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Lesson 12 - God's Court of JusticeIntroduction: In our last lesson we learned that Jesus is working (ministering) for us in the heavenly sanctuary. We might call this sanctuary Jesus' and His Father's office or court. The ministering angels are their staff. There are many types of work carried on in the sanctuary, but one of the most important is that of judgment. Sometimes we think of judgment in negative terms, but the purpose of this judgment is to declare us "not guilty"--if possible! In this lesson we shall study the work of the judgment as carried on in the heavenly sanctuary. 1. What court summons do we all have pending? 2 Cor. 5:10 [The Further-study verse is Rom. 14:10.] (2 Corinthians 5:10 NKJV) "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad." 2. There are three parts to a court case: (1) Investigation, (2) Sentencing, and (3) Execution of the sentence. When will the investigative part of the judgment be done--before or after Jesus comes? Rev. 22:12 (Revelation 22:12 NKJV) ""And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work." [Ans: Jesus comes WITH the rewards to pronounce sentence, therefore the investigative part of the judgment must already have been done. Matt. 16:27] 3. Must we appear in person, or is there a record of our lives that will be reviewed? Rev. 20:12 [Mal. 3:16] (Revelation 20:12 NKJV) "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." 4. With whom does this investigation of people's liferecord begin? 1 Peter 4:17 (1 Peter 4:17 NKJV) "For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" [Ans: With the professed followers of God. Daniel 7:22 states: "The Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High" (NKJV). The Beast had judged against the saints, but God judges for them. Actually, the words "in favor" are italicized in the NKJV, meaning they were supplied by the translators. The passage literally reads, "A judgment was made of the saints." Dan. 7:21, 22; Matt. 22:11-14] 5. Though no longer permitted in the sanctuary courtroom, who is the prosecuting attorney who accuses God's people? Rev. 12:9, 10 [Job 1:8-11] (Revelation 12:9-10 NKJV) "So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. {10} Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, "Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down." 6. Who is the defense attorney who serves as our advocate? 1 John 2:1 [Rom. 8:33, 34] (1 John 2:1 NKJV) "My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." 7. What will happen to the record of the sins of God's people who were converted and who repented of their sins? Acts 3:19 [1 John 1:9] (Acts 3:19 NKJV) ""Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord," 8. There are various books of record in heaven. What is the name of the register that records the names of those who have accepted Jesus as their Savior and Advocate? Rev. 21:27 [Phil. 4:3; Rev. 13:8; 20:12; 22:19] (Revelation 21:27 NKJV) "But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life." 9. What will happen to those who were once "saved" and registered in this book of life, but who continue to cherish sin? Ex.32:31-33 [Rev. 3:5; Eze. 18:21-24; 33:11-16] (Exodus 32:31-33 NKJV) "Then Moses returned to the LORD and said, "Oh, these people have committed a great sin, and have made for themselves a god of gold! {32} "Yet now, if You will forgive their sin; but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written." {33} And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book." 10. Will all who profess that Jesus is their Savior, and who claim to be saved, ultimately be saved? Matt. 7:21-23 [2 Thess. 2:9-12] (Matthew 7:21-23 NKJV) ""Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. {22} "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' {23} "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'" 11. Will we be judged by our religious profession or by some other means? Eccl. 12:13, 14 [James 2:12] (Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 NKJV) "Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God and keep His commandments, For this is man's all. {14} For God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, Whether good or evil." 12. Although we are saved by grace through faith alone and not by works, for it is by faith that our sins are forgiven and our lives are changed, by what will we be judged? Matt. 16:27 [Rev. 22:12] (Matthew 16:27 NKJV) ""For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." 13. How do our works reveal our faith? Matt. 7:16-20 [James 2:17] (Matthew 7:16-20 NKJV) ""You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? {17} "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. {18} "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. {19} "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. {20} "Therefore by their fruits you will know them." 14. When God showed Daniel the future of the earth (Lesson 7), He depicted the rise of Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome by four symbolic beasts; and then He used ten horns to depict the splintering of the Roman Empire into European fragments. What did Daniel see happening in the heavenly sanctuary, where God's throne is, sometime after the division of Rome into the European nations? Dan. 7:9, 10 [Rev. 14:6, 7] (Daniel 7:9-10 NKJV) ""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; {10} 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." 15. Jesus offers to be our advocate in this court of justice, but He does not plead everyone's case. Jesus said He had never "known" (never represented or been the advocate of) those who called Him "Lord" in Matthew 7:21-23. How can we make sure that He will be our advocate and thus win our case, in the judgment? 1 John 2:16 [John 15:10; Prov. 28:9] (1 John 2:16 NKJV) "For all that is in the world; the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life; is not of the Father but is of the world." Commitment: The judgment in the heavenly sanctuary has eternal consequences for every one of us. Do you desire to have Jesus as your advocate in this judgment? Will you continue to learn from Him and to walk in the light that He is revealing to you so that you may have the assurance of eternal life in Him?
Further Study VersesQuestion 1 - Further Study (Romans 14:10 NKJV) "But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ." -->Back to Study Question 2 - Further Study (Matthew 16:27 NKJV) ""For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works." -->Back to Study Question 3 - Further Study (Malachi 3:16 NKJV) "Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another, And the LORD listened and heard them; So a book of remembrance was written before Him For those who fear the LORD And who meditate on His name." -->Back to Study Question 4 - Further Study (Daniel 7:21-22 NKJV) ""I was watching; and the same horn was making war against the saints, and prevailing against them, {22} "until the Ancient of Days came, and a judgment was made in favor of the saints of the Most High, and the time came for the saints to possess the kingdom." (Matthew 22:11-14 NKJV) ""But when the king came in to see the guests, he saw a man there who did not have on a wedding garment. {12} "So he said to him, 'Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment?' And he was speechless. {13} "Then the king said to the servants, 'Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.' {14} "For many are called, but few are chosen."" -->Back to Study Question 5 - Further Study (Job 1:8-11 NKJV) "Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?" {9} So Satan answered the LORD and said, "Does Job fear God for nothing? {10} "Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. {11} "But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!"" -->Back to Study Question 6 - Further Study (Romans 8:33-34 NKJV) "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. {34} Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us." -->Back to Study Question 7 - Further Study (1 John 1:9 NKJV) "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -->Back to Study Question 8 - Further Study (Philippians 4:3 NKJV) "And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life." (Revelation 13:8 NKJV) "All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." (Revelation 20:12 NKJV) "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 22:19 NKJV) "and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book." -->Back to Study Question 9 - Further Study (Revelation 3:5 NKJV) ""He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels." (Ezekiel 18:21-24 NKJV) ""But if a wicked man turns from all his sins which he has committed, keeps all My statutes, and does what is lawful and right, he shall surely live; he shall not die. {22} "None of the transgressions which he has committed shall be remembered against him; because of the righteousness which he has done, he shall live. {23} "Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live? {24} "But when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfulness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die." (Ezekiel 33:11-16 NKJV) ""Say to them: 'As I live,' says the Lord GOD, 'I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?' {12} "Therefore you, O son of man, say to the children of your people: 'The righteousness of the righteous man shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression; as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness; nor shall the righteous be able to live because of his righteousness in the day that he sins.' {13} "When I say to the righteous that he shall surely live, but he trusts in his own righteousness and commits iniquity, none of his righteous works shall be remembered; but because of the iniquity that he has committed, he shall die. {14} "Again, when I say to the wicked, 'You shall surely die,' if he turns from his sin and does what is lawful and right, {15} "if the wicked restores the pledge, gives back what he has stolen, and walks in the statutes of life without committing iniquity, he shall surely live; he shall not die. {16} "None of his sins which he has committed shall be remembered against him; he has done what is lawful and right; he shall surely live." -->Back to Study Question 10 - Further Study (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 NKJV) "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, {10} and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. {11} And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, {12} that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness." -->Back to Study Question 11 - Further Study (James 2:12 NKJV) "So speak and so do as those who will be judged by the law of liberty." -->Back to Study Question 12 - Further Study (Revelation 22:12 NKJV) ""And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work." -->Back to Study Question 13 - Further Study (James 2:17 NKJV) "Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead." -->Back to Study Question 14 - Further Study (Revelation 14:6-7 NKJV) "Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth; to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people; {7} saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water."" -->Back to Study Question 15 - Further Study (John 15:10 NKJV) ""If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love." (Proverbs 28:9 NKJV) "One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination." -->Back to Study
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