The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Appearing of Christ, #7

Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. (Revelation 19:7)

When Christ comes, His Bride will be clothed in her righteous works, the works that show forth in her because of her union with the Lord. What she is, after having been transformed through the grace of God under the new covenant (II Corinthians 3:18), will be revealed in glory when Christ appears.

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteous acts] of saints. (Revelation 19:8)

We will not be clothed in the fine linen of righteous works, and after that be judged, and then married to Christ! Rather, the fine linen is the result of the spiritual clothing we receive as we press forward in the Lord each day, confessing and repenting of our sins, and coming to the Lord for His Virtue so we will not continue to practice sin. The fine linen is kept in Heaven for us and will be given to us when the Lord comes.

We now are being judged. We now are being cleansed if we are cooperating with the Holy Spirit. We now are being brought into restful union with God through Christ.

When the Lord comes the marriage will be perfected. God and Christ will enter us in Their Fullness through the Glory of the Holy Spirit. We shall shine as the stars as the white robe of Divine righteousness and Glory, the result of our patient sowing to the Spirit, is placed on us.

The Scripture states that the Judgment Seat of Christ began in the first century:

For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? (I Peter 4:17)

Christ is judging the living and the dead—now. Our tribulations are part of the judgment of Christ on us (II Thessalonians 1:5).

Perhaps we can pass through the Judgment Seat of Christ while we yet are alive on the earth. This seems to have been true of Paul, who expects to receive a crown of righteousness when Christ appears (II Timothy 4:7,8).

It probably will be true for most of us that we shall be judged—at least in part—after we die physically.

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: (Hebrews 9:27)

Thus the deceased saints of all ages are being judged in the spirit realm. The Judgment Seat began, according to Peter, in his day. It commenced with the living and the dead (I Peter 4:5,17).

Other passages point toward judgment in the future:

Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God. (I Corinthians 4:5)

To be continued.