Series:  The 7 Phases of the Atonement

Sermon:  #6--A Second Judgment

Pastor Rod Thompson

Midland SDA Church

December 15, 2018

 

 

As we continue our series on the 7 phases of the atonement let’s start with a little review

The first phase of the atonement was accomplished immediately after the sin of Adam and Eve.  God gave them the remedy for the sin problem.  He promised a Savior / Redeemer and He instituted the sacrificial system to show them the awfulness of their sin and point them to that promised redeemer.

In the second phase, at the appointed time the promised redeemer arrived on the scene and laid down His life for you and me.  He was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.  Daniel prophesied of Him saying that He would be cut off, but not for Himself.  Isaiah said that He would be wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquity.   The chastisement for our peace would be upon Him.

In the third phase of the atonement He ascended into heaven and began His priestly ministry in the first apartment (the holy place).  He pleaded His blood, offered up incense and prayers on behalf of sinners for over 1800 years. 

In the fourth phase of the atonement, beginning in 1844 He stepped into the most Holy place of the heavenly sanctuary and the judgment began.  Antitype had met type and we are now living in that antitypical day of atonement.

We saw that now is the time for us to afflict our souls, now is the time for us to get right with God.  Because during this judgment it is being determined who will receive the reward of the righteous and who will receive the reward of the wicked.

Hebrews 9:11-12         But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation.  Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.

In the fourth phase of the atonement we saw the pre-advent judgment that is taking place in heaven right now as we speak.  Thrones are seated, the books are open and the holy angels are there.  The on-looking universe pouring over the records in heaven.  Every case is being decided for or against the reward of the righteous.  They started from the beginning with Adam and Eve and one day soon they are going to be finished with the dead and look at the cases of the living

When that is accomplished Christ is going to come back to this earth.  He will be bringing His reward with Him.  And in the fifth phase of the atonement the judgment is going to be executed (part 1).

The righteous will receive the reward of eternal life and be taken to heaven.  To the wicked and those who have failed to pass the test of the investigation of their lives they will begin to receive their reward.  They will be destroyed by the coming of Jesus and all the wicked will remain in the grave for 1000 years.  Jesus prophesied of this day in

Mark 13:26-27    then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory.  And then He will send His angels, and gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest part of earth to the farthest part of heaven.

In 2 Thessalonians 1:7         in speaking of the wicked Paul said, When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

But we also saw that the 5th phase didn’t end there.  Jesus has come and destroyed the wicked and He has taken the saints to heaven.

Turn to Revelation 20

In Revelation 20:1-3 we see at the second coming of Jesus, the angel of the Lord come down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit.  He lays hold of the dragon that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan and he binds him for a thousand years.  He’s not allowed to deceive the nations any longer.  And why not?  Because all of the saints are taken to heaven and all the wicked and those who did not pass the test of the pre-advent judgment have been destroyed so there is no one to deceive.  The only ones on the planet earth who are alive are Satan and his angels.  That one third of the angels of heaven that rebelled with him. 

And then notice what it says in verse 4-6

Read Revelation 20:4-6

Now here we see that once again thrones are going to be set in place and there is going to be a judgment.  We saw that in phase 4 of the atonement in Daniel 7 that there was a pre-advent judgment.  But now we are seeing the post advent judgment – that is another judgment in this 6th phase of the atonement. 

“And I saw thrones and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them.”

 

This verse should remind us of what the Apostle Paul said in

 

1 Corinthians 6:2         “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world.”

 

You might say, but I thought the judgment was accomplished already before Christ comes back to the earth.  This statement is true, but it is only half of the story.  The pre-advent judgment was a judgment of those whose names were written in the book of life. 

 

The determination was made by the angels and the on looking universe (as Christ pleaded their cases), those who truly had repented of their sins.  And if they did, then their sins were blotted out of the record books, while at the same time, their names were retained in the book of life. 

Those who did not pass the investigation had their names blotted out of the book of life and their sins remained written in the books of heaven.  Those names which remained written in the book of life, were the ones that Christ has brought back to heaven with Him and they now sit in a second judgment. 

 

The others were destroyed with the wicked.  “Since all the wicked alive on earth at Christ’s coming suffer the first death – the death common to all mankind – and do not live again until after the thousand years, the decision regarding their reward/punishment need not be reached before the second advent

 

So there is this second work of judgment

 

Questions on Doctrine

This work of judgment may well involve a careful investigation of the records of evil men and a decision regarding the amount of punishment due each sinner for his part in the rebellion against God.  Justice demands that great sinners be punished more severely than those whose sins were of a lesser nature.  True, all sinners will be punished with eternal death, but eventual extinction can hardly be conceived of as a graduated punishment.  It is the suffering before the second death that can be measured out to fit the extent of the sinner’s personal responsibility for his rebellion. ”

 

 It is true that all sinners will be punished in the seventh phase of the atonement with eternal death, but Jesus Himself gave us a principle by which punishment should be measured out. 

 

Read Luke 12:47-48

 

In this judgment the redeemed will examine the books and they will see what pronouncements God has made, and in the end, concur with His decisions.  So it’s not that the saints are deciding the punishment, God has already decided that – but they will see the extent of rebellion of each individual and concur with God’s conclusion. 

 

What each of us needs to realize is that God doesn’t do anything in a box.  He doesn’t say, “just do it because I said so”, or “do it and like it.”  He allows all of the books of heaven to be examined so that all of His judgments are revealed and shown to be righteous. 

 

Remember the purpose of the atonement.  He is trying to win back the trust of His creation.  He is trying to restore our relationship with Him.   Satan has painted Him in a bad light before the universe and He must be exonerated. 

 

So in reality, God is the one who is on trial.  He has to prove that the decision to save some and destroy others is right.  He has to show that all the accusations against Him are wrong. 

 

Read Psalm 51:1-4

 

Notice that is says there that you may be found just when you speak, and blameless when you judge.

 

The ultimate overarching purpose of the atonement or reconciliation is not just to clear us, but to clear God from all the accusations that have existed from the beginning of sin in heaven.  Here God is going to be forever vindicated.  He is going to be found blameless when He judges. 

 

Read Romans 3:4

 

Notice here that it says, “that you may be justified in your words, and may overcome when you are judged.”

 

 Isn’t that interesting? The Psalmist said that you may be found blameless when you judge and here it says that you may overcome when you are judged.  There is a sense here that God is being judged.  God is sovereign, but He is looked at as being guilty because of the accusations of the enemy, even though He is innocent. 

But during these two judgments, the pre-advent and now post-advent judgment, God is being vindicated in the minds of His creation and forever the blame is going to be placed on the scapegoat at the end of these judgments. 

 

Now we have already talked about the American criminal justice system

 

 

1.   Must be an accusation  (Revelation 12:10)  The accuser of our brethren

2.   Must be a trial – Evidence revealed  (Daniel 7:10)  the court was seated and the books were opened

3.   The verdict is given (Innocent or guilty)  (Revelation 3:5) If we overcome our names will not be blotted out of the book of life

4.   The execution of the judgment (part 1)  In the criminal justice system  the sentence has to be executed.  It’s not enough to have a trial, and have a verdict.  The punishment has to be meted out

But there is one more step in the criminal process that is very rarely talked about.  And that is the appeal process. 

The appeal process was written into law to assist people that feel the judgment that was handed down to them was out of line or not reasonable to the crime committed or that the process itself was faulty.

Now we should be able understand that during the pre-advent judgment that you are not there.  That judgment is going on right now in heaven and you are here on the earth.   But our defense attorney is there.

Just like today if for some reason you were charged with some crime and there was a trial.  You don’t necessarily have to be there.  You have an attorney who is there working on your behalf. 

But imagine what would happen if the judge who is trying your case and pronouncing judgment against you was discovered to be corrupt.  What do you think would happen?

The case would be thrown out and the process would have to start all over again, wouldn’t it?

Well, imagine if God were shown to be corrupt like Satan has accused Him of being.  You see this whole controversy isn’t about just you and me.  It involves the good angels, the rebellious angels, leaders of other worlds, it involves us, but most importantly it involves God.

It has to be proved that He is a righteous judge.

There has to be evidence that he judged correctly when He kicked Satan and a third of the angels out of heaven, while at the same time He kept two thirds.  There has to be evidence that He judged correctly when allows some of the human race to be restored to a relationship with Him and others to be destroyed.

It has to be proven that God is right in every judgment He makes.  And the two judgments prove it.  The pre-advent judgment proves that He was right in the saints that He allowed into heaven and He was right in not let those professors of being his that had no evidence of a changed life were kept out.

In the post advent judgement He shows why the wicked were kept out

Read Nahum 1:9

Affliction will not rise up a second time.  If you put that statement into the proper context here we see the certainty of Nineveh’s downfall.  The punishment that God will bring upon the Assyrian’s will be so complete and permanent that never again, never ‘a second time’, will they be able to oppress God’s people

Although Nahum is specifically referring to the downfall of Assyria, this prophecy may have a dual fulfillment.  This may also be describing the ultimate fate of the wicked, that the Assyrian’s are a type of. 

God is going to destroy the rebellion but the only way that sin will never again trouble God’s universe  is if the pre-advent judgment is able to convince the angels and the on looking universe that God was absolutely right in His judgments when He let some of His human creation back into heaven

And in the post advent judgment if humans are convinced that those who are not there really shouldn’t be and they have opportunity to judge the angels as well. 

1 Corinthians 6:3             Paul says, Do you not know that we shall judge angels

Only when all of God’s creation is satisfied that the charges against Him by Satan are false, only when all the lies and deceptions have been exposed, only when God is vindicated in the eyes of His creation can there be true harmony. 

Only when all of His creation sees that He can be trusted, that He never makes a mistake, only then can we be certain that sin will never rise up a second time.

But the atonement is still not complete.  There is one more thing that has to be accomplished.  And you’re going to have to wait until we come back together again and talk about the 7th and final phase of the atonement.

 

But I ask you, have you clearly seen from this message today that God’s atonement/reconciliation plan is not just about you and me?  But more importantly it’s about God being shown/ proved to be a righteous Judge.  Because Brothers and sisters if He is not then even if He declares you innocent the process has to start all over again with a different judge.

Do you believe that your judge is righteous?  Are you putting all of your faith and hope in Him?  Can you trust Him with not only your own future, but that of your family as well?

I pray for my children every day, but in the end, I trust God that He will make the right decision who gets in and who doesn’t

Job 13:15  Though you slay me, yet will I trust you!

Do you trust God?  Is that the desire of your heart?

 

Let’s pray