Reward and Judgement, Both Small and Great

And the twenty-four elders, who were seated on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying: “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, the One who is and who was, because you have taken your great power and have begun to reign. 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.” (Revelation 11:16-19, NIV 1984).

My Musings – We must not lose sight of the context of this passage and the message that “the time has come for judging the dead, and for rewarding your servants.” Paul had a similar message to the Thessalonians, who were troubled about the state of believers who died before the Lord’s return. “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13, NIV 1984). Paul assures them that these believers are not lost, nor will they miss out on His return.  They will be with the Lord and reunited with other believers. “We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14, NIV 1984).

Judaism traditionally associated the resurrection of the dead with the end of the age and the inauguration of the kingdom. Paul’s first century readers would likely assume this connection in the absence of a direct statement to the contrary. Nevertheless, the resurrection of the dead, especially if dead for a very lengthy period, poses a great problem to the faith of many. Perhaps that is why Paul stressed that this revelation came from Jesus Christ Himself. “According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep.” (1 Thessalonians 4:15, NIV 1984).

So, “according to the Lord’s own word,” this is as certain of future fulfillment as Jesus’ resurrection is a fact of historical fulfillment. The God who created the universe out of nothing with a mere command is fully able to reassemble the decayed (burned, eaten) bodies of all His saints in a moment of time. Christians should find encouragement (no need to grieve) about four things.

• Resurrection – “The dead in Christ will rise first.” 1 Thessalonians 4:16, NIV 1984).

• Reunited – “We who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17, NIV 1984).

• Eternal – “And so we will be with the Lord forever.” (1 Thessalonians 4:17, NIV 1984).

Not only should Christians not grieve like unbelievers, but followers of Christ can also eagerly look forward to that great day. This is the great hope of the Church, to see the Lord and be united with Him forever. It is this hope that every believer in this Age should anticipate. It is a blessed hope (Titus 2:13) with respect to the dead in Christ as well as for the living!

All of this is true whether the rapture occurs before, during, or after the tribulation and should be a common source of encouragement, hope and unity among all three camps. “Therefore encourage each other with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:18, NIV 1984).

God is now answering the age-old question of evil in the world. Why is there both good and evil in the world and why has God not done something about the evil? Of course, Christians know that God is not the source of evil and that He did do something about it at Calvary when Jesus Christ was made sin and experienced divine wrath for a sinful world. Since God has already paid the price for sin, He is free to delay His judgment until the time of His choosing. He cannot be accused of being unjust, unconcerned or rash.  The signal for no more delay is the sounding of the seventh trumpet.

It also ushers in God’s kingdom on earth.  “Rewarding your servants the prophets” is generally considered to be a reference to the Old Testament prophets, although it may also be a reference to prophets of the Gospel and Epistles. Specifically, the fulfillment of many Old and New Testament passages which refer to the glorious return of the Son of God and the establishment of His kingdom of righteousness and peace on the earth. God’s purposes may not be apparent in many of the world’s current events and in a world where Satan is permitted to continue in power. But the time will come when Satan will no longer be in power, and the predictions of the Old and New Testament prophets will be fulfilled.

My Advice – Reward and judgement are coming. Even those considered small in the world’s eye will receive reward if they are in Christ. Conversely, those without Christ, no matter how great they are in the world’s eye will not escape judgement. Whether great or small, you don’t be a recipient of God’s wrath and judgement.

Resources:

Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (1 Th 4:14). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (1 Th 4:16–17). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

Constable, T. L. (1985). 1 Thessalonians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 704 & 705). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 597–598). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

Barry, J. D., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Mangum, D., & Whitehead, M. M. (2012). Faithlife Study Bible (Re 10:7). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.

Walvoord, John F. (1985). Revelation. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 954). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.