God has appointed a day, wherein He will judge the world, in righteousness, by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given of the Father. In which day, not only the apostate angels shall be judged, but likewise all persons that have lived upon earth shall appear before the tribunal of Christ, to give an account of their thoughts, words, and deeds; and to receive according to what they have done in the body, whether good or evil.
Fittingly, the end of our progress through the Westminster Confession of Faith brings us to the matter of the last things, specifically the coming judgment. The divines affirmed that judgment is coming without regard to appearances, that God knows the day he has appointed (even if no one else does) and the one whom he has appointed to be judge, even Jesus Christ. The Son has been given all authority. Every creature will come to him, either in grace or in wrath. The apostate angels will receive their due recompense. All persons who have ever lived will meet him and bow the knee. They will give an account and they will be responsible for the way in which they have lived their lives. All those who meet Jesus having already been united with him by faith and the prior appointment of the Father will receive his loving mercy; all others who do not have faith in him will receive justice.
Tomorrow: The purposes of judgment.
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