Here Comes the Judge . .
"And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?"
The Book of Revelation 6:13-17
We dread judges because we're guilty, and understand that any judge worth their salt has to declare us so. After all, supposing someone (God forbid!) were to kill someone you loved and when you got into the court room the judge (who was having a bad day) walked in, slammed the gavel and said "Not guilty!", and left the room. Everyone would know that he was a bad judge. Good judges cannot let the guilty go free.
The Bible teaches that God is the ultimate judge in the courtroom of the universe and that His judgement is perfect.
One of the most terrifying passages in scripture occurs in John chapter 5:19, when Jesus is being grilled by the religious leaders over his healing the crippled man on the sabbath:
"Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.
For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will."
Look at the last line. Jesus says he quickens (makes alive) whoever He wants to! He continues in verse 25:
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, (remember Lazarus, the centurion's daughter, and the widow of Nain's son?) when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
It is Christ himself who is the coming righteous judge, the reality of that mysterious figure in Daniel chapter 7
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Dan 7:13 I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. Dan 7:14 And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.
Dan 7:25 And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.
Dan 7:26 But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.
Dan 7:27 And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.
