The judgement seat of Christ

by mdb 5 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  mdb

  The Judgement Seat of Christ

  But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ [NU God]. For it is written:
  As I live, says the Lord,
  Every knee shall bow to Me,
  And every tongue shall confess to God.
  So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
  (Rom 14:10)

  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (2 Cor 5:10)

  And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. (Rev 20:12)

  Is it then the judgement seat of God or of Christ, and if it is the judgement seat of Christ and we shall give an account to God, what does that make of Jesus who sits on the judgement seat? It would seem clear from these passages that Jesus Christ, who was given the name Emmanuel (God with us) and came to save the world, is truly God. In another place, speaking of the glory and image of God, it says:

  But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus? sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Cor 4:3)

  The eternal Word, who was in the beginning, became flesh and dwelt among men in the man of Jesus Christ. And the Word was God.
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  M.J.

  Not to detract from the specific argument in your post, but doesn't the WTS treat the "judgment seat" not as a literal, one time event, but in a vague way, inclusive of several judgments? Sheep & goats/Great Tribulation/Post Resurrection/end of thousand years? I'm so confused.

  It's hard to imagine how dead people could be standing before the throne (Rev 20:12) if dead people are non-existant, btw.
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  mdb

  I'm not sure about your first question. Maybe an Ex-JW could answer that one.

  As for your comment regarding the existence of those who are dead, that's a good point. If the dead are before God being judged then I suppose they would have to be in a state of consciousness. I don't think God is going to judge a bunch of imaginary people who can't hear or speak.
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  M.J.

  Maybe he's judging their memories.

  Oh but wait, the ol' favorite JW verse on that, Eccl 9:5, says that "even the memory of them is forgotten."

  I think they'd like to remove that part if they could.

  Anyway, don't mean to hijack this into a soul thread.

  As for your argument, don't forget the verse, Hebrews 1:8 "But about the Son he says, "Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the scepter of your kingdom."
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  greendawn

  It's hard to imagine how dead people could be standing before the throne (Rev 20:12) if dead people are non-existant

  According to the gospels all the dead will be resurrected.

  Overall: whoever loves a lot, many of his sins will be forgiven. Luke 7: 47
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  mdb

  According to the gospels all the dead will be resurrected.

  True enough, but how does something that dies with the body and is said to cease to exist (the soul) be resurrected?

  re: Heb 1:8

  I agree, but as always, the NWT perverts the passage and says, " But with reference to the Son: ?God is your throne forever and ever, and [the] scepter of your kingdom is the scepter of uprightness." [Heb 1:8 NWT]