The Rapture, Second Coming, and Millennium
GENERAL JUDGEMENT (1)
Matthew
25:31-46 (KJV)
31 When the Son of man
shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit
upon the throne of his glory:
32 And before him shall
be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a
shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
33 And he shall set the
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then shall the King
say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the
kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a
stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye
clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto
me.
37 Then shall the
righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee?
or thirsty, and gave thee drink?
38 When saw we thee a
stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee
sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall
answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it
unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
41 Then shall he say
also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting
fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 For I was an
hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger,
and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and
ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also
answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer
them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the
least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go
away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
KINGDOM DYNAMICS
The General Judgment
- The prophets of the Old Testament refer when they speak of the "Day of the Lord" (Joel 2:31; Ezekiel 13:5; Isaiah 2:12), in which the nations will be summoned to judgment. In the New Testament The Second Parusia, or coming of Christ as Judge of the world, is an oft-repeated doctrine. The Savior Himself not only foretells the event but graphically portrays its circumstances (Matthew 24:27; 25:31). The Apostles give a most prominent place to this doctrine in their preaching (Acts 10:42; 17:31) and writings (Romans 2:5-16; 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; James 5:7). Besides the name Parusia (parousia), or Advent (1 Corinthians 15:23; 2Thessalonians 2:19), The Second Coming is also called Epiphany, epiphaneia, or Appearance (2 Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13), and Apocalypse (apokalypsis), or Revelation (2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Peter 4:13). The time of the Second Coming is spoken of as "that Day" (2 Timothy 4:8), "The Day Of The Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5:2), "The Day Of Christ" (Philemon 1:6), "The Day Of The Son Of Man" (Luke 17:30), "The Last Day" (John 6:39-40).
- The belief in the General Judgment has prevailed at all times and in all places within the Church. It is contained as an article of faith in all the ancient creeds: "He ascended into heaven. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead" (Apostles' Creed). "He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead" (Nicene Creed). "From thence he shall come to judge the living and the dead, at whose coming all men must rise with their bodies and are to render an account of their deeds" (Athanasian Creed). Relying on the authority of Papias, several Fathers of the first four centuries advanced the theory of a thousand years' terrestrial reign of Christ with the saints to precede the end of the World. Though this idea is interwoven with the eschatological teachings of those writers, it in no way detracted from their belief in a universal world-judgment. Patristic testimony to this dogma is clear and unanimous.
- The Roman Catechism thus explains why, besides The Particular Judgment of each individual, A General One should also be passed on the assembled world: "The first reason is founded on the circumstances that most augment the rewards or aggravate the punishments of the dead. Those who depart this life sometimes leave behind them children who imitate the conduct of their parents, descendants, followers; and others who adhere to and advocate the example, the language, the conduct of those on whom they depend, and whose example they follow; and as the good or bad influence or example, affecting as it does the conduct of many, is to terminate only with this world; justice demands that, in order to form a proper estimate of the good or bad actions of all, a general judgment should take place. . . . Finally, it was important to prove, that in prosperity and adversity, which are sometimes the promiscuous lot of the good and of the bad, everything is ordered by an all-wise, all-just, and all-ruling Providence: it was therefore necessary not only that rewards and punishments should await us in the next life but that they should be awarded by a public and general judgment."...to be cont'd
In Christ,
Playwright Janet Irene Thomas
Founder/CEO
Bible Stories Theatre of
Fine & Performing Arts
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