On the day of judgment, will God question every person about every thought, word, and deed they have ever done throughout their entire life? This sounds like an earthly court scene…bring the witnesses, bring the evidence, then argue the case between prosecution and defence. What a long, tedious process that would be, considering the fact that God will judge all the people of every generation throughout all time!

Fortunately, God is not contained within the boundaries of time. What is a process on earth taking time is instantaneous in the spirit realm outside of time. Since God is all-knowing and omnipresent, all judgment can happen in an instant.

Although we have no detailed description of what will happen on judgment day, there are hints of the event and the process in Scripture and, perhaps, in the experience of those who have had glimpses of the other side.

Revelation 20:11-13 NIV
[11] “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. [12] And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. [13] The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.”

Heavenly events are impossible to describe in earthly language. What is a process on earth is instantaneous in heaven, something that is outside the scope of human experience here in time.

“The books were opened…” Is this meant to be taken literally, especially in a story full of imagery? For example, David refers to the book of his life written in God’s “book”.

Psalms 139:16 NIV
[16] “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

What is divine knowledge in the mind of an omniscient God appears as information contained in a heavenly library of books.

Somehow I think that God the Father will not say anything! Now, I know that’s contrary to the thoughts and ideas we have of judgment day, but let’s look at the Scripture for answers.

First, the Father has assigned all judgment to the Son.

John 5:22 NLT
[22] “In addition, the Father judges no one. Instead, he has given the Son absolute authority to judge…”

2 Timothy 4:1 NLT
[1] “I solemnly urge you in the presence of God and Christ Jesus, who will someday judge the living and the dead when he comes to set up his Kingdom…”

Second, the Son will call all people to account for one thing…unbelief, lives lived in complete disconnection from Him by choice.

John 3:18 NLT
[18] “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.”

Third, He will judge by the standard of His Word.

John 12:47-48 NIV
[47] “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. [48] There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.”

Fourth, all human sin is the fruit of unbelief. When He judges unbelief, He judges the fruit of all the actions that humans engaged in that are evidence of their unbelief.

Humans express their rebellion by defying God’s instructions. Both the Old and New Covenant records confirm this truth.

Psalms 50:16-17 NIV
[16] “But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? [17] You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.”

John 3:19-20 NIV
[19] “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.”
[20] Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed.”

Therefore, the verdict on all humanity is “guilty”…the crime, unbelief in the Son of God…the evidence, rebellion and disobedience… the sentence, eternal death, separation from God.

Works are the record of everyone’s life, contained within the omniscience of the Judge. The marvel of His perfect justice is that He has no need to call the witnesses or to pass sentence. The record speaks for itself. Every person will have every thought, word, and deed instantaneously exposed to the light.

Ephesians 5:12-14a NLT
[12] “It is shameful even to talk about the things that ungodly people do in secret. [13] But their evil intentions will be exposed when the light shines on them, [14] for the light makes everything visible…”

Not the Judge, but the words spoken by the Judge, to the guilty, in this life, that they refused to obey, will be the standard by which He will judge each person. Everyone will know that their sentence is just because it is based on their choice.

” There is a judge for those who reject me and do not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.”

1 Corinthians 3:13 NLT
[13] “But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.”

There is one exception to the guilty verdict passed on every sinner… yes, guilty as charged but absolved from guilt through faith in Christ Jesus.

Romans 5:9-10 NIV
[9] “Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! [10] For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

Justified…by His blood! Reconciled…by His death!

The glorious message of God’s mercy is that…

Romans 8:1-4 NIV
[1] “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, [2] because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. [3] For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, [4] in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

There, now you’ve got it! There is no escape from judgment, no escape route from hell except through faith in Jesus and His sacrifice for sin.

…and Jesus will have no need to say anything! Our own deeds will condemn us and our choices cement our eternal destiny. Let’s do what Joshua counselled…

Joshua 24:14-15 NIV
[14] “Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness… [15] But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”