Per CM, this judgment of the Gentiles described by Joel 3:1–17 is the very same judgment as that described in Matt 25:31–46, the judgment of the Sheep and the Goats.
In Joel 3:1-8 God will gather the Gentile nations to the Valley of Jehoshaphat and will judge them there for their treatment of the Jews. Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia plundered and enslaved God’s chosen people, in turn, they will themselves be enslaved.
Joel 3:9-16 is a call to the Gentile nations to prepare for war in the valley of decision. And then “the Lord will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.”
Years ago, I was involved in a few online chats room where I had many opportunities to defend the faith. Unbelievers twisted Matthew chapter 25 to be interpreted as Christians must support all, including the Gentiles. I pointed out that Jesus spoke of my brethren, the Jews. Further, that the judgment of the Sheep and the Goats will dealt with how one treated the Jews.
Matthew 25:40, “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”
Jesus was born a Jew, raised a Jew and after death was buried as a Jew. His brethren were and are the Jews!
The outcome of the Sheep and the Goats Judgment of the Gentiles who survived the Tribulation will be Matthew 25:33, “And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.” The sheep enter the Kingdom and the goats, the everlasting fire.
The Judgment of the Great White Throne takes place after the Millennium and deals with the “wicked dead,” those not found written in the book of life. This judgment holds no hope for those who died rejecting the gift of justification provided by the shed blood of Jesus on the cross or for those judged as goats. Revelation 20:15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
As for “how an unbeliever can escape both these judgments,” only by being a believer at the time of death or at the Rapture, to appear at the Judgment (Bema) Seat of Christ. This will be a time of judgment for what we did/ did not do during our life, what we did during our sanctification, how well did we hold fast/ endure to the end. This will determine what rewards and inheritances we received.
Those who passed believing in Christ, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”
The Raptured Church: 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.”
No comments:
Post a Comment