Question: “I have read in the Bible that we will all have a judgment day when we die. When does this take place?  The moment we die or when Jesus returns? And also, if Jesus died so our sins are forgiven and our slate is wiped clean why do we still have judgment day?”
Answer: Jesus spent no small amount of time discussing a future judgment of God (Mt 10:15; 11:20). He was also very clear that all people (both the good and the evil, the righteous and the unrighteous) would be judged (Mt 25:31-33), and that it would take place after the general resurrection of all those who have died (Mt 13:40-43; 25:31-34).
We are secure in judgment
We are assured that if we have placed our trust in who Jesus is (the divine Son of God) and what has done on our behalf (his sacrificial death) then we can stand “with confidence on the day of judgment” (1 Jn 4:15-17). And we’ll be able to stand with confidence not because of our own goodness or righteousness, but because we have a foreign righteousness—Jesus’ righteousness—credited to our accounts.Â
We will be judged
Nevertheless, we will also have to give an account before God “for every careless word†we have spoken (Mt 12:36). Paul drives this point home in his second letter to the Christians living in Rome when he writes, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad†(2 Cor 5:10). Paul makes use of the popular Hebrew image of God as a consuming fire which tests our works to determine their quality (1 Cor 3:11-15). And Jesus had much to say about there being rewards in the new heavens and the new earth based upon what we have done here and now (Mt 5:11-12; 6:1-6, 20).
Two books & two judgments
Maybe one of the most vivid ways to understand God’s future judgment of all people is found in the account of the “great white throne†judgment in Revelation 20. The author John uses the symbolic image of books to represent the two levels of judgment which we will all experience (the book of life & the book of deeds). The book of life is used to separate the righteous and the unrighteous, not based upon our deeds but upon our names being found in the book (representing relationship with Christ). The second book, the book of deeds, contains everyone’s name. This book is used to reward and punish (consequences) all for what they have done with what God had given them prior to death (see Jesus’ parable of the talents Mt 25:14-30). So, while there will be degrees of punishment in hell, there will also be degrees of reward in the new heavens and the new earth.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS:
1. What do you suppose the nature of eternal rewards will be for believers?
2. What questions remain in your mind regarding God’s future judgment?
3. Do you think that Christians think about or understand the biblical teaching of there being eternal consequences for our actions (e.g., the book of deeds)?
4. What would you say to someone who struggled with the idea that there will be degrees of reward for the righteous in eternity?
2 Comments on “Questions about judgment day”
As I listen to people such as Raul Ries who have a belief that the end is near, I have ask, “how do we know this?” Some believe that it is because the world is in much turmoil like no other. But if what I read about history, Roman times saw worse societies than what we have today. People like to throw out verses such as Rev 13:16.
(He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, 17so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.)
To take this at face value, we could see a connection with RFID chips. But by reading verses before and after this verse, it can be read into something else.
During the Iraq/Kuwait war in the 90’s, a pastor read form a book in the Bible stating, “A great country from the north [will intervene]…” (I cannot remember the book it was from). But is America the country the Bible is referring? Or is it simply coincidence and we are reading into the passage to make it fit and valid scripture?
A friend once said that maybe the coming of Jesus is when we die, not if or when He comes to earth one final day. I had never thought about that way.
Maybe the coming of Jesus is the day we invite Him into our lives 🙂 My own personal vision is not exactly the “when,” but how it will be. On one hand it sounds so glorious, but still frightening in a way. Will I be so overcome with His presence that the sadness of seeing the lost actually lost will be small in comparison? I have my own fear that being judged for my carelessness or lack of follow through will be enormous. It’s not as if I am concerned about being compared to someone like Billy Graham, but rather that I never fully lived up to the potential I know God has in me. There is no hiding from God, nor is there any ability to schmooze our way through the process like we might do through a job interview. My own expectations are high enough for myself, and I have to imagine that God’s expectations for me are high as well.