Judgment exalts the cross

The theme of judgment plays an important role in many cultures and religions, but it is axiomatic in Scripture. Not only is the concept of judgment significant in the Old Testament, but it  cannot be taken out of the NT Gospel. It cannot even be removed from the center to the periphery. Proclamation of the love of God always presupposes that all men are moving toward God's judgment.'¹

Even when there is no reference to legal vocabulary, the idea of judgment is an underlying assumption of Scripture. In such cases words such as "judge" or "judgment," may be absent, but others such as "separation," "justice," "reward," or "harvest" imply judgment (e.g., Matt. 3:7-12; 5:12; 7:13, 19, 24-27; 13:30; 25:14-30).

In the Old Testament, the judgment of Israel is anchored to the covenant by which God has graciously bound Himself to His called people. As Lord, Guardian, and Judge, He is as "concerned about the observance of this revealed will as He is about keeping the promise given in the covenant." ² Pivotal in Scripture is the fact that judgment and salvation belong together as an indissoluble and paradoxical unit. ³ God's judgments may be punitive or redemptive. Since the ultimate purpose of His judgments is man's salvation and the attainment of God's dominion, His judgments are motivated by love, mercy, and grace (Isa. 30:18; Ps. 33:5; 103:6-8).

On the positive side, the Divine Judge is also Israel's Defender and Saviour (Judges 11:27; 2 Sam. 18:31). Because He has elected His people, God exercises judgment for the righteous who are oppressed (Ps. 146:7; 140:12). He exalts the humble and humbles the exalted (Isa. 5:15, 16). It is for this reason that the righteous Israelite repeatedly longs for God's judgment, when he knows his vindication and salvation will take place. Emulating their God, the judges in Israel not only pass just decisions but, as deliverers, also champion the cause of widows, orphans, and the destitute (Isa. 10:1, 2; Amos 5:11-15; Jer. 5:28). They become dynamically involved in righting the wrongs brought to their attention.

Yet, the merciful God who saves is also the holy Lord who punishes sin and sinners (Ex. 20:5, 6; Isa. 6:3, 5), whether the latter are in the cosmic realm (Isa. 27:1), among heathen nations, or in Israel (Amos 1:2; 2:3; Jer. 46-51). God is pictured variously as accuser, witness, and judge (Isa. 1:2, 18; 3:1347; 66:15, 16). Since Israel is God's chosen nation, it will be judged (Eze. 20:33-38; Amos 3). Indeed, "in the judgment discourses of the prophets it is God's judgment upon Israel which receives most attention." ⁴ Natural catastrophes and horrors of war comprise most of the descriptions of punitive judgment in the Old Testament. Some of the punishing forces that God brings upon His unrepentant people, either directly or indirectly, include hunger, pestilence, fire, earthquake, deportation, or sword (Jer. 5:15-17; 14:12; Eze. 6:11, 12; Amos 5:5, 27). All of these occur in the natural course of earthly events and may occasionally be regarded as preliminary stages of the eschatological day of judgment.

The threat of this impending "day of the Lord" (Eze. 7:7; 30:3) is a theme in the book of Ezekiel. In the vision of chapter 9, the prophet focuses on God's people in Judah prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C., which both the author of Lamentations (1,2) and the author of Ezekiel (13:5) considered a "day of Yahweh." As is often the case in the Old Testament, judgment here proceeds from the Temple and begins with God's people. A man clothed in linen with a writing case at his side calls upon six men with weapons of slaughter to destroy old and young except for those who have a mark put upon their forehead (Eze. 9:1-7).

Here is a selective type of judgment preceding the act of destruction whereby those whose religion is an affair of the heart receive a mark to protect them from the punitive forces to be unleashed over unrepentant Jerusalem. In this selection process a remnant among God's professed people, who have a passionate concern for God and His people, are spared in the ensuing conflagration of this local and restricted end-time. ⁵

In a narrower sense judgment is also perceived in the Old Testament as a divine legal action reserved for the end-time. This event, which divides the present and future age, is a time when all men fall under God's judgment, and ungodliness is finally eliminated. Such depictions of the ultimate "day of Yahweh" predominate in late Judaism and in the New Testament, but they are not entirely absent from the Old Testament (Joel 3:2-14; Zeph. 1:7-18; Isa. 2:9-22; Eze. 30:3).

The New Testament teaching concerning judgment is equally rich and varied. ⁶ Jesus, John the Baptist, John, and Paul all add significant details to the concept of judgment. John the Baptist emphasizes the imminence of the eschatological day that was perceived as a far-off event in Old Testament times (Matt. 3:7-10). The thought of judgment is central in the gospel records of Jesus' preaching, especially in Matthew's account. Jesus repeatedly impressed on His hearers the seriousness of the judgment in which the only ground of deliverance would be the forgiveness that God so freely offers. In the case of Jesus, the Preacher is also the Judge, and thus His preaching assumes supreme urgency. It is one's relation to the person and teachings of Jesus that determines the judgment passed upon him (Matt. 10:37-39; 7:24-27). The coming of Jesus leads to a decision and forces a crisis (krisis is the Greek word for judgment; cf. John 3:18, 19). In fact, "understanding of the preaching and person of Jesus depends absolutely on understanding of His concept of judgment." ⁷ Without the judgment, Jesus' preaching is of little relevance, but with it man depends entirely on His statement "Thy sins be forgiven thee."

John notes that Jesus came not to judge (in the sense of condemn) but to save the world (John 12:47; cf. chap. 9:39). This may be best understood if we distinguish between His redemptive and eschatological functions. It was during Jesus' historical ministry on earth that He came to save and not condemn. ⁸

In the writings of John the expectation of the future day of judgment when all the dead shall rise is emphasized (1 John 4:17; John 5:28, 29). However, in another sense, John also stresses that the future judgment is already present in time. The world and its ruler, the devil, have already been judged (John 12:31; 16:11). Those who refuse to believe in the Son of God are already condemned, and the wrath of God rests upon them (chap. 3:18, 19, 36). Conversely, believers do not come into future condemnation, but have already passed from death to life (chap. 5:24; 1 John 3:14). Hence, "he that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12).

While for John the future judgment of the believer has been anticipated, the consummation of the judgment at the last day is staunchly maintained (John 5:28, 29; 12:48). The reason is well stated by Biichsel: "Since it is not apparent to the world (1 John 3:2) that unbelievers are already judged and that believers have already passed from death to life, there is need of a final judgment to make this clear. Judgment and the possession of life are not just a private affair between God and individuals. They are a public affair between individuals and those around. In this connection an exact parallel to the idea of the last judgment is to be found in that of the resurrection. Those who have life now still need a future resurrection (John 5:24-29; 6:40, 44, 54), since death wipes out any distinction between them and others." ⁹

For Paul, all men have sinned and are therefore justly deserving of God's wrath. It is the "expectation of the day of wrath and of the righteous judgment of God, who repays all men according to their works" that dominates the preaching of Paul. ¹⁰ All men, believers or unbelievers, "must. . . appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body" (2 Cor. 5:10, R.S.V. cf. Rom. 14:10; Acts 24:25).* In the judgment man's salvation is entirely by divine grace through faith in Christ and never grounded on works (Eph. 2:8, 9). It is for this reason that Paul can expect salvation even for those whose works will not endure, but will be burned (1 Cor. 3:15).

This future judgment, however, does not preclude an anticipation of judgment. As in the writings of John, so in Paul, God's wrath is already revealed, and those united with Christ by faith have in Him experienced final judgment, condemnation, resurrection, and ascension (Rom. 1:18-32; Eph. 2:3-8; 2 Cor. 5:14). It is plain that Christians experience such resurrection life only potentially, for in the present they are still limited by time, space, and the evil forces that pervade this world.

Here is no clash between the Pauline doctrine of judgment by works (Rom. 2:6) and that of justification by faith, for "the doctrine of judgment by works is the constant presupposition of the doctrine of justification by faith. Without it, the latter loses its seriousness and depth." ¹¹ Such balance safeguards the Biblical doctrine of perseverance according to which only he who endures unto the end will be saved (Mark 13:13). God is glorified in the bearing of much fruit, which is an evidence of our love for Him (John 15:8; 14:15; 1 Cor. 6:20). While good works, appropriate in themselves, can never save, they clearly manifest the believer's intimate and continued relationship with Christ. Such works reveal that the one who has been declared righteous in the anticipated judgment is righteous still because he maintains a close union with his Lord. Such a person may be entrusted with the eternal life that so far he has enjoyed only potentially.

The New Testament, then, takes up the Old Testament projection of a future last-day judgment. Yet it envisages at least two aspects within this judgment. There is an anticipation of ultimate judgment that is apparent only to the eye of faith. And there is also a final, public consummation of the judgment tied to the coming of Christ when hope merges into reality and the distinction between saints (whose condemnation has already been borne by Christ) and sinners (who persistently resisted divine forgiveness) becomes patently clear to all. While John depicts Jesus primarily as Judge, the rest of the New Testament is not particularly concerned whether God or Jesus assumes this function.

Closely related to the theme of judgment is the concept of the resurrection Though not prominent in the Old Testament, the importance of the latter cannot be underestimated in Scripture, because of the light it sheds on the subject of the judgment. In a conversation with Sadducees Jesus stressed that not all would have a share in the resurrection of life, but only those "considered worthy of taking part in that age" (Luke 20:35, N.I.V.).f The distinction implied here is further notice able in John 5:29, where Jesus distinguishes between a resurrection "to life" and a resurrection "to condemnation" (Jerusalem). In the book of Revelation the apostle observes that a span of one thousand years will intervene between the first resurrection, enjoyed by the "blessed and holy" who reign with Christ, and the second resurrection, where many rise to face final judgment and the second death (Rev. 20:6). According to Paul, it is at the Second Advent that the dead in Christ will rise and receive the reward of immortality with those who are translated (1 Thess. 4:13-17; 1 Cor. 15:51-56; cf. Rev. 22:12).

These very distinctions drawn by the New Testament between the resurrection of life at the Second Coming and the resurrection to condemnation a thousand years later imply a process of evaluation and selection prior to the Advent that determines who among believers is worthy of immortality. Since eternal life, the ultimate reward of the final judgment, is bestowed upon God's covenant people at the Second Coming, the judgment of believers must precede the second advent of Christ. Otherwise, we are left with the incongruous situation of having the results of judgment meted out before the judgment has even convened. We concur with J. A. Seiss: "People take the resurrection as a mere preliminary of the judgment, and view the judgment itself as something distinct from the resurrection, and coming after it... but the resurrection itself is a part of the judgment. The resurrection of the wicked is certainly something different from the resurrection of the saints. It is different both in character and in time. . . . The one is the peculiar privilege of the elect, of those who are Christ's, who rise at Christ's coming, and live and reign with Him a thousand years; the other is subsequent. . . . The estate and destiny on both sides is thus effectually and irreversibly settled in advance. . . . The truth is that the resurrection, and the changes which pass 'in the twinkling of an eye' upon the living, are themselves the fruits and embodiments of antecedent judgment. They are consequences of adjudications then already made." ¹²

Similarly, H. Lampater wrote more recently: "When Paul says that the 'saints shall judge the world' (1 Cor. 6:2; cf. Matt. 19:28), one must conclude that the judgment of the church and the judgment of the 'world' cannot be one and the same act. Just as the resurrection of those who are in Christ precedes the universal resurrection of the dead, so also the judgment of believers must be temporarily anterior to the judgment of the nations." ¹³

There is another aspect of judgment in Scripture not generally recognized that we may designate a pre-Advent judgment—that is, a phase of judgment that precedes the second coming of Christ. In the larger Biblical context such a judgment prior to the end of time (the eschaton) finds its most explicit description in the apocalyptic book of Daniel. In the historical vision of Ezekiel 9, a process of selection prior to the fearful destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. determined who would survive the ravages of annihilation (cf. also Rev. 6:12-7:3). So in Daniel a judgment occurs before the eschaton that concerns the destinies of both God's people and the God-defying oppressor. ¹⁴

According to Daniel 7, the prophet saw an unfolding of the historical powers beginning with the neo-Babylonian empire and ending with the eschaton. Having observed earth's turmoil, Daniel is startled by the activities of the fourth beast and its little horn when suddenly his gaze shifts heavenward to rest upon the brilliance of God's appearance and His throne. Associated with the Ancient of Days is an innumerable throng of heavenly attendants in the process of judgment. Daniel 7:9, 11 (a description of the activities of the little horn in connection with the judgment) may actually be understood to mean that for a time the heavenly judgment is contemporaneous with the little horn. The heavenly assize clearly convenes and the tribunal books are opened before the end-time and the setting up of the eternal kingdom. Although these records are not identified for Daniel, it appears from the larger context that they concern God's people. The idea of a divine book (or books) with a heavenly record is ancient in Israel and recurs in the literature of late Judaism and the New Testament (Ex. 32:32; Ps. 56:8; 69:28; 139:16; Dan. 12:1; Mal. 3:16; Phil. 4:3; Rev. 3:5; 20:12; 21:27). An analysis of these passages suggests that in most cases it is God's people that are in focus. The depiction of books in the context of the judgment in Daniel 7 is further supplemented by a later parallel vision of Daniel (10:1-12:4). In chapter 12:1, 2 Michael arises to deliver " 'every one whose name shall be found written in the book'" (R.S.V.). The persecution of God's people in Daniel 11 and 12 corresponds to that experienced by the saints in Daniel 7. In both cases deliverance occurs at the end-time. Indeed, according to Daniel 12, their rescue takes place when the dead saints are raised to everlasting life. Evidently, those "found written in the book" refers to God's people, and the judgment imagery of Daniel 12: 1, 2 casts further light on that of Daniel 7:9, 10. It is of further interest that though the wording of Daniel 7:22, "judgment was given to the saints of the most High," is some what ambiguous, it does indicate that the judgment concerns the saints. In the historical chapters, Daniel and his friends are severely tested and found to be totally loyal to God. Likewise, in the apocalyptic chapters the persecuted saints are seen to be absolutely commit ted to God and graciously receive the ultimate covenant blessing of eternal kingship and life.

However, the judgment in Daniel 7 is not only "of " or "for" but also "against." As in the story of chapter 5 Belshazzar was adjudged wanting and perished, so in the apocalypse of chapter 7 the arrogant little horn is seen in its true light and, deprived of power, is given over to destruction (cf. verses 11, 26). While neither the saints nor the little horn are directly named in the judgment of Daniel 7 (although the saints are referred to in Dan. 12:1, 2), their recompense subsequent to the judgment scene is unmistakable testimony to the fact that a judgment prior to the eschaton has occurred and a verdict has been passed.

F. Diisterwald has captured the significance of Daniel 7 in the following words: "The judgment depicted here is not the universal world judgment as proposed by older exegetes (e.g., Theodoret, et cetera), nor is it God's judgment on earth; rather this judgment occurs in heaven and the context makes it plain that this is a kind of pre-judgment which is later confirmed in the universal judgment upon the world." ¹⁵

It is this doctrine of a judgment before the eschaton, anticipated in the book of Daniel and implied in the New Testament, that Seventh-day Adventists seek to share with the world. Presupposing the historicist school of prophetic interpretation and assuming the validity of (1) the year-day principle, (2) an intimate contextual link between Daniel 8 and Daniel 9, and (3) the parallel nature of Daniel 7:9-13 and Daniel 8:9-14, Seventh-day Adventists have historically affirmed that this judgment began in the year 1844.

The idea of a phase of judgment prior to Christ's second advent is grounded in the conviction that salvation is wholly a gift of God and that man's obedience is a grateful response to divine love and grace. It deprecates neither the anticipation of judgment in the life and death of our Lord nor the consummation of judgment when Christ returns. While the anticipated judgment in Christ assures the believer today that Christ has borne his condemnation and therefore he may approach the judgment with confidence, the consummation of judgment underlines the fact that only " 'he who endures to the end will be saved'" (Matt. 24:13, R.S.V.).

This Biblical doctrine rejects both the idea that man in himself can earn God's approval for salvation (legalism) and the notion that one can take sin lightly or abuse Christian liberty (antinomianism). It tells us that God is serious about His law in its entirety at a time when His will is questioned, neglected, or derided. In today's impersonalized, secularized, and industrialized world the pre-Advent judgment in the context of the larger theme of universal judgment teaches that we are individually important to God and that all our decisions and actions are significant. ¹⁶ The investigation within the judgment "reveals to heavenly intelligences who among the dead are asleep in Christ and therefore, in Him, are deemed worthy to have part in the first resurrection. It also makes manifest who, among the living, are abiding in Christ, keeping the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and in Him, therefore, are ready for translation into His everlasting kingdom. This judgment vindicates the justice of God in saving those who believe in Jesus. It declares that those who have remained loyal to God shall receive the kingdom." ¹⁷

In sum, the pre-Advent judgment exalts the ultimacy of the cross and stresses the urgency of man's response to Christ before time merges into eternity.