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Chapter
49
The
Judgment
*** How many must meet
the test of the judgment?
“I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the
wicked.” Eccl. 3:17.
*** Will any besides
the human family be judged?
“And the angels which kept not their first estate, but
left their own habitation, He hath reserved in everlasting chains under
darkness unto the judgment of the great day.” Jude 6.
*** With which class
will the judgment begin? - With the righteous.
“For the time is come that judgment
must begin at the house of God: and
if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the
gospel of God?” 1 Peter 4:17.
*** Out of what will
they be judged?
“A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him; thousand
thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood
before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were opened.”
Dan. 7:10.
*** Will there be a
resurrection of all the dead?
“For the hour is coming in the which all that are in the
graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done
good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation.” John 5:28 (Acts 24:15).
*** What first occurs
when the voice of Christ is heard?
“For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the
dead in Christ shall rise first.” 1 Thess. 4:16.
*** In what condition
are the saints when raised from the dead?
“For the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” 1 Cor. 15:52.
*** Are the righteous
and the wicked raised together?
“And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness
of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast,
neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or
in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand
years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years
were finished. This is the first resurrection.” Rev. 20:4, 5.
*** Why have these been
separated from the others before the voice of Christ is heard?
“But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that
world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are
given in marriage.” Luke 20:35.
*** What takes place
with the living righteous at the second advent?
“Behold, I show you a mystery; We
shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the
twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.”
1 Cor. 15:51, 52; 1 Thess. 4:16, 17.
*** Why are these
separated from among the living wicked, and thus changed?
“Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that re may he accounted worthy
to escape all these things
that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.”
Luke 21:36.
*** How far will this
investigation of cases extend?
“For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every
secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Eccl. 12:14 (Matt. 12:36, 37).
*** When and where are
the open and the secret things recorded?
“Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the
Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written
before Him for them that feared the lord, and that thought upon His
name.” Mal. 3:16 (Rev. 20:12).
*** By whom is this
record made?
“Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say
thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be
angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?” Eccl. 5:6
(Matt. 18:10).
*** Who opens the
judgment, and presides over it?
“I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of
days did sit... A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him;
thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten
thousand stood before Him; the judgment was set, and the books were
opened.” Dan. 7:9, 10.
*** Who ministers to
the Lord, and assists in the judgment?
“Thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times
ten thousand stood before Him.” Dan. 7:10. “And I beheld, and I
heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts
and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten
thousand, and thousands of thousands.” Rev. 5:11.
*** Who else is brought
before the Father at this time?
“I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of
man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of
days, and they brought Him near before Him.” Dan. 7:13.
*** What is Christ’s
special work there before the Father and His angels?
“He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white
raiment; and I will not
blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name
before My Father, and before His angels.” Rev. 3:5.
NOTE. We have
learned that during this judgment scene the dead are still in their
graves. The record of each one’s life, however, is in the books in heaven,
and by the record their characters are well known. These records were made
by the angels, who are there to present them as the names of those who
have professed to be Christ’s followers are called from the book of life (Rev. 20:12). Christ is also there to appear in behalf of those who have
chosen Him as their advocate. (1 John 2:1). He presents His blood, as He
appeals for their sins to be blotted from the books of remembrance (Mal. 3:16). Those sins of which they had repented were forgiven when
they confessed them (Acts 3:19-21); but they could not be blotted out until
by a final examination of their life record it should be known that they
had repented of all their sins, and were finally overcomers. If
this is the case, then their names are confessed in the judgment. But if
it is seen that though running well for a time (Gal. 5:7), they did not
overcome, then instead of confessing their names before the Father and His
angels, and blotting out their sins, Christ will blot out their names from
the book of life (Rev. 3:5). As the place of judgment is in heaven, where
the throne of God is, and as Christ is present in person, it conclusively
follows that the work of judgment is also in heaven. All are judged by the
record of their lives, and thus answer for the deeds done in the body. It
is easy to see that such a work will not only decide forever the cases of
the dead, but will also close the probation of all who are living, after
which Christ will come to take to Himself those who are found to be loyal
to Him.
*** Where will
Christ receive His kingdom?
“And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all
people, nations, and languages, should serve Him.” Dan. 7:14 (Luke
19:12, 15) (Rev. 11:15).
*** When
He comes to earth, what title will He bear?
“And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written King
of Kings, and Lord of Lords.” Rev. 19:16.
*** What
will be His mission to the earth?
“For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father with
His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his
works.” Matt. 16:27 (Rev. 22:12),
*** Where
will the Saviour take His people?
“In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I
would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and
prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself;
that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:2, 3.
*** During the one
thousand years that intervene between the two resurrections, what will the
saints do?
“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was
given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for
the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped
the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their
foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned [in the
sense of judging] with Christ a thousand years.” Rev. 20:4.
*** Who will thus be
judged by the saints?
“Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world [the
wicked]? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge
the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much
more things that pertain to this life?” 1 Cor. 6:2, 3 (Dan. 7:21,
22).
NOTE. As the
names of the wicked were not found in the book of life at the time of the
investigative judgment, before the second coming of Christ, it was known
that they were not “worthy” of eternal life; but the degree of
punishment that they should receive is left for Christ and His saints to
decide during the one thousand years before the second resurrection. The
wicked angels. also, are to be judged at this time, in the same manner.
*** When will the saints judge the world?
“Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come.” 1 Cor. 4:5.
*** How will the
decision of the saints be executed?
“And out of His [Christ’s] mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with
it He should smite the nations: and He shall rule them with a rod of iron:
and He treadeth the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty
God.” Rev. 19:15.
*** Why is the
execution of the judgment thus given to Christ?
“For as the Father hath life in Himself , so hath He given to the
Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute
judgment also, because He is the Son of man.” John 5:26, 27.
*** How will the
opening of the investigative judgment be made known to the world?
“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the
everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to
every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud
voice, Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is
come.” Rev. 14:6, 7.
NOTE. It is
seen that there are two phases of the judgment brought to view in the
Scriptures, the investigative and the executive. The investigative
judgment takes place in heaven before Christ comes, in order to ascertain
who are worthy to be raised in the first resurrection, at His coming, and
who among the living are “accounted worthy” to be changed in the “twinkling of an eye,” at the sounding of the last trump. It is
necessary, therefore, for the investigative judgment to take place before
the second advent, as there will be no opportunity for such a work to be
done between the coming of Christ and the raising of the righteous dead,
who are to be clothed with immortality in the act of rising from the
grave. The executive judgment of the wicked occurs after the extent of
punishment which they are to receive has been decided by the saints who
were raised to sit on thrones of judgment (Rev. 20:4, 5) during, the
thousand years (1 Cor. 6:1-3). The investigative judgment is that which is
announced to the world by the angel’s message of Rev. 14:6, 7.
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