11.09 The Judgment Day
11 - The Judgment; Section 9 THE JUDGMENT DAY The apostle Paul, speaking on Mars Hill, told the Athenians, "... God ... hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead" (Acts 17:31). This passage sets forth four wonderful truths:
(1) God has appointed A DAY (2) In that DAY He shall JUDGE THE WORLD in righteousness (3) He shall JUDGE THE WORLD by that MAN whom He has ordained (4) This ASSURANCE is given unto ALL MEN. The judgment day is not a day of eternal doom, but a blessed day of ASSURANCE TO ALL MEN. But how is that assurance given unto all men? In just this way. God has appointed a day, an indefinite period of time in which He will in righteousness JUDGE THE WORLD by a MAN whom He has ordained for that purpose. That Man of course is His Son, and His Son died the death of all humanity, but this assurance lies in the fact that GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. The assurance given UNTO ALL is, that as God dealt with His own Son in this particular, He will also deal with ALL HUMANITY. This is the point that is overlooked by the vast majority of preachers and teachers and churches in this day. Today, all depends upon whether or not the person accepts the teaching of a particular church, submitting to its ordinances and rituals, embracing the doctrine which is held by all its members. Having done that, the particular church then assures the new member that he is a Christian and that he is going to a place called heaven. But the assurance of God does not rest upon any such frail foundation. God’s assurance rests upon the FACT of the resurrection of His own Son, and that assurance is given not to a select few, but to ALL MEN. The term "day," both in the Scriptures and in common usage, though most frequently used to represent a period of twelve or twenty-four hours, really signifies any definite or special period of time. Thus, for instance, we speak of Abraham’s day, Noah’s day, Luther’s day, Washington’s day; and thus in the Bible the entire time of creation is called a day, where we read of "the day that the Lord God made the earth and the heavens" (Genesis 2:4) - a long, definite period, which includes the six other "days" of creation listed in Genesis chapter one. Then we read of "the day of temptation in the wilderness" - forty years (Hebrews 3:8-9); "the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2); also the "day of vengeance," the "day of wrath," and the "day of trouble" - terms applied to a period of forty years at the close of the Jewish nation, and to a similar period of trouble when the times of the Gentiles are brought to a close at the end of this age. Then again we read of the "day of Christ," the "day of judgment," and "His day" - terms especially applicable to the glorious triumph of the Kingdom of God in an realms, as the Christ, Head and body, reigns over, rules and judges THE NATIONS in righteousness, granting wonderful blessing as well as rendering binding sentences. And of that period it is written: "He shall judge the world in righteousness, and in HIS DAY shall show who is that blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords" (Acts 17:31; 1 Timothy 6:15).
Ah, God has appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by THAT MAN WHOM HE HATH ORDAINED, and that MAN is the Christ, Head and body! When giving his preview of the wonderful work of this time the apostle John wrote: "Then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom authority to act as JUDGES and pass sentence was entrusted. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witnessing to Jesus and for the Word of God, and who had refused to pay homage to the beast ... and they lived again, and ruled with Christ a thousand years. Blessed is the person who takes part in the first resurrection. Over them the second death has no power or authority, but they shall be ministers of God and of Christ, and they shall rule with Him a thousand years" (Revelation 20:4; Revelation 20:6).
"Thrones" occupied by them to whom the authority to "act as judges" is given! Is this a glorious and exciting prospect, or does it cast a dark shadow upon what would otherwise be a bright picture? Judges! Decisions handed down! Judicial decisions! Authority! How are we to view such a prospect? In conjunction with this vision John says, "Then I saw an angel (symbol of a MINISTRY) descending from heaven (the governmental realm of God); he was holding the key of the abyss - the bottomless pit - and a great chain was in his hand. And he gripped and overpowered the dragon, that old serpent of primeval times, who is the devil and Satan, and securely bound him for a thousand years. Then he hurled him into the abyss and closed it and sealed it above him, so that he should NO LONGER LEAD ASTRAY AND DECEIVE AND SEDUCE T-H-E N-A-T-I-O-N-S ..." (Revelation 20:1-3). Talk about judgment! Sentencing! Judicial authority! Power from heaven! Spiritual power! A burning word of authority! John beheld this whole present world-system passing away. After six millenniums of sin, sorrow, tyranny, war, oppression, pain, and death mankind needs DELIVERANCE! The NATIONS need a change! For six-thousand years the earth has been governed by the will of carnal men and the will of man has been usurped by the mind of Satan. The nations have been governed variously by kings, emperors, dictators, prime ministers, and presidents, but the net result has always been the same, for the corrupt nature of man ever asserts itself, seeking its own purposes, fulfilling its own desires, and doing its own will. Are the people not deeply disappointed and perplexed today by the political and judicial system that operates in this hour, even here in the United States of America? Truly I can say to you that in our time, as at no previous time, is when the words of the Psalmist have come true as a prophecy in respect to men in a political and judicial capacity who are like "gods" but have betrayed the people in their office: "They know not, neither will they understand: they walk on in darkness: all the foundations of earth are out of course" (Psalms 82:5). Or, as the Amplified Bible so aptly translates, "The magistrates and judges know not, neither will they understand; they walk on in the darkness; all the foundations of the earth (the fundamental principles upon which rests the administration of justice) are shaking." Can anyone possibly imagine what would happen to a nation if all the members of its government were completely selfless instead of completely selfish, if they were sons of God WALKING IN THE MIND AND SPIRIT OF CHRIST, instead of handshaking, baby-kissing politicians seeking to curry the favor of men for personal advantage, or if the judges judged by the spirit of wisdom and discernment from God instead of by the tricky technicalities of the law? What if the leaders of the world were filled with the Holy Spirit of God and moved under the power of His anointing turning men to God instead of building larger armies and navies, more sophisticated missiles, and more destructive bombs? What if judges and social workers had the Word of God in their mouths and power to cast the demon spirits out of men instead of carrying them off to some ungodly psychiatrist, mental hospital, or prison? To even contemplate such things in this age of darkness only serves to bring a sad smile to our faces, but I can assure you in all confidence that this present day of darkness is even now merging into God’s great DAY OF JUDGMENT and perdition of ungodly men. The whole system is rapidly sinking and collapsing around us and God is even now preparing a righteous government of holy sons of God to replace it.
Destruction of the demonized systems of this world will certainly call for a change of judgeships over mankind. In the proper course of things, then, new thrones of judgment come into existence. Nothing else but a BETTER BODY OF JUDGES could be expected to occupy those new thrones of judgment, which are established by God’s authority in the heavenlies. God’s judges will not be men in judicial robes sitting on a bench in a smoke-filled courtroom. God’s judges shall be men possessing the mind of Christ, clothed with the wisdom and power of God, speaking the words of God with great authority. Mighty DELIVERANCE can thenceforth be expected to come to misled, misruled, and misjudged mankind! Two thousand years ago Jesus designated the first twelve of this new order of judges. On the night of His betrayal and arrest and unjust trial by the highest court in Jerusalem, Jesus said to His small handful of footstep followers: "You are those who have remained and persevered with Me in My trials; and as My Father has appointed a Kingdom and conferred it on Me, so do I confer on you the privilege and decree that you may eat and drink at My table in My Kingdom, and sit on thrones, JUDGING the twelve tribes of Israel" (Luke 22:28-30). Those were merely the first appointed to this realm of authority and ministry, for Daniel said, "I beheld, and the same horn made war with the saints, and prevailed against them; until the ancient of days came, and JUDGMENT WAS GIVEN TO THE SAINTS of the Most High; and the time came that the SAINTS possessed the Kingdom" (Daniel 7:21-22). And Paul adds further light in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, "Do ye not know that THE SAINTS SHALL JUDGE THE WORLD? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?"