Spir Dynamics 168 4/4/93; Eph 627 8/23/87, 477f 2/8/87; 234 3/9/86; 4/7/85

DOCTRINE OF THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

A. The Seven Major Judgments from the Time of the Cross.

1. The judgment of Jesus Christ on the cross for all our personal sins is the first of seven major judgments in history from the cross until the end of time. Our Lord was sustained in His humanity on the cross while bearing our sins by the omnipotence of the Holy Spirit inside the Divine Dynasphere and by +H (God’s happiness).

2. The second major judgment is rebound which belongs to the royal family. This is the royal family’s self-judgment to recover from the cosmic system. “If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.” Because of our Lord’s work on the cross, we simply name or cite our sins once committed which were already judged at the cross, 1 Jn 1:9. This restores us to the divine dynasphere so that we are again filled with the Holy Spirit and restored to fellowship with God.

3. The Judgment Seat of Christ, the evaluation of all Church Age believers.

4. The judgment of living Tribulational unbeliever Gentiles at the Second Advent who are cast off the earth into the lake of fire, Mt 25:31-46.

5. The judgment of the living Tribulational unbeliever Jews at the Second Advent, Ezek 20:32-38. Judgments #4 and #5 comprise the baptism of fire.

6. The judgment of all fallen angels at the end of the Millennium. Their sentence was passed before time began, but its execution is not carried out until the end of human history. For man was created in order to resolve the angelic conflict.

7. The second resurrection and judgment of all unbelievers from the beginning of time who are cast into the lake of fire. They are not judged for their sins, (for all their sins were judged at the cross), but they are judged on the basis of their human good and works, which are not good enough for the perfect righteousness of God, Rev 20:7-10.

B. Definition, Description and Application.

1. “Judgment” can mean two things: condemnation and evaluation. In this context, it refers to evaluation. The Judgment Seat of Christ is a technical, theological term used to designate the evaluation of the royal family of God at the end of the Church Age after the rapture or resurrection of the Church. It is the evaluation of what use we made of logistical grace provision, the divine dynasphere, problem-solving devices, and divine power.

2. The evaluation is determined on the basis of the execution of the protocol plan of God or the failure to do so. The purpose of the evaluation is to determine gain or loss of escrow blessings (reward) for eternity. Gain comes from the exploitation, positive volition, and advance in the protocol plan of God. Loss comes from cosmic living, from failure to execute the Christian way of life as God’s game plan for the Church Age. It also means your escrow blessings remain on deposit forever as a memorial to lost opportunity.

3. The Church Age terminates with the resurrection of the royal family of God

4. Immediately following the resurrection (rapture) of the Church, all believers of the Church Age in resurrection bodies are assembled to be evaluated with regard to their performance.

5. The evaluation is related to the believer’s utilization of his very own portfolio of invisible assets.

6. Performance, not salvation, is the issue at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The protocol believer, the winner, will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The cosmic believer, the loser, will suffer temporary shame. He will lose his escrow blessings, but never his salvation.

7. One thing is obvious: because of the Judgment Seat of Christ, there is no equality in heaven among believers. Since God is perfect, the inequality is a perfect inequality. This inequality is not discrimination or unfairness, which we associate with inequality. Inequality exists in heaven because of lost opportunity under the equal privilege and equal opportunity every believer has under the protocol plan of God. While we have equal privilege and equal opportunity to fulfill God’s plan on earth in time, there will be no equality in heaven. The greatest degree of inequality will be evident at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

8. Inequality in the eternal state means the neglect of freedom in time. For God in His grace has provided enough freedom with equal privileges and equal opportunities under the portfolio of invisible assets so that there is no excuse for any believer failing to execute God’s plan. This freedom to exercise your options and make decisions for God’s logistical grace provision is your responsibility as a believer. Freedom can always be measured by the amount of inequality that results. Societies and nations can be measured by this rule. God’s plan provides the greatest freedom of all. The greater the freedom, the greater the inequality. Freedom equals inequality. It never leaves us the same.

a. Having winners and losers in the eternal state does not imply that there will be any unhappiness. But there are degrees of happiness based on the great inequalities among believers.

b. The distinctions and inequalities in eternity are so great that you should seriously reconsider your motivations and goals in life. You must live your life only as unto the Lord, only to please the Lord, only to be concerned with God’s opinion of you. If you place doctrine first in your scale of values, the Lord will promote you. And if you are advancing in the protocol plan of God, you will be doing your job right and living your life right, which in itself will cause some indirect establishment blessing.

9. Regardless of the historical circumstances in which you live, whether under establishment freedom or tyranny, you have full spiritual freedom inside your very own palace, the divine dynasphere.

a. Jn 8:32, “You shall know the doctrine, and the doctrine will make you free.” If you are positive, God will provide the doctrine no matter where you are.

b. Gal 5:1, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Therefore keep on standing firm, and do not become entangled again in the yoke of slavery [cosmic system].”

c. James 1:25, “But the one who looks intently into the perfect law [Word of God] that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard [from doctrine] but executing it, this believer will be happy in what he is doing.” This believer will come to the end of his life with no regrets!

d. James 2:12, “Keep communicating and so keep doing as those who are going to be judged by the law of freedom.”

e. This law of freedom says that God has provided a system for you to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior. It is a freedom totally apart from any national or establishment freedom; it is a freedom inside the divine dynasphere. It is the freedom to advance from gate #4 to gate #8, having equal privilege and equal opportunity to do so.

f. Therefore, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the first issue you will face in your new resurrection body is how you used this freedom!

10. So freedom means inequality both in time and in eternity. People are free to succeed or fail, free to stand on their own decisions and motives and actions.

a. Freedom means individual responsibility and motivation.

b. Freedom means you must have your very own scale of values and priorities.

c. You are evaluated on how you used your freedom, because having freedom, you must take the responsibility for every decision you make, as well as for your thoughts, motivations and actions. Being free is the greatest responsibility the world has ever known.

d. Freedom means some will take their volition and develop a system of priorities and stick to them, becoming organized in their minds. Others will depart from their priorities when they feel like it. You will answer for this use of your freedom to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

11. Inequality exists the moment freedom starts. Inequality is always the greatest monument to freedom.

12. Believers who are constantly failing to execute the protocol plan of God lack four things:

a. They have no true standards. They cannot distinguish God’s plan for life in general from Satan’s cosmic system.

b. These believers have no effectiveness. Their life has neither meaning, purpose, nor definition. The cosmic believer cannot be distinguished from any unbeliever, moral or immoral. Ignorance is not bliss but blasphemy and disaster to his life. This is why God so often punishes and disciplines, because we have to be brought to the end of our resources before we realize what is important in life.

c. They have no coordination. Ignorance of doctrine means no orientation to the plan of God. Therefore, the believer makes decisions from a position of weakness; that is, from arrogance and from personal ambition. He has no control over his life and no personal sense of destiny.

d. They have no performance, no momentum in the divine dynasphere, no execution of the protocol plan of God, no virtue, no use of the problem-solving devices, no production, and no glorification of God. No performance means no rewards or decorations at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

13. While the believer cannot lose his salvation, as a loser in the cosmic system, the privileges, rewards and decorations that are given to winners will never be his throughout all eternity.

14. The Judgment Seat of Christ is the time of the seventh imputation from the justice of God.

15. The evaluator of each believer is the prince ruler of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, Jn 5:22.

16. Since the Son was judged for our sins on the cross, a series of judgments follow the judgment of the Cross, i.e., the self judgment of the believer in rebound, the Judgment Seat of Christ, the terminal judgments of the Tribulation, and the terminal judgment at the end of the Millennium.

C. The Time of the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1. The Rapture of the Church occurs at the end of the Church Age. All Church Age believers both alive and dead will join Christ in the air. No man knows the day or the hour of the Rapture. 1 Thes 4:13-18, “But we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep [dead Church Age believers] that you do not grieve like the rest [unbelievers] who have no hope [confidence]. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again [and we do], so also God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep [dead] in Jesus. For this doctrine in the Word of God we communicate to you, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord [Rapture] shall not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a command, with the voice command of the archangel [for believers alive], also a command from the trumpet of God [for dead believers]; in fact, the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive [in resurrection bodies] and remain on the earth shall be caught up together with them in the clouds for the purpose of meeting the Lord in the air [judgment seat of Christ], and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another with these doctrines.”

a. You cannot afford to have ignorance about a doctrine as important as the Judgment Seat of Christ, because you are responsible for your ignorance. Your ignorance is never anyone else’s fault. God will always provide pastors who teach the Truth. If you are ignorant, it is because you either do not expose yourself to the Truth by attendance, or though you attend, you do not listen but resent or reject the teaching.

b. Meeting the Lord in resurrection body will occur in the second Heaven, the stellar universe (“clouds”).

c. Rev 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon, and My reward is with Me to decorate each winner according to his accomplishments.” “Soon” refers to the immanency of the Rapture, for there is no prophecy left to be fulfilled before the Rapture. This verse says that the winners will receive their escrow blessings for eternity at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

2. The Judgement Seat of Christ does not immediately follow the Rapture, but an unprecedented event of worship of Christ. Phil 2:9-11, “Therefore also, God [Father] has exalted Him [Son] to the maximum, in fact, He has given Him a royal title which is superior to every royal title.” The first royal title is Son of God, the patent of deity. The second royal title is Son of David, the patent of our Lord’s Jewish humanity. The third royal title referred to here is King of kings, Lord of lords, the Bright Morning Star, the patent of our Lord’s strategic victory in the angelic conflict. “That in the presence of the person of Christ, every knee in heaven shall bow, both the ones on earth [believers alive] and the ones under the earth [dead believers]. And every tongue will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.”

a. Jesus Christ becomes your Lord at salvation when you are entered into union with Him. But we do not come to recognize this unless we advance to spiritual maturity. Then we have full cognizance of the Lordship of Christ. During our lifetime, the Lordship of Christ is really a matter of our priorities. If Bible doctrine is #1 in your life, then Jesus Christ has highest priority as your Lord, for Bible doctrine is the thinking of Christ. If He is not first, then you’re a loser and will not recognize Jesus Christ as Lord until you’re in resurrection body.

b. Phil 2:11, “And every tongue . . .” is the last time there will be any equality in the royal family of God. This event can be called the big genuflex in the sky. After that comes the Judgment Seat of Christ which will result in tremendous differences among believers in resurrection bodies.

3. The Judgment Seat of Christ follows in heaven while the Tribulation occurs on earth.

4. Then we return with Christ at His Second Advent to begin His millennial reign. 5. Phil 2:9-11, 3:20-21; 1 Cor 15:50-53; 1 Jn 3:1-2.

THE SEVEN GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST

D. The Purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ. 2 Cor 5:10, “For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each one of us [royal family of God] may receive what is due him [rewards] for the things accomplished while in the body, whether good [of intrinsic value] or worthless [evil].”

1. This is the evaluation of the believer’s performance in the protocol plan of God during his time on earth. Under our computer assets, each believer has equal privilege and equal opportunity under both election and predestination to execute the protocol plan of God.

2. If the believer lives his life in the cosmic system, it is worthless (PHAULOS) or evil; he has failed to fulfill the protocol plan of God. If he lives in the divine dynasphere and fulfills the protocol plan of God, it is intrinsic good (AGATHOS) and he, the winner, receives rewards above and beyond the resurrection body.

3. The loser is the one who loses these decorations and rewards. The winner is the one who fulfills the protocol plan of God and receives them.

4. So the issue is that your life for all eternity is now in the making. Your day-by-day attitudes toward doctrine and priorities will determine completely what you will receive at the Judgment Seat of Christ. It takes only one decision for eternal life. It takes many, many decisions to receive the great decorations, honors, and rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

5. There are two Greek words which describe the plan of God for each of us. DUNAMIS means power; AGATHOS means good. The first word refers to the plan of God from the viewpoint of the divine dynasphere, His power system in which we are to function, so that we will be stronger than the cosmic system. You cannot make it on your own in life. You must have a power greater than your own power. Two kinds are offered: Satan’s cosmic system, or God’s divine dynasphere. The second word refers to the plan of God from the viewpoint of imputation, X+Y+Z equals the Good.

6. The invisible and visible part of the Christian life which produces motivating and functional virtues are rewardable. In the cosmic system there is motivating evil, arrogance, and functional evil, the actual production of evil.

7. The purpose of the Judgment Seat of Christ is the evaluation of each believer’s life on earth between salvation and death (or the Rapture). What did you do with the tremendous invisible assets provided by God?

8. You will know how it will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ for you by how you die. If you don’t have dying grace, you’ll receive little or nothing at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

9. There is no distinction in heaven between those who fail or succeed as long as the Church Age continues. Therefore, those in an interim body all have equally fantastic happiness prior to the Judgment Seat of Christ.

E. The Application of the Judgment Seat of Christ: Virtue. Rom 14:10-13, “You there, why do you judge your fellow believer? Or you also, why do you regard your fellow believer with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it stands written, [Isa 45:23] `As I live,’ says the Lord, `every knee will bow to Me and every tongue will acknowledge to God.’ Therefore, each one of us [Church age believers] shall give an account of himself to God. Therefore, let us no longer judge one another but rather determine this: not to place an obstacle or a distraction in front of a fellow believer.”

1. Every believer is a royal priest and represents himself before God. You are to live your own life as unto the Lord. You first become spiritually independent at gate #5 with personal love for God, where you live under the privacy of your priesthood as unto the Lord.

2. When you become a spiritual adult, you stop interfering in and tampering with the lives of others. You cannot have control of your own life and interfere in the lives of others. You stop the arrogant characteristic of possessiveness.

3. Each one of us must stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ alone. Just as we have to learn how to live our own lives and how to die alone, so we will stand alone in resurrection body before the Lord Jesus Christ and give an account of ourselves to Him.

4. You have no right to judge others. That is the prerogative of Jesus Christ. Our only concern should be our own priesthood rather than minding others’ business and telling them how to run their lives. When you regard others with contempt it is indicative of lack of virtue-love and having not attained spiritual maturity.

5. You are responsible for your own decisions. Ignorance is no excuse before the Judgment Seat of Christ. The only way you can avoid judging or distracting other believers is by tolerating them from the virtue developed through impersonal love in spiritual autonomy.

6. You must give account for your own thoughts, actions, decisions. You cannot blame anyone else at the Judgment Seat of Christ. What good does it do for you to be full of self-righteous arrogance and moral degeneracy and judge other people, when you yourself will be judged for it by Jesus Christ at His judgment seat? Ignorance and insanity will be no excuse, because volition still wanted to do it.

7. In context, the “obstacle” you place in front of other believers is judging or maligning them, trying to make them feel guilty, seeking revenge.

8. So how can you avoid becoming a distraction to other believers? By simply growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The sooner you get to spiritual self-esteem and occupation with Christ, the better, for then you will have overcome this.

F. The Fulfillment of the Protocol Plan of God.

1. Life in the divine dynasphere and the fulfillment of the protocol plan of God determines winners or losers at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

2. 1 Jn 2:28, “And now, dear children, keep residing in it [the divine dynasphere], that if He should appear [Rapture], we might have confidence and might not be put to shame in His presence.” Note that there is a difference of attitude in resurrection bodies at the Judgment Seat of Christ. The winner will have confidence; the loser will be put to shame, though only temporarily, for there is no sorrow in the eternal state. The loser does not lose his salvation, only his eternal rewards.

3. James 1:25, “But the one who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom [Bible doctrine] and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard but doing it, this believer will be blessed in what he is doing.”

4. James 2:12-13. Perception of doctrine in the divine dynasphere is the basis for our evaluation. The Judgment Seat of Christ is related to our many decisions to reside and function in the divine dynasphere.

G. Winners will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Rev 22:12, “Behold, I am coming soon [imminency of Rapture] and My reward is with Me to decorate each winner as his accomplishment is.” Point 12 in this doctrine delineates the rewards given to the winner.

H. Winners have confidence about the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1. 1 Jn 2:21, “Beloved, if our right lobe does not condemn us [and it doesn’t in the divine dynasphere], we keep on having confidence before God.”

2. 1 Jn 4:17, “By this [living in divine dynasphere], virtue love has been achieved by us, that we might have confidence in the day of evaluation [Judgment Seat of Christ], because just as He is [during the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union], so also we are in the world [great power experiment of the Church Age].”

3. Our Lord lived in the prototype divine dynasphere; we live in the operational divine dynasphere. Consistent living in the divine dynasphere produces confidence before our Lord at His judgment seat. Just as Christ had confidence about His eternal rewards before His death, so we do also.

I. Losers are ashamed at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1. Shame is defined as painful feeling originating from the consciousness of something dishonorable or wrong or sinful or that causes terrible regret; hence, embarrassment regarding failure to fulfill God’s plan under the principle of equal opportunity to do so. This is a very temporary shame; for there is no sorrow in the eternal state.

2. There are five passages which describe the shame of the loser at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

a. Phil 3:18-19, “For many believers [losers] keep walking, concerning whom I have communicated to you many times and now continue communicating even though weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross whose end is destruction [the sin unto death], whose god is their emotion, whose glory [at Judgment Seat of Christ] is their shame, who keep thinking about earthly things.”

(1) Paul was weeping from frustration because of the negative volition of believers who could care less about what the Word of God has to say even though he continued to teach faithfully and accurately. There never was a teacher or a believer like Paul. These believers had not been faithful in the perception, metabolization, and application of doctrine through the problem solving devices.

(2) All losers are enemies of the Cross; they die the sin unto death. This is the eschatology of every loser in the Church Age. Christian losers are believers who fail to execute the protocol plan of God in time. They have equal opportunity to do so. They must be self- motivated; no one can do it for you. They fail to glorify God in time through the function of the spiritual skills. Losers have no glory, no blessing at the Judgment Seat of Christ. On earth they had only wrong priorities and wrong scale of values. Christian losers are described under seven categories in the New Testament.

(a) The believer who has “drifted off course from grace,” Gal 5:4.

(b) The believer who “comes short of the grace of God,” Heb 12:15.

(d) The “shipwrecked” believer of 1 Tim 1:19.

(e) The “psycho” or double-minded believer of Jam 1:8.

(f) The believer who fails to metabolize doctrine, Jam 1:22-24.

(g) The believer who is called “the enemy of the Cross,” Phil 3:18-19.

(3) 1 Cor 15:34, “Come to your senses righteously, and stop sinning; for some believers have no knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.”

b. Rom 5:5, “And confidence [at the Rapture] does not make us ashamed [at Judgment Seat of Christ].”

(1) The faith-rest drill is parlayed into a personal sense of destiny as we learn more doctrine. A personal sense of destiny separates the basic problem solving devices from the advanced problem solving devices.

(2) The Greek verb ELPIZO means to have hope in the sense of expectation with the nuance of counting upon something. The noun ELPIS means to have absolute confidence. We have three absolute states of hope or confidence in the Christian life.

(a) We have absolute confidence that at the moment we believe in Christ, we become the possessor of eternal life.

(b) We have absolute confidence that at the moment we reach spiritual maturity, we receive our escrow blessings for time.

c. Phil 1:20, “According to my earnest expectation and hope [3] that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but with all confidence, Christ shall even now [living in divine dynasphere] as always [before Judgment Seat of Christ in resurrection body] be glorified in my body, whether by life or by death.” Living and dying, prosperity and adversity, are equated with +H.

d. 2 Tim 2:15, “A workman who does not need to be ashamed [at Judgment Seat of Christ], rightly dividing the Word of Truth.” Learning the mechanics of the protocol plan of God (rightly dividing the Word of Truth) and executing this plan protects the believer from being ashamed. e. 1 Jn 2:28, “...that we might have confidence and not be put to shame by Him in His presence [judgment seat of Christ].”

3. The use of the ten problem solving devices during your Christian life on earth is the means of avoiding shame at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

J. Loss of reward does not mean loss of salvation.

1. Loss of reward or blessing above and beyond the resurrection body is determined by your volition, your choice of dynasphere. 1 Cor 3:13-15, “Each man’s production will become manifest; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed by fire. In fact the fire itself will test what quality each one’s production is. If any one’s production, which he has built on the foundation [salvation] remains, he shall receive a reward. If anyone’s production is burned up, he shall suffer loss [of reward]. But he himself shall be saved [delivered] yet so as through fire.”

2. There is great inequality in heaven based on the function of your free will in time. The foundation is eternal life in this passage. Bad decisions from the cosmic system produce the wood, hay and straw which is burned. A lot of hard working, sincere Christians will have big bonfires at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

3. Even though you can lose reward, you cannot lose your salvation. 2 Tim 2:11-13, “Faithful is the word. For if we have died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure [in divine dynasphere], we shall also rule with Him. If we refuse [to function in the divine dynasphere], He will also refuse us [reward]. If we are unfaithful [in cosmic system], he remains faithful, for you see, He cannot deny Himself.”

a. When God does something for you, it’s permanent. Eternal security is a divine gift at salvation that not even God can take away.

b. While eternal security is permanent, confidence in God is temporary, depending on your residence in the divine dynasphere. Confidence in God can be gained or lost, but not so with eternal security.

c. Confidence in God is something we do for ourselves by learning doctrine. But eternal security is something God does for us. Eternal security depends on the integrity of God, while confidence in God depends on the integrity of the believer.

d. Confidence in God can be lost through the believer’s residence in the cosmic system. But eternal security is permanent no matter what the believer does.

e. The principle of eternal security is found in Jn 10:28, “And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone puck them out of My hand.” Cf. 1 Pet 1:3-5.

f. 1 Jn 3:21 teaches the principle of confidence in God. In 1 Jn 4:17, confidence is the issue at the Judgment Seat of Christ, not eternal security. The believer in the cosmic system has no confidence before God at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

K. Military and Athletic Analogies to Rewards, 2 Tim 2:4-5 “No soldier on active duty entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life [a person on active duty does not live a normal life], so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” Verse 5, “Furthermore, if anyone competes in the athletic games, he does not receive a winner’s crown unless he trains according to the rules.”

1. The athlete had to undergo ten months of strict training just to qualify to participate in the games. He had to enter a registered state gymnasium, analogous to living in the divine dynasphere. Every athlete went through identical training no matter what his event. This is analogous to every believer having the identical divine dynasphere as the place in which we train and compete. We must fulfill the training rules of the protocol plan of God. Only the protocol Christian is living the Christian way of life, therefore, is qualified to compete in the angelic conflict.

2. The ATHLETAI were the ones who trained under the rules of the national gymnasium for ten months. You were not allowed to leave the large walled area of the gymnasium for ten months, and had to exercise under the authority of the GUMNASIARCH, the ruler of the gym (analogous to the pastor). It was a very well-paying job. He had marshals under him who watched the athletes. He wore a purple robe with white sandals, and is analogous to the pastor. The marshals were comparable to the deacons.

3. Disqualification is analogous to function inside the cosmic system. They trained not only the body, but the mind as well. After the completion of the ten month course, the athlete was allowed to compete.

4. The athlete followed a set of very strict rules which constantly tested his motivation, decisions, and momentum. This is analogous to the concept of daily perception of doctrine and momentum testing. You could not leave for any reason.

5. Everyone did the same exercise under the same authority. There were eight to ten exercise periods during the day. Everyone received group exercise naked outdoors regardless of the weather (analogous to everyone getting the same doctrinal teaching). Daily trumpet calls had to be met at various times (if you missed one you were disqualified). Everyone had equal privilege and opportunity to compete. Each class was preceded by a warning trumpet during which time the athlete reported to his trainer, the ALEIPTEI, who rubbed him down with olive oil. This is analogous to rebound before perception of doctrine. The athlete wore no clothes, analogous to the filling of the Holy Spirit.

6. All the athletes ate the same food: wheat, cheese, figs, no wine, no sweets. This relates perception of doctrine to strict academic discipline. You were on a strict diet, which everyone ate (other foods being analogous to distractions of the cosmic system).

7. All earthly distractions were prohibited during the ten months, including contact with family, friends, no sex, no social life.

8. The AGONISTAI were people who just worked out to stay in shape, which is just sheer agony; analogous to the believer in the cosmic system. This is analogous to arrogance in the cosmic system, which is sheer agony.

9. 1 Cor 9:24-27 illustrates how we compete to reach a reward which is imperishable. “Run in such a way that you may win.” Verse 27, “but I discipline my body and keep it in training, lest possibly, having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

10. Each winner in the national games received a crown of ivy leaves, which represented the rewards he would receive when he returned home (analogous to us receiving eternal escrow blessing when we go home to heaven). He had a special entrance cut into the wall of the city through which he passed when he returned. A plaque was put up after the wall was sealed up again. He rode in the best chariot through the city in a parade; he received a lifetime pass to all future games; a great amount of money; an ode was written by a poet; a statue was put up in the public square; his children fed and educated at public expense; he was exempt from all income taxes for life.

L. The Rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.

1. Introduction.

a. Two Greek words are used for crowns.

(1) STEPHANOS, a reward in athletics and the military.

(2) DIADEMA, a crown used for a king. Certain rewards for believers are called STEPHANOS. DIADEMA is not used for the believer’s rewards in the Bible.

b. STEPHANOS is the exact equivalent to the Latin word CORONA. The STEPHANOS is comparable to our medal of honor. There were six categories of such crowns given by the military. Each had a great monetary reward that went with it.

(1) CORONA OBSIDANALUS or CORONA GRAMANIA, a golden wreath woven of golden strands; also called golden grass. This guaranteed $150,000 tax-free income a year.

(2) CORONA CIVICA, wreath of golden oak leaves, given for the highest type of valor in battle or for unusual acts performed by a civilian. (3) CORONA NAVALIS, the medal of honor for the navy. It was given to the first sailor to board an enemy ship during battle.

(4) CORONA MURALIS, awarded to the first soldier to scale the wall of a besieged city or reach the enemy lines, similar to our Army Distinguished Service Cross. This was only given to enlisted men.

(5) CORONA CASTRENSIS, awarded to the first soldier to reach the enemy lines in a battle, or to any enlisted man who did unusual things in battle.

(6) CORONA TRIUMPHALIS, awarded to a victorious army general who commanded a winning army, or men who did secondary things of valor, comparable to our Distinguished Service Cross.

c. The most highly decorated soldier lived in the second century B.C. according to Livy. His name was Spurius Ligustanus. Four times he was the senior centurion for the legion as an award for bravery. He won 34 decorations, including six CORONA CIVICA, the second highest. So even while serving in the army, he was one of the wealthiest men in the Roman Empire.

d. Paul used this concept as a metaphor to illustrate the decorations awarded to winners at the Judgment Seat of Christ. There are three categories of crowns for believers in the Word of God. The first two are available to all believers; the last is available to pastor-teachers only.

(1) The crown of righteousness.

(2) The crown of life.

(3) The crown of glory.

e. The warning regarding crowns, Rev 3:11, “Hang on to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown.” cf 2 Jn 8.

2. The Crown of Righteousness.

a. This crown is awarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ to the Church Age believer who fulfills the protocol plan of God by the advance to gate #8 or spiritual maturity. This believer has advanced from spiritual self-esteem plus providential preventative suffering to attain spiritual autonomy, and from spiritual autonomy plus momentum testing to attain spiritual maturity.

b. This is given to mature believers with emphasis on their attainment of gate 8 in the divine dynasphere. It emphasizes functional virtue directed toward man and circumstances; i.e., the modus operandi of your royal ambassadorship and the fulfillment of the royal family honor code.

c. The believer who wears the invisible uniform of honor (Eph 6) will receive the crown of righteousness. The function of impersonal love is the manifestation of the invisible uniform of honor. The crown of righteousness is given for your virtue, honor, integrity, passing momentum tests, and fulfillment of the royal family honor code.

d. 2 Tim 4:7-8, “I have fought an honorable fight [advance to spiritual maturity]. I have completed the course [execution of the protocol plan of God]. I have guarded the doctrine [as #1 priority]. In the future there is reserved for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me in that day, and not only to me, but to all [winners] who have loved His appearing.” He perpetuated spiritual self- esteem and spiritual maturity. As a mature believer, the perpetuation of spiritual maturity means to continue learning the Word of God daily.

e. So the crown of righteousness is a decoration for the attainment, perpetuation, and activity of spiritual maturity. This crown is presented to those believers who advance through the three stages of spiritual adulthood.

f. Accompanying the crown of righteousness is a tremendous amount of extra privileges, blessings, and opportunities in the eternal state.

3. The Crown of Life. See Jn 15.

a. This crown of life is awarded to the Church Age believer who in spiritual maturity passes evidence testing. By passing evidence testing, the mature believer has glorified God to the maximum and so will receive the crown of life. Evidence testing is administered by Satan as an extension of the angelic conflict.

b. Rev 2:10, “Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Note that the devil is about to cast some of you in prison, that you may be tested and you will have special persecution ten times. Keep on being faithful even until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

c. James 1:12, “Happy is that person who perseveres under testing, for once he has passed the [evidence] test, he will receive the crown of life which God has promised to those who love Him.” This tells us that happiness is not confined to prosperity, to having things going your way. The happiness provided by Bible doctrine exists under the greatest categories of adversity.

d. The crown of life is awarded to all members of the royal family of God who utilize the problem-solving devices and advance to maturity and then use +H to pass evidence testing.

4. The Crown of Glory.

a. This is awarded to pastors who faithfully study and teach Bible doctrine to their congregation, doctrine by which the pastor and positive members of the congregation will attain spiritual maturity. There are four categories of pastors in the Church Age.

(1) The cosmic pastor, who lives in cosmic one and two, is distracted by social action, crusader arrogance, and is totally disoriented to reality. He is very arrogant, self-righteous, and ignorant of doctrine.

(2) The baby pastor high profiles his own personality while low profiling the Word of God. He only evangelizes and gives moral lectures.

(3) The adolescent pastor teaches some truth but is distracted by various forms of high profile. He is selling his own personality (rather than teaching doctrine) by visiting the sick, calling on the congregation, conducting programs. He can be a pseudo-intellectual, a crusader, a bleeding heart, self-righteous, a pleasing personality, or arrogant. He appeals to those with negative volition toward Bible doctrine. He doesn’t have the time to study.

(4) The mature pastor through personal study and teaching advances to gate 8 of the divine dynasphere and is leading his congregation there. He has fulfilled the concept of gate 5,6,7,& 8 and therefore has the crown of righteousness as well. He emphasizes doctrine and is a prepared person academically, knowing where he stands theologically. He focuses on the message, not his personality. Heb 6:10.

b. The motivation for the pastor is occupation with the Lord. 1 Pet 5:4, “And when the Chief Shepherd [our Lord at Judgment Seat of Christ] appears [Rapture], you [faithful pastors] will receive the unfading crown of glory.”

c. Phil 4:1 personalizes this concept: “Therefore, my brethren, loved ones [congregation who is respected for their faithfulness], deeply desired ones, my happiness and my crown, keep on being stabilized [winners of the crown of righteousness].”

d. 1 Thes 2:19-20, “For who is our hope or happiness or crown of boasting [glory]? Is it not you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? [At the Judgment Seat of Christ, those who have attained spiritual maturity are the crown of glory for the pastor.] For you are our glory and our happiness.”

e. The pastor’s boasting or crown of glory is received because certain members of his congregation do two things by listening to the teaching of the Word: they take the giant step to spiritual self-esteem, and they take the victory step to spiritual maturity where they can receive evidence testing to glorify God to the maximum. So the happiness of the pastor comes from the positive response of those faithful to the teaching of the Word of God. The pastor’s happiness is different from that of anyone else.

f. Protocol believers are the basis for the pastor receiving the crown of glory.

g. The danger to the pastor is given in 1 Cor 9:24-27. “Do you not know that those who run a race all run but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-discipline in all things. They do not receive a perishable crown but an imperishable crown. Therefore, I do not run without a goal. I do not box like a person beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and keep it in training, lest having preached to others, I myself should be disqualified.”

5. The Ultimate Decoration: the Order of the Morning Star.

a. The winner who receives the above crowns not only has vast estates in the eternal state, but he receives this decoration and others that go with it. This decoration is taken from and named after our Lord’s third royal patent, “King of kings, Lord of lords, the Bright Morning Star,” mentioned specifically in Rev 22:16 and 2 Pet 1:19.

b. The Order of the Morning Star is given to winners as the highest of all decorations in escrow blessings given by God. It is a part of the new order of chivalry in the eternal state for the royal family. This decoration is awarded for the maintenance of spiritual maturity in what may be called an ultra supergrace status.

c. This decoration is mentioned as a part of escrow blessings for the eternal state in Rev 2:26,28, “Furthermore, the winner, even he who keeps My assignments [execution of the protocol plan of God] until the end [perpetuation of spiritual maturity through evidence testing], to him I will give authority over the nations.” Verse 28, “Furthermore I will give to him the order of the Morning Star.” The mature believer will be a king over a Gentile nation and rule during the Millennium.

d. Receiving this decoration is the highest manifestation of glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ in the Church Age. This same title was given to Him at the ascension and session and is related to both the strategic victory and tactical victory of the angelic conflict. Rev 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to declare these things to you for the churches; I am the root [Jesus Christ as eternal God], and the descendent of David [Jesus Christ in Hypostatic Union], the bright morning star [His title for the First and Second Advents].” In Num 24:17, His title is related to His strategic victory, “I see Him, but not now, I behold Him, but not near. Behold, a star [Christ as the morning star] shall come forth from Jacob [First Advent] and a scepter shall rise from Israel [Second Advent].”

e. Mt 2:2 is a reference to the morning star related to the First Advent. Bible doctrine is related to Christ as the morning star in 2 Pet 1:19-21, “and the morning star has come up” (Second Advent).

f. The Order of the Morning Star is named after our Lord’s royal title and is given for historical impact in the Church Age. It authorizes the recipient to reign with Christ in the Millennium and hold the highest privileges for all eternity. These believers can eat from the tree of life in the paradise of God, located in the New Jerusalem.

g. There are at least seven privileges that accompany the Order of the Morning Star.

(1) The uniform of honor, being invisible and worn in the soul, is exchanged at the Judgment Seat of Christ for the translucent uniform of glory worn over the resurrection body. It was first modeled by Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration, Mt 17, “and His clothes became white as light.” The uniform of glory is a monument to right decisions. The uniform of glory is given as a translucent light which covers the resurrection body. Rev 3:4-5, “they will walk with Me in whites...”.

(2) The name of the winner appears on the honors list, and he is presented in the court of heaven during the Tribulation on earth. Only those on the honors list are taken to heaven and presented to God the Father. The honors list is made up of those believers who make Bible doctrine their highest priority daily. Rev 3:5, “Thus the winner shall be clothed in white garments and I will never blot out his title [the winner is knighted at the Judgment Seat of Christ] out of the book of life. In fact I will acknowledge his title in the presence of My Father and before His angels [a formal presentation].”

(3) A new order of knighthood and eternal order of chivalry will be added to the believer’s name in the Lamb’s Book of Life forever, Rev 2:17 cf Col 3:4,6. The new knighthood is given to the winner, Rev 2:17, “To the winner, I will give him blessing from the hidden manna [escrow blessing for time and eternity]; also I will give him a white pebble [the resurrection body, God’s final vote of justification - they voted with colored pebbles in the ancient world], and on that white pebble has been inscribed a new title [your royal patent in the eternal heraldry] which no one knows [you are an anonymous hero during the Church Age].”

(4) The winner will rule with Christ during the Millennium. There are six different approaches with regard to ruling with Christ.

(a) The a fortiori approach, Rom 5:17, “For if by the transgression of one spiritual death ruled by that one, much more, they who receive in life this surplus from grace [escrow blessing] and the gift of righteousness, much more, they shall rule through that One Jesus Christ.”

(b) The sarcastic approach, 1 Cor 4:8, “You are already filled [with private sins]; you have already become rich [but not from escrow blessing]; you have become kings without us. How I wish you really had become kings, so that we might also rule with you.”

(d) The parable approach, Lk 19:12ff especially v.17, 19 “take charge over ten cities” = rulership.

(e) The direct approach, Rev 3:21, “The winner, I will give to him the reward of sitting with me on my throne, as I have won and sat down with My Father on His throne.”

(f) The Morning Star approach, Rev 2:26-28.

(5) The winner’s name is recorded in the permanent historical record section because of his invisible historical impact during the Church Age, Rev 3:12a. The impact of the winner is anonymous as far as the record of history is concerned, but not as far as God is concerned. The mature believer’s historical record will be recorded forever in the heavenly temple. Each pillar will have the record of his life as a winner. Rev 3:12, “The winner, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God. Furthermore, he will never again vanish [go outside] from history. Also I will emblazon on him the title of My God, and the name of the city of My God [this will be his pass to enter the eternal city, the New Jerusalem, a satellite city suspended above the earth in the atmosphere or in space], the new Jerusalem, which shall descend from heaven from My God; also My new title [King of kings, Lord of lords, bright morning star].”

(a) The temple of God is the eternal record center in the future. Example: the temple at Ephesus had the great deeds of people inscribed on the pillars.

(b) This temple of God will be the historical textbook of the true heros of history. The mature believer as a part of the pivot is the true impact on history. In Gal 2:9 the mature believer is currently called a pillar of the church.

(6) The winner receives his own coat of arms of glory, Rev 3:12b.

(7) The winner has special privileges related to the Tree of Life, the Gazebo of the Garden, called the Paradise of God. You are a member of a special club with special parties to which only you are invited; you’re a member of the Paradise Club forever, Rev 2:7,14. Rev 2:7, “To the winner, I will give to him the privilege of eating from the tree of life which is in the paradise of God.” Rev 22:14, “Blessed are they [winners] who have washed their robes [rebound], that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city [new Jerusalem].” The tree of life is the ultimate in eternal reward and blessing. _

R. B. Thieme, Jr. Bible Ministries 5139 West Alabama, Houston, Texas 77056 (713) 621-3740

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