Clay says the Bible study he is in couldn’t determine when the two major Last Days judgments occur:
Apparently, the Great White Throne Judgment [GWTJ] is at the end of the Tribulation. I agree with you that the two judgments are two separate events. When will the other judgment, the Judgment Seat of Christ [Bema], take place, for the believers alone, those whose names are written in the Book of Life? Is there a specific time mentioned somewhere?
Clay, there is a lot of disagreement in Evangelical circles, and even in dispensational circles, on when the Bema occurs and even on how many eschatological judgments there will be.
First, the Great White Throne Judgment does occur after the Tribulation, but not immediately after it. It occurs after the thousand-year reign of Christ, called the Millennium (Rev 20: 1–6; 11–15).
Second, no verse mentions the specific time of the Bema. We know it must be after the Rapture and before the start of the Millennium because overcoming believers from the church age will rule with Christ in the Millennium (Matt 24:45–51; Luke 19:16–26; 2 Cor 5:9–10; 2 Tim 2:12; 4:6–8; Rev 2:26; 3:21).
The Tribulation will last for seven years. Most dispensationalists speculate that the Bema occurs during those seven years, either in the air, where we meet the Lord (1 Thess 4:16–17) or in the third heaven.
John Claeys is the author of our new commentary on Revelation. He believes, and I agree with him, that the Bema will occur after the Tribulation during the seventy-five-day gap before the Millennium starts (Dan 12:12). If so, it will take place on earth.
We know that the Judgment of the Sheep and the Goats will take place on earth during those seventy-five days (Matt 25:31–46). It is quite possible that the Bema occurs during those days. This may also be the time of the judgment of OT believers, an unnamed judgment that must also occur before the Millennium begins.
Clay, I’d encourage you and your Bible study to pray about this and meditate on the Scriptures related to this question. I believe you will be greatly encouraged by doing so.
Of course, the key issue regarding the Bema is not the precise time that it will occur, or even where it will occur, but that it will occur! The works (and motives) of all believers will be judged by Christ to determine our eternal rewards. God graciously chooses to reward us for faithful service. Meditating on that coming Day is highly motivating (cf. 2 Tim 1:12; 1 John 2:28).
