What do you believe about the coming judgment?

Answer 1

I believe the idea of judgement day reaches back to the Old Testament concepts of divine judgement and the Day of the Lord. The New Testament teaches that divine judgement is a present and future reality and that no one will escape it (Acts 17:30-31). Chief future events include Jesus' return, the millennium, the last judgement, the final resurrection, and heaven and hell. As part of what I believe about the coming judgement, I do not believe in a pretribulation rapture or dispensationalism. That is to say, I do not believe that Jesus will return secretly to rapture His church and come again 7 years later with His church to establish a thousand year age replete with temple sacrifices. That is not what the Bible teaches. I believe that the second coming/bodily return of Christ and the rapture/resurrection of believers are simultaneous events.

Another Answer:

Speaking within Christianity, there are many 'interpretations' as to what this 'Great White Throne Judgment' will entail. Many in mainstream Christianity wrongly interprets this event to be a 'condemnation' of millions if not billions of human beings who never converted to 'their' Christianity during their lifetimes. These they tell others are condemned to eternal hellfire. But this is not Scriptural and may indeed be more in line with Dante's Inferno of literature.

It is contrary to the God presented in the Bible to allow the wholesale condemnation of billions of human beings. Consider this from Paul:

1 Timothy 2:3-4New King James Version (NKJV)

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Think for a moment of all those souls who died - past, present and future - without ever hearing of Jesus Christ, or those who may have heard but never fully understood biblical truth. How about all those of other faiths who may have heard of Christ but follow another as their one and only Way. Will a just God of the Bible simply condemn all these - NO, is the answer from the Bible.

There are many places that describe the approaching judgement process - not a trial and sentencing as some teach - and there will be those who will perish in the second death - those unrepentant incorrigibly wicked people - but the vast majority will be changed into sons and daughters in the God Family as is our Father's Plan with His only currently begotten Son. And death here is not merely separation from God as some teach:

Ecclesiastes 9:5New King James Version (NKJV)

5 For the living know that they will die;

But the dead know nothing,

And they have no more reward,

For the memory of them is forgotten.

In short then, I believe what the Scriptures tells us, especially here:

Revelation 20:11-15

New King James Version (NKJV)

The Great White Throne Judgment11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,[a]and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[b]15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. Footnotes:

1. Revelation 20:12 NU-Text and M-Text read the throne.
2. Revelation 20:14 NU-Text and M-Text add the lake of fire

I just wanted to make a point here from what is said above:

It is really true from what Apostle Paul said in:

1 Timothy 2:3-4New King James Version (NKJV)

3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Yea, God desire is to see all men being saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. But that does not mean that if a billion or trillion of them are not being saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, they wouldn't be punish or throw into the lake of fire.

Additional Comment:

Based on what is said above by a brother that: Think for a moment of all those souls who died - past, present and future - without ever hearing of Jesus Christ, or those who may have heard but never fully understood biblical truth. How about all those of other faiths who may have heard of Christ but follow another as their one and only Way. Will a just God of the Bible simply condemn all these - NO, is the answer from the Bible.

I will like to comment to this by using Romans 2:12;

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.) For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law;

Thus, the simple truth is that all those who died in the past, present or in the future without even hearing of Jesus Christ will be judge and condemn by that fact and all those who have hear of Him will also be judge and condemn by what they know of Him and did not follow.. Those of other faiths, that have heard of Jesus Christ but decided to follow their one and only way will still be judge and condemn by their act and did. Everyone will be judge either by the law or out of the law.