Judgment of Christ

The Judgement of Christ is a topic that you rarely hear preached because very few take the time to evaluate the heart of self, church, and the nation.

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings.” Jeremiah 17:9-10

I believe that this is a time of confession and repentance, a time for all people to evaluate their heart to see if it is for God or against. If in this evaluation you find selfishness, pride, arrogance, lack of love for others, self-centeredness, I encourage you to repent. If we simply used the Ten Commandments as a tool to judge ourselves, and change, we may escape His wrath. Better yet, if you can pass the evaluation of the first two commandments then the other eight are a breeze. "If you love me keep my commandments".

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. 2 Corinthians 5:10

So when will this judgment take place? It will take place in the last days, for it is part of the three angels' messages, God’s final warning to the world.

“And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:” Revelation 14:6-10

The first angel's message is a call to repentance, to get right with God for his judgment is here.

So who will be judged?

“For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.” 1 Peter 4:17-19

It will be the chosen people of God who will first have their lives examined. The standard or benchmark of this judgment will be according to: 

“My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come unto your assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment; and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing, and say unto him, Sit thou here in a good place; and say to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my footstool: Are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil thoughts? Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.” James 2:1-13

The Ten Commandments law of God will be the standard or benchmarks of this judgment. God’s true end-time church who is sharing the true word of God must prepare his people for this judgment. Remember Judgement must begin in the house of God first.

If we were to take a close look at the nations of the world it would be impossible to find one nation that truly serves God and his Ten Commandments teachings as a whole. One might say that the United States is that nation, but I would argue that if we took a close look at its laws, and the division among its lawmakers, its history of injustice, racial divide, and cultural bias, it would fail the test as well. 

For some, Judgement will be good news and for others, it will be viewed as God's vindication. The word judgment in the Hebrew means to be vindicated and made right. It is for this reason that David cried out: 

“Judge me, O God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation: O deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man. For thou art the God of my strength: why dost thou cast me off? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? O send out thy light and thy truth: let them lead me; let them bring me unto thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles.” Psalm 43:1-3

I am concerned that many Pastors have not considered how narrow the road is between the true teachings and life of Jesus, and the deceptive, false, feel-good messages that so saturate many pulpits today.

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.” Matthew 7:13-15

To date, the Coronavirus has infected 927,150 and 52,400 deaths (in the US) and I have yet to hear a call to repentance. I recently posted an article called The Power of Social Distancing in that post I stated, 

"If we find ourselves feeling absent from God because we are missing church, it is possible that we simply had Church-Corona a form of godliness but was denying the power, and that our relationship was nothing more than an act of infectious religion.”

The church is full of asymptomatic people who are infectious; contaminating people with gossip, jealousy, backbiting, and hatred. Coming together weekly spreading a perpetual cycle of feel-good but can’t do good - false worship. Social Distancing removes the victims from the contamination of such persons and prevents a possible communal spreading. I encourage you to read the entire post. This Judgement is also known as the Day of the Lord. This is a season when God brings correction and punishment to the earth. During this season it will usher in the greatest event in history; Christ returns to earth to redeem His faithful believers and send unbelievers to eternal damnation.

The word declares that day with a sense of imminence, nearness, and expectation, of God’s grace; his warning before destruction.  

“Howl ye; for the day of the Lord is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty. Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt: And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.” Isaiah 13:6-8

As we take a close look at the events surrounding us, it is clear that we are truly living in the end times. This season of uncertainty is clearly described in the Bible.

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.” Matthew 24:7

The virus Covid-19 has been described by President Trump as a plague, an invisible enemy. This description clearly has a biblical inference. Is it possible that God has ordained him to use these terms simply to awaken his people from their slumber?