Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men also, saying...behold the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints, to execute judgment on all, to convict all who are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have committed in an ungodly way, and all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him...Jude 14-15.
Enoch was born before the flood of Noah, 3,424 years before the birth of Jesus, yet he prophesied about the day Jesus returns, when ungodly deeds will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ. So the warnings about this Day began thousands of years ago. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance...II Peter 3:9. Mankind has no excuse when he stands at the Great White Throne judgment.
When we were last together the sheep were standing before Jesus Christ to have their works judged. The Apostle Paul warned believers about this Day, so they would be prepared...if anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire...if anyone defiles the temple (house) of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, which temple (house) you are...I Cor. 3:15-17.
When we repent and accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, the Spirit of God dwells in us - we become the living temple - house - of God. Jesus laid the foundation of our house - we are permitted to build our house any way we desire. But we must always keep in mind - the house for the Lord that we build on the earth will be judged, when we meet Jesus Christ face-to-face in His Kingdom of Heaven. Will our house glorify the Lord Jesus Christ or will our house glorify ourselves?
We can answer this question now, while we are still able to make the necessary changes, so that when we stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ our house will not burn up. So scripture has warned -- if our house - works - burn up we will suffer loss. If we did not pursue righteousness, humility, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, self-control and longsuffering while we lived on the earth, the house we build will not reflect the attributes of Christ - our house will be judged as defiled and will burn up at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The passion behind this blog, is to present you with the truth about what scripture tells us about the Judgment Seat of Christ, so that you will be ready to have your house deemed worthy by the Lord so that He can give you His reward...if anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward...I Cor. 3:14.
So now we have some serious questions to answer. (1) What is the loss a believer will suffer if his house burns up at the Judgment Seat of Christ? (2) What is the reward a believer receives if his house does not burn up at the Judgment Seat of Christ? Let's begin with the first question, which may take two or more blogs to fully explain.
The word loss in this prophecy in the original Greek language is zemioo meaning: to injure; to experience detriment. What detriment will the sheep house experience when it burns up at the Judgment Seat of Christ? While on the earth Jesus spoke many prophetic parables, which describe clearly how a believer can live for Him while he lives on the earth, so that the house he builds will pass through the fire of judgment without burning up. Let's begin with the Parable of the Talents - Matt. 25:14-30. Please read the whole parable, since I will only highlight certain parts.
In this parable, the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a man traveling to a far country for a period of time. Before the man leaves on his journey, he gave talents to his servants. According to the ability of each, he gave five, two, and one talent. When he comes back from his journey, the servants must give an accounting of how they used what he had entrusted to them.
The man symbolizes Jesus Christ or goes away for awhile. The servants symbolize believers in Jesus Christ. All human beings were endowed by God with specific talents at conception...Ps. 139:15-16. These talents are the building materials with which a sheep can build his house for the Lord. It is not how many talents, or what type of talents each person is given - it is whether or not he glorifies the Lord with his talent(s). When He returns it will be revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
The word talent in the original Greek language is talanton meaning: balance; weights and measures. This usually refers to money, bankers and interest - but this parable also has profound spiritual symbolism.
Do you remember when the Prophet Daniel was called to the court of King Belshazzar to interpret the mysterious handwriting that appeared on the wall of the palace, written by the fingers of an invisible hand? Daniel interpreted this mysterious handwriting saying...You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting...Dan. 5:5-28. God's scales found King Belshazzar not in balance with Him.
This same assessment will take place at the Judgment Seat of Christ - our works in the flesh will we weighed in the balances of God's plans and purposes. Will we be found wanting? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrine of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened...and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life...and the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books...Rev. 20:11-12. In this series we have already revealed the eternal home of the goats. Now, the only ones left standing at the Great White Throne judgment are the sheep.
The Apostle Paul was very clear about what happens to the sheep at the Judgment Seat of Christ when he said to believers...for no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ...now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear: for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one's work, of what sort it is...if anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward...I Cor. 3:11-14.
The foundation of our spiritual life is repenting of our sins and accepting Jesus Christ as the only way to be reconciled to God. After this a believer is responsible for building a house for the Lord upon this foundation. We can choose to build a house that will glorify the Lord - gold, silver precious stones - or we can choose to build a house that will glorify ourselves - wood, hay, straw. At the Judgment Seat of Christ our house (works) will be judged.
The trials and tribulations in our lives are allowed in order to produce the attributes of Christ in our character - purify our motives. But who can endure the day of His coming...and who can stand when He appears...for He is like a refiner's fire and like launderers' soap...He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; He will purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord and offering in righteousness...Mal. 3:2-3.
In order to remove the impurities from gold or silver the precious metal is heated to an intense heat. By doing so, the impurities will rise to the top for easy removal. This analogy helps us understand how God removes the impurities from our lives. When we are experiencing an intense trial, we must listen to what comes out of our own mouth - this will reveal what is hidden in our heart. What is hidden in our heart, and not corrected, will defile the house we build for the Lord.
Jesus said...not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles the man...Matt. 15:11. He went on to say...those things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart and they defile a man...for out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies...these are the things which defile a man...Matt 15:18-20.
This is why the Apostle Paul told believers...glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character hope...Rom. 5:3-4. Paul previously told believers that on that Day...if anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire...if anyone defiles the temple (house) of God, God will destroy him...for the temple of God is holy, which temple (house) you are...I Cor. 3:15-17.
The fire that will test the house built by a believer at the Judgment Seat of Christ is the glory of God. The word fire means lightning: a bright shining gleam; flashing light. No defilement can stand in the presence of the Lord - it will burn up. So how does the Lord reveal to us if the sheep house we built while we lived on the earth is defiled or not?
Jesus reveals the condition of our house...by the things which were written in the books...Rev. 20:12. In order to be designated a sheep at the Judgment Seat of Christ a name must be preserved in the Book of Life by a sinless blood sacrifice. So the sheep standing before Jesus the day He returns have their names written in the Book of Life - they are wearing the Garment of Salvation...Is. 61:10.
Remember...everything we materially build on the earth - great cathedrals, denominations, medical advancements, scientific discoveries, advanced technology - will be burned up with the earth when the Lord returns. So if we present these accomplishments as the house we built for the Lord - on that Day - this house will burn up. You have never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse.
God told us to...pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, and gentleness...I Tim. 6:11. If we build our house - works - with these materials, along with the incorruptible treasures of humility, forgiveness, joy, peace, long suffering, kindness, faithfulness and self-control - our house will not burn up at the Judgment Seat of Christ. These treasures are safely recorded in Heaven - in heavenly books - so cannot burn up because they are spiritual - not material.
If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire...I Cor. 3:15. If this sheep house is burned up he will still be able to enter Heaven. But this text says that he will suffer loss. What loss with he suffer? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
As we continue in this series that explains what happens at the Judgment Seat of Christ, keep in mind we are obtaining our information from the scriptures - in particular - the prophetic parables of Jesus Christ. He had much to say on this topic, so obviously He wanted us to be well informed about that Day.
When we were last together we found out what happened to the goats, those Jesus placed on His left hand, when they appeared before Him the day He returned. The Parable of the Sheep and the Goats reveals their fate...then He will say to those on the left hand, depart from Me you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels...Matt. 25:41.
The word cursed means: doom. The word doom means: appointed end. So Jesus is saying to the goats, those who rejected His salvation (only way to be reconciled to God) while they lived on the earth - depart from Me and go to your appointed end - the doom you chose while you lived on the earth.
In the very next verse of this parable Jesus explains why...for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave me no drink...I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me...Matt 25:42-43.
I was shocked to read that the goats actually demanded proof from Jesus when they retorted...Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?...Matt:25:44. I can't imagine how these rejecters of the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ had the audacity to question the words of Jesus even while standing before Him in His reality!
Then Jesus answered...assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me...Matt. 25:45. This is a future event, so we don't know all that will take place, but we can imagine that Jesus may make a sweeping movement with His arms toward the sheep, indicating to the goats who He was calling the least of these. Nothing can be hidden at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
After His explanation, Jesus will say to the goats...go away into everlasting punishment...Matt. 25:46. Where is everlasting fire - everlasting punishment? This parable says it is a place that was...prepared for the devil and his angels...Matt 25:41. This eternal place of punishment was never designed to accommodate mankind, it was created only for the devil and his angels that sinned against God.
The Prophet Isaiah addressed this subject. Recorded in the Septuagint Bible he said...therefore hell has enlarged its desire and opened its mouth without ceasing...and her glorious and great, and her rich and her pestilent men shall go down into it...and the mean man shall be brought low, and the great man shall be disgraced, and the lofty eyes shall be brought low...but the Lord of hosts shall be exalted in judgment and the holy shall be glorified in righteousness...Is. 5:14-16.
Where is the place of everlasting punishment that the goats, whose names were blotted out of the Book of Life, chose to be their eternal home? Anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire...Rev. 20:15. The final destination for the goats, the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet will be...the Lake of Fire and brimstone...and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever...Rev. 20:10.
I remember having a conversation with my dad (who claimed to have read the Bible many times) when he said there is no such place as Hell. I asked him, "If there is no such place as Hell, how did it enlarge itself?" A bit surprised, he said, "Well...um...where is that in the Bible?" "In Isaiah 5:14," I answered, knowing by the sound of his perplexed voice that this verse impressed revelation upon his mind. Our answers should always be the Word of God.
What did the prophetic Parable of the Sheep and Goats reveal about the future of the sheep? Once Jesus has dealt out the eternal punishment for the goats, and they have left His presence...the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you 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; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me"...Matt. 25:34-40. He is inviting the sheep into the kingdom of Heaven.
Now Jesus turns His attention to the sheep who are standing before Him at the Great White Throne judgment...and the books are opened...and they were judged, each according to his works...Rev. 20:12-13. What will be found in these books? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
When the Son of Man comes in all His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory...all the nations will be gathered before him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats...and He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left...Matt. 25:31-33.
In the last blog #5, we scripturally revealed how and when your name was written in the Book of Life, and how your name could be blotted out. The sheep in this scripture were preserved in the Book of Life by accepting the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, while the goats rejected the blood sacrifice and their names were blotted out of the Book of Life - their choice.
While living on the earth the goats lived the life of their choosing - education, career, fame and fortune - reveling in materialism. They refused the offer of salvation and living eternity with Jesus Christ in His heavenly home. Why would anyone reject this glorious eternity with the Savior of the world? One thing I know, they haven't read the Bible where God describes His home very clearly.
But, all too often I hear people say, how could there be a loving God if He allows all the violence, destruction, wars, chaos, and anarchy to run rampant on the earth? If there really is a God He would stop it. If He really "loves the world" how could He allow little children to suffer rapes, incest, abuse, starvation and abandonment?
These statements reveal to me that they don't know what God says about this topic. When Adam & Eve disobeyed God, they lost their dominion over every living thing, and surrendered their allegiance to Satan. He became god of this world...II Cor. 4:4. The Apostle Peter said...be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour...I Pet. 5:8. Satan does all the dirty work on the earth, while God gets all the blame - another lie!
God has set spiritual laws which He will not break. Since He gave Adam & Eve the choice to surrender their allegiance to Him, or to Satan, they chose Satan to become their god, who will reign until the earth is finally destroyed. Jesus was offered as the only way to become reconciled to God, so that mankind could legally receive His help while they lived in Satan's world. God has to be invited into men's lives - He will not usurp Satan's earthly authority - but He did spiritually destroy Satan's authority and his power over death giving mankind back their dominion on the earth....Heb. 2:14-15.
If men reject the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ, then they will be subject to Satan and all the evil he accomplishes on the earth. But if men invite Jesus into their lives, He gives them the power to resist Satan, and he will flee from them...James 4:7. But, persecution will follow a Christian, bad things can befall him while he lives on the earth, but he counts it all joy because the testing of his faith will make him blameless at the Judgment Seat of Christ - his name is written in the Book of Life.
Do you want your friends and relatives to be called sheep or goats at the Judgment Seat of Christ? You can do something about it! What does scripture say on the subject? One evening in l974, while studying the Bible I ran across the scripture...I sought for a man among them who would make a wall, and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found no one...Ez. 22:30.
Immediately I asked God if this means that I can stand in the gap for my loved ones so that judgment won't fall, before they accept Jesus as their Savior? Please show me how to do this. Then He showed me...let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need...Heb. 4:16. Since I already knew that He was...not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Pet. 3:9), I understood that I could invite Him to work in the lives of people who had not invited Him as yet - it is called - standing in the gap - until they finally call upon God themselves! Wow...He has thought of everything!
That night I was called to be an Intercessor to stand in the gap for those who have not accepted Jesus as their Savior, as yet. It was 1974, and I immediately began to intercede for my parents who wanted nothing to do with God. A few months before my mom died in l993, I was alone at her bedside, but she was not able to initiate conversation due to mini-strokes - her understanding was clear, though.
I let her know how I understood that she wanted nothing to do with God. But, I asked what did she have to lose by accepting Him, if indeed when you die - you are dead forever? But, what if by chance, I may be right, and you find that after you die, there really is a Heaven - a glorious afterlife - that you won't be able to partake of because you rejected Jesus Christ - your only ticket into this Paradise? So, Mom, what do you have to lose by accepting Jesus Christ now - just in case I am right?
The morning my mom died in California, I immediately called my prayer partner Debbie, in Montana where I lived, and who had been interceding with me for Mom's salvation. Just as she answered, she told me my mom died. I said, "How did you know?" She explained that she had been shown in a vision where she first saw me standing alone. Then to my left she saw a women in a hospital gown running toward Jesus, where she leaped into His open arms. She looked back at me who was jumping up and down like a cheerleader with my arms thrust in the air praising God, yelling three times, "She made it, she made it, she made it!"
When we were last together I asked, "What happens to the goats?" It is very clear what happens to the goats in the Parable of the Sheep & Goats...then He will say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels...Matt. 25:41.
Where is the everlasting fire - is it for real? Stay tuned...
God's sheep question the doctrines of men...sheeple follow without question~~~
