Judgement 1: God Judged Jesus
Legally God has to Judge sin. God gave the Law to Israel to reflect what sin actually is: having knowledge of a Just and Righteous God yet choosing not to obey Him. Judgement for sin is not just a Father punishing a child for misbehavior. It is sentencing for a crime against the Creator of the Universe (Nahum 1:3). God has made it that the Messiah would come from the chosen people and take the entire sentence for all sin for all time. The cross is God's Judgement on Jesus. Instead of each one of us receiving the sentence, Jesus willingly took it and was made sin itself. That God did this for you, and your identification as a sinner is the foundation of recognizing that you need to be forgiven by God. The Lord allows this to happen and as a result we are given new life in Jesus.
Judgement 2: God Judges believers
I see the work of sanctification as a type of Judgement by God but for the purposes of this writing Ill go straight to the believers Judgement (Romans 14:10-12). This is when Jesus Judges our faithfulness to him. There's no condemnation here because God's Judgement already fell on Jesus and we aligned ourselves to that in life. This occurs during the seven year period of which three and a half of them is the Great Tribulation. Right now the next thing on the calendar is the Rapture. This begins the seven years while the church is in heaven (I'm Pre-trib with sympathies for Mid-trib).
Judgement 3: The Sheep and the Goats
After the Tribulation Israel turns to The Lord and Jesus returns in his Glory. He takes his Glorious throne in Jerusalem and before him are the 'Sheep and the Goats.'
31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.
37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
I underlined the first verse as this is where we are told this will happen. Because of the Tribulation, the Jews are ferociously persecuted. This is the 'day of Jacobs trouble' (Jer 30:7). Those who have become believers during the Tribulation turn to help the Jews and this is how Jesus divides the believers from the non-believers who survive the Tribulation to see Jesus return and take his Glorious Throne. The Thousand year Reign of Christ on earth begins here.
Judgement 4: the Great White Throne
Lastly we see the all the unbelieving dead raised to life. These are all cast into the Lake of fire having rejected Messiah. Note that their sins were paid for but they rejected this Salvation and thus the Messiah who bought them. The harrowing and brutal truth of this is that all who are in the lake of fire have their resurrection bodies that cannot be destroyed. It was never the case that God sets up an eternal punishment for people. It just is how it works and Jesus warned mankind of this factor in rejecting him. This occurs after the 1000 year reign. After this there is a New Heaven and New earth and the City of God descends upon the Earth.
Amazing Grace how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost but now I'm found, was blind but now I see.
Gary Ward
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