Systematic Theology, by Louis Berkhof - New Leaven

nations, according to the attitude they have assumed to the evangelizing remnant of
Israel (the least of the brethren of the Lord). The entrance of these nations into the
kingdom depends on the outcome. This is the judgment mentioned in Matt. 25:31-46. It
is separated from the earlier judgment by a period of seven years. (c) A judgment of the
wicked dead before the great white throne, described in Rev. 20:11-15. The dead are
judged according to their works, and these determine the degree of punishment which
they will receive. This judgment will be more than a thousand years later than the
preceding one. It should be noted, however, that the Bible always speaks of the future
judgment as a single event. It teaches us to look forward, not to days, but to the day of
judgment, John 5:28,29; Acts 17:31; II Pet. 3:7, also called “that day,” Matt. 7:22; II Tim.
4:8, and “the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,” Rom. 2:5.
Premillenarians feel the force of this argument, for they reply that it may be a day of a
thousand years. Moreover, there are passages of Scripture from which it is abundantly
evident that the righteous and the wicked appear in judgment together for a final
separation, Matt. 7:22,23; 25:31-46 Rom. 2:5-7; Rev. 11:18; 20:11-15. Furthermore, it
should be noted that the judgment of the wicked is represented as a concomitant of the
parousia and also of the revelation, II Thess. 1:7-10; II Pet. 3:4-7. And, finally, it should
be borne in mind that God does not judge the nations as nations where eternal issues are
at stake, but only individuals; and that a final separation of the righteous and the
wicked cannot possibly be made until the end of the world. It is hard to see how anyone
can give a tolerable and self-consistent interpretation of Matt. 25:31-46, except on the
supposition that the judgment referred to is the universal judgment of all men, and that
they are judged, not as nations, but as individuals. Even Meyer and Alford who are
themselves Premillenarians consider this to be the only tenable exposition.
4. THE FINAL JUDGMENT UNNECESSARY. Some regard the final judgment as entirely
unnecessary, because each man’s destiny is determined at the time of his death. If a man
fell asleep in Jesus, he is saved; and if he died in his sins, he is lost. Since the matter is
settled, no further judicial inquiry is necessary, and therefore such a final judgment is
quite superfluous. But the certainty of the future judgment does not depend on our
conception of its necessity. God clearly teaches us in His Word that there will be a final
judgment, and that settles the matter for all those who recognize the Bible as the final
standard of faith. Moreover, the underlying assumption on which this argument
proceeds, namely, that the final judgment is for the purpose of ascertaining what should
be the future state of man, is entirely erroneous. It will serve the purpose rather of
displaying before all rational creatures the declarative glory of God in a formal, forensic
act, which magnifies on the one hand His holiness and righteousness, and on the other
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