Elementary Series #7: The Eternal Judgement
Why do we need to know about the eternal judgement? God kept this topic as one of the fundamental teachings of Christ because this is the matter of life and death of a soul. Also, it is a good reminder for why we should preach the gospel when we are in time or not. For those who put their faith in Christ, there will be a glory ending as He is faithful…
ENGLISH - BASICS
YTM
12/21/20257 min read
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. And this will we do, if God permit.
(Hebrews 6:1-3; KJV)
Today, we will look at the last elementary teachings about Christ, which is the sixth item on the nutrient table of God’s milk to believers - - the Final Judgement.
I found this teaching give me a lot of hope and courage, especially when we are facing the time of this lawlessness. And I hope you will be encouraged by it as well. And the love of God and people will keep you going to tell people about Jesus and His salvation. No matter what type of difficulties and injustice you are facing in your faith journey, always remember, there is a final judgement from God. He is faithful and just!
When we talk about judgement, we think about people who break laws and judged and punished in our society. Likewise, similar things will also happen in God’s kingdom. God judged Sodom and Gomorrah by raining down the burning sulfur. When the sin of the Amorites reached its full measure, God used Israelites to drive them out of their land. Such judgement is God’s judgement in history, but it is not the final judgment. Because all the people died in the historic judgement are still waiting for the final judgement of their soul in the eternity.
Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgement. (Hebrews 9:27; NIV)
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 20:14-15; KJV)
1. The Judgment of the Fiery Throne of the Ancient of Days
The final judgment starts with the timeline of second coming of Lord Jesus Christ because the Father God has entrusted all judgement to the son.
In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge. (John 5:22; NLT)
And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man. (John 5:27; NLT)
In Jesus’s Parable of the Ten Minas, He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return” (Luke 19:12). This is the foretell of His second coming as an appointed king to rule and judge on the earth. Daniel book 7:9-14 talked about how this will happen at the end time. The antichrist which is the little horn of the fourth beast in Daniels’ vision, came and waged war against the holy people and oppressed them for a time, times, and half a time. (Daniel 7:21-26) But the Ancient of Days took his seat and judged all the beats. And their authorities were taken away from them to give to Jesus. Jesus Christ, the son of man in Daniel’s vision, was led into the presence of the Ancient of Days. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power to all nations and peoples. This is what will happened in heaven when Jesus Christ is appointed king before His return to earth. Because all the rulers and kingdoms of the earth (four beasts) were all judged, and only Jesus is worth to judge and reign on earth. We can see the judgement happened first in the heaven then it will move to the earth as we continue this study.
I watched as thrones were put in place, and the Ancient One sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like purest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him; many millions stood to attend him. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened. I continued to watch because I could hear the little horn’s boastful speech. I kept watching until the fourth beast was killed and its body was destroyed by fire. The other three beasts had their authority taken from them, but they were allowed to live a while longer. As my vision continued that night, I saw someone like a son of man coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient One and was led into his presence. 14He was given authority, honor, and sovereignty over all the nations of the world, so that people of every race and nation and language would obey him. His rule is eternal—it will never end. His kingdom will never be destroyed. (Daniel 7:9-14, NLT)
2. The Judgment seat of Christ
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10)
The Bible says, judgement begin with God’s household. This is what I believe how it will happen. The Lord will send his angels with a loud trumpet call to gather his elect and he will come back to the earth with thousands of his holy ones to judge all people.
“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other. (Matthew 24:30-31, NIV)
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about them: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all of them of all the ungodly acts they have committed in their ungodliness, and of all the defiant words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” (Jude 1:14-15, NIV)
In Matthew chapter 24 and 25, Jesus told four parables: the parable of faithful and wise servant, the parable of the ten virgins, the parable of the bags of gold, and the parable of sheep and goats. I believe the first three parables are related to the judgment seat of Christ, because the people who are judged are all Christians who had been given gifts or tasks to expand the kingdom. The unfaithful and wicked servants, the foolish virgins, and the wicked, lazy servant were all judged and thrown into the outer darkness with weeping and gnashing of teeth. The faithful and wise servants and wise virgins will all go into the mater’s banquet.
3. The Judgement before the Throne of Glory of Christ
The parable of the sheep and goats mentioned the throne of glory of Christ. It is possible that the judgment seat of Christ and the throne of His glory is referring to the same event.
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: 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. (Matthew 25:31-32; KJV)
One thing I was not sure is when the rapture will happen. Based on my understanding, the rapture happens when Jesus sends His angles to call his elect. Most likely, this will happen at the end the seven-year tribulation after the anti-christ is judged by the Ancient One.
And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. (Matthew 24:31; NLT)
It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. (1 Corthinthians 15:52; NLT)
4. The Judgement of the Dead before the Great White Throne
I believe all the above judgements will happen before the 1,000-year reign, or the Millennium of the Christ on earth. Those who resurrected in the first resurrection was blessed, because they will reign with Christ for a thousand years. (for more, please read this post) Personally, I believe the resurrected saints will be very busy with several tasks: (1) to rule the nations who passed the tribulations; (2) to capture the evil spirits and not allow them to deceive the people on earth; (3) to preach the Gospel and teach God’s law to people on the earth; and (4) judge the angels who had sinned. You may or may not agree with me about these tasks, but I do hope you agree with me that we would all want to be in part of the first resurrection. After the 1,000-year reign of Christ, the devil will be released to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth-Gog and Magog- and gather them to battle the God’s people. And God devoured them with fire from heaven. (revelation 20:7-9)
Then the eternal judgment of the dead starts before the new heaven and new earth come to replace the first heaven and the first earth. (Revelation 21:1) If the name of resurrected dead is not found in the book of a life and they will be through into the lake of fire, and that is the second death.
And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20: 11-15; NLT)
When we ponder these final judgments, it’s so difficult to imagine that why someone will not want to accept Jesus's salvation.
Let’s all have a reverent heart towards the Lord God!
For we know the one who said,
“I will take revenge. I will pay them back.”
He also said,
“The Lord will judge his own people.”
It is a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
(Hebrews 10 31-32; NLT)
I hope this post will motivate you to rethink the life and death choices of your soul. If you want to accept Jesus's scarifies on the cross as the replacement of the punishment for your sin, you can invite Him to your heart with a sincere prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, I confess that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe in my heart that you are the Son of God. You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sinful ways and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen!