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What will happen to you on the coming day of judgment?
If you have ever heard a presentation of the authentic Gospel message, you have doubtless heard that you are heading for either Heaven or Hell. That is absolutely true. The Word of God leaves no doubt. The destiny of every soul is either eternity in the glories of the New Heavens and New Earth with the Lord Jesus Christ, or eternity in the torments of the Lake of Fire which burns forever, separated from God. There are no other alternatives.
But every one of us is headed somewhere else first. Every human being who has ever lived or ever will live is passing through this life toward the Day of Judgment. Hebrews 9:27 tells us that it is "appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment..."
The Day Described
The Lord Jesus Christ tells us of that day in Matthew chapter 25:
When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
Then the King will say to those on His right hand, "Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me."
Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?" And the King will answer and say to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me."
Then He will also say to those on the left hand, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me."
Then they also will answer Him, saying, "Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?" Then He will answer them, saying, "Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me." And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life. (Matthew 25:31-46)
A Predetermined Verdict
Dear reader, notice something absolutely vital about this coming day toward which your life is moving: The verdict at the Last Judgment is a predetermined verdict. You will not come to the judgment for a verdict to be decided, but for the sentence or the pardon to be pronounced - based on a judgment that has already been made. Every human being will come to the judgment seat of Christ to receive a pronouncement that is based on evidence. The case has already been tried. All that remains is to come before the Judge and to hear Him announce His ruling.
Notice that the first thing the Lord Jesus Christ will do when He comes to sit on His throne of judgment is to separate the peoples of all nations and of all time "one from another, as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats" (verse 32).
Jesus will already know who the sheep are and who the goats are. He will not conduct a judicial inquest to determine into which category each individual falls. That judgment has already been rendered. The innocent have been distinguished from the guilty. And the sheep, the innocent, are placed on our Lord's right hand at the very beginning of the judgment scene.
Why Is It So?
But they are not on His right hand because they are innocent in and of themselves. They are on His right hand because of grace. They are on His right hand because of His merits, His righteousness, His blood atonement for their sins. They are on His right hand because their case was already settled before they ever came to the judgment seat of Christ.
Why is this the nature of the Last Judgment? Why is it not a judicial trial of each person's case, but a pronouncement of judgment based on a verdict already rendered? We find the answer in another statement of the Lord Jesus, which we shall examine as we continue.
Next: An Adversarial Proceeding
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