ETERNAL JUDGMENT Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those on His right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father, take your inheritance, the Kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world Then He will say to those on His left, Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave Me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me nothing to drink. I was a stranger and you did not invite Me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe Me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after Me. They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help You? He will reply, I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for Me. Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life. There are two types of people who face judgment. The goats --represent the unbelievers. The sheep --represent the believers.
The Great White Throne Judgment This is the judgment of unbelievers; those who have rejected Jesus Christ. Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the Earth and the Heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Matthew 12:36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. Hebrews 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. Everything we do and even every word we say is recorded in books that are kept in Heaven. Nothing is ever hidden. All is seen by our Father and it is recorded in books to be remembered. Everyone--no exceptions--will be held accountable for their words and the deeds done in their bodies. If your name is not found in the Book of Life, you will be thrown into the lake of fire.
The Judgment Seat of Christ This is the judgment of the believers; those who have accepted Jesus Christ and entered into a covenant relationship with God. 1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Judgment begins first with God s people. Everyone is held accountable for their actions. John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be judged; he has crossed over from death to life. When we accept the finished work of Christ as an atonement for our sins, we can never again come into judgment as a sinner. The purpose of the Judgment Seat is not to determine whether a particular person enters Heaven or not, for every man s destiny is determined before he leaves this life. The purpose of the Judgment Seat is not to punish believers for sins they have committed either before or after their salvation. When we confess our sins, God cleanses us thoroughly and completely for the Blood of Jesus Christ purifies us from all sin. The Lord removes our sin completely and permanently, not partially.
1 Corinthians 3:10 By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man build on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. At the Judgment Seat our service will be revealed and rewarded. The loss we can suffer is a loss of rewards in Heaven, not a loss of salvation. This judgment is not a judicial bench where someone is condemned, it is a reward seat. It has nothing to do with the Christians rejection, but everything to do with the believers reward. Christ will come to fetch us, to separate us from the goats and take us to His Judgment Seat, where we will be rewarded with our inheritance, which is Eternal Life in the presence of God! Our works CANNOT save us--only faith in Jesus can do that. Our works are very important though! Our works on this Earth will determine our rewards in Eternity. There are five main rewards that make up our eternal inheritance: The Incorruptible Crown for those who strive to serve Christ acceptably. [1 Corinthians 9:24] The Crown of Rejoicing is the reward for witnessing for Christ. [1 Thessalonians 2:19] The Crown of Glory is the reward for being a good example. [1 Peter 5:2] The Crown of Life is rewarded for suffering for Christ. [James 1:12]
The Crown of Righteousness is given for keeping your faith until the end. [2 Timothy 4:6] Titus 2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. It teaches us to say NO to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the BLESSED HOPE--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for Himself a people that are His very own, eager to do what is good But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of ETERNAL LIFE. This speaks of the catching away or as we know it the rapture of the Saints. The Great Tribulation begins on Earth. But in Heaven, the Marriage Supper of the Lamb begins and at some point, we will present ourselves before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive our rewards. We will all return to Earth with Jesus for the Millennial Reign. Satan is bound for the 1000 years. We rule and reign with Christ during that time. After the 1000 years, Satan will be loosed once again to deceive the world again. The final battle takes place when God devours Satan and all the rebels with fire. Then the resurrection of the dead takes place for the final Judgment Day before the Great White Throne. Eternal Judgment is carried out. And then, the Eternal Kingdom begins where there is a new Heaven and a new Earth and God lives with His creation in perfect harmony!