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What the Bible says about Jesus Christ as Judge of Mankind
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Matthew 21:43-46

The Israelites had been God's chosen people, and He took away this privilege, giving that blessing to a special people—the church—who would bear the fruits of righteousness (Acts 28:28). Jesus alludes to Himself as the Stone and describes the escalating consequences of opposing Him (Isaiah 8:14-15; Matthew 8:12). Those who oppose Him out of ignorance or weakness will suffer harm, but if they willfully reject Christ, the Stone will crush them into dust and scatter them in the wind (Daniel 2:34-35, 44-45; Matthew 3:12). This warning was not lost on the chief priests, scribes, and elders, intensifying their enmity toward Jesus and confirming His accurate portrayal of them in the parable. It reveals the authority of Christ as the Son, Heir, and Judge, as well as the unenviable fate of those who reject Him.

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers

Luke 12:13-14

The man in dispute with his brother thought he was being cheated. Perceiving that Jesus had influence with the people, he tried to get Him to side with him. Jesus' parable indicates that he probably did not have a just claim on the inheritance but was covetous. Had his claim been just, the laws of the land would have resolved it without Jesus' interference. Among Israelites, the firstborn received two shares—twice as much as any other child (Deuteronomy 21:16-17).

Jesus makes it clear that He had no responsibility to settle controversies of this type. He had not come to mediate secular disputes but to preach the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God, offering salvation to those who are willing to repent and live righteously. The nature and constitution of His Kingdom is spiritual, that is, not of this world. Secular authorities should judge civil affairs. Jesus could undoubtedly have judged this case justly, but He would have been interfering with the proper office of the magistrate.

Martin G. Collins
Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:13-14

Even our Lord and Master Jesus Christ would not go beyond the area of His authority that God had specifically given Him. He was supposed to live His life a certain way, as a man like us, to preach the gospel and found the church, and then to give his life in sacrifice as our Redeemer. But within all these responsibilities, within his sphere of influence, he had not been given at that time the responsibility or the authority to be a judge or an arbitrator in matters such as these.

Therefore, He refused to go beyond the powers and the authority that He had been given.

Had He done this, He would have taken someone else's job. He would have been meddling in the affairs of, say, a justice of the peace, an elder at the gate, or some other person who had been legally entrusted with the job to arbitrate or judge matters such as inheritances. Jesus had no purpose, no right, to put his finger in that pie because God had not given Him that as part of His sphere of influence.

We are told in other places that He has been given the responsibility and authority to be Judge of all. We must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. But when did that appointment take place? It occurred once He was received up into heaven. It began at that point, legally, because He had qualified to be our Judge. That, however, was after the scene in Luke 12, and it will come into its fullness in the judgment. He is judging us right now; judgment is now on the house of God (I Peter 4:17). But in Luke 12, He had not been given the responsibility to judge. So if He had stepped outside of His given responsibility and authority, He would have been guilty of sin, taking another's responsibility, meddling.

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
What's So Bad About Busybodies?

John 5:22

God the Father has appointed Jesus Christ to judge humanity. Only He has ever lived a perfect life. In addition, He knows what it is like to be a human being and what difficulties His people have while living in this present, evil world (Hebrews 2:14-18). Thus, He is eminently qualified to be the Judge of all mankind.

Staff
Basic Doctrines: Eternal Judgment

John 7:37

As the God of the Old Testament (John 1:1-3, 14), Jesus personally instituted the Last Great Day to symbolize the Great White Throne Judgment. As Judge of mankind, Christ is great in all His attributes; He is the perfect Judge of all (John 5:22, 24-30). We can also see the greatness of this period in the huge number of people who will be mercifully and lovingly judged and granted eternal life.

Martin G. Collins
Holy Days: Last Great Day

Revelation 5:1-7

The setting for the release of the four horsemen begins in Revelation 4, which describes God's throne room in heaven with all its splendor and attendant beings. As chapter 5 opens, a scroll with writing on both front and back and sealed with seven seals is introduced, shown in the right hand of the Father. This last detail highlights His sovereignty and the divine origin of the scroll. That He holds it in His right hand suggests might or authority (Exodus 15:6; Psalm 20:6; 44:3; 110:1; Lamentations 2:3-4; etc.), and that He is sitting on the throne alludes to coming judgment (see Proverbs 20:8; Matthew 27:19; Acts 25:6).

The scroll itself includes a few peculiar details not found in ordinary scrolls. First, John uses the word biblion for it, a diminutive of the normal biblos, implying that this particular scroll was not lengthy—a booklet as compared to a book. Biblion is often used of letters, contracts, and other documents whose contents would not fill more than one sheet of parchment or vellum.

However, this scroll is "written inside and on the back," or as it is literally in the Greek, "written within and behind." The Greeks had a specific term for such a relatively rare document: opisthografon, literally "behind writing." Since writing covered the entire surface, nothing could be added to it. Thus, the image symbolizes a complete and finished work.

Finally, this scroll bears seven seals, a detail that has provoked various interpretations down through the centuries. The best, most logical solution is that the scroll is successively sealed along one edge so that, as a seal is broken, the parchment can be opened only so far as the next seal. Thus, a scroll like this was sealed as it was rolled closed, and the seals must be broken in reverse order. This also means that, as the seals are broken, the previous ones remain open until all seven parts of the document lay revealed.

In the scene in Revelation 5, though, "no one in heaven or on the earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll, or to look at it" (verse 3). The apostle John weeps because no one worthy comes forward. He is soon comforted: "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals" (verse 5).

This figure, called "a Lamb as though it had been slain" (verse 6) is obviously Jesus Christ our Savior (see John 1:29), and He proved worthy by prevailing, enikeesen, a word that can also be translated as "overcome," "triumphed," or "conquered," all of which imply victory through conflict or struggle. As Hebrews 2:10 puts it, "For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the author of their salvation perfect through sufferings." He proved Himself worthy to be our Redeemer, High Priest, and soon-coming King by living sinlessly against the pulls of human nature and by dying as a perfect sacrifice in our stead (see Revelation 5:9, 12).

In so doing, He also qualified to be Judge of all (John 5:22; II Timothy 4:1, 8; Jude 14-15). Taking on this last role, "He came and took the scroll out of the right hand of Him who sat on the throne" (Revelation 5:7).

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
The Four Horsemen (Part One): In the Saddle?

Revelation 20:10

Can demons die? The evidence of Scripture does not disallow it. Indeed, Ezekiel 28:11-19—a well-known passage describing Satan's origins, character, rebellion, and fate—prophesies in verses 18-19:

Therefore [because of your iniquities] I brought fire from your midst; it devoured you, and I turned you to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all who saw you. All who knew you among the peoples are astonished at you; you have become a horror, and shall be no more forever. (Emphasis ours.)

Many people believe this applies to a physical “king of Tyre” referenced in verse 11, but the context describing the one who became Satan—“the anointed cherub who covers” (verse 14), who was “the seal of perfection” (verse 12) and “in Eden, the garden of God” (verse 13)—continues without interruption through verse 19. Taken at face value, this passage tells us that God, who created the angels who chose to sin, can extinguish their lives through an annihilating fire. Trying to explain verses 18-19 as a metaphor for Satan and his demons being imprisoned in darkness forever makes a mockery of their plain sense. In fact, the words of Ezekiel 28 sound amazingly like death in the Lake of Fire.

Thus, if those suffering torment in Revelation 20:10 are Satan and the demons, they, too, will experience the torture and excruciating pain of the fervent heat of the Lake of Fire. Perhaps with them, being composed of spirit, it will last for a longer, though still indeterminate, time before they expire. The Bible's use of aiôn makes the length of their torment vague. Perhaps they will suffer some form of torment while imprisoned in the abyss (see Isaiah 24:21-23). In any case, we can understand their torment “day and night forever and ever” to indicate unstinting thoroughness—that God will not shirk in giving them the most painful and complete punishment, as they rightfully deserve.

Our Savior is the great Judge of all (II Timothy 4:1). His judgments are flawless; He demonstrates perfect justice and mercy at all times. Though the punishments that the wicked and the demons will receive may seem ghastly, they fit their crimes. There is no unrighteousness with God (Romans 9:14).

As Christ's disciples, resurrected to eternal life in God's Kingdom, we will be able to look forward to an eternity of peace and security, of never-ending joy and growth, because He will have removed all evil from the universe. Peter tells us that once God purifies all things, only righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and new earth (II Peter 3:13). There will be no taint of sin anywhere in creation, which can be true only if God has completely erased the existence of all sin and all sinners, including the Adversary and his demons.

As Peter writes in the same passage, we must soberly consider God's perfect judgment for sin and His wrath against it. We are living through our time of judgment right now, and falling away and falling under God's wrath are still possibilities if we fail “to make [our] call and election sure” (II Peter 1:10). Knowing God's perfect judgment should spur us to live holy and godly lives, “hastening the coming of the day of God” (II Peter 3:11-12, 14).

Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Eternal Torment?


 




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