When all men who are to be born according to God’s decree have come into existence and become the recipients of life, and the elect will have been converted and gathered in, the Lord, upon a day designated by Him, will summon all men before His judgment seat and publicly judge them. God has dominion and reigns over all men who live upon earth. Already in this life He punishes the ungodly and chastises His children; this is also denominated a judgment: “My flesh trembleth for fear of Thee; and I am afraid of Thy judgments” (Ps 119:120). God also judges every man who by death is translated from time to eternity, sending them to their destination. “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb 9:27). There will come a moment, however, when God will cause all men to appear before Him collectively, and this is preeminently referred to as the eternal judgment (Heb 6:2).
Scripture’s Testimony Concerning the Last Judgment
That there will be such a public and general judgment cannot be ascertained from nature. It can only be ascertained from Scripture and be confirmed by faith. The human conscience also convinces the heathen that they must anticipate the judgment of God after this life, culminating in either glory or damnation (Rom 2:15). It is also common knowledge that God is a righteous Judge who will cause it to be well with the righteous and ill with the wicked. That which Solomon says is also in some measure imprinted upon man’s nature: “Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before Him: but it shall not be well with the wicked” (Eccles 8:12-13). This does not always happen in this life, however, and therefore one can conclude that it will occur after this life. However, the general and public nature of this judgment and procedure are only revealed in Scripture.
That there will be such a judgment is evident from these texts and many others: “And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him” Jude 14-15; “But know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment” (Eccles 11:9); “For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil” (Eccles 12:14); “But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment” (Matt 12:36); “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 Cor 5:10); “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom” (2 Tim 4:1).
These suffice to convince a believer of the Word of God of the truth of these matters. Additional texts will be presented as we proceed.
The Final Judgment Executed by God in the Person of His Son Jesus Christ.
The Judge is God who created heaven and earth. Abraham calls him “the Judge of all the earth” (Gen 18:25); David and Paul call Him “the righteous Judge” (2 Tim 4:8); and this judgment is “the righteous judgment of God” Rom 2:5, executed by “God the Judge of all” (Heb 12:23).
However, this judgment will be executed by the Lord Jesus in a visible manner. “And hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man” (John 5:27). The reason for this is that He, as the Son of God, has assumed the human nature, has been obedient to the Father unto the death of the cross, and has executed the great work of redemption for the elect, in consequence of which the good pleasure of God would prosper in His hand (Isa 53:10). This is what the Lord Jesus says, “For the Father judgeth no man, (that is, separate from the Son and in such a visible manner) but hath committed all judgment unto the Son” (John 5:22). This is also to be observed in the following passage, “Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead” (Acts 17:31).
The Lord Jesus will come from heaven as Judge. He will not come to earth to reign a thousand years, as the premillennialists are dreaming; they misinterpret Rev 20. Rather, He will come upon a great cloud—not clothed with humility, but in power and glory, the greatness of which far exceeds one’s imagination. Once already Christ has been transfigured on the holy mountain before the eyes of His three disciples, who were witnesses of His majesty and glory which He received from God (cf. Matt 17:5; 2 Pet 1:17-18).
His glorious appearance will, however, also infinitely exceed that event when He will come in His essential glory and in the glory of His Father, together with the holy angels who will accompany Him as His servants. Observe this in the following passages: “He (the Son of man) shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:26); “And then shall they see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory” (Luke 21:27). The manifestation of this glory will be all the more awesome due to:
(1) The great sound of the last trumpet: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God” (1 Thess 4:16).
(2) The splendor of the throne which will be placed in the clouds upon which He as Judge will be seated. The splendor of this throne is shown to Daniel in a vision. “His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire” (Dan 7:9). Of this throne the Lord Jesus says that He will “sit upon the throne of His glory” (Matt 25:31).
(3) The innumerable multitude of holy angels who will be present there as His servants, “when the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him” (Matt 25:31). Oh, how awesome and majestic will the appearance of that great Judge be!
It is also written that the saints will judge: “Ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Matt 19:28); “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” (1 Cor 6:2). They will, however, not judge with legal authority and power; rather, as members of Christ they will enhance the glory and the work of their Head—particularly approving of the judgment of Christ, as is written of an angel, “And I heard another out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous are Thy judgments” (Rev 16:7). They will also do so with their deeds which will become manifest there, and with their godly presence they will condemn the ungodly, as Noah did the first world (Heb 11:7).