In the early chapters of the Book of Revelation, as well as in other parts of the New Testament, we read of the Lord Jesus in His character as judge. Even in the Old Testament we have references to that same judgment-character, as, for example, in Psalm 67:44O let the nations be glad and sing for joy: for thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth. Selah. (Psalm 67:4): “Thou shalt judge the people righteously, and govern the nations upon earth.” Here, however, the antecedent in verse 3 is “God” (Elohim—God in plural), as the full revelation of God was not given in the Old Testament. From our vantage point in the full light of Christianity, we know that every action of God is in trinity, whether it is creation, redemption, judgment, or any other act. God the Father is the originator of the thoughts and purposes, God the Son is the One who carries them out, and God the Holy Spirit is the power by which they are carried out.
This is certainly one of the reasons why the Lord Jesus is the judge of all and why He will be the One to undertake the judgment of this world. However, there are several others reasons, some of which we would like to speak about.
The Son
First of all, we read in 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 judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.” Since the Lord Jesus walked in this world as a man, there has been a tendency for many in this world, and particularly the Jewish nation, to denigrate him and to deny His deity. God the Father will have Him to be honoured as God, even as the Father is honoured. For this reason all judgment has been committed to Him. In that sense He does not Himself take the place of judge, although entitled to do so as part of the Godhead; rather, He takes it because the Father has given it to Him.
The Creator
When we get to Revelation 4, we see the throne of judgment set up, with all that speaks of perfect knowledge, righteousness and power. But then the twenty-four elders fall down and worship and exclaim, “Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created” (Rev. 4:1111Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. (Revelation 4:11)). As the one who has created all things, the Lord Jesus has the right to judge those whom He created. They were created for His pleasure; man has not given God that pleasure, but rather the opposite. But when the Lord Jesus was born into this world, the angels could say, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good pleasure in men” (Luke 2:1414Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. (Luke 2:14) JND). For the first time since sin entered this world, God’s eye could rest with pleasure on an object in this world. Now, as Creator, He has the right to judge that which has failed to give Him pleasure.
The Son of Man
But there is another title given to the Lord Jesus, and one on which we need to remark a little, for it is another reason why He is the judge. We read in John 5:26-2726For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; 27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. (John 5:26‑27), “The Father ... hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of Man.” In John 5:2525Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. (John 5:25), we read that “the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” He is the Son of God from all eternity, and it is as Son of God that He raises the dead, but His title as Son of Man dates from His incarnation—since He became man. It is a name which speaks of His humiliation and subsequent glory, and it is under this name that He exercises judgment. Another has explained it well, that “the Son of Man is, according to the Word, the heir of all that the counsels of God destined for man as his portion in glory—all that God would bestow on man according to those counsels (see Dan. 7:13-1413I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. 14And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. (Daniel 7:13‑14) and Psa. 8:5-65For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. 6Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet: (Psalm 8:5‑6)). But in order to be the heir of all that God destined for man, He must be a man. The Son of Man was truly of the race of man: precious and comforting truth! Born of a woman, really and truly a man, and partaking of flesh and blood, made like unto His brethren” (G.V.W.).
Man in Adam was given the place of head of creation and failed miserably in that sphere of authority. But God will be honoured “in man” in this world, through His beloved Son. The One who has come in humility will one day judge all that is contrary to God and will rule in righteousness.
Christ Exonerated
Connected with His title as Son of Man is another reason why the Lord Jesus must be the judge of all—that is, that Christ must be exonerated in the world that cast Him out. God’s holy nature must be vindicated in a world of sin—a world that has rejected God’s final messenger, His beloved Son. The judgments that precede the setting up of the millennium, the whole of the millennial day, and the judgments at the end of that glorious 1000-year reign all comprise what Scripture calls the day of the Lord. It is the day when the Lordship of Christ will be owned, in contrast to the present time, when His claims are largely disallowed. For this reason we get the expression in 2 Corinthians 15:25, “He must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.” He must be the executor of judgment, in keeping with God’s righteous dealings with this world.
The Redeemer’s Right and Power
Finally, and most precious, we come to Revelation 5, where we find the most exalted reason for the worthiness of the Lord Jesus to be the judge. Here the book of judgment is produced, and a strong angel proclaims with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof?” (Rev. 5:22And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? (Revelation 5:2)). But “no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the earth, was able to open the book” (vs. 3). None have the authority or power to undertake judgment, until “the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” (v. 5) comes forward. However, when He appears, it is as “a Lamb as it had been slain” (vs. 6). If man has failed and God must judge him, God’s character in love is displayed in providing a way of escape, and that through His beloved Son. It is God’s love and His glory in redemption that magnify the sin of man, while also magnifying the grace of God. Thus He is “worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof,” for He is the One that was slain and has “redeemed to God ... out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (vs. 9).
There are many glories of God, and of the Lord Jesus too, but God’s glory in redemption was never seen before the cross. It is only since the cross that we see, by faith, “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2 Cor. 4:66For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)), and it is God’s glory in redemption that is in view here. But Satan will not have this, if he can help it, and as “the god of this world” he has “blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving, so that the radiancy of the glad tidings of the glory of the Christ, who is the image of God, should not shine forth for them” (2 Cor. 4:44In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. (2 Corinthians 4:4) JND). If the crowning glory of God—His glory in redemption—is spurned and despised, it is fitting that the One by whom this redemption was accomplished should be their judge.
Thus we see that God has been glorified through His beloved Son, and as a result He will glorify that same beloved Son, “whom he hath appointed heir of all things” (Heb. 1:22Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; (Hebrews 1:2)). He must be the judge of all, to undo all that Satan and man have done to stain the glory of God and to bring in a new creation, “wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Peter 3:1313Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13)).
W. J. Prost