To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.
The honour is God honouring all His saints who meet the conditions of the covenant given to Israel. Those who obey are acknowledged as members of His royal family and as His peculiar people honoured above all nations and given the covenant blessings. That honour belongs to coming before Him in holiness and to worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. It includes sharing with Jesus in executing upon the wicked the judgment written.
That execution does not take place at the voice of God when the saints are made mighty and terrible as an army with banners, that is, not when the wicked are first destroyed. After the saints are changed and taken to heaven and gathered to Christ, they sit with Jesus during the thousand years and judge the wicked dead. There they review the records, comparing the books of life and death with the Bible as the standard by which each person is judged. With Jesus they assign and determine what is due to each wicked person for deeds done in life, deciding what each will receive when the judgment is executed.
The sentence thus determined is executed at the close of and after the thousand years. Then the wicked are raised from the dead and appear before God for judgment. They receive what the saints meted out with Jesus. God's fire then consumes the wicked and purifies the earth, which the saints inherit made new.
The honour is God honouring all His saints who meet the conditions of the covenant given to Israel. Those who obey are acknowledged as members of His royal family and as His peculiar people honoured above all nations and given the covenant blessings. That honour belongs to coming before Him in holiness and to worshiping Him in spirit and in truth. It includes sharing with Jesus in executing upon the wicked the judgment written.
That execution does not take place at the voice of God when the saints are made mighty and terrible as an army with banners, that is, not when the wicked are first destroyed. After the saints are changed and taken to heaven and gathered to Christ, they sit with Jesus during the thousand years and judge the wicked dead. There they review the records, comparing the books of life and death with the Bible as the standard by which each person is judged. With Jesus they assign and determine what is due to each wicked person for deeds done in life, deciding what each will receive when the judgment is executed.
The sentence thus determined is executed at the close of and after the thousand years. Then the wicked are raised from the dead and appear before God for judgment. They receive what the saints meted out with Jesus. God's fire then consumes the wicked and purifies the earth, which the saints inherit made new.