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Last Updated on : November 23, 2014

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The Judgment Seat of Christ
Part 2 of 2 |||| Go to Part 1

 


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What Will Be The Standard Of Judgment?

Our last article revealed that the responsible will be judged according to their works; not according to what they claimed to be, or how they speak, but what they are and what they have done.

What will be the standard set for such judgment? The Lord Jesus revealed that the judgment will concern itself mainly with how an individual reacted to the Word of God - what value he placed upon it, and how he endeavoured to implement its teaching. Yahweh has "magnified His word above all His name" (Psalm 138:2), and He is honored when people respond to its teaching:

"Then they that feared Yahweh spake often one to another: and Yahweh hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared Yahweh, and that thought upon His name. And they shall be mine, saith Yahweh of hosts, in that day when I make up My jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him" (Mal.3:16).

Christ told the Word-defying Jews of his day:

"He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him; the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48).

That word will be a "swift witness" against those who have knowingly defied its teaching, or flagrantly refused to obey its instruction (Mal. 3:5). On the other hand, God has declared: "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word" (Isa.66:2).

Again:

"Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock; and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock" (Matt.7:24-25).

Naturally, perfect obedience to all the commandments set down in the Word is impossible. We forget, or are taken off guard, our emotions get the better of us. Through very weakness, we constantly sin, and need the forgiving mercy of the Father through the Son, and this is willingly given to those who acknowledge their failings. God knows our weakness, and has provided for it. As the Psalmist beautifully expresses it:

"He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so Yahweh pitieth them that fear Him. For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust" (Ps. 103:10- 14).

But though Yahweh makes due allowance for weaknesses of the flesh, He does expect a healthy and hearty respect for His word, such as will enable us to recognise sin when it does occur, and which will cause us to offer Him our hearts in adoration of worship.

Where such an attitude exists, and the individual makes a conscientious effort to obey the word of God, he need not fear the future, for Divine mercy will ensure his salvation.

Is The Judgment Seat Necessary?

Is it not a clumsy contrivance to set up a Judgment Seat? Does not Yahweh already know the righteous from the wicked? Does Christ have to review our lives to determine whether we are worthy of the reward or not?

Many speak like this, and thus give evidence that they do not appreciate the real purpose of the Judgment Seat.

Actually, the appearance of believers before the Judgment Seat, is the final act of mercy on the part of a gracious God, designed to fit them for the Kingdom.

If we look inwards, we will recognise that we are not fit for association with Christ, or for the bestowal of divine glory. We are conscious of failings, we constantly sin, often in the same way. True, we bear these up to the Father, and plead His forgiveness, and strive to correct our faults; but then, again, in off-guarded moments, our weakness is again made manifest.

Moreover, we are not always cognisant of our weaknesses. If we believe that we are, let us considcr our brethren. Do not we observe faults that they reveal? It is so easy to see failings in others, so difficult to recognise them in us! The appearance of us all before the judgment Seat of Christ will reveal us for what we are in the sight of God, and will so humble us as to empty us of all self-glorification.

How does Yahweh accomplish this, for every accepted saint will recognise the moulding influence of God in his life?

It is a process that begins when a person first comes to a knowledge of the truth in Christ Jesus, and will continue until he stands before the judgment Seat of Christ. By this process, flesh is humbled and the individual's character is perfected for the bestowal of life eternal. There are three developments to that consummation.

Firstly: by instruction. Christ prayed:

"Sanctify them through Thy truth; Thy word is truth" (John 17:17).

By this we learn that the Truth is designed of Yahweh for the sanctification of His saints. The Word can mould our lives, and transform us mentally and morally for the Kingdom.

Secondly, by experience. The Apostle wrote:

"If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?" (Heb.12).

The experiences of life: the humiliations, frustrations, and problems which beset us, and which God sometimes directs, are designed to purify our characters for the Kingdom. As we experience them, we learn to put no confidence in flesh, and to more ardently desire that time when the Lord shall be again in the earth. Paul reached that exalted state when he could write that he "gloried also in tribulation" (Rom.5:3), for he had learned the purpose designed through it.

Thirdly, by judgment, Paul taught:

"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things in body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad" (2 Cor.5:10).

The Judgment Seat Will Reveal Our Real Characters

As we noted in our previous supplement, the word , "appear", is phaneroo in the Greek, and signifies to publicly reveal. The Judgment Seat of Christ is designed to "make manifest" the true characters of all who will appear before it. They will be revealed in their true light, without disguise. All shams, all veils will be drawn aside, and each one will appear in his own sight as he does in that of God.

How will this be done?

By revealing that which is found written in the symbolic Books of Remembrance.

There are several references to these throughout the word. Moses prayed:

"Yet now, if Thou wilt forgive their sin - and if not, blot me, I pray Thee, out of Thy book which Thou hast written. And Yahweh said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against Me, him will I blot out of My book" (Exod.32:32).

The Psalmist taught that those who resisted Christ will be blotted out of the Book of Life:

"Let them not come into Thy righteousness. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous" (Ps.68:28).

"At that time, thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book" (Dan. 12:1).

"A book of remembrance written before Him" (Mal. 3:16).

"My fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life" (Phil.4:3).

"I will not blot out his name out of the book of life" (Rev.3:5).

The reference is probably to the custom of the times, in which kings recorded the notable deeds of their reigns in a book of remembrance. A reference to this is found in Esther 6:1-3. King Ahasuerus found the useful service of Mordecai written up in such a book of national remembrance, and rewarded him accordingly (vv. 5-9).

The Book of Life is not a literal book, of course, but a symbolic reference to the fact that our deeds are recorded by Yahweh for future reference. The Scriptures speak of both "book" and "books" (Dan.12:1; Rev. 20:12). The actions of saints from day to day are kept in what might be styled the "day book," whilst the general account, if assets exceed liabilities, is retained in the Book of Life. The Spirit is the Remembrancer (John 14:26). When Yahweh says that He will remember our sins no more, it is equivalent to saying that they will be blotted out from the book of daily records (Isa.43:25).

The Work Of The Angels

We are not specifically told how the motives and actions of our lives will be brought to our knowledge from the standpoint of God. It could well be the work of the angels. Certainly they will be in the judgment (Mark 6:38; Luke 12:8-9). Christ spake of them separating the tares from the wheat, and severing the wicked from among the just (Matt.13:41-42, 49). The innumerable company of angels who will accompany the Lord on his return, will certainly simplify such labours. Possibly they will accomplish this separating and severing by revealing to each individual saint the strengths and weaknesses of his character, and by so reviewing his life, as to bring to him a sense of his own state before Yahweh, in preparation of him taking his place in one of the two great companies which will be assembled before the Lord, to receive the final verdict:

"Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. . . . And unto them on his left hand, Depart from me ye cursed . . ." (Matt.25:34).

Are the angels in a position to reveal our true motives and characters unto us? Certainly they are. After all, they have had intimate knowledge of the saints throughout the ages, for they have had the oversight of them in the development of the divine purpose (Heb.2:5).

Consider how intimate is our association with the angels of heaven. Jesus warned regarding those of a child-like faith:

"Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven" (Matt.18:10).

His words strongly imply that individual angels supervise the lives of individual saints.

Jacob spake of the angel whose protecting care overshadowed his life (Gen.48:16); Moses was told that the affairs of Israel had been placed in the charge of a specific angel (Exod. 23:20); David recognised that the angel of Yahweh encompassed those who feared Him (Ps.34:7) ; other references speak likewise (Ecc.5:6; 1 Cor.11:10; Luke 15:10).

Those angels provide a link between heaven and earth, and overshadow the lives of the saints, that they might be disciplined and guided for their good. The degree to which this is so is not apparent at the present, but will be revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The words directed to Israel will then apply to the saints: "They shall know that Yahweh has not done without cause all that He has done" (Ezek.14:23).

Perhaps, prior to being brought before the Judgment Seat of Christ as a member of one of the two great companies of people, we shall be brought face to face with the angel who has overlooked us during the period of our probation. Possibly, through his instrumentality, we shall learn the details of our lives from the standpoint of God. Perhaps, to our astonishment, we will learn that our so-called successes in fact have been failures, whereas our moments of greatest real success have been those times when we meekIy submitted to trials and opposition "for Christ's sake."

We suggest, therefore, that our true characters, from the standpoint of God, will be revealed to us by the angels, after which we will be segregated into the company of either "sheep" or "goats" and presented to Christ for the general proclamation of either acceptance or rejection. By such means, our lives will be as ruthlessly displayed to our inspection as are those of David, Hezekiah, and others in the books of the Bible. As the revelation is made, doubtless our experience will be similar to that of natural Israel:

"Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight for your iniquities and for your abominations" (Ezek. 36:31).

We will realise then, to an extent that we cannot today, that we are not worthy of all the goodness manifested towards us in the privileges that have been heaped upon us. Thus humbled, completely emptied of self, our hearts will overflow with love for Yahweh as we learn that His mercy and grace are great enough to save us.

Of course, this does not mean that we can presume on the forgiveness of God, or that sins today confessed and forgiven will be charged against us again, but it does mean that many things hidden from our sight now, will then be made clear to us, and "we shall see ourselves as others see us." We will realise more than ever before that there is nothing worth preserving in flesh, of itself, and that eternal salvation is dependent entirely upon the grace of God, and to the extent to which we build into our lives those divine qualities worth preserving.

Arguments At The Judgment Seat

What an astonishing revelation the Judgment Seat of Christ will present to those who are self-deceived! And the Scriptures warn us of the ease by which one can be deceived. Even our worship to Yahweh can be an offence to Him. Speaking of the beautiful temple singing of Israelites, the prophet voiced the words of God: "Take away the noise" (Amos 5:23). "Your appointed feasts," God said at another time, "My soul hateth" (Isa.1:14). In the same strain He spake by Malachi: "Oh, that there were one among you that would shut the doors, that ye might not kindle fire on My altar in vain" (Mal.1:10 - RV). These declarations are instructive. They tell us that God's precepts may be observed, and yet the observance prove wholly unacceptable. The worshippers in Israel were completely deceived by their worship. They thought it was so acceptable, yet it was hateful to Yahweh.

There is a need for self-inspection now, before the Judgment Seat, that we are not self-deceived, and face the possibility of rejection in that day.

When brought before Christ's representatives, the angels, before being brought before the Lord in the great company of the rejected, there will be many who will question, protest, expostulate and demand explanations as their motives are laid bare. Some might try to argue the value of their work, and the consistency of their attitude. Christ declared:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you; depart from me, ye that work iniquity" (Mat.7:21-23).

The Lord warned the self-satisfied members of the Laodicean Ecclesia who believed that they had "need of nothing," but "knew not" their true state, that he would spue them out of his mouth. What a surprise awaits them when they appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ. In his parable of the pounds (Luke 19:12-27), Christ describes the surprise and dismay of the rejected servant who returned his pound carefully preserved in a "sweat-cloth" though he had refused to work to increase it.

So it will be at the judgment Seat of Christ in regard to those who have merely "accepted" the Truth, but have failed to implement it.

It will be revealed to such, as well as to those who will have labored in the Truth to their own self-aggrandisement, that they have done everything but the things that Christ desired. Their time and energy, their money and strength, have been expended in labor which he will not commend, and in things he has never commanded.

The judgment Seat of Christ, therefore, will not only separate the righteous from the wicked with perfect justice, but will also comprise a necessary act of mercy. It will perfect the humbling of the Lord's true followers, to finally fit them for the glorification that will follow.

Accepted Or Rejected

The proclamation of acceptance by Christ upon the approved will be followed by an instantaneous physical change. Paul taught that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 15:50), and that those who do so will be subjected to a change:

"In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead (already revived to life) shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption; and this mortal must put on immortality."

They will do so by a change of nature, for, says Paul, "there is a spirit body" (1 Cor.15:45). This nature, in which spirit takes the place of blood (though without the need of coursing through veins), is "divine nature" (2 Tim.1:4). It will make the approved consubstantial with the Father, whose name they will bear (Rev. 3:12). He is spirit (John 4:24- Gr.), and they, being "equal unto the angels" (Luke 20:36) will also be spirit beings (Heb. 1:7).

The change will not only be of nature, but also of parts. Originally Adam possessed both male and female qualities; and this will be the case with both sexes in the Age to come. In The Law of Moses, Brother Roberts wrote:

"Man is for strength, judgment and achievement; woman is for grace, sympathy and ministration. Between them they form a beautiful unit: 'heirs together of the grace of life.' " (p.220).

These qualities will be fused into all the accepted both male and female, and such changes will take place as to cause marriage, as today instituted, to cease (Luke 20:36). Paul referred to some of these changes in dealing with matters of eating, drinking, and fornication. He taught that the organs of hunger and sex will be done away with in the immortal state:

"Meats for the belly, and the belly for meats; but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body" (I Cor. 6:13).

God will change those organs of the body that are so essential in the mortal state (see Matt.22:30; Phil.3:21), so that the approved shall "hunger no more" (Rev. 7:16). Obviously the majority of our internal organs will be unnecessary for a body that does not have to eat to live. What food will be eaten (Christ ate with his Apostles after his resurrection) will be instantly absorbed without the need of the intestines as at present. Thus a changed and glorified community will surround their Lord, and rejoice in a new freedom.

But what of the rejected? They will be banished into the world of darkness without, there to live out their hopeless existence until the effects of mortality claim them. For such, there will be degrees of punishment according as they have ignored their opportunities (Luke 12:47). Doubtless the greatest of all will be the bitter remorse that will engulf them in misery and sorrow.

In discoursing with his Apostles on this theme, the Lord declared:

"I tell you, in that night there shall be two men in one bed; the one shall be taken, and the other shall be left" (Luke 17:34).

Christ was not referring to one being conveyed to the Judgment Seat, and the other left behind, but rather of two who were previously in close association with each other being accepted or rejected by Christ.

The word "taken" is from the Greek "paralambano", and signifies to take to oneself as of a wife. The word "left" is "aphiemi", and is compounded of apo, "from" and hiemi, "to send," and thus signifies to send forth or away, to let go from oneself.

So one (the approved) shall be taken by Christ to himself as a man would take a bride; and the other (the rejected) shall be sent away.

On hearing this, the Apostles asked: "Where, Lord?"

Christ replied: "Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together" (v.37).

The carcase and the eagles can be aligned to both the attack of Rome on Judah in A.D.70, and the attack of the latter-day fourth beast (Russia) on modern Israel. The reference, therefore, can relate to Armageddon, or to the war-engulfed world at that time. In another place, the Lord declared that the rejected would be cast "into outer darkness" (Matt.8:12: 22:13: 25:30). As gross darkness will encompass the world at that time (Isa. 60:1), the reference is obviously to the world without. The rejected will be sent back into the world which they loved so much, and which will be given over to destruction. Like Lot's wife, concerning whom the Lord warned (Luke 17:32), they will be involved in the "time of trouble such as never was" which will involve all nations at that time, and in this holocaust, doubtless, their lives will be mercifully shortened.

THE MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB

Joyous Activity At Sinai

The Judgment Seat of Christ will be followed by the marriage of the Lamb to his bride. Specific reference is made to this in Revelation 19. It will constitute a period of joyous fraternisation among the glorified before going forth to reduce the world into subjection to Christ.

"The marriage of the Lamb is come," declares the Revelator (Rev. 19:7), "and his wife hath made herself ready."

In the Greek these phrases are found in the past tense (see Eureka vol. 3), for, as Brother Thomas shows, the marriage takes place before the events narrated in the previous verses in this place. The scene of the marriage will be Sinai, though the marriage feast will be celebrated in Jerusalem.

Paul speaks of the Ecclesia as the Bride of Christ to be united to her Lord in due time "without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but holy and without blemish" (Eph.5:27). The Bride's beauty is derived from the application of the Word, which is designed to mentally and morally transform the believer (John 15:3), in preparation for the physical change at Christ's coming.

The union will be effected at Sinai. "They two shall be one flesh," wrote Paul. "This is a great mystery (secret); but I speak concerning Christ and the Ecclesia" (Eph.5:31). This will also fulfil the prayer of Christ:

"Neither pray I for these (the Apostles) alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; that they all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me. And the glory which Thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved me" (John 17:20-23).

The glorious unity thus established will cause Sinai to reverberate with the praise and singing of the glorified host:

"Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust," exhorts Isaiah, "for thy dew is as the dew of lights" (reflective of the glory of the Sun of righteousness - (Isa.26:19; Mal.4:2).

"Let the saints be joyful in glory" declares the Psalmist (Ps. 149).

Complete and perfect union with Christ in the fulness of the Spirit will cause this joy among the gladdened host.

And what a company it will represent. In the multitudinous bride of Christ there will be seen a living history of the Truth, from the days of faithful Abel, to the coming of the Son of man. Men and women of faith, gathered together out of every age and nation, and sealed in the forehead with the Name of Yahweh will be there (Rev. 14: 1). The past with all its trials will be over, and now each one will be able to look into the countenance of his companion with mutual affection, recognition, and complete understanding. "They shall see Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the Kingdom of God."

That glorious company, rejoicing in the love and pleasure of the Father and the Son, will have been purified by trial. Each one, in the day of his pilgrimage, will have been accounted "a fool for Christ's sake"; many of them will have sealed their pilgrimage by martyrdom; whilst all of them will have been subject to test and trial.

But then it will be over, and they can rejoice in each other's company, and in the presence of the beloved Son of God. Faith will be vindicated in all they see about them.

Some time will be spent in the precincts of Sinai in joyous fraternisation. This is suggested by the provision of the Law of Moses. It exempted the newly-wedded husband from participation in warfare (Deut.24:5). The type will be fulfilled at Sinai where the Lamb and his Bride will "rejoice together before Yahweh" before proceeding against a war-torn world. True communion will be enjoyed by all the glorified assembly. Each one will have the great privilege of personally meeting his Redeemer, and hearing his words of commendation expressed before the Elohim whose power, glory and wisdom they will now possess (Luke 12:8; 20:36).

What glorious reunions will take place at that time. Some who have been separated by death will be united in a life that shall never end. Others who have forged friendships in adversity will discover that they have the seeds of eternity in them. Those of like precious faith, who have enjoyed sweet fellowship one with the other in days of weakness when opposition to the truth was strong, will renew it as they co-operate together in a greater service under the personal direction of the Lord Jesus himself. What a pleasure to be able to converse with such as Abraham, David, Paul, John, Moses, Enoch, the Apostles! Imagine exchanging reminiscences with such as Noah, and comparing his experience with ours who have lived in times similar to his. The evils of this present probation will be forgotten in the great joy that will then unfold.

How much time will be spent in Sinai is not revealed in the word. As suggested in our previous article, Yahweh is not in a hurry, and sufficient time will be permitted for the elect to thoroughly fraternise together in the happy environment of the post-judgment period. The beautiful language of the Song of Solomon should be considered as being expressive of the joy at the marriage of the Lamb. It records Christ's love for his Bride, her joy at his coming, and their mutual pleasure of each other's presence. He speaks to her thus:

"Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. For lo the winter is past, the rain is over and gone; the flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing of birds is come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land; the fig tree putteth forth her green figs, and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away" (Song.2:10-13).

In the isolation of Sinai, full expression will be given to this love. Christ will "set his bride as a seal upon his heart" with a permanency that nothing can disturb.

Preparations For War

Meanwhile the world will be left to its own resources, and will be engulfed in war. It will be in the midst of that hostile world that the multitudinous Christ will be sent to labor. The Kingdom must be established in its fullness; the little stone must grow into a mountain and fill the whole earth; Yahweh's name must be sanctified in the eyes of many nations; anti-Christ must be destroyed.

For this purpose the saints will be organised into a military encampment (Rev.20:9), on the pattern of that which emerged from Sinai under Moses. Then, the tribes were organised into four divisions with Judah at the head, and the Tabernacle at the heart. In the front of each of the four sections was found one of the four standards of Israel, similar to the four faces of the Cherubim. This was the military encampment of Israel, and the Cherubic figures foreshadowed divine manifestation in the saints in the age to come.

In the days of Moses, Balaam saw a vision of the marvellous military order of the camp of the true Israel of God as it will yet be manifested, when it emerges from Sinai against the world in arms. To the chagrin of the enemies of Israel in his day, Balaam was compelled to proclaim:

"From the top of the rocks I see him (the Christ), and from the hills I behold him; lo, the people shall dwell alone, and shall not be reckoned among the nations . . . Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

"He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel. Yahweh Elohim, (Christ personal and multitudinous) is with him, and the shout of a king among them. . . How goodly are thy tents. 0 Jacob, and thy tabernacles 0 Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign aloes which Yahweh hath planted, and as cedar trees besides the waters. He shall pour the water out of his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters, and his king shall be higher than Agag (Gog), and his kingdom shall be exalted. Elohim (Yahweh in manifestation) brought him out of (spiritual) Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of an unicorn; he shall eat up the nations his enemies, and shall break their bones, and pierce them through with his arrows" (Num. 23:9, 21; 24:5-7).

The judgment of the household being completed that of the nations will now engage Christ's attention, and preparation to that end will be made. The glorified saints will be organised into an army through which Yahweh Sabaoth will manifest His power. Thus the time will come when Sinai will be vacated by Christ and the Saints, and the march commenced which will find its termination in the destruction of the enemies of Israel, and the elevation of the glory of Yahweh throughout the earth.- HPM

 

 

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