What About God's Final Judgment?

Some have asked me recently about God’s final judgment upon the world.  Such as, when will it take place and what will actually happen according to Scripture.  God has given us some information about that in His Word.  We are told in Scripture that both believers in Christ and non-believers will be judged in the end.  Paul in speaking to Christians in Romans 14:10-12 says, “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. . . . So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God”.   2 Corinthians 5:10 also tells us, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”  Remember, these passages are speaking about Christians giving an account of their actions to Jesus Christ and the judgment is called the Judgment Seat of Christ (or the Bema Seat of Christ).

At the judgment Seat of Christ, believers are rewarded based on how faithfully they served Christ (1 Cor. 9:4-27; 2 Tim. 2:5).  An example of that judgment might be how well we obeyed the Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20) or how successful we were over sin (Romans 6:1-4).  All of our sins are already forgiven and we will not be condemned for them (Romans 8:1).  Christ has already paid the price and God’s wrath was placed upon Christ for our sins (1 John 4:10).  For those who know Jesus Christ, He has prepared a place for us in the presence of God where we will enjoy his presence forever (John 14:1-6).  This place is called Heaven.

There will also be a time of final judgment for non-believers called the Great White Throne Judgment. This will take place after the millennium (Rev. 20:7-10).  The Judge will be Jesus Christ as we are told that, “The Father…has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man” (John 5:26-27).  All non-believers, “the dead, great and small” will stand before God in judgment (Rev. 20:12).  The judgment of non-believers will also include degrees of punishment as we read that the dead were judged “by what they had done” (Rev. 20:12-13).  The final reward for those who don’t know Christ is a literal Hell designed for Satan and his angels (Matt. 25:41).  Jesus refers to hell as the “unquenchable fire” and says that hell is a place “where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48).  It is also a place of eternal conscious punishment for the wicked (Mt. 25:30).

Scripture even informs us that angels will be judged.  Peter says that the rebellious angels have been chained and committed to pits of darkness “to be kept until the judgment” (2 Peter 2:4).  This means that at least the rebellious angels or demons will be subject to God’s judgment on the last day.  Nobody will be able to escape the justice of God.

The most important thing we can do is to continue to reach the lost for Christ and be prepared to meet Jesus Christ ourselves.  God has given us enough of a glimpse into the future to change the way that we live for Him today.