11/6/11 - Last Judgment - Daniel 7:9-10

WHAT'S ON YOUR RECORD?

The Scene of Judgment Day

             The all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere-present God of the universe has just entered the courtroom - and everyone must stand.  You too rise to your feet, standing up from the defendant’s chair in complete awe.  Because the Judge’s clothes are shining with an inescapable brilliance and his hair gleams with a purity that you have never seen before in your life.  And as you watch him walk towards the seat that has been reserved for him you notice that his throne is burning as if it were completely on fire and there are wheels on this throne that are blazing just as intensely.  Under the throne flows a river - and strangely it too rages in flames.  There are thousands upon thousands of people and angels inside this courtroom praising his name and worshiping his presence, packing the walls and the halls and the corridors, waiting for what is to come.  And then the Judge sits down and everyone is suddenly quiet.  Because the court has now convened.  There is a solemnity that hangs in the air.  And the Judge looks right at you.  He pages through a whole stack of records in his hands and then he looks right at you again.  Because you are the one who is on trial and now it’s time for the sentencing to be handed out.

            And it’s a little intimidating!  It’s a little bit nerve-wracking because you know what the Lord must have been looking at on those sheets!  Your crimes, your mistakes, your convictions, your “priors.”  Every time you broke one of his laws, it was recorded.  Every time you tried to take a short cut around his commands, it was written down.  No wonder there is a whole stack of sheets in front of him!  There are a lot of things to list!  There are a lot of faults to sort through!  But he is done glancing at those official reports on your conduct in this life.  He already knows what those records say, after all.  And so instead of looking at them he looks at you.  And you brace yourself and you hold your breath because he is now about to speak...

The Listing of Accusations

            Normally, in a court case in this country, the judge knows about the accusations that are being brought against the defendant before he ever sets foot in the courtroom that day.  In fact, not only does the judge know about these crimes, he even reads off these accusations to the defendant as he stands before the court.   “You have been accused of breaking and entering, assaulting an officer, carrying an unregistered firearm, and evading arrest.”  And then the judge asks that familiar question, “How do you plead?”  And depending on the circumstances and the lawyers and the deals that have or have not been struck, the defendant either replies, “Guilty,” or “Not guilty, your honor.”  And if that person pleads not guilty the trial date is then set, the wheels of the court system start to turn, and witnesses and evidence on both sides are set in place to prove or disprove whatever it may be.

            But if that defendant is found guilty after the trial is all said and done, and he is standing once again in that courtroom before that same judge for the sentencing, then the judge may read those very same accusations once more - except that they are no longer accusations at this point; they are convictions this time.  “You have been convicted of breaking and entering, assaulting an officer, carrying an unregistered firearm, and evading arrest.”  But the judge doesn’t ask the defendant for his plea this time.  Because it doesn’t matter what the person convicted of these crimes claims.  He has already been found guilty; there is no more debate.  And the sentence that the judge is about to hand out will be based on the crimes that he has just read.  The defendant just has to stand there and listen.  There is nothing else he can do.  There is nothing else he is allowed to do.

 A Tainted Record

             “As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.  His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool.  His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze.  A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.  Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.  The court was seated, and the books were opened.”  Through Daniel’s vision we are back in the heavenly courtroom on Judgment Day.  And you are back in that defendant’s chair.  It’s time for the sentencing and there is nothing left for you to say.  It’s “Judgment” Day after all!  A judgment will be given; no questions will be asked; no plea will be requested from you by the Judge; no deal will be made.  It’s too late for that.   It is time for the Judge to make his final decision.  And whatever he decides will be permanent.  There is no appeal process in this court of law.  What God says goes.  And he never gets it wrong.

            And so as you are sitting there in this defendant’s chair with the almighty Judge himself looking down at you from high above on his throne of flames, you can’t help but think of your record that he has in his hands.  “All of those things that I’ve done: how stupid I was!  How rebellious!  How brazen!  All those words that I’ve said that I’d be embarrassed for him to repeat!  All those thoughts, those nasty thoughts, that I didn’t think anyone else knew.  Well, the Judge knows.  He remembers those crimes against his Word that I’ve forgotten.  He recalls those incidents that I didn’t even realize were wrong.  I can’t deny what I’ve done.  And I can’t talk my way out of it either.  This Judge goes strictly by the Book and compared to that standard my record - my whole life - is a mess!”

            And so you just kind of shake your head.  It’s even hard to look the Judge in the eye because you know what he knows and there’s no hiding it.  And as you contemplate the inevitable pronouncement of judgment, you almost don’t want to hear what he is going to say.  You don’t want to be reminded about all of those things you’ve done; you don’t want to have to think about all of those spiritual crimes that you have committed; and you definitely don’t want to hear the sentence you’ll have to serve because of them.

Declaration of “Not Guilty”

            But the courtroom is still.  There are no distractions to take your mind off of what’s to come.  And all eyes are fixed on that powerful just Judge sitting firmly on his throne.  And so he clears is voice; he opens his mouth; and he says just two words: “Not Guilty.”  He bangs the gavel on the bench with a thunderous and final authority and the courtroom that was once silent explodes into a celebration of praise and singing.  The angels are blowing their mighty trumpets, the saints that have gone before you are throwing up their arms in victory and everyone is raising their voices to the sky with joy.  And in the middle of it all, still sitting there in that defendant’s chair, you are thinking to yourself: “Did I just hear that right?  Not guilty?  Was there some kind of mistake?  Was he talking about someone else?”  But the angels and the believers are gathering around you, “No, you’re in, you’re in!  Come on, let’s go!  You’re free!  You’ve been pardoned!  You get to live forever in the most perfect place there is!”  And they grab you and help you up and led you towards that outer door.  And you slowly begin to realize that there really isn’t going to be any chains; there won’t we shackles or prison cells, fire or terror.  You are going to the place you’ve always dreamed about.  The place of Paradise.  The home of God. 

 Our Record Wiped Clean

            But before you walk out that door with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ along with the heavenly angels that are even more spectacular than you thought they were going to be, you have a quick question for the Judge.  He’s still sitting there on his throne after all, smiling now, happy for you, thrilled at what has just occurred.  And after you walk up to the front you say to him, “But, Your Honor, what about my record?  What about those sheets in your hand?  What about my crimes and my failures and the punishments that they deserve?  I know that you know!  And I know that you don’t just ignore those kinds of things either!”  “I didn’t ignore anything,” your Judge says as he hands you the records that he was holding.  And as you take them you notice that they are just blank pieces of paper.  “So, where are all of the offenses and all of the violations and all of the wrongs that I have committed throughout my life,” you ask.  “Oh, those things were taken off your record long ago,” the Judge says, “I put those crimes on the record of my Son.” 

            And sure enough, Jesus is still standing there.  In fact, he had been in the courtroom the entire time sitting right next to you!  The whole thing was just so overwhelming it was hard to stay focused.  But that was why Jesus had those holes in his hands and those puncture wounds in his skull.  That was why you caught a glimpse of the scars on his back from the scourging and a faint smell of the wine vinegar from the sponge that one of the soldiers had held up to his mouth when he was hanging on that cross.  And the pieces start falling into place: Jesus isn’t just there in that courtroom to speak to the Father in your defense; Jesus is in that courtroom because he had already taken your place.  Your rap sheet had become his.  Your trial was presented in his name.  Your sentence was carried out in full by Christ himself well before you ever stepped into this courtroom.  Your record is now clean.  Jesus’ record was the one that was filled with felonies and misdemeanors and death-sentence-worthy criminal acts that he didn’t commit; but that’s the very reason why your record is now non-existent.  The punishment had already been paid for; the sentence had already been satisfied; there are no crimes left for you to be accused of; you’re in the clear.

            And so there’s nothing much left to say, is there?  There are not too many more questions to ask this Judge.  There are not too many more mysteries to figure out.  You’ve got those blank pieces of paper in your hand, Jesus by your side, and a Paradise waiting for you.  And so side by side with your Savior, surrounded by those glorious angels, and arm in arm with the believers that got there before you, you walk into that land of perfection that the Lord had been preparing for you all along.  And Judgment Day wasn’t so bad after all, was it?  It wasn’t all that terrifying or nerve-wracking.  In fact, it was kind of exciting.  It was liberating.  It was just as the Judge had planned it.  And it couldn’t have turned out any better.

            Amen.

“May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 1 Thess. 5:23