John

December 29

Revelation 20:11-13

The Judgment

John wrote down everything God allowed him to see—things in heaven and on earth that would happen at the end of time, when God judges the earth.

John said, “Then I saw God sitting on His great white throne, and everything fled from His presence. I saw those who had died—great and small—standing before the throne. The book of life was opened, and the dead were judged for what they had done.”

Will I also be judged?

Are you afraid of standing before God and being judged for all the wrong things you’ve done? You don’t need to be afraid if you’ve asked Jesus to forgive you and be the Lord of your life.

God is fair and holy, and one day He will judge everyone who did not follow Jesus or listen to Him. Because God is holy, He must deal with sin. Anyone who has not asked Jesus to take their sin away will have to answer to God for every wrong thing they have done. The punishment for sin is eternal death—not like when our bodies die, but a spiritual death in a place called hell. Hell is a place far away from God’s goodness, where sin brings eternal pain and sadness (Luke 16:23).

Believers will be judged too, but our judgment is different. We will be judged for the good things we have done—not for our sins. Our judgment is more like a prize-giving, where God looks at our hearts and rewards the things we did to bring Him glory (1 Corinthians 3:12–15). Believers don’t need to fear God’s judgment, because Jesus has already taken our punishment. What a wonderful God we serve!

Verse for today

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him … 2 Corinthians 5:10