photo #2799977

FIVE CROWNS? At least since the days of Clarence Larkin and his Bible charts, it has been often taught that there are specifically FIVE crowns to be awarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ. I remember first coming across this teaching in the mid 1980's and thinking that it was flawed. Today, I KNOW it is flawed. Please hear (read) me out . . . The verses used to teach this are as follows: 1 Corinthians 9:25: And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. HENCE: The Incorruptible Crown 1 Thessalonians 2:19: For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? HENCE: The Crown of Rejoicing 2 Timothy 4:8: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. HENCE: The Crown of Righteousness 1 Peter 5:4: And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. Hence: The Crown of Glory Revelation 2:10: Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. HENCE: The Crown of Life, or the Martyr's Crown. Supposedly, one crown is for soul winners, one is for preachers, one is for martyrs, etc. But this just won't do when ALL Scripture is taken into account . . . The "crown of life" is actually found twice, not just once. It's a crown for martyrs in Revelation 2:10, and it's a crown for those who endure temptation in James 1:12. Then another crown is mentioned in II Timothy 2:5 for those who "strive lawfully." Now we are up to SEVEN crowns. However, Revelation 3:11 speaks of only ONE crown: "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take THY CROWN." So the "five crowns" at the Judgment Seat of Christ is a myth, not a Bible truth. It's not a heresy or anything to fight about, but it's not a Bible truth either.  We need to stop copying one another and learn to study for ourselves. The Bible truth is that there is only ONE crown to be won at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but there are several descriptions of it. It's a crown of rejoicing, an incorruptible crown, a crown of righteousness, a lawful crown, a glorious crown, and it's a crown of life for those with eternal life. If this isn't the case, then we have a crown of life that isn't incorruptible, because only the incorruptible crown is incorruptible. Then only the crown of righteousness is righteous, while the others must be unrighteous. Only the crown of glory is glorious, and you only get to rejoice if you win the crown of rejoicing, even if you win all the others! That, of course, is ridiculous and just won't do.  "The New Testament speaks of Five Crowns." Sorry, but that's false. I love Larkin and I highly recommend his work, but none of us bat a thousand. He's wrong on this one. There is ONE crown with several descriptions.  After all, you wouldn't say that there are five different Saviours just because Jesus is called (1) Son of God, (2) Son of Man, (3) King of the Jews, (4) Son of David, and (5) the Holy One of Israel.