2 Corinthians, 5:10

Turn your Bibles to 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Now we're kind of retrogressing, right? We're in chapter 6, but we skipped one verse in chapter 5 because we said that we thought that we needed to spend some time on it, and that's verse 10. But to put it into context, let's read verse 9.

Wherefore, we labor that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad. In verse 9, does anybody have another translation? King James says, wherefore we labor that whether present or absent, that is present or absent from this body, we may be accepted of him.

Okay. And so let me ask you this question. Are we accepted? Because here it sounds like it's conditional that we may be accepted. So positionally, are we accepted? Yeah, I mean, we are accepted in Christ and the Beloved One, and that's our position. George, we were just talking about you. Welcome.

Okay, in verse 10, it says that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. So there's going to be a judgment. And there is so much confusion today with respect to judgments as you come to judgments in scripture. So what we're going to do is we're going to take an overview of judgments to begin with, and we'll talk about the fact that in most of Christianity today, in terms of what they teach on judgments. And it's not what we're going to be studying. It's going to be much different than what we're studying. And so, here's the approach. Here's what we're going to do.

We're going to look at judgments versus theology. Because essentially out there, there's two distinct theologies. One is covenant theology. The other is dispensational theology. So here at Holly Hills Bible Church, we believe in Dispensational Theology as opposed to Covenant Theology. What's Covenant Theology? We'll talk about that in a minute. What's Dispensational Theology? We'll talk about that in a minute.

And then we're going to take a look at the differences between the judgments. And specifically, I picked three. There are many judgments. But these are the three judgments that people tend to confuse and tend to even combine into one judgment. So in Matthew 25, there's the judgment of the nations. In Revelation chapter 20, there's the great white throne judgment.

And here in 2 Corinthians 5.10, there's the judgment seat of Christ. And the judgment seat of Christ is also talked about in 1 Corinthians chapter 3. and in Romans chapter 14, and we're going to be looking at those passages.

So you see why this is going to take three weeks to go through, because there's a lot to go through, to put everything into context also. So we're going to look then, lastly, at the Judgment Day of Christ. We're going to ask, when is it? When is that going to happen? Who's it for? Who's going to be appearing before the judgment seat of Christ? And what's the purpose? What's God's purpose in this judgment? Are we going to be judged for our sins? Are those issues going to come up? So we're going to take a look at that. All right. So let's take a look now at the first item. The judgments, depending upon what theology one has, they look at judgments differently.

So if you're in the covenant camp, which most people are today, most churches teach covenant theology. And with respect to covenant theology, just an overview here. Covenant theology basically believes in two major covenants, the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. How many times in scripture do you think the covenant of works and the covenant of grace are mentioned? There is no mention of the Covenant of Works or the Covenant of Grace. The Covenant of Works, they say, was from creation until the fall of Adam, and then from there on, God's plan is this covenant of grace that goes from the fall all the way until the end, and they have an end point.

And in between that, you have the Gentiles, you have Israel, and the Church. However, in covenant theology, they equate Israel with the church and what they say is that since Israel rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and God made all these promises to Israel and they have to be fulfilled then obviously that the church is going to be the inheritors, if you will, of those promises. And those promises that God made to Abraham back in Genesis 12 and all the way through the Old Testament, they're going to be fulfilled through us, the church. And so we become Israel.

That's most of the teaching that you're going to find. And all the promises that were made Abraham and his seed. Those are our promises. And guess what? The law, which God gave to Moses, is the rule of life. Not only for them, but since the church is Israel, it's the rule of life for us. Okay? Believe that?

And they say from the day of Pentecost, we're in the kingdom period. Now there are several ladies at Holly Hills that are going to a Bible study and they've just been taught that we're in the kingdom. That we're in the kingdom right now and that Jesus Christ is sitting on David's throne in the heavens and we're going through the kingdom period.

The kingdom period is going to terminate And then there's going to be one major judgment. So all the judgments that you see in scripture are going to be lumped together into one major judgment. And it's all one judgment. There's going to be one general resurrection. And of course, this occurs when Christ returns. Basic overview of covenant theology. But I want you to notice that all the judgments When they talk about judgments, they talk about one judgment, and it's all together in one lump judgment. OK. Dispensational theology.

I put in here nine major judgments. And the reason why I put in the nine judgments is to show you that as a function of time, as in the function of revelation in scripture, there are judgments and they're as a function of time and a function of God's revelation. So we're all familiar with the fact that God judged Adam and Eve at the fall, and by the way, as a result of that, we feel the results of that judgment, right? Because we inherited the sin nature as a result, and then there was the judgment of the flood, the major judgment, judgment of the cross, where Christ died for you and for me.

Then, the next major judgment, which is going to happen, is when Christ comes in the clouds to take his church home, that from that point on until he comes physically to earth, there's the judgment during this tribulation period, seven years, and where God is going to pour out his wrath and his judgment on unbelieving mankind. during the Tribulation period, when you start out in the Tribulation period, how many believers are there on earth?

Not one. So, all unbelieving, and many will come and put their trust and faith in Christ, because God is going to send out witnesses. But, sometime after the Rapture and before the Second Coming, there is the judgment seat of Christ, and we don't know when, but we can pinpoint it to know that it does occur after the rapture of the church, and we know from scripture that it occurs before the second coming. So sometime between those two.

Then, at the end of the tribulation, Christ will return to earth, and we're going to take a look at that judgment, where he gathers all the nations together and judges them. The millennial kingdom, a thousand years, at the end of the kingdom period, the Satan, the beast, the false prophet are judged. And then there's the great white throne judgment where all the dead are judged. before the Great White Throne, and then there's the final purging, if you will, of the Earth.

So that's kind of the overview. And what we're going to be looking at, the first two judgments we're going to be looking at, in comparing the two, to show you that there are distinctions between these judgments. So that when somebody says that there's going to be one general judgment, What you have to look at is you have to look at each judgment and look at specific criteria. And the criteria that we're going to be looking at this morning, and you're going to be helping me fill in the blanks, because it's all blank.

So we're going to be looking at the judgment of the nations, which occurs at Christ's second right after the Tribulation and the Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. So, let's start. I want you to turn to Matthew Chapter 25. Now I'm not going to fill in the answers, I don't want to take time to write them down, but we'll remember them. Matthew chapter 25. The first thing that we want to do is look at the timing of this judgment. So let me put Matthew chapter 25 in perspective. The disciples at the beginning of Matthew chapter 24 come before the Lord.

And they ask him a question, because he just left the temple, and he says that there's not going to be one stone left upon the other. And they come to him, and they say, when shall these things be, and what shall be the sign of your coming, and the sign of the end of the age? So they ask him three questions. He answers all three, but in the account that we have in Matthew, he doesn't answer the first one. When shall these things be in terms of the destruction of the temple? But he answers the next two questions.

And what shall be the sign of your coming and the sign of the end of the age? And what Christ does, he answers that in reverse. because they answered them in this order, sign of your coming and the sign of the end of the age. So he turns them around, he answers this question first, the signs of the end of the age and then the sign of his coming. What do you think he does then? He puts them in the right order. They didn't ask him, in the time sequence, the correct time sequence, so he answers them in the correct time sequence. So he goes through Matthew 24. There's going to be nation against nation, and there are going to be wars and rumors of wars, etc. And he goes through and he describes the things that are going to happen in terms of the end of the age.

And that word end there in the Greek is suntalia. It doesn't mean end like the very end of something, which if it did, it would use a different word, telos. But it uses this word suntalia, which means a period of time, which means a consummation, a heading up of events. And so he describes He describes the entire tribulation period, the heading up of all the events that are going to occur in Matthew 24 and Matthew chapter 25.

So then he answers the second question in terms of the sign of his coming. So he answers the first part, the sign of the end of the age, all of the events heading up that heads up the Great Tribulation. Then he answers the second question. So look at Matthew 24. Turn back one chapter. Now, here's the thing. We want to answer the first one, the time. So I want you to tell me the time.

I'm going to read Matthew 24 verse 29 through 31. Immediately After the tribulation of those days shall the sun not give its light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven, and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn. shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and he shall send his angels with a great cloud a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds from one end to the other." Okay, now this is coming up now into Matthew chapter 25 where it talks about the judgment of the nations.

So pretty seeding this is this account. So what's the timing here? What's the timing of this judgment of the nations? When does it occur? Okay, and it's immediately after the tribulation, right? Okay, so that pins down the timing. Now, how about place? What's the place? Where is this judgment going to occur? Okay, on the earth, and how do we know that? Okay, so the people on the earth are going to be gathered together, right? And so this judgment is going to occur on the earth. So the place is on the earth. Now, who are the subjects? As we look at this account. Okay. So, okay, let's take the first one. The Christians are all gone. Are there going to be any believers on this earth? At this time? Yes. Okay. Here's the tricky question.

Are they in Christ? Are they in Christ? I didn't ask that. Are they in Christ? It says that, but Doug is right, it says that they're elect. Right? It says that they're elect. But are they in Christ? Are they identified with Christ? Are they baptized into his death and his burial and his resurrection? So the only ones that are in Christ are Believers during the Church Age. They're going to be Believers during the Tribulation Period just like the Believers in the Old Testament times, but they weren't in Christ, right? And the same thing is true with the Tribulation Period. They are not in Christ, in terms of that identification with Christ.

I want you to think about this. Because, think about eternity. Think about eternity future. So you see the distinction. says that believers today are in Christ versus people who come to believe during the tribulation period, or during the millennial kingdom, or prior to the cross, Old Testament saints.

Scripture talks about three groups of people, right? Israel, the Church, and the Gentiles. And in the eternity future, are those three people, groups, going to exist? Okay. As we go through this, as we go through this, I want you to keep on the lookout, and we're going to find out that these three distinct groups are going to be distinct in eternity future. There's going to be Israel, the Church, and the Gentiles. And scripture calls them out. And you go to the book of Revelation, you'll, you know, you're going to, we're going to find that.

Okay. But we got off on a rabbit. I didn't want to do that. Okay, so where are we? Subjects. Oh, OK. OK. And is it is it a subset of nations? OK. Tribes of the Earth. Okay, go over to Matthew 25. It will give us a little bit more information with respect to the subjects. I'll start reading at verse 31.

When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, when is that? at the end of the tribulation, we just read that, when he comes at the end of the tribulation, immediately after the tribulation in those days, he's going to come in his glory. It specifically says that. So, this says, when the Son of Man shall come in his glory, right at the end of the tribulation, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon his throne of his glory, and before him shall be gathered Who? All the nations, and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats. Alright, so that nails down the place now, right? He's going to sit on this throne here on earth, and the subjects are going to be all the nations. Okay, let's look at the basis of the judgment, which is the next thing. Yes?

Isn't Nations also synonymous with Gentiles? Okay. Good question. Is Nations synonymous with Gentiles? Think about that question and as we go through this text see if the text answers Doug's question. It's a good question. Does Nations equate itself to Gentiles. So the text is going to answer Doug's question. Can I ask a question too? Sure.

So then in 32 of all the nations when you gather, so does that mean everybody that's alive at the end of the tribulation? Whether believers or unbelievers and from whatever particular nation they are? Okay, another good question. When it talks about all the nations, is it talking about those who are alive or is it talking about those also who have died? Let's see if the text answers that question. Okay, so we have two questions. Can we equate nations to Gentiles? Are they both dead and living before this judgment? Right? Okay, so let's go on.

In verse 33, And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on the right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Okay, what kingdom are we talking about? Here he comes, in judgment, right after the tribulation. Isn't he talking about the millennial kingdom? which was promised it was it was it was promised back in Genesis chapter 12 okay then in verse 35 and he gives the reason so here are the sheep in his right hand okay And he says, come into this kingdom, into this millennial kingdom which has been prepared for you. And now he gives the reason why to enter the kingdom.

And this is what he says, for I was hungry and you gave me food. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came unto me. And then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, and fed you, and when you were thirsty, and we gave you drink? When did we see you as a stranger, or naked, and clothed you? Or when did we see you sick, or in prison, and came unto you? Then Christ answers them. He says, 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.

Now, who are the brethren? Okay, so you have, it looks like we have three groups of people before the throne. The one on the right hand, the sheep, right? The one on the left hand, the goats. And these, my brethren. And depending upon what the sheep did to these my brethren, depending upon what the goats did to these my brethren, depends upon their destiny. So there are three groups of people. I think that these my brethren are the Jews.

Certainly, the 144,000 who go into all the world and preach the gospel. So, I think we'll see that as we go. So, let's think about the next question. When it says nations are going to be before the throne, are nations all Gentiles? Who else is before this throne? These, my brethren, which are Jews. So, all the nations, including Israel? Okay, how about dead and alive? Let's keep on going. Verse 40. And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Then shall he say unto them on his left hand, Look at the ones on his left hand.

Depart from me, ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And here's the reason why they're going into everlasting fire. And by the way, everlasting fire is Gehenna hell. I mean, they go, we're talking about going straight to hell. And he gives the reason why they're going straight to hell.

For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was estranged, and you didn't take me in, naked, and you clothed me not, sick in prison, and you visited me not. And then in verse 44, then shall they, these are the ones on the left, these goats, shall answer him saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Verse 45, then he shall answer them saying, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, and who are these? My brethren, the Jews, you did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment. but the righteous into life eternal. So, we're talking about a judgment here, which is into the kingdom, life eternal, or into Gehenna, hell.

Okay, excellent. So, as we get to this part of The question in terms of looking at the aspects of the judgment, the basis of the judgment sounds like it's what? Works. I mean, so we better get busy visiting people in jail, in prison, and boy, I'm so thankful. Wendy and I did that last Sunday, so we're in pretty good shape. So help me out here. Are people really going to be judged by their works?

And are their works going to determine where they spend eternity? It certainly sounds this way. The elect are going to be here, and the elect, I think, are all those believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, whether they be Jew or Gentile. And I take it that all of these on his right hand are the elects? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, they are elect. But they are the elect out of the two nations really. Exactly.

And so during the Millennial Kingdom, all of God's promises to Israel come back into effect and works back into the law. I mean the law comes back, does it not? But every man's heart, everyone will know God and all of those promises. Okay, so let's say the law is back. Are people saved by the law? No. For by what are you saved? For by grace are you saved. How? through faith, it is the gift of God, and what's the next one?

Not of works. Now hold it. I mean, this sounds like it's all works here. So how do we resolve this? Okay, but this is before the kingdom. Right? This is right at the end of the tribulation. He says, come into the kingdom, to those who have done those good works. So how do we resolve this?

It's always based on faith. periods of history where God has put people under a law system, yet I didn't know if I had faith. Okay, okay, good. It was a result of their faith, as it works. Okay, a result of their faith. And where in, say, the New Testament do we have some hint of that? James. And James says, you say you have faith? I'll show you my faith, how? By my works. But the works come out of what? the resultant of faith. And the thing is this, faith is always active. It's like love. Love is always active. And faith is always active. And faith is going to produce works. Alright? Do you agree with that? Okay.

Now, I want to show you a passage of Scripture and see if this helps us answer the question. In John 13, 20, here's what the Lord says. He says, Verily, verily, I say unto you, look at this, he that receives whosoever I send, what does he do? receives me." Does Christ send out these 144,000? Sure does. He that receives whomever I send receives me. And so the thing is this, that here were these goats, sheep on the right hand, who ministered to all of these messengers that were in prison, that were hungry, that were naked, etc. etc. They were messengers, right, of the Lord, and these people on the right hand ministered to them, they received them, and they ministered to them. And because they received them, it's a sign that they have received Christ.

You're saying that would also involve the two witnesses. Okay, question about does this include the two witnesses. So the two witnesses at the middle of the tribulation period, what happens to them? They're killed. And they lay in the streets of the city for three days. And then what happens? They're resurrected. And then what happens? Aren't they just taken away? But not only resurrected, but they're taken up into heaven. So they're not here. Well, what it says is, whoever receives them, Oh, okay.

I'm sorry. I misunderstood your question, Doug. So what you're saying... I'm saying, you said 144,000. I said does that also include... Oh, I'm sorry. I missed the question. Absolutely right. Absolutely right. Those who received the message of the two witnesses, absolutely. Okay. I might need the water a little bit. Okay. Might need the water.

It sounds like you're talking about only the nations that exist during the Tribulation period. What about all the nations that exist now and existed in World War II in time past? Are they not judged? Are they not included here? Okay. And going back to Jim's question.

And also, those who received like in Holland, for instance, people who took in Jews during World War II, were they all believers in Christ? Is that the only reason they took these people in? Are they going to be in heaven? Were there people who protected the Jews who were not believers?

Okay. Anybody want to tackle? There's about six questions here at one time. Let's go back. Let's just go back to this overview for a minute. Going into the Tribulation period, the Church is raptured. The Church is taken out. Going into the Tribulation, we have Jews, we have Gentiles, and that's all we have. We don't have the Church. The Church is gone. there is no more church. I mean, on earth. So we have Jews and Gentiles in the tribulation period. Now, how about those back in World War II? Well, those back in World War II would have to be what? To be in this judgment, they'd have to be what? Resurrected.

There's no mention of resurrection in this text. So, since there's no mention of resurrection in this text, then we shouldn't include resurrection here. So, we should interpret this as all living people on earth at this time, going into the tribulation. And there's no resurrection here.

The only resurrection that is mentioned during this entire period of time are those two witnesses that Doug talked about in the middle of the Tribulation. Now, there is going to be a resurrection at the end of the Tribulation, but these passages do not talk about that resurrection. It just talks about this judgment of the nations, the living nations. living at this time. It doesn't even talk about those who were living during the tribulation and became martyrs and died. It doesn't even talk about those. It just talks about those who are living. Okay? Let's see. So, we've got Diggityale 6 questions. We've got Jim's one question. Alright, so we've got them all?

So, the basis of the judgment. So tell me, what is the basis of the judgment? What are they judged on? What determines whether they go into the kingdom and eternal life or into everlasting hell? What is the basis of that judgment? Okay, the basis of the judgment is faith. Whether they have faith, if they have faith, it brought forth works. If they didn't have faith, if they didn't receive the messengers, they didn't receive Christ, they didn't have faith, and they didn't have any works of righteousness, if you will, or they didn't receive Christ's messengers, but it was by faith.

So Ephesians 2.8 always holds, for by grace are you saved through what? Faith. I don't care if it's an Old Testament saint, church-age saint, tribulation, millennial kingdom, we're saved by faith. Okay, so here's the next question. Faith in what? Faith has to have an object, so what's the object of the faith? Okay, it's not Jesus or they wouldn't be there? Well, the message of the 144 was the message of what? Christ, wasn't it? God? Okay. They preach the everlasting gospel? Right? Everlasting? What's the everlasting gospel?

Think about this one. How about Acts 4.12? Neither is there salvation in any other. There is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved."

Okay? Who's that? What's that name? Jesus Christ. There is no other name under heaven whereby men can be saved. Does that apply to Old Testament saints? or just us today, and those during the Tribulation and those during the Millennium. So, does it include the Old Testament saints? Why? There's no other way to be saved by that one name. So, but hold it now. The Old Testament saints never Do they really understand about Christ? And his death on the cross for them? Well, they look forward to the Messiah. They look forward to the Messiah. And what did they know about that Messiah? That somehow he would take their sin away. But they didn't understand the cross.

Okay. Okay. And where does that go back to? It goes back to Genesis chapter 3, verse 15. The moment that Adam fell, God gave them a promise of a seed. Of a seed. And that seed is Christ. And they understood that seed. And it's interesting, as you read the text in the Hebrew, knows that there's going to be a Savior, and Cain is born, and she says to Adam, I've got the man, the one that the Lord was talking about. Was he the one? No. He went and he slew Abel after Abel was born. She understood it. She understood that there was going to be a seed, that there was going to be a Savior.

So in progressive revelation, people knew more and more about about the Lord Jesus Christ. And as you get to the prophets, the fact that he was going to be born in Bethlehem, right? And he was going to be born of a virgin, etc. So progressive revelation revealed more about the Lord Jesus Christ. Besides that, the passage is still the same. He's coming again, and they're looking for his return, or they've realized it at that point.

Okay. True. Okay. Question. Okay. Those believing Jews looking forward to believing in Messiah would be sent. Okay. Now? No, at that time. At that time? Before Christ. Oh, oh. Before Christ was sent. Okay. Okay. Old Testament, Old Testament Jews. They are not part of the Church, are they? Okay.

Are they part of the Church, or are they a separate So let's take Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Is Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob part of the church? I don't think scripture teaches. Anywhere in scripture does it teach that Old Testament saints are in Christ is the key in terms of that we have a unique relationship the church has a unique relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ that no other people have so that's why there's that's why there's a distinction between the church in Israel and the Gentiles and that's that's dispensationalism that's why we believe we believe in distinctions So there's distinction. So Abraham is saved, he's righteous, but he's part of Israel.

Or he was the founding father, if you will, of the Israelites. You taught at one time, if I recall, in the millennium. There are earthly people and heavenly people. Right. There are earthly people with the Jews, the Old Testament Jews, heavenly with the church. Okay, Doug's... Is that right?

Yeah, and Doug's question, as you get into eternity, and you'll find in the book of Revelation that there are Gentile nations and there's Israel. And you'll find that the Gentile nations This is an eternity now in terms of the New Jerusalem. They come to worship the Lord and they come through, guess what land? Israel. They come through Israel to worship.

So the book of Revelation makes a distinction between the Gentiles and Israel and the church because, guess what, wherever the Lord Jesus Christ is, where are we? With Him. Where is He in eternity? Right hand of the Father, and where is the Father? Okay, specifically, heavenly Jerusalem. And that's where we're going to be. And the nations are going to be living on the earth. We're going to be living with Him. We've got to close.

Father, we are just, again, so thankful for Your Word. And just thank You, Father, for the questions. And some of these may be puzzling to us. But Father, we just thank You for the Spirit of God. And we pray for His leading in our understanding in terms of what Your Word says. And we just thank You, Father, for your wonderful plan that you have laid out, and we give you the praise and the honor and the glory for it. In Christ's name, Amen.