THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Pacific Press Publishing Company · Oakland, California · May 5, 1898

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 24, No. 18.

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Lesson VIII.—Sunday, May 22, 1898.

THE DAY OF JUDGMENT.

NOTE.—The real subject under consideration in this scripture is the coming of the Lord, and the execution of the judgment. The investigative judgment, the decision of each individual’s standing, according to his works (Matt. 16:27; Rom. 2:6), must of necessity be closed before the separation of the two classes can be effected. Then the coming of the Lord the second time can not be until after probation has ended. Trial and verdict must always precede execution. The reasons given in the lesson scripture for the reward of the “blessed,” and the condemnation of the “cursed,” show that the standing of both classes is decided, and that feature of the judgment has passed, before the glorious appearing of the King. This is further shown in the fact that he is here called King (verse 34), whereas in the judgment before the Father, he is High Priest, or Advocate.

Lesson Scripture, Matt. 25: 31-46, R.V.

31 “But when the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then shall He sit on the throne of His glory; and before Him shall be gathered all the nations; and He shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and He shall set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. 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; for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave Me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took Me in; 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 hungered, and fed Thee? or athirst, and gave Thee drink? And when saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? or naked, and clothed Thee? And when saw we Thee sick, or in prison, and came unto Thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of these My brethren, even these least, ye did it unto Me. 41 Then shall He say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from Me, ye cursed, into the eternal fire which is prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was an hungered, and ye gave Me no meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave Me no drink; 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. Then shall they also answer, saying, Lord, when saw we Thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto Thee? Then shall He answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of these least, ye did it not unto Me. And these shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into eternal life.”

Golden Text: “He shall reward every man according to his works.” Matt. 16:27.

SUGGESTIVE QUESTIONS.

(1) With what demonstration, and in what capacity, will Christ come the second time? Verse 31. Note 1. (2) What will take place at His coming? Verses 32, 33. Note 2. (3) What will the King say to them on His right hand? V. 34. Note 3. (4) What reason is assigned for bestowing this reward? Verses 35, 36. Note 4. (5) How will the recipients of such honor reply to the King? Verses 37-39. Note 5. (6) How will the King answer their humble, surprised questions? Verse 40. Note 6. (7) What will the King say to them on the left hand? Verse 41. (8) What reason is given for this dreadful sentence? Vs. 42, 43. (9) How will the doomed impenitents reply to this charge of neglect? Verse 44. (10) And how will the King answer them? Vs. 45, 46.

NOTES.

1. Regarding this event the Lord has given us due caution to beware of deception. “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.” Matt. 24:4, 5. “And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.” Verse 11. There is no reason for being deceived; for the Word of the Lord is very plain on the subject. The event will be a very conspicuous one; for “the Son of man shall come in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him.” Sinful man has never yet witnessed such a spectacle all over the earth. It will be “as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west.” The apostle John says, “Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him.” Rev. 1:7.

2. The manner and character of the separation is more specifically set forth in other scriptures: “For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first; then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the

Lord.” 1 Thess. 4:16, 17. “But the rest of the dead [the dead who are not in Christ] lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection; on such the second death hath no power.” Rev. 20:5, 6. We learn from these scriptures and their contexts that the effect of the coming of Christ in glory will be to destroy the living wicked, and to raise to life the righteous dead. The living righteous will be translated, and with the resurrected ones be taken up with the Lord. Thus the separation between the “sheep” and the “goats” will be complete. The wicked dead will not be raised until a thousand years have passed, the earth being desolate. The confining of Satan on the desolate earth constitutes his being bound for a thousand years. This is made very clear in Revelation 20.

3. Inherit the kingdom.—The New Jerusalem is the capital of the kingdom of God. The Lord takes His people there to “reign with Him a thousand years.” Rev. 20:4, 6. After this period the apostle says: “I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.” Chap. 21:2, 3. Again, in the tenth verse, John says of the angel who showed him these things, “And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.” The New Jerusalem is the “camp of the saints” mentioned in chapter 20, around which Satan leads the wicked inhabitants of the earth after their resurrection, at which time they meet their second and everlasting death.

4. The reason given in verses 35, 36, why those on the right hand inherit the kingdom, is a very practical one. It is because they have worked out Christian charity in Christian humility. In this they have shown their faith by their works. Here is the demonstration of what it is to “love thy neighbor as thyself.” This feature of Christian life comes prominently into the judgment, so much so that those who neglect to provide for the needy will be lost. It also represents the very last work to be done for perishing souls, namely, “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.” Luke 14:21.

5. The righteous stand amazed that the Lord should so highly estimate their small service. They have so lightly esteemed their own efforts that they have not reckoned them of any special merit.

6. The person of Christ in the poor.—Christ has not ceased to put Himself in the place of suffering mankind. While on earth He demonstrated that the poor and needy were ever on His mind. He “is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.” All that is done for suffering humanity in His name is done for Him, and even the giving of a cup of cold water will not lose its reward.