GRACE BIBLE CHURCH
07-06-2022
PASTOR ROBERT R. MCLAUGHLIN
PDF: GBC07062022NOTES
Christian Soldier 84, Doctrine Of The Rapture, 12.
We are now ready for;
Point 12. The Rapture and the Judgment Seat of Christ.
First of all, we begin in 1CO 3:10.
1CO 3:10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building upon it. But let each man be careful how he builds upon it.
1CO 3:11 For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
1CO 3:12 Now if any man builds upon the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,
1CO 3:13 each man's work will become evident; for the day will show it, because it is to be revealed with fire; and the fire itself will test the quality of each man's work.
1CO 3:14 If any man's work which he has built upon it remains, he shall receive a reward.
1CO 3:15 If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire.
There are seven major judgments from the time of the cross.
- The judgment of Jesus Christ on the cross for all our personal sins is the first of seven major judgments in history from the cross until the end of time; 2CO 5:20-21.
2CO 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2CO 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
Our Lord was sustained in His humanity by the power of God while bearing the sins of the whole world.
- The second major judgment is rebound which belongs to the Royal Family, 1JO 1:9, 1CO 11:31.
This is the royal family's self judgment to recover from the cosmic system.
1CO 11:31 "If we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged."
Because of our Lord's work on the cross, we simply name or cite our sins once committed which were already judged at the cross, as 1JO 1:9 teaches.
This restores us to the PPOG so that we are again filled with the Holy Spirit and restored to fellowship with God.
- The third judgment is the evaluation of all Church-age believers, 1CO 3:11-15, 2CO 5:10, ROM 13:14; and ROM 14:10-23.
First of all, we already noted 1CO 3:10-15; and therefore, we read in;
2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Look at Rom 13:14;
ROM 13:14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.
Then there are no chapter breaks in the original language, therefore ROM 14:1 goes on to say
ROM 14:1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.
ROM 14:2 One man has faith that he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats vegetables only.
ROM 14:3 Let not him who eats regard with contempt him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has accepted him.
ROM 14:4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
ROM 14:5 One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.
ROM 14:6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.
ROM 14:7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
ROM 14:8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
ROM 14:9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living.
ROM 14:10 But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.
ROM 14:11 For it is written, #"As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall give praise to God."
ROM 14:12 So then each one of us shall give account of himself to God.
ROM 14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother's way.
ROM 14:14 I know and am convinced in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself; but to him who thinks anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
ROM 14:15 For if because of food your brother is hurt, you are no longer walking according to love. Do not destroy with your food him for whom Christ died.
ROM 14:16 Therefore do not let what is for you a good thing be spoken of as evil;
ROM 14:17 for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
ROM 14:18 For he who in this way serves Christ is acceptable to God and approved by men.
ROM 14:19 So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.
ROM 14:20 Do not tear down the work of God for the sake of food. All things indeed are clean, but they are evil for the man who eats and gives offense.
ROM 14:21 It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.
ROM 14:22 The faith which you have, have as your own conviction before God. Happy is he who does not condemn himself in what he approves.
ROM 14:23 But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and whatever is not from faith is sin.
The fourth judgment is;
- The judgment of those who claim to be believers but are cast off the earth into the lake of fire, MAT 7:21-27; Mat 25:41-46.
First of all, they claim to be believers, look at what our Lord said in MAT 7:21-27 says.
MAT 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.
MAT 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
MAT 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'
MAT 7:24 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon the rock.
MAT 7:25 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded upon the rock.
MAT 7:26 "And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act upon them, will be like a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand.
MAT 7:27 "And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and burst against that house; and it fell, and great was its fall."
Then turn to MAT 25:41 "Then He will also say to those on His left, 'Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;
MAT 25:42 for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink;
MAT 25:43 I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me. '
MAT 25:44 "Then they themselves also will answer, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?'
MAT 25:45 "Then He will answer them, saying, 'Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.'
MAT 25:46 "And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."
Then we read in 2CO 5:20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were entreating through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2CO 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
So far then we have four points.
Again;
- The judgment of Jesus Christ on the cross for all our personal sins is the first of seven major judgments in history from the cross until the end of time.
- The second major judgment is rebound which belongs to the Royal Family, 1JO 1:9, 1CO 11:31.
- The judgment seat of Christ and the evaluation of all Church-age believers, 1CO 3:11-15, 2CO 5:10, ROM 13:14.
- The judgment of those who claim to be believers but are cast off the earth into the lake of fire, MAT 7:21-27; Mat 25:41-46.
So, there are seven major principles concerning the Judgment seat of Christ.
The fifth one;
- The judgment of the living tribulational unbelieving Jews at the second advent; EZE 20:30-36.
EZE 20:30 "Therefore, say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God," Will you defile yourselves after the manner of your fathers and play the harlot after their detestable things?
EZE 20:31 "And when you offer your gifts, when you cause your sons to pass through the fire, you are defiling yourselves with all your idols to this day. And shall I be inquired of by you, O house of Israel? As I live," declares the Lord God, "I will not be inquired of by you.
EZE 20:32 "And what comes into your mind will not come about, when you say: 'We will be like the nations, like the tribes of the lands, serving wood and stone.'
EZE 20:33 "As I live," declares the Lord God, "surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be king over you.
EZE 20:34 "And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered, with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out;
EZE 20:35 and I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples, and there I shall enter into judgment with you face to face.
EZE 20:36 "As I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt, so I will enter into judgment with you," declares the Lord God.
Judgments #4 and #5 comprise the baptism of fire.
The sixth judgment is;
- The judgment of all fallen angels at the end of the Millennium; REV 20:11-15.
REV 20:11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
REV 20:12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
REV 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
REV 20:14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
REV 20:15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Their sentence was passed before time began, but its execution is not carried out until the end of human history.
For man was created in order to resolve the angelic conflict.
The final judgment is;
- The second resurrection and judgment of all the fallen angels and the unbelievers from the beginning of time are cast into the lake of fire.
They are not judged for their sins, (for all their sins were judged at the cross), but;
They are judged on the basis of their human good and works, which are not good enough for the perfect righteousness of God, REV 20:11-15.
So much for Point 1 in our subject of the Rapture and the Judgement seat of Christ.
Y Point 2. Definition, description and application as it relates to the Rapture and the Judgment seat of Christ.
Judgment" can mean two things; condemnation and evaluation- in our study, it refers to evaluation not condemnation.
So, the first principle is that;
- The Judgment seat of Christ is a technical, theological term used to designate the evaluation of the Royal Family of God at the end of the Church-age after the Rapture or Resurrection of the Church.
The second principle is that;
- We will be evaluated at the Judgment seat of Christ; 2CO 5:10; 1CO 3:11-15; 2CO 5:10; REV 22:12.
2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.
Look at;
REV 22:12 "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
The third point;
- There is the evaluation of what use we made of logistical grace provision, the PPOG, the problem-solving devices, and divine power.
The evaluation is determined on the basis of the execution of the PPOG or the failure to do so.
- The purpose of the evaluation is to determine gain or loss of escrow blessings of rewards for all eternity.
Gain comes from the exploitation, positive volition, and advance in the PPOG.
Loss comes from cosmic living from failure to execute the Christian way of life as God's game plan for the Church-age.
Loss also means your escrow blessings remain on deposit forever as a memorial to lost opportunity; EPH 1:3-4.
For we read in EPH 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
EPH 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
So;
The Church-age terminates with the resurrection of the Royal Family of God as it relates to the Doctrine of the Rapture.
Immediately following the resurrection (Rapture) of the Church, and the Big Genuflex, all believers of the Church-age in resurrection bodies are assembled to be evaluated with regard to their performance.
The evaluation is related to the believer's utilization of his very own invisible assets.
Performance, not salvation, is the issue at the Judgment seat of Christ; 1CO 3:11-15.
The winner will be rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ.
The loser or the cosmic believer will suffer loss of rewards and temporary shame; REV 3:18; 1JO 2:28.
Which is why we read;
REV 3:18 I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich, and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes, that you may see.
Or in 1JO 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He appears, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming.
He will lose his escrow blessings, but never his salvation.
One thing is obvious: because of the Judgment seat of Christ, there is no equality in heaven among believers.
Since God is perfect, the inequality is a perfect inequality.
This inequality is not discrimination or unfairness, which we associate with inequality.
Inequality exists in heaven because of lost opportunity under the equal privilege and equal opportunity every believer has under the PPOG.
While we have equal privilege and equal opportunity to fulfill God's plan on earth in time, there will be no equality in heaven.
And the greatest degree of inequality will be evident at the Judgment seat of Christ.
Principle = Inequality in the eternal state means the neglect of "freedom" in time.
For God in His marvelous grace has provided enough freedom with equal privileges and equal opportunities with our invisible assets so that there is no excuse for any believer failing to execute God's plan.
And this freedom to exercise your options and make decisions for God's logistical grace provision is your responsibility as a believer.
Freedom can always be measured by the amount of "inequality" that results.
Societies and nations can be measured by this rule.
God's plan provides the greatest freedom of all.
The greater the freedom, the greater the inequality.
Freedom equals inequality.
It never leaves us the same.
Now,
Having winners and losers in the eternal state does not imply that there will be any unhappiness.
There are degrees of happiness based on the great inequalities among believers.
The distinctions and inequalities in eternity are so great that you should seriously reconsider your motivations and goals in life.
You must live your life only as unto the Lord, only to please the Lord, only to be concerned with God's opinion of you; ROM 14:7-8.
ROM 14:7 For not one of us lives for himself, and not one dies for himself;
ROM 14:8 for if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.
For in HEB 11:6 we read;
HEB 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
If you place doctrine first in your scale of values, the Lord will promote you.
If you are advancing in the PPOG, you will be doing your job right and living your life right, which in itself will cause some indirect establishment blessing.
What do I mean by that?
I mean that the divine establishments will be blessed because of you.
This is called blessing by association; MAT 5:13-16.
MAT 5:13 "You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men.
MAT 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
MAT 5:15 "Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under the peck‑measure, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house.
MAT 5:16 "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.
Regardless of the historical circumstances in which you live, whether under establishment freedom or tyranny, you have full spiritual freedom inside you’re the PPOG in eternity past; EPH 1:3-4.
EPH 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ,
EPH 1:4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him.
Then in EPH 1:18 we read;
EPH 1:18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
EPH 1:19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might
EPH 1:20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
EPH 1:21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come.
EPH 1:22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
EPH 1:23 which is His body, the fulness of Him who fills all in all.
JOH 8:32 "You shall know the doctrine, and the doctrine will make you free."
If you are positive, God will provide the doctrine no matter where you are.
GAL 5:1 "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free, therefore keep on standing firm, and do not become entangled again in the yoke of slavery [cosmic system].
JAM 1:25 "But the one who looks intently into the perfect law [Word of God] that gives freedom and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard [from doctrine] but executing it, this believer will be happy in what he is doing."
This believer will come to the end of his life with no regrets, as the apostle Paul tells us in 2TI 4:1-8.
2TI 4:1 I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom:
2TI 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
2TI 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires;
2TI 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.
2TI 4:5 But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
2TI 4:6 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.
2TI 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith;
2TI 4:8 in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.
Look at JAM 2:12 "keep communicating and so keep doing as those who are going to be judged by the law of freedom."
This law of freedom says that God has provided a system for you to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
It is a freedom totally apart from any national or establishment freedom;
It is a freedom inside the PPOG.
It is the freedom to advance in the spiritual life, having equal privilege and equal opportunity to do so.
Therefore;
At the Judgment seat of Christ, the first issue you will face in your new resurrection body is how you used this freedom.
And remember the principle that freedom does mean an excuse for carnality or to live in the flesh!
GAL 5:1 It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Look at; GAL 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brethren; only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
So. freedom means inequality both in time and in eternity.
People are free to succeed or fail, free to stand on their own decisions and motives and actions.
Freedom means individual responsibility and motivation.
Freedom means you must have your very own scale of values and priorities.
And you are evaluated on how you used your freedom, because having freedom, you must take the responsibility for every decision you make, as well as for your thoughts, motivations and actions.
Being free is the greatest responsibility the world has ever known.
Freedom means some will take their volition and develop a system of priorities and stick to them, becoming organized in their minds while others will depart from their priorities when they feel like it.
However, you will answer for this use of your freedom to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Prin-inequality exists the moment freedom starts.
Inequality is always the greatest monument to freedom.
Now, believers who are constantly failing to execute the PPOG lack four things:
- They have no true standards.
They cannot distinguish God's plan for life in general from Satan's cosmic system.
- These believers have no effectiveness because their life has neither meaning, purpose, or definition.
The cosmic believer cannot be distinguished from any unbeliever, moral or immoral.
Ignorance is not bliss but blasphemy and disaster to his life.
This is why God so often punishes and disciplines, because we have to be brought to the end of our resources before we realize what is important in life.
- They have no coordination because their ignorance of doctrine means no orientation to the plan of God.
Therefore,
The believer makes decisions from a position of weakness; that is, from arrogance and from personal ambition.
He has no control over his life and no personal sense of destiny.
And the fourth one is
- They have no performance, no momentum in the PPOG, no execution of the plan, no virtue, no use of the problem-solving devices, no production, resulting in no glorification of God.
No performance means no rewards or decorations at the judgment seat of Christ.
While the believer cannot lose his salvation, as a loser in the cosmic system, the privileges, rewards and decorations that are given to winners will never be his throughout all eternity.
So;
The judgment seat of Christ is the time of the evaluation of each believer by the prince ruler of the Church, the Lord Jesus Christ, JOH 5:22-29.
JOH 5:22 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,
Why?
JOH 5:23 in order that all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.
Then our Lord says;
JOH 5:24 "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.
JOH 5:25 "Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear shall live.
JOH 5:26 "For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself;
JOH 5:27 and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man.
JOH 5:28 "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice,
JOH 5:29 and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
These are two resurrections.
1.Believers will be resurrected.
2.Unbelievers will be resurrected.
We know what happens to believers when they are resurrected.
But, as I have discovered throughout my years of teaching, most believers have no idea very few believers know
Also in JOH 12:47 "And if anyone hears My sayings, and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
JOH 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.
JOH 12:49 "For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say, and what to speak.
JOH 12:50 "And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me."
Y Point 3, The Rapture and the evaluation of the Judgment seat of Christ.
As you know, the Rapture of the church occurs at the end of the Church-age.
All Church-age believers both alive and dead will join Christ in the air.
No man knows the day or the hour of the Rapture, not even the Son of God.
Look at MAT 24:36 "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.
In 1TH 4:13 we read But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve, as do the rest who have no hope.
1TH 4:14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
1TH 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, and remain until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep.
1TH 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
1TH 4:17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.
1TH 4:18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
You cannot afford to have ignorance about a doctrine as important as the Judgment seat of Christ as it relates to the Rapture of the Church, because you are responsible for your ignorance.
Turn to GAL 6:7-10.
GAL 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
GAL 6:8 For the one who sows to his own flesh shall from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit shall from the Spirit reap eternal life.
GAL 6:9 And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap if we do not grow weary.
GAL 6:10 So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all men, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.
Your ignorance is never anyone else's fault.
God will always provide pastors who teach the truth.
Therefore,
If you are ignorant, it is because you either do not expose yourself to the truth by attendance, or though you attend, you do not listen but resent or reject the teaching.
Meeting the Lord in resurrection body will occur in the second heaven, the stellar universe ("clouds").
Turn to ACT 1:11.
ACT 1:11 and they also said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven."
In REV 22:12 our Lord says "Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.
This time we do not emphasize what we did the first time which was what He has done, this time we note the phrase “Behold He is coming quickly.”
Quickly refers to the immanency of the Rapture, for there is no prophecy left to be fulfilled before the Rapture.
This verse says that the winners will receive their escrow blessings for eternity at the Judgment seat of Christ.
Now, remember that the Rapture does not immediately precede the judgment seat of Christ, but an unprecedented event of the worship of Christ.
We know that because of a passage we noted many time before PHI 2:9-11 which says;
PHI 2:9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
PHI 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth,
PHI 2:11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
God the Father has exalted Him [Son] to the maximum, in fact, He has given Him a Royal Title which is superior to every other royal title given to man.
The first royal title is Son of God, the patent of deity.
The second royal title is Son of David, the patent of our Lord's Jewish humanity.
The third royal title referred to here is King of kings, Lord of lords, the bright morning star, the patent of our Lord's strategic victory in the angelic conflict.
Jesus Christ becomes your Lord at salvation, when you are entered into union with Him.
But we do not come to recognize this unless we advance to spiritual maturity.
Then we have full cognizance of the Lordship of Christ.
During our lifetime, the Lordship of Christ is really a matter of our priorities.
If doctrine is #1 in your life, then TLJC has highest priority as your Lord, for doctrine is the thinking of Christ.
1CO 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
If He is not first, then you're a loser and will not recognize Jesus Christ as Lord until you reach spiritual maturity or in your resurrection body.
When Phi 2:11 says, "and every tongue will confess. . that is the last time there will be any equality in the Royal Family of God.
This event can be called the big Genuflex in the sky which we will study again in due time.
After that comes the judgment seat of Christ which will result in "tremendous differences" among believers in resurrection bodies.
1CO 2:16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ.
1CO 15:39 All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, and another flesh of beasts, and another flesh of birds, and another of fish.
1CO 15:40 There are also heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is one, and the glory of the earthly is another.
1CO 15:41 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
1CO 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body;
1CO 15:43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power;
1CO 15:44 it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.
1CO 15:45 So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life giving spirit.
1CO 15:46 However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural; then the spiritual.
1CO 15:47 The first man is from the earth, earthy; the second man is from heaven.
1CO 15:48 As is the earthy, so also are those who are earthy; and as is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly.
1CO 15:49 And just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
1CO 15:50 Now I say this, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
1CO 15:51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
1CO 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
1CO 15:53 For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.
1CO 15:54 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "Death is swallowed up in victory.
1CO 15:55 "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?"
1CO 15:56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law;
1CO 15:57 but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1CO 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.