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.”
But not only are we going to have to stand before the Lord and give account for the GOOD and the BAD works, but also our MOTIVES will be tested to see if we did what we did for the right reason.
You see, God is fair in His Judgment, and it would not be fair for God to reward someone who DID GOOD, but did it for the WRONG REASON!
Look at 1 Cor. 3:11-15, we read, “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
At the Judgment Seat of Christ, all the GOOD DEEDS we have done are going to be tested by fire, and if they pass the test, we shall receive a reward. If not, our works will be burned.
Notice, the Christian that has been saved by the marvelous grace of God will always be saved.
The Bible says in verse 15, “…But he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.”
At the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST they will:
• Give account to God for the things they did
• Give account to God for WHY they did the things they did
Many folks do good things, but they do them for the wrong reason.
People do good things and bad things, and the Bible says that at the Judgment Seat of Christ, their every work will be tried as by fire.
If they pass the test and their motives were right, they will receive a reward. If not, they will fail the test and there will be no reward.
At the Judgment Seat of Christ-
• This is going to be the time when some Christians are going to be rebuked by God harshly for the way they lived their Christian life.
• This is going to be the time when some Christians are going to see the damage they did with their loose tongues, and loose living. Some will see that their life was a stumbling block to their loved ones and friends, who will die and go to hell because of them.
• This is going to be the time when some Christians are going to give account for the lost souls they refused to witness to, and their blood is going to be on their hands.
• This is going to be the time when some Christians are going to have to give account to God Almighty for the un-confessed sins they never would repent over.
This is not going to be a very good time for some, but for those who have faithfully served the Lord, this is going to be the time when God is going to reward them for their faithfulness and obedience.
During this time, when the tribulation period is taking place on earth, God is going to be taking care of this business of the Judgment Seat of Christ that deals with Christians.
In 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.”
But something else will happen while the tribulation period is taking place on earth -
II. THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB WILL TAKE PLACE
Marriage is always an exciting time. The MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB is one of the most exciting times for the Bride of Christ (Church).
We read about it in Rev. 19:7-8, “Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
In these verses of scripture, the wife is the church, THE BRIDE OF CHRIST.
For a long time, the church (Bride of Christ) has been looking forward to this day.
Illus: Once a couple falls in love and a date is set for their wedding, the bride has a lot of things to do. And every day, as that time gets closer, she gets more excited.
But notice verse 7 says, “…And his wife hath made herself ready.”
HOW DO WE MAKE OURSELVES READY?
• By joining a church?
• By tithing weekly?
• By doing good works?
The fact is, you can do all these things and you still won’t be ready to meet the Lord Jesus.
The wife hath made herself ready by receiving the price that Christ paid for her sins. Once a lost person does this, they have done everything that needs to be done to READY!
This is going to be the wedding of weddings. In this wedding their will be no pre-nuptial agreements, because this wedding will last for eternity.
Let’s look at a few things in this wedding.
A. THE PROOF OF THE MARRIAGE
Look at 2 Cor. 11:2, we read, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”
Look at the word “chaste” this is the Greek word, “hagnos” which means CLEAN, PURE.
The church is the Bride of Christ, and when we put someone or something ahead of Him, the Bible tells us we are committing SPIRITUAL ADULTERY.
Many Christians today are running around on the Lord Jesus, and are going to have to deal with God about this at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
When we accepted the Lord Jesus, all of our sins….
• Past sins
• Present sins
• Future sins
… were put under the blood and remain there.
If this was not the case, there would not be one of us in heaven…NOT ONE!
For example, suppose one day you committed a sin as a Christian. That is, you did something you know that you should not do as a Christian. But suppose the Lord came back that day, WOULD YOU GO TO HELL BECAUSE YOU COMMITTED THAT SIN?
NO, YOU WOULD NOT, because we are saved by grace, not by our works. The fact is, when the rapture takes place, most Christians will have sin in their life.
But the precious blood that was shed for our sins was for PAST SINS, PRESENT SINS and FUTURE SINS.
As Christians we have to realize that we are the BRIDE OF CHRIST. And God says, “For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy…”
Illus: An older couple wanted to counsel with their pastor. He was shocked when he discovered that she was jealous over him and did not like the way other women of their age were looking at him.
Now I mention that, because it is incomprehensible how the great God of heaven could love us so much that He is jealous over us, with a “Godly jealousy.”
Just as every husband and wife wants their mate to be faithful to them, God wants us to be faithful to Him.
Look at the word “espoused”, this means that we are the Bride of Christ, and one day we are going to be joined with Christ in a heavenly marriage.
B. THE PLACE OF MARRIAGE
The place of the marriage is in heaven. What a beautiful scene this will be!
Illus: When couples get married, they generally find a beautiful location to get married in.
But never has there been a marriage like this marriage. It is going to take place in HEAVEN! Every person who has been born-again will be there.
C. THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE WEDDING
The Bridegroom, of course, will be the Lord Jesus Christ.
The church will be the BRIDE of Christ.
The earthly bride is a picture of the heavenly bride in many ways. HOW ARE THEY SIMILAR?
IN A MARRIAGE CEREMONY, ALL THE ATTENTION IS PLACED ON THE BRIDE.
When you go to a wedding, the Bride is the focus of attention.
• The Guests focus on the Bride
• The Bridegroom focuses on the Bride
She is the center of attention.
And beloved, we the church (Bride of Christ) are going to be the focus of attention at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.
Look at Eph. 2:7, it says, “That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”
When the time of the MARRIAGE OF THE LAMB takes place, we are going to have that unique position as the Bride of Christ.
In the marriage situation, THE BRIDE IS THE FOCUS OF ATTENTION.
But notice something else about her-
SHE HAS MADE HERSELF READY
Look at what the scripture says in verse 7, “… and his wife hath made herself ready.”
HOW DOES A PERSON MAKE HIMSELF READY TO STAND BEFORE THE LORD?
The only way a person can make himself ready to stand before the Lord Jesus is by:
• Recognizing they are lost
• Recognizing they are doomed to a Christ-less eternity
• Recognizing that the only one who can save them is the Lord Jesus Christ
• Receiving Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour
The Bride of Christ stands before the Bridegroom ready, because of ONE REASON, the Lord Invited her to be His bride and she accepted the invitation! She hath made herself ready!
Now some believe that the Marriage Supper of the Lamb will take place after the Judgment Seat of Christ for a reason.
Notice, the Bible says, “She hath made herself ready”. This is past tense, this is something she has already done.
We who have accepted the invitation to be the Bride of Christ, will stand at the JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST, and the Bible says our works shall be judged, both GOOD and BAD.
Notice, it does not say we shall be judged for our sins, because we were Judged for our sins when we accepted Him as our Saviour. HE WAS JUDGED for us so that we will not have to be judged!
The Judgment Seat of Christ is not a judgment that deals with sin, but with GOOD WORKS and BAD WORKS.
Once our good works pass the test, we will receive an eternal reward.
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BAD WORKS?
I personally believe (this is my opinion), that the BAD means that THE WRONGS in our life are going to be MADE RIGHT!
For example, there are some folks who have said some awful things about other Christians, and they refused to make things right, but in heaven, at the Judgment Seat, WRONGS will be made RIGHT!
Notice, God does not call them sins, because when the Lord saved us, He died for:
• Our past sins
• Our present sins
• Our future sins
He died for every sin we ever committed. So we, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, will not be judged for sin.
But some WRONGS will be made RIGHT at the Judgment Seat of Christ!
But once those things that are classified as BAD have been dealt with, it can then be said, “… and his wife hath made herself ready.”
SHE HAS A WEDDING GOWN ON
What is the wedding dress she is clothed with?
The Bible tells us in verse 8, “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”
Look at the last part of this verse, “…FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS.”
Now this is confusing to many people.
For example, those who believe in salvation by grace AND works are quick to point out that they believe the Bible in this scripture passage is teaching salvation by works. Because they say the wedding dress is “Rightousness of saints.”
This could not possibly be what the Bible is teaching. If that is what this passage was teaching, it would contradict everything this Bible teaches.
No one will ever stand before the Lord in THEIR OWN righteousness.
Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.”
According to the Word of God, anyone that would try and appear before God in their own RIGHTEOUSNESS, would appear before Him in filthy rags.
We are not saved by our works.
Ephesians 2:8-9 states clearly how we are saved. We read, “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should boast.”
So what does this verse mean when it says, “…FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS.”
The question we need to ask ourselves is, “WHERE DID SHE GET THE FINE LINEN?”
The Bible tells us. Look at verse 8 again, “And to her was GRANTED that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: FOR THE FINE LINEN IS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF SAINTS.”
Look at the word “granted” in this verse. This is the Greek word, “Didomi” (Pronounced as “Did'-o-mee”) which means BESTOW, BRING FORTH, COMMIT, DELIVER (UP), GIVE, GRANT, RECEIVE.
There are two kinds of righteousness we need to consider.
1. When we got saved, the Lord imputed His righteousness to us. This is SAVING RIGHTEOUSNESS.
He took our filthy rags and we took His Righteousness.
Look at Romans 4:24-25, “But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
2. The second kind of righteousness comes once we are saved, and we do the RIGHT KIND OF DEEDS TO PLEASE HIM.
The Bible says, “For the fine linen is the righteousness of Saints”. The Greek word for righteousness is “dikaioo”, (Pronounced as, dik-ah-yo'-o) which means - INNOCENT--FREE, JUSTIFY, BE RIGHTEOUS.
When the Lord looks at His bride, He is not going to see her as a Bride that had been unfaithful to Him, but as a Bride that has never sinned before.
HOW CAN HE DO THIS?
Because He has forgiven her of her sins, cast them in the sea of forgetfulness never to be remembered, and now He sees her through His own righteousness.
As we stand before Christ, we will stand in HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
Conclusion:
Two of the things that will take place in heaven during the tribulation period will be:
I. THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST WILL TAKE PLACE
II. THE MARRIAGE SUPPER OF THE LAMB WILL TAKE PLACE
