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The
Judgment of the Living
The
second phase of the judgment bar is of Christ
(the judgment of the living) and it begins when
the censer is cast down and the Great Tribulation
begins. The 144,000 will announce the judgment
bar of Christ. They will cry out, “….
Fear God and give him glory because the
hour of his judgment has come. Worship
him who made the heavens, the earth,
the sea and the springs of water.”
(Revelation 14:7, italics mine)
The
judgment of the living is unlike the
judgment of the dead in several ways. First, the
judgment of the living does not require a
complete review of a person’s life. The
judgment of the living will be based on our
response to the Two Witnesses. Here is how it
works: (1 Corinthians 3:13, Revelation 3:10) All
that maters to Jesus is our response to His Two
Witnesses. At the end of the 1,260 days, the
judgment of the living will end because every
person will have either the seal of God or the
mark of the beast by that time. If a person
should die during the Great Tribulation before
he receives the seal of God or the mark of the
beast, he will be judged just like those who had
previously died. Because many people will die
before they are sealed or receive the mark of the
beast, the judgment of the dead continues
uninterrupted after the judgment of the living
begins.
The
second difference between the judgment of the
dead and the living is that the judgment of the
living involves a four-step process. When
the censer is cast down, everyone on Earth will
participate in “Step One” even though
they may not live long enough to complete all
four steps. Some people will go through these
four steps faster than others. The first people
to be judged and receive the seal of God will be
the 144,000.They are sealed just before the Great
Tribulation begins. (Revelation 7:1-4) They are
the first fruits of the end-time harvest.
(Revelation 14:4) After the 144,000 are sealed
and empowered, the censer will be cast down and
the four steps will begin. They are rather easy
to understand.
The Four Step
Process
Step
One – The Law of God Proclaimed: When
the censer is cast down, the 144,000 will go to
work. The Holy Spirit will empower them to preach
the law of God as a witness to all
nations. (Matthew 24:14) A witness does not have
to be a human being. Consider this example: “After
Moses finished writing in a book the words of
this law from the beginning to end, he gave this
command to the Levites who carried the ark of the
covenant of the Lord: ‘Take this Book of the
Law and place it beside the ark of the covenant
of the Lord your God. There it [the Words of
God] will remain a witness
against you.’” (Deuteronomy
31:24-26, italics and insertion mine)
Gods’
law operates like a plumb line. God’s law
defines the truth and in so doing, it destroys
lies and deception. Nothing is more wonderful
than the light of truth to those who love
truth. During the Great Tribulation, God’s
Word will be given unusual power to cut people
“to the heart.” Remember Peter and the
disciples on the Day of Pentecost? “[Peter
said] ‘Therefore let all Israel be
assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’
When
the people heard this, they were cut to
the heart and said to Peter and the
other apostles, ‘Brothers, what shall we do [to
escape God’s wrath]?’ Peter replied,
‘Repent and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ for the
forgiveness of your sins. And you will
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’”
(Acts
2:36-38, italics and insertions mine)
The
overwhelming devastation of the first four
trumpets will subdue religious prejudice for a
short time. God’s manifold wrath will open
the minds and hearts of a religiously diverse
world so every person, regardless of language,
culture or religious background can make
thoughtfully and intelligently consider His law
that the 144,000 will proclaim. People will hear
the testimony of Jesus (the words of Jesus)
coming out of the mouths of the 144,000 and the
honest in heart will be “cut to the heart.”
Step
Two – Holy Spirit Discomfort: God’s
law makes no sense without the enlightenment of
His Spirit! “The man without the Spirit
does not accept the things that come from the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him,
and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians
2:14)
God’s
law will be proclaimed throughout the world with
Holy Spirit power. The distinction between truth
and error, good and evil, will be made so plain
that young people will even be able to understand
the difference. Conviction will fall hard upon
the honest in heart and painful decisions will be
required. The social consequences for following
Jesus will be severe. (John 16: 1-3) The Holy
Spirit will sufficiently “pressure”
each person to choose the right and refuse the
wrong. (See Joshua 24:15 and Hebrews 3:7-19.)
Socially and culturally speaking, the situation
will be difficult.
The
gospel of Jesus always puts a person in a tough
situation because the gospel demands total
submission and loyalty to the law of God, and it
goes without saying that our fallen human nature
finds this difficult. When there is a price to
pay for submission to God’s law, our faith
in Christ is tested. Do you remember how Peter
betrayed Christ outside Caiaphas’ home? (See
Mark 14:53-15:1.) That embarrassing moment was a
turning point in Peter’s life. Peter
realized that Friday morning there was a huge
difference between knowing Jesus and surrendering
to Jesus. A few weeks later, Peter was chosen as
the primary speaker at Pentecost because he had
openly betrayed Christ and repented. Jesus gave
this converted disciple a chance to let his
countrymen clearly know where he now stood. I
mention this because Peter knew firsthand the
internal struggle between loyalty and cowardice.
He wrote, “For it is time for the
judgment to begin with the family of God: and if
it begins with us, what will the outcome be for
those who do not obey the gospel
of God? And, ‘if it is
hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?’”
(1 Peter 4:17,18, italics mine)
Those
who love God and His truth will eventually step
out in faith and embrace the gospel of Jesus
Christ. Once a person decides to take his
stand to obey God’s Word, he will be given
as much grace and strength as needed to face the
trials and persecution that will follow. On the
other hand, people who cannot make a decision to
obey the gospel will capitulate. There is no
strength to bear the consequences of persecution
without making a wholehearted decision to follow
Christ. Cowards, faithless, and double0minded
people will go along with the flow to avoid
suffering, and their eternal loss will be
mind-boggling. (Revelation 21:8) “….’No
eye hath seen, no ear heard, no mind has
conceived what God has prepared for those who
love him – but God has revealed it to us by
his Spirit.’ The Spirit searches all things,
even the deep things of God.”
(1
Corinthians 2:9,10)
For
1,260 days Jesus will watch and wait, patiently
allowing each person to make up his own mind. The
Holy Spirit will pound on every heart’s
door. The third member of the Godhead will do
everything short of violating human choice to get
rebellious people to surrender to the plumb line
of Truth – the law of God; unfortunately,
many people will choose to rebel. Like the rich
young ruler, they will conclude that the price
for obedience is just too great. (John 3:19-21;
Luke 18: 18-25; Revelation 13:8) Without the
enabling power that comes from a determined
decision to follow Christ at any price, the
wicked will be right – the price for
obedience is too great.
Step
Three – Your Final Decision: During the
judgment pf the living, three forces will be
working together. The Word of God will be heard
by everyone. Then, the Holy Spirit will apply
great pressure within every heart to obey God’s
law, and last, persecution will force
everyone into making a decision. At first, you
might think that the Two Witnesses are pulling
people toward the shores of salvation and
persecution is driving them away, but it is not
what you think! Those who love God and His Law
will receive the testimony of the Holy Spirit.
They are willing to accept persecution because
they are committed to pleasing God at any cost.
On the other hand, those who love their lives and
their possessions more than God will not be able
to take the heat and accept the suffering that
comes with their decision. Jesus said, “The
man who loves his life will lose it, while the
man who hates his life in this world will keep it
for eternal life.”
(John
12:25) “And everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or
children or fields for my sake will receive a
hundred times as much and will inherit eternal
life.” (Matthew 19:29)
There
are always some people who will waver back and
forth for a time, but increasing pressures from
persecution will eventually force everyone into
their final decision. Everyone on Earth will
either receive the mark of the beast or the seal
of God. There is a simple reason for the
persecution of the saints: Salvation comes
through faith in Christ. Therefore, the Great
Tribulation will be a test of faith. Faith in God
quickly separates people. Remember the twelve
spies that Moses sent into the Promised Land?
(Numbers 14) Faith is a very scary thing to those
who do not know God and His power of His Word.
Faith in God separates sheep from goats. Our
actions declare our faith. James agrees. He
wrote, “…. I will show you [and
God] my faith by what I do.” (James
2:18, insertion mine) Jesus assured the church
members in Philadelphia (an early Christian
church that had suffered persecution for years),
“Since you have kept my command to endure
patiently, I will also keep you from [or
during] the our of trial that is going to come
upon the whole world to test those
who live on the earth.” (Revelation
3:10, italics and insertion mine)
Step
Four – The Seal and the Tattoo: Every
person who surrenders to the law of God and the
Holy Spirit will fall in line with the testimony
of Jesus. After choosing to obey Jesus without
regard for the consequences, each person will be
given the strength and faith to pass any test
which persecution might impose. The fires of
persecution will refine and purify the faith of
the saints. “…. I will refine them
like silver and test them like gold. They will
call on my name and I will answer them; I will
say, ‘They are my people,’ and they
will say, ‘The Lord is our God.’”
(Zechariah 13:9) After passing some fiery tests
of faith, a dramatic miracle will happen. It is
ironic after losing everything he owns, each
faithful person will then lose his carnal nature!
The
sealing of the saints requires the testimony of
the Two Witnesses. The law of God will serve as
the plumb line. It will measure the actions of
John Doe. Jesus will see what John did, in fact,
submit to God’s law. John will demonstrate
his love for Jesus and his neighbor. The Holy
Spirit will testify that John’s faith was
thoroughly tested and he loves God with all his
heart, mind, and soul, and his neighbor as
himself. John gave everything he owned for the
sake of the gospel! John was persecuted for
worshiping Jesus on His Sabbath day. John actions
clearly showed his love for God and man. The
testimony of God’s Two Witnesses will
establish the fact that John loved God and man.
Jesus will announce His judgment: “Seal John
Doe! Set him free from sin’s curse. Give him
the wedding robe!” At that moment, John’s
carnal nature will be removed and John will no
longer have a propensity for sinning! John Doe
will be like Adam before the fall. He will feel a
joyful difference and if he’s in prison, he
just might start singing at midnight.
(Acts
16:25)
Those
ho reject the law of God and the promptings of
the Holy Spirit will become more rebellious and
hard hearted as time passes. Eventually, everyone
in this crowd will commit the unpardonable sin.
God’s plumb line will measure their
rebellion and the Holy Spirit will confirm the
blasphemy of each person. To save their
possessions and themselves from death, the wicked
will eventually submit to wearing the mark of the
beast – a tattoo that Lucifer will impose on
mankind during the sixth trumpet. After everyone
has been sealed or tattooed, the judgment of the
living will come to an end and the influence of
the Two Witnesses will disappear. Their work and
influence is finished. “Now when they
have finished their
testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss
[Lucifer] will attack them, and overpower and
kill them…. The inhabitants of the earth
will gloat over them and will celebrate by
sending each other gifts, because these two
prophets had tormented those who live on the
earth.” (Revelation 11:7,10, italics and
insertion mine)
Three
Observations
Now
that both phases of the judgment bar of Christ
(the judgment of the dead and the living) have
been discussed, three observations need to be
made:
- Consider the
righteousness and fairness of God when
judging mankind. God will deal with the
dead and the living, the rich and poor,
the educated and the uneducated, the
Christian and the non-Christian using the
same witnesses. Everyone will be judged
according to their actions. “For
God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing, whether it
is good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes
12:14) “Behold, I am coming soon!
My reward is with me, and I will give to
everyone according to what he has done.”
(Revelation 22:12) “The sea
gave up the dead that were in it, and
death and Hades gave up the dead that
were in them, and each person was judged
according to what he has done.” (Revelation
20:13)
- Those who receive the
seal of God will be set free of sin’s
power. Jesus said, “Then you will
know the truth, and the truth will set
you free,” (John 8:32) I cannot
emphasize this aspect of God’s
amazing grace enough! Think about this:
Even the worst addict or vilest sinner
can be set free of their addition and
sinful baggage if only they will step out
in faith and obey the gospel of Jesus.
The choice for salvation will be very
clear during the Great Tribulation the
coat will be great. Jesus says, “If
you love me, you will obey what I
command.”
(John 14:15) It is interesting to
me that the fourth commandment (which will become
the object of great hatred) is the only
commandment in the Ten Commandments that commands
people to cease from work at an appointed time.
What a wonderful commandment! God requires rest
on His seventh day so His children can
rejuvenate. The 144,000 will powerfully proclaim,
“Worship [the Creator on His holy
day, worship] him who made the heavens, the
earth, the sea and the springs of water,” but
astounding, as it seems, millions will rebel. The
fourth commandment has been scorned for centuries
and the wicked will widely resist it when they
arte confronted with the demands of God’s
law! Why is this called blasphemy? Blasphemy is
rebellion against the law of God. “The
sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit
to God’s law, nor can it do so.” (Romans
8:7) This hostility cannot be justified. It only
exists because we have carnal natures. Nothing is
more wonderful than a Sabbath rest from the
burdens of life. I have found God’s Sabbath
rest to be my favorite day of the week! Jesus
said, “Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and
you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew
11:29,30)
3. By the time Jesus
closes His judgment bar; He will have passed
judgment on every soul who has even lived on
Earth. When He appears at the Second Coming, He
will deal separately with three groups of people”
A. The
righteous dead
B.
The righteous living
C. The
wicked dead
D. The
wicked living
“Behold, I am coming
soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to
everyone according to what he has done.”
(Revelation 22:12) Notice the outcome of each
group: The righteous dead will be resurrected,
and the righteous living will be caught up
together with the righteous dead to meet the Lord
in the air. (1 Thessalonians 4:15-17) The wicked
dead will not be disturbed. They will sleep
through the Second Coming and be resurrected at
the end of the 1,000 years. (Revelation 20:5) The
wicked living will be destroyed at the second
Coming and they will sleep during the 1,000
years. (Revelation 19:19-21) Every person who
lived during Earth’s 6,000 years of history
will be in one of these four groups at the Second
Coming.
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