SEVEN JUDGMENTS APPEAR IN THE BIBLE

                                                                             (Blackson Makhumba-B.Th.)

There are many people who would like to rule this subject of judgment out of the Bible entirely. There are those who tell us that the God of the New Testament, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, is the kind of a God who can never move in judgment. His heart is so tender, his love is so gracious, his patience is so infinite that there never will be a time when God will move in vengeance. It is remarkable, though, that in the New Testament the Lord Jesus spoke very frequently about the judgment of God. In the fourth chapter of Luke we are told that the Lord came back to his home town after preaching in Judea for many months. He had done many miracles and the word of his miracles had preceded him, so all the folks in Nazareth were very anxious to see Him.

Luke tells us that Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he was given the book of the prophecy of Isaiah to read. Opening the scroll he found the place (which happens to be the sixty-first chapter of our version of Isaiah) where it read, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor." (Lk. 4:10) That passage predicts the ministry of the Messiah. Then he stopped right in the middle of a sentence, right at a comma, and his last word was that he had come to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. But Isaiah goes on to say, "and the day of vengeance of our God." (Is. 61:2) Now the Lord did not read that because it was not the time to proclaim the day of vengeance of God. But the day of vengeance is coming, and it was the Lord himself who described the day of the Lord (recorded in Matthew, Mark and Luke), and it is this day particularly that Prophet Zephaniah is talking about in his entire book. 

Some people do not even want to hear anything to do with judgment for it is just a state of mind. Others claim that judgment is just a Christian gimmick to instil fear in people so that they should accept the faith.

Some Christians say that judgment is now and we are living in it, while others say that it will come after the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Every one of them speaks with assurance and with references from the Bible. Most often we probably fail to understand the type of judgment   being discussed at a particular time. Six people may speak of judgment at the same time but totally different judgment all together.

A careful inductive study of the Bible shows that there are seven well-defined judgments appearing in the scriptures. This is in contrast with the concept of single general judgment that refuses to sustain at all. Let us have a look at these judgments in brief:

1. GOD’S JUDGMENT OF SIN: When Jesus was lifted up on the cross, the world and sin was judged and Satan was defeated. This act was prophesied by David in Psalms 22:124. It’s fulfilment in the New Testament is mentioned in 1Corinthians 15:3, Hebrews 9:26-28, 1Peter 2:24; 3:18 and in John 12:31. Christ bore our sins so that we should live unto righteousness. This judgment is passed.

2. BELIEVERS SELF JUDGMENT: In confessing and forsaking sins committed a believer judges sin and is thus, avoiding the chastisement from the heavenly Father. Unconfessed sin invites chastisement from God (Hebrews 12:7, 1Cor.5:5; 11:31-32). As believers, we are called to judge ourselves so that we cannot be judged. We are to examine ourselves as to whether our faith is properly placed in Christ. The Father’s chastisement is  that which  drives us to repentance. This judgment is not over until our total transformation of the body. It is being carried by believers day by day.

3. CHRIST’S JUDGMENT OF BELIEVERS: According to Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10, every believer will appear before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged of his or her works done on earth as a believer, whether it be good or bad. This will not be the judgment of sin, but rather of our motivation and faithfulness or stewardship (1 Cor.3:11-15). Gain or loss of rewards will be the result. This judgment will take place soon after the second appearance of Christ (1 Cor.4:1-5, 2Tim. 4:8) Non-believers have no part in this judgment.

4. JUDGMENT OF ALL THE UNSAVED: This is often called ‘The GreatWhite Throne Judgment’ (Rev.20:11), which is the final judgment of the unredeemed and will take place at the end of the Kingdom Age. Every unsaved person will face the great WhiteThrone, and no one will be exempted.(Rev.20: 12-15). Everyone whose name is not found written in the book of life will be judged. This will be during the Resurrection of Damnation or second resurrection of the dead (1Cor.15.) for the unsaved will not resurrect during the first resurrection unto rapture (1 Thes.4:13-18). This judgment is not ordinary, as already explained, but is based on absolute justice (v13). Whoever, beginning with Adam and Eve, whose name will not be found written in the book of life (record of the redeemed) will be cast into Hell, the Lake of Fire (eternal separation from God). They will not die, but live forever in torment.

5. JUDGMENT OF ALL NATIONS:It takes place at the return of Christ in glory to establish His kingdom over Israel (Matthew 25:31-33). The basis for this judgment is the treatment of Jewish race by other nations.All the nations that curse, oppress and ridicule Israel, or all the enemy nations of Israel will be defeated and judged during the battle of Armageddon. This can be better understood by studying the Bible from Revelation 4 through the end of the scripture. From here, we see that Israel resumes the centre stage position and continues as such.

6. JUDGMENT OF ISRAEL:This involves the regathering of Israel at the end of Millennium period (Ezekiel 20:33-38). The bringing together or regathering of Israel prophecy will only be fulfilled at the Second Coming and the beginning of the Kingdom Age. Before this time Anti-Christ will invade Israel after short friendship that he will make with her, and the Israel will laterrealize that she had been fooled. Then God will begin to deal Israel by purging her during the last three and half years of Great Tribulation. At issue here is the opportunity to enter the millennial kingdom (Mal.3:2-5; 4:1-3).

7. JUDGMENT OF FALLEN ANGELS:This is a condemnation of the Devil, (Satan, that old Serpent) and all His Angels (Rev.20:10). This includes those who co-habited with humans prior to the flood (Gen.6:1-4, 2Pet.2:4, Jude 1:6). These are the particular angels who did not maintain their original position in which they were created. They came on earth seeking to cohabit with daughters of men, which they did.

GOD’S VIRTUE OF JUSTICE

In executing such judgments, God is doing a virtue of his justice by processing an absolute perfection out of His infinite holiness. The Gospel of peace and the death of Christ on the cross is the only solution for God’s justice and forgiving the guilty of the world, yet without overlooking sin in any way. According to Romans 3:25-26, Jesus’ death on Calvary declared His righteousness for the remission of our sins. It is destined for a man to die once and then face judgment. The final judgment is not yet until the second coming of the Son of God. This is the day of the Lord’s vengeance.

Well, now," you say, "How can this be? How can the God of love -- the God of the New Testament -- do a thing like this? How can God, who loves mercy and is slow to anger, ever come to this place?" And there are many who tell us that we should eliminate these passages from the Bible. They say we should read our Bibles in much the same way that we read literature. For instance, we read in Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island of a character named Long John Silver. We read that he is a cruel, rapacious, untrustworthy individual. Now if, after reading that, somebody tells us that Long John Silver is really a great guy, that he is kind to his mother, and is a nice fellow once you get to know him, we do not believe this because we know Long John Silver and we know that he is not that kind of a man. Therefore, if anybody tells us that, we will not believe him. Someone with this attitude might go on to say, "I have come to know God as the God of love and the God of grace. Therefore, when I read in the Bible something that says he is a God of vengeance, and that he is going to destroy people, I just don't believe it. I just wipe that out. I say that someone else has insinuated that, because that is not the kind of God I know." 

It is this kind of reasoning that suggests we should go through our Bibles and tear out every part that does not agree with our concepts of God. But what we have left, of course, is nothing more than w hat we like, what we think God ought to be like. 

You can see how such an argument defeats itself. The very book that tells us that God is a God of love also says he is a God of vengeance. And any one who thinks carefully about himself and about love will understand why a God of love has to be a God of vengeance. For if we love someone, we hate everything that injures that person. We are against whatever threatens or destroys what we love. And the very love that moves the heart of God to pour himself out over the centuries in an unceasing effort to awaken man to his need and to hear the call of grace, is the same love that at last prompts him to eliminate those who refuse all the province of his grace, and identify themselves with that which is opposed to his will and to do his work among men.The prophets warn of this and the word speaks very clearly. all through the New Testament as well, that when God's grace is turned aside, God's judgment awaits.