What is the final judgment, and who will be there?
On the last day every person will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and the Judge on the throne is Jesus. The books are opened: what each person has done, and whether that name is written in the book of life. For those in Christ, judgment is not condemnation but the revealing of redeemed lives and their reward; for the rest, it is the just sentence of the King. Everyone will be there, and everyone will be fully known.
This question arose from studying Is the Son of Man title about judgment or mercy? and What is hell?.
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What the Scripture says
Everyone will stand before the Judge
Paul writes that 'we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ,' and to the Romans: 'we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ... each one of us will give account of himself to God.' Revelation sees 'the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne,' with the sea, Death, and Hades giving up their dead. No one is exempt, no one is forgotten, and no one can change the record.
For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘to me every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess to God.’” So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works.
Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,
The Judge is Jesus Christ
The Father 'has given all judgment to the Son,' and gave Him authority 'to execute judgment, because he is a son of man.' Paul told Athens that God 'has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained.' The One who was judged for sinners is the One who judges: the Shepherd-King of Matthew 25 sits on the throne of His glory with all the nations gathered before Him.
For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn’t honor the Son doesn’t honor the Father who sent him. “Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Most certainly, I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God’s voice; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man.
because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
I command you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at his appearing and his Kingdom:
“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
The books are opened
Daniel saw 'the judgment was set, and the books were opened,' and John sees the same: 'they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.' The works are read because deeds reveal what a life actually was; the book of life is read because salvation is a gift, not a wage. Both books are open, and God misses nothing.
A fiery stream issued and came out from before him: thousands of thousands ministered to him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works.
For those in Christ: judgment without condemnation
Jesus said plainly that whoever hears His word and believes the Father 'has eternal life, and doesn't come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.' For believers the judgment seat is still real: Paul says each man's work will be tested by fire, and though it may be burned up, 'he himself will be saved, but as through fire.' There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus; the question at the judgment seat is not whether we are His, but how His grace was spent.
“Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who don’t walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another builds on it. But let each man be careful how he builds on it. For no one can lay any other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or stubble; each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.
The sentence is just, and it reveals the heart
The King separates the sheep from the goats by what was done 'to one of the least of these my brothers': the love that faith produced. Paul says God will pay back everyone according to their works, and James insists that faith without works is dead. Judgment is not a surprise test; it is the exposure of what was truly loved. That is why the summons is urgent: now God 'commands that all people everywhere should repent,' because He has fixed the day and has given the assurance of it in the resurrection of Christ.
Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry, and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty, and you gave me drink. I was a stranger, and you took me in. I was naked, and you clothed me. I was sick, and you visited me. I was in prison, and you came to me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, and feed you; or thirsty, and give you a drink? When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you?’ “The King will answer them, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry, and you didn’t give me food to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink; I was a stranger, and you didn’t take me in; naked, and you didn’t clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’ “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’ “Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Most certainly I tell you, because you didn’t do it to one of the least of these, you didn’t do it to me.’ These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
But according to your hardness and unrepentant heart you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath, revelation, and of the righteous judgment of God; who “will pay back to everyone according to their works:”
What good is it, my brothers, if a man says he has faith, but has no works? Can faith save him? And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled”; and yet you didn’t give them the things the body needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead in itself.
The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked. But now he commands that all people everywhere should repent, because he has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained; of which he has given assurance to all men, in that he has raised him from the dead.”
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What did Jesus teach about the kingdom of God?→“From that time, Jesus began to preach, and to say, “Repent! For the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.””How is the new covenant different from the old one?→“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.”What was it like to see the risen Jesus?→“See my hands and my feet, that it is truly me. Touch me and see, for a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bones, as you see that I have.””Why did Jesus appear only to certain people after His resurrection?→“God raised him up the third day, and gave him to be revealed, not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen before by God, to us, who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead.”Who were 'the spirits in prison', and what did Christ preach to them?→“in which he also went and preached to the spirits in prison, who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ship was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.”What does it mean that God is one?→“Hear, Israel: Yahweh is our God. Yahweh is one.”What will believers be rewarded for, if salvation is by grace alone?→“each man’s work will be revealed. For the Day will declare it, because it is revealed in fire; and the fire itself will test what sort of work each man’s work is. If any man’s work remains which he built on it, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, but as through fire.”What does it mean to eat His flesh and drink His blood?→“Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will not be hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.”For whom did Christ die?→“I am the good shepherd.The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”What does the title 'Christ' mean?→“The kings of the earth take a stand, and the rulers take counsel together, against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,”Does the Bible teach there are other gods?→“It was shown to you so that you might know that Yahweh is God. There is no one else besides him.”Who are the 'gods' (elohim) of Psalm 82?→“God presides in the great assembly. He judges among the gods.”If Jesus is the 'firstborn of all creation,' was He created?→“who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in the heavens and on the earth, things visible and things invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers; all things have been created through him, and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together.”Do I need a priest to reach God?→“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,”What does Scripture show us about Mary?→“Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord. My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior,”Does it matter which Jesus I believe in?→“But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.”Which modern portraits of Jesus preach another Jesus?→“He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?””How does Jesus becoming man show us the Father's love?→“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life.”What does it mean that Jesus is the Lion of Judah?→“One of the elders said to me, “Don’t weep. Behold, the Lion who is of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has overcome; he who opens the book and its seven seals.” I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.”Explore further
What happens when I die?→Our Hope trail“We are courageous, I say, and are willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be at home with the Lord.”What is the resurrection of the body?→Our Hope trail“So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown perishable; it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body.”What is hell?→Who We Are trail“Then he will say also to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels;”Hold onto these
Verses to meditate on
For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ; that each one may receive the things in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son,
I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
So then each one of us will give account of himself to God.
Before him all the nations will be gathered, and he will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
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