Three Coming Royal Reviews.

ON Monday, 18th September last, his Majesty King Edward VII. held a royal review of Scottish volunteers in the King’s Park, Edinburgh. Nearly forty thousand men, clad in varied martial garb, and animated by loyalty to his person and his throne, had, in many cases at much personal inconvenience to themselves, voluntarily flocked from far and near to be inspected by the King, and finally to march before him.
Hundreds of thousands of deeply interested spectators, pitched on the slopes of picturesque Arthur’s Seat and Salisbury Crags, beheld the Sovereign and his gathered army of citizen soldiers, and the impressive sight will doubtless long live in their memories.
That review has gone by, but three royal reviews are yet to come to which I would fain turn your attention, since their importance cannot be overestimated.
The three reviews that I have to bring before you relate not to the King of whom I have spoken, but will take place before Him who is the “King of kings, and Lord of lords,” the blessed Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. I hope to show you that there will be three reviews in His presence, two of which may take place at no very distant date. The third, I admit, is a long way off; and I pity the man that is at that review. The second may be very much nearer than people think. The first, fellow-Christian, may have come before the morning light of tomorrow.
You may say, Who will take part in these three reviews? The whole human family, at different dates, will be at them. The first review is when the Lord reviews His heavenly saints; the second is the Lord reviewing living nations on earth. I do not recommend any of you to get into that review, because if you do you are bound for eternal punishment. The third review is thus described, “And I saw the dead” (and the dead only), “small and great, stand before God” (Rev. 20:1212And 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 20:12)).
The first review is of the saints in glory, and the result will be most glorious for all. The second is that which Matthew 25 describes when the King sits on the throne of His glory, and before Him on earth are gathered all nations, and the result is blessed only for some. The third, spoken of in Revelation 20, occurs when heaven and earth have fled away, and the issue is terrible for all. You will either have to be at the review of the glorified, in heaven; of the living, on earth; or of the dead, neither in heaven nor on earth, who have been raised from their graves, only to die the second death. Make your choice where you will appear.
1. THE REVIEW OF THE GLORIFIED.
Now, fellow-Christian, let us consider this briefly. I can understand Paul’s joy, as he wrote to Timothy, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom.” Sometimes people mix these things up all together; but that will not do. Christ will judge the living at His appearing, that is, when He comes out as King of kings, with the armies of heaven in attendance (see Rev. 19:11-1611And 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. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. (Revelation 19:11‑16)). And then He will judge the dead, ere He gives up His kingdom (see Rev. 20:11-1511And 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. 13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11‑15)). The judgment of the living is when He sets up His kingdom; the judgment of the dead is at the end of the thousand years, when He is about to give up the kingdom to God.
There never was a king yet but had his throne taken from him, either by some foe, or by death; but here is a King who, after He has reigned a thousand years in righteousness, delivers up the kingdom to God. That King will have ruled rightfully and blessedly for a thousand years, and then, as man, He will abdicate in favor of God (see 1 Cor. 15:24-2824Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. 25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. 27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him. 28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all. (1 Corinthians 15:24‑28)). That Man is my Saviour; is He yours? If not, what I am now going to turn your attention to will have no relation to you, because I am going to speak first of all of what the apostle alludes to when he bids Timothy go on with the ministry of the Word, and do the work of an evangelist. Paul is going off the scene with a glad heart, and a bright light in his eye. I have done my work, he says; “I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” —not given it up. He had held it tenaciously, and now, he says, I am only waiting for the review, and when it comes He is going to put a crown on my head. “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:88Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing. (2 Timothy 4:8)).
Friend, you should see where you are, now, for you are most certainly either a sinner in your sins, or a saint of God. If an unbeliever you are the former; if a simple believer in Jesus you are the latter, and as such will be seeking to please Him who has redeemed you. Turn to 2 Corinthians 5:99Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. (2 Corinthians 5:9). “Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be acceptable to him.” Not “accepted of Him” —there is no labor to get acceptance, because Christ is accepted for us. God accepted His death for us; He accepted the sacrifice which His blessed Son made for sinners like you and me, and now He is risen, at God’s right hand, and God has made us to be “accepted in the Beloved.” The acceptance before God which your soul must have is the acceptance of Christ. You cannot get anything less; you must either have that or be rejected.
The first man is rejected; the second man, the Lord Jesus Christ, has gone through death, and He is accepted. Death and the grave triumphed over the first man; but Jesus was a Man whose every thought, word, and way was suited to God in life; and then He gave Himself “a ransom for all,” and paid the price of the sinner’s redemption. The payment of that price took Him into the grave. It could not hold Him. It had retained every other man. Even those who got out had to go back again. But He is risen—the mighty Victor. On the Cross He was a Victim; risen from the dead He is a Victor. And now He is gone on high, and is accepted, and our acceptance, therefore, is Christ. Being “accepted” in Him, Paul says, he labors to be “acceptable” to Him for the subsequent weighty reason.
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad” (vs. 10). Now when does that take place? It is imminent. Christians, who are intelligent in the Scriptures, know that what lies next before us is not the conversion of the world, but the fulfillment of the blessed Lord’s promise— “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:33And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (John 14:3)). We know that the return of the Lord draws nigh; it is referred to in almost every section of the New Testament. It is the proximate hope of the Christian. You thought, perhaps, that He was coming at the end of the world. No, that is a mistake. How will He come? Paul tells us, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words” (1 Them. 4:5).
Are you listening for this shout, fellow-Christian? That is the Christian’s hope. And when you meet Christ you will be exactly like Him. The Apostle John says, “When he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:22Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)). He will raise the dead saints in His own likeness. We have sown our loved ones in weakness and corruption; He will take them out in glory. “As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly” (1 Cor. 15:4949And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (1 Corinthians 15:49)). Do not let any thought of fear enter your heart in view of the judgment-seat of Christ, because when we stand there we shall be like the One who is the Judge. We shall not have a diverse thought from the blessed Lord in that moment. The Lord is going to review all His people, and you and I will have to review our whole life. Never, in Scripture, for the believer is the thought of the imputation of guilt suggested in connection with this manifestation. You are like the Lord in glory, and He is going to give you a reward for all your service for Him down here. You may say, It has been very little. Yes, but so minute has been His scrutiny of our service, that if only you have given a cup of cold water in His name, it is not going to be forgotten (see Matthew 10:4242And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward. (Matthew 10:42); Mark 9:4141For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. (Mark 9:41)).
There will be great joy in our hearts, I think, then. This review is a very solemn thing, but when you remember that you will be like Him, that He is the firstborn among many brethren, that every saved soul there is like Him, and will be with Him forever, and that He will review your history, that He may commend what He can in the pathway, there is nothing to be afraid of. You do not reach glory because of your deeds, but because of sovereign grace; but when you get there a crown of righteousness, from the hands of the righteous Lord, is bestowed on all those who love Him and His appearing. This carries no dread; to look back over the pathway will be very blessed. To see all the grace that has followed us, how it will fill our hearts with praise. How we shall bless the grace of Him who died to save us, lived to keep us, and finally carried us by His power into eternal glory. Well sang M’Cheyne:―
“When I stand with Christ in glory,
Looking o’er life’s finished story;
Then, Lord, shall I fully know,
Not till then, how much I owe.”
When He reviews our life we shall judge everything as He judges it, and shall be surprised at what He can commend; and at the end find ourselves with Him forever. There is nothing terrifying about that; it is entrancing. A grand review will that be for us, fellow-saints. We are going before the One who is King of kings, and Lord of lords, and we shall see His beauty and learn His grace.
That is what we are waiting for who are Christians. If the Lord came tonight for His own, how would it be with you? Would you be left? I know I should not, because I have known that blessed Saviour, and if you have not known Him till now, I give you a hearty invitation to come to Him. From eternity He has planned to have a Bride, composed of sinners saved by grace. You and I may be part of it. “Yet there is room.” Come now to Him. You make up your mind for the Lord now. He says, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:2424Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (John 5:24)). The reason there can be no imputation of guilt, and hence no condemnation, is that the One who will be judge in that day has already sustained our judgment when He died in our place.
2. THE REVIEW OF THE LIVING.
When all the saints have gone into glory, for the first review, who will be left on earth? Sinners in their sins. Dear unsaved one, do I hear you say, And what then? Could not I be at the second review? Yes, you might be, but not for blessing, only for the reverse. Turn to Matthew 25, where we get the Lord’s own statement “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations” (vers. 31, 32). Here is the King who has been rejected on earth, fulfilling what is described in detail in Revelation 19:1-21,1And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honor, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3And again they said, Alleluia. And her smoke rose up for ever and ever. 4And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia. 5And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 6And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. 7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. 8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. 9And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. 10And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. 11And 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. 12His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. 13And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. 15And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; 18That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. 19And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. 20And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. 21And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. (Revelation 19:1‑21) and clearly indicated also in Joel 3, where the nations are summoned to the Valley of Jehoshaphat (which means “The judgment of Jehovah”). The earth belongs to Him who is the Son of man and Son of God, Jesus, Jehovah the Saviour. He made it, and He put it into the hands of a man who lost it. He has redeemed it by His own blood, and He is now going to put it right by power. He created it in the beginning; He redeemed it on the cross; now He is coming back to take the inheritance.
“And he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left” (vers. 32, 33). You say, I always hoped I might be among the sheep. You will not, because the sheep are all blessed there. You say, Shall I then be among the goats? Yes, if you are at that review, you most surely will be, for you cannot be among the sheep, because you have had your opportunity of blessing now through the gospel, and have missed it. You have heard of a heavenly Saviour, and have not bowed to Him. You have been called, and declined the call. Christendom’s day of grace has then passed forever. Notice what Joel spoke of, “Let the heathen be wakened, and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat: for there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about” (ch. 3:12). You do not regard yourself as a heathen. You are most likely a professing, but unsaved Christian. You might be there, but you could not be among the sheep. The man that misses the gospel now does not get another chance of salvation in that day. Miss it now, and you will not get it then.
The testimony of God as to this is intensely solemn. Turn to 2 Thessalonians 2, where, after the rapture of the saints (vs. 1), we read of Antichrist’s appearance, “Whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, and signs, and lying wonders” (vs. 9). Antichrist will simulate Christ. God’s Man, the real Christ rejected, and the day of believing Him gone by, Satan operates mightily, and Satan’s man comes, “With all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved” (vs. 10).
What has God sent to you now? The news of grace and pardon through Jesus, that you might be saved; but you prefer the world, and miss salvation. The coming of the Lord terminates God’s acting’s in this way of grace, and the door is closed, the Holy Ghost retires, and Satan’s man comes in. Many, alas! have not believed the truth. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie”— the lie is Antichrist, and all that is connected with him— “that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (vers. 11, 12).
It is a most serious thing for anyone to hear the gospel and not believe it. God puts the truth before you, and that is Christ. Receive Him, and al, blessing is yours. Make light of Him, defer, procrastinate, put it off, and one of these days the Lord comes, the saints are taken up, the truth is lifted from the earth, and the lie spreads over the earth. There will be an earthly gospel regarding the coming Messiah preached by the Jew, and some of the Gentiles will believe it, and some will refuse it; but those who have heard and refused a heavenly gospel will get no chance of an earthly. If you die in your sins, you will be buried in your sins, and you will be raised to appear at the great white throne. If you say, Why was I not saved? the answer will come back, that you “believed not the truth.”
You may say, I did not refuse the Lord; I meant to come to Jesus some day; I did not spurn the gospel. God knows, and you know, you have not believed it. God wake you up e’er it be too late. Do not delude yourself; you cannot be among the sheep. You might be among the goats, because when the Lord comes He will have to deal with Great Britain as well as other nations of the earth. The King says, “Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (vers. 34-36). But there were those who never had any love for Him of His people. Such, like you, dear unsaved one, were totally indifferent to Him. “Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal” (vers. 45, 46).
You may well say, That is a solemn review. Yes, but it is coming. We Christians ought to let the world know what is coming. This is the next thing for the world. The next thing for the Church is meeting Christ in the air, to go into heavenly glory; and the reward day to follow. For the world the next thing is the King coming back, with His people, as King of kings and Lord of lords, and He will then judge the world. The last view the world had of Him was naked, bleeding, dying on the cross. The next time the world sees Him, it will be with a sharp sword going out of His mouth, with which He will smite the nations. There is an awful review day coming for the world. You get out of it now without delay. Join Christ’s heavenly band, and let all the King’s soldiers, i.e., the truly converted, the saved, be true to our colors. We are under the blessed flag of salvation, and the soldiers of Jesus should rally round Him, and be faithful to Him in this the day of His rejection.
3. THE REVIEW OF THE DEAD.
Now a few words about Revelation 20, where we get another review of a different nature, the last and the most awful. We are told in connection with this, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them” (ver. 4). Instead of being judged by-and-by we are going to be the judges. Who are on the thrones of verse 4? The armies of heaven, the heavenly company. Paul says, “Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?” (1 Cor. 6:22Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? (1 Corinthians 6:2)). Little idea have we of the dignity of belonging to Christ, and the wonderful glory connected with association with Him. Here it is particularly unfolded. “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection” (Rev. 20:55But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:5)). The first resurrection includes only those who are blessed, and they will be at the first review. The millennial day is coming, and when the Lord reigns we shall reign. In the meantime we are prepared to be “the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things” (1 Cor. 4:1313Being defamed, we entreat: we are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things unto this day. (1 Corinthians 4:13)). Men have rejected our Lord—small wonder if they reject us. If you will not share His rejection, you must be prepared to share the devil’s damnation.
“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever” (Rev. 20:6-106Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:6‑10)).
We have come to the issue of all things now. Christ is triumphant, the devil dethroned, and everything is going to be fixed for eternity; and if you have not now got a fixture with Christ through faith in Him, you will have one made for you by God that you cannot escape. Satan is deceiving every unsaved man; the eyes are closed to the truth of God, for the heart is sealed against Christ by Satan. You have a will, and it is a wicked will, because it is against God; but behind that Satan deceives man.
“And 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” (vs. 11). Who sits there? Jesus, the One who was on the cross, in agony and blood; the One who came to call up His saints, and came out from heaven with them—that One is here King of kings and Lord of lords, and He sits on the throne, because God has committed all judgment to Him. Time is over; eternity has begun.
“And 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” (vs. 12).
There is no haste; that review of your life will be a full one, and there will be no mistake made about the books in that day. What will the record be? Born without Christ, lived without Christ, died without Christ, buried without Christ, raised without Christ. Oh, sinner, flee to the Saviour; do not risk being in that review.
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works” (vs. 13).
Will it be said of you that you did not hear the gospel, and that you had no opportunity of coming to Christ? No! you will have to admit you had.
“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (vers. 14, 15).
What an awful closing history of man—what a terrible review. Let me implore you, if you have never yet closed in with God’s offer of salvation, do so now. Get in among the glorified. Do not risk the second or third of these solemn reviews. They will be intensely solemn. The first is intensely blessed; but woe be to the man or woman in Christendom today who turns up at either of the others. Eternal punishment is the only issue, and the lake of fire that soul’s abode.
Reader, let me urge you to fly to Jesus, ere you lay down this paper.
“Pause and ask, Where shall I be
During God’s eternity?”
W. T. P. W.