TV Program CURRENT EPISODE When Your Name Comes Up in Judgment 2007-05-06 PRODUCTION #: 1027 SPEAKER: Shawn Boonstra During the religious revivals of the 19th century, famous preachers used to scare their congregations into submission with vivid portraits of the judgment seat of God; and it worked because nothing strikes fear in the human heart like the idea that one day, you are going to have to publicly account for everything you've done. So the question is, what does the Bible actually say about the judgment hour? Is it true? Will we all really face a judgment day? On that day, will all the dirty laundry get aired in public? If you had to stand in front of the throne of God right now, how would you do? There is a chapter of the Bible that used to scare the living daylights out of me. After sweeping through the entire course of world history in an amazing panorama of prophecy, the ancient prophet Daniel suddenly witnesses a scene that makes the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up; and you immediately get the sense that very few mortal eyes will ever see what Daniel saw. Like Isaiah's vision of the throne of God, or some of the awe-inspiring passages from the Book of Revelation, this behind-the-scenes look at last-day events just takes your breath away. In just a few short words, it announces the arrival of heaven's judgment hour. Let me show you what I mean. In Daniel seven, verse nine, where it is written (Daniel 7:9, 10): "I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool. His throne was like the fiery flame and His wheels as burning fire. 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 open." According to the Bible, sometime just before the Second Coming of Jesus, the angels gathered around the throne of God. The books of judgment are opened, and God begins to review every case. Apparently, the judgment hour of God is not just a piece of medieval folklore. It's a stark reality described vividly by the Word of God. Let me read you a little more from that same prophecy in the book of Daniel. This time in verse 13 (Daniel 7:13, 14): "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. And there was given Him dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." Now, at first glance, this passage almost sounds like the Second Coming, especially with that reference to Jesus coming with the clouds of heaven. But as you read it more closely, it becomes obvious that this is not the Second Coming. Instead, it's a description of heaven as they get ready for Jesus to come back. The books of judgment are opened, and at the end of the day, Jesus is given a kingdom that will never pass away. Now, listen to the third and final description of the judgment. In Daniel chapter seven, now in verse 27 (Daniel 7:27 NKJV): "And the kingdom and dominion, and greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him."
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." At long last, the kingdom of God is established, and the moment has come when every knee finally bows and every tongue finally confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is a moment of resolution, the struggle of the ages is coming to a close. God's character has been vindicated. The fate of sinful human beings has been decided, and the age of sin and suffering is coming to a close. But the haunting question is this: As millions of angels open the books of judgment, what do they discover inside? And more specifically, when they come to your name, what's the book going to say Furthermore, if God is supposed to know everything, why in the world do they need books up there? Couldn't God just tell the angels the way things are and leave it at that? I mean, wouldn't that make you happy to hear directly from God? Why does heaven need those books and what in the world do they say? Back in the 16th century, Mary Queen of Scots believed that she was the rightful queen of England, and according to history, there's some evidence to suggest that she was right. But because of the religious atmosphere of England, Queen Elizabeth I was on the throne, and Mary Queen of Scots was sent to prison. Now, Mary grew very discouraged in captivity because she had nobody to talk to. Day after day, she sat alone in the vast expanses of Chartley Hall, and then one day, a priest suddenly came to visit her, and he brought her secret messages from the outside, from supporters who wanted to see her on the throne. Now, each of those messages was written in a special code that only Mary could read, and they quickly became a catalyst for new hope. To think there were people who wanted to see her on the throne gave her new courage. So the priest became a regular visitor at Chartley Hall, and with each new visit he brought new messages; and he took back carefully encrypted responses from the Queen of Scots. As time progressed, Mary and her supporters started to hatch a plan to assassinate Elizabeth. Now, normally it would have been very risky to plan a royal assassination on paper, but the letters were so carefully encoded that it was impossible to figure out what they were talking about. And so with complete confidence, absolutely certain that nobody would ever know, Mary put words on paper that could easily land her on Death Row. And you know, it would have been a foolproof plan, except for one little thing. It turns out that the priest was a double agent who also worked for the English government, and before he delivered any letter to or from Mary, he always gave a copy of it to the officials. So, it was only a matter of time until the queen's cryptographers cracked the code, and suddenly, all of Mary's private correspondence became very public knowledge. Mary never knew that everyone was reading her mail, though, so she went on condemning herself letter after letter, word after word, until the government had enough evidence to try Mary for crimes against the Crown. When Mary finally went to trial, she wasn't the slightest bit worried, because she was still convinced that nobody knew anything, and she knew full well that nobody would dare execute a member of the royal family without solid evidence that she had done something wrong. The only evidence that existed was all written in a secret code. So she went to trial with complete confidence that nothing would happen. And to be honest, that's the kind of trial I'd like to face, knowing there's not enough evidence to convict you. So let's push the pause button for a minute and let me ask you an important question. When the angels of heaven open the books and look for your name, what are they going to find? What will the evidence say? Will it reveal a life lived for God or will it tell the story of your own ambitions and desires? That's something you need to know, because the Bible is clear that the judgment is real. You will be called upon to stand as a defendant. In fact, the Bible guarantees it in Second Corinthians five and verse 10 (2 Corinthians 5:10): "Alright, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad." Make no mistake about it. Your name will come up in judgment. In Romans 14 and verse 10, Paul tells us that (Romans 14:10): "We shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ."
According to the Bible, you have a court date in heaven. It's already been penciled in, and the question you might want to think about is this: When the angel moves his finger down the page and comes to your name, what's he going to find? You know, some people live their lives as if God will never notice and yet they still expect to slide into the kingdom of heaven at the last minute. After all, when the records finally come out, how bad could it be? Your life was pretty good and there can't be that much evidence to convict you. Right? But imagine Mary's surprise when the court suddenly produced all her secret letters, translated into plain English, and they read them out loud for everyone to hear. The evidence was so overwhelming that Mary didn't stand a chance and they dragged her away and executed her. So, imagine our surprise, in the judgment of heaven, when we find out that God really did notice everything. He really did hear you say those things about your boss. He really did notice when you allowed yourself that little moral indiscretion. He heard every word that time you screamed at your kids. Listen to what the Bible says, in the words of Jesus found in Luke chapter 12, verse two (Luke 12:2, 3): "For there is nothing covered that shall not be revealed, neither hid that shall not be known. Therefore whatsoever you have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light, and that which you have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops." You see, according to the Bible, it's not just what you've done that makes a difference, it's also what you've said. All of it becomes public knowledge, and I don't know about you, but that's kind of a disconcerting thought. As a kid, that passage of the Bible used to scare me, because I could see the angels reading a list of my most intimate sins in front of a whole universe. In fact, they were going to scream everything from the housetops. The point Jesus is making is crystal clear, there are no secrets in heaven. If you did it, or you thought it, or you said it, God knows about it. Ecclesiastes 12:14 says: "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil." So knowing that it all comes out in the open, let's take inventory. Is there anything that happened in the last 24 hours that you wouldn't want the whole world to know? What about last week or last month? Do you remember that time you muttered something nasty about your co-worker under your breath? Heaven heard that. And do you remember that time you complained about your husband or wife to your best friend? Heaven heard that, too. And then there's that time you quietly lied to get out of trouble, and the angels of God heard every last word of it. So how sure are you, when it all gets dragged out in front of ten thousand angels, that there's not going to be a problem? When the angels read a description of your life, and they try to sum up what you are all about, are you really going to sound like somebody who belongs in heaven? Now personally, I don't stand a chance. I might be a preacher, but the Bible is crystal clear that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I blush when I think about the fact that angels have access to my files, because, better than anybody else, I know what's in there. So basically, it's a hopeless case. There's so much evidence against me that I don't stand a chance of getting into heaven unless I have a really good lawyer. Just listen to what the Bible says in First John, chapter two and verse one (1 John 2:1): "My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not. And if any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous." Now, did you notice that little word "advocate"? In a lot of the world's Latin-based languages, like
French or Portuguese, that's still the word they use for "lawyer." Jesus, the Bible says, is a practicing defense attorney, and that means you don't have to face the judgment alone. When the judgment convenes, Jesus is there. When millions of angels gather in front of the fiery throne and start going through the books, you don't have to be there by yourself. The Bible says that the Son of Man is there to represent you. He's one of us, a member of the human race. And He understands what it means to live on this planet. But at the same time, He's fully God and He has never sinned, so He's the perfect lawyer for a sinful human being. Listen to what the Bible says in Revelation, the third chapter and verse five (Revelation 3:5 NKJV): "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." As you approach the bench in heaven's judgment, you don't have to go there alone. If you have taken Jesus as your lawyer, He's going to defend you with everything He's got. He writes your name in the Book of Life, and that guarantees your place in heaven. Your name in the Book of Life is your admission to the presence of God. It means that you understand what Jesus did for you and you accept His death in your place. With humble gratitude, you've confessed your sins and asked forgiveness, and according to the Bible, that is the formula for passing heaven's judgment with flying colors. The only thing heaven will see before your name is the word "forgive." Instead of a long list of failures, the angels will see nothing but the perfect track record of Jesus. As your substitute, He gives you His life as a gift. One of my favorite Christian authors puts it this way: "Christ was treated as we deserve, that we might be treated as He deserves. He was condemned for our sins, in which He had no share, that we might be justified by His righteousness, in which we had no share. He suffered the death which was ours, that we might receive the life which was His. With His stripes we are healed." It's a pretty amazing deal, if you ask me. All of your sins for all of His perfection. And you know, all of a sudden, that passage in Daniel doesn't seem so frightening, does it? If you read it carefully, the focus isn't really on you or the angels. The focus is on Jesus. He's the one who stands at the center of the judgment and the Bible says He gets a kingdom that He's willing to share with you. Listen to what the Bible says in Daniel seven and verse 27 (Daniel 7:27): "And the kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heavens shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High." Just imagine, the whole purpose of the judgment is to give you a kingdom that belongs to God. But there's still one more question we need to look at. Why in the world does God need those books? Doesn't He already know who has accepted the gift of salvation, or does He have a short memory so He has to look things up once in a while? Well, the answer to that of course, is no. God has no trouble remembering who belongs to Him. Those books in the heavenly judgment aren't for God. They are for the angels. When the judgment convenes, the Bible says there are millions of them gathered around the throne, and those angels were there when Lucifer originally challenged the government of God. The devil's lies were so persuasive that, according to Revelation 12, approximately one third of heaven's angels fell for it. One out of three angels had to be removed from the courts of heaven. Now, sometimes we think of angels as omnipotent, unfeeling beings, but that's not how the Bible talks about them. They are creatures of God, just like you and I. And even though they occupy a more exalted position, they still have thoughts and questions. And perhaps no subject interests them more than God's plan to save the human race. In one of Peter's letters, the Bible indicates that angels long to understand the plan of salvation, and so the whole judgment must be incredibly fascinating to them. If God kicked millions of angels out of heaven because they sinned, what in the world is He doing taking millions of sinful people into heaven? Now that's a good question. And if you think about it, one
taking millions of sinful people into heaven? Now that's a good question. And if you think about it, one of the biggest issues the angels need to resolve, concerns the character of God. The lies of a fallen angel have been haunting the universe for thousands of years. And, in the judgment hour, God opens the book and proves that He has nothing to hide. As history winds to a close, He pulls out the books and asks the angels to decide whether or not He's been telling the truth. Is He really a God of love? Can He really be trusted? When He makes a decision is it always the best decision? The list of questions goes on and on and on. So God simply opens the books and invites the angels to see for themselves, and you know something? We actually get to do the same thing. In Revelation 20 it says that when you and I get to heaven, God opens the books for us. If someone you love isn't there, God can show you exactly why. He can turn to the books and show you how He tried everything possible to save your friend. Or maybe you'll be surprised by someone in heaven you don't think should be there. Well, God can show you the books, and you can read about that moment when, with a broken heart, they asked Jesus to forgive them, and claimed Him as their representative in the judgment. You know, as I think about it, it's almost as if God puts Himself on trial in the judgment. It's as if He invites the whole universe to examine His character under a microscope and make a decision as to whether or not He's everything He's ever claimed to be. And if there's one thing I know, God is going to pass that examination with flying colors, because above everything else, the cross of Christ finally proves that He really is a God of love. But the question I have for you today is this, as the angels gather around the throne of God and the books of judgment are opened, will you also pass with flying colors? The Bible says, in Revelation chapter 14, that just before the return of Jesus, an urgent message goes to the whole world. Somehow the word gets out that the judgment has already begun. Revelation 14, verse six says (Revelation 14:6, 7 NKJV): "And I saw another angel flying 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."' At some moment, just before Jesus comes, the judgment begins and the question is, are you ready? A prominent business woman found herself in deep legal trouble and her friends all encouraged her to get a good lawyer.but that proud woman didn't want a lawyer. "What do I need a lawyer for? I'm smart enough to take care of myself." But, you know, as the court date drew close, and she began to review the facts of the case, she realized how bad the trouble really was. Just like somebody reading this today is sensing that if they had to appear before God, it would be a really bad thing. So when nobody was looking, that lady snuck down to the lawyer's office and tried to hire him. "Listen, I'm in a real mess, and I need your help. I was going to defend myself, but I'm starting to think that it's not such a good idea. So I'm here to retain your services." "You know, I believe I could beat this, if I were your lawyer." "Great! Then I'd like to hire you." "Unfortunately, I can't do that, because just this morning I was appointed to be the judge over your case. I can't represent you. If you'd only come to see me yesterday, things would be different." If you'd only come yesterday. Let me ask you, can you think of one good reason not to come to Jesus today? Because eventually, you are going to discover that it's too late, and the one who desperately wanted to represent you will be your judge. And what a shame, when forgiveness was so available right now. Let me ask you, what in the world is holding you back? You know, as you look over life's record, you know you really need Jesus right now. Wouldn't you like to know today, as angels open the books of judgment, they'll find nothing behind your name except the righteousness that Christ gave you as a gift? That's a real possibility. The hand of Christ is reaching out to you today, to offer you complete forgiveness. He longs to represent you in the courts of heaven.
courts of heaven. Why don't we pray together? PRAYER: Father in heaven, more than anything, we want to inherit the kingdom with Jesus. We acknowledge that we need Him, believing that He will confess our name before the angels and His Father. We long to see Him come in glory so that we, at long last, can stand safely in the kingdom of heaven. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. For we pray it in Christ's name, amen. Scriptures Used in When Your Name Comes Up in Judgment "I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened." Daniel 7:9, 10 NKJV "I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." Daniel 7:13, 14 NKJV "Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him." Daniel 7:27 NKJV "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV "For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops." Luke 12:2, 3 NKJV "My little children, these things I write to you, that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 1 John 2:1 NKJV "He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." Revelation 3:5 NKJV "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, 'Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."' Revelation 14:6, 7 NKJV Keywords: Shawn Boonstra It Is Written Box O Thousand Oaks, CA 91359 USA Tel: (805) 433-0210 Fax: (805) 433-0218 Copyright 2010, It Is Written International Television. All rights reserved. Webmaster