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THE JUDGMENTS OF THE SAVED AND THE LOST When the average person thinks of God’s judgment of man, he automatically thinks of a particular DAY in the future when God will settle his accounts with man. The fact that the Bible doesn’t teach this doesn’t seem to matter. This general judgment thinking is rooted in the assumption that “all men are equal” so God will have to judge all men at the same time. As we will see in this lesson, nothing could be further from the truth. “The righteous is more excellent than his neighbour . . .” (Pro. 12:26), so the righteous have a more excellent judgment than the wicked. Obviously, any future judgment must be preceded by a resurrection, for a man can’t be judged if he’s still dead and buried. Is there ONE future resurrection, or are there two? The Bible says there are two. Notice Revelation 20:4-6: “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Now, read it carefully. SOME people are BEHEADED for the witness of Jesus Christ. That is, they are killed. They are dead. Then these same people REIGN with Christ for 1,000 years. Well, a man can’t reign if he’s dead, so there must be a resurrection. The passage goes on to say that these people have part in the FIRST RESURRECTION. The term “first resurrection” itself implies that there is also a future resurrection, does it not? If the general resurrection myth was true, then the Bible would say, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in THE resurrection.” But that isn’t the case because there is no such event as THE resurrection. The saints of God have part in the FIRST resurrection, and then the wicked live not until the thousand years are finished (20:5). For example, compare Revelation 20:5 with Revelation 20:14: 20:5 - This is the first resurrection. (saved)20:14 - This is the second death. (lost) The same is well illustrated in the story of Lazarus in John chapter eleven. Here Lazarus is dead, and Jesus is going to raise him, but Martha believes that Lazarus won’t rise again until “the last day.” That is, she is a general judgment believer. But Jesus is about to inform her that HIS CHILDREN don’t have to wait till the “last day” to come up. Note the text: “Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:23-26). Jesus then goes and RAISES Lazarus from the dead in verses 43-44. He didn’t raise everyone. He didn’t say, “Everyone, come forth.” He specifically commanded LAZARUS to come forth, while everyone else lay dead in their graves. Well, one day Jesus will call all his saints out of their graves in the FIRST RESURRECTION (Rev. 20:4-5; I Ths. 4:13-18; I Cor. 15:51-52), but the REST OF THE DEAD will remain in their graves until the SECOND DEATH (Rev. 20:14). The second death is not called the second resurrection because there is no eternal life imparted to anyone, only eternal damnation. Now, having established the fact that saved people and lost people are raised at two separate times, let’s consider the judgments which follow each event. The Judgment Seat of Christ “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.” (Rom. 14:10) “ 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.” (II Cor. 5:10) These are the two places in the Bible where we read the term “judgment seat of Christ.” As you can see, neither passage speaks of hell or destruction. The later plainly states that the Judgment Seat of Christ is for receiving the things done in our body. Our body belongs to God (I Cor. 6:19-20), and we are to glorify Him in our bodies. We are to yield our bodies to Him (Rom. 12:1-2). We are to deny ourselves and be His disciples (Luke 9:23). So the Judgment Seat of Christ will try us and determine whether or not we have done our duty. A fine companion passage for this is I Corinthians 3:11-15: “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. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” A Christian’s foundation is his salvation in Jesus Christ (Mat. 7:24). Then after being saved, the Christian is expected to yield himself to the leadership of the Holy Spirit so he can be useful to Christ. If he does this, he will bear the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) and please his Saviour. This fruit, or good work, is likened unto gold, silver, and precious stones, things of great value. Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Godly Christian service produces treasure in Heaven for the Christian. At the Judgment Seat of Christ, we (Christians) will receive our rewards. II John 8 says, “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.” Most people are only concerned with going to Heaven or Hell, if even that, but the Bible instructs us to be concerned about our rewards. My eternal RESIDENCE was settled when I trusted Jesus Christ as my Saviour, but my eternal REWARDS are only settled when I deny myself and serve God in the Spirit. Notice that no one goes to Hell at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Some people lose rewards, but they are still saved (I Cor 3:15). This is like Lot, the righteous man who lost all he had, yet he himself was saved from the fiery destruction. (Gen. 20; II Pet. 2:6-8). Jesus said there would be two kinds of saints in the last days. Those like Noah (faithful) and those like Lot (slothful) (Luke 17:26, 28). Just as “one star differeth from another star in glory” (I Cor. 15:41), one Christian will differ from another in Heaven, at least in regards to earned rewards. In Revelation 3:11, the Lord Jesus says, “Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.” Revelation 4:10 has the elders casting their crowns at the Saviour’s feet. Most Christians will have no crown to cast at the Lord’s feet in that day, for they forfeited their heavenly rewards in order to live comfortable and convenient lives in this present evil world. Also see I Corinthians 9:25, I Thessalonians 2:19, II Timothy 4:8, James 1:12, and I Peter 5:4. The believer’s judgment is threefold. At Calvary I was judged as a SINNER, with Jesus taking my place and bearing my punishment. Today I am judged as a SON, being chastened by my heavenly Father when I am disobedient (Heb. 12:4-8; I Cor. 11:30-31). At the Judgment Seat of Christ I will be judged as a SERVANT, giving full account to my Master for my Christian service. II John 8 says, “Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.” The White Throne Judgment This is the final judgment of the wicked. Christians are judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ BEFORE the 1000-year reign of Christ, but the unsaved are judged AFTER the 1000-year reign. This final judgment is called the “White Throne Judgment” because of the following passage: “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.” (Rev. 20:11-15) This judgment evidently occurs in open space, since “the earth and the heaven fled away.” This is likely the same event spoken of by Peter in II Peter 3:10: “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” Man will have no place to hide. The human race began hiding from God in Genesis 3:8, but all hiding places will vanish and man will be forced to face his Maker in judgment. The “books” will be opened and the “book of life” will be opened. Men will be shown that their good works could not save them, and they will see that all of their evil words, thoughts, and actions have been recorded. Every secret thing will be brought to light: “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” (Ecc. 12:14) Lost men will see that their condition is hopeless, and then they will see that their name is not in the “book of life.” Their deeds will be in the record book, but their names will not be in the redemption book, the book of life. It is important to notice that John never says that anyone at this judgment goes to Heaven. In fact, he earlier wrote in Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Those who have part in the FIRST RESURRECTION are not subject unto the SECOND DEATH. This is not a general judgment day for everyone, but rather “the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.” (II Peter 3:7) This is the judgment where the wicked dead will be judged for their “works” since they chose to not place their FAITH in Jesus Christ for their salvation. They chose to “work” their way into eternity, so this will be their big “pay day.” Literally billions are going to be shocked to see that their good intentions and good deeds cannot save them. Lest someone think that the White Throne Judgment is for everyone, not just lost people, let us notice that John said, “And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God” (20:12) The verse doesn’t say “the dead in Christ” (I Thss. 4:16), only “the dead.” Jesus said, “God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” (Mat. 22:23) So, those standing before the Great White Throne do not belong to God. They are the ones to whom God will pronounce the dreadful words, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Mat. 7:23) Paul even writes that we (Christians) will judge the world (I Cor. 6:2). Christians are not being judged at the Great White Throne, because they’ve already been judged, yet they will be assisting the Lord in the judgment of others. This will undoubtedly be a very sad day, because millions of Christians will see their lost loved ones cast alive into a burning lake of fire, never to see them again. Now is the time to do our best in bringing the lost to Christ. It will be too late at the White Throne Judgment.