Reformed Doctrine Daily Devotions

 ³³  So Paul went out of their midst.

 ³⁴  But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”  Acts 17:30-34. 

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Although we refute by Scripture and the Reformed Creeds those false teachers who teach that they know the exact date that this judgment will occur, Christians do agree that this judgment will occur by confessing  The Apostles’ Creed:  “… the third day he rose again from the dead;  he ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;  from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.  …”  One of the ways that we prepare for the judgment day is provided in today’s Scripture.  “God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent”. 

The Heidelberg Catechism interprets this phrase of The Apostle’s Creed to give comfort to Christians.

Question 52.  What comfort is it to thee that “Christ shall come again to judge the quick and the dead”?

Answer.  That in all my sorrows and persecutions, with uplifted head I look for the very same person, who before offered himself for my sake, to the tribunal of God, and has removed all curse from me, to come as judge from heaven:  who shall cast all his and my enemies into everlasting condemnation, but shall translate  me with all his chosen ones to himself, into heavenly joys and glory.

Here is part of what The Belgic Confession states about this judgment day.

Article 37:  Of the Last Judgment.

Finally we believe, according to the Word of God, when the time appointed by the Lord (which is unknown to all creatures) is come, and the number of the elect complete, that our Lord Jesus Christ will come from heaven, corporally and visibly, as he ascended, with great glory and majesty to declare himself judge of the quick and the dead;  burning this old world with fire and flame, to cleanse it.  And then all men will personally appear before this great judge, both men and women and children, that have been from the beginning of the world to the end thereof, being summoned by the voice of the archangel, and by the sound of the trumpet of God.  For all the dead shall be raised out of the earth, and their souls joined and united with their proper bodies, in which they formerly lived.  As for those who shall then be living, they shall not die as the others, but be changed in the twinkling of an eye, and from corruptible, become incorruptible.  Then the books (that is to say the consciences) shall be opened, and the dead judged according to what they shall have done in this world, whether it be good or evil.  Nay, all men shall give an account of every idle word they have spoken, which the world only counts amusement and jest:  and then the secrets and hypocrisy of men shall be disclosed and laid open before all.  And therefore the consideration of this judgment, is justly terrible and dreadful to the wicked and ungodly, but most desirable and comfortable to the righteous and elect:  because then their full deliverance shall be perfected, and there they shall receive the fruits of their labor and trouble which they have borne.  Their innocence shall be known to all, and they shall see the terrible vengeance which God shall execute on the wicked, who most cruelly persecuted, oppressed and tormented them in this world;  and who shall be convicted by the testimony of their own consciences, and being immortal, shall be tormented in that everlasting fire, which is prepared for the devil and his angels.  But on the contrary, the faithful and elect shall be crowned with glory and honor; and the Son of God will confess their names before God his Father, and his elect angels; all tears shall be wiped from their eyes; and their cause which is now condemned by many judges and magistrates, as heretical and impious, will then be known to be the cause of the Son of God.  And for a gracious reward, the Lord will cause them to possess such a glory, as never entered into the heart of man to conceive.  Therefore we expect that great day with a most ardent desire to the end that we may fully enjoy the promises of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.  AMEN.

“Even so, come, Lord Jesus.” – Revelation. 22:20.  (Emphasis added.)

Here is part of what The Westminister Larger Catechism states about this judgment day.

Question 56:  How is Christ to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world?

Answer: Christ is to be exalted in his coming again to judge the world, in that he, who was unjustly judged and condemned by wicked men, shall come again at the last day in great power, and in the full manifestation of his own glory, and of his Father’s, with all his holy angels, with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God, to judge the world in righteousness.

Question 88:  What shall immediately follow after the resurrection?

Answer:  Immediately after the resurrection shall follow the general and final judgment of angels and men;  the day and hour whereof no man knows, that all may watch and pray, and be ever ready for the coming of the Lord.  (Emphasis  added.)

Question 89:  What shall be done to the wicked at the day of judgment?

Answer:  At the day of judgment, the wicked shall be set on Christ’s left hand, and, upon clear evidence, and full conviction of their own consciences, shall have the fearful but just sentence of condemnation pronounced against them; and thereupon shall be cast out from the favorable presence of God, and the glorious fellowship with Christ, his saints, and all his holy angels, into hell, to be punished with unspeakable torments, both of body and soul, with the devil and his angels forever.

Question 90:  What shall be done to the righteous at the day of judgment?

Answer: At the day of judgment, the righteous, being caught up to Christ in the clouds, shall be set on his right hand, and there openly acknowledged and acquitted, shall join with him in the judging of reprobate angels and men, and shall be received into heaven, where they shall be fully and forever freed from all sin and misery;  filled with inconceivable joys, made perfectly holy and happy both in body and soul, in the company of innumerable saints and holy angels, but especially in the immediate vision and fruition of God the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ, and of the Holy Spirit, to all eternity.  And this is the perfect and full communion, which the members of the invisible church shall enjoy with Christ in glory, at the resurrection and day of judgment.

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Revelation 3:3
” ‘So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent.  Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.”

In conclusion, Matthew 24:35-44 provides a fitting conclusion that there will be a judgment day, that we do not know the exact day when it will occur, but that we should be ready and prepare for that judgment day whenever it will occur.

“³⁵  “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.

 ³⁶  “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

 ³⁷  “For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.

 ³⁸  “For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,

 ³⁹  and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away;  so will the coming of the Son of Man be.

 ⁴⁰  “Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.

 ⁴¹  “Two women will be grinding at the mill;  one will be taken and one will be left.

 ⁴²  “Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

 ⁴³  “But be sure of this, that if the head of the house had known at what time of the night the thief was coming, he would have been on the alert and would not have allowed his house to be broken into.

 ⁴⁴  “For this reason you also must be ready;  for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think He will.”