Mandhari The Judgement

2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”

Jibu langu la kibinafsi kwa aya hii ni kwamba inanihimiza kutafuta na kutumia kila mara niliyopewa na Mungu ili kuongeza mwanga na upendo duniani.

There were a huge number of bible verses referring to the final judgement. The details of these and related questions are in a linked website: see more

The Day of the Lord

This was promised in Old Testament times, as a time when our prayers for justice would be fully answered, when evil would be punished, and consolation given for the persecuted and oppressed.
Verses in the New Testament see Jesus’ return as the fulfilment of that Day, when evil and wickedness will be defeated and punished, creation will be fully restored, and there will be no more sin or death.
So, that is a time we should be longing for.

Confusion

But some of the mysterious and difficult to understand visions in Revelation can deter us from reading about it, and even more I find some of the fanciful inventions of mankind about it are very off-putting. Some people like to pretend they can predict the future, and have taken particular bible verses to build human philosophies about Jesus’ return, which I do not find inspiring in any way. You may hear of pre-millennialism, or post-millennialism, and if you don’t agree to fall into either of those categories you may be put into the a-millennialism group.

But in Luke 17:24 Jesus says, “For as the lightning that flashes out of one part under heaven shines to the other part under heaven, so also the Son of Man will be in His day.”

Judging one another

Some bible verses warn us about judging one another. That doesn’t mean we can’t see sin and evil in the world around us, and take action to guard against it and try to protect other people from it where we can, I think we have a duty to do so. But it does mean we cannot override the free choice of others, and it also means we cannot presume to fully comprehend God’s ways of justice and judgement, nor His judgement concerning other individuals.

That reminds me of the practice of medieval kings and knights, who would often wait until their later years to be baptized, when their fighting and killing days were over. Their plan was to face God’s judgement without the blood of their murderous youth on their hands. Somehow I doubt whether this legalistic approach to getting their own way and still claiming God’s forgiveness would receive His approval.

It also relates to the question of how God judges people who have rejected the church and its teachings. There can be people we perceive as being good people who may have sound reasons for rejecting church worship, as I have met a fair number of offensive ‘church’ people.

And this is related to why infant baptism became widespread, that people presumed baptism would change the status before God of infants who died before they could be told about Him.

In this I suggest we need humility about our understanding. We simply need to trust that God’s justice is perfect, and beyond our imagination.

Personal

As a personal response, the many verses which reveal the judgement for believers fills me with hope.

In John 5:24, Jesus says, “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.”

But many of those verses also talk about the judgement on non-believers, and that should give us a strong desire to do all we can to share the gospel, and to pray for those who need to hear and accept Jesus’ gift of forgiveness.