“I will go down now, and see …” (Genesis 18:21a).
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25b).
“…but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1st Samuel 16:7b).
“And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:27).
Jesus Christ is known by many names. How will the LORD, the I AM, Jesus Christ, The Son of God, The Messiah judge Mankind?
This can only be addressed by delving into the character of the Judge of all the earth. In fact, we shall see yet another of Jesus Christ’s many names – Judge. As we cover four critical points on how our judge, The Judge…will judge Mankind.
“I will go down now, and see…”
In Genesis Chapter 18, we see Jesus Christ the great I AM in a theophany, physical appearing of the pre-incarnate Christ, as LORD. Here he tells Abraham in advance of the coming judgment upon Sodom and Gomorrah, so Abraham and his children will know how He shall judge Mankind.
Genesis 18:16-19 “And the men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and Abraham went with them to bring them on the way. And the LORD said, Shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I do; Seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? (Genesis 12:1-3). For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
God desired Abraham and his children, who keep the way of the LORD (which would eventually include Believers, the Church) to know precisely HOW He would judge. Through the Holy Spirit, Moses ensured that this critical exchange between Abraham and the future Judge of all Mankind would be passed down to the generations of the faithful.
Genesis 18:20-22 “And the LORD said, Because the cry of Sodom and Gomorrah is great, and because their sin is very grievous; I will go down now, and see whether they have done altogether according to the cry of it, which is come unto me; and if not, I will know. And the men turned their faces from thence, and went toward Sodom: but Abraham stood yet before the LORD.”
Would an omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent God need to go down and see what is going on? Of course not. The physical manifestation of the Triune God to Mankind, Jesus Christ our LORD, is providing us this scripture for our instruction, so that we may understand His nature and the nature of His judgment. God does not change, and the nature of his future judgments will reflect this judgment.
At the Sodom and Gomorrah judgment, we see the LORD/I AM/Jesus Christ personally instructing and warning Mankind (via Lot), personally nurturing His people (a rapture type/foreshadowing), personally presiding in judgment process, personally making the judgment, and then personally and decisively executing judgment. This will not change.
POINT 1 – THE LORD WILL PERSONALLY ADMINISTER JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT!
Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
For our second point on the nature of God’s judgment, we only need to move to the next verses of the Genesis judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Genesis 18:23-25 “And Abraham drew near, and said, Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Peradventure there be fifty righteous within the city: wilt thou also destroy and not spare the place for the fifty righteous that are therein? That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?”
This is arguably the greatest rhetorical question in all human history. For upon this question lies the very nature of God, and whether God can be trusted to do what is right. Ever-faithful Abraham knows in his heart the answer to this question is an unequivocal resounding, “Yes!”
For if the answer to this question is not, “Yes!” there is no hope for Mankind. Mankind would then be living in vain, under a capricious God, given over to sudden and unaccountable changes of mood and behavior.
So is the answer “Yes?” Can we trust God to do right in his judgments?
Whether or not you want or need confirmation that we can trust God, I invite you into a blessed, beautiful and wondrous spiritual walk through the following scriptures on trusting in God: Psalms 5:11, 16:1, 25:20, 31:1, 34:22, 37:5, 56:11, 62:8, 64:10, 71:1, 91:2, 125:1; Proverbs 3:5, 29:25, 30:5; and Isaiah 12:2, 26:4.*
I will provide the first and the last verses of this scripture string to give a glimpse at the treasures locked away for those who diligently seek him.
Psalms 5:11 “But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.”
Isaiah 26:4 “Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength {everlasting: Heb. the rock of ages}.
Like our father Abraham, in our hearts, the answer as to whether we can trust our LORD should be an unequivocal, resounding, “Yes!”
For the LORD’s judgments are transcendent above mere man, because God alone is 100% good (Matthew 5:48; Hebrews 5:9; 1st Peter 1:19). Accordingly, He alone can righteously/rightly judge what is good and what is evil, for He alone can judge everything against Himself. Fallen man cannot accomplish that judgment.
POINT 2 – THE LORD WILL DO RIGHT! In Him alone can we trust.
“What is Truth?”
In John 18:38, we find another classic rhetorical question asked by Pontius Pilate when he was interrogating Jesus, “What is truth?” Ironically, he asked this question as the truth…in fact the way, the truth, and the life stood right in his face. For our LORD Jesus Christ defines TRUTH, and in him there is no guile (1st Peter 2:22).
In addition to defining truth, and being omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, our LORD is dio cronos (God over time) and thus transcends linear time. Accordingly, our LORD, the Judge of all Mankind, can look across the entire span of human history into the very depths of each soul’s heart.
“But the LORD said unto Samuel, ‘Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart” (1st Samuel 16:7).
“Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart” (Psalms 44:21).
“I the LORD search the heart, I try the reins, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings” (Jeremiah 17:10).
POINT 3 – THE LORD WILL JUDGE IN PURE TRUTH!
“…because he is the Son of man.”
The Word, the I AM, became 100% man in flesh “and dwelt among us” (John 1:14).
In the Gospels, Jesus called Himself the Son of Man a remarkable 79 times. He self-identifies with this title above all others. Why? Why would the creator of the universe humble Himself and dwell among us, inhabiting the same limiting flesh which we have?
In part, so He could experience everything we must experience. He loved and was loved. He shared joy and sorrows. He laughed and cried. He was heartbroken and elated; joyous and depressed; invigorated and exhausted; filled and hungry; parched and quenched; experienced assurance and fear. He enjoyed close fellowship and personal relationships and the anguish of rejection.
The Son of man dealt with people from all religions, races, sexes and in all walks of life: priests, fishermen, prophets, rebels, kings, beggars, scribes, prostitutes, tax collectors, merchants, lepers, soldiers, blind men, money-changers, carpenters, murderers, governors, and thieves.
He knew temptations far greater than we ever will, and then He suffered more than we can ever imagine (Isaiah 53:3-5). Yes, the Messiah came to save us, but He also came to walk in our flesh, to know us, to empathize with us, to personally see our trials and temptations…so that the Son of man may judge with the utmost mercy.
Here are the Son of man’s own words, aligned by the Holy Spirit, one from each gospel which outlines His mission, ending in his right to judge because he came in flesh as the Son of man.
Matthew 18:11 “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Luke 22:69 “Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God.”
John 5:27 “And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.”
POINT 4 – THE LORD WILL JUDGE IN EMPATHY AND COMPASSION!
How will Mankind be judged?
Mankind will be judged by The LORD – The I AM – Jesus Christ – JEHOVAH – YHWH – The Son of God – Messiah – the Son of man who will personally:
ADMINISTER ALL JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT,
DO SO RIGHTEOUSLY,
JUDGE IN PURE TRUTH, and
JUDGE IN EMPATHY AND COMPASSION!
Come Lord Jesus; come lift us up and bring us to your BEMA Seat of Judgment**, overshadowing us in your precious blood, making us right through your righteousness, mercy and grace.
May the hearts of the wicked turn to you so that no souls need be consumed as the fat of lambs in the lake of fire.***
Thanks be to you our Lord God Almighty! The One who is, who was and who is to come! Come and reign over us in victory, and in power, and in glory! We, your Bride, await you!
Alleluia! For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!
YBIC Joe
J&J Ranch Ministries “But as for me and my <ranch>, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15)
All verses KJV.
Author’s YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGWbMhR5tdQkhPuV3JRky6Q/
*How God Judges! – The Judgment of Church Age Mankind Part 2
**How Will Believers Be Judged? – The Judgment of Church Age Mankind Part 3
***How Will Non-Believers Be Judged? – The Judgment of Church Age Mankind Part 4