12 - The Judgments
The judgments
249. Many people imagine that there is a day coming when all men, the living and the dead alike, will be summoned to stand before God’s Throne, and to give an account of the things done in the body; and that some of them, through faith in the Lord Jesus, will be liberated, and, perhaps, rewarded; while others, and by far the greatest number, who have rejected Him, will receive a sentence of damnation and punishment. This, however, is only a part of the truth.
250. For the Bible-teaching on the subject instructs us, that there are yet four principal and special Assizes of judgment which must take place in the future. We must not, however, include among these such punishments or chastisements as are inflicted without a personal arraignment of the accused before the Son of Man, to Whom all judgment is committed.
251. Thus the destruction of the world by water in the Flood, the fearful visitation upon Egypt, when Pharoah refused to let the Children of Israel go, and the future plagues of the Last Days, foreshadowed in Revelation 6:1-17.; Revelation 8:1-13; Revelation 9:1-21; and Revelation 14:1-20, must be excluded from this category. But, apart from them, there is mention of four special Assizes, in which beings of different classes will be judged. And these are as follows:-
252. 1st. The judgment of the Saints for their works; for judgment must begin at the House of God. (See Romans 14:10-12; 1 Corinthians 3:13-15, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; 2 Corinthians 5:9-10.). This trial is before the Judgment-seat of Christ, and it will be held in the air. See paragraph 81, and NO. 41 on Chart C. The Parable of the Pounds (Luke 19:11-27), and that of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30), show that there are degrees of rank and reward among the saved; while the punishment of the wicked and slothful servants prove, that some of the saved will lose the First Resurrection, and he banished from the Marriage-supper and the Kingdom.
253. 2nd. The Judgment of the Living Nations (Matthew 25:31-46). This will take place before the Lord "when He sits upon the Throne of His Glory," just after His destruction of the Antichrist and of all the rebel hosts that will follow him (paragraph 91). It will, thus, happen just before the introduction of the Millennium; and the nations to be judged will be "the quick" or "living," as contrasted with the dead, which are alluded to in Acts 10:42; 2 Timothy 4:1; 1 Peter 4:5.
254. 3rd. The judgment of the Dead, which will take place at the time [after the millennium] when all that are still in their graves will come forth (John 5:28-29), some of them, who believed in the Lord but were not found worthy of the First Resurrection, to a resurrection of life [in a new heaven and new earth]; but all others to stand before the Great White Throne, and, unless their names be found written in the Book of Life, to receive the sentence of the Second Death, and be cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. This judgment will take place after the final rebellion under Satan has been put down; and then the Eternal Rest will begin. See No. 51 on Chart C.
255. 4th. The judgment of Angels. Of this we know but little; but, that it will take place, we are distinctly informed in 1 Corinthians 6:3; 2 Peter 2:4; and Jude 1:6; while the last-mentioned passage intimates, that it will occur about the same time as the judgment of the Dead. But the "angels" to be judged are not, of course, the glorious beings whom we usually associate with the term; they are only a certain number of that class, who left their own sphere, or habitation, and connected themselves with mankind in defiance of God’s law, thus rendering themselves liable to judgment and punishment.
256. A glance at Chart C will enable us to understand how distinct these great events are. The Judgment of the Saints is indicated at 41 on the chart; that of the Living Nations will be found at about 42; that of the Great White Throne at 51; and that of Angels also at 51.
257. In regard to the judgment of the Living Nations, it will be well to point out, that the "fire for an age," or "age-long fire" - for so the words should be rendered - is not the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, which is specially prepared for the King, or the Antichrist (Isaiah 30:33), nor for the Devil and his angels. But the reference is to the Abyss which is provided for Satan and "the High Ones that are on High," or his angels, together with "the Kings of the Earth upon the Earth," or those kings and their peoples who will join in the war against the Lamb (see Isaiah 24:21-22; Revelation 20:1-3, Revelation 17:12-14). All these, as Isaiah tells us, will be gathered as prisoners into the pit, and shut up in the prison. Into that same prison, then, will those nations who are represented by the goats be cast. They must be carefully distinguished from the nations that will follow the Ten Kings; and are, probably, to be identified with certain remote peoples who, when the Lord return, will neither have heard His fame nor seen His glory (Isaiah 66:19). Hence they will be judged by the natural law of love which God has written in all human hearts, and not by their attitude towards the Lord, Whom they will not have known. And the special test applied to them will be their behaviour to the fugitive Christians, or to the Children of Abraham, who will have fled into their lands to escape the persecutions of the Antichrist. Hence, too, they will not at this time be reserved for the final and everlasting judgment, but will be thrown into the fiery Abyss prepared as a prison for the Devil and his angels during the thousand years of the Millennial age. At the end of that time, however, they will be liberated. "And after many days shall they be visited," says Isaiah - words which correspond with Revelation 20:7, "And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." But what will be the result of the new trial to the goat-nations, whether they will by that time have learned of Christ and submitted to Him, or whether they will join in the final rebellion, and afterwards have their part in the Lake of Fire, is not revealed.
258. The nations represented by the sheep will be judged upon the same principles as the others, but will be found to have acted up to their light, and will, consequently, be invited to inherit the Kingdom prepared for them. This will, of course, be in the earthly sphere of the Lord’s dominions. And on earth they will live, enjoying all the blessings of the Millennial age, until, at its close, the final test will come by which their everlasting destiny will be decided.
259. If we review the judgments described above, we shall see, that, although the impenitent and unbelieving will be panic-stricken when they are summoned to face the judgment reserved for them, yet those who love and obey God in this life, believing on His Son Jesus Christ, need have no fear. They will not be called to stand at any judgment bar where they will be in danger of death. For everlasting life is secured to them, because of their faith in the Blood of the Lord: their works, however, must be judged, that He may decide whether or not they are worthy of the First Resurrection and the Kingdom, and, if they are found to be so, may apportion their position and rank for the Age to Come.
260. May all the readers of these pages be so enabled to watch and pray always that they may make their calling and election sure, and know that to them judgment can only result in blessing, through Him That loved them and gave Himself for them.