Saints Judge Creation

"I watched till thrones were put in place, and the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, its wheels a burning fire; a fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.

(Daniel 7:9-10)

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. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, 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.

(Revelation 20:11-12)

In the passages of Scripture quoted above, the Holy Spirit provides a glimpse of what the final judgment day will entail. Apart from Satan, the beast, and the false prophet, who have already been mentioned, all of God’s creation will be present, standing before God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The witnesses will include the twenty-four elders (Revelation 4:4), the four living creatures (Revelation 4:6), and all the children of God who will have received their resurrected bodies by that time. The church will be seated as judges on that day. Satan’s angels (including all demons) and all unbelievers will stand before the church to receive their judgment. God’s angels will also be present to enforce the judgments pronounced by the church on Satan’s angels and the unbelievers. Thus, the number standing before the throne of God on that day will be innumerable.

Let the saints be joyful in glory; Let them sing aloud on their beds. Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, And a two-edged sword in their hand, To execute vengeance on the nations, And punishments on the peoples; To bind their kings with chains, And their nobles with fetters of iron; To execute on them the written judgment-- This honour have all His saints. Praise the Lord!

(Psalms 149:5-9)

A truth not widely understood in the church is that the saints, not God, will act as judges on that day. In the above passage of Scripture, the Holy Spirit reveals that the Lord has granted His church the honour of judging all of God’s enemies on that day.

And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.

(Luke 11:19)

In the context of the above passage of Scripture, Jesus was addressing the Jews’ accusation that He performed miracles by Satan’s power. In response, Jesus referred to their sons, who were being used by God to cast out demons. These sons were, in fact, the Lord’s disciples. The key point in this passage is Jesus’ statement that the unbelieving Jews would be judged by the believing Jews, that is, the church, on that day.

The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.

(Luke 11:31-32)

In the above passage of Scripture, our Lord Jesus clearly teaches that the saints of God will act as judges on the day of judgment. In the examples given, both the queen of the South and the men of Nineveh, being believers under the Old Covenant, are included in the church today. These saints will pronounce judgment on unbelievers by condemning them. Thus, just as these saints will be used by God to judge His enemies, so too will all the saints of God judge His enemies on that day.

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things that pertain to this life?

(1 Corinthians 6:2-3)

Through the apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit plainly states in the above passage of Scripture that the church will judge all unbelievers on that day. Moreover, the saints will also judge Satan’s angels, including all demons. Thus, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ have entrusted the church with the responsibility of judging all of God’s creation. As this judgment is eternal, it is an awesome responsibility that the Lord Jesus has given to His church.

Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints; neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.

(Ephesians 5:1-7)

When Christ returns to reign on earth for a thousand years, the saints will be given thrones of authority as part of their inheritance. However, not all saints will receive thrones on that day. In the above passage of Scripture, the Holy Spirit, through the apostle Paul, warns the saints of the consequences of living ungodly lives on earth. He states that such saints will have no inheritance in the kingdom of God. In other words, their spirits will still be saved on the day of the Lord Jesus, but they will suffer loss, receiving no rewards, as all their works done in the flesh will be burned up (1 Corinthians 3:15). These saints will also be prohibited from sitting in judgment over unbelievers on that day, as God is not a hypocrite. Thus, He will not allow saints who lived ungodly lives on earth to judge the ungodly lifestyles of unbelievers on that day.

Michael E.B. Maher

The End of the Age

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