Judgment of the Nations Pt. 3

(Read Rev. 19:17-21)

This is the third and final Saturday blog on this topic.

5)    What format will this judgment take?  Joel 3:9-11; Rev. 19:11-21

The nations of the earth will be gathered for battle to Armageddon.  Likely they gather to make war with each other only to have their attention turned to Christ who returns.  In fact this is the case because Scripture indicates that the Satanic trinity of the dragon, the antichrist and the false prophet gather the whole world together for this very purpose (Rev. 16:14).  According to the prophetic account the battle does not seem to take long.  Many are killed when Christ treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God (Rev. 19:15).  The antichrist and false prophet are captured and cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone (19:20).  Those still alive are killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse (19:21, the King of Kings and Love of Lords).  The sword surely is symbolic of His word (e.g. Heb. 4:12, the sharp two-edged sword).  The order of events is thus:

a)     The nations gather against Jerusalem.

b)    Jerusalem is destroyed.

c)     Christ returns to Mount Zion.

d)    Christ destroys the armies of all the earth.

e)     Christ establishes his throne.

f)    He then judges all who remain alive (the wicked are given everlasting punishment; the righteous enter the Kingdom with flesh & bone & receive eternal life when they die.)

6)    Who will be the Judge?  Joel 3:2,12; Matt. 25:31; 2 Thess. 2:8.

Joel says it is the God of Israel, of my people … my land (3:2).  Jesus says He, the Son of Man, will sit on His throne in glory and judge (Matt. 25:31).  Paul indicates it is Christ, the one who overthrows the lawless one (antichrist) with the breath of His mouth and … the splendor of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8).

Again, this is consistent in the Scriptures.  The Father judges no one but delivers all judgment to the Son so that all will honor the Son (John 5:22).  God has set a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man He has ordained and given assurance of this to all men by raising Him from the dead (Acts 17:31).  And again, God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ (Rom. 2:16).  This all fits with the promise the Father made to the Son that He would rule the nations and have them for His inheritance (Psalm 2:6-9).  The nations will bow before Christ and confess Him as Lord (Phil. 2:9-11).  

This is the message we preach.  As Peter told the first Gentiles, the first sermon preached to people of the nations, He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead.  To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins (Acts 10:42-43).