Universal Judgment

Let's review where we've been and what we're doing. If you take your hand out and turn to the one side that shows the four different schemes, four different views on the end times.

And I'd like for us just to look briefly this morning before we head into our lesson at the last view, which is labeled dispensational premillennialism.

And we do so because this is the view that probably 90 percent of us were taught as we grew up in the evangelical church.

It is the view that at present is the most popular view, at least in evangelicalism in the United States. It's the most widely promoted view by prophecy speakers, by the media.

We can think back in the 60s and 70s of of Hal Lindsey and the late great planet Earth and the movie that was produced Thief in the Night.

That was promoting this fourth view of the end times. More recently, it's the view of the book series Left Behind and the host of other books and movies that are being viewed on a wide basis.

To look at it is also to notice at once that it's the most complicated view. It has the most details in it.

And I'd like for us just to go over its basic features then before we head into our lesson, because we're wanting to bring this view especially under evaluation this morning, since it is the current popular view within the church.

But I want you to notice there about in the middle, you have the two arrows, one coming down and one going up. This is the pre-tribulational coming of Christ.

And it's a secret coming. He doesn't touch down on Earth. He simply comes in the air. And at His coming, you'll notice at the bottom, is the resurrection and the judgment of the righteous.

The church is raptured and taken up into heaven at that point. Then follows seven years of great tribulation, after which Christ is revealed in glory.

He comes all the way down this time and destroys His enemies at the Battle of Armageddon. That ushers in a thousand years reign in which Jesus Christ reigns on the earth from His throne in Jerusalem, in which the wicked are ruled over with an iron rod and righteousness is triumphant and righteousness is preeminent.

And it's a golden era of the church where the evil no longer prosper and have the control and reins of government and of the arts and the media and society, the things that frustrate us.

Now it's all in the hands of the righteous and the wicked are the ones put under. And yet the wicked are there and they are there to such a number that at the end of the thousand years...

Ed? You just said it's a golden era of the church. It's a golden era of Israel. Okay. Good. It's a golden era of Israel, not the church.

It would be the church if we were looking at historical premillennialism, the view up. They would say that it's a golden era of the church. But you're right, Ed.

Thank you. The dispensational premillennialism says it's a golden era, not for the church. They've been raptured. And it's a golden era for the Jews in which many, indeed all of Israel, will be saved in that view.

And at the end of that thousand years, I was saying that the wicked are not absent from the earth during that thousand times. In fact, at the end of that thousand years, they would say, according to the teachings of Revelation, that the wicked will exert a rebellion again of such an extent that it's a worldwide rebellion against Israel in which the wicked are more than the sands that can be numbered, sands of the sea.

But then there is this crushing of that worldwide rebellion again, just as there was the earlier crushing of the wicked at Armageddon. So now at the end of the thousand years reign of Christ on earth, there is this crushing of the rebellion and then the resurrection of the wicked and the judgment of the wicked.

And that then is where the eternal state begins. Heaven and hell forever for the righteous and the wicked. That's the basic features.

Obviously, there's differences of opinion on different points. As we said, SUVs come in red, blue and yellow and different colors. There's different ideas within this dispensational premillennialism.

But those are the basic views that most all of them would hold in common. If they wouldn't, they would probably be more in the camp of the historic premillennialists.

So that for just a basic overview of the present popular view of the last things. Now, if you turn your hand out over, we have what we're calling the Bible's own view of eschatology.

And we're just starting from the bottom up. And we've drawn a line. And we've noticed that the Bible divides all of time into two different periods, two ages.

There were some 16 passages of Scripture in the New Testament where we saw this wasn't just some quirky idea of an interpreter of the Bible. This was the clear teaching of Jesus and the apostles.

That you have this age and the age to come. Two ages. And we see right away that the basic floor plan of the end times is simple.

There are just two ages. There are just two rooms. And all the prophetic pieces of furniture must fit into those two rooms. Now, this age, we notice the Bible characterizes as this present evil age.

It's an evil age. Satan is the god of this age. Christians are not to be conformed to this age. The age to come is a righteous age.

Only the righteous attain to the age to come. And now we've been studying this little vertical line that divides the two.

The dividing line. What is that dividing line? Well, it's the momentous event of the ages. It is that whole complex of events that takes place together.

One right after the other. Christ returns. The dead are raised. All are judged. A new heavens and a new earth is created. Renewed or renewed.

And the eternal state is begun. The age to come is begun. So that is the basic teaching of the clear, literal passages of the word of God.

Now, we are looking then at this momentous event. And we've noticed there are four things listed. Return of Christ. Universal resurrection. Universal judgment. New heavens and new earth.

We've plunged in on the third. Universal judgment. And last week we took up that study of the universal judgment. The judgment day of God.

And we have been asking three questions of that. Who, when, and what results come out of this day of judgment?

We're examining the Bible's key passages on the judgment. And we're looking at the teachings of Jesus.

If you notice the passages, the first two passages are the teaching of Jesus and Matthew. The next three are the teachings of the Apostle Paul. The next one is the teaching of the Apostle Peter.

And the last one is the teaching of the Apostle John. What he saw and vision. Now, what have we seen so far? Who are at the final judgment?

Everyone. By which we mean righteous and the wicked, living and the dead. All right.

When is the last judgment? At the return of Christ. And what are the results of that judgment?

Eternal punishment. Eternal life. Eternal punishment. Eternal life. The final destinies. Of the righteous and the wicked for all eternity. So, according to the Bible, there is no other view of the day of judgment.

Now, before we leave the Apostle Paul and go to the Apostle Peter, I'd like for us to note one other thing about Paul's use of the word day. Paul, many times, refers to the judgment by referring to the day.

Or the day of the Lord. And that, for Paul, is a synonym for the day of judgment. For the return of Christ.

I want us to look at several passages. 1 Corinthians 1.8. 1 Corinthians 1.8. Again, we're using a Bible study format.

Turning up the scriptures. We're wanting to get the Bible's own view of the last times. And now we're looking at the way that the Apostle Paul uses this word day. So, in other words, we have three passages here from the Apostle Paul in our worksheet in which he speaks of the day of judgment.

But there are many, many other references that Paul makes to the judgment day. But often, just under the term of the day. 1 Corinthians 1.8. Speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Look at verse 7. Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. That's His coming.

He will keep you strong to the end so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. That's the day of His return.

The day He's revealed. We'll also notice it's the day of judgment for Paul. Verse chapter 3. And verse 13. You're familiar with this section of Scripture.

Paul is talking about the judgment for ministers of the gospel. And their work is going to be tried. If any man builds on the foundation of Christ using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, or straw.

Verse 13. His work will be shown for what it is because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire.

And the fire will test the quality of each man's work. And so on. But just notice his use of the day. It's that day of judgment. And Paul only says the day.

Then in chapter 4 and verses 1 to 5. We see again. When is this day? When is this judgment? So then men ought to regard us as servants of Christ.

And as those entrusted with the secret things of God. Now it's required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court.

Indeed I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear. But that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Can you see the whole context is one of judgment.

And Paul says. Your judgment of me. My own judgment of me is not the ultimate thing. The most important thing is the Lord's judgment of me. And now notice what he says in verse 5. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time.

Wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness. And will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

Do you feel sometimes that men and women misjudge you? Paul says. It doesn't matter. It doesn't matter what men think of you.

It doesn't even matter ultimately what you say of yourself. Your conscience we trust is clear. But that doesn't make you innocent. You could have a dull conscience. What matters is what the Lord says.

And so Paul is urging us. Wait for the final judgment. Wait for the day when. When God the judge will bring to light all the facts. And even the motives.

And the secret things. And everyone will get exactly what they've got coming. And notice. When is that judgment? Wait till the Lord comes.

So again for Paul. The day of judgment. Is the day that Christ. Comes back. All right. We're going to go from the Apostle Paul.

To. The Apostle Peter. Second Peter chapter 3. We're back on your worksheet. The second to the last major text. Given.

Second Peter. Excuse me. Yes it is second Peter. Chapter 3. And again we're asking the three questions. Concerning the universe.

The last judgment. Concerning the judgment. Which is being spoken of here. Who's there. When is it. And what does it result in. Verse 3.

Second Peter 3. First of all. You must understand. That in the last days. Scoffers will come scoffing. And following their own evil desires. They will say.

Where is this coming. He promised. Ever since our fathers died. Everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation. But they deliberately forget.

That long ago. By God's word. The heavens existed. And the earth was formed. Out of water. And by water. By these waters. Also. The world of that time.

Was deluged. And. And destroyed. By the same word. The present heavens and earth. Are reserved for fire. Being kept for the day of judgment. And destruction.

Of ungodly men. But do not forget this one thing. Dear friends. With the Lord. A day is like a thousand years. And a thousand years. Are like a day. The Lord is not slow.

In keeping his promise. As some understand slowness. He is patient with you. Not wanting anyone to perish. But everyone to come to repentance.

But the day of the Lord. Will come. Like a thief. The heavens will disappear. With a roar. The elements will be destroyed. By fire. And the earth.

And everything in it. Will be laid bare. Since everything. Will be destroyed. In this way. What kind of people. Ought you to be. You ought to live holy. And godly lives.

As you look forward. To the day of God. And speed its coming. That day. Will bring about. The destruction. Of the heavens. By fire. And the elements. Will melt in the heat.

But in keeping. With his promise. We are looking forward. To a new heaven. And a new earth. The home. Of righteousness. Who.

Is that. This judgment. Do you see any references. I guess. That's. If anything. The one area. That is not spoken.

As. As loudly. To. As the other. Issues are. Although. There is the universal. Scope of the world. It's the world. Just as it was the world. That was judged.

In Noah's day. So it is the whole world. That will be judged. In. This day. All right. Now the question. Comes. When is this.

Judgment. Can you show us. From the text. Maybe the verse. What's the whole discussion. What. What. What. What. What are scoffers saying. In the last time. Where is the what. Where's his coming.

That's the whole context. Of. Of the discussion. So. This. Judgment. That's taken place. Is taking place. When Jesus. Keeps his promise. And comes back.

At his coming. Verse four. It's also called. The day. Of the Lord. The day. Of God. Is that. Verse seven.

I'm sorry. At ten. Okay. Thank you. The day of the Lord. Again. We've seen that. From the apostle Paul.

Being a reference. To the. Day of Christ's return. Then the question. What. Are the issues. The results. Of this judgment. What did we see.

Verse seven. The destruction. Of. The earth. But. Of ungodly men. All right. So we've got the. Destruction. Of the ungodly.

Verse nine. We have. The unrepentant. Will perish. At his coming. Because that's why. He's patient. In not coming.

As soon as. As some would like him to come. He's not wanting. Anyone to perish. But everyone to come. To repentance. So. Again. What happens. At his coming. The unrepentant.

Perish. And what about the righteous. What do they get. At this day. The last verse. Verse 13.

New heaven. And the new earth. Their home. The home of righteousness. So. Again. We're seeing. That. This one.

Coming of Christ. Brings about. Both the destruction. Of the present world. And of ungodly men. And also. Brings about. The rewarding.

Of the righteous. With life. In a new heavens. And a new earth. Now that ends. Our study. Of the first. Seven. Verses.

On our. Six verses. I guess. On our. Our sheet. And. I want to pause here. Just a moment. Because. Remember. We said.

We're looking at the clear. Before the unclear. The literal. Before the figurative. And when we get into the book of Revelation. We must admit. That there's a lot of. Figurative language. And so. Before we dip in. To Revelation.

And. Chapter 20. I want us. Just to. Sum up. What have we seen. In the clear. Literal. Passages. Of the New Testament. We've seen. That there will be one judgment.

Of all men. Living or dead. Righteous. Or unrighteous. Occurring at the second coming. Of Christ. Resulting. Either. In eternal life. For the righteous.

Or eternal punishment. For the wicked. The general. Judgment. At Christ's return. Ushers in. The eternal age.

The age to come. And when used. In this. Eschatological. Context. When. The word. Judgment. Is used. Of the last times.

It's always found. In the singular. It's always. The judgment. Listen. To just a few. Passages. In the New Testament. We've looked them up. Some of them here.

But. Listen. To the way. That this is true. Singular. Jesus. Every careless word. That men shall speak. They shall render. Account for it. In the day.

Of judgment. Again. Jesus. The men of Nineveh. Shall stand up. With this generation. In the judgment. The queen of the south. Shall rise up. With this generation. At the judgment.

It will be more tolerable. For satire. And sidon. In the day of judgment. Than for you. He has fixed. A day. In which he will judge. The world. In righteousness. Do you suppose.

That you will escape. The judgment. Of God. The Lord knows. How to keep the unrighteous. Under punishment. For the day of judgment. The present heavens.

And earth. Are being reserved. For fire. Kept for the day of judgment. And on. We could go. But every time. The New Testament. Speaks of the judgment. It speaks.

In the singular. Surely. If there were two judgments. One for the righteous. And another for the unrighteous. Separated by over a thousand years.

The New Testament. Would at least. Speak of it. Surely. Once. Or more times. As the judgments. That are yet. Awaiting. Mankind.

But no. It's always found. In the singular. The day. The judgment. Now. This has. Staggering. Implications. For premillennialism.

Again. We're looking at the. The last two. Schemes. Of the end times. And especially. The last view. The dispensational.

Premillennialists. What we have found. Is that the New Testament. It's clear teaching. Is that there's one judgment. Not two. And. What we find. In the schema. Of the dispensationalist.

Premillennialist. Is that you have. Two judgments. And they're separated. By a thousand. And seven. Years. If at the return.

Of Christ. All people. Are raised. From the dead. And are judged. And assign. Their places. In heaven. Or hell. Forever. Then the premillennialist.

Has a problem. With who will populate. The earth. During their. Thousand year reign. That happens. After the return. Of Christ. But before.

The eternal state. Who will be there. To reign. As the righteous. Over the unrighteous. Where will these. Unrighteous ones.

Come from. If they have already. At the coming of Christ. Been. Judged. And sent. To eternal. Torments. You see.

The new. Testament. Teaching. Is that. At the day. Of judgment. The righteous. And the wicked. Are forever. Separated. In this life. They're together. But a separation. Day is coming.

It's the day. Of judgment. And once. They're separated. They will never. Be found together. Again. For all. Eternity. That poses. A problem.

For having. Something. After the return. Of Christ. A thousand year period. On the earth. Where you have the righteous. And the unrighteous. Living together. Now this teaching.

On two judgments. I think we spoke. Last week. Also. Tends. To encourage. An easy. Believe. Ism. And I say that. For this reason. That.

It. It says. There's two judgments. There's a judgment. For the Christians. And there's a judgment. For the. The wicked. And they say. That the judgment. For the Christians. Is really not a judgment. That. That has to do.

With the eternal issues. Of. Of heaven and hell. It only has to do. With how many rewards. You get. In heaven. But that your works. Will never be judged. For the purpose.

Of. Determining. Is it eternal heaven. Or is it eternal punishment. Well. If I've made a decision. For Christ. I won't have to go. To that. Judgment. Where eternal heaven.

And hell. Are being determined. I just go. To this judgment. Where. How many gifts. Or how many rewards. I get in heaven. Are judged. You see how it takes. All the teeth. Out of. The teaching of judgment.

Rather. The New Testament. Says that all men. Will be judged. By their works. To determine. Whether they deserve. To be. Cast into hell. Or into heaven. Not by their own merits.

I use that word. Deserve. In the sense of. What does their life prove. Did they have faith in Christ. That always produces good works. Then on the merits of Christ.

They get heaven. Do they not have the works. The fruits of. Faith. That are always the evidence. Of any true believer. Then.

They deserve hell. On the merits of their own. Life. Life. And that's the teaching. Of the New Testament. And that's. Got some teeth in it. About.

The way I'm living today. I'm either demonstrating. In this life. That I belong to Christ. And he is my supreme. Lord.

The one I follow. The one I trust. The one I believe in. The one I obey. Or. I am following. Myself. My desires.

That issue. Is to be determined. At the day. Of judgment. And we all will be there. And we all will be judged. According to our works. The point is not.

That some will be saved. By their good works. Ephesians 2. 8 and 9. It's by grace. That we are saved. Through faith. And that itself. Is the gift of God.

It's not of works. Lest any man should boast. But we are his workmanship. Created in Christ Jesus. To do good works. Which God has foreordained. That we should walk in them. And everyone who is saved.

By grace. Alone. Through faith. In Christ alone. Is the workmanship. Of Christ. And therefore. Produces good works. And so.

In the day of judgment. He can have his works judged. And be placed. In the right place. He had faith in Christ. Or he didn't. So I say. This teaching. Of separating the two judgments.

To me. Takes the teeth. Out of the New Testament. Teaching on judgment. Altogether. And would encourage. An easy believism. Just pray in a prayer.

And you escape that judgment. And you get into this judgment. Where only. Rewards are being determined. Now we started with the plain. And the literal.

But you know. That's not all that's in the Bible. There are figurative. Passages. There are parables. And I want us to turn to those. As we conclude this study. But as we do.

Would we expect to find. Jesus teaching. In the parables. Coming to different conclusions. Than what Jesus said. In his plain. Literal teaching. No.

He. He does not. Contradict himself. And so. Even as we come to these. Parables of Jesus. And they're not. Perhaps. As clear. Although Jesus himself.

Interprets the parables. And there we have. The clear. Literal. Word. Again. They point. Us to the same. Conclusion. About. The judgment.

Revelation. Chapter 20. We'll begin with. The book of Revelation. And look at. Verses 11. Through 15. Again. Asking these three questions. Then I saw.

A great white throne. And him who was seated on it. Earth and sky. Fled from his presence. And there was no place. For them. And I saw the dead. Great and small. Standing before the throne.

And books were opened. Another book was opened. Which is the book of life. The dead were judged. According to what they had done. As recorded. In the books.

The sea gave up the dead. And that were in it. And death. And Hades gave up the dead. That were in them. And each person. Was judged. According to what he had done.

Then death. And Hades were thrown. Into the lake of fire. The lake of fire. Is the second death. If anyone's name. Was not found. Written in the book of life. He was thrown.

Into the lake. Of fire. When is this judgment? Well. The context.

Is the return of Christ. We don't have time. To demonstrate. I'll. Let me just hold that off. Till our next text. In. In. In Revelation. This is not stated here.

Explicitly. When it is. It's just. This great white throne. Appears. Before John. And. So. Who is. At this. Judgment.

Judgment. Well. The dead. Great and small. Verse. Twelve. Those whose names. Are in the book of life. And those whose names. Are not in the book of life. Are here.

And what is the result. The issue. Of this judgment. Well. You've got the lake of fire. For some. The second death. And you've got. Life. For the others.

Those who are in the. The book of life. Receive life. One other passage. Not written. Is chapter 11. Verse 18.

If you want to. Just flip back. A few pages. To. Revelation. 11. 18. And again. Here. The context. Is the return.

Of Christ. I. Will. Will. Come to this. When we come to the book. Of Revelation. But anytime. You come to the seventh. Trumpet. Or the seventh. Vial. Or the seventh. Seal. You have in the book. Of Revelation.

This cycle. Going through the book. Over and over. And over. Working from Christ's. First coming. To Christ's. Second coming. And you work from the first seal. Right down to the last seal. And here's the seventh seal. It's always the return of Christ.

The seventh seal. The seventh trumpet. The second. Seventh. And so. We're talking here. Verse 15. About the seventh. Angel. Sounding. The seventh trumpet. This is the return of Christ.

When the kingdom of the world. Has become the kingdom of our Lord. And of his Christ. And he will reign forever. And ever. Notice verse 18. The nations. Were angry. And your wrath has come.

The time has come. For judging the dead. And for rewarding your servants. The prophets. And your saints. And those who reverence your name. Both small and great. And for destroying those.

Who destroy the earth. And those who destroy the earth. And those who destroy the earth. And what are the issues of this judgment.

the saints will be rewarded and those who destroy the earth will be destroyed. So we have, again, both the righteous and the unrighteous together at the same judgment.

Now that's just two passages in the book of Revelation. Let's look at the parables then of Jesus. Matthew 13. These are familiar parables and we'll see how far we get.

And I'll leave the rest of them to you to read on your own. But Matthew 13, beginning at verse 24. Again, be looking for what is Jesus teaching about the last judgment?

Who's there? When is it? And what are the issues? Jesus told them another parable. The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

The owner's servants came to him and said, Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from? An enemy did this, he replied. The servants asked him, Do you want us to go and pull them up?

No, he answered. Because while you're pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time, I will tell the harvesters, first collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned.

Then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn. Now there's the parable. And if we never had another word on it, I think that we could figure it out, couldn't we? Knowing what we know from the apostles and Jesus teaching elsewhere.

When is the judgment? When's the separation? At the harvest. There's coming a day of harvest when these two will be separated.

Who's there? The wheat and the tares. The true and the false. And what are the issues?

Well, you got the tares thrown into the fire and you got the wheat gathered into the barn. Well, we don't have to guess as to its application. Look at Jesus' interpretation in verse 36.

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field. He answered, The one who sowed the good seed is the son of man.

The field is the world. And the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one. And the enemy who sows them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the age. And the harvesters are angels. This places this judgment at the end of the age.

That's the dividing line. The return of Christ. That's the end of this age. And as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The son of man will send out his angels and they will weed out of this kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

They will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. That's the language of Jesus for eternal torments of hell. And then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their father.

He who has ears, let him hear. Any question as to the complete separation of the righteous and the wicked at the end of the age when Christ judges all men?

May I make a comment? Yeah. Yeah. Having been steeped in this, this is one of the texts that changed my thinking and my questions on, but that's the point I'd like to make is in Revelation 11, 15 to 18, you could make a case there that the judgment of the righteous and wicked was after the so-called millennium and you did have wicked people on the earth and righteous people on people who got converted then to, so you could make a case for that, albeit not a real good one, but we could.

But this one just throws all of that out because Satan's supposed to be found during this thousand years. It can't be referring to a millennium that will be so exceed and so forth.

And also, the verse 30, first, collect the weeds. Their scheme is first. It's the reverse of that.

So I just wanted to throw that out. This was a text that really convinced me when I was struggling with these issues many years ago. All right. Thank you, Dennis.

Parable of the net, verse 47. Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake. You don't like the farmer parable? Maybe you like to fish.

And this net caught all kinds of fish. And when it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. And then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. Would they like to interpret that parable?

What Jesus does for us. So again, though it's figurative language, yet what follows is literal, plain explanation. This, verse 49, is how it will be when?

At the end of the age. That's the dividing line. He's talking about what happens at that little dividing line. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

You understood all these things, Jesus replied, and so on. Again, it's the end of the age. It's final judgment, final separation of the wicked and righteous, the wicked being cast into eternal torments.

Luke chapter 19. You've got the parable of the ten minas. Luke 19, 11. While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable because he was near Jerusalem and people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

He said, a man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas.

Put this money to work, he said, till I come back. But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, we don't want this man to be our king. He was made king, however, and returned home.

Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money in order to find out what they had gained with it. The first one came and said, sir, your mina has earned ten more.

Well done, my good servant, his master replied, because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities. The second came and said, sir, your mina has earned five more.

His master answered, you take charge of five cities. And then another servant came and said, sir, here's your mina. I've kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you because you're a hard man.

You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow. His master replied, I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant.

You knew, did you, that I am a hard man taking out what I did not put in and reaping what I did not sow. Why then didn't you put my money on deposit so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?

Then he said to those standing by, take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas. Sir, they said, he already has ten. He replied, I tell you, that to everyone who has, more will be given.

But as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them, bring them here and kill them in front of me.

The Lord Jesus has been exalted into heaven. He's gone away into heaven. He's been exalted to the throne of the universe. And he's coming back.

And when he does, he's going to judge his servants. And he's going to reward the righteous and he's going to punish the wicked. Those servants who really weren't servants, who were really false at the heart, he's going to punish them and also punish those who never even claimed to be servants.

The out and out enemies who said, we don't want this man to be king over us. But when does this happen? When the king returns. At the return of Christ, he gathers together for judgment.

All men, his servants and those who didn't even make the claim of servanthood. And he casts the wicked into hell.

Throw the worthless servant outside into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth is what the slightly different parable of talents reads in Matthew 25. And here, those enemies of mine who didn't want me to be king, bring them here and kill them in front of me.

There's no wicked left to rule over in some thousand year millennial reign after Jesus comes. No, they're judged. They're condemned. They're damned at the point of Christ's return.

Well, the same is true of the parable of the ten virgins. When the bridegroom comes, the door is shut. They're all wanting in then.

But no, the door is shut. There's no entry. It's just like the ark. When judgment fell, there was no opportunity for salvation. And so it is.

There's no hope of salvation in any tribulation period or in any millennial period that somebody would like to posit after the return of Christ. When the king comes, the door is shut.

Again, read the parable of the ten virgins. Parable of the talents from Matthew 25. Same lessons. At his return, there are rewards for the true servants. There's hell for the wicked servants.

One judgment for all people at the return of Christ unto eternal life or eternal punishment. So, the teaching of these eschatological parables is that there's one judgment.

None of the parables have two judgments separated by a huge period of a thousand years plus. All of them teach one judgment and they teach that both the righteous and the wicked are there at the same judgment and that their judgments are ultimate and final for all eternity.

Now, these same three points are made in our 1689 Confession of Faith. I'll simply refer you to it. If you have a copy of the Confession, look up the chapter, chapter 32, the last chapter on judgment and you'll find the same three points.

One judgment for the righteous and the unrighteous living and the dead with the ultimate issues being heaven or hell and when does it take place?

At the return of Christ. Questions? Comments? We've looked at what I trust is clear from the teaching of the apostles and Christ.

Any questions or comments? Jim? Jim? Well, that's all the verses I didn't tell you, Jim.

And again, our method has been start with the plain, start with the clear and then go to Daniel in the 69 weeks and the 70th week and the Revelation 20 and the thousand years there and then go to those passages.

I think the problem comes is when you go to those passages first. may may may