God Is The Righteous Judge

God Has Authority to Judge

God is our Creator; therefore, He has the sovereignty and authority to judge mankind as He sees fit. For God is The Righteous Judge of everyone and everything in all creation everywhere. End of discussion.

But the Lord reigns forever, executing judgment from his throne. – Psalm 9:7

Jesus Christ Was Given Authority to Judge

• John 5:22 – In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge,
• John 5:27 – And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.
• Acts 10:42 – And he ordered us to preach everywhere and to testify that Jesus is the one anointed by God to be the judge of all—the living and the dead.

God Is Judge Over the Whole of Creation

• Genesis 18:25 – … Surely you wouldn’t do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
• Psalm 96:13 – … for he [the Lord] is coming! He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.
• Hebrews 9:27 – And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment…
• 1 Peter 4:5 – But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead.
• Jude 1:14-15 – …The Lord is coming with countless thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment on the people of the world. He will convict every person of all the ungodly things they have done and for all the insults that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
• Revelation 20:12 – I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

God’s Heavenly Court 

• Isaiah 3:13 – The Lord takes his place in court and presents his case against his people.
• Daniel 7:9-10 – I watched as thrones were put in place and the Ancient One sat down to judge. His clothing was as white as snow, his hair like purest wool. He sat on a fiery throne with wheels of blazing fire, 10 and a river of fire was pouring out, flowing from his presence. Millions of angels ministered to him; many millions stood to attend him. Then the court began its session, and the books were opened.

God’s Judgment Is Inescapable

• Hebrews 4:13 – Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
• Obadiah 1:4 – But even if you soar as high as eagles and build your nest among the stars, I will bring you crashing down,” says the Lord.
• Job 11:20 – But the wicked will be blinded. They will have no escape. Their only hope is death.”
• Jeremiah 11:11 – Therefore, this is what the Lord says: I am going to bring calamity upon them, and they will not escape…

Then I saw a vision of the Lord standing beside the altar.

He said, “Strike the tops of the Temple columns,
so that the foundation will shake.
Bring down the roof
on the heads of the people below.
I will kill with the sword those who survive.
No one will escape!

2 “Even if they dig down to the place of the dead,
I will reach down and pull them up.
Even if they climb up into the heavens,
I will bring them down.

3 Even if they hide at the very top of Mount Carmel,
I will search them out and capture them.
Even if they hide at the bottom of the ocean,
I will send the sea serpent after them to bite them.
4 Even if their enemies drive them into exile,
I will command the sword to kill them there.
I am determined to bring disaster upon them
and not to help them.”

Amos 9:1-4

The Judgment of God is Impartial

• For the Lord your God is the God of gods and Lord of lords. He is the great God, the mighty and awesome God, who shows no partiality and cannot be bribed. Deuteronomy 10:17 
• He doesn’t care how great a person may be, and he pays no more attention to the rich than to the poor. He made them all. Job 34:19 
• …He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with fairness. Psalm 98:9 
• For God does not show favoritism. Romans 2:11 

God’s Character is Revealed Through His Righteous Judgments

God is Slow to Judge  

• Numbers 14:18 – ‘The Lord is slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiving every kind of sin and rebellion. But he does not excuse the guilty. He lays the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations.’
• Nehemiah 9:30 – In your love, you were patient with them for many years. You sent your Spirit, who warned them through the prophets. But still they wouldn’t listen! So once again you allowed the peoples of the land to conquer them.
• 2 Peter 3:9 -The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed but wants everyone to repent.

God Shows Compassion 

• Lamentations 3:31-33 – For no one is abandoned by the Lord forever. Though he brings grief, he also shows compassion because of the greatness of his unfailing love. 33 For he does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.
• Hosea 11:8-9 – “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel? How can I let you go?
  How can I destroy you like Admah or demolish you like Zeboiim? My heart is torn within me, and my compassion overflows. 9 No, I will not unleash my fierce anger. I will not completely destroy Israel, for I am God and not a mere mortal. I am the Holy One living among you, and I will not come to destroy.
• Jonah 3:10 – When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
• Jonah 4:2 – So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people.

God is a God of Mercy to His People

• Nehemiah 9:31 – But in your great mercy, you did not destroy them completely or abandon them forever. What a gracious and merciful God you are!
• Psalm 78:38 – Yet he was merciful and forgave their sins and did not destroy them all. Many times he held back his anger and did not unleash his fury!
• Micah 7:18 – Where is another God like you, who pardons the guilt of the remnant, overlooking the sins of his special people? You will not stay angry with your people forever, because you delight in showing unfailing love.

God is Sovereign and Powerful

• Ezekiel 20:33-36 – As surely as I live, says the Sovereign Lord, I will rule over you with an iron fist in great anger and with awesome power. 34 And in anger I will reach out with my strong hand and powerful arm, and I will bring you back from the lands where you are scattered. 35 I will bring you into the wilderness of the nations, and there I will judge you face to face. 36 I will judge you there just as I did your ancestors in the wilderness after bringing them out of Egypt, says the Sovereign Lord.

God Reveals His Holiness Through Judgement

• Ezekiel 28:22 – Give the people of Sidon this message from the Sovereign Lord: “I am your enemy, O Sidon, and I will reveal my glory by what I do to you. When I bring judgment against you and reveal my holiness among you, everyone watching will know that I am the Lord.
• Revelation 16:5 – And I heard the angel who had authority over all water saying, “You are just, O Holy One, who is and who always was, because you have sent these judgments.

God Judgments are True and Just

• Psalm 96:13 – …He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.
• Revelation 16:7 – And I heard a voice from the altar, saying, “Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty, your judgments are true and just.”

God Has No Favorites

• Romans 2:9-11 – There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 10 But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
• Colossians 3:25 – But if you do what is wrong, you will be paid back for the wrong you have done. For God has no favorites.
• 1 Peter 1:17 – And remember that the heavenly Father to whom you pray has no favorites. He will judge or reward you according to what you do. So you must live in reverent fear of him during your time here as “temporary residents.”

God Examines the Heart of Mankind

• Jeremiah 17:10  – But I, the Lord, search all hearts and examine secret motives.
  I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve.”
• 1 Chronicles 28:9 – …For the Lord sees every heart and knows every plan and thought. If you seek him, you will find him. But if you forsake him, he will reject you forever.
• Psalm 7:9 – End the evil of those who are wicked and defend the righteous. For you look deep within the mind and heart, O righteous God.
• Proverbs 5:21 – For the Lord sees clearly what a man does, examining every path he takes.
• Jeremiah 11:20 – O Lord of Heaven’s Armies, you make righteous judgments, and you examine the deepest thoughts and secrets…

God Judges our Secrets 

• Romans 2:16 – And this is the message I proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge everyone’s secret life.
• Ecclesiastes 12:14 – God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.
• Jeremiah 16:17 – I am watching them closely, and I see every sin. They cannot hope to hide from me.
• 1 Corinthians 4:5 – So don’t make judgments about anyone ahead of time—before the Lord returns. For he will bring our darkest secrets to light and will reveal our private motives. Then God will give to each one whatever praise is due.

Who Faces the Judgments of God?

• Individuals
  • Ezekiel 33:20 – O people of Israel, you are saying, ‘The Lord isn’t doing what’s right.’ But I judge each of you according to your deeds.”
  • Ecclesiastes 3:17– I said to myself, “In due season God will judge everyone, both good and bad, for all their deeds.”
• Nations as a Whole
  • Psalm 96:13 – … He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice, and the nations with his truth.
  • Joel 3:12 – “Let the nations be called to arms. Let them march to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I, the Lord, will sit to pronounce judgment on them all.
  • Psalm 110:6 – He will punish the nations and fill their lands with corpses; he will shatter heads over the whole earth.
  • Zephaniah 3:8 – Therefore, be patient,” says the Lord. “Soon I will stand and accuse these evil nations…
• The Rulers of Nations 
  • Isaiah 40:23 – He judges the great people of the world and brings them all to nothing.
  • Jeremiah 25:27 – Then the Lord said to me, “Now tell them, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Drink from this cup of my anger. Get drunk and vomit; fall to rise no more, for I am sending terrible wars against you.’
  • Revelation 6:15-17 – Then everyone—the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person—all hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains. 16 And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. 17 For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?”
• He Judges His Own People 
  • Psalm 78:62 – He gave his people over to be butchered by the sword, because he was so angry with his own people—his special possession.
  • Jeremiah 1:16 – I will pronounce judgment on my people for all their evil—
    for deserting me and burning incense to other gods. Yes, they worship idols made with their own hands!
  • 1 Peter 4:17 – For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News?
• Angels 
  • 2 Peter 2:4 – For God did not spare even the angels who sinned. He threw them into hell, in gloomy pits of darkness, where they are being held until the day of judgment.
  • Jude 1:6 – And I remind you of the angels who did not stay within the limits of authority God gave them but left the place where they belonged. God has kept them securely chained in prisons of darkness, waiting for the great day of judgment.
• Satan 
  • Genesis 3:14-15 – Then the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.”
  • Matthew 25:41 – “Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.

18 Examples Of God’s Judgment

1. Cain – Genesis 4:9-12 
2. Flood in the days of Noah – Genesis Chapters 6-9
3. Tower of Babel – Genesis 11:5–9
4. Sodom and Gomorrah – Genesis 19:24-25
5. Egypt and their gods – Exodus Chapters 7-12
6. The Sin of Nadab and Abihu – Leviticus 10:1-3
7. Canaanite nations – Deuteronomy 7:1-5
8. Jericho – Joshua 6:15-24
9. Achan – Joshua 7:24-25
10. Israel – Judges 2:11-15 – see also 2 Chronicles 36:15-20
11. Eli – 1 Samuel 3:12-13
12. Seventy men from Beth-shemesh – 1 Samuel 6:19-20
13. Uzziah – 2 Chronicles 26:16-21
14. Nebuchadnezzar – Daniel 4:31-33
15. Belshazzar – Daniel 5:22-30 
16. Ananias and Sapphira – Acts 5:1-10 
17. Herod – Acts 12:22-23 
18. Elymas the sorcerer – Acts 13:8-11

SEE ALSO: Judgements During the Tribulation

God’s Final Judgment on The Whole Earth

The fact that there is going to be a final judgment for all men, both believers, and unbelievers, is clearly confirmed in many passages of Scripture.

Some Christians believe that the Scriptures reveal three different judgments to come.

The first is the judgment of the sheep and the goats or a judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-36). This takes place after the tribulation period but prior to the millennium; its purpose is to determine who will enter the millennial kingdom.

The second is a judgment of believers’ works, often referred to as the “judgment seat [bema] of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). At this judgment, Christians will receive degrees of reward for their works or service to God.

The third is the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:11-15). This is the judgment of unbelievers in which they are judged according to their works and sentenced to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire.

However, other Christians believe that all three of these judgments speak of the same final judgment, not of three separate judgments.

Whichever view one holds, there will come a time when everyone will stand before the King of kings and Lord of lords. Followers of Christ are rewarded. Rejectors of Christ will follow Satan and his cabal into the Lake of Fire.

The Great White Throne Judgement

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. ¹² I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. ¹³ The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. ¹⁴ Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

The Book of Revelation Chapter 20 verses 11-15