Eschatology 10 Of 16 The Tribulation Period

But chapters 4 through 18 deal primarily with:

• The Seal Judgments

• The Trumpet Judgments

• The Vial Judgments

He has now severely judged the inhabitants of the earth.

WAS HE RIGHT TO DO WHAT HE DID? He certainly was.

Look at Rev. 19:1-2, we read, “And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.”

He could not have been the just God of heaven, had He not severely judged the inhabitants of the earth.

But while all this is transpiring on earth, and God deals with the SINNERS, there are TWO things that will take place in heaven during these seven years that deal with the SAINTS.

WHAT TWO THINGS ARE THEY?

The first thing is -

I. THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST WILL TAKE PLACE

This is different from the Great White Throne Judgment. In fact, there is approximately one thousand years between the two of them.

• One will take place during the tribulation period, while the tribulation is taking place

• The other one will take place a thousand years later, at the end of the Millennial period

The GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT will be the judgment for Sinners who rejected the Saviour.

WHAT A FEARFUL TIME THIS WILL BE!

Illus: Many of us have been in the court room when someone stood before a judge, with their knees shaking. Why were their knees shaking? Because the person who committed the crime knew that the Judge had the power to put them behind bars for the rest of their life.

Now if that is fearful, can you imagine how fearful it will be when lost men stands before the Lord Jesus, and they know He is preparing to cast them into the lake of fire for ever.

It is going to be a fearful time for sinners who stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and give account of the fact they had chance after chance to give their heart to the Lord Jesus, and they rejected Him every time, and now He is preparing to reject them.

This is going to be a fearful time for them to stand before the Lord Jesus.

Look at Rev. 20:11-15, we read, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

Christ will judge these sinners, who could have been saved but who rejected the Savior that came and died for them.

THIS IS THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, and every lost sinner will appear before Him.

Once a person ends up there, they are doomed forever. They are there because they are guilty of sin, and no one will be walking out of there. NO ONE!

WHAT IS THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST?

The Judgment Seat Of Christ is where Christians will appear before Christ.

• They will not be judged for sin, to determine where they will spend eternity

• They will be judged for their works to determine their rewards

If you make it to the Judgment Seat Of Christ, you are already in heaven, because this takes place after the church has been raptured.

This is the Judgment where all Christians must stand before God and give account of the way they lived the Christian life.

You see, as God’s ministers preach, there are Christians who will not heed the Word of God, and do as the Word of God tells them they should do.

But at the Judgment Seat of Christ, they are going to WISH THEY HAD.

They are going to have to stand before God almighty and give account for what they have done.

Look at 2 Cor. 5:10, we read, “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.”