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Judgment of All

Chapter 16

Judgment of All


Greek Words for Judge, Judgment

In the Greek, the root word for judge is the verb krin (G2919), meaning "to judge, decide; that is, act as judge." According to Strong's Exhaustive Concordance, from krin comes krisis (G2920), meaning "a decision, judgment"; krima (G2917), meaning "a judgment"; kritikos (G2924), meaning "critical: - able to judge"; krits (G2923), meaning "a judge"; kritrion (G2922), meaning "a law court"; and diakrin (G1252), meaning "to distinguish, to judge, to discern, to make distinctions."

You might note the similarity to our English words crisis, crime, critical, and criteria.

As expected, these words are translated into a variety of words, depending on the interpretative bias of the translators. Those with a biblical view of the lost being tortured in man's eternal toaster called hell might use words such as damnation and condemnation, to imply that all is lost in judgment. For example, the King James Version (KJV) quotes Jesus in Matthew 23:33: "Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?" A more literal rendering of His words is: "Serpents! brood of vipers! how may ye escape from the judgment of the gehenna?" (Young's Literal Translation [YLT]).

The KJV places a bias in Jesus' words that there is no hope whatsoever for the Pharisees. By the way, this has carried over to much Christian teaching of our day regarding the lost.

The English definition of damnation is "condemnation to endless punishment, as in hell."

On the other hand, the YLT simply implies a decision is made or formed that results in gehenna, which, in that day, was capital punishment, meaning death and never eternal torture. This is taken up in Chapter 18.

As with most biases, the subject gets skewed in a certain direction. The KJV skews it in the direction of no hope whatsoever. The YLT leaves it more open, for the use of the word judgment does not qualify the judgment; it is left to the word gehenna. In other words, gehenna defines the judgment and leaves the word judgment more neutral. After all, inherent in the word judgment is a sentence or determination that could range from a light (e.g., few stripes) to a severe (e.g., many stripes) sentence, or to no sentence at all. Further, the word judgment does not define the length of time of the sentence.

Another bias toward damnation in the KJV is discovered in John 5:29 where it refers to the resurrection of damnation. Applying the various meanings of the word judgment, it could more accurately be called the resurrection of crisis, of judgment, or of turning. It implies a point of

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decision, a crisis point in one's life. When a judgment comes, a decision comes forth for or against, and this, in turn, brings about a turning point. According to God's judgment, when a judgment is favorable, it results in reward; when it is unfavorable, it results in loss, but not torture.

Simply, judgment means "to decide, govern, decree, form an opinion, hear, discern, and settle a controversy." Keep in mind; the word judgment does not imply outcome. The context of the judgment indicates the outcome, but, from God's perspective, it is always based on His Divine Law, not on some capricious law set by man.

All Judged

The idea that all will be judged is according to Scripture. The most direct verse on the matter is found in Hebrews.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment [krisis] .... (Hebrews 9:27 NASB)

As a side note, some insist that this means man only has one chance to be saved. Once he dies, the die has been cast, so to speak. In other words, death is the deadline for conversion. Truly, the Great White Throne Judgment comes after death, but nothing in this verse tells us that one has no opportunity to repent and be converted when he is raised up from the dead in the general resurrection.

Further, all men will not die, for those who are alive and remain when the Lord comes to meet them in air will not die; rather, they will be transfigured into the likeness of the Son of God. Paul makes this point in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51.

Back to the point; there is another Greek word that comes into play, bema.

According to Vine's Expository Dictionary, the bema is "primarily, a step, a pace (akin to baino, to go), as in Acts 7:5, translated "to set (his foot) on," lit. 'foot-room,' was used to denote a raised place or platform, reached by steps, originally that at Athens in the Pnyx Hill, where was the place of assembly; from the platform orations were made. The word became used for a tribune, two of which were provided in the law-courts of Greece, one for the accuser and one for the defendant; it was applied to the tribunal of a Roman magistrate or ruler."

Thus, bema is related to a judicial process, as in a court of law or before a judge who must decide a case brought to him. The most profound and illegitimate judicial proceeding in the history of man was when Jesus stood before the judgment seat of Pilate.

While he was sitting on the judgment seat [bema], his wife sent him a message, saying, "Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him." (Matthew 27:19 NASB)

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In another account, King Herod was on a judgment seat the day an angel struck him dead. Most translations use other words, such as throne, rostrum, or tribunal, but the Greek word is bema.

And on an appointed day Herod, clothing himself with royal apparel, and sitting on the judgment seat [bema], was delivering an address to them. (Acts 12:21 EMTV)

Of course, these were earthly judgment seats with carnal men sitting upon them. However, Paul adds another dimension to the bema.

But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat [bema] of God. (Romans 14:10 NASB)

For we must all appear before the judgment seat [bema] of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Corinthians 5:10 NASB)

Early in my Christian education, I was taught that the bema was exclusively for the Lord's people and that it represents a personal encounter of judgment between the Lord Jesus and His saints. In other words, the bema is strictly for believers.

Given what I know today, I am not so sure that this is the proper understanding of the judgment seat.

To the Corinthians, Paul wrote: If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Corinthians 3:15 NASB). Surely, Paul was speaking to believers and warning them that some believers will face the fiery judgment of God, which refers to the fiery law of God, represented by the lake of fire, that will come forth from the Great White Throne Judgment.

(11) Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. (12) And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged [krino] from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. (Revelation 20:11-12 NASB)

The words work and deeds come from the same Greek word ergon, so we know that judgment by fire, the fiery law of God, is of ergon or works, not of man's physical body.

In his Patmos vision, John also made it clear that only a remnant of conquerors will participate in the first resurrection to reign with Christ for 1,000 years. They will have no part in the second death, which is the death of works by the fiery law of God. The rest of the dead will not come to life until after the 1,000 years.

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(4) Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. (5) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. (Revelation 20:4-5 NASB)

Only the conquering believers will rise up in the first resurrection. They will be given thrones to make judgments. The rest of the believers, along with the unbelievers, will be raised up on the last day to appear before the Great White Throne for judgment of works. Believers whose names are in the Book of Life will suffer loss, saved, yet so as through fire, experiencing some facet of the second death of works (Revelation 2:11,) but will receive the promise of immortal life and will enter into the Kingdom, representative of New Jerusalem.

The thought of believers rising in the second resurrection, not the first one, and facing the Great White Throne Judgment is not mainstream thinking among believers. However, consider what Jesus taught.

(45) "But if that slave says in his heart, 'My master will be a long time in coming,' and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk; (46) the master of that slave will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know, and will cut him in pieces, and assign him a place with the unbelievers. (Luke 12:45-46 NASB)

Where is the place assigned with the unbelievers? Could it be the Great White Throne Judgment? Again, saved, yet so as through fire.

The point is that, however one views it, all mankind is destined for the judgment of God, whether it is called a bema or the Great White Throne. All must stand before the Judge of all.

However, I have wondered, perhaps even now believe, that conquerors will not be judged at the first resurrection in the sense of good or bad works, for their judgment will have occurred during their life in mortal bodies. This seems most evident in Revelation 20:4-6. In a sense, they will have paid their dues, so to speak. Also, I think of Paul at the end of his life.

(7) I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. (8) For the rest, the crown of righteousness is laid up for me, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me in that Day, and not only to me, but also to all the ones loving His appearance [to everyone who is eagerly waiting for him to come again]. (2 Timothy 4:7-8 LITV [GW])

At any rate, one thing we can be absolutely sure of is that the Judge of all will judge righteously, impartially, equitably, and justly. Abraham knew this truth.

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"Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?" (Genesis 18:25 NASB)

Judgment Proportional to the Crime

Probably, one of the most difficult aspects of explaining the judgment of God is the sentence or outcome of His judgments. It is not difficult from the perspective of the law of God. It is difficult because of the tradition of men (Mark 7:8) that has been taught to so many to the point that, again, it has become part of the systematizing of the deception (Ephesians 4:14 CV) about which Paul warns the ecclesia.

The problem comes from the pagan view of hell held by so many believers and the world, for that matter. Rather than confronting man's hell, let us look at God's law and His judgments, for if we understand this, we will see the outright lie and deception of the hell that man has created in his own image and assigned to a loving and just God who loves the world.

The key to understanding the outcome of judgment is in what Paul tells us: For the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23).

Under the divine law of God given to Moses, the worst penalty for sin or disobedience was death, usually by stoning. Some sins resulted in the dead body being burned (Joshua 7:25), which Jesus referred to as the gehenna of fire (Matthew 5:22 YLT).

Now, if the penalty for sin is death, why is it that so many preachers today tell us that the wages of sin is torture forever and ever and ever in a place of literal fire and worms called hell? Is this not worse than death? What makes it even worse is we are told that sinners of all kinds will be cast into this torturous hell-hole that is more horrific than anything the terrorists of our day could conjure up. Included in this group are sinners that were never given the opportunity to hear of Jesus. To make it even more grotesque, many say God is love but in His love He must judge by casting them into this existence of never-ending torture.

Ask yourself: Where in Scripture does it ever say that a sinner must be tortured forever for his or her sins? If the divine law of God never demanded it, why do we think it will emanate out of the Great White Throne Judgment?

Here is something else to contemplate: If man's concept of hell is true, then where is Jesus today? As the teaching goes, hell is eternal. But wait a minute. Jesus paid the penalty for the sin of the world. If He paid the penalty and if the penalty is an eternal existence of torture, then does it not follow that He is still there suffering for us endlessly? Do you see the slippery slope that has been created by man's concept of a hell?

Now, here is the real kicker. If Jesus paid the maximum penalty for the sin of the whole world (all of mankind) by dying on a cross and then He was raised up from among the dead to live

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forevermore, how is it that one individual cast into hell will end up paying far more for his own sin than Jesus paid for all sin?

The law of God given to Moses demanded an "eye for an eye; a tooth for a tooth," meaning there was a just payment for crimes committed against one another. Further, the law of restitution (Exodus 21-23) makes it very clear that God's righteous law demands that things be made right. Consider Jesus' word on the matter.

"Truly I say to you, you will not come out of there until you have paid up the last cent." (Matthew 5:26 NASB)

(47) "And that slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, (48) but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." (Luke 12:47-48 NASB)

"A flogging," "many lashes," "few lashes," and "last cent" all speak of a limited outcome resulting from judgment. For some, it will be weeping and gnashing of teeth and outer darkness that will be a death to the soul-life of their carnal man.

The purpose or goal of God's judgment is restitution, chastening, and correction, not torture, and, through this process, one learns the righteousness and love of God.

For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines and He scourges every son whom He receives (Hebrews 12:6), for God so loves the world (John 3:16).

This leads to the matter of eternal judgment.

Eonian Chastisement

(41) Then shall he say also to those on the left hand, Go ye from me, the cursed, to the fire, the age-during [age-abiding, fire eonian, Fire of the Ages], that hath been prepared for the Devil and his messengers; ... (46) 'And these shall go away to punishment age-during [age- abiding correction] [eonian chastening], but the righteous to life age-during [Life of the Ages]' (Matthew 25:41, 46 YLT [REB, CV, WNT])

The judgment of God is eonian or age-during, meaning it is limited in duration, not eternal or endless. This is a vital key to understanding the lake of fire.

The root word from which the word punishment is derived carries the meaning of chastisement for the purpose of correction, not torture. Granted there might be some, perhaps much, torment in it, but it is not torture and it is not endless. There is a limit to the chastisement. The reason it is eonian is because only God knows how long it will last, for the punishment always

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fits the crime. But be assured, it will come to an end when the demand of God's law is fulfilled or at Creation's Grand Jubilee when all debt is cancelled.

Dealing with sin and dying to self (death of soul life) is the life of a conqueror while in a mortal body, but for the majority of mankind and even some believers, the Great White Throne Judgment will have to deal with these unsettled matters. This is why there is a final judgment in the first place. Simply, some matters cannot and will not be settled in this life, such as unbelief and murder, and only God can resolve them through His loving discipline. This is why it is better to believe in this age, to die to self, to forgive all debts, and to owe nothing to anyone except to love one another (Romans 13:8).

Further, the final judgment of mankind is designed to restore harmony, to reconcile the entire creation of God, and to bring all things back to God's lawful order. To this end, all judgment is designed to correct and to deal with all unsettled injustices. God's judgments are remedial and aimed at the correction and turning back to Him of all His children. Even His wrath is designed to remove the dross from a sinner's life, restoring and refining them by fire, which is His fiery law.

To quote Stephen Jones (God's Kingdom Ministries): "The judgments of God come from His nature. God is love. His love does not prevent Him from judgment, but the wisdom of God knows how to judge in such a way that He loses nothing. God is able to save to the uttermost. He has the Power to do so, He has the motive of Love, and He has the wisdom to know HOW to do it while being true to Himself and His character." Amen.

Wrath of God

What about the wrath of God? Isn't God so angry at sinners that He is determined to torment them forever? No! We must not look at the wrath of God in the same light as the wrath of man. In his rage, man often seeks to destroy and to get even. God's wrath has no such quality. His wrath is judicial and corrective.

It is true that no one is able to stand in the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:16-17), but what does this mean?

First of all, His wrath is not eternal, for when the seventh angel pours out the bowl of wrath, the pronouncement goes forth: "It is done" (Revelation 16:17).

Second, and most importantly, God's wrath is driven by the passion of love. Consider what Elwin R. Roach in his online posting Hell & the Lake of Fire has to say about the word wrath in light of "Christ's blazing passion and unwavering strength."

"The most common word used by the King James Bible that relates to such passion is "WRATH." Wrath, however, does not convey the best thought for the Greek word, which is "ORGE." ... Strong's Exhaustive Concordance tells us that ORGE means: "desire, (as a

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reaching forth or excitement of the mind), i.e. (by analogy) violent passion...." If we follow the word to its derivatives we see it is akin to "airo." This word implies a deliverance from sin, and is comparable to "ornis," which means "a bird (as rising in the air)."

It is active. It reaches out and accomplishes the burning desire of the soul, whatever it may be. The passion (orge/wrath) we see in the scriptures is usually in the context of heated determination.

Wrath in the Biblical sense is not a condition of rage, as the word implies in the English, but is generally associated with adamant punishment toward those in rebellion; yet it does not end with punishment alone. We see that it ends in deliverance, especially at the judgment of the Last Death, the Lake of Fire.

The passion of Christ, the wrath of the Lamb, is no doubt grievous to the carnal man, for it means the end of his lustful, self-indulging life. It is similar to a father's wrath when he punishes his rebellious son. It is not enjoyable to either of the two, yet it is done with understanding and in love, knowing the pain is but for a season and very necessary for the spirit of rebellion to be broken. This is in all of God's judgments toward His fallen creation."

Obviously, there is much that could be and needs to be said about God's judgment, but these few thoughts are presented at this time to begin defusing some of the mischaracterizations of our God who is love and full of mercy.

By Your Standard of Measure

Jesus warns us to be careful about judging others. I have heard it said that because of His exhortation, we are not to judge anything in this life. But is this what He means?

(1) "Do not judge so that you will not be judged. (2) "For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you. (3) "Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? (4) "Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye? (5) "You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:1-5 NASB)

In these verses, the word for judge comes from the Greek word krin. Jesus is not telling us not to judge. What He is telling us is not to judge by our own standard or, if you will, by man's carnal law.

We are to judge ourselves not by man's law but by God's divine law, and when we do, we will see what needs to be dealt with in our own life first and foremost. Only after we deal with our

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logs are we to help anyone else with their logs. But the key to this judging is God's law, not man's law.

What value is it to measure by our own standard anyway? Do we, according to our own flesh, know how to judge properly? Hardly! We desperately need to know God's divine law.

Now, here is a question for those who judge the lost or the unbeliever by telling them, in death, they are going to an existence of eternal torture that has been created according to man's standard: Do you want the Judge of All to judge you according to this standard? If this is your standard of judgment, according to Jesus, He will judge you on this standard. Sobering, isn't it?

This alone should cause us to stay away from the modern-day concept of hell. Isn't it far more important to exemplify the love of God in word and deed than to try to scare people into believing?

There is nothing about hell that speaks of God's love for the world. God's chastening may be painful to the soul for some, perhaps many; it is not designed to kill them but to heal them and restore them to be all that they were made to be, in the image of Elohim.

If God does not do this for all mankind, without exception, then He cannot and will not be All in all.

Saints Shall Judge

In closing, consider Paul's word to the Corinthians about the saints judging or discerning the world and the angels in the age(s) to come.

(2) Have ye not known that the saints shall judge [krin] the world? and if by you the world is judged [krin], are ye unworthy of the smaller judgments [law courts] [kritrion]? (3) have ye not known that we shall judge [krin] messengers? why not then the things of life? (4) of the things of life, indeed, then, if ye may have judgment [law courts] [kritrion], those despised in the assembly--these cause ye to sit; (5) unto your shame I speak: so there is not among you one wise man, not even one, who shall be able to discern [judge] [diakrin] in the midst of his brethren! (1 Corinthians 6:2-5 YLT)

Who will judge the world? Who will judge the messengers or angels? The saints will judge them.

In these verses, Paul uses two similar words, krin and diakrin. The latter word means "to discern." By extension, it could be said that judging is discerning. But, for what purpose? It is for discerning the matter at hand in order to make correct judgments that lead to righteous conclusions.

Where and when do you think the discerning judgment of the saints is going to take place?

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First, the immortal, glorified conquerors of Christ will do it throughout the Age that is coming as they sit upon the throne of Christ in His Kingdom, meaning as they are reigning with Christ (Revelation 3:21).

Second, the conquerors will be the judges at the Great White Throne Judgment. Paul called the ecclesia, which is the Body of Christ, the Complement of Christ, meaning the Body is His likeness and will join Him as He sums up or heads up all things in heaven and on earth (Ephesians 1:10, 22-23).

Third, this is the reason the law of God must be written on our hearts and in our minds. Only through God's law do we know righteousness, as well as unrighteousness, and how to judge others.

"FOR THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THE HOUSE OF ISRAEL AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MINDS, AND I WILL WRITE THEM ON THEIR HEARTS. AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE." (Hebrews 8:10 NASB)

Moses prophesied of this truth.

(2) And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them. (3) Yea, he loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet; every one shall receive of thy words. (Deuteronomy 33:2-3 KJV)

Notice that the saints are in His right hand, and going forth from His right hand is the fiery law of God. In other words, the fiery law will be written on the hearts of His saints, and they will go forth discerning the world and the angels for the purpose of subjecting all things unto Christ.

This is an amazing truth. Don't you think it is about time for God's people to know His heart on the matter of judgment in light of His ultimate purpose?

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