LET GOD BE TRUE

CHAPTER XXII

THE JUDGMENT DAY

THERE are very few subjects upon which the adversary has so completely confused and blinded the people generally as that of the "judgment day". Many well-meaning and sincere persons look forward to the judgment day with a great deal of fear and mental anguish, because of what they feel will happen to them or their loved ones when that day arrives; this despite the fact that the Scriptures refer to it as a very joyous occasion. Listen to King David's prayer of thanksgiving as he contemplated that glad event. Psalm 96:10-13 (A.S.V.): "Say among the nations, Jehovah reigneth: the world also is established that it cannot be moved: he will judge the peoples with equity. Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice; let the sea roar, and the fulness thereof; let the field exult, and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the wood sing for joy before Jehovah; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth: he will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth."

² According to these scriptures the judgment day is an event over which all nature, animate and inanimate, rejoice. David manifested no mental anguish as he considered this glorious event. Neither has any other person who is of good-will toward God any cause to fear His judgment day.

³ The thousand-year judgment day mentioned in the Scriptures does not include all the judgments of Jehovah as they relate to mankind. The "judgment day" has reference only to one of these judgments. (2 Peter 3:8; Revelation 20:4) For illustration, it has no reference to the judgment of the members of the body of Christ referred to in 1 John 4:17 and Revelation 2:10: "Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment : because as he is, so are we in this world." "Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life." — A.S.V.

⁴ Nor does it refer to the judgment of the nations described in Zephaniah 3:8 (A.S.V.): "Therefore wait ye for me, saith Jehovah, until the day that I rise up to the prey; for my determination is to gather the nations, that I may assemble the kingdoms, to pour upon them mine indignation, even all my fierce anger; for all the earth shall be devoured with the fire of my jealousy." This occurs before the thousand years of Christ's uninterrupted reign begins.

⁵ Seeing that the "judgment day" has reference only to one specific judgment of Jehovah, it is important that we ascertain what judgment this is, when it takes place, where it takes place, to whom it applies. Then, to ascertain who will be the judge, we must consider his qualifications, how he will execute the judgment, and what will be the result when completed. It is only after we have answered these questions to our own satisfaction and in harmony with the Scriptures that we are in position to really appreciate the Lord's "judgment day". Therefore, let us set about getting the answer to our question from the only reliable source, the Word of God.

⁶ Up to this point we have simply considered what the "judgment day" is not. Now, to find out what it is. In Acts 17:30,31 (A.S.V.) the Lord, through the apostle, calls our attention to the "judgment day" in these words: "The times of ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now he commandeth men that they should all everywhere repent: inasmuch as he hath appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."

⁷ There are five outstanding points in this text as it relates to the "judgment day". (1) Jehovah God himself appointed this day. (2) The object is to judge the world in righteousness. (3) Jehovah has selected and appointed the judge. (4) That judge is Christ Jesus. (5) Jehovah has given his assurance of this "judgment day" by the resurrection of Christ Jesus. The fact of the "judgment day" is therefore established beyond the possibility of doubt.

⁸ The only point that may not be quite clear in this text is the "world" that is going to be judged. What world is it? Is it the present evil world of which Satan the Devil is the ruler? (2 Corinthians 4:4; John 14: 30; 1 John 5:19) or what world is it? It cannot be the present evil world, for it is judged and condemned already. John 12:31 (A.S.V.) reads: "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." Also 2 Peter 3:7: "But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men." The world in question, then, where the righteous judgment of the Lord is going to take place, must be the New World of righteousness to which Peter refers in the thirteenth verse of the same chapter, when he says: "Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness."

WHAT, WHEN, AND WHERE IS IT?

⁹ To sum up thus far, we see that "judgment day" has reference to a day or period of time in which Jehovah God sits to judge all men or all mankind in the New World of righteousness by his own appointed Judge, Christ Jesus. It is the first 1,000 years of the New World, and not a 24-hour day; for "one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day". At 2 Peter 3:7,8 we are warned not to be ignorant of this time feature. It follows that anyone not in the New World will not be involved in this particular judgment. All creatures who desire to reap its benefits must be in the New World. This summation also answers our first question, What is the "judgment day"?

¹⁰ The second question, When does the "judgment day" of humankind take place? Turning to Psalm 110:1, 2 (A.S.V.), we read, "Jehovah saith unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. Jehovah will send forth the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies."

¹¹ Here Jehovah the King of eternity is telling us that for a period after his anointed King or Judge Christ Jesus had ascended to heaven he would remain inactive as to Kingdom establishment; but when Jehovah's due

time would arrive, He would commission him to go forth and rule. Verse 6 says: "He will judge among the nations," indicating that he was to be both Judge and Ruler. The time that Jehovah commissions his Son to act must, therefore, mark the beginning of the "day of Jehovah". The apostle John refers to that taking over of authority by the New World's Judge and King, in these words: "The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ: and he shall reign for ever and ever." (Revelation 11:15, A.S.V.) The fulfillment of the prophecies of Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 21, and numerous other scriptures, by physical facts, clearly establishes that Christ Jesus was enthroned as King of Jehovah in the fall of 1914. This was clearly evidenced to us by the beginning of World War I and the fulfillment of the other signs enumerated in these prophecies. Therefore, that date marked the time when Jehovah's King went into action against Satan's organization. In the spring of 1918 he came as Jehovah's Messenger to the temple and began judgment first of the "house of God" and thereafter of the nations of this world. (1 Peter 4:17; Matthew 25: 31, 32) The execution of judgment against those nations takes place at the battle of Armageddon, where he will "fill the places with the dead bodies" and will wound their invisible head, Satan the Devil, binding him for a thousand years. Then the New World of righteousness will begin, and

with it the thousand-year day of judgment.  — Revelation 20:1-3,11-15.

¹² Our third question, "Where does this judgment take place?" must be pretty well answered in the mind of everyone who has followed us to this point. It will be at the earth; for there the Judge and King will turn his attention. "He shall judge the poor of the people, he shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in pieces the oppressor. In his days shall the righteous flourish; and abundance of peace so long as the moon endureth. He shall have dominion also from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth." — Psalm 72:4, 7, 8.

THOSE JUDGED

¹³ Question 4: "To whom does this judgment apply?" We have already found that it applies only to those who are on earth in the New World. The Scriptures clearly show that in that New World there will be not only people who survived Armageddon and were living at the time of the New World's establishment and who could accept its terms, but also many who had died and entered their graves prior to its establishment. And so, as a consequence, this judgment applies to both the living and the dead. Acts 10:42 (A.S.V.) reads: "And he charged us to preach unto the people, and to testify that this is he who is ordained of God to be the Judge of the living and the dead." And

2 Timothy 4:1 (A.S.V.): "I charge thee in the sight of God, and of Christ Jesus, who shall judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom." Also John 5: 28, 29 (A.S.V.): "The hour cometh, in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of judgment." This testimony eliminates any possibility of doubt as to whether the dead as well as the living are included.

¹⁴ Not all persons who have lived and died upon the earth during the past six thousand years will come forth to judgment in this "judgment day". Adam, for example, had his final judgment in the garden of Eden, where he was sentenced. (Genesis 3:17-19) Also those religionists will not come forth who the Lord Jesus said could not escape the judgment of Gehenna because of being the seed of the Serpent: "Serpents, progeny of vipers! how can you escape the judgment of the Gehenna?" (Matthew 23:33, Diaglott) The apostle Paul referred to some such when he wrote: "Some men's sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after." (1 Timothy 5: 24) Those who die wicked beyond reform or correction and beyond redemption by Christ's blood will not be brought forth from the grave to judgment in the New World. (Numbers 35: 31)

"Jehovah preserveth all them that love him; but all the wicked will he destroy." (Psalm 145: 20, A.S.V.) Those who have sinned against the holy spirit will be barred. "Therefore I say unto you, Every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the spirit shall not be forgiven. . . . whosoever shall speak against the holy spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to come." (Matthew 12:31,32, A.S.V.) All of which goes to prove that this judgment narrows down to the living and the dead humankind who can come under benefit of the ransom sacrifice of Christ Jesus the Judge.

¹⁵ In the judgment of the nations which begins after the Lord God's Messenger and Judge comes to the temple, the individuals of the nations are divided from one another as sheep and goats. Those goatlike persons who show no appreciation of God's kingdom but who reject the Kingdom message and its bearers and show them no help and kindness will be destroyed in the coming battle of Armageddon. The sheep-like hearers of the message who rejoice at the Kingdom's coming and do good unto the remnant of last members of Christ's body on earth will be gathered to the side of the Judge's favor. This class of sheeplike ones will be spared alive during the judgment battle of Armageddon, similar to Noah and his family's

survival of the flood, and will enter into the New World without dying. Continuing faithful to God and his King of the New World they will be approved throughout that thousand-year judgment day and will eventually gain the judgment of the right to eternal life. Being Armageddon survivors, they will be the "quick", or the living, whom Christ Jesus judges.

¹⁶ Another favored class due to receive the blessings of the judgment of the New World are those faithful servants of God who lived prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus, many of whom are mentioned in Hebrews, chapter 11, and of whom the apostle Paul says, in verses 39 and 40: "And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect." These could not enter into their reward before the glorification of the church, or the "us" class Paul mentions, and which glorification begins after the Judge's coming to the temple. They are rewarded by being made visible representatives on earth of the heavenly Judge. The Lord, through the psalmist, says regarding this class: "Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth." (Psalm 45:16) And concerning them as princes, Isaiah 32:1 says: "Behold, a king shall reign in righteousness, and princes shall rule in judgment."

¹⁷ In due time, all conditions on earth being in readiness, the hour will come when the Judge will utter his voice to the dead to rise, and then "all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; . . . they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of [judgment]". (John 5:28,29; A.S.V.) They will include the malefactor to whom Jesus on the tree said: "Verily I say unto thee this day: With me shalt thou he in Paradise." — Luke 23:43, Rotherham; Lamsa.

THE JUDGE'S QUALIFICATIONS

¹⁸ The Scriptures abundantly prove that Jesus Christ will be righteous Judge in that day. John 5:22 reads: "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son."

¹⁹ Now we consider the qualifications of the Judge, for our own comfort and peace of mind. The Scriptures say of him that he served God his Father with a Godly fear, that he learned obedience by the things that he suffered, and that hence those who meet his favorable judgment will be granted everlasting life. But let the Scriptures speak for themselves. Hebrews 5:7-9 (A.S.V.): "Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and having been heard for his godly fear, though he was a Son,

yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became unto all them that obey him the author of eternal salvation." Isaiah 11:1-4 (A.S.V.) foretold: "And there shall come forth a shoot out of the stock of Jesse, and a branch out of his roots shall bear fruit. And the spirit of Jehovah shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Jehovah. And his delight shall be in the fear of Jehovah; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither decide after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth." That judgment therefore holds no possibility of being thwarted by human limitations and frailties. The Judge's qualifications assure proper consideration of every circumstance affecting each one on trial.

²⁰ How will the judgment of that great day operate toward the people? Revelation 20:11,12 (A.S.V.) tells of the destruction of this old world and the beginning of the thousand-year judgment day, saying: "And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which

is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works." They will not be judged by their past works, but by what their works shall be during the judgment day, and on this basis they will be tried. Those obeying the King and Judge will gradually be lifted up out of their fallen condition to human perfection, all the while learning righteousness from the Judge and through his earthly princes. At the end of the thousand-year day of judgment will come the final judgment test upon all of earth's then living inhabitants, to determine who shall be written in the book of those entitled to the right to everlasting life on earth. This final test will come by the loosing of Satan the Devil out of his restraint. — Revelation 20:7-9.

²¹ All who then yield to Satan's temptations and deceptions will be judged unworthy, and will be consigned to the "second death", symbolized by the "lake of fire". As it is written: "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." (Revelation 20:14,15) All those resisting the adversary and abiding faithful in their integrity toward Jehovah God will receive the approval of his Judge. Through him they will receive the gift of the right to life everlasting in human perfection on a paradise earth. — Luke 20:35,36.