What the Bible says about Distinction between Righteous and Wicked
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Ezekiel 44:23 In the Millennium, when God's Kingdom is reigning on earth, the priesthood will teach the difference between clean and unclean! And after the thousand years, no abominable thing, nothing that defiles will mar the New Jerusalem! All of its citizens will be holy. This is the wonderful destiny that we are preparing for, and part of making ourselves ready is following the law of clean and unclean meats. Staff Clean and Unclean Meats Related Topics: Clean/ Unclean Distinction | Clean/Unclean Animals | Clean/Unclean Laws | Clean/Unclean Meats | Dietary Laws | Differentiation between godly and ungodly | Distinction between Righteous and Wicked | Distinguishing between Sacred and Profane | Distinguishing Right from Wrong | Kingdom of God | Kingdom of God, Established on Earth | Millennium | Profane/Holy Distinction | Sacred/Profane Distinction

Malachi 3:18 After He spares the God-fearing, it will be clear who is really part of His ekklesia. God will intervene on behalf of His people! Will Christ intervene directly to correct His church? Most members hope that He will. Most agree that problems exist. They agree that they dislike what is going on. But their justification for remaining with it is that they expect that Christ will intervene. If Christ is going to intervene, then why did He not intervene during the Ephesian era? If He would have intervened then, the Catholic and Protestant churches would never have begun. But He did not intervene. Instead the Ephesian church broke into small groups of those who wanted to hold fast to the doctrines that the apostles had given them. The main body went on and eventually blended back into the world. So how will God make the distinction between the righteous and the wicked (Malachi 3:18)? What form will His intervention take? The context of Malachi 3 indicates it, but a clearer prophecy of this time can be found in the book of Revelation. But the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent . . . . And the dragon was enraged with the woman, and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring, who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 12:14, 17) This is how He will intervene! This is how He will fulfill what He said in Malachi 3. He will cause a separation! Those who are to be spared will depart from the main body and be protected from the great time of trouble just ahead. The other group must prove their dedication to God by bearing the full force of Satan's wrath. There must be two separate bodies of people, or they would share a common fate! The exact time the separation is to occur is not given. Revelation 12 only shows that it will occur. When it occurs, it will be abundantly clear who was faithful and righteous and who was not. Compare these scriptures with Revelation 3:10-11, 16-19. John W. Ritenbaugh Guard the Truth! Related Topics: Distinction between Righteous and Wicked | Ekklesia | God's Intervention | Place of Safety | Separation | Separation from the World | Separation of Righteous from the Wicked

Luke 15:5-7 Just people need no repentance because they need no change of mind and purpose. Some people were reared in a godly and righteous family environment. Their parents obeyed and worshipped according to God's laws, statutes, and ordinances, and taught their children to do likewise. The Gentile Cornelius was one such man (Acts 10:1-2). Of course, no human being is completely just (Ecclesiastes 7:20), but he may be righteous in comparison to those who flagrantly sin, such as those succinctly described in Luke 15:1. A just person cannot repent of the idolatries of a pagan, which he has not practiced, nor of the larcenies of a tax collector, of which he has never been guilty. When comparing just people to flagrant sinners, we immediately see what Jesus means: These needed no repentance in comparison to the others, not being guilty of such gross sins. There is more immediate joy over a sinner who repents and follows Christ than over those who are already repentant and safely within God's flock. The latter already have greater and more intimate happiness—eternal joy!—within the Family of God. Faithful members should be elated by the fact that their Shepherd loves and cares for them so intimately. And for the one who strayed, upon genuine repentance, there is hope of salvation. Martin G. Collins Parables of Luke 15 (Part One) Related Topics: Conversion of Cornelius | Debt, Our Unpayable | Distinction between Righteous and Wicked | Indebtedness to Christ | Indebtedness to God | Parable of the Lost Sheep | Repentance, Motivation For | Righteousness

 

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