All final judgment is entirely committed to the Son. “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father” (John 5:22-2322For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: 23That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him. (John 5:22‑23)). The Father “hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is Son of Man” (vs. 27).
The Father’s Present Judgment
As regards our time in this world, the Father does judge (1 Pet. 1:1717And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear: (1 Peter 1:17)): “If ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear.” This judgment is carried into effect in the holiness of His nature against evil, and in His fatherly care of us in holiness. For this reason we have to judge ourselves, and if we do not, we are judged of the Lord. There is His government in this respect — the “chastening of the Lord” (Heb. 12:55And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: (Hebrews 12:5)).
The Son’s Future Judgments
Christ judges the quick [living] and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom. Now is not the time of Christ’s judgment; rather it is the time of grace to the world. Of course God can interfere in judgment, supremely if He pleases, but this time is the time of His grace. When Christ appears and establishes the kingdom, it will be the time of judgment. When Christ appears for His kingdom, judgment and righteousness will go together in the earth. “He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world [habitable earth] in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained” (Acts 17:3131Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead. (Acts 17:31)).
When the Lord judges the dead, He does not come at all. “I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened” (Rev. 20:11-1211And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Revelation 20:11‑12)). Here there is no coming to the earth. Christ sits on a great white throne, and heaven and earth flee away. His kingdom is given up to God after this judgment is executed, but not till then. (Compare 1 Cor. 15:24.) But there is another judgment, that of the quick or living, for which Christ does come. That time will be like the days of Noah and Lot — there will be eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, building, marrying and giving in marriage. That day of judgment will come upon them as a thief in the night — quite a different scene from the great white throne.
The Saints With Christ
in Judgment
When Christ comes in judgment, there will then be those who are “punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of His power; when He shall come to be glorified in His saints, and to be admired in all them that believe” (2 Thess. 1:9-10). At this judgment, the holy angels come with Him, for “the Son of Man . . . shall come in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Luke 9:2626For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels. (Luke 9:26)). However, He brings His saints with Him too: “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory” (Col. 3:44When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)). “Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him” (1 Thess. 4:14). This truth of the saints coming with Christ when He appears to judge the quick [living] is fully taught in Scripture. Even in the Old Testament we read “And Jehovah my God shall come, and all the saints with Thee” (Zech. 14:55And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee. (Zechariah 14:5)), so also in Jude: “The Lord cometh with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment upon all” (vs. 14-15).
Warrior and Sessional Judgments
Before the millennium is set up, God will also gather all nations and will bring them into judgment. The parable of the sheep, goats and brethren (Matt. 25) describes this judgment of the nations, although this is not the destruction of the beast and his armies and the false prophet. This latter is executed by Christ as coming from heaven and as a warlike judgment. “And in righteousness He doth judge and make war” (Rev. 19:1111And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. (Revelation 19:11)). It is the destruction of those who, animated by Satan, rise up against Him. But besides this warrior-judgment, there is a sessional judgment — the judgment of the sheep and the goats. After the destruction of the beast and Antichrist, Christ will take the throne of Jehovah on the earth at Jerusalem, for Jerusalem is to be called the throne of Jehovah (Jer. 3:1717At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. (Jeremiah 3:17)), and judgment will proceed from His throne.
At the end of Matthew 23, the Lord, addressing Jerusalem, declares her house is left desolate to them, and He declares they would not see Him henceforth till they said, “Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord.” The Lord then (in chap. 24:1-31) gives an account of all that was connected with the testimony among the Jews till He came — when “they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” He then exhorts His disciples, and in three parables presents the responsibility of Christians in His absence, showing that the putting off of His own return would lead the public ministry of the church to hierarchical oppression and worldliness, as has happened. Then the historical part is resumed in chapter 25:31. “When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him.” This will not be a transient act like a flash of lightning, but “Then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory: and before Him shall be gathered all nations [the Gentiles].” Israel and Christians have been already spoken of. The gospel of the kingdom had gone out (ch. 24:14) as a testimony to all nations (all the Gentiles). And now the end was come; the nations were judged (the quick) according as they had received these messengers of the kingdom. It is a mistake to say that there are two classes here. There are three — the sheep, the goats and the brethren. The goats had despised this final message of the kingdom and were condemned. The sheep had received the messengers and were blessed; their treating the brethren so was as if they had treated Christ in the same way. Those judged are the nations (or Gentiles) upon the earth when Christ comes. Christ as King will sit and judge the Gentiles — an event often spoken of by the prophets.
The Judgment of Us
How far, and how, does judgment apply to us — to the heavenly saints? First, from the judgment of the quick [living] and the dead they are clearly wholly exempt — when He appears, they shall appear with Him in glory. They come with Him when He comes to execute judgment (Col. 3:44When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4); 1 Thess. 4; Rev. 19). This is confirmed by the striking scene in Revelation 4, where the throne (not of grace, but) of judgment, of thunderings, lightnings and voices, is set in heaven.
We must recognize that we are all subject to condemnation, and liable in ourselves to judgment as responsible to God. That is a great foundation truth which is at the basis of salvation as well as of wrath. Nothing must be allowed to weaken that, and also, “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Rom. 14:1212So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. (Romans 14:12)). We shall all be manifested “before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body” (2 Cor. 5:10). But the Christian has, through grace, anticipated this. He has recognized by divine teaching that condemnation is his own portion; he knows that in him, that is in the flesh, dwells no good thing. He has recognized, by a divine work in his own soul what sin is before God, as the judgment seat will show it. But then he has also recognized that He who is to judge the quick and the dead has also stepped in as a Saviour before He becomes a judge and has borne his sins in His own body on the tree. The sins, for which himself would have had to be judged, have been borne already by another, and the work which has put them away is done and cannot be repeated. When he is manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, he is before Him who Himself put them all away.
But, further, in what state does the Christian appear before the Lord? He is raised in glory. No judgment can apply to him which can affect his being in glory, for he is in it already when he appears there. We are “conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first born among many brethren” (Rom. 8:2929For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. (Romans 8:29)). What is judgment, if we are completely like the judge, and He Himself our righteousness? And the knowledge of this is applied to our present happiness in this world. “Herein has love been perfected with us that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, that even as He is, we also are in this world” (1 John 4:1717Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (1 John 4:17) JND).
The Terror of the Lord
In 2 Corinthians 5, the apostle first looks at the proper portion of the saint, not as death and judgment, or even as death and happiness. It is mortality being swallowed up of life — the mortal body being changed into glory, without death necessarily intervening at all. But death and judgment are fallen man’s portion, and if death did intervene, his confidence remained unmoved, for he had divine life. If he were absent from the body, he would be present with the Lord. Then he considers judgment — calls it the terror of the Lord, looks it fully in the face and states that we shall all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ. Then what — does he tremble or think of himself? In no wise, rather he persuades men. Its terror produces no effect of terror at all on his own mind. It was a judgment which, as such, affected others. It had however a powerful influence on his heart and conscience. Others were not free as he was. The thought of that day stirs up the love of Christ constrainingly and he persuades men who were not ready for it; but then, secondly, it brings him into God’s judgment as a present thing in a sanctifying way. We are, says he (not shall be), manifested to God. And this is a most important effect — the bringing us practically into the presence of God to judge ourselves, and to do so as to good and evil, as it will be judged of in that day. Such then was the effect on Paul: no terror for him, but a stimulus to his seeking unconverted sinners and to keeping his soul in the presence and fear of God.
Reward Not Condemnation
Another expression in this passage calls for remark — “to receive the things done in the body.” The expression, “judgment,” is carefully avoided, even when in a certain sense there is such. Man would soon turn it into a question of the acceptance of the person. As regards the wicked, I need not dwell on it. They will receive the things done in the body — it will be their condemnation; but as regards the saints, they will also receive the things done in the body. As regards acceptance, we are in Christ, all having Christ for our righteousness. But saints have the privilege of service, and in the work of the Holy Spirit by us there is a difference. We do receive through grace the reward of labor, and every man his own reward according to his own labor. Scripture speaks of receiving a full reward. The Thessalonians will be Paul’s joy and crown of rejoicing, not ours, as the fruit of his labors. If we have built with wood, hay and stubble, all will be lost, though we are saved. In a word, righteousness is in Christ, the same for all, but service is rewarded.
When this takes place, we shall be in glory, and we shall not even have the nature, the flesh in which we sinned. We shall know as we are known, and give an account of ourselves to God, a review of our whole life and all God’s blessed ways with us, see it all as God sees it, and wonder at the all-perfect grace which has led us onward from our birth. Now when I look back, I adore God’s grace. Then I shall know as I am known, and see the thousand instances of how His eye has watched over me to bless me. We are manifested thus now, even in thinking of it. We shall give an account then, in fact; but it is when we are glorified, and brought to be with Christ by Himself forever.
In summary, then, there is a judgment of the quick [living] when Christ comes and a judgment of the dead afterwards before the great white throne. There is a continuing judgment when Christ returns, in a more general sense, of power associated with righteousness governing the earth, during the millennium. For the saints is no judgment at all: Christ comes to receive them to Himself, and raises them in glory to have them with Him. But they do give an account of themselves to God when in glory, and receive the reward of service, though it be grace that has wrought it in them.
J. N. Darby, adapted from
Collected Writings of JND