Immanuel.at Forum for Discussion Discourse 19: The Judgment of Nations: an event before or after the Millennium?

(The Judgment of Nations: an event before or after the Millennium? / Reply AF00, 2000-12-02)

The Judgment of Nations, of which Jesus tells us in Matthew’s gospel, does not in my view imply any kind of resurrection. When Jesus returns to earth, he will of necessity have to judge those human beings whom he finds on earth. These will never have experienced death. In my view, then, the Judgment of Nations is to be related to the coming of Jesus before the Millennium. A judgment must take place, after all, to determine who, out of those who are (still) alive, will be permitted to enter the Millennium and who will not. If rascals as well were to be allowed to enter the Millennium, this would be completely unjust to the justified. What is known as the First Resurrection should be seen as separate from the Judgment of Nations. It relates only to those who are justified. All those who partake of the First Resurrection are saved automatically. All those of the dead who are not justified will have to wait for the second resurrection, for the Last Judgment. They have no chance of entering the Millennium. It must be said, however, that the righteous of the First Resurrection will also be judged (this is the judgment seat of Christ).

Arno Farina AFarina@t-online.de

Here now is the scriptural passage from Matthew’s gospel to which A. Farina refers in the above commentary:

Mt 25,31 But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 25,32 All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; 25,33 and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

25,34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Mt 25,31-34;

A curious situation arises here, in that we must clearly express our agreement – at first glance – with most of what is said in the commentary just quoted, but nonetheless the persistent feeling remains that a closer analysis will reveal fundamental differences of opinion.

Let us look at the author’s commentary now in more detail:

"What is known as the First Resurrection should be seen as separate from the Judgment of Nations."

There is no question of that! One point only remains to be clarified: when do we see the Judgment of Nations as occurring – before or after the Millennium?

Quite so! But it still has to be stated, in specific terms, who partakes of this First Resurrection: is it only those who have been beheaded (the martyrs), as Rev 20,4 tells us, or is it the entire congregation of all time? Some take the latter view – and this is a theme that has already been debated in great detail in the context of this discussion forum?

"All those of the dead who are not justified will have to wait for the Second Resurrection at the Last Judgment."

"It must be said, however, that the righteous of the First Resurrection will also be judged (this is the judgment seat of Christ)."

And this is also correct! (Just by the way: there is only this one judgment seat, that is the throne on which Christ will sit and also judge mankind at the Last Judgment. Mt 19:28). But here too, in order to resolve this issue without ambiguity, it must be explained what kind of connection or difference is to be seen between the First Resurrection of the martyrs as described in Rev 20,4 and the raising of the dead in Christ of which 1The 4,15-17 and 1Cor 15,50-55 tell us.

So let us start by analyzing the remark of our author which offer the likeliest prospects of bringing the difference between our points of view into the open:

"When Jesus returns to earth, he will of necessity have to judge those human beings whom he finds on earth. These will never have experienced death."

We have to give our assent to this last sentence as well! Those who are living on earth at the time of the Second Coming of the Lord, before the Millennium, will indeed never have experienced death – as they have not yet died. And precisely this, at the same time, constitutes the first argument against the idea of a judgment of the living nations.

Hbr 9,27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, 9,28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. Hbr 9,27-28;

In the Epistle to the Hebrews, 9,27, we are told that men must die once, and after this comes judgment. This clearly makes it impossible that human beings – and so also the unjust – should be judged with this judgment while they are still alive.

But the passage from Matthew quoted earlier speaks, after all, not just of the unjust – the "goats" – but also of the "sheep", the just, who will be judged on this occasion. And here the following verse in the above passage, Hbr 9,28, tells us that Christ will appear a second time – on his Second Coming, that is – "without reference to sin" (sacrifice on the cross), but rather for the salvation of those who eagerly await him.

But this means that at the Second Coming of the Lord there will be no judgment of "sin", that is to say, of the unjust, but only a judgment that takes place for the just. And this must be the "judgment of reward" due to the dead martyrs from the raising out of the dead and the Rapture – not the "Judgment of Nations" on all human beings who are alive.

1Cor 15,50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 1Cor 15,50;

In his first Epistle to the Corinthians as well, Paul argues that flesh and blood – that is to say, living human beings – cannot inherit the kingdom of God. The "kingdom of God" is eternal life. Human beings can only enter upon eternal life if they have first passed through the judgment.

And they will only come to judgment – as we have seen earlier – when they have died (and then been raised to life again). The theory of a "Judgment of Nations" would have us believe that the people who are judged here are living human beings, not dead ones! Consequently the passage quoted by A. Farina – e.g. Mt 25,46: "And these will go away... the righteous into eternal life" – cannot have to do with a Judgment of Nations on living human beings, but must refer to the Final Judgment, the Universal Judgment of the Last Day. So here too we must conclude: there will not be a judgment on living human beings or nations.

The next statement made by our author now expresses in specific terms the view that at the Second Coming of the Lord, shortly before the Millennium, the nations who are alive – both the just and the unjust – will be judged.

"In my view, then, the Judgment of Nations is to be related to the coming of Jesus before the Millennium."

Now it is certainly the case that the advocates of a "Judgment of Nations" do not in any way mean to cast doubts on the Last Judgment. Nor can they well do so, seeing that this Universal Judgment after the General Resurrection at the end of days is quite unambiguously attested by Scripture.

But these people then have another problem to deal with. If there were to have been a judgment of the living nations, before the Millennium, these would then have already been judged, and would not be permitted – especially the unjust, of course – to face the Last Judgment.

This would not only be in patent contradiction of what we are told in Heb 9,27, that "it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment" – since they would have actually been judged before dying – but a further problem would need to be resolved: what will happen to those who have died up to the day before this judgment upon living nations?

They would then not be involved in this judgment, and – irrespective of the question whether these are righteous dead who are not yet permitted to enter the Kingdom of God, or accursed sinners who do not yet have to go into the eternal fire – how can this be explained, and what justice could be found in such a judgment?

Furthermore this would be in contravention of that principle which can be found throughout the New Testament, and which promises, by analogy, that every human being, up to the last second of his life, has the opportunity of accepting God’s grace. How could the absolutely just Judge of the Universal Judgment rebut the defense of those who claim that they would have turned to God if he had let them live out the full term of their lives?

But as we can see from the following passage, Mt 13,25-30, the Lord does not have any intention of judging the unjust any earlier than at the Last Judgment.

Mt 13,25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. 13,26 But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. 13,27 The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 13,28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’

13,29 But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. 13,30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’ Mt 13,25-30;

According to Mt 13,29, it is the unjust – specifically – who will be judged only "in the time of the harvest", at the end of the world, that is, so that all human beings may have the opportunity, up to the Last Day, to change sides and "mutate" from tares to wheat. The Lord, then, does not want to have an earlier judgment on those who have turned away from him, so as to avoid possibly condemning those as well who might have turned to God if they were given time.

When Our Lord explains this parable, we can see the logical connections that are implied.

His angels will gather those who commit lawlessness, and will throw them into the furnace of fire.

Mt 13,37 And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 13,38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one; 13,39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 13,40 So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. 13,41 The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 13,42 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.13,43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear." Mt 13,37-43;

Here the Lord says "out of His kingdom". And this clearly means the kingdom of peace of the Prince of Peace, the Millennium. The end of this last kingdom on earth is at the same time the end of the world. And this is the time of the General Resurrection and the Universal Judgment. But a "Judgment of Nations" would have to take place before the Millennium, and here – as the advocates of this point of view postulate – only the wicked would come to judgment.

We have confirmation in other sayings of the Lord, as well, that both the just and the unjust will be judged by this Judgment, and that they will be judged at the same time – which is to say, at the end of the world:

Mt 7,19Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 7,20 So then, you will know them by their fruits. 7,21 Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.7,22 Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ 7,23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.’ Mt 7,19-23;

Mt 13,47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; 13,48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 13,49 So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, 13,50 and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 13,51 Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes." Mt 13,47-51;

If, then, the angels take out the wicked from among the righteous, both classes – the righteous and the wicked – must be "available" at the same time. This, then, is the General Resurrection at the end of the world. Likewise the statement that the wicked will be thrown into the furnace of fire is a patent reference to the Universal Judgment, as we can see from the following passage taken from Revelation, which without any doubt points to the end of the world, and not to the time before the Millennium:

The evil ones, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

Rev 21,8 "But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Rev 21, 8;

Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe.

Rev 14,14 Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. 14,15 And another angel came out of the temple, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, "Put in your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe." 14,16 Then He who sat on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped. 14,17 And another angel came out of the temple which is in heaven, and he also had a sharp sickle. 14,18 Then another angel, the one who has power over fire, came out from the altar; and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Put in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters from the vine of the earth, because her grapes are ripe." 14,19 The angel swung his sickle to the earth and gathered the clusters from the vine of the earth, and threw them into the great wine press of the wrath of God. 14,20 An the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood came out from the wine press, up to the horses’ bridles, for a distance of two hundred miles. Rev 14,14-20;

In the Acts of the Apostles, likewise, we find another indication of this same Day of Judgment:

Acts 17,30 "Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 17,31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." Acts 17,30-31;

So there is a single day appointed upon which the whole world will be judged. And we can see from the following utterances of Our Lord that this is not the day of a "Judgment of Nations" that has been moved forward to a time before the Millennium, but the day of the Last – the Final – Judgment:

Who believes in the Son will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day.

Jn 6,38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. 6,39 This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day. 6,40 For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day." Jn 6,38-40;

It can be seen that Scripture allows for just one Day of Judgment for the entire "circle of the earth" – a day on which the just will enter into eternal life, and the unjust will be cast into everlasting fire. And this is the "Last Day", the day of the Final or Universal Judgment.

The last remark made in this section of A. Farina’s commentary now reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of the facts of the Millennium.

"A judgment must take place, after all, to determine who, of those (still) living, will be permitted to enter the Millennium and who will not. If rascals as well were to be allowed to enter the Millennium, this would be completely unjust to the justified."

This gives the impression that the author is of the opinion that the Millennium is a kind of "paradise", where the unrighteous and the "rascals" would have no place. In what follows we will give proofs that Scripture in no way supports such an interpretation.

We must first of all understand that the paradisal conditions of the Millennium, as repeatedly mentioned in Scripture, such as

– fruitfulness: "When the plowman will overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him who sows seed" (Amos 9,13)

– term of life: "For the youth will die at the age of one hundred" (Isa 65,18-20)

– the pouring out of the Holy Spirit: "I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring" (Isa 44,3)

– the forgiveness of sins: "The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity" (Isa 33,24).

do not apply to the whole world, but solely to the land of Israel and its immediate environs. Let us here take three examples, of the many passages that suggest themselves:

I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;

Isa 44,1 But now listen, O Jacob, My servant, And Israel, whom I have chosen: 44,2 Thus says the LORD who made you And formed you from the womb, who will help you, ‘Do not fear, O Jacob My servant; And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.

44,3 ‘For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants; 44,4 And they will spring up among the grass Like poplars by streams of water.’

44,5 This one will say, ‘I am the LORD’S’ And that one will call on the name of Jacob; And another will write on his hand, ‘Belonging to the LORD,’ And will name Israel’s name with honor. Isa 44,1-5;

This pouring out of the Spirit of God is clearly promised here to Israel alone, and not to the whole world. And likewise the "people" referred to in the following passage, from Isa 33,20-24, are not the entire population of the world – it is the people of God in Israel who are meant.

Isa 33,20 Look upon Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed habitation, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its cords be torn apart. 33,21 But there the majestic One, the LORD, will be for us A place of rivers and wide canals On which no boat with oars will go, And on which no mighty ship will pass –

33,22 For the LORD is our judge, The LORD is our lawgiver, The LORD is our king; He will save us – 33,23 Your tackle hangs slack; It cannot hold the base of its mast firmly, Nor spread out the sail. Then the prey of an abundant spoil will be divided; The lame will take the plunder.

33,24 And no resident will say, "I am sick"; The people who dwell there will be forgiven their iniquity. Isa 33,20-24;

But the pouring out of the Spirit of God, and the forgiveness of sins in Israel and for the the people who dwell there, has many further effects as well. This is the actual reason why at this time, in the Millennium, it is this people, and only this people – including the converted Gentiles who will come to Israel – who are the recipients of such a blessing.

Not only will this land be "filled with the knowledge of the Lord", but also no sin will be committed in any part of the country, as we can see from the following passage, Isa 11,1-10.

They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the land will be full of the knowledge of the LORD.

Isa 11,1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. 11,2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.

11,3 And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a decision by what His ears hear; 11,4 But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth; And He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked.

11,5 Also righteousness will be the belt about His loins, And faithfulness the belt about His waist. 11,6 And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. 11,7 Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox.

11,8 The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. 11,9 They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the land will be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea.

11,10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. Isa 11,1-10;

But many of the Gentiles will also turn to the God of Israel at this time. Already at the gathering together of the Israelites, the Gentiles will have a "lead role" assigned them:

Isa 14,1 When the LORD will have compassion on Jacob and again choose Israel, and settle them in their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. 14,2 The peoples will take them along and bring them to their place, and the house of Israel will possess them as an inheritance in the land of the LORD as male servants and female servants; and they will take their captors captive and will rule over their oppressors. Isa 14,1-2;

Isa 60,4 Lift up your eyes round about and see; They all gather together, they come to you. Your sons will come from afar, And your daughters will be carried in the arms. Isa 60, 4;

So it will not just be the Israelites who flock to Jerusalem. The "fugitives of the nations", those people from all the nations of the world who have survived the catastrophes on the Day of the Lord and have come to believe in the one and only God, these too will aspire to enter into what can then truly be called the "Promised Land".

And they will say: "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, futility and things of no profit." And they will accept the offer made to them by God, inviting them to gather together and come to Israel – hearing the voice that calls to them: "Turn to me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other."

Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations, turn to Me and be saved, for I am God, and there is no other.

Isa 45,20 Gather yourselves and come; Draw near together, you fugitives of the nations; They have no knowledge, Who carry about their wooden idol And pray to a god who cannot save. 45,21 Declare and set forth your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. 45,22 Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. Isa 45,20-22;

The nations will come from the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood."

Jer 16,19 O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, And my refuge in the day of distress, To You the nations will come From the ends of the earth and say, "Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood, Futility and things of no profit."; 16,20 Can man make gods for himself? Yet they are not gods! Jer 16,19-20;

The nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for God is with you".

Zech 8,20 Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘It will yet be that peoples will come, even the inhabitants of many cities. 8,21 ‘The inhabitants of one will go to another, saying, "Let us go at once to entreat the favor of the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts; I will also go."

8,22 ‘So many peoples and mighty nations will come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the LORD.’ 8,23 Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘In those days ten men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew, saying, "Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."‘ Zech 8,20-23;

But it will not be all human beings who turn to God and come to Israel. This is proved by a passage from Revelation:

Rev 20,7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 20,8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. Rev 20,7-8;

This refers to Satan’s last battle against God. It will take place at the end of the Millennium, and before the end of the world. And as we are told, the devil will here find people, and "the number of them is like the sand of the seashore", who will acknowledge his sway and go with him into battle against God and his Son Jesus Christ, who has reigned for the preceding thousand years.

This spiritual change of face, on the part of so many human beings, can hardly take place in a very short space of time. And as it cannot be supposed that Satan, after his release from prison, would still have centuries available in which to bring about such a change of allegiance, we are forced to conclude that even in the Millennium, and in the sight of the living God present on earth, many human beings will refuse to acknowledge this God, will turn away from him and wait on Satan as their expected "liberator".

But the following passages from Scripture as well, likewise relating to the Millennium, confirm the point: even in the Millennium there will be people who will turn against God, and reject the dominion of his Son.

But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it, declares the LORD.

Jer 12,16 "Then if they will really learn the ways of My people, to swear by My name, ‘As the LORD lives,’ even as they taught My people to swear by Baal, they will be built up in the midst of My people. 12,17 But if they will not listen, then I will uproot that nation, uproot and destroy it," declares the LORD. Jer 12,16-17;

Isa 60,12 For the nation and the kingdom which will not serve you will perish, And the nations will be utterly ruined. Isa 60,12;

Whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship, there will be no rain on them.

Zech 14,16 Then it will come about that any who are left of all the nations that went against Jerusalem will go up from year to year to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, and to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 14,17 And it will be that whichever of the families of the earth does not go up to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts, there will be no rain on them.

14,18 If the family of Egypt does not go up or enter, then no rain will fall on them; it will be the plague with which the LORD smites the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. 14,19 This will be the punishment of Egypt, and the punishment of all the nations who do not go up to celebrate the Feast of Booths. Zech 14,16-19;

These passages also reveal that for the other nations of the earth, apart from Israel, the conditions of life will be absolutely normal. In view of the exceptional climate, they too will probably be able to bring in several harvests in a single year. But it has to be said, here too, that the view of some commentators that the Lord will then "confer on his subjects such affluence, splendor and happiness as humanity, up to that time, has sought in vain" is incorrect inasmuch as – as we have already shown above – these promises refer only to Israel and the areas surrounding it, which will then have been populated by the massive influx of the converted nations.

And if any one these families of the earth refuses to go up to Jerusalem once a year to celebrate the Feast of Booths, they will be punished – no rain will fall on them. This will then result in famine in that country, with all the accompanying consequences. Nor will such nations be forgiven their sins or experience the outpouring of the Spirit of God. Their life expectation, then, will continue to be limited to a hundred and twenty years at the most, and the other effects of the Spirit will also be denied to such countries.

But this shows that the concern showed by A. Farina, in the passage quoted above, that

"If rascals as well were to be allowed to enter the Millennium, this would be completely unjust to the justified"

no longer has any foundation. Such rascals, certainly, will still exist, but they will not be able to partake in any way in the paradisal conditions of life of the people of God, comprising both converted Israelites and converted Gentiles, who will live in Israel at that time.

Seeing that, in view of these scriptural statements, there will be any number of unbelievers and unrighteous in this world, both in the Millennium and at the end of the Millennium. Would it make any kind of sense, for this very reason, to judge those few rascals who will still be alive – after the great catastrophes and before Millennium – as living human beings? And then to what purpose? Simply to have them die?

Discourse 19 – The Judgment of Nations: an event before or after the Millennium?

(Texts in a black frame are quotations from visitors to this site or from other authors.)

(The Judgment of Nations: an event before or after the Millennium? / Reply AF00, 2000-12-02)