And The Books Were Opened

And The Books Were Opened

…And
The Books Were Opened

By Pastor Dan Kennedy
© September 15, 2013
www.pastorkennedy.com

Each of us tends to live in the sphere of our own reality!

There will come a day when each of us will wake up to a totally new reality: a whole new normal. That new normal will be eternity. Today, this is the topic of the message. It is not for the faint of heart…but this “new normal” will be as real as reality can be.

Many of us are looking forward to our outreach into the community and are praying for those who do not have their sins forgiven through Jesus’ blood. They do not have a relationship with God, through Christ. These folks are simply trying to hold on to the things they have so they may have as good of life as possible while they are alive…and they have little thought about death…except the fear that naturally comes with the unknown of the future and the great pain of seeing loved ones passing. They might have thought about what might happen to them after death, but it seems too complicated and possibly too religious to bother about. “Just let me live right now,” they say. “Let the future take care of itself!”

The New Norms We All Face Throughout Life
The “new norm” of eternity is only the final phase of a lifetime of “new norms”. Look at the continuing forms of a “new normal” that occurs regularly as a cycle throughout our lifetime.

• Birth, reliance on others – total dependency.
o A norm of absolute need.

• Childhood, imitation of reality in play and discovery.
o A norm of limitation and imitation.

• Teen years, growing into experienced reality and personal reason…growing into adulthood.
o A norm of trial and error, wanting to do without the capability to be, acceptance and/or rebellion, including values orientation and development.

• 20’s-30’s, gaining respectability in maturing adult life…often with types of educational goals/apprenticeships.
o A norm of the reality of establishing a home and providing for a family.

• 40’s-50’s, carrying the load of responsibility…primarily work and home related.
o A norm of accountability for current and future generations.

• 60’s-70’s, retirement options.
o A norm of building back into the next generation, with the enjoyment of experiencing opportunities that rise in freedom from regular work.

• 80’s-100’s, time for reflection.
o A norm of remembering, thoughtful prayer, and hopeful anticipations.

The Potentially Anytime New Normal, in human life, which could be faced at any age, at anytime:
o Medical issues can drastically redirect our life.
o Emotional or abuse issues can drastically affect our life.
o Crisis, economic, or catastrophic issues can drastically redirect the “norm” our life - anytime.

• The Final Norm
o “The Final Norm” has to do with the eternal state of our spirit and soul (and in time – the transformation of our body).

Walk slowly through the rooms of your home, the “halls” of your mind and look closely at the ownership documents of your assets. In the final norm, you and I will have none of the earthly, visible things that we hold and protect so closely. There is nothing we can protect from the ravages of time, rust, and decay. There is no loved one we can protect from death, nor can they protect us from death’s reality. There is no talent, ability, or degree that we can keep as an authentication of “who you are” revealing the nobleness or worthiness of your character or life. This Final Norm strips away all the visible assets seen in this world, to reveal the real you, without any facades, without any posturing, or evasive attitudes.

Spiritual reality is the norm for The Final Norm.

• The Final Norm: Eternity…is a long time. It is Forever!

o It is either a norm of Face to face life with God our Creator, with worship and service to Him in His Eternal Kingdom; or, it is separation from God, grave sorrow, and serious regret, forever.

Job’s Declaration of Life after Death
The ancient sage Job writes in the oldest known book in the Bible declaring the eternal perspective – life after death: “I will see God”.

Job 19:25-27
25 I know that my Redeemer lives,
And that in the end He will stand on the earth;
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
Yet in my flesh I shall see God,
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!

Early in human history, Enoch, in the Seventh Generation from Adam, spoke of God’s Judgment on hypocritical people who say they believe in God, but live ungodly lives.

Jude 14–15
14 Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these (pseudo-believing) men: “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones 15 to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”

Today, we will be taking an honest look at the Biblical explanation of afterlife, and the reality of Judgment, and of eternity.

Biblical Scripture is an ancient compilation of the revelation from God regarding our afterlife. The Scripture was recorded (orally or transcribed) from the beginning of time – throughout the ages, revealing the final destination of mankind. If we turn away and reject this Biblical view, with what will you replace it? Something we have conjured up?

Spiritual forces against God have always wanted to replace Biblical truth with deceptive, soul damming theories, seeking to remove accountability to God from us, to ease reality from our fearful minds regarding death, and damn us to hell. How ironic that we so easily use the word “hell” as a convenient and poignant curse word (along with taking the name of God, and His Son, in vain). No other curse words seem to give the carnal human psyche quite the same perverse satisfaction. Our lips cannot even refrain from latent reminders of our own guilt and God’s justice!

Let’s look at seven serious Scriptural aspects that are involved in a Biblical Christian’s understanding of afterlife and eternity. We will begin with an overview of the seven points and then look for more in-depth Scriptural clarification and confirmation for the final four aspects.

Biblical Christianity: Seven Scriptural Aspects of what the Bible Says About Afterlife and Eternity.

1. Eternal Life: There are many theories about afterlife, but Believers in Christ only accept the Biblical account in its revelation of the mystery of Eternity. (Take the time to honestly review what other theories or religions postulate regarding their assumptions of afterlife and how these came to be.)

2. One Holy Creator God (The Unity and Diversity of the Trinity): There is an All-Powerful Creator and Holy God (revealed in The Father, Son and Holy Spirit) who made all things. Our relationship to God has been broken and severed through personal rebellion and disobedience.

3. Eternal Salvation through Christ: There is eternal salvation offered by grace through faith. Jesus Christ, is the sinless Lamb of God, sacrificed to cleanse the guilt and consequences of sin, to restore an individual’s relationship with a holy God.

4. Mercy and Justice. When God provides mercy of this magnitude, through the extreme sacrifice of His Son for sin, there is an overwhelming, universal call for Justice against those unwilling to receive God’s gift of mercy and who are “on record” of having rebelled against God’s Authority and God’s Laws. God meticulously keeps record of every event, every word, every deed, every opportunity to receive mercy, every denial, every rejection, and every thought. No one can ever say that they do not deserve justice, when they have rejected such mercy.

5. The Judgment Seat of Christ: There will be a judgment – not to decide salvation, but to give due reward to each believer in Christ. We know this as the “Judgment Seat of Christ” – 2 Corinthians 5:10. This is for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
How we lived our life is recorded in God’s books and will be revealed here for reward, before His Throne!

6. The Great White Throne Judgment: Following Christ’s return in Power and Glory, when all His enemies are defeated, at the conclusion of the Millennium, there will be a final judgment. This is known as “The Great White Throne Judgment” – Rev. 20:11-15. It is for all those who refused to acknowledge and accept God’s Authority, Salvation and Redemption in their life. It will be a time when the nations of the world and individuals within those nations are justly Judged…according to what they have done.

7. Heaven or Hell: There will be a final eternal destination for each person who has ever lived: either an eternal relationship with God in His Eternal Kingdom, or in the place originally created for the devil and his angels – hell.

Mercy and Justice
Let’s go back now to touch again and expand the fourth and subsequent points beginning with “Mercy and Justice”.

God, in His Holiness, has graciously sent His Son, to redeem mankind from their sin.

God redeemed and ransomed us through the blood of His sinless Son and He patiently waits for us to repent from our sins and accept His provision. There can be no greater mercy. But, there will come a day of Justice. What we have done in this body will be judged. Those who have rejected God’s provision will be condemned.

The following verses reveal both concepts of Mercy and Judgment:

1. Mercy offered through Christ’s Sacrifice, and
2. Judgment that is to come.

1 Peter 1:15–19
15 but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, 16 since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” 17 And if you call on him as Father who judges impartially according to each one’s deeds, conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile, 18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

2 Peter 3:9-10
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Hebrews 9:26–28
26 … But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.

Mercy and Judgment from an Almighty God are far beyond our understanding, but from the very beginning of the Bible, to its very end…(thousands of years of Spiritual understanding about God), all point to life after death, mercy and Judgment by God for each person in the human race.

Daniel, the Prophet’s “Life after Death” and “Judgment” Declaration:
The Biblical Prophet Daniel, some six hundred years before Christ, declared Justice and Judgment following a time of the greatest distress the earth has ever experienced.

Daniel 12:1–3
“At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

The Prophet Daniel spoke about “those whose names were found written in the book”. There has always been some Biblical understanding about the Book of Life in which God records His foreknowledge of those who live on the earth.

Moses talked about God’s Book in which his name was written:

Exodus 32:32–33
32 But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”
33 The Lord replied to Moses, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.

• The Apostle Paul writes to Philippian Church about those “whose names are in the Book of Life” (Philippians 4:3).

• Revelation has considerable to say about this Book, some of which we will review later.

Our Natural Expectations for God’s Justice and Judgment
Before we look at the Judgment Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgment, let’s look at the very concept of expected Justice and Judgment.

We cannot go to a sports game without having a reasonable expectation of justice from the referees, if the rules of the game are being abused! We have this expectation in every other facet of our life…how could it stop when it comes to God’s expectations for Justice?

Solomon, the wisest king, expresses what every person considers from time to time: God will judge the activity and deed of every person righteous or wicked.

Ecclesiastes 3:17
17 I thought in my heart,
“God will bring to judgment
both the righteous and the wicked,
for there will be a time for every activity,
a time for every deed.”

Ecclesiastes 12:14
14 For God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.

Paul Confirms God’s Coming Judgment

1 Peter 4:3–5
3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They think it strange that you do not plunge with them into the same flood of dissipation, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

Acts 17:30–31 (Paul at Athens)
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”

Romans 2:1–5
2 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed.

Romans 2:16
16 This will take place on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.

Jesus Affirms the Reality of Coming Judgment

John 5:24–29
24 “I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 25 I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. 26 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. 27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.

The Reality of the Judgment Seat of Christ for the Believer in Jesus

There will be a judgment – not to decide salvation, but to give due reward to each believer in Christ. We know this as the “Judgment Seat of Christ”. This is for those whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. How we lived our life is recorded in God’s books and will be revealed here for reward, before His Throne!

2 Corinthians 5:10
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Romans 14:10
10 You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat.

1 Corinthians 3:11–15
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. 12 If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, 13 his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. 14 If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. 15 If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.

2 Timothy 4:6–8
6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.

1 Peter 1:7
7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Luke 10:20
20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

Revelation 3:5
5 He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.

The Great White Throne Judgment

There will not only be Christ’s Judgment for the Believer, at The Judgment Seat of Christ, there will also be the final Judgment of the Wicked, at the end of the ages.

Following Christ’s return in Power and Glory, when all His enemies are defeated, at the conclusion of the Millennium, there will be a final judgment. This is known as “The Great White Throne Judgment”. It is for all those who refused to acknowledge and accept God’s Authority, Salvation and Redemption in their life. It will be a time when the nations of the world and individuals within those nations are justly Judged…according to what they have done.

Revelation 20:11–15
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

2 Thessalonians 1:5–10
5 All this is evidence that God’s judgment is right, and as a result you will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are suffering. 6 God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you 7 and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. 8 He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power 10 on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. This includes you, because you believed our testimony to you.

The Final Judgment of the Nations – and the individual “sheep” separated from the “goats” from among the nations of the world.

Matthew 25:31-46
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, 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?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

The Final “New Norm” for the believer is found in Revelation 21-22:

The New Jerusalem, the Final Home of the Righteous

Revelation 21-22

The New Heaven and the New Earth
21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
The New Jerusalem
9 Then came one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues and spoke to me, saying, “Come, I will show you the Bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great, high mountain, and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God, 11 having the glory of God, its radiance like a most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. 12 It had a great, high wall, with twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and on the gates the names of the twelve tribes of the sons of Israel were inscribed— 13 on the east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three gates, and on the west three gates. 14 And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them were the twelve names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And the one who spoke with me had a measuring rod of gold to measure the city and its gates and walls. 16 The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal. 17 He also measured its wall, 144 cubits by human measurement, which is also an angel’s measurement. 18 The wall was built of jasper, while the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with every kind of jewel. The first was jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls, each of the gates made of a single pearl, and the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.
22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. 23 And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. 24 By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, 25 and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. 26 They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. 27 But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who does what is detestable or false, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
The River of Life
22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants3 will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Jesus Is Coming
6 And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”
7 “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”
8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed them to me, 9 but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers the prophets, and with those who keep the words of this book. Worship God.”
10 And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. 11 Let the evildoer still do evil, and the filthy still be filthy, and the righteous still do right, and the holy still be holy.”
12 “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”
14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to cthe tree of life and that they may enter the city by the gates. 15 Outside are the dogs and sorcerers and the sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
17 The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, 19 and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.
20 He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!
21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.

God Knows How to Keep Us until the End!
2 Peter 2:9
9 … the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment…

Addendum

Additional passages (not a comprehensive list) of Scripture on the topic of the final Judgments

The Saints (those Redeemed by Christ), will Judge the World, under the Authority of their Lord

1 Corinthians 6:2–3
2 Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!

Revelation 20:4
4 I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

One Generation will be involved in Judging Another
Luke 11:29–32
29 As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 31 The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

1 Timothy 5:24–25
24 The sins of some men are obvious, reaching the place of judgment ahead of them; the sins of others trail behind them. 25 In the same way, good deeds are obvious, and even those that are not cannot be hidden.

Be Careful About Your Speech, what you say could be used against you!
Jesus makes this crystal clear to the vicious Pharisees who were openly comparing His ministry with Satanic power, that they need to be very cautious about what they say and who they are talking about.

Matthew 12:34–37
34 You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 “The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. 36 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Acts 10:38–43
38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39 “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree, 40 but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. 41 He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. 42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”

Hebrews 10:26–30
26 For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, 27 but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. 28 Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. 29 How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has trampled underfoot the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.”

Hebrews 13:4
4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.

2 Peter 3:7
7 But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly.

Hebrews 12:28–29
28 Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29 for our God is a consuming fire.

Psalm 62:12
12 and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.

Daniel 7:9–10
9 “As I looked,
“thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.
His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.
10 A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him;
ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened.

2 Timothy 4:1–2
In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Acts 10:42
42 He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.

Revelation 13:8
8 All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast—all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.

Revelation 17:8
8 The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and will come up out of the Abyss and go to his destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because he once was, now is not, and yet will come.

The Final Home of the Righteous
Revelation 21:22–27
22 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. 23 The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp. 24 The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their splendor into it. 25 On no day will its gates ever be shut, for there will be no night there. 26 The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it. 27 Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

If We Abide in God’s Love We will have Confidence on the Day of Judgment
1 John 4:16–19
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.

Psalm 1
1 Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Great Judgment Morning
By Bertram H. Shadduck, 1894

I dreamed that The Great Judgment Morning Had dawned, and the trumpet had blown; I dreamed that the nations had gathered To judgment before The White Throne; From the Throne came a bright, shining angel, And he stood on the land and the sea, And he swore with his hand raised to Heaven, That time was no longer to be.

And, oh, what a weeping and wailing,
As the lost were told of their fate;
They cried for the rocks and the mountains,
They prayed, but their prayer was too late.

The rich man was there, but his money Had melted and vanished away; A pauper he stood in the Judgment, His debts were too heavy to pay; The great man was there, but his greatness, When death came, was left far behind! The angel that opened the records, Not a trace of his greatness could find.

The moral man came to the judgment, But his self-righteous rags would not do; The men who had crucified Jesus Had passed off as moral men, too; The soul that had put off salvation, “Not tonight; I’ll get saved by and by, No time now to think of Redemption!” At last they had found time to die.

And, oh, what a weeping and wailing,
As the lost were told of their fate;
They cried for the rocks and the mountains,
They prayed, but their prayer was too late.