The Judgment
of the Dead & Living During the
Great Tribulation
__________
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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, his submission 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 that
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’s
actions clearly showed his love for
God and man. The testimony of
God’s Two Witnesses will
establish the fact that John loves
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 is in
prison, he might start singing at
midnight.
(Acts 16:25)
Those who 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 the
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 them
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:
1.
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 be 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 20:13)
Jesus judges the dead
and the living according to their
actions, not their religious beliefs,
or even their faith because their
actions reveal their faith and love,
not the other way around. “In
the same way, faith by itself, if it
is not accompanied by action, is
dead.”
(James 2:17)
2. 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 the
vilest sinner can be set free of
their addiction 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, but the
cost 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 be 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 that 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 are
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 ever lived on Earth.
When He appears at the Second Coming,
He will deal separately with four
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, italics mine)
Notice the outcome for 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 the 6,000 years of
Earth’s history will be in one
of these four groups at the Second
Coming.
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