Rightly Dividing

Judgments Lesson #2

In the previous lesson we looked at 3 Judgments that are directly connected to someone living in the Church Age division. In this lesson we will study 2 other Judgments that are not directly connected with someone in the Church Age but they are still important to know and understand. These Judgments are called the Judgment of Nations and the Great White Throne Judgment.

Judgment of Nations:

The Judgment of Nations is found in Matthew 25:31-46. It is called the Judgment of Nations because in verse 32 the nations are gathered together before the Son of man, then separated into two different groups, sheep and goats. The sheep are judged for helping the Lord’s brethren and the goats are judged for not helping the Lord’s brethren. Who are the Lord’s brethren? The brethren of the Lord would be Israel. Therefore, the Judgment of Nations is about whether or not nations helped Israel during the Tribulation.

During the Tribulation the Jews will be persecuted relentlessly by the anti-christ. If they do not take the mark of the beast, they will not be able to buy or sell, and if they are caught doing so, they will be killed. So other nations that help them will be rewarded at this judgment, and the nations that do not help them will be punished. The sheep get to go into a kingdom prepared for them from the foundation of the world. This Kingdom is the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. The goats are said to go into everlasting punishment.

In verse 25 we see that this Judgment takes place at the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Note, that Jesus is sitting upon his throne (Matthew 19:28), and he is called a king (verses 31-34). That places this Judgment after the seven-year Tribulation, directly following the Second Advent of Jesus Christ. By this time saved people from the Church Age will have already been judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ, in heaven right after the rapture of the Church. Saved people from the Church Age are the bride of Jesus Christ and will return with him at the Second Advent (Revelation 19:7-16). Therefore, saved people from the Church Age will not be being judged at this judgment.

Another reason that this is not a judgment for Church Age saints is that salvation during the Church Age is based on faith in Jesus Christ, not on helping the Lord’s brethren. Paul said that even though the Jews are beloved for the fathers’ sake they are enemies of the gospel for our sake (Romans 11:28). Those in the Church Age do not “inherit the kingdom” based on helping Israel during the Tribulation. It is amazing what you can learn when you simply believe what the scripture says and not what the scripture does not say.

The Great White Throne Judgment:

The Great White Throne Judgment is found in Revelation 20:11-15. Just as with the Judgment of Nations this judgment is also taught by many to be a judgment for everyone. Lost and saved are divided up at this judgment. But, as we will see, the Great White Throne Judgment is not for everyone either.

When studying this judgment, we must pay careful attention to the things that happen from the Second Advent in Revelation 19:11-16 up to this judgment in Revelation 20:11. The context gives us some important clues for determining exactly who is being judged at this judgment.

From the scriptures leading up to the Great White Throne Judgment we see that this judgment takes place after the Millennial Reign of Jesus Christ on this earth. During the Millennial Reign Satan is bound in the bottomless pit for one thousand years (Revelation 20:1-3). At the end of the 1000 years, Satan is loosed from the pit, and he gathers an army to go against Jerusalem one last time. It is here that God destroys Satan and his army with fire from heaven (Revelation 20:7-10).

Then in Revelation 20:11 the Bible says that the dead, small and great, stand before God. This includes all the unrighteous dead since the beginning of time. Note that hell delivers up the dead that are in it. There will also be people who have died righteous during the Millennium that are resurrected and judged at this judgment. This Judgement is also where Old Testament and Tribulation saints are judged.

What is the basis for judgment at this Judgment? In Revelation 20:12 the word of God says that the books were opened, and the dead were judged out of those things written in the books. Those who are not found written in the Lamb’s book of life are thrown into the lake of fire, which is the second death. The ones found in the book of life here would be those that are righteous from the Old Testament, The Tribulation and The Millennium. The reason that they are being judged at this time is that they have not been judged for their works yet (Revelation 20:13); and at some point, everyone is judged (Hebrews 9:27). 

What about people from the Church Age? They have already been judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ and reigned with Jesus for one thousand years during the Millennium. Instead of being judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, those from the Church Age are judging with God and Jesus at this Judgment (1 Corinthians 6:3). This is what Paul was talking about when he said that saved people from the Church Age would judge angels one day. From this passage in 1 Corinthians, we see that not only are men and women judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, but the angels are judged as well. These would be those fallen angels mentioned in Jude 6.

Rightly Dividing

Judgements Lesson #2 Handout

1)  What are the two Judgments that we are studying in this lesson?

2)  What is the passage for the Judgment of Nations?

3)  When does this Judgment take place?

4)  How are the nations being judged at this judgment?

5)  Where is the Great White Throne Judgment found in the Bible?

6)  When does this Judgment take place?

7)  What is going on at the Great White Throne Judgment?

8)  What is the role of the saved person from the church age at this Judgment?