THE JUDGMENT
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The Saints in Judgment
What work did Daniel
see finally assigned to the saints?
“As I watched,
this horn was waging war against the
saints and defeating them, until the
Ancient of Days came and pronounced
judgment in favor of the saints of
the Most High, and the time came when
they possessed the kingdom. (Daniel
7:21,22.)
How long will the
saints engage in this work of
judgment?
“And I saw
thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them…
and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.”
(Revelation 20:4.)
Who will thus be
judged by the saints?
“Do you not know
that the saints will judge the world?
And if you are to judge the world,
are you not competent to judge
trivial cases? Do you not know that
we will judge angels? How much more
the things of this life! (I
Corinthians 6:2,3.)
Christ Executes
Judgment
How will the decisions
of the judgment be executed?
“Out of his mouth
comes a sharp sword with which to
strike down the nations. He will rule
them with an iron scepter. He trends
the winepress of the fury of the
wrath of God Almighty.”
(Revelation 19:15.)
Why is the execution
of the judgment given to Christ?
“For as the
Father has life in himself, so he has
granted the Son to have life in
himself, and he has given authority
to judge because he is the Son of
Man.” (John 5:26,27.)
How was the opening of
the judgment to be made known to the
world?
“And then I saw
another angel flying in midair, and
he had the eternal gospel to proclaim
to those who live on the earth –
to every nation, tribe, language and
people. He said in a loud voice,
“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
14:6,7.)
Note – There are
three phases of the judgment
mentioned in the Scriptures: the
investigative judgment, proceeding
the second advent; the judgment of
the lost world and the wicked angels
by Christ and the saints during the
thousand years following the second
advent; and the executive judgment,
or punishment of the wicked at the
close of this period. The
investigative judgment takes place in
heaven before Christ comes, in order
to ascertain who are worthy to be
raised in the first resurrection, at
His coming, and who among the living
are to be changed in the twinkling of
an eye, at the sound of the last
trump. It is necessary for this to
take place before the Second Advent,
as there will be no time for such a
work between the coming of Christ and
the raising of the righteous dead.
The executive judgment on the wicked
occurs after the saints have examined
their cases during the thousand
years. (Revelation 20:4,5; I
Corinthians 6:1-3.) The investigative
judgment is that which is announced
to the world by the angel’s
message of Revelation 14:6,7.
Recap:
Christ ministers today
as our High Priest and Advocate
before the throne of His Father in
the heavenly sanctuary. He is the
only mediator between God and man.
Every individual must
face judgment for deeds “done in
the body,” whether good or evil.
And we should not forget that the
standard of that judgment is the holy
law of God, the Ten Commandments.
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