The fourth judgment revealed in the New Testament is the judgment of the living at Christ’s throne of glory (Matt. 25:31-46). After the Lord Jesus defeats Antichrist and his army, many of the Gentiles will still be living on earth. The Lord will gather them to Himself and judge them. “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He shall sit on His throne of glory; and all the nations shall be gathered before Him, and He shall separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (vv. 31-32). Those that are regarded as sheep will be transferred into the millennium to be the people under the kingly ruling of Christ and the overcoming believers (Rev. 2:26-27; 12:5; 20:4-6) and under the priestly ministry of the saved Jews (Zech. 8:20-23). Those that are regarded as goats will go with their leader, Antichrist, “into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41).
The fifth judgment in the New Testament will be executed by Christ on the dead unbelievers after the millennium. Christ is the Judge of both the living and the dead (Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1). Whereas the living will be judged before the millennium, the dead will be judged afterward, as revealed in Revelation 20:11-15, the judgment at the great white throne. The unbelievers will be condemned by the Lord because of their evil deeds, and then they will perish because of their unbelief, not having their names written in the book of life. Therefore, at the great white throne Christ will judge the dead unbelievers to determine their eternal perdition.
Three of the five kinds of judgment in the New Testament are concerned with the believers. First, we should put ourselves under the judgment that was carried out through the cross of Christ. As believers, we have already been judged eternally, for we were judged in Christ on the cross. Just as Noah and his family were judged by the water but were inside the ark, so we have been judged by God on the cross in Christ. Second, as members of God’s family, we are under God’s family judgment. God is judging His own house, and we are the members of His family. Every day we need to realize that we are under this judgment, a judgment that is neither for perdition nor salvation but for correction and transformation. We need this judgment, and we are under it today. Finally, we shall be judged at the judgment seat of Christ in the air. This judgment will determine our destiny in the millennium, for it will decide whether we shall be rewarded to enter into the kingdom to enjoy the blessing of eternal life or suffer some kind of punishment during that dispensation. Therefore, as believers we are involved with three kinds of judgment: the judgment on the cross, the judgment in God’s house, and the judgment at Christ’s judgment seat.
In all His judgments the Lord is righteous. He is wise and just, and He will not allow His people to be loose or wrong. We were sinners who were judged in Christ on the cross, and then we became children of God. As God’s children, we are not free to do things in a loose way. God is very strict with His people. Today, in the house of God, He exercises His family judgment according to His will to correct us that we may grow and experience more transformation. Eventually, at the Lord’s coming back, He will judge us to decide whether in the coming age we shall receive a reward or punishment. This judgment will take place after our rapture.
In 2 Corinthians 5:10, Paul tells us that every believer before the judgment seat of Christ will be “recompensed for the things done through the body, according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad.” Alford points out that “recompense” is a technical word for receiving wages. While we are still at home in the body, we should do things through it to please the Lord, that we may be rewarded for them by the Lord at His coming.
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