The Last Judgment
of God, of the King, of Jesus Christ
In Matt.25 In Rom.2
In Rev.20 In 2Cor.5 In Jn.5
The 7 Parables
Jesus, in Matthew 25:
This is the bottom line of the "Sermon of the End of the World", in Matthew 25:31-46, a long description!... its essence, the works!, the fruits!, is also the essence of the "Great White Throne" in Rev.20, and of Rom.2:5-11, 2Cor.5:10, Jn.5:29.
Many Protestants do not like it, do not understand it, and very rarely mention it, one of the most brilliant and practical pages of the Bible.
In the words of Jesus himself, in your Last Judgment, you will not be asked: Did you had faith in Christ, or in Buddha, or in Moses?... you shall only be asked: Did you give bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty?... so, come in!.
.... You shall
not be asked: Were you a Catholic, or a preacher, or a Muslim, or a Hindu, or an Indian?...
you shall be asked: Did you clothed the naked, and visited the sick and those in
prison?... so, come in!...
Can an Indian, or
a Jew, or a Hindu, or a Muslim go to Heaven?:
You shall not be judged for the "free gifts" you received, but for what you did with those gifts, for the "fruits" you produced!...You shall not be judged for the strong hands you have or for your beautiful face, but for what you did with those hands and face... you shall not be judged for the gift of faith, or the gift of the Bible you received, or for the Church you belong to, but you shall be judged for what you did with that faith, and for what you did with the knowledge you got from the Bible, and for what you did with the help of the Church...
"St. Paul", repeats the same in Romans 2:5-11... by the works!, he repeats twice... and he is still more specific when he ends up saying "for God shows no partiality", he shall judge with the same measure the Christian, and the Muslim, and the Hindu, and the Indians of 5,000 years ago... each one shall be judged by the "fruits" he produced, not by the "gifts" he received, because "there is no partiality with God" (Rom.2:11).
In 2 Corinthians 5:2, Paul repeats the same, by the works, for his deeds, for what he has done!... For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
In the "Great White Throne" of Revelation 20, the "works" are the only reason mentioned. The faith or the church you belong to are not even mentioned!... "And the dead were judged according to the works, as recorded in the books", and repeats it again: "the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works" (Rev,20:12,13)... the "works", the "works", repeats twice!... the "fruits" made with the free gifts, not for the "gifts"!.
In John 5:28-29, the same story: Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
Description of the "Last Judgment" (Please read Matt.25:31-46):
The "King"... and "all of us":
This "Last Judgment" of Matt.25, starts presenting Jesus, the King, on his throne of glory, escorted by all the angels... and there we are, all of us!... since Adam to the last person on earth... the living and the dead... all the nations assembled!, since the beginning of the world... the Egyptians, the Romans, the Chinese, Americans, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Indians... all of us!... the living and the dead, because the dead will be resurrected with the same body and soul they had on earth... and they will be first! (1Thess.4:13-16)...
... And each one of us shall be judged by his or her "works", by what he or she did with the free gifts he or she received... because "there is no partiality with God" (Rom.2:11).
It is glorious:
Whatever we do to our neighbor, we do it "to Jesus"... 13 times Jesus repeats it!... nor "for Jesus", but "to Jesus himself"!... though there is a Bible that wrongly translates "for me", instead of "to me" or "unto me" in verses 41 and 45 of Matt.25.
... If we give bread to a nun, we are giving bread to Jesus... if we give water to a Jew, we are giving it to Jesus... if we cloth a Muslim or a Hindu, or a drug-addict, we are clothing Jesus himself!...
... If we do not give the bread of truth to a pagan, we are not giving it to Jesus... if we do not teach an ignorant, we are not teaching Jesus... if we hate an African, or an European, or a Mormon, we are hating Jesus himself...
... 13 times repeats it Jesus, and ends up saying: "Inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me"... not "for me", as some Bibles translate, but "unto me"... "unto Jesus himself"! (Matt.25:40)...
... And Jesus ends up the long and most practical discourse saying: "Inasmuch as you did it not to one of the least of these, you did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, the righteous into life eternal" (Matt.25:45-46).
... I pray you and I are among those on the right side, who go into "life eternal" on the day of the Last Judgment, at the end of the world.
... Then, the "Faith"?:
... Then, if the "works" are the only one requirement in the Last Judgment, what about the "Faith"?... is there a "contradiction" in the Bible?:
No, there is not a contradiction: The "Faith" is a very important "free gift" that God gives to us, to every human being of every religion... we all want to love, but nobody can love, because we all are "selfish", we love ourselves, and "selfishness" is exactly the opposite of love... but if God is in us, then we are going to love, and not us, but God who is in us... And the way to have "God in us", is "by Faith"... by Faith in the Son, or faith in the Father, says John 3:36 and 5:24... and that's why is so important the gift of "Faith"... Faith is the foundation of Christianity, because only by Faith we can have God in us... and only with God in us we can do good works to be written in the book of life, for the Great White Throne judgment...
... We don't have faith because we do good works, but we have faith, as a free gift from God, to do good works... like the Prince: He is not a Prince because he does good works, but because he is the son of the King... but he is a Prince to do good works, though he still can do nothing, or do bad works, becoming a bad Prince, deserving severe punishment, because he had many "talents", many "gifts", but he did use them badly... Please look at Ephesians 2:8-10, and make sure you read verse 10.
... By faith we are saved from the devil, and receive God in us, becoming children of God... Faith is the very foundation of Christianity... but we are not yet in heaven!... we are still on earth, and still "free" to reject God... by Faith we do not become "robots" nor "animals"... we still can sin!... and , in fact, we all sin after having been saved by faith!... we all still can become another Judas!...
... So, who can deliver us from this body of death that we are?: The grace of God -thanks be to him- through Jesus Christ our Lord... because we, with the mind serve the law of God, but with the flesh, the law of sin...
... This is why "Faith" is very essential, the most important treasure-gift we can receive from God... the only one capable of making us erupt in love, and joy, and peace... the only one gift to save us from our selfishness, making us capable of doing "good works"... "Faith in the Son", or "Faith in the Father", says John 3:36 and 5:24...
... And the "Church", and the "Bible"?:
Again, both are very important free gifts from God, millions did not have them!... and you will not go to Heaven because you read the Bible, or because you belong to the Church of Christ, but because of what you did using these two great treasures!...
... You can be in the Church, or read the Bible, and still sin... and, in fact, we all Christians sin!...
... Otherwise, millions in the world never have the Gospels nor the Church of Christ... nobody before Christ!... and Jesus himself told us that Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets are in Heaven (Matt.8:11, Luc.13:28)... because "there is no partiality with God", who wants every human in Heaven, everyone since Adam!... and He shall judge each one of us particularly with the same measure: The "good works" each one did, written in the "books of life" of Rev.20:11-15, in the "Great White Throne" of judgment.
The 3 Gospels add "parables" to this "Chronological Order of the End of the World". They are very important to show us the way to live these times.
Mark 13, and Luke 21, describe 2 parables. Matthew, in two chapters, 24 and 25, with 7 parables, and ends up with the incomparable "Last Judgment" of chapter 25, with the same substance that the "Great White Throne" of Rev.20.
1- The "fig tree" (Matt.24:32):
This is the first parable described in the three Gospels, to emphasize the importance of reading the "signs" of the coming of the End of the World.
2- The Times of Noah (Matt.24:37-39).
3- The Rapture (Matt.24:40-42).
4- Coming like a "thief" (Matt.24:42-44):
This is the second parable in the 3 Gospels, emphasizing the need to be "alert" at all times, because Jesus will come at the time least expected, like a burglar does... keep alert!... stay awake!... they repeat on and on... be prepared at all times... because nobody knows the day of his coming, not even the Son, only the Father (Matt.24:36)... the Son as a man, does not know it, in the same way that the Son as a child could not speak, nor walk, and had to be fed... as God He knows it, of course!.
Is it now the Time of the Second Coming of Jesus?: Things are getting ready!... However, first has to come the Antichrist... "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone" (Matt.24:36)... Jesus as a baby could not even walk!, and as man did not know the time of the Second Coming...
"The day of our Death": This is most important for you and for me, because the Second Coming of Jesus for you and me will be the day of our death, the End of the World for you and for me will be "the day of our death"... as it was the End of their World for St. Paul, and Kennedy, and Stalin... the day they died!. The Antichrist in your life and mine, today!
Matthew says that "the coming of the Lord will be like lightening striking". Luke describes it saying: "That day will come upon you unexpectedly, like a trap"... so will be the day of your death and mine, "unexpected", "like a trap", all of a sudden, "like lightening striking"... and so will be the "end of the world", as described by 1Cor.15:52: "we shall be changed in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet"... so will be the end of the world, and most important, the end of your world and mine... on the day of our unexpected death!.
5- The faithful and wise slave (Matt.24:45-51):
To emphasize that the faithful servant will go to Heaven, and the wicked one to Hell, "where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth"
6- The "Ten Virgins", or the "Ten Bridesmaids" (Matt.25:1-13):
In Matt.25, emphasizing again the need to be prepared at all times... the bottom line is again, "stay awake, because you do not know either the day or the hour" (Matt.25:13)... we don't know the time of our death, the "end of the world" for us!.
7- The "Parable of the Talents" (Matt.25:14-30):
It is described in Matt.25, in Luc.18, and also mentioned in Luk.21.
It is most important for us, emphasizing the importance of "our work": We will not be saved for the "talents" or "gifts" we have received, but for what we did with those talents or gifts... for our "fruits"... we will not be saved for the "gifts" of our hands, or heart, or faith, or Bible freely received, but for what we did with our hands, and our heart, and our gift of the faith, or the knowledge acquired in our Bible we freely received...
We will not be saved for the talent of being in the Church, or for the talent of being a preacher or a senator... but for what we did with those talents, with those free gifts... we will be judged not for our "talents", but for our "fruits".
Many Protestants do not like this parable, but it is the teaching of all the Bible, and it is overemphasized in the description of the "Last Judgment", as we just described.