1) God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the
world in righteousness, by Jesus Christ;a to
whom all power and judgment is given of the Father; in which day,
not only the apostate angels shall be judged,b
but likewise all persons that have lived upon the earth shall
appear before the tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their
thoughts, words, and deeds, and to receive according to what they
have done in the body, whether good or
evil.c
(a Acts
17:31, John
5:22,27; b 1
Corinthians 6:3, Jude
6; c 2
Corinthians 5:10, Ecclesiastes 12:14, Matthew 12:36, Romans
14:10,12, Matthew 25:32-46)
2) The end of God's appointing this day, is for the
manifestation of the glory of his mercy, in the eternal salvation
of the elect; and of his justice, in the eternal damnation of the
reprobate, who are wicked and disobedient;d for
then shall the righteous go into everlasting life, and receive
that fulness of joy and glory with everlasting rewards, in the
presence of the Lord; but the wicked, who know not God, and obey
not the gospel of Jesus Christ, shall be cast aside into
everlasting torments,e and punished with
everlasting destruction, from the presence of the Lord, and from
the glory of his power.f
(d Romans
9:22,23; e Matthew
25:21,34, 2
Timothy 4:8; f Matthew 25:46, Mark
9:48, 2
Thessalonians 1:7-10)
3) As Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded
that there shall be a day of judgment, both to deter all men from
sin,g and for the greater consolation of the
godly in their adversity,h so will he have the
day unknown to men, that they may shake off all carnal security,
and be always watchful, because they know not at what hour the
Lord will come,i and may ever be prepared to
say, Come Lord Jesus; come quickly.j
Amen.
(g 2
Corinthians 5:10,11; h 2 Thessalonians 1:5-7;
i Mark
13:35-37, Luke
12:35-40; j Revelation 22:20)