The Events from the Air to Sinai
to Jerusalem
The Judgment Seat of Christ
The following statement by Paul is sometimes taken to mean that one’s being granted immortality as a Christian could be denied when he said:
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat [Gk bema] of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10).
On this verse Samuel Hoyt writes:
Within the church today there exists considerable confusion and debate regarding the exact nature of the examination at the judgment seat of Christ. The expression “the judgment seat of Christ” in the English Bible has tended to draw the wrong conclusion about the nature and purpose of this evaluation. A common misconception which arises from this English translation is that God will mete out a just retribution for sins in the believer’s life…
THE DOCRINE OF REWARDS AND REBUKE AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST
In the gospels and Acts the bema was the seat where judgment and sentences were passed by worldly magistrates. However, the usage of this term by Paul in his letters was different. In fact, in his letters he made many allusions to the Isthmian and other Greek games and so used the word “bema” in that original sense where the victor was brought before the bema and given a laurel wreath as a crown of victory. So, in Paul’s usage of the term bema in 2 Corinthians 5:10 he has created a picture of each “saved” believer as a competitor in a spiritual contest and who is about to receive his reward. So, concerning 2 Corinthians 5:10 The Expositor’s Bible Commentary p.349 shows that:
In this context, however, Paul is thinking primarily, if not exclusively, of the Christian’s obligation to “give an account of himself” (Rom. 14:12). Appearance before Christ’s tribunal is the privilege of Christians. It is concerned with the assessment of works and, indirectly, of character, not with the determination of destiny; with reward, not status. Delivered from “the works of law” (Rom. 3:28), the Christian is presently committed to “the work of faith,” “action stemming from faith” (1 Thess. 1:3), that will be assessed and rewarded at the bema (“tribunal”). Yet not all verdicts will be comforting. The believer may “suffer loss” (1 Cor. 3:15) by forfeiting Christ’s praise or losing a reward that might have been his. (my emphasis).
WORK BURNED UP – BUT THE PERSON STILL SAVED
Paul explains that:
“If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:14-15).
This passage concerns a Christian’s use of combustible materials and therefore his failure to use enduring materials to build up the Christian Assembly i.e., pure Christian teaching based on, “the good news of the kingdom and the name of Jesus” (Acts 8:12) rather than using his own teaching based on the wisdom and philosophies of the world. But notice that even with such failure this kind of person is still saved. However, please also notice that here there are no preconditions for the Christian whose good work with enduring materials remains. He will simply receive a reward. So, Chafer writes concerning the Bema, “It cannot be too strongly emphasized that the judgment is unrelated to the problem of sin, that it is more for the bestowing of rewards than the rejection of failure.”
Also, a commentator on the Internet wrote concerning the judgment seat of Christ that:
The judgment seat of Christ might be compared to a commencement ceremony. At graduation there is some measure of disappointment and remorse that one did not do better and work harder. However, at such an event the overwhelming emotion is joy, not remorse. The graduates do not leave the auditorium weeping because they did not earn better grades.
Rewards and Rebuke Are Given When Jesus Returns to Earth
But to Where and When Exactly?
But to Where and When Exactly?
While salvation is a gift to those who are faithful there are rewards for one’s level of faithfulness in producing good works (Eph. 2:10) and reduced or even of no rewards for those who have been limited in their commitment to Christ. Indeed, Jesus says, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves” (Rev. 22:12). So, when Jesus returns from heaven immediately after the great tribulation and with a lightning like display (Matt. 24:27) throughout earth’s atmosphere where “every eye will see him” (Rev. 1:7) he sends forth his angels to gather his chosen ones (Matt. 24:31). This is further portrayed in Paul’s words from 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 concerning Jesus’ descent from heaven and then his meeting with the now immortal (1 Cor. 15:42, 50-56) resurrected Christians together with the living Christians who have all together been “caught up in the air.” Here there is no U-turn for any kind of return to heaven as in the very faulty Pre-tribulation rapture scenario, but a continued descent to the earth. But to where on the earth does Jesus and his entourage of angels and Christians descend? It is often thought that this descent will be to the Mount of Olives because that is the place where Jesus ascended from when he went to the Father (Luke 24:51, 52; Acts 1:9-11). Certainly, Jesus will arrive on the Mount of Olives at some point in the end-times picture (Zech. 14:4), but is it the first place he reaches on earth?
The Time at Sinai and the Messianic March
There are strong reasons for us to understand that Jesus and his entire entourage of angels and now immortalised Christians will first of all descend to, “Mount Sinai in Arabia” (Gal. 4:24). This idea, based, on certain Scriptures, was earlier proposed by theologian George N.H. Peters in his three-volume work, The Theocratic Kingdom. In Volume 3 under the heading, Proposition 166. The rudimentary reorganization of this kingdom will be made at Mount Sinai (p. 18) he shows that:
“the second advent, to be appreciated, must be comprehended in its several phases, being at first secret, hidden to carry out certain purposes, and finally open, revealed.”
The first text showing the Sinai event and the Messianic March is when Moses prophesied that, “Yahweh came from Sinai, and he dawned upon them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran, and he came with myriads of holy ones, at his right hand a fiery law for them” (Deut. 33:1, 2 LEB). Rather than the original Israelite time at the base of Mount Sinai after escaping Egypt this was an end-time prophecy because Psalm 68, a Psalm of David, speaks of, “The chariots of God are twice ten thousand, with thousands doubled. The Lord is among them at Sinai, distinctive in victory. 18You have ascended on high; you have led away captives” (Ps. 68:17-18 LEB). Less literally it is rendered:
“With his many thousands of mighty chariots the Lord comes from Sinai into the holy place. 18He goes up to the heights, taking many captives with him; he receives gifts from rebellious people. The Lord God will live there” (GNT).
Additionally, Isaiah confirmed the original prophecy saying: “A voice is calling in the wilderness, “Clear the way of Yahweh! Make a highway smooth in the desert for our God! And the glory of Yahweh shall be revealed” (Isa. 40:3-5 LEB). Although these passages speak of these things concerning “Yahweh” or “the Lord God” as coming from Sinai they actually apply to the “Lord Messiah” as God’s representative i.e., Jesus. Indeed, just as Yahweh God prepared the ancient Israelites for setting up the Kingdom of Israel under Moses at the base of Mount Sinai in the Arabian Desert (Gal. 4:25), so too, the future establishment of God’s Kingdom under Jesus may also happen in this same place. So instead of the traditional view that Jesus will descend to the Mount of Olives, he likely will descend to the base of Mount Sinai.
So, if the above scenario is correct then the time spent at the remote area of Mount Sinai may well concern the Messianic banquet spoken of in Isaiah 25:6, “And on this mountain Yahweh of hosts will make for all peoples a rich feast, a feast of aged wines, fat filled with marrow, filtered aged wine.” This fits with Jesus’ statement at the last supper when he said: “I have intensely desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer”...“I tell you, I will not eat it again until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.” Then he took a cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the Kingdom of God comes” (Luke 22:15-18).
After the time of the magnificent and glorious display in earth’s atmosphere to demonstrate Jesus’ return (Matt. 24:29-30) Revelation 19:7 and 9 set “the wedding day of the Lamb” and “the wedding banquet of the Lamb” just before the Messianic March toward Jerusalem. So, during the time of this “banquet of the Lamb,” Jesus and the complete body of his brothers and sisters will be out of sight from the world. This would seem to be the appropriate time and place for all Christians to be brought before “the judgment seat of Christ” (2 Cor. 5:10) for their assessment concerning their rewards or lack thereof. However, please note that they have already been granted immortality before they were, “caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the lord in the air.”
NOTE. The angels in Acts 1:11 did not say that Jesus would come back to the same place from which he ascended i.e., the Mount of Olives. Also, the text in Zechariah 14:4 only says that Jesus’ “feet will stand on the Mount of Olives” rather than his landing there. So, his feet can be there on his later arrival at that place.
Marching from Sinai through the Desert
As George Peters shows, after the time spent at the base of Mount Sinai Jesus and the complete body of his people will be openly displayed to the world once again as they begin “the Messianic March” northward toward Jerusalem where Jesus destroys the Antichrist etc., (Zech. 12:3-6; 14:1-15 LXX; Rev. 19:11-21)). This march runs from Sinai in Arabia through the desert of Paran, then Teman and Bozrah (both in Edom) as shown in the following passages:
“God comes from Teman, and the holy One from Mount Paran ... His radiance is like the sunlight, He has rays flashing from his hand, and there is the hiding of His power. Before Him goes pestilence, and plague comes after Him; He looked and startled the nations” (Habakkuk 3:2-6).
Jude 14 and 15 confirms this scenario when referencing a prophecy from Enoch stating: “Now Enoch, the seventh from Adam, also prophesied about them, saying, “Take note: the LORD came with countless thousands of His holy ones. He came to execute judgment against all, and to convict all the ungodly concerning all their ungodly activities that they committed, and concerning all the harsh things that ungodly sinners spoke against Him.” This is no march of peace-making, but of Messiah’s indignation at his enemies in Edom and their destruction as he marches on in conquest (Ps. 2):
“The mountains saw you and quaked ... sun and moon stood in their places; they went away at the light of your arrows ... In indignation you marched through the earth; in anger you trampled the nations. You went forth for the salvation of your people ... you struck the head of the house of evil to lay him open from thigh to neck” (Habakkuk 3:11-13).
Isaiah also describes this destruction that the Messiah brings upon Edom and its aftermath on his northward march:
“Who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colours from Bozrah, this One who is majestic in his apparel, marching in the greatness of his strength? ‘It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save. ‘Why is your apparel red, and your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? ‘I have trodden the wine trough alone, and from the many peoples there was no man with me...and their lifeblood is sprinkled on my garment ... For the day of vengeance was in my heart, and my year of redemption has come’” (Isa. 63:1-4).
A similar picture to this is given in Revelation 19:11-18:
“Then I saw the sky opening up. There was a white horse, and the one riding it was called “Faithful” and “True.” With justice he judges and wages war. His eyes are like a fiery flame, and there are many diadem-crowns on his head. He has a name written that no one knows except himself. He is clothed with a robe that had been dipped in blood, and his name is called “The Revelation of God.” The armies in the sky kept following him on white horses. They are dressed in white and clean fine linen. A sharp sword extended from his mouth, so that he can strike the nations with it. He will rule them with an iron sceptre, and he will trample the winepress of the fury of the retribution of God, the All-Powerful. He has a name written on his robe and on his thigh: “King of kings and Lord of lords.”
Then I saw one particular angel standing in the sun, and he shouted out in a loud voice to all the birds flying in mid-air, “Come and gather together for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of powerful people, the flesh of horses and their riders, and the flesh of everyone, both free and bond-servant, and lowly and prominent!”
The first part of this passage is often thought to refer to Jesus’ descent to earth. However, this is not so because it follows on after the statements concerning, “the wedding day of the Lamb” and “the wedding banquet of the Lamb” in Revelation 19:7 and 9 which are on earth and after Jesus’ return to earth.
Although all the details of this complete scenario give no thought of a pre-tribulation rapture, it does show that Messiah Jesus comes in two phases (not two returns) with a time that is hidden from the world in the remote area of Sinai in Arabia. During this time the Messianic banquet is held and the preparation of God’s people for the establishment of God’s Kingdom takes place by means of the judgment seat of Christ.
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