What really happens on the day that everyone must appear before the judgment seat of Christ?
Many believers wonder what will happen on Judgement Day. The first and most important thing to understand about the “final judgment” is that it cannot be avoided.
Regardless of how we may choose to interpret the prophecy of the end times, we are told “It is appointed to me once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). We all have a divine appointment with our Creator. John recorded some details of the final judgment. The Bible tells us, “And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And a place was not found for them. And I saw the dead, the small and the great stand before God. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works…(Revelation 20:11-12). This scripture introduces us to the “final judgment” – the end of human history and the beginning of the eternal state. We learn from scripture that God will be just and fair (Acts 10:34) and that God can not be deceived (Galatians 6:7). We can be sure that no mistake will be made in our hearings because we will be judged by a perfect God.
5 things the Bible tells us will happen on judgment day
All Believers Will Stand Before Christ As Judge
We will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Not just unbelievers, but “we.” And not some of us, but “all of us.” The Bible teaches very clearly that all men, living and dead, saved and unsaved, must give an account to Christ. In his great sermon in the house of Cornelius Peter said, “That it is He which ordained of God to be the judge of quick and dead.” (1 Petet 4:5). Those who were dead, those who have died since and will have died, and the living must give account to Jesus Christ who is ready to judge all men.
The Opening of the Books
The Book of Life is referenced in Revelation 20:11-15. We learn from this passage that the dead are judged according to their works, by the things where we’re written in books. God’s accounts are so carefully kept that, as Jesus said, we must even give account for every idle word. Each of us writes a book about our lives. Everything we do is recorded. Imagine what it will be like when God begins to look at our memories. If we have sinned, we have the opportunity while in this life to repent and be forgiven. Then God wipes it away, never to be remembered again. Then when the books are opened, we will only have to give accounts for our good works. I love the fact that we are given a chance to repent of our sins on earth, and not be judged by them on judgment day. But, I wonder how many will each judgment day without repenting and getting forgiven.
Reward in Accord with Deeds
There is teaching both in Paul’s writings and in the Words of Jesus that delivers will receive different rewards in accord with the degree that their faith expresses itself in acts of service and love and righteousness.
In 1 Corinthians 3:8 Paul says, “He who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.” And in Ephesians 6:8, Paul says, “Knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free. There are varying degrees of reward for the faithfulness of our lives. But it also moves beyond that and also teaches that there is a loss not only of reward but of eternity for those who claim to be faithful but do nothing to show that they prize God’s gifts and love the Giver.
Salvation is Demonstrated By Deeds
The first purpose of the judgment waste make a public demonstration of the varying degrees of rewards that believers will receive for the exercise of their faith in obedience.
The second purpose of the judgment is to declare openly the reality of the fairy and the salvation of God’s people by the evidence of their deeds. So, when Paul says we, “will be recommended…according to what we have done.” he not only means that our rewards will accord with our deeds, but also our salvation will accord with our deeds. Jesus put it like this -and He used exactly the same words for good and evil deeds in 2 Corinthians 5:10.
In John 5:28-29, He said, “An hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth: those who did the good deeds to a resurrection life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”
Accounts are Settled
The Bible tells us, “Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and anyone not written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:14-15). No wonder Jesus said that we should rejoice because our names are written in the Book of Life.
Then the accounts will have been settled, and everything put in its rightful place. Sin and death are finally gone forever. Out of all affliction and misery, and in spite of the enemy’s power, God, by His wisdom and might, has finished His work for all who have been gathered to Jesus’s right hand.
These are the ones who are written in the Book of Life and will live eternally with The Father and The Son in the new heaven and the new earth.
From Pity to Praise 