The Five Judgments, Part #1 of 5

The Five Judgments 

Mt 25:31-32 When the son of man shall come in his glory, and all of the holy  angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory; and before him he shall gather all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a Shepherd divides his sheep from the goats:

Joel 3:1-2 For, behold, in those days, and in that time, when I shall bring again the captivity of Judah and Jerusalem, 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."

 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17  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: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

Each of these scripture references a moment in time known as judgement day.  For as long as I can remember I have heard about that day and that it was coming.  Judgement Day has been used as a Bible study aid, fuel for movies and Playground acronyms.  Just how much do we know about Judgement day.  Is the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple revelent?

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.

The above verses will be the bases of our discussion, and judgment is the common thread, but there seems to be a difference in how this judgement is carried out.  By adding the word, “this” judgment seems to muddle the water even more as to how the differences between Joel 3:1-2  and  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17  can be reconciled. 

The common opinion that the Millennium is to be ushered in by the preaching of the Gospel, and after the Millennium there is to be a "General Resurrection" followed by a "General judgment," and then the earth is to be destroyed by fire. This is what most have been taught but this  is not  all scriptural.  

There can be no "General" Judgment because the Scriptures speak of one judgment as being in the "Air" (1Th 4:16-17; 2Co 5:6-10); another on the "Earth" (Mt 25:31-46); and a third in "Heaven," the earth and its atmosphere, having fled away. Re 20:11-15. And to make sure that these three separate judgments should not and can not be combined in one General judgment scene, three different Thrones are mentioned.

1. The "Judgment Seat of Christ" 2Co 5:10. "In the Air." For "Believers" only. 

2. The "Throne of Glory." Mt 25:31-32. "On the Earth." For "The Nations." 

3. The "Great White Throne." Re 20:11-12. "In Heaven." For the "Wicked Dead."

The Scriptures speak of at least Five Separate Judgments. They differ in five general aspects. As to "Subjects," "Time," "Place," "Basis of Judgment" and "Result." The Judgments that we will discuss is labelled as such, Judgment #1, believers as to sin, this judgment took place when Christ died.  Judgment #2, believers as to works, it deals with when the church is caught out and take place in the air.  Judgment #3, is the Judgment of the Jews during the great tribulation.  Judgment #4 deals with the judgment of nations and Judgment #5 is the judgment of the wicked dead.  I hope I have whetted your appetite enough, now let us began.

JUDGMENT NO. 1

1. Subjects-- Believers as to "SIN."

2. Time-- A. D. 30.

3. Place-- Calvary.

4. Basis of Judgment-- Christ's "FINISHED WORK."

 5. Result-- (1.) Death as to Christ. (2.) Justification as to the Believer.

This judgment is PAST. The Bible proofs of the results of this judgment are:

"For Christ is the END OF THE LAW for righteousness to every one that Believeth." Ro 10:4.

"There is therefore NOW no condemnation, (Judgment) to them which are in CHRIST JESUS, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the Law of the `SPIRIT OF LIFE' in Christ Jesus hath made me FREE From the Law of sin and Death.'" Ro 8:1-2.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, HATH EVERLASTING LIFE and shall not come into condemnation (Judgment) but IS PASSED From Death Unto Life." John 5:24.

The "Believer's" Judgment for Sin then is PAST, and was settled at the Cross. But we must not forget that the judgment of the Believer is threefold.

1. As a "Sinner."

2. As a "Son."

3. As a "Servant."

As we have already seen his judgment as a "Sinner" is Past. Let us look at his judgment

2. As a "Son."

As soon as the sinner accepts Christ as his personal Savior that settles the "Sin" question for him. For if our iniquities are laid on Him (Jesus), then they are not on Us. Isa 53:5-6. But the "Sin" question, and the "Sins" question are two different things. Christ died on the Cross to atone for "sin," to pay the penalty of Adam's disobedience in the Garden of Eden. "Sin" is that tendency in mankind to do wrong which we call "Natural Depravity." We do not get rid of this "tendency" by the "New Birth," but we get a "counteracting force" called the "New Nature." We become a "dual personality," composed of the "Old" and "New Natures," and which shall predominate depends on which we feed and which we starve. This explains the "warfare" that Paul describes as his experience, after his conversion, in Ro 7:1-25. This warfare will continue until the "Old" nature is eradicated at death. "Sins" are the outward acts of wrongdoing that we commit as the result of our tendency to sin. These sins must be put away daily by "confession."

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an `Advocate' with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1John 2:1.

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1John 1:9.

Our judgment as "Sons" is for "un-confessed sins." The punishment is chastisement. This explains much of the chastisement of Christians, and should show them that they are "Sons" and not "Bastards." Heb 12:5-11. Paul says--

"If we would `judge ourselves' we should not be judged. But when we are judged we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned (Judged) with the world." 1Co 11:31-32.

Our duty then as "Sons" is to "self-judge" ourselves daily, "confess our sins," and so avert the chastisement of our Heavenly Father.

3. As a Servant. This leads us to--Judgment #2

    

                                                          Continued in Part #2

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