Antichrist and the End Times

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The Dispensations and Judgments of God

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The Dispensations• 2 Timothy 2:15: Study to show yourself

approved unto God, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

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Larkin: Mtn. Peaks of Prophecy

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Larkin: 7 Thousand Years

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Covenants and Dispensation

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The 7th Dispensation• The Tribulation Period• Sometime after the rapture, possibly immediately or

maybe years later, the Tribulation Period will began. In Jer. 30:6 this period is called "the time of Jacob's trouble" because God is going to judge Israel as a nation by allowing Satan to "trouble" them (through the Antichrist) for rejecting Jesus Christ as their Messiah.

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The 7th Dispensation• Though Satan will have his own reasons for

punishing the Jews, God will allow him to do it because they said concerning Christ "crucify him, crucify him" (John 19:6) and "his blood be on us and on our CHILDREN" (Matt. 27:25).

• God simply gives them their request. This is the time period Christ was referring to when He said, "...for then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be" (Matt. 24:21).

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The 7th Dispensation• It will be disaster and sorrow on such a scale that

the strongest men will hide in caves and beg for death (Rev. 6:15-16).

• When Christ said, "I am come in my father's name, and ye receive me not, if another will come in his own name him ye will receive" (John 5:44), He was speaking of the coming Antichrist (also called "the Beast," "the man of sin," the "abomination of desolation," etc.). This evil character is second only to Christ as to the amount of information the Bible gives about him.

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The 7th Dispensation• Daniel tells us he will make a covenant with Israel

(Dan. 9:27) for "seven weeks" (years) and then break it in the middle (at 42 months). Many Jews will think him to be their Messiah until he breaks the covenant and demands to be worshipped as the God of Heaven (2 Thes. 2:4). When the Jews refuse, the Beast (now Satan incarnate) will persecute them with a fierce vengeance. He will slaughter millions of them (and also Gentiles who refuse to worship his image or take his mark—666, Rev. 13), but 144,000 will be sealed by God and protected from harm.

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The 7th Dispensation• Finally, after no more than seven years from the

signing of the covenant, Jesus Christ will return and destroy the Beast and his armies at Armageddon. The few Jews that are left will then "look upon him whom they pierced" and receive Christ as their true Messiah and King. At that moment God will save them as a nation (Rom. 11:26). They will, after 20 centuries, have finally accepted Christ for WHO He really is—"God manifest in the flesh." Though the Tribulation will severely punish them, almost to extinction, God was forced to allow it to get them to receive the truth.

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The 7th Dispensation• Being "stiff-necked" (Acts 7:51) they would not

accept it under any other means. Once they repent and receive Jesus Christ, they are then ready to receive the kingdom promised to their fathers Abraham and David.

• Dispensationally, the Tribulation period is basically the Dispensation of the Law with a few added features. Since the Church will have left in the rapture, the parenthetical Dispensation of Grace will be gone along with the doctrines unique to it. Thus the nation of Israel will again be the main object of God's concern.

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The 8th Dispensation• The Palestinian Covenant, The New Covenant,

and The Messianic Dispensation• 1400 years before Christ, at the end of their 40

years of wandering in the wilderness, God made another covenant with Israel besides the one He made at Mt. Sinai. Called the Palestinian Covenant because they were about to enter the land of Palestine, the covenant contains a promise of what God will do for them when they repent of their sins and return to Him after a period of rebellion.

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The 8th Dispensation• God promised after He dispersed them among the

nations as punishment for future disobedience (ultimately the rejection of Christ), He would regather and return them to their land after they repent.

• This covenant is closely linked with the Mosaic Covenant, and some say the two are joined together at the beginning of the Millennium.

• It is found in Deut. 30:1-10 and its specific elements are:

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The 8th Dispensation• 1. Israel's dispersion for disobedience (vs. 1).

Though Israel is a nation today, more Jews live in New York City than in the land of Palestine. The bulk of the Jews on earth are still scattered and those in Israel do not possess all the land promised to them.

• 2. Their (foreknown) repentance while dispersed (vs. 2). This is during the Tribulation.

• 3. The return of the Lord (vs. 3). Christ will personally regather them after the Tribulation.

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The 8th Dispensation• 4. The restoration of all their land (vs. 5). Christ will

give them the entire land grant promised to Abraham.

• 5. Their national conversion (vs. 6). All Israel will be saved (nationally) in a day (Rom. 11:26).

• 6. The judgment of their enemies and oppressors (vs. 7). The judgment of the nations (Matt. 25).

• 7. Their national blessing and prosperity (vs. 9).

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The 8th Dispensation• This covenant comes into effect at the end of the

Tribulation period when the remaining Jews see the return of the Lord Jesus Christ and receive Him as their Messiah. They will nationally repent and mourn for their sin of rejecting Him and admit before all their acceptance of Him as King. God will then, in Christ, forgive them and bless them as He desired to bless them from their beginning. He will give them all the land promised to their fathers and reign over them Himself from Jerusalem.

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The 8th Dispensation• Christ will judge their enemies at the Judgment of

Nations (Matt. 25:31-46) and place the other nations under them in privilege and importance.

• Israel will be the premier nation on earth, and that purely by the promise and good pleasure of God. This covenant lasts, at least, until the end of the Millennium.

• The New Covenant is called "new" because unlike the previous covenants it has not yet been made.

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The 8th Dispensation• It was promised in Jer. 31:31-37 and confirmed

again in Heb. 8:7-13, but it has not yet been officially given to the nation of Israel.

• Again, after the Jews repent and receive Christ as their Messiah, God will formally establish this unconditional covenant with them. This is the "new testament" Jesus was referring to in Matt. 26:28 when He said, "for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins." Thus this covenant is based on the shed blood and atoning death of Jesus Christ.

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The 8th Dispensation• Many today insist this New Covenant doctrinally

applies to the present "church age," but this is another wresting of Scripture. By letting the Scriptures speak for themselves one can easily see that the New Covenant only applies doctrinally to "the house of Israel" and "the house of Judah" (Jer. 31:31, Heb. 8:8). It has nothing to do with the born again believer or the present Dispensation of Grace. The main thrust of this "new testament" is not the Church Age, but a future covenant with Israel based on the atoning death of the Jewish "testator," Jesus Christ.

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The 8th Dispensation• Of course, the salvation Christ bought with His blood

is available to all today, Jew or Gentile, but as found in Jeremiah and Hebrews the New Covenant will apply only to Israel. The specifics of this covenant are (as found in Jeremiah 31):

• 1. God will put His laws in each individual's heart (vs. 33).

• 2. God will again be their God and Israel His people (vs. 33).

• 3. There will no longer be any preaching or witnessing because all Jews will know the Lord (vs. 34).

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The 8th Dispensation• 4. God will completely forgive them and remember

their sin no more (vs. 34).• 5. It is as permanent as day and night, the moon and

stars, the waves of the sea, and the unmeasurable vastness of the earth and heavens (vs. 35-37).

• This covenant is in effect from the beginning of the Millennium through to the gate of eternity.

• The Messianic Dispensation (the Millennium), along with the New Covenant, will begin when the Palestinian Covenant is fulfilled at the end of the Tribulation

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The 8th Dispensation• This dispensation is the "golden age" and "utopia"

man today dreams about. It will be characterized by a perfect, righteous, and holy Ruler, universal righteousness, world peace, greatly reduced sickness and death, extended life span, gentleness and compatibility of wildlife, more cooperative earth for crops, perfect climate and environment, no random natural disasters, most of the curses lifted, little or no crime, and the binding of man's constant enemy, Satan.

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The 8th Dispensation• In the Millennium man will have everything he says

today he wants, but will he fare any better in this dispensation than in the others? Hardly.

• There are scores of passages in the Old Testament concerning this blessed period, and in the New Testament it is called the "kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 3:2, 5:3). The kingdom of heaven truly was "at hand" when Christ began His earthly ministry, but when the Jews rejected the King it was postponed until they were willing to receive Him.

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The 8th Dispensation• The "sermon on the mount" (Matt. ch. 5-7) will

essentially be the Constitution of this kingdom and lay down the rules and principles of behavior required in it. During this 1000 year period, Christ will rule with a "rod of iron" and compel everyone to obey these principles and His will. Those who don't will be punished (Zech. 14:16-19).

• With Satan bound in the bottomless pit and no longer able to influence nations or individuals for evil (Rev. 20:2), man will not be able to blame him for their sins.

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The 8th Dispensation• God will remove every form of outside negative

influence during the Millennium, thus giving man every opportunity to do right. But even in this much sought after environment man will ultimately fail. It appears that during this period the people will begin to get tired of compelled obedience and of the righteous King in Jerusalem and rebel against Christ in their heart (Jer. 17:9). At the end of the 1000 years, God will release Satan from prison and give him access to the nations one last time.

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The 8th Dispensation• Very quickly Satan will organize a revolt against

Christ and form a huge army to oust Him from Jerusalem. He will likely use pride to convince man he can do a better job "governing himself" (remember the Dispensation of Human Government?). The entire revolt is devoured by fire from Heaven and Satan's usefulness to God is over (Rev. 20:9).

• It has taken God seven dispensations to do it, but He has proved his point.

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The 8th Dispensation• The problem with man is not his circumstances or

misfortune, neither is it his environment or upbringing, man's number one problem is HIMSELF.

• Man by nature is evil, and no matter what kind of world or environment he is placed in he will remain evil. The only remedy is God must give him a new heart (2 Cor. 5:17).

• During this time those who make up the body of Christ and have gone up in the rapture will reign with Christ from Jerusalem. They may act as His ambassadors to the nations enforcing His righteousness all over the earth.

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The 8th Dispensation• Nevertheless, each born again believer's old sinful

nature will be literally and forever dead, leaving him with no capacity for sin. He will also have a supernatural, glorified body like Christ's (Phil. 3:21). Therefore, he cannot rebel with the world against Christ, he has already went through his testing period. The Jews and Gentiles that enter into the Millennium from the Tribulation, however, will still have only their natural bodies and the same old sinful Adamic nature all sinners are born with.

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Larkin Dispensations

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Larkin: Covenant Failure

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The Dispensations - Scofield• The Scriptures divide time (by which is meant the

entire period from the creation of Adam to the "new heaven and a new earth" of Rev. 21: 1) into seven unequal periods, usually called dispensations (Eph. 3:2), although these periods are also called ages (Eph. 2:7) and days, as in "day of the Lord.”

• These periods are marked off in Scripture by some change in God's method of dealing with mankind, or a portion of mankind, in respect of the two questions: of sin, and of man's responsibility.

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The Dispensations - Scofield• Each of the dispensations may be regarded

as a new test of the natural man, and each ends in judgment, marking his utter failure in every dispensation.

• Five of these dispensations, or periods of time, have been fulfilled; we are living in the sixth, probably toward its close, and have before us the seventh, and last: the millennium.

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The Dispensations - Scofield• 1. Man innocent• This dispensation extends from the creation of

Adam in Genesis 2:7 to the expulsion from Eden. Adam, created innocent and ignorant of good and evil, was placed in the garden of Eden with his wife, Eve, and put under responsibility to abstain from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The dispensation of innocence resulted in the first failure of man, and in its far-reaching effects, the most disastrous. It closed in judgment: "So he drove out the man." See Gen. 1:26; Gen. 2:16,17; Gen. 3:6; Gen. 3:22-24.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• 2. Man under conscience

• By the fall, Adam and Eve acquired and transmitted to the race the knowledge of good and evil. This gave conscience a basis for right moral judgment, and hence the race came under this measure of responsibility-to do good and eschew evil.

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The Dispensations - Scofield• The result of the dispensation of conscience,

from Eden to the flood (while there was no institution of government and of law), was that "all flesh had corrupted his way on the earth," that "the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually," and God closed the second testing of the natural man with judgment: the flood. See Gen. 3:7, 22; Gen. 6:5,11-12; Gen. 7:11-12, 23.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• 3. Man in authority over the earth• Out of the fearful judgment of the flood God saved

eight persons, to whom, after the waters were assuaged, He gave the purified earth with ample power to govern it. This, Noah and his descendants were responsible to do. The dispensation of human government resulted, upon the plain of Shinar, in the impious attempt to become independent of God and closed in judgment: the confusion of tongues. (See Gen. 9: 1, 2; Gen. 11: 1-4; Gen. 11:5-8.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• 4. Man under promise• Out of the dispersed descendants of the

builders of Babel, God called one man, Abram, with whom He enters into covenant. Some of the promises to Abram and his descendants were purely gracious and unconditional. These either have been or will yet be literally fulfilled. Other promises were conditional upon the faithfulness and obedience of the Israelites.

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The Dispensations - Scofield• Every one of these conditions was violated,

and the dispensation of promise resulted in the failure of Israel and closed in the judgment of bondage in Egypt.

• The book of Genesis, which opens with the sublime words, "In the beginning God created," closes with, "In a coffin in Egypt." (See Gen. 12:1-3; Gen. 13:14-17; Gen. 15:5; Gen. 26:3; Gen. 28:12-13; Exod. 1: 13-14.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• 5. Man under law

• Again the grace of God came to the help of helpless man and redeemed the chosen people out of the hand of the oppressor. In the wilderness of Sinai He proposed to them the covenant of law. Instead of humbly pleading for a continued relation of grace, they presumptuously answered: "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do."

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The Dispensations - Scofield• The history of Israel in the wilderness and in

the land is one long record of flagrant, persistent violation of the law, and at last, after multiplied warnings, God closed the testing of man by law in judgment: first Israel, and then Judah, were driven out of the land into a dispersion which still continues.

• A feeble remnant returned under Ezra and Nehemiah, of which, in due time, Christ came: "Born of a woman-made under the law."

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The Dispensations - Scofield• Both Jews and Gentiles conspired to crucify

Him. (See Exod. 19:1-8; 2 Kings 17:1-18; 2 Kings 25: 1 -11; Acts 2:22-23; Acts 7:5152; Rom. 3:19-20; Rom. 10:5; Gal. 3: 10.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• 6. Man under grace

• The sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ introduced the dispensation of pure grace, which means undeserved favor, or God giving righteousness, instead of God requiring righteousness, as under law. Salvation, perfect and eternal, is now freely offered to Jew and Gentile upon the acknowledgment of sin, or repentance, with faith in Christ.

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The Dispensations - Scofield• "Jesus answered and said unto them, This is

the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent" (John 6:29). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life" (John 6:47). "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life." (John 5:24).

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The Dispensations - Scofield• "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and

they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish" (John 10:27-28). "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). The predicted result of this testing of man under grace is judgment upon an unbelieving world and an apostate church. (See Luke 17:26-30; Luke 18:8; 2 Thess. 2:7-12; Rev. 3:15-16.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• The first event in the closing of this

dispensation will be the descent of the Lord from heaven, when sleeping saints will be raised and, together with believers then living, caught up "to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord" (I Thess. 4:16-17). Then follows the brief period called "the great tribulation." (See Jer. 30:5-7; Dan. 12:1; Zeph. 1:15-18; Matt. 24:21-22.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• After this the personal return of the Lord to the

earth in power and great glory occurs, and the judgments which introduce the seventh, and last dispensation. (See Matt. 25:31-46 and Matt. 24:29- 30.)

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The Dispensations - Scofield• 7. Man under the personal reign of Christ• After the purifying judgments which attend the

personal return of Christ to the earth, He will reign over restored Israel and over the earth for one thousand years. This is the period commonly called the millennium. The seat of His power will be Jerusalem, and the saints, including the saved of the dispensation of grace, namely the church, will be associated with Him in His glory. (See Isa. 2:1-4; Isa. 11; Acts 15:14-17; Rev. 19:11-21; Rev. 20:1-6.

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The Dispensations - Scofield• Satan is "loosed a little season," he finds the

natural heart as prone to evil as ever, and easily gathers the nations to battle against the Lord and His saints, and this last dispensation closes, like all the others, in judgment. The great white throne is set, the wicked dead are raised and finally judged, and then come the "new heaven and a new earth." Eternity is begun. (See Rev. 20:3,7-15; Rev. 21 and 22.)

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Larkin: The Church

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Larkin: END TIMES

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The End and Beginning• The New Heavens, The New Earth, and The New

Jerusalem• After the rebellion at the end of the Millennium and

the destruction of all those involved, God's series of testing periods for man will be over; the time for final judgment will have come. God will judge everyone who has not been judged before in a final, all encompassing judgment at the Great White Throne.

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The End and Beginning• Every saved person from Adam to the end of the

Millennium who was not part of a group that was previously judged (like the Church), along with every person of every other age who died lost will be resurrected to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ and be judged according to their works.

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The End and Beginning• Those whose names are found in the "book of life"

will be granted the privilege to enter into the New Heaven and New Earth. Those whose are not found in the book will be cast into the "lake of fire," there to spend eternity in torment (Rev. 20).

• Many today claim there will be no saved people from any dispensation before the White Throne for judgment, but what about those saved in the Tribulation and Millennium?

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The End and Beginning• There is no other judgment to cover these people.

We agree no saved person from the present Dispensation of Grace will be judged there because the "Judgment Seat of Christ" will cover them, but those saved in other dispensations must be judged at some time (Heb. 9:27), and this is the only judgment left.

• These people will have their names recorded in the book of life when they are saved; the Great White Throne Judgment will simply reveal their salvation, and their works, to all.

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The End and Beginning• While the above judgment is in progress, God will be

forming the New Heaven and the New Earth. He will do this by renovating the old heaven and earth with fire, melting the elements and purging them from the contamination of sinful man and preparing them for future habitation. The White Throne Judgment apparently occurs in the void of space.

• After the judgment and renovation God will be ready to establish His final dispensational arrangement. Calling this arrangement a dispensation may not be entirely accurate because it has no clear ending.

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The End and Beginning• It appears to join with eternity. • Furthermore, three covenants will still be in effect at

this time, the Abrahamic, Davidic, and New Covenants; therefore, the nation of Israel will still be in existence (Isa. 66:22).

• Including Israel there will be three distinct groups of people in this final arrangement:

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The End and Beginning• Israel will be made up of saved Jews from every

dispensation except the Dispensation of Grace; the second group will be saved Gentiles from every dispensation except Grace; and the third group will be all those saved, Jew and Gentile, in the Dispensation of Grace—the Bride of Christ.

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The End and Beginning• The Bride of Christ is a fixed number that cannot

increase or decrease after the rapture, but the other two groups can increase through childbirth.

• Since there will be no more death (Rev. 21:4), the kingdom will increase and rapidly fill the earth and then spread throughout the heavens. Isaiah 9:7 says, "of the increase of his government there shall be no end," thus Christ's kingdom may expand from earth to the other planets, then to the stars and beyond towards infinity.

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The End and Beginning• After 7000 years of dealing with man, God has

redeemed those who obeyed him and put them in a suitable condition to populate the universe. Out of billions and billions of people who have lived on earth, God has saved a relatively small remnant and these now love Him in return. With them God may begin to populate the entire universe.

• The Bride of Christ will dwell in New Jerusalem, a city prepared by Christ for her habitation that contains "many mansions.”

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The End and Beginning• The city will descend from Heaven to earth and

among other things contain the throne of God and the "tree of life" (Rev. 21). At this point God will have in some respects made a complete circle in His dealings with man.

• The Bible begins with man in a garden with the "tree of life," and after more than 7000 years of revealing many things to him, God has him again in a garden like setting with a tree that brings life.

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The Judgments of God• 1. INTRODUCTION• Many people seem to think that some day

there will be a general judgment - that everybody will have to stand before the tribunal of God and be judged at the same time. This is, of course, not the case. The Bible teaches that there are several divine judgments. The careful student of the Scriptures must learn to distinguish between these judgments and to see them all in their proper setting and sequence.

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The Judgments of God• 2. THE REASON FOR DIVINE JUDGMENT• It is conceivable that God might ignore or minimize

sin. Why does He do neither? For several important reasons.

• 2.1 The Love of God• Our heavenly Father is tender, compassionate and

kind (Ephesians 2:4, 7). He "is love" (1 John 4:8). His heart beats in mercy toward His errant children. But the God is more than love. To forget His other characteristics is to become sentimental and irrational.

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The Judgments of God• 2.2 The Justice of God

• He is "the Judge of all the earth" (Genesis 18:25). He is completely righteous and will not tolerate iniquity. He will have no traffic with sin. He will repudiate and condemn it.

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The Judgments of God• 2.3 The Heinousness of Sin

• Disobedience of, or failure to live up to, the law of God is not to be lightly overlooked. It is an open defiance of the divine will. It is rebellion against the Lord - a substitution of human desires for God's perfect purposes. It deserves and inevitably receives a visitation of wrath. Meditate upon the awesome words of Romans 1:18.

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The Judgments of God• 2.4 The Universality of Sin

• All men are both by nature and in conduct sinners (Romans 3:9, 23). There are no exceptions to the rule. All may therefore expect judgment.

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The Judgments of God• 3. THE METHOD OF DIVINE JUDGMENT

• Read Romans 2:1-16 carefully. It is a plain statement of the manner in which God deals with transgressors. The judgment which He metes out will be:

• 3.1 Absolutely Fair and Just

• It is "according to truth" (Romans 2:2). "God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7).

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The Judgments of God• 3.2 Universal

• Every man will be judged (Romans 2:6).

• 3.3 Proportionate

• Decision will be made in the light of a person's deeds (Romans 2:6).

• 3.4 Impartial

• God has no "respect of persons." He cannot be bribed or influenced by a man's title or possessions (Romans 2:11).

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The Judgments of God• 3.5 Discerning

• Even the secrets of men, concealed in the innermost recesses of thought or practiced in the dark, must be revealed and judged (Romans 2:16).

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The Judgments of God• 4. THE JUDGMENT AT CALVARY• On the cross the Lord Jesus "bare our sins in his

own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). He "was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities...(Isaiah 53:5). The sins of believers were forever judged at Golgotha.

• The demands of both divine justice and divine love were met.

• Justice: the sins of men received their just deserts when death was inflicted on the cross.

• Love: this was wondrously manifested in that the death fell, not on human transgressors, but on the dearly beloved Son of God.

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The Judgments of God• 4.1 The Scope of This Judgment

• All sins of believers - past, present and future - were borne by Christ (Acts 13:39). Their sins - past, present and future - were on the shoulders of the eternal Son of God when He offered Himself a sacrifice to satisfy divine justice. Hence the forgiveness He procured is perfect and complete.

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The Judgments of God• 4.2 The Finality of This Judgment• It was once for all (Hebrews 10:10, 12, 14). • Man must not seek to add to it or to subtract

from it. • When the Savior cried out upon the cross, "It

is finished" (John 19:30), He meant that His atoning, redemptive death was a final, definitive oblation never to be repeated.

• (The Passover and Wedding Cups were completed.)

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The Judgments of God• 4.3 The Efficacy of This Judgment• It is the basis of our forgiveness, justification, eternal

life and entrance into heaven (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 5:9; John 5:24; Romans 8:1).

• 4.4 The Appropriation of Its Benefits• Faith in Jesus Christ as one's Saviour is the golden

key (Romans 3:26, 28). The moment one genuinely, sincerely and wholeheartedly receives the Son of God as his Redeemer, he may know that his sins have been forgiven for Jesus' sake. He is no longer under condemnation. He is saved and safe forever. Study Romans 5:9; Acts 16:31; Ephesians 2:8, 9; Hebrews 1:3; 9:26.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST• At Calvary the matter of the believer's entrance into

heaven was settled once for all. At the judgment seat of Christ the question of his rewards in heaven will be decided.

• 5.1 The Time• At the Lord Jesus' coming for His saints, this

judgment will take place. The risen Christ said, "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me..." (Revelation 22:12). Christians will be "recompensed at the resurrection of the just" (Luke 14:14). Paul expected his crown of righteousness when "the righteous judge" would give it to him "at that day" (2 Timothy 4:8).

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST• 5.2 The Participants

• All true believers through the years will appear before this judgment seat. It is only reasonable that, in view of the different types and length of service rendered by Christians while on earth, there should be a variety of rewards. For every child of God there will be "reward" or "loss" (1 Corinthians 3:14, 15), although he himself as a believer will be saved (1 Corinthians 3:15).

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST• 5.3 The Criterion• Works which they have done to the glory of God will

determine their rewards. Study Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10. The "we" in these verses refers only to the saints.

• God's people are not saved by works but by faith in Christ, but, Eph 2:10, tells us He has Works for us – the basis of reward: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

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• 5.4 The Rewards

• Read 1 Corinthians 3:11-15. Only one foundation exists (3:11), Jesus Christ. Those who build upon Him wood, hay or stubble (Human Genetic Morality) may expect their deeds to be of No value; but those who build gold, silver and precious stones (Fruit of the Spirit) will have great reward.

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• 5.5 The Challenge

• The expectation of rewards should move us to greater zeal in Christian service, stewardship and testimony. Study Mattew 5:12; 6:1; 10:41, 42; 1 Corinthians 3:8, 14; Colossians 2:18; 3:24; Hebrews 11:26; 2 John 8; Revelation 11:18.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

• Judgment Seat of Christ – For Christians Only

• Matthew 6:1 "Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.

• 1 Corinthians 3:8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

• 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

• Before the judgment-seat of Christ (bema), a platform, the seat of the judge. Christ is Savior, Lord, and Judge of us all.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST• That each may receive Receive as his due, like in

Matthew 25:27 'Then you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest.

• Bad (phaulon). Worthless, of no account. • Romans 14:10 But you, why do you judge your

brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

• 1 Corinthians 3:9-15 For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

• 12 Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. 14 If any man's work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If any man's work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST• Results: • Rewards based on human strength or man's

glory will be lost. • Our motive: 1 Corinthians 6:20 For you have

been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

• 1 Corinthians 9:25 Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

• 1 Thessalonians 2:19-20 For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.

• Philippians 4:1 Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, my beloved.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST• James 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres

under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.

• 2 Timothy 4:7-8 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; 8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

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THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST• 1 Peter 5:4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears,

you will receive the unfading crown of Glory.• Revelation 4:10-11 the twenty-four elders will fall

down before Him who sits on the throne, and will worship Him who lives forever and ever, and will cast their crowns before the throne, saying, "Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created."

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THE JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS• 6.1 The Time• Read Matthew 25:31-46. When Christ returns to

earth after the great tribulation in his glory (Matthew 25:31), the nations of earth will be judged (Matthew 13:40, 41).  

• 6.2 The Place• The nations will be gathered and brought down into

the valley of Jehoshaphat for judgment (Joel 3:2, 12). Some have identified this spot as the valley of the Kidron, on the east of Jerusalem. But such an identification is mere conjecture.

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• 6.3 The Test

• They will be rewarded or punished in accordance with their treatment of Jesus' "brethren," the Jewish remnant who receive Jesus as their Messiah during the great tribulation (Matthew 25:31, 32, 40, 45; Joel 3:3, 6, 7).

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THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

• 7.1 The Time

• It will occur after Christ's thousand-year reign on earth after the loosing and doom of Satan (Revelation 20:1-15).

• 7.2 The People Judged

• Note that "death and hell" (i.e. Hades) will give up dead which are in them in order that they might stand in judgment before God (Revelation 20:13). This refers to unbelievers. How do we know this? For at least two reasons:

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• The sins and works of believers will have been judged long before this - their sins at Calvary; their works at the judgment seat of Christ.

• When a believer dies today, his spirit goes at once to heaven to be with Christ (2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23).

• Only the spirits of departed unbelievers await in Hades until the great white throne is set up.

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THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

• 7.3 The Verdict

• All who stand before this throne will be found guilty. There will be no exceptions. And all will be eternally separated from God.

• [NOTE: This is the traditional view, but we have seen that there is another group of Believers to be judged, who are most likely judged at this time.]

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Larkin: Judgments

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