in Heaven while those on earth are going through the Tribulation. The judging will be by our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Rewards will be given to each person in the Church based on how we have used our life for Him. I’ll come back to the Judgment Seat of Christ later.
Great White Throne Judgment
The Great White Throne Judgment will be a time and place where all of mankind who do not know Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord will stand before Him to be judged. Everyone who has died and who is living at that time without Christ in their heart will be standing before Him as a defendant to be judged.
Cain will be there. Pharaoh will be there. Goliath will be there. Alexander the Great will be there. Caesar, Nero and Caligula will be there. Judas, Pilate, Caiaphas, the Antichrist and false prophet will be there. Joining them will be Lenin, Stalin, Hitler, and many other well-known names. There will be millions present who no one knows but God.
“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.” Revelation 20:12
All who are dead and without Christ are currently in hell waiting for that date; the date they will stand before a holy God and admit He is God while they kneel before Him awaiting their judgment.
The Lord Jesus will listen to every excuse, but when it’s all over there will be no acceptable excuse. All, without exception, will be sent to the Lake of Fire to spend the rest of eternity in torment.
I’ve gotten to the age where I most always check the obituaries each day. As I look at the names, I wonder, “Were they saved?” Some who I know personally are saved, and some are not. What a joy to leave this world and be with Jesus, but on the other hand, what a tragedy to leave this world and be in hell awaiting the final judgment.
Most people today are very flippant about Jesus Christ and their need for Him. Others are very antagonistic concerning Jesus, and the world’s hatred is growing greater as the days pass. Blind to the Truth now, but then in hell, when the Truth is most evident, it is too late.
There are no atheists or agnostics in hell. They may have claimed that distinction while alive on earth, but not now, not in hell. Some will beg and some will curse God, but none can change their circumstances once they are in that awful place. Actually, it will just get worse. They’ll go from the county jail (hell) to the prison (lake of fire) doing hard time for eternity.
We open our newspapers each morning and read the stories of people in our communities who must stand before the judge. They must answer for the crimes they have allegedly committed. They may be found not guilty. They may be found guilty and have a sentence imposed. At the Great White Throne Judgment all will be found guilty. Christ will administer judgment based on what they have seen and heard about Him and what they have done about Him (Matthew 10:15; 11:20-24). All will be sentenced to the lake of fire for eternity.
Every person living today who does not know Jesus Christ as there Savior can avoid the Great White Throne Judgment by simply recognizing they are a sinner headed for hell, and then ask Jesus to save them. It doesn’t matter how good or bad one is, the blood of Jesus can wash us clean and make us one of His own if we just put our faith in Him. If you will do that, the only judgment facing you will be the Judgment Seat of Christ.
“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. 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. 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. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
Grant Phillips
Email: grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture Commentary: http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
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