Christ The Judge

Q: What does the Bible say about the final judgment?

The Bible teaches that there will be a great final judgment where all will be judged according to their works. The final judgment is a significant event where all individuals, both great and small, will stand before God to be judged according to their deeds. In Revelation 20:11-15, we see a depiction of this judgment at the great white throne, where the dead are judged out of the books, and those not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire. This underscores the reality of divine justice, as all will receive the due reward for their actions—either eternal life or eternal punishment. Jesus Himself affirmed this in John 5:28-29, indicating that all in the graves will rise to face the consequences of their lives. The judgment will not determine one's fate but will reveal the grounds of acceptance or condemnation based on faith in Christ or the absence of it.

Q: How do we know the second coming of Christ is true?

The truth of Christ's second coming is affirmed by biblical prophecy and the teachings of Jesus Himself. The second coming of Christ is a doctrine firmly rooted in Scripture. Revelation 11:15 proclaims that the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, indicating a future reign of Christ. Additionally, Jesus spoke of His return in Matthew 25 when He described the final separation of the sheep and the goats. The certainty of this event is grounded in God's sovereign plan that culminates in Christ's glorious return, where He will establish His dominion and fulfill all His promises. This anticipation is further supported by the authoritative teachings of the apostles, underscoring a divine assurance that believers should hold fast to as they live in light of His promised return.

Q: Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

The resurrection is central to Christian faith, affirming our hope for eternal life and victory over death. The resurrection of Christ is fundamental to the Christian faith, serving as the cornerstone of our hope for eternal life. As outlined in John 5:28-29, there is a promise that all will be resurrected, some to eternal life and others to eternal damnation. This event demonstrates Christ's victory over death and sin, and it assures believers that they will also be raised to eternal life. Furthermore, the resurrection guarantees that God's justice will ultimately prevail, fulfilling His promises to His people throughout history. Believers can find profound comfort in knowing that just as Christ was raised, they too will participate in the resurrection, body and soul, to dwell in eternal glory with Him.

Q: What does Revelation say about God's judgment of the wicked?

Revelation describes God's judgment of the wicked as a decisive and eternal consequence for their rejection of Him. In Revelation, God’s judgment of the wicked is depicted as an inevitable reality that culminates in eternal separation from His presence. Revelation 14:14-20 illustrates the imagery of a harvest, where the grapes of wrath are gathered and cast into the winepress of God's fury—a metaphor for the final judgment of the unrepentant. This judgment serves to vindicate God’s righteousness, showcasing His holiness against the backdrop of human rebellion and sin. Furthermore, Jesus warned in Matthew 25:41 about the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels, indicating that rejection of the gospel results in severe consequences. The vivid language used in Revelation amplifies the severity and finality of this judgment, urging all to heed the gospel of grace and turn to Christ for salvation.

Q: Why is understanding predestination important for Christians?

Understanding predestination reassures believers of God's sovereignty and purpose in their salvation. Predestination is a crucial doctrine in the Reformed faith, emphasizing God's sovereign choice in the salvation of His elect. Ephesians 1:4-5 articulates that believers are chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, establishing the foundation for their faith and assurance. This understanding not only underscores the grace of God in initiating and securing salvation but also instills confidence in His divine purpose throughout history. Recognizing that salvation is rooted in God’s eternal plan rather than human effort allows believers to rest in His sovereignty amid life's uncertainties. It provides comfort that their salvation is not contingent upon their own works or decisions but entirely dependent on the gracious work of Christ as the ultimate mediator.

I don't pretend to know or to
understand everything that God is doing, and certainly not everything
that God shall do in time to come. But I do know this, and
if you get hold of this, it'll help you to understand what's
going on every day we live. no matter whether you face trials
and difficulties in your life or pleasures and great blessings
in your life, no matter whether you read the newspaper and you
see calamities, one following on the heels of another, or whether
you read the newspaper and you see things that bring joy, one
following on the heels of another. I know this one thing, everything
in this world is moving in a foreordained path to a predestined end, everything. Everything in this world is moving
in a foreordained path to a predestined end, and that end involves four
things clearly revealed in the scriptures. If you'll turn to
Revelation chapter 14, We'll just look at these four things
as they're set forth in the book of Revelation. Now here are four things plainly
revealed that must come to pass. God will see to it that they
shall come to pass. This is the first one. The everlasting
gospel of God's free grace in Christ will be preached throughout
the entire world. No question about that. It appears
that the gospel of God's grace will be at one time declared
in all the world that God will raise up faithful men throughout
the world at one specific time yet to come, certainly. But at
one specific time, he will raise up faithful men throughout the
world to preach the gospel of his grace everywhere. Perhaps,
I don't know, this is just speculation, perhaps the day will come in
the not far distant future in which that mighty, mighty medium
of communication that God in his providence has allowed us
to have, not just television, but satellite television, so
that in time to come, Rather than the airways carrying on
to TV screens around the world, the babbling foolishness of freewill
works religion, the Lord will make way for a man or being to
declare the gospel of his free grace throughout the world."
You reckon God can do that? Why, I know he can. Like that. Like that. If he wants it done,
it'll be done. But I know this by whatever means.
by whatever means God has ordained, somehow, the gospel of his free
grace in Christ will be preached throughout the whole world. Look
in verse 6 of Revelation 14. John says, I saw another angel
fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach
unto them that dwell on the earth, and every nation and kindred
and tongue and people. Everybody is going to hear it.
Everybody is going to hear the gospel of God's grace. This gospel
must be preached, our Lord said plainly, beginning at Judea and
in Jerusalem and in Samaria and throughout all the uttermost
parts of the earth. Though false religion certainly
will spread through and permeates the entire world, and it appears
that it certainly has. Though false religion will deceive
the multitudes of mankind, until at last it appears that the truth
of God has simply been entirely expunged from the earth. We see
that in Revelation chapter 11. The two witnesses are finally
slain and laid dead in the streets, and the whole world throws a
party because God no longer speaks. Those men who spoke for God have
finally been silenced, and it certainly appears that that has
happened in our day. And yet, there is to be a time
of great revival. Just before the end shall come,
God will again stretch forth his mighty arm and reveal his
saving goodness, grace, and glory in Jesus Christ by the gospel. The Spirit of life from God shall
enter into his church again. and his witnesses will stand
upon their feet to the confounding of their enemies. Look at what
John says in Revelation 11 and in verse 11. After the two prophets
are slain and after they've laid in the streets for three days,
we read, and after three days and a half the spirit of life
from God shall enter into them. And they stood upon their feet
and a great fear fell upon them which saw them." In other words,
God's going to send his reviving spirit to his church, and all
the world will hear again the voice of his prophets and the
voice of his gospel, and all the world shall stand astonished
at what they hear. Here's a second thing clearly
revealed in the scripture. The power of Antichrist shall
be utterly destroyed. Babylon at last will fall, and
the abominations of false religion will be thoroughly, publicly,
manifestly defeated. Look in verse 8 of Revelation
14, And there followed another angel, saying, Babylon is fallen,
is fallen. That great city because she made
all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Babylon is fallen. Oh God hasten
the day. The superstitions of papacy,
ritualism, free willism, and works religion of every kind. It doesn't matter what name you
call it. Whether it's Islam Judaism, mysticism,
Hinduism, Buddhism, or pseudo-Christianity, the superstitions of ritualism,
freewillism, and works religion will at last be exposed and brought
to utter confusion and destroyed by the power and the grace of
God, and that through the preaching of the gospel of His grace. Bad
as things may appear to be at the present, The truth of God
shall prevail at last. It's going to. It's going to.
I don't have any question about that. I'm sitting here doing
something I seldom do. I was counting the faces here.
There's 17, 18, 19 people here tonight. Tomorrow night you can go most
any church in town. You'll find a few more folks
in that gathering. A few more folks. Nobody pays attention
to us. Nobody pays attention to what
we're saying. Folks laugh at it and ignore it, but I'm going
to tell you something. The truth of God will prevail, and it will
prevail without us trying to help it, actually hindering it
with compromise. The truth of God will prevail. The gates of hell shall not prevail
against the church of the living God. Babylon will fall, and it
will fall not by the sword of military might, And it will fall
not by the power of political influence, but it will fall by
the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ in the spirit of
God. Thirdly, the Lord Jesus Christ
will come again to this earth to reign gloriously and forever
in peace and in righteousness. Look at chapter 11 again and
verse 15. and the seventh angel sounded,
that is the last one, the angel who makes everything complete,
the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven
saying, the kingdoms of this world, just let your imagination run
a little bit, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and
ever." It's gonna happen. Everything's moving in that direction. So a preacher sure doesn't look
to me like he's moving in that direction. That's because you
don't see like God sees. That's because we see everything with
the eye of the flesh. That's because we see only what
we can see, and we can't see much. But God that it's coming
to pass that in the last day the kingdoms of this world shall
become the kingdoms of our God and of his Christ. He who loved
us with an everlasting love, washed away our sins in his own
precious blood, called us from death to life by the power of
his Spirit, and has robed us with his own perfect righteousness,
he shall come again in power and in great glory. He will destroy
this present sin-cursed earth with the brightness of His coming,
and create all things new in heaven and in earth. He will
make a new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. And in this new creation, Jesus
Christ shall reign as King forever. Yes, the day is coming when we
will, as Job of old declared, see our Redeemer. upon this earth,
whom we shall see for ourselves with our own eyes, and not another. Though, yes, we will perish in
this body, we must suffer death, though the skin worm shall devour
this body. Yet there is coming a time when
this body shall be raised as Christ Jesus descends from glory,
and we shall see Him in our flesh." we'll see him, see him reign
upon this earth. And fourthly, when Christ comes
again, there will be a great general resurrection and general
judgment of all who have ever lived upon the earth. Turn to
Revelation chapter 20, Revelation the 20th chapter, verse 11. And I saw a great white throne,
and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away. And there was found no place
for them. And I saw the dead, small and
great, stand before God. And the books were opened, and
another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the
dead were judged out of those things which are written in the
books according to their works. and the sea gave up the dead
which were in it, and death and hell, that is, death and the
grave, delivered up the dead which were in them. And they
would judge every man according to their works, every man according
to their works. And death and the grave were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire. There is a day of judgment coming,
a day when God shall judge the world by that man whom he hath
ordained, the Lord Jesus Christ. Listen to what our Savior said.
You can look it up later. In John chapter 5, he says, The
hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall
hear the voice of the Son of and they shall come forth, they
that have done good unto the resurrection of life, and they
that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. In
Matthew 25, he says, When the Son of Man shall come in his
glory, and all his holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon
the throne of glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations,
and he shall separate them one from the other, as the shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on his left. Then shall the king
say to them on his right hand, Come, you blessed of my father,
inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of
the world. Then shall he say to them on
his left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, under everlasting
fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go
away into everlasting punishment. but the righteous unto life eternal. Now, I don't pretend to know
how these events are to be chronologically arranged in our minds. I'll leave
that to the theologians to argue. But it is evidently revealed
in Holy Scripture that there is to come some time, we know
not when, but at an hour ordained by God from eternity there will
come a solemn winding up of all the events of the world's history. And when God has wound up all
the events of the world's history, the gospel of Christ will have
been preached in all the world. The Lord Jesus Christ will have
caused his word to prevail over Babylon and false religions so
that Babylon and false religion and Antichrist are thoroughly
destroyed publicly so everybody sees the folly of it. And the
time will come when the Son of God will come again to reign
on this earth. He'll make everything new, and
he's going to judge this world. He's going to judge this world
in righteousness. I don't know everything that
will happen before this great event called the judgment, but
I do know that God has appointed a day, a specific into which
he will judge the world by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, and that he hath raised
him from the dead. I know that it is appointed unto
men once to die, and after this the judgment. And I know that
we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that
everyone may receive the things done in his body, according to
that he had done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing, therefore,
in the light of these things, knowing, therefore, the terror
of the Lord, we persuade men. Knowing these things must come
to pass. Knowing that Jesus Christ, the
Son of God, has set a day when he shall judge this world. Knowing these things we persuade
men, persuade men to be reconciled to God by faith in Christ his
Son. It is that great and terrible
day of the Lord which John sees and records for us in Revelation
14, verses 14 through 20. I want you to hold your Bibles
open there and follow with me through the Scriptures. In this
passage, the final judgment has arrived. It is described under
the symbolism of a two-fold harvest. In this picture of the final
judgment, John sees the Lord Jesus Christ coming to gather
his elect out of the earth and to destroy the wicked forever
under the wrath of God. Now, I'll call your attention
to three things in the passage. First, the judge himself, the
Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, the harvest of wheat.
and then finally, briefly, the grapes of wrath. Let's look first,
then, at the judge. In verse fourteen, John says,
I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud one
sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown,
and in his hand a sharp sickle. On that great and terrible day
of judgment, Christ will come sitting upon a cloud to judge
the inhabitants of the earth. Hold your hand here and turn
to 2 Thessalonians chapter 1. 2 Thessalonians 1. The Apostle Paul says in verse
8 that the Lord will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels
in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and
obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. who shall be punished
with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord,
and from the glory of his power, when he shall come to be glorified
in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe, because
our testimony among you was believed in that day. Our Savior says,
Behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me. to give to
every man according as his works shall be. The judge of all men
in that great day shall be Christ the Son of Man, to whom all authority
and all power has been given." The Lord Jesus is the judge,
the judge by divine right because he's God, we understand that.
But our Savior is also the judge by right of his mediatorial accomplishments,
that is, the Father has given to the Son the right and the
authority to judge all things and to judge all men as the result
of his obedience unto God unto death by which he accomplished
our everlasting salvation. Let's see if that's not the way
it's stated in the Scriptures. Turn to John chapter 5, John
the fifth chapter and verse 21. You see, there is no understanding
of the person and work of Christ until there is some understanding
of the covenant of God's grace and understanding that Jesus
Christ, in all things, acts as the surety, the mediator, and
the representative of his people in the covenant of grace. In
John 5, in verse 21, For as the Father raiseth up the dead and
quickeneth them, even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. That is, he gives life to whom
he will. For the Father judgeth no man,
but hath committed, hath committed. Now God the Father could not,
and would not, and did not need to commit anything to God the
Son as God. But as God the Son stands before
him as our representative, as God the Son stands before him
as our mediator, as God the Son stands before him as our covenant
God the Father committed to that mediator all judgment unto the
Son. Do you see that? Look over in
the book of, in the book of Revelation chapter 1 and verse 7. Revelation
1 and verse 7. John had just finished describing
Christ Jesus who loved us who washed us from our sins in his
own blood, who made us kings and priests unto God, and we
shall reign with him forever." Now, he says in verse 7, "...behold,
he cometh," who? This mediator, this Redeemer,
this Savior, "...he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see
him, and they also which pierced him, and all the kindreds of
the earth shall wail because of him, even so So, the Father
has given to the Son, our mediator, our representative, the right
of judgment over all men and over all things. Now, the throne
of judgment is described in verse 14 of our text as a white cloud. Our Lord does not borrow a throne
from man. He sits upon a throne of his
own making. No doubt the figure is symbolical,
implying both supremacy and purity. When Christ comes to judge the
earth, his throne will be so elevated, so highly exalted,
so preeminent and glorious, that every eye shall see him, every
one. Our Lord will never come in humiliation
again. He will not stoop to assume an
earthly throne, neither in Rome nor in Jerusalem. His throne
will be the clouds of heaven. so highly exalted and elevated
that at one time, at one time, in the power of God, all the
inhabitants of the earth shall see him distinctly and hear his
voice clearly. Everybody. Every eye shall see
him. Everybody. They also which pierced
him shall look upon him and shall wail because of him. Everybody. Pastor, you're talking about
something that's just beyond the ability of man to reason
it out. I know that. I'm not talking
about something that's beyond the ability of faith to grasp.
God has revealed it. The Lord Jesus, when he comes
again, will come upon a cloud for his throne, so highly exalted,
elevated, and preeminently glorious, that at one time God will see
to it that every man sees him distinctly and clearly and hears
his voice with absolute clarity. Everybody at one time. In the
time of judgment, there will be a throne of greatness, majesty,
power, and a throne of white purity. He says, I saw him coming
on a white cloud. Now this is much like the symbolic
language John uses when he speaks of Christ coming upon a white
horse, or upon a white charger. It is not intended that we should
be looking literally for some kind of a cloud in the shape
of a throne, or that we should be looking literally for the
Lord Jesus to be coming riding across the clouds on a white
stallion. I don't hardly expect that to
happen, literally. But it is a symbol of power,
of majesty, and of purity. The word white, as it's used
in this text, and over in Revelation 20, where we read that John saw
a great white throne, does not so much refer to the color of
whiteness as it does to the dazzling brilliance of light, holiness,
and purity with which Jesus Christ shall be seen of all men. We
had in our Sunday School lesson Sunday, 1 John 1, verse 5, where
John says this is God is light. Not light like that. Not a shade
of light like this. Not even light like the lightness
of the sun. But light. Such light that no
man has ever approached to him and no man can approach to him.
Such dazzling brilliance of glory is God. that no man can draw
near to him or abide his presence, light that is a consuming fire,
that is the light of holiness and the light of purity, dazzling,
brilliant, justice and purity, absolute truth, absolute perfection,
absolute brilliance of righteousness. He shall come, the Lord Jesus,
in his majesty and in his holiness. That's what the text is teaching
us. before this august holy throne, from the lips of the great judge,
everyone will receive precisely his just, righteous, and true
reward. He says he comes, and his reward
is with him. He comes to reward every man
according as his works shall be." Now, almost everywhere in
the Scripture, where it speaks of the judgment bar of God, and
the day of judgment, those words are found connected in the close
proximity of the passage. He will judge every man according
as his works shall be. He will give to every man according
as he hath done, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Now,
what does that mean? What does that mean? There had
been so much confusion throughout the ages concerning the judgment
seat of Christ, and so much confusion and misunderstanding of those
words in the context of all scripture, that most every religious creed
has got some false statement with regard to judgment. Because
it makes judgment to be based upon your works personally, whether
you are rewarded with everlasting glory in perfection, or whether
you're rewarded with a little bit of glory, or whether you're
rewarded with eternal damnation. Well, if the words don't mean
that we will be personally judged according to our works, what
do they mean? They mean that all whose works are perfectly
righteous, all who are all together without sin, shall receive the
reward of eternal life. That's what they mean. Now, if
you and I meet God with any spot of sin upon us, damnation will
be our just reward. Well, how can we hope to stand
before God perfectly righteous without any spot of sin according
to the books? The Lord said over here in this
passage we read in Revelation 20 that he's going to judge us
out of the books. What books? The book of his law
and the book of his grace. The book of his law and the book
of life of the Lamb slain from the foundations of the world.
Well, how can we stand before the book of God's law and have
God search the books and hope to stand before Him? Because
God Himself declares that when we stand before Him in that day,
washed in the blood of Christ and robed in the righteousness
of Christ, He will search and look, and the sins of Israel
shall not be found. There'll not be any. There'll
not be any. Listen to what our Lord says in Ephesians 5. His
purpose in redeeming us is that he might sanctify and cleanse
us with the washing of water by the word, and that he might
present us to himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle
or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. That's what he predestinated
us to. I told you everything is moving to a predestinian,
and it's moving to this predestinian specifically that we who have
been predestinated to be the sons of God should be before
him holy, holy, and without blame, so that in that last day we will
stand before the august majesty of the great God, the God-man,
our Savior, in perfect righteousness, without one spot of sin, because
we believe on Christ the Lord. That's it. In other words, every
believer shall stand before God to be judged according to perfect
righteousness and receive the reward of perfect righteousness. All whose works are evil shall
be justly condemned. That is, all who refuse to believe
on Christ shall be forever damned. and the basis of their judgment
and condemnation is their own sin. Now then, there are no degrees
of reward in heaven, because we all stand before God perfectly
righteous, and the reward given us is the reward of perfect righteousness,
the reward of free grace. There are degrees of reward in
heaven, that is, degrees of eternal damnation, and the scriptures
plainly teach that some shall receive the greater damnation,
and the reason there are degrees there and not in glory is because
every man receives the just recompense of his reward according to the
record God has of his personal sin. In other words, everybody's
going to get exactly what justice demands we must have, exactly
what's right. Before the judgment, we'll stand
before God. But this judgment will not determine
anything. It's not going to be a trial,
like we have a trial down here at the courthouse. A fellow gets
arrested, and the sheriff comes out and arrests him, and then
they than not the man's guilty. And so you hold a trial and the
judgment is passed at the end of the trial, whether the man's
guilty or innocent. That's not the way this is at all. This
is not going to be a trial, but rather it will simply reveal
the grounds of a man's acceptance or his banishment from God. It
will reveal and execute the just sentence of God's law. It will
simply vindicate the justice of God, both in the salvation
of his elect and in the eternal ruin of the wicked. So the judgment
will not alter any man's position. The judgment will not determine
anything. The judgment is simply to make
known the grounds of our acceptance or our rejection. Christ the
Lord our righteousness or our sin. The judgment is intended
only to execute the sentence of justice upon both the righteous
and the wicked. And it is intended to vindicate
the justice, the righteousness of God in both the salvation
of his people and in the damnation of the wicked. Now the throne
of judgment is a white cloud. But look at the judge himself.
John said, I saw him coming, sitting upon a white cloud, and
the one that sat was like unto the Son of Man. That is, our
Lord Jesus Christ, though he is the same man who dwelt on
the earth, he's like him. He's like him. He is a man. Thank God he is a man. but now
he's glorified. He still bears the marks of redemption. His hands, his head, his side,
his feet, wounds still bear the marks of having been redeemed
by him, but this one who suffered for us, who comes upon the cloud
of glory, is glorified as the God-man, our Savior. That one
who is seated in heaven now is still the man, our Redeemer. He is called the Son of Man because
he is the truest man. He is the man in whose image
man was created. He is manhood, the only man in
whom manhood reached its perfection. And one day every eye shall see
that this man is himself God, the Son of God, blessed forever. is the man who in heaven bears
in his hands, his feet, his head and his side, the scars of his
death. And when he comes in that great
August day, those scars will either be our plea for mercy
or his plea for our ruin, one of the two. Today, right now,
they are either our plea for mercy or his plea for ruin. What hope do you have when you
say you hope to stand before God accepted? Stand before God
without trembling? Stand before God and be rewarded
according to perfect righteousness with everlasting glory? Well,
Don, what hope do you have? the Son of Man, who bears in
his scars, the work bears in his body, the scars of redemption
of the work he performed on my behalf at Calvary. This judge
has on his head a golden crown, a golden crown. That crown signifies
victory and sovereignty. As a matter of fact, It means
a crown that is won by conflict. It is the victor's crown. When
the Lord Jesus comes to judge the world, he will wear that
crown which he has won in the great battle which he has fought
as I substitute. Oh, what joy it will be to believing
hearts to see him come wearing the crown of conquest who has
conquered Satan, death, and hell on our behalf. The crown also
signifies sovereign dominion. This one who is coming wears
a golden crown. His coming is with irresistible
power. His word is irreversible. His power is irresistible. His work cannot be overturned. This one who's coming is the
sovereign Christ, the Son of God, the Son of Man. He wears
the crown. He has all dominion and power.
This judge, sitting upon a cloud of purity, wearing a crown of
gold, has in his hand a sharpsicle. The scepter with which he comes
is a sharpsicle. What does that mean? It suggests
that he's coming to finish his great work, to perform his last
great work as the mediator of the covenant, that is, to reap
the harvest of the earth. His work of reaping will be sharp,
swift, and decisive. He comes not to sow, but to reap,
not to water, but to mow down, not to show mercy, but to execute
justice. Oh, what a sight that will be.
Paul says he will finish the work and cut it short in righteousness,
because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. Now
look at verses 15 and 16. Here is the harvest of wheat.
I'll be as brief as possible. Another angel came out of the
temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud.
That is, another angel came crying to the Lord Jesus, thrust in
thy sickle and reap. For the time is come for thee
to reap, for the harvest is ripe. These words speak of the harvest
of wheat. You see, when Christ comes, the
first order of business will be to gather his people unto
himself. He will gather his wheat into his garner before he mows
down and burns up the tares. The wheat which he sowed in the
earth, watered with his own blood and raised up by his spirit,
that precious grain will be Christ's first primary concern when he
comes again, even as it was when he lived upon this earth. The
reaping of the wheat is the matter of first importance. Our Lord
Jesus looks forward to the day. We, we stand back and we anticipate
it. We don't anticipate it near as
we ought. But oh, I look forward to this
day. And my Redeemer shall come and be glorified in all the earth.
Oh, I look forward to that day. But I'm going to tell you something. He looks forward to it more than
we do. He looks forward to the gathering of His wheat out of
the earth. He looks forward to seeing of
the travail of His soul with satisfaction. He looks forward
to bringing all his ransomed ones before God the Father and
presenting them in glorious triumphant language, Lo, I and the children
which thou hast given me, not one of them is lost. Our Lord
Jesus will gather his redeemed ones. This is his delightful
work. But the reaping of the wheat
is also the first thing in order of time. Not only the most prominent
thing, but the first thing. Now, we won't turn to a lot of
scriptures, but you listen to this. I believe it'll help you.
I realize that everything that will take place when Christ comes
will take place with split-second rapidness. It'll just like that. I mean, faster than that. The
glorious coming of Christ and the events that follow it are
spoken of in the scripture with a succession. But they come so
quickly that it appears to be no succession at all to us. Now,
when we think about what's going to take place when Christ comes,
I think the order that's revealed in the scripture, the order of
events, the succession of events will be like this. Now, don't
insist on it too much. Don't get upset with me if I
say something else next week because it's not in concrete.
And I sure won't get upset if God does things different. Whatever
he does be all right with me. But as I think about it, in order
for my puny mind to get some idea of what's going to take
place, I've got to get some idea of how it will come to pass.
Well, the scripture tells us that the first thing that will
happen when Jesus Christ comes again is the dead in Christ will
rise first. The dead in Christ will rise
first. That means that every believer who has ever lived upon
the earth, every one of them, every one of them, their bodies
are going to come out of the sea and out of the ground and
out of the graves. Their dust will be gathered from
the seas. That's right. He'll gather them
again. That's the first thing going
to happen. And then Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4, that we
which are alive and remain, that is believers who are living when
Christ appears, shall be caught up in the clouds to meet them
in the air. Now, that's where folks get the
word rapture. It's all right to use that word,
but it sure doesn't mean what folks think it means. The religious
world You get pictures of the rapture, folks going to be driving
down the road in a car, and somebody's going to be raptured, and all
of a sudden the car's going to be without a driver. You're going to be
walking along and you see folks coming up out of the graves and
all that sort of stuff. You're going to be left here
for a long, long time of tribulation. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Nothing
like that revealed in the book. There's not something secret
going on here. This is going to be before every eye. Everybody's
going to see it. The sense of God will be translated. That's a better word. just as
soon as the graves are opened, and the dead in Christ shall
rise." Now that word, meet, is an interesting word. It's used
only one other time in the Scripture. It's used in Acts 28 and verse
15, when Paul and his band were going to Rome, and there Paul
was going to be given his last trial before the towers that
be there. Some of the brethren heard they were coming and they
came out to meet Paul. That means they came out to meet
him to go back to Rome with him. It's the word that would be used
if, uh, if I were, I'd been gone for a long time and I rode a
bus home and, uh, I got off bus station downtown or where the
bus station used to be, actually where the pickup spot was. I
got off down there and I started to walk home. And I gave Shelby
a call, told her I was coming. Well, she started walking to
meet me. That doesn't mean we're going to stay out there on Stanford
Road the rest of our lives. She can walk out there and meet
me, and we're coming back here. She's meeting me for a purpose.
And when the saints of God are translated into glory, we meet
Christ in the air. But he doesn't stop, he just
keeps running and coming. The next thing that will happen will
be this world shall be destroyed with the brightness of his coming.
Our Lord Jesus will burn up this present creation. I mean, consume
it, consume it faster than a snowball in a blast furnace. He will consume
this earth and make all things new. A new heaven and a new earth. When he says, behold, I make
all things new, like that they'll be made new. Just as he in the
beginning said, let there be light. And there was light. So
in the end, he will say, I make all things new and all things
shall be made new. And the Lord Jesus will bring
his saints with him. 10,000 times, 2,000, 8,000 of
thousands. And they shall dwell forever
upon this thing that's called the new earth, the new heavens,
wherein dwell That's what's coming to pass.
And then he will judge the wicked. Verse 17. Another angel came
out of the temple, which is in heaven. He also having a sharp
sickle, And another angel came forth
out from the altar, which had the power over fire, and cried
with a loud voice to him that had the sharp sickle, saying,
Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine
of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe. You'll notice that the Lord Jesus,
with his own hand, thrust in his sickle and reached the wheat. But he won't have anything to
do with the godless. He won't have anything to do
with the reprobate, with the unbelieving. But he sends another
angel to gather them. And they fall like clusters of
grapes from the vine. Like clusters of ripe, ripe grapes
falling from the vine. Fully ripe. Bursting. Bursting with that juice. Ready for the wine press. Oh,
what a picture of godless men in that day. And the angel thrust in his sickle
into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it
into the great winepress of the wrath of God. And the winepress
was trodden without the city. and blood came out of the winepress,
even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and
six hundred furlongs." Let me wrap this up by simply
saying here, what this is, is a description of the second of eternal judgment,
the eternal wrath of Almighty God. So that can't be taken literally. No, no. Whatever you do, don't
take it literally. Don't do that. But understand, this is not an
exaggeration of what's going to happen. This is an understatement
of what should happen. Because the language of men cannot
begin to describe the horror of divine judgment. What is hell? What is hell? It's fire, but it's more than
fire. It's darkness, but it's more than darkness. It's torment,
but it's more than torment. It's misery, but it's more than
misery. It's eternal death. Eternal death. Not eternal sleeping
in the cold earth. No. Eternal death. It is an endless
conscious banishment. from God and all that's good. It is the endless wrath of a
holy God without the slightest tinge of a hope of mercy. It is endless torment, more than the torment of a body,
but the torment of a body and a conscience. Endless torment without the slightest
tinge of a hope or relief. What is hell? it's justice, justice, justice,
unsatisfied, unsatisfiable justice. That's what hell is. And in knowing, therefore, the
terror of the Lord, we persuade God has given us the blessed privilege of knowing
His grace and knowing His Son. And He's placed us in an awesome
position of responsibility in His providence. Awesome position
of responsibility. I'm faced with this every day
I wake up and every night when I try to put down the work of
the day and just put it aside for a little while to get some
rest. If there were gospel preachers
on every corner, I wouldn't have near as much to have to do. I
wouldn't have near as much responsibility. If there were gospel churches
in every town, we wouldn't have near as much to do. We wouldn't
have near as much responsibility. But Bobby, we're living in a
world perishing in darkness. And there are not many folks
with any light. And what are we going to do with light? What
are we going to do with it? Sit on it, admire it, and look
at my little life? We can't. We can't. We've got to carry the gospel
of God's grace into this world. We've got to do it. We've got
to do it. One of the aspirations I have
for our conference coming up I hope God will be pleased to
bring some folks in, hear the gospel. Maybe he'll be pleased to save
some sinners and send them out preaching the gospel. Encourage
some preachers to steadfastness in the gospel of God's grace. Get hold of it, see it, and run
with it. And inspire our hearts for the
preaching of the gospel to this generation. We got to do it. By whatever means God puts at
our disposal. If he opens the door down here
in some little holler in eastern Kentucky for me to go down there
and preach to two or three folks, if I can get enough gas money
to go down there, I'm going. I'm going. It's just that simple.
And if he opens the door somewhere in the heart of Africa, For me
to preach the gospel of His grace, if I can figure out a way to
go, I'm going. It's just that simple. Why? Because there's
no other way of salvation but the preaching of Christ crucified.
And I know there is this day, the great, terrible day of the
Lord in which every man must be judged. Now knowing the terror
of the Lord, let's proclaim to men the word of reconciliation,
and bid sinners be reconciled to God by faith in Jesus Christ
his Son, that one whom God hath made to be sin for us, who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Amen. how we bless you and praise you
for Jesus Christ your son for the blessed redemption from
all sin by his precious blood and for the perfect righteousness
you have in him imputed to sinners such as we are and for the blessed confidence
that one day, by your grace, we shall stand before the Holy
Lamb of God, before our great God without sin, perfectly righteous,
worthy of eternal glory. Oh, what grace! And now we ask for more grace.
Give us grace, our God, to consecrate ourselves daily
to the cause of preaching the gospel of Christ in this generation. For Christ's sake, I pray. Amen.

Christ The Judge

What does the Bible say about the final judgment?

How do we know the second coming of Christ is true?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does Revelation say about God's judgment of the wicked?

Why is understanding predestination important for Christians?

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Christ The Judge

What does the Bible say about the final judgment?

How do we know the second coming of Christ is true?

Why is the resurrection important for Christians?

What does Revelation say about God's judgment of the wicked?

Why is understanding predestination important for Christians?

Sermon Transcript

About Don Fortner

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