Article on Throne and Judgment Part 3

On Throne and Judgment, End Times and Prophecies, Part 3

Continuing from the previous article in part 2, what about end times judgments that I talked about in the previous article? Why should we think on that?

Because we are going to be accountable for how we live our lives now that we know better and are born from above of the spirit of God through Christ.

Yes we are saved from sin, washed, clean by the precious blood of the ultimate Lamb—the Lamb of God... and as such we are now responsible for our lives, our thoughts, our doings—we are accountable to God.

Those of us who know the Lord and have received Him into our hearts and lives, are going to be accountable to Christ at the “judgment seat of Christ” where we will be judged for how we lived our born-again Christian life.

Three end times judgments

At the end times, the Bible speaks of judgments... there are 3 particular judgments that are mentioned in the book of Revelation and also declared in prior scriptures...

Romans 14:10 says:

“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

And in 2 Corinthians 5:10-11 we read:

“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

“Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade (convince) men; and we are made manifest (are declaring ourselves) unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.”

The judgment seat of Christ

Now the “judgment seat of Christ” is also known as the “bema seat of Christ” -- it's actually pronounced “bayma” but it seems everybody, that I've heard anyway, say bema... you've probably heard of this word “bema”.

A lot of people just call it “the bema seat of Christ”, but in reality “bema” is the Greek word of “seat”. So the “judgment seat” is called the “bayma” in the Greek and is called as such in twelve scriptures.

In the time of Paul, these “seats” were raised platform mounted by steps from which people were judged... it was an official tribunal “seat” of a judge.

For instance Herod built such a structure that resembled a throne at Caesarea, from which he would view the games and make speeches to the people... actually there is a reference to that in the book of Acts, chapter 12 and v.21. The word there for Herod's throne is “bayma” -- it's an elevated platform.

The rest of the scriptures where it speaks of “judgment/s” do not use the word “bayma” it uses a different word or words... but we won't get into these right now. I'll cover that in a future article.

For example in the book of Revelation where it deals with the end times, there are 4 scriptures that speak of “judgment”... also in Jude, 2 scriptures, where it refers to end times events, and some others as well... here they are not called “the judgment seat of Christ” either.

So how many judgments are there at the end times?

There are 3 “judgments” in particular that are told by scriptures for the end times...

#1 – there is the one specifically called “the bayma seat of Christ”

#2 -- the sheep and the goats

#3 – the great white throne judgment

The #1 judgment here is the only one that is called “the judgment seat of Christ”. And that is in Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10. Everywhere else, although the Greek word bayma is used for the word seat, it does not call it “the judgment seat of Christ.”... it only calls it “the judgment seat”... and there are some twenty scriptures.

But the scriptures that refer specifically to “the judgment seat of Christ” are the two I just mentioned and they are both written by Paul in the following scriptures:

Let's read these two scriptures:

Romans 14:10 “But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”

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

Notice what these two scriptures have in common?

They are both written to the born-again saints. So this is the “judgment seat of Christ” for the saints who come up from the rapture. It takes place in heaven right after the rapture (harpazō – to catch away, 1 Thessalonians 4:17).

And this judgment is not about heaven or hell, or condemnation because these people are already believers saved by the blood of Christ... no... it's about rewards. It is about the crowns that we have accumulated during our discipleship living.

What did we do with our salvation? Did we carry out the great commission given to us by the Saviour... did we live exemplary lives ... did we support the work of the kingdom... did we do our part to spread the gospel of salvation... Did we run the race. Or did we spend our precious time as couch potatoes?

Matthew 16:27; Ephesians 6:8; Psalm 62:12.

It's not going to be judgment for our sin... those on earth will be judged for their sins.... because their sins are not covered by the blood of Christ... because they did not receive that gift of salvation, they did not believe in Him who came to take away the sin of the world.

Faith is what's required of all people in order to be saved and have eternal life... we are saved by faith.... so it's not about sin here, that's been taken care of and the Word of God tells it plainly:

Psalm 103:1-12; Micah 7:19; Romans 8:1; John 5:24; Galatians 3:13; 2Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 12:1; 1 Timothy 6:12.

So the “judgment seat of Christ” is not to punish believers, it is an account of their work and faithful service after salvation, to receive their due rewards.

Paul gives the illustration of this in 1 Corinthians 3:10-13:

“According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuilder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.

“For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

“Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

“Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.”

Not everyone will receive the same reward at the judgment seat of Christ... some will experience loss....

1 Corinthians 3:15,

“If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”

I think of this song, “Will there be any stars in my crown”. You can look it up on YouTube.

You will receive some, I'm sure because you will have supported a church or a pastor, or a missionary or a ministry... and the Word of God says that we will receive a portion of those people's rewards. And you may also be in ministry yourself and others who have helped and supported your work will receive a portion of your worthy work.

But those who did not receive the Lord will be judged through fire:

Genesis 19:24; Revelation 1:14; Deuteronomy 4:24

So believers in Christ are looking to appear without shame before this judgment seat of Christ...

1 John 2:28; 2 John 8; Revelation 3:11; Matthew 10:32; 1 Corinthians 2:9-10; 1Corinthians 4:2; Luke 19:17; Luke 19:19.

We all have been given time, talent and resources

2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith”.

The next two end times judgments

The other two end times judgments referred in the Word of God take place on earth and are not for the saints of the rapture (the Church). They are for the nations who rejected God.

The #2 judgment takes place right after the tribulation period. (For the timing of the tribulation period, see the TimingRevelation.com/Timing_Revelation_E-book.html )

and the #3 judgment takes place after the millennium period.

The question right now for those who have not yet received Jesus Christ into your heart is, “are you ready for the judgment? Are you ready to meet your maker when your time on earth is up? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you ready for the Rapture which can take place any time now? (Again all this is explained in TimingRevelation.com/Timing_Revelation_E-book.html .

You can avoid those great judgments of God.

Do you know the Lord... the Lamb of God who taketh the sin of the world... you've heard of John 3:16?

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

Do you know where you're going to be when you pass from this physical place to the spiritual where we will live forever. Your soul is an eternal part of you. You are made up of spirit soul and body... the body is only temporary... when we leave this temporary physical place, we enter into a whole new dimension of spiritual reality.

Where we are going to be can only be one of two places: heaven or hell. The Word of God does not change, everything is still the same in the Bible. Its a choice and we have to make it while we are in this temporary body.

You can have total peace right now by accepting the free gift of salvation that Jesus paid for and delivered on that cross... all you need to do is ask Jesus into your your life, into your heart... just say this prayer:

Lord I come to you right now... I believe that you died on the cross for me, you died in my place while I was yet a sinner.... I ask that you forgive me of my sins, I repent of them right now and turn my life over to you... come into my heart, washed me and make me a born-again child of God from this day on....

If you said that prayer and meant it in your heart, you are now a child of God and the Lord will do what He promised... and that is to give you lif and that more abundantly.

Now you need to confess that you have received the Lord Jesus Christ into your heart, join a born-again church in your community where you can fellowship with other born-again Christians and grow in your new faith.

/DMH

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