Matthew Chapter 25
(Next day...Just noticed that Matt 24:43-25:46, that is all those parables from the master/thief analogy through the sheep and goat judgment, are recorded ONLY in Matthew. That is surely an important point in interpreting these!)
In the reading, this is the day after 24, which ended with the warning that we need to stay ready, because we don't know when He will come back. It is about sincere servanthood, not fake. Not hypocritical.
2021 - Chronologically, Jesus has talked about his triumphant return on the clouds with those who were in heaven, and his gathering from the whole earth of those who have been saved, who remained faithful during trib and great trib. He's implied that many will die, as in Noah's day and as in Sodom and Gomorrah but has not addressed the battle directly. He's told the parable of the fig tree, which says to watch for the signs, for the events that lead up to this time. I think he means the sun, moon, stars, and the a of d in the Holy Place. (Which means there must be a temple.) He goes further, and talks about the faithful servant waiting for his master, and the reward that servant will get. If my understanding is correct, these remarks are addressed, out in the future, to those who survive Great Trib. That reward will be given during the Millennial reign, as positions I'm thinking.
2023 - Look at how the first verse starts:
1 "Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. [Mat 25:1 ESV].
The Greek word translated "then" is tote, and it means "at that time". So we should ask "at what time?" When exactly are we talking about. It seems to me that it MUST refer back to the previous chapter, to the same time that was in view at the end of 24. So what was the last thing in 24? Well let's backtrack...From 24:45-51 we have the parable comparing two servants. The faithful is doing what he was instructed to do, and is found occupied in that task when the master returns home. This servant will be "promoted" to a position of great responsibility when the master returns and declares him faithful. But the wicked servant has grown doubtful that his master will return, and sort of "put himself in charge", and is taking advantage of the lesser servants, beating them, and indulging himself and his buddies in drunken parties. This servant will be "cut in pieces" and put with the hypocrites, in a place where "there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth". We've seen Matthew use this phrase a number of times already:
12 while the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." [Mat 8:12 ESV]
42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ... 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [Mat 13:42, 50 ESV]
13 Then the king said to the attendants, 'Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' [Mat 22:13 ESV]
30 And cast the worthless servant into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' [Mat 25:30 ESV]
It seems pretty indisputable that this term is applied to hell and its eternal torments. So this would mean that the unfaithful servant is unsaved.
So when is this? It could be at the establishment of Jesus' reign on earth, because this seems to be a judgment by the King. Jesus will judge the living. This is sheep and goat I think. This is faithful and unfaithful. Those on the left are going to hell, on the right into the Kingdom. It seems difficult to say this is the rapture. The saved will come out and relocate to heaven...but those left behind are subject to wrath, not to hell itself...Unless...what if weeping and gnashing of teeth is the world post-rapture? But...if I do that, then it might also apply to the sheep and goat judgment...no...that one specifically says it is Jesus judging pre-MIllennial.
2023 - And that puts us back to vs 36, which is, I now believe, and as noted in the 2023 note in Chapter 24, enjoins those on earth when the end signs Jesus describes begin to happen. So we might well say that when these signs begin, the 70th week is already in progress. Ok...so where does that put the 10 virgins?
"Then" is this period of time when the rapture is imminent. This makes good sense with the picture painted of a bridegroom we know is coming, and very soon, but we don't know the time precisely. The foolish virgins are told "I do not know you", in the present tense. That sounds very much like "23 And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.' [Mat 7:23 ESV]". Never - in the past, so depart, in the present. These certainly seem to be talking about the same day.
2023 - The Talents come right after. The last servant, who did nothing with what was left in his charge, is cast into outer darkness. Again, this is hell. This is not the rapture...unless outer darkness is the wrath of God.
2023 - Then 31 comes. This is the actual passage about the sheep and goat judgment. Look how it ends, in vs 46: 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." [Mat 25:46 ESV]. So...eternal punishment sounds like hell, not like wrath. Remember that some will be saved during wrath, though what a catastrophic, weepy, gnashing time they will have to achieve it.
2023 - BUT, look at the similarity here:
30 ...and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. 31 And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. [Mat 24:30-31 ESV]
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. [Mat 25:31 ESV]
I want to say that 24 is the rapture and 25 is the second coming. 25 is definitely the second coming. He will not sit on his throne on earth until then. The time in view in this verses is the most certain of the two, in my opinion. And he will come with his angels...but will the raptured be with him??? Is this the bema seat on earth, with those still living on earth and the raptured returned all judged together? Man...I don't want to go there....In the first, he "sends out" his angels, in the second, he "comes with" his angels. In the first he gathers, in the second he sits.
2023 - Based on the above, there is oh so very much to consider here...In the 10 virgins and the talents, EVERYONE KNOWS that the bridegroom/master is supposed to arrive, but there is no certainty as to when. In both parables, some behave as if the arrival is imminent, and yet they prepare for it to be delayed still. 5 virgins take extra oil...they know his arrival is soon, but maybe not within "one full lamp of oil". Two of the three servants invest what they were given, even though they know he will be back any minute, but possibly not before a short term CD matures. These are still serving their master, whereas the one just waits for him while doing nothing at all. Same if we go back to 24 and the faithful vs the wicked servant. The faithful is still working as commanded, the wicked is eating drinking and being merry. Total disregard for imminence. So these three parables may be saying that even as we realize from the appearance of the A of D, even though tribulation/persecution of the saints will be the worst of any time in history - motivating hiding and denial, and burying until he comes, even though tempted by beguiling signs and wonders by false Christs (we'll be looking for Christ, we'll be enduring but just barely, so we will WANT them to BE Christ at last), and then will come a darkened sun, a dark moon, and falling stars. During all this, we are to remain faithful, to be prepared for his appearance, to be doing what he has commanded us to do. Think Great Commission during the worst time Christians have ever known. Jesus is telling his disciples to endure even in such a time, and not to "fall away". The pretenders are going to be weeded out during this time - oh my!!!, the wheat and the tares!!!!. It will be obvious when they take the mark!!! And then, after 25:30, we skip right over wrath, and in 25:31 we are at the Pre-Millennial judgment. And the faithful, the prepared, the true servants will be rewarded for "loving their neighbors" through such an evil time. And the fakes, the virgins with no oil, the trusted servants who party with the drunks, and the talent buryers, who looked only to their own good in their shortsightedness, will be sent straight to hell. So yeah...beginning above at 2023 - Look...down through this paragraph is what I think 24 and 25 are about as I read them in April of 2023.
This one (Chapter 25) opens with the parable of the 10 virgins - very similar to the end of 24. Five were foolish and took no extra oil. They were not ready for a long wait, for a delay. But five were. The foolish were maybe like those who put off "salvation" until a better time. Who think they can make that a decision of convenience instead of commitment. This attitude does not anticipate adversity, unexpected events. This attitude is also arrogant, not realizing that it is the bridegroom in the story that determines the chronology - the order of events, their start, and their finish. We have no power at all over that - we just read it in 24. Decide now, and be prepared. That is the only way. There are no second chances.
2021 - If both the end of 24 and this in 25 are about the same thing, we wouldn't need both parables. In fact...back up a little. Mat 24:43-44 is about the master of the house himself, who does not know when the thief is coming. So let's try to compare and contrast these three stories. In the first, the master is the one in authority, the one given the "keys" perhaps. He is the homeowner. He is the one that loses if the house is robbed, the servants do not. Are these church leadership that we're talking about, those entrusted with the "preservation" of the gospel? Maybe. In the other two parables, we aren't talking about one person but a group of peers. In 24, they are all servants - not masters of the house, but some are over their fellow servants - so they have been delegated the authority of the master to take care of things. Proper behavior for a servant with authority is contrasted with bad behavior. Some look after the master's servants - those over whom this servant has been placed, others get tyrannical and abusive and disdain the authority of the absent master. In 25, all 10 virgins are together and seem to know each other. They are certainly not enemies. They are not called servants. They are brides without a groom who want to celebrate the wedding. They want to attend the wedding feast. This is not about behavior, but preparation. The first two did not address preparation at all. This is about priority, about commitment, about "prepping" if you will. Contingencies have to be anticipated. Was this a warning that the second coming might be far, far away, and that they needed to be mentally prepared for a war, not just for battle? That if they get to the point where they decide it is now, and it turns out to be delayed still longer, they might miss out completely. Is this a warning against cults and Jim Jones types?
Also 2021 - So, I think there are enough differences in those last two warnings of 24 and this first parable in 25 to see that they are definitely not about the same things. Possible the master of the house refers to the apostles, those given the authority to found the early church, the New Covenant. Then the servants are the church age, the Gentile age. There too, some will have authority to keep the gospel intact, to maintain it, and to keep Satan from obliterating it until Jesus comes again. Then the virgins...all alike, nothing to distinguish them except their level of preparation, their foresight. They are women. So not leaders. Perhaps the virgins represent Gentiles. No...can't see where that clarifies anything - though that would make it apostles, elect Jews, and then Gentiles. Gentiles don't get a second chance. This church age is all we get. We need to take advantage of what is offered here (the church is the bride of Christ! We are the bride!), without delay, without fail, and with full preparation, else we are forever locked out. God threw off his covenant with Israel, but they will get a second chance in the tribulation, just a very difficult one. There won't be a second church age. Hmm...this does make some sense to look at it this way.
2022 - Paragraph above is all wrong. Looking at vs 13, the final vs of the parable, it says this:
"13 Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour." [Mat 25:13 ESV] Compare this to these vss from Mt 24:
"33 So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. ...
42 Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. ...
44 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect. ...
46 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes." [Mat 24:33, 42, 44, 46 ESV]
Putting all these together makes it pretty ridiculous to conclude that Jesus is not still talking about his second coming. The question is, why does he repeat these warnings so many times? He is talking to the same people, at the same time, no the Mt. of Olives. Was it told so many different ways because some would remember a story about figs, others about servants, and others about weddings? It is so important that Jesus wanted it stated so many ways that all would understand at least one of the parables? Or is it that the persecution will be so great, that the temptation to submit to the beast will be so compelling, that Jesus wants to emphasize over and over that this is the last time Israel will get to make a choice. And is it possible that there is something more to vs 5 than we usually consider:
"5 As the bridegroom was delayed, they all became drowsy and slept." [Mat 25:5 ESV]
Is this verse a foreshadowing of the Age of the Gentiles, which has gone on for 2000 years? In context, that seems quite unlikely to me...but still possible. It could also mean that Christ's return at the end of Great Tribulation will not be precisely as anticipated. Remember that Daniel talks about the sacrifice being delayed for 1290 days, and then later in Daniel we get this verse: "12 Blessed is he who waits and arrives at the 1,335 days." [Dan 12:12 ESV]. There is a 45 day delay there. What is that about...unless it is what Jesus is talking about in vs 5? I am way stretched out there with this possible interpretation...but Jesus emphasizes over and over that they should not give up, even though they will be desperate to do so!
The parable of the talents comes next. Talents here represent 20 years wages for a laborer. Seems to me the value of a talent changes depending on the story. Could be that several words are translated as talent though the underlying meanings are very different. In this story, the footnote says it is 20 years wages. MSB says a talent is a measure of weight, not a coin. Also, MSB says in 18, the word translated money in "master's money" is in fact the word for "silver". Note also that this master gave a different amount to each, according to his ability. MSB says the word talent in this parable is often - and erroneously - translated "natural ability". That is not what it says.
But could it also apply to that? To stewardship over the ability God gives us? Or does it mean God's material blessings on us are a reflection not only of what we have ability to handle, but of our willingness to handle it properly? Never heard it preached this way.
The one who received the least, which means he also had the least ability, didn't even try. He buried the money so it wouldn't be lost. The one who got two doubled that money, just as the one who got five. Their abilities were equal? Or the one in the middle would have bogged down trying to make decisions about five? It is the one with one that the parable is about. The master comes back after a long time, and settles accounts. The first is called "good and faithful", and since he was faithful over a little, he will be set over much. So not made independently wealthy so he doesn't have to do anything, but given more responsibility, even more to look after than before, because he has demonstrated that he can be good and faithful. He had the ability to start with. But this one was faithful. So he is put over more. Similarly with the one who was given two talents.
The last servant perceived his master as a hard man, a difficult and demanding lord. One who reaped where he had not sown. (This same language was used much earlier in Luke 19 in the parable of the 10 minas - much less than talents, but the story is similar. In Luke, Jesus was approaching Jerusalem for the last time, and told the parable because so many though the kingdom was about to be revealed. The parable of the minas was to tell them it would be a while, and that they should be diligent in the meantime. This parable uses a much larger sum, but the point seems to be the same, the perceptions of the servants seem to be the same. And the 10 virgins fits in that they also did the minimum - looked only to the immediate future and made no preparations for the unforeseen or long-delayed return. The third servant, as the one in the parable of the minas, should at least have bought a CD and gotten some interest. The one talent is given to the first servant, because he who has most will get more, and he who has little will lose even that. This servant is specifically thrown into outer darkness - which always means hell. In the minas, we don't really know the fate of the unfaithful servant, but we do know what happens to those who didn't want the master to rule over them. They were brought and slaughtered before the master. In this one, the servant is cast out.
The minas parable was about Israel, I believe. Not really about individuals. Those slaughtered were those on whom God's double punishment fell - or especially on those who actively rejected Jesus and his message and deprived others of that message. They were worse than the ones who didn't understand what was going on. Jesus spoke in parables so these servants would not be punished more severely because they rejected with more complete knowledge. Hmm....That's a good phrase...The more we have opportunity to understand yet still reject means we did nothing with a lot. Even the one with one talent received a lot. And since he didn't build on it - didn't even go to church, much less study his bible every day and go out and gain interest for the church - even the knowledge (potential for reward in heaven) that he had was taken away. In this country, we are given a lot of opportunity and very little persecution for it. We have been given 5 talents, and what have we done with it? Also, as Gentiles, it is a very valuable thing to be offered a place in a kingdom given to others. Much value is here. If we reject what we're offered...outer darkness is surely deserved.
2021 - Well I don't like what I've said above about these talents. Are they like the seed that fell on different ground? Do the talents represent opportunity? Doesn't seem so, as this parable says the money was entrusted based on ability. And the one with the least ability did nothing, but his master isn't just disappointed when this one with little ability does nothing, he is angry at him. Calls him wicked and slothful. Even if you have the least ability, you are not excused? Slothful. Didn't even use the ability he had. Gentiles again? Not part of the promises to Abraham, not blessed by God and set apart for all eternity. Gentiles are given the least in terms of advantages and promises. But if you squander that, and do absolutely nothing, then you're a write-off. You are out, no second chances. Oh my....in the church age, God doesn't require much of us. No sacrifices, no feasts, no seriously impossible set of rules to try and memorize and follow. None of that. Love the Lord they God, and they neighbor as thyself. That's all that is required of us. But if we won't even do that???? This interpretation would seem to be consistent with the 2021 stuff I said above about the previous three parables.
2022 - This year, my thinking is that this parable also is about surviving Great Tribulation as a Jew. But an interpretation that "fits" with all that has gone before is pretty fleeting at this point. Note that the servant who did nothing gets thrown out where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth, just like the wicked servant back in 24:51 who mistreated his fellow servants though he was in a position to help them. Perhaps this is more of the same. Those in Great Trib who find themselves able support other believers during these horrible times - by virtue of their position, their resources, their special abilities - maybe able to help Jews get home to Israel, or able to hide Jews on the run, or able to supply food to those who cannot buy or sell...This works if we go back and understand the "one taken one left" as meaning that even in these dark times, some faithful servants will be able to work, to produce, to harvest. Some will be able to circumvent the mark - otherwise all would starve. Like Joseph in Egypt maybe, somehow in a position of power withing a wicked regime. To look after only yourself in such a situation, while others have to deal unprecedented persecution, earns only contempt from the master. (Looking ahead, this interpretation also seems to fit with the sheep and goat judgment. A judgment of the Jews who survive the Great Tribulation, and in so doing, are classified as faithful servants of their master. These and these alone go into the Millennial kingdom.)
This next verse seems to be a big transition, but watch, as it may fall right in with the talents:
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. [Mat 25:31 ESV] This almost has to be a reference to the Millennial kingdom. MSB agrees. The sheep and goat judgement, at the beginning of the millennial. This is a judgement of those who have endured to the end. Sides will have been taken, decisions made. Some are to enter the kingdom - the Millennial Kingdom - and some will not. The sheep will come and inherit. This would seem to me to be addressed to the Jews saved during the previous 7 years. They will have converted and endured persecution as no people in history ever did. Perhaps this is why it is the "nations" that are gathered. They are being rewarded for feeding Jesus when he was hungry and so on. They do not understand what he means. He is not speaking of them literally feeding the person, Jesus, but of feeding and caring for saved individual who were needy. He is talking about those who maintained a charitable disposition in the midst of great persecution and at great risk to themselves. It is this same list of things that the goats did not do. They didn't ignore Jesus himself, but they ignored the needs of those whom Jesus loved. They ignored kingdom citizens. Perhaps, during the 7 years, these ignored the persecution of the Jews, as many in Germany did during WWII. Those who saw and did nothing are rejected. Jesus will know who they are. Those who saw and helped - even at the risk of their own lives - will now be rewarded for their compassion.
It says the righteous go away into eternal life, and the wicked into eternal punishment. Yet both groups are alive. Will all be changed at this second coming? All have eternal bodies? I thought there would still be death, and still be rebellion during the Millennial because there will be that one last battle at the end of it. Surely that battle will not be along the lines of angels vs angels?
What about this eternal punishment though:
20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. [Rev 19:20 ESV] Is this lake of fire hell? Are these the only two who will be cast into it alive? Or will the goats be thrown in there with them. After all, it was the goats who persecuted the Jews and followed the beast and the false prophet. Maybe they get the same punishment as them?
Or....maybe the tribulation is about Jews, primarily, and this judgement is of the Gentiles that either helped or hindered them? Any remaining Jews survived until the end. They ALL get in. But not all Gentiles will. Jesus will reign fairly and justly. Even Gentiles who survived, but opposed the Jews, will have no place in the Millennial Kingdom. They must be judged at the beginning and either put out or welcomed.
2021 - I don't really agree with the interpretation above. When, exactly, is this judgement? Two possibilities I think. One is that It is after the second coming, and after the battle that initiates the Millennial. So a pre-Millennial judgement. The other possibility is that this judgement is after the Millennial, after that last great battle. So is there just one judgment, or are there two? I guess that's the first question to be settled. Sheep and goat, mercy seat, Great White throne? All the same, all different? Fact is, I do not know. This is also that old question about whether the saved will have all their sins revealed at a judgement? There is nothing in this judgement about deeds being recounted. Are the goats here sent away, and then called forth again from hell itself for the final judgment at the great white throne? This does talk about a throne.
(2021 - I don't know. I don't think it's a short answer. I'm stopping here for now, church starts (livestreamed) in 15 minutes. I will either come back to this later, or try to put it together when I read Revelation in a few weeks.)
(10/31/21, after church. Charlie taught about hell, and said that he found himself in over his head studying about it. That got me thinking about all this. Per MSB, the sheep and goat judgement is at the beginning of the Millennial, when Jesus defeats the forces of Satan, and assumes the throne of David here on earth. That would mean that those being judged are alive, and have survived tribulation and great tribulation. It would mean that these were NOT saved at the rapture, else they would already be in heaven. Some of the assembled are saved, and some are not, but ALL are living human beings. Here is the result of this judgement: 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life." [Mat 25:46 ESV]. So the evil are sent, alive, into eternal punishment, in their mortal bodies. The righteous, go into heaven in mortal bodies? No, we no that cannot be right from 1Co 15, corrupt bodies cannot go into non-corrupt heaven. It could be that after being judged, then just as at the rapture, the sheep are changed in a twinkling and go into heaven, and the goats are changed just as quickly and sent to hell. In their eternal, not their earthly bodies. So then, who does that leave to enjoy the Millennial Kingdom? Yeah...this is not nearly as "easy" to figure out as some might think.
I really don't see much provision here for those who are judged at this throne be brought back later, at the "Great White Throne" and get judged a second time. So it would seem that ONLY those who survive alive to the end of the tribulation period are judged here, and they are judged for their actions during the previous seven years.
So, to sort of sum up, at the rapture, all who have been saved from Pentecost to that second, that is, those who are already "in Christ", are changed into immortal bodies and go to heaven. No one goes to hell at the rapture. So who's left, and where are they? Well...there won't be a single saved person on the earth, because the rapture has just occurred. Unless...what about the 144,000? They are sealed and invincible, but those to whom they preach are not. These are sealed after the sixth seal is opened. So it could be that those in Christ are taken out, and the 144,000 are sealed to begin their evangelism of the Jews, and turn them back to God and to His Son. These two things - rapture and 144,000 - happen together. So left on earth are unsaved Jews and unsaved Gentiles. The Jews, very likely all of them, are going to be saved during this time. I don't think very many Gentiles will, but some will. Again, it just seems to work that the sheep and goats will all be Gentiles and they're going to be sent off to their fate, and then the Jews alone will enter the Millennial Kingdom.
NO! Look at this:
4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. [Rev 20:4-5 ESV] So those who resurrect during the rapture are not part of this. This does say that resurrected people killed during tribulation will rise from the dead and live on EARTH, not heaven. They would have been in heaven - the martyrs under the throne perhaps - and they come back to earth FROM heaven. They will be like angels in this regard. So into the Millennial, you have trib survivors, you have trib resurrected. And it could still be all Jews, or it could be Jews in charge, and the sheep - the good Gentiles form trib - that go forward from here.
That leaves the raptured un-judged. That leaves the martyred from trib unjudged. The goats from trib are in hell - already judged. The sheep from trib are on the Millennial earth, judged. The rest of the dead stay dead. Who are they? Pre-Pentecost saved people like OT saints and such, Abraham, Moses and like that. Pre-pentecost unsaved. Jezebel, Baalam, Unsaved dead from the tribulation period. Unsaved from Pentecost to rapture.
So. The GWT Judgement is clearly at the end of the Millennial. At the Great White Throne we have this:
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. [Rev 20:11-15 ESV]
It is the dead who are standing before this throne. So can we say that it is only the dead who have not yet been judged that are at the Great White Throne? That would mean all those listed above as "the rest of the dead". So the goats are already in the lake of fire, but the other unsaved groups are still in Sheol, burning, to be sure, but not in the permanent lake of fire. These unsaved - including the unsaved who died during Trib - will now be judged. Death and Hades - repositories of the unsaved - will be judged guilty and move from Hades/Sheol to the lake of fire. The only saved people here will be the OT saints. It is for them that the book of life is brought forward, otherwise it would be completely unnecessary.
This judgement seems to be about the saved and unsaved. The unsaved will be condemned because they are not in the book of life, therefore their deeds will be recounted as evidence that they deserve the lake of fire. Those written in the book need no further judgement. No one in that book has their sins recounted. Jesus took ALL those away, they are no longer recorded. The saved have no sins to judge in either case.
((This works out pretty good, from NO! onwards makes good sense to me. Still need to find that passage about judgement in Daniel and see if this view holds up to that. But I am pretty happy with this for a Halloween Sunday afternoon.)
These too: 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; [Rom 14:10 ESV] Bema is here.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. [2Co 5:10 ESV] Bema is in this verse also.
These are the only two references I find to this judgement. An article I found said this was the judgement of the raptured for what they'd done with what they were given. I do not find anything but speculation pointing to that. I note also that one is God's bema, the other is Christ's bema.
Enough...I need to come back to this big time. I have certainly convinced myself that this is not nearly as simple as Shawn thinks it is. And when I come back, there was a passage Shawn read out of Daniel, too. Need to get that in here and reconciled.
2Co 5, on 11/7/21 2021-2, there are more notes on judgement. I need to gather them all together and try and reduce to lowest terms.