JUDGMENT

Greetings to you all in the Name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ,

The judgments begin apparently with the judgment of resurrected saints of the Old Testament, both the Israelites and the Gentiles, and resurrected saints of the tribulation period. The Scriptural teaching about judgment lies at the centre of God’s revelation. It is a crux of the biblical message, giving a profound paradigm for our thinking. Next to the fundamental proclamation that God is the Creator (Gen 1–2), the Lord is presented as the Judge: In the Garden of Eden there is the first reference to the trial judgment (Gen 3:8–24).

 Judgment is an integral part of God’s nature; it is His characteristic divine prerogative. To understand God means to know and comprehend His judgments, which are very comprehensive. Through the study of His judgments, we can know who He is and what His character is. God actually invites us to understand His judgments in order to be able to deliberately declare that He is love and justice (Rom 3:4; Ps 51:4; 34:8; Phil 2:10–11). In the Bible there is a twofold definition of God’s judgment: positive and negative. Both aspects are usually presented and are complementary, but it is necessary to emphasize that the primary meaning is undeniably a judgment in favour of God’s faithful people (Deut 32:36; 1 Chron 16:33–35; Dan 7:22; Heb 9:27–28). When God judges, it means first of all that He justifies, delivers, saves, vindicates, and protects.

There are many examples of this positive aspect of the judgment of God, because biblical teaching about judgment is first of all redemptive in nature (Ps 76:8–9). In Psalms 7:8, David can ask God: “Judge me, O Lord”, because he knows that judgment is a vindication; it is God’s intervention on behalf of the saints; it is His vindication against our enemies. In the divine heavenly court, judgment is pronounced “in favour of the saints of the Most High” (Dan 7:22). Nothing can be better than this forensic proclamation, because on this verdict depends the eternal life of the redeemed. However, those who choose not to be positively judged by God, those who refuse to accept God’s righteousness, stay under His condemnation (Gen 6:3; John 3:36; Rom 1:18–19). When sinners refuse to be justified, saved, delivered, and vindicated by God, then they are left on their own and condemned to death, because divine judgment is also condemnation, punishment, and destruction. We can, therefore, use the language of salvation to describe God’s judging activity to be saved or condemned.

To talk about judgment is a serious and solemn matter, because God is holy and a “consuming fire” (Exod 3:5; Deut 4:24); but at the same time, it is a message full of hope, salvation, assurance, and joy (Ps 9:1–12; Rev 12:10–12). If God were not the Judge of the Universe, we would never have assurance of the eradication of sin, evil, the wicked, fallen angels, and Satan. Cemeteries, hospitals, and prisons would be here till the precious gift of life would be extinguished, because sin brings death, suffering, and violence. However, God is the Judge and the Victor (Ps 7:11; John 16:33; Rev 3:21); thus, He brings an end to evil, and the salvation and life of His faithful followers is secured for all eternity. Actually, there is no Gospel without judgment. Everyone must be judged by the Gospel of Jesus (Rom 2:14), and without any exception all people have to appear before the judgment seat of God, as Paul asserts (2 Cor 5:10). Judgment is an integral part of the eternal Gospel (Rev 14:6–13).

Article by Agapeli K Achumi