Whether you believe in God or not, there are several realities of life that you must face:
- You will die.
- You will be judged.
The Good News is that you actually have some control, right now, on earth, as to what will happen to you after you die. Judgment is inevitable. In the Book of Hebrews we read…
27 And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, 28 so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people.
Hebrews 9:27-28 NLT
In the Old Testament Book of Job, we read…
29 You should fear punishment yourselves,
Job 19:29 NLT
for your attitude deserves punishment.
Then you will know that there is indeed a judgment.
There Will Be Three Judgments
- The Bema Seat — Judging of the Believers immediately after the Rapture
- The Sheep and The Goats — which we covered in Matthew 25
- The Great White Throne Judgement — which we find in Revelation 20:11-15…
11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. 12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. 14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. 15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. (aka Hell)
Revelation 20:11-15 NLT
What is the Bema Seat of Christ?
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The word “Bema” is Greek for a high platform or stage; a court or tribunal. Paul told us in Romans…
10 So why do you condemn another believer? Why do you look down on another believer? Remember, we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
Romans 14:10 NLT
And in 2 Corinthians…
10 For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.
2 Corinthians 5:10 NLT
Not Punishment, But Rewards!
The Bema Seat Judgement will be like the Olympics where the winners stand and receive their crowns of glory.
Jesus told us…
27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father and will judge all people according to their deeds.
Matthew 16:27 NLT
“All people” — that means — EVERYONE — including YOU! Paul wrote in Ephesians…
8 Remember that the Lord will reward each one of us for the good we do, whether we are slaves or free.
Ephesians 6:8 NTL
We will be rewarded for the good deeds that we do. That reward is NOT salvation because we cannot be saved by works. We are saved by faith in God’s Grace to do good works.
10 He does not punish us for all our sins;
Psalm 103:10-12 NLT
he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve.
11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him
is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth.
12 He has removed our sins as far from us
as the east is from the west.
Jesus did that on the cross once and for all! Paul wrote…
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus.
Romans 8:1 NLT
Any feeling of unworthiness that we may have after we are saved is from Satan. Jesus said…
24 “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.
John 5:24 NLT
Here Are the 2 Possible Paths You Can Take…
Born-Again Believers
- Either we die here on earth or
- We’re Raptured
If 1, then, at the moment that we die, our souls go straight to Heaven to be with Jesus. That’s our 1-way, non-stop ticket to paradise. Our earthly bodies are buried or cremated. Our earthly bodies will rise as a glorious bodies at the Rapture.
Believers, if we’re still alive at the Rapture, this is what it may be like when Jesus comes to get us.
After the Rapture, the believers will face the Bema Seat and Jesus will hand out rewards based on how we used the Spiritual Gifts that He gave us when we believed and received the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Did you use your gifts to further the Kingdom of God? To help the less fortunate? To serve? Or did you just sit in the sidelines watching everybody else?
Non-Believers
- Either you die here on earth and go to hell or
- You are left behind at the Rapture.
If #1, sorry, but it’s too late. You’re in hell spending eternity as far away from God as you can possibly be. And, yes, hell is for real.
If you survive the Rapture, you do get a second chance! If you are one of the wise ones and figure out what really happened, you can surrender your life to Christ and become one of the Tribulation Saints. However, you’ll have to go through the Great Tribulation, which wont’ be a walk in the park. Check out what getting left behind may look like for you…
If you don’t repent after the Rapture (and I cover those folks, too, in the series), you’ll be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment and be thrown into the fiery lake.
Check out the video below to dig deeper….
It’s Your Choice!
If you’re not sure if you’re saved or not, if you truly want to be born again and have the assurance of salvation, receive the Holy Spirit, feel His Shalom — a peace that surpasses all understanding, and get a 1-way, non-stop ticket to Heaven after you die, or that you won’t be left behind at the Rapture, which can happen at any moment, this is what you have to do…
Invite Jesus into Your Heart and Receive the Gift of Grace, Joy, Peace, and the Confident Hope of Eternal Life…
Standing Before Jesus at the Judgement
Featuring Amir Tsarfati of Behold Israel
This is Not Where I Belong
Top Picture By Good News Productions International from FreeBibleImages.org.
(CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
