Last time we began a list of eight truths about Jesus’ Second Coming. We listed the first seven, saving number eight for this post. Here it is:
8. The Lord Jesus, at His Second Coming will Judge…
Who will He judge? According to Jesus in Matthew 25:31-33, He will judge not just individuals, but the nations!
Matthew 25:31-33 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
He will also judge individuals who are lost.
Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
And, He will judge His people! Wait! Didn’t Jesus take our condemnation! Yes, He did!
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
But the redeemed will be judged by the Lord.
1 Corinthians 4:4 For I know of nothing against myself, yet I am not justified by this; but He who judges me is the Lord.
(1) What is the nature of the Lord’s judgment of the redeemed? The judgment of the saved is not about Heaven or Hell. That was settled by Christ, at the cross. Rather it will be about eternal rewards, or the lack thereof.
1 Corinthians 3:12-15 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one's work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.
(2) What will the judgment of believers be based on? Believers’ judgment will be based on faithfulness to Christ (not success as the world counts success!).
1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.
(3) What will these rewards be? We cannot say for sure what those rewards are, but Revelation 4:4 speaks about believers having crowns on their heads—most believe these crowns represent rewards in Heaven. Revelation 4:10 speaks of believers “casing their crowns before the throne on which Jesus is seated.” The conclusion is that once believers see the Lord, they will be so aware that He is the only One who is worthy of reward. As an act of worship, they will spontaneously cast their crowns at His feet declaring, “What is this crown doing on my head?”
All that is to say that the more faithful we are here and now, the more fully we will worship the Lord in Heaven forever.
If anyone thinks, “Big deal, I don’t care much for worship anyway,” (a) Worshiping God is what we were created for. (b) Heaven is about worship.