Lesson 10 - The Judgment is Set
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Introduction
The Bible clearly teaches that this sinful world will not continue for-ever. God will one day put an end to the suffering, sickness, pain and death that exists in our world. However, the Bible also teaches that before God destroys the world, there will be a time of judgment to decide who is worthy of eternal life and who is not.
In this lesson, we will study what the Bible teaches about the judgment and how it affects us as individuals.
With which set of people (according to the Bible) will the judgment begin? 1 Peter 4:17
“For the time is come that ________________ must ____________ at the ____________ ____ _________: and if it first begin at us, what shall the _______ be of them that _____________ _______ the gospel of God?”
The investigative aspect of the judgment will begin with the names of all the people of God who have ever lived on the earth to determine and prove their fitness for heaven. Therefore, this aspect of the judgment will take place before the Second Coming of Jesus. For when Jesus returns He is coming, not to determine who is worthy, but to “reward every man according to his works” (Matthew 16:27).
How does the Bible describe the scene of this judgment taking place in heaven? Daniel 7:9-10
“I beheld till the _______________ were cast down, and the ____________ ______ ________ did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his ____________ was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. . . . the ______________________ was set, and the _________ were opened.”
The prophet Daniel, in vision, saw the scene of judgment taking place in heaven at the time of the end. Daniel saw the “Ancient of days” (God the Father, Psalm 90:10, 11) sitting upon His throne with thousands, thousands ministering unto Him (the angels, Revelation 5:11) and ten thousand times ten thousands standing before Him (the people being judged), the judgment was set and the books were opened.
What are the books that were opened in the judgment, and what do they record?
A. Revelation 20:12 — BOOK OF LIFE
“And I saw the _____________, small and great, stand before God; and the _______________ were ______________: and another ______________ was opened, which is the ____________ of life and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their ______________.”
B. Malachi 3:16 — BOOK OF REMEMBRANCE
“. . . and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of ____________________ was _____________ before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name.”
C. Jeremiah 2:22— RECORD OF SINS
“For though thou ___________ thee with nitre, and take thee much ___________, yet thine _________________ is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.”
According to Daniel, John, and other Bible writers, God keeps records in heaven. First of all there is the “Book of life”, which records the names of all who accept the name of God. Then there are books that record the good deeds of God's people and those that record the evil thoughts, words and deeds of men (Luke 10:20; Daniel 12:1).
How much of our lives will come up in review before God in the judgment?
A. Ecclesiastes 12:14—OUR ACTIONS
“For God shall bring ________________ work into ____________, with every ______________ thing, whether it be __________, or whether it be __________.”
B. 1 Corinthians 4:5—OUR THOUGHTS
“. . . who both will bring to _____________ the ____________things of darkness, and will make manifest the _______________ of the _____________: and then shall every man have praise of God.”
C. Matthew 12:36, 37—OUR WORDS
“. . . every ____________ ___________ that men shall speak, they shall give an ______________ thereof in the day of _____________.
“Opposite each name in the books of heaven is entered with terrible exactness every wrong word, every selfish act, every unfulfilled duty, and every secret sin, with every artful dissembling. Heaven-sent warnings or reproofs neglected, wasted moments, unimproved opportunities, the influence exerted for good or for evil, with its far-reaching results, all are chronicled by the recording angel” (White, Ellen G. The Great Controversy (Pacific Press Publishing Association: Nampa, Idaho, pg. 482).
What is the standard by which God's people will be judged and their lives examined? James 2:12
“So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be _______________ by the ________________ of ______________.”
The standard of judgment is the righteousness of the law of God as revealed in the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and the word of God (see also John 12:48).
What special work does Jesus perform for His people during the judgment? 1 Timothy 2:5
“For there is one God, and one ________________ between God and men, the man _______________ ______________;”
Jesus is our Advocate in the judgment—One who stands in our place to accept our repentance and confession of sins and to confess our names before the Father. Without Jesus' presence in the judgment and His confession of us, none of us could be accept-ed before God (see also Matthew 10:32, 33; John 14:6; Romans 8:31-34).
Whose names will Jesus confess before the Father? Revelation 3:5
“He that ______________, the same shall be clothed in ______________ raiment; and I will not ____________ ________ his ____________ out of the book of ___________, but I will _____________ his name before my Father, and before his angels.”
Jesus will only confess the names of those who truly repent of all their sins and live a life wholly consecrated to God.
Whose names will Jesus blot out of the book of life? Exodus 32:33
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath _______________ against me, him will I ____________ out of my _______________.”
What will Jesus do as soon as He completes the judgment in heaven? Revelation 22:11, 12
“And, behold, I __________ ___________; and my ______________ is with me, to give every man according as his ________________ shall be.”