Judgment Day
What do we know?
At the end of the Millennium, all of humanity will stand before God’s judgment. Each person will receive his or her just and righteous rewards based on either his or her own personal deeds or Christ’s sacrifice as the Lamb of God.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad” (2 Corinthians 5:10 NIV).
As judgment begins, the sea and the earth and hell and Abraham’s bosom (paradise) will give up their dead to be judged according to the works of their hands or according to whether or not their names are found written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
- The Creator will be in attendance as every man, woman, or child, great or small, rich or poor, king or slave, stands before the Great White Throne of Judgment. Each person’s deeds will be exposed.[1] Those who knew not Christ nor accepted Jesus as Savior will be judged by their individual deeds—what they personally did, what their intentions were, and the condition of their heart during each act of goodness or sin.[2] The Books of Deeds will contain each person’s actions for the span of his or her lifetime. For those who accepted Jesus as Lord, having their sins washed in the blood of the Lamb, they will be judged according to the propitiation of Jesus Christ. These individuals will be forgiven, having their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Revelation 20:11–15). Sadly, during the Latter Days generation, there will be those whose names were removed from the role of the saved.[3] These tragic souls failed to bear their personal cross to the end; they are former Christians who should have kept the faith and their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life and pseudo-Christians who accepted Jesus as Lord but also chose to receive the Mark of the Beast or bowed down and worshipped the Beast or his image.[4] These lost brothers and sisters in Christ have sadly chosen to take their lives out of the loving hands of Christ and will no longer find their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. As a result, these former Christians will be counted among the lost, those who knew not Christ (Matthew 7:21–23). Jesus will declare, “I never knew you. Depart from Me, you that work iniquity,” (Matthew 7:23).
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. (Revelation 3:5 NKJV)
The Latter Days generation must endure to the end, enduring this great crucible until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. Whether the believer must meet his or her end in death or be gathered for the Rapture, those who enter the Tribulation Period must stand against the Beast and refuse his Mark. Those who do not endure to the end; those who do not overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony; those who love their lives or the lives of their family or friends more than they love Christ will have their names stricken from the Lamb’s Book of Life![5]
Righteous Rewards
Rewards will be given to those whose sins have been washed white in the blood of the Lamb and whose labors are founded in righteousness and with a good heart. The 
redeemed have had their sinful and wicked deeds paid in full by Jesus’s blood. The Savior’s death paid the price for everyone who has accepted Christ’s propitiation. For the Body of Christ, additional rewards will be earned, according to the deed and the condition of an individual’s heart at the time such deeds were accomplished. The initial foundation and justification for salvation was established by God[6] through Jesus as He paid the price for our sin. For He who has ever been without sin paid the price for sin for all whose lives were imbued with sin, even from birth. Blessed be the name of the Lord, the Lamb who was slain from the foundations of the world for our transgressions. Thank You, precious Lord, amen.
For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day [time of judgment] will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3:11–15 NIV)
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- The condition of a person’s heart when performing any act of charity or kindness will determine whether reward is warranted.
- The sincere builder may build in a mistaken or shoddy manner but with a heart full of love. Such believers are likely to receive rewards based upon their good faith and personal character, but above all, they built out of love (1 Corinthians 13).
“For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 3:11 NIV).
Bear in mind, if Jesus had been a sinner, He would have needed to pay for His own sins before He could have possibly paid for the sins of others. Should Jesus have been a sinner from birth even as we all are, He could not have paid for our sins any more than you or I could have paid for the sins of another. Jesus was, is, and ever will be the only begotten Son of the Living God. Only as God and through God’s blood and personal sacrifice could Jesus, the Son of God, wash clean the sins of the world.
“Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV).
- On the foundation of Jesus’s sacrifice, we are able to build new lives.
- The scriptures indicate in Isaiah 28:9–13 and 2 Timothy 2:15 that God requires every believer to study God’s Word. What Christians do not know could destroy their lives and their walk with God. Ignorance of God’s Word is exceedingly dangerous.[7]
“If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames” (1 Corinthians 3:15 NIV).
Those deeds that have been accomplished through purely selfish motivations (we will likely all fit into this category to some degree) will see those deeds consumed by the challenging flames of trial. Yet, we will be saved.
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- Bear in mind, God is merciful, but our intentions matter.
[1] Revelation 20:11–12.
[2] Romans 2:11–16 “… for when gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature, do the things in the law, these are a law unto themselves.”
[3] Revelation 3:5 “… I will not blot out his name out of the book of life…”
[4] Revelation 14:9–11, “Whosoever.”
[5] Revelation 12:11, “… and they love not their lives unto the death.”
[6] Daniel 9:24, Jesus fulfilling the first four edicts produced the placation for sin.
[7] Hosea 4:6. “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge…”
Excerpt from: “This Side of the Whirlwind, the Coming Apocalypse” chapter 21, subsection: “Judgment Day”.
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it’s because you are not as spiritual or cool or good-looking as I am!