Romans 14:10 explains as follows, "..But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Meshiakh"

Did you know that from the scriptures it is clear that those who believe in Yahshua shall never stand before the seat of judgement of Elohim to be judged on the last day? 

First and foremost let us try to understand this opening verse.  The words we shall allstand before have a single verb para which means to place beside or to compare. The words judgement seat have a single word bema which means raised platform or status/standard. What this verse means is for weshall all be compared to the statusof Meshiakh so don't judge/comdemn.

To understand more it is important to understand a very vital concept of judgement so that the righteous may get strength to maintain righteousness and the the filthy may find the beauty of giving up on filth.

The Hebrew concept of judge/judgement is abit deep. I will try to explain in the following hebrew words.

Shaphat is the most common word for judge in the Tanakh. This is what Mosheh commissioned the elders to do. It is what the leaders who took over after Yehoshua/Joshua died did; this is the office of Samson, Deborah, Barak, Gideon and the others. Actually that book of Judges is called Shophetim because of that office they undertook. Their office entailed  everything from hearing a case, determining wrong and right and delivering sentence such as canning as explained in Deuteronomy 25:1-3 where the word shaphat is used, "...If there be a controversy between men, and they come unto judgment, that the judges may judge them; then they shall justify the righteous, and condemn the wicked. And it shall be, if the wicked man be worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down, and to be beaten before his face, according to his fault, by a certain number. Forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed: lest, if he should exceed, and beat him above these with many stripes, then thy brother should seem vile unto thee." 

Besides this word, the second most used word is Diyn or dun or dayan or dan. This word is closely associated with Adon/lord. It carries the concept of judgement delivered by a lord (Adon in hebrew). A lord/Adon such as a king usually had a beytdin (house of judgement) where he would deliver his judgement. An example is such as the one Pilate had in Yokhanan/John 18:28. Normally this judgement would be sought by anybody who felt agrieved by one who is stronger and so one would call on the impartial heavenly Adonai to be the judge. This word is used by Sarai who felt agrieved by her husband and Hagar (Genesis 16:5).

The other Hebrew word for judge is Yakakh. This word carries the meaning of deciding what is wrongand right /conviction; more so, it carries the meaning of reproving though no punishment is given unlike the other two concepts above where sentence could be delivered. An example when this word was used is when Mosheh tried to reprove one Hebrew who was fighting his brother in the land of Mizrayim/Egypt (Exodus 2:14).

The other word used in the Tanakh is one that interests most; it is palal as used in II Samuel 2:25 , "....If one man sin against another, the judge shall judge him: but if a man sin against the LORD, who shall intreat for him?...." Here the verb intreat is given the same verb palal as the preceding verb judge. Actually the word palal has the meaning of pray, intercess, mediate or intreat as given here.

The last word for judge is naphal. It is used in Ezekiel 28:23 as follows, "...For I will send into her pestilence, and blood into her streets; and the wounded shall be judged in the midst of her by the sword upon her on every side; and they shall know that I am the LORD." This word naphal actually means to fall in status; that's a downward degradation such as death as clearly implied here. This concept is the concept of the consequences of sin that brings about death as the ultimate judgement upon a sinner. Here there is no room for palal/intercession or even yakach/reprove; here fate is sealed.

As the above words clearly show, the concept of judgement entails alot. It clearly shows that in Hebrew, the concept of judgement has stages, since it is a process as explained in Deuteronomy 25:1-3. A choice of a word in the Tanakh could communicate volumes as to the extent of the process of the judgement such as: are we at the beginning of determining right or wrong? Is there any room for intercession? Can we reprove, or is the fate sealed and punishment must be delivered?

An understanding of that procedural concept of judgement will enable us appreciate the role Yahshua plays in judgement and how much it means to us children of HaShem.

When Yahshua came to the world, he states as follows in John 5:22, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son..." Then Yahshua says again in John 8:15, "....Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man..." Without the understanding of judgement one may see this as a contradiction. However, let us examine the word with the understanding of judgement.

The first declaration from John 5:22 is explained more in John 5:26,27 as follows, "For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself; And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man...." This qualification of Yahshua, of being human, that gives him the mandate to be a judge is echoed by Hebrews 2:17 as follows, "Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people." This clearly shows that the stage of judgement that Abba has given to Yahshua is palal/intercession for we can relate with him better in our frailty.

Yahshua continues to explain in John 8:15 the same as John 12:47 as follows, "...And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world..." This judgement of condemning is the final stage of naphal when the judged has spurned all intercession/palal, all reprove/Yakakh and has brought upon himself death. Yahshua says that his office in judgement is not naphal/condemn and cause to fall; but to save/palal. He says in the following verse 48 that in the last day when there will be no room for repentance then the words that were spurned will condemn whomever did not pay heed.

Through the set-apart-Spirit that Yahshua sent into our hearts, he also judges through reprove/convict/yakach. He explains in John 16:7-11, "...Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you..And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me;.of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged..." It is through Yahshua that we get judged when reproved of sin. This reprove is meant to save us from the eternal condemnation.

It is important to understand what Yahshua taught us. He explains in John 5:24, "....Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me possesses everlasting life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life..." (TS2009 version). This stage of judgement is palal and naphal where one is saved and the other is punished. This is as explained in Romans 6:23 that the gift of HaShem is eternal life while the wages of sin is death.

Revelation 20:4-12, "....And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Yahshua, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Meshiakh a thousand years....But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.....And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison....And shall go out to deceive the nations....and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them....And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them....And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works." It is clear that only the dead shall stand before the judgement seat of Elohim. Those who are righteous as explained in verse shall have long ressurected to live eternally at the beginning of the millennial reign; they will not be among the dead.

Why is this so? Why don't they participate in this judgement? Because they already went through judgement in their life as believers. You see in their life as believers, they went through all the other stages of judgement whenever they erred save the last stage. That is what is explained in I Corinthians 11:31,32 that "...if we were to examine ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Master, that we shouldnot be condemned with the world." Kepha/Peter explains our phase of judgement is happening now. He says in I Peter 4:17,18, "....Because it is time for judgment to begin from the House of Elohim. And if firstly from us, what is the end of those who do not obey the Good News of Elohim?" (TS2009 version). And when the wicked on the last stage of judgement (delivery of punishment) after 1000 years will have knelt down before HaShem and confessed before him as we do every day and every hour of our life, then Isaiah 55:10,11 will be fulfilled, "....I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear." 

When do you want to be judged? Now by Yahshua through Yakakh and palal and be saved or then by Elohim through the ultimate naphal because you refused to change your errant ways?

By Bro. Bonface Muthii