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by Wayne Blank
Who Is The Judge?
"Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth. Our God comes, He does not keep silence, before Him is a devouring fire, round about Him a mighty tempest. He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that He may judge His people: "Gather to Me My faithful ones, who made a covenant with Me by sacrifice!" The heavens declare His righteousness, for God Himself is judge!" (Psalm 50:2-6)
"And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that He is the one ordained by God to be judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets bear witness that every one who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His Name." (Acts 10:42-43) (see The Logos and The Messiah)
"Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! He who sat upon it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a Name inscribed which no one knows but Himself. He is clad in a robe dipped in blood, and the Name by which He is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, followed Him on white horses. From His mouth issues a sharp sword with which to smite the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; He will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name inscribed, King of kings and Lord of lords." (Revelation 19:11-16) (see The Return Of Jesus Christ and King Of The Mountain)
Who Is The Accuser?
"Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they were defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world - he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, "Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God." (Revelation 12:7-10) (see That Old Serpent and Did God Create The Devil? and Could Satan Repent? and The Lame Duck and What Does Satan Look Like? and Why Demons Are Afraid Of You)
Should Christians Ever Judge or Accuse?
In the words of Jesus Christ:
"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye." (Matthew 7:1-5 RSV)
Fact Finder: After their resurrection to righteous spirit beings, who will be given some authority to judge?
1 Corinthians 6:2-3
