Life Lesson (verse 1 Thessalonians 2)
Don’t mistake the tribulations of life, to be the great 7-year tribulation.
Life Lesson (verse 1 Thessalonians 2)
Don’t call an attack an accident. Don’t call an accident an attack.
Life Lesson (verse 1 Thessalonians 2)
We already have angels for our helpers, adopted brothers and sisters for our friends, Christ for our brother, God for our Father, the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, and an immortal, eternal crown for our reward.
Life Lesson (verse 1 Thessalonians 2)
The paintings and the mental picture of the judgment with Christians and Non-Christians, Believers and Unbelievers, all gathered around the throne of God, and God judging them is not a scripturally accurate picture. We will each be judged by Christ, but separately.
Life Lesson (verse 1 Thessalonians 2)
There are five separate, scriptural judgments listed in the Bible, differing in time, place, and purpose. The one thing they all have in common is the Lord Jesus Christ is the judge of all.
Psalm 1 NKJV
1 Blessed is the man
Who walks not in the counsel of the [a]ungodly,
Nor stands in the path of sinners,
Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree
Planted by the rivers of water,
That brings forth its fruit in its season,
Whose leaf also shall not wither;
And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so,
But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
The First Judgment
The sins of the believers have already been judged in Christ, on the cross. The wrath of God for man’s sin, was poured out on Jesus.
John 5:24 NKJV
“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
The Second Judgment
The believer is to judge self, or judge their own sins, in the sanctification process of following the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:31-32 NKJV
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. 32 But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world.
The Third Judgment
All believers must appear at the judgment seat of Christ, the Bema seat of Christ, where their works are to be judged, not their sins.
2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV
for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad.
The Fourth Judgment
In the fourth judgment, all nations are to be judged at the second coming of Christ at the end of the seven-year tribulation.
Matthew 25:31–36 NKJV
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. 32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. 33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; 36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
The Fifth Judgment
The wicked dead or unbelievers are to be judged at the Great White Throne.
Revelation 20:11-15 NKJV
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Scripture quotations marked "NKJV(tm)" are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.