In this post I am going to sum up the biblical proofs showing that Christ is depicted as the one true God YHWH Almighty who comes to judge the earth.
To begin with, Jesus and the [N]ew [T]estament in general teach that the Father has assigned all judgment to the Son, and that the Son will physically resurrect the dead by his sovereign voice in order to determine their fate in the age to come:
“For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him… Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His [the Son] voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” John 5:22-23, 25-29 – Cf. 6:39-44, 54
“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now commanding men that everyone everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He determined, having furnished proof to all by raising Him from the dead.” Acts 17:30-31
“on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.” Romans 2:16
The reason why this is an astonishing claim is that the Hebrew Bible explicitly testifies that it is YHWH who comes to judge the world in righteousness:
“Those who contend with Yahweh will be dismayed; Against them He will thunder in the heavens; Yahweh will render justice to the ends of the earth, And He will give strength to His king, And He will exalt the horn of His anointed.” 1 Samuel 2:10
“But Yahweh abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment, And He will judge the world in righteousness; He will render justice for the peoples with equity.” Psalm 9:7-8
“Before Yahweh, for He is coming, For He is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness And the peoples in His faithfulness.” Psalm 96:13
“Before Yahweh, for He is coming to judge the earth; He will judge the world with righteousness And the peoples with equity.” Psalm 98:9
This is why the [O]ld Testament calls YHWH the Judge of all the earth:
“Then the men turned away from there and went toward Sodom, while Abraham was still standing before Yahweh. Then Abraham came near and said, ‘Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to put to death the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth do justice?’ So Yahweh said, ‘If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.’” Genesis 18:22-26
“O Yahweh, God of vengeance, God of vengeance, shine forth! Be lifted up, O Judge of the earth, Render recompense to the proud.” Psalm 94:1-2
And yet, as shown above, Jesus is that very Lord and Judge of the whole earth who comes to judge the living and the dead in perfect justice:
“As for the word which He sent to the sons of Israel, proclaiming the good news of peace through Jesus Christ—He is Lord of all—… And He commanded us to preach to the people, and solemnly to bear witness that this is the One who has been designated by God as Judge of the living and the dead.” Acts 10:36, 42
The OT also teaches that YHWH comes with his reward in order to recompense every person for all the thoughts and desires of their hearts and minds:
“As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a delighted soul; for Yahweh searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found; but if you forsake Him, He will reject you forever.” 1 Chronicles 28:19
“And that to You, O Lord, belongs lovingkindness, For You repay a man according to his work.” Psalm 62:12 – Cf. Proverbs 24:12
“Behold, Lord Yahweh will come with strength, With His arm ruling for Him. Behold, His reward is with Him And His recompense before Him.” Isaiah 40:10 – Cf. 62:11
“Thus says Yahweh, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind And makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from Yahweh. And he will be like a juniper in the desert And will not see when prosperity comes, But will dwell in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt which is not inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in Yahweh And whose trust is Yahweh. And he will be like a tree planted by the water, That sends forth its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor refrain from yielding fruit. The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it? I, Yahweh, search the heart; I test the inmost being, Even to give to each man according to his ways,’” Jeremiah 17:5-10 – Cf. 11:20; 29:23
And yet, remarkably, the NT claims that it is Jesus who judges all hearts and minds in order to recompense every individual for what s/he has earned:
“For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay each one according to his deeds.” Matthew 16:27
“But to me it is a very small thing that I may be examined by you, or by any human court. In fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself, yet I am not by this acquitted. But the one who examines me is the Lord. Therefore do not go on passing judgment before the time, but wait until the Lord comes who will both bring to light the things hidden in the darkness and make manifest the motives of hearts. And then each one’s praise will come to him from God.” 1 Corinthians 4:3-5
“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: This is what the Son of God, the One who has eyes like a flame of fire and His feet are like burnished bronze, says: ‘I know your deeds, and your love and faith and service and perseverance, and that your last deeds are greater than at first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and deceives My slaves so that they commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. And I gave her time to repent, and she does not wish to repent of her sexual immorality Behold, I will throw her on a bed of sickness, and those who commit adultery with her into great tribulation, unless they repent of her deeds. And I will kill her children with pestilence, and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the minds and hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your deeds.” Revelation 2:18-23
“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end… I, Jesus, sent My angel to bear witness to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.’… He who bears witness to these things says, ‘Yes, I am coming quickly.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:12-13, 16, 20
Moreover, the Hebrew Bible states that YHWH will gather all the nations before him on the day he brandishes his sickle in judgment. YHWH is further described as wearing a bloody garment, stained by the blood of his enemies which he trampled under his feet in the winepress of his own wrath, and did so all by himself since he could not find anyone worthy enough to do it for him:
“For behold, in those days and at that time, When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. Then I will enter into judgment with them there On behalf of My people and My inheritance, Israel, Whom they have scattered among the nations; And they have divided up My land… Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves. There, bring down, O Yahweh, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be roused up And come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, For there I will sit to judge All the surrounding nations. Send in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe. Come, tread, for the wine press is full; The vats overflow, for their evil is great.” Joel 3:1-2, 11-13
“Who is this who comes from Edom, With garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, This One who is majestic in His clothing, Marching in the greatness of His power? ‘It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why is Your clothing red, And Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press? ‘I have trodden the wine trough ALONE, And from the peoples there was NO MAN with Me. I also trod them in My anger And trampled them in My wrath; And their lifeblood is sprinkled on My garments, And I stained all My clothes. For the day of vengeance was in My heart, And My year of redemption has come. I looked, and there was NO ONE to help, And I was astonished, and there was NO ONE to uphold; So My own arm brought salvation to Me, And My wrath upheld Me. I trod down the peoples in My anger And made them drunk in My wrath, And I brought down their lifeblood to the earth.” Isaiah 63:1-6
Astonishingly, Jesus is described as wearing a bloodstained robe as he comes to gather the nations before him in judgment where he will trample God’s enemies in the winepress of God’s fury!
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom, which has been prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.’ 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; for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; 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.’ 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?’ 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.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31-46
“Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; having a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself, and being clothed with a garment dipped in blood, His name is also called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. And from His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the wrath of the rage of God, the Almighty. And He has on His garment and on His thigh a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’” Revelation 19:11-16
Christ is also portrayed as the One wielding a sharp sickle at the time of the harvest of judgment!
“Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and sitting on the cloud was one like a son of man, having a golden crown on His head and a sharp sickle in His hand. And another angel came out of the sanctuary, crying out with a loud voice to Him who sits on the cloud, ‘Put in Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.’ Then He who sits on the cloud swung His sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.” Revelation 14:14-16
There’s more!
Jesus is even described as that very YHWH who comes with his holy ones in order to destroy the wicked by fire:
“For behold, Yahweh will come in fire And His chariots like the whirlwind, To return His anger with wrath, And His rebuke with flames of fire. For Yahweh will execute judgment by fire And by His sword on all flesh, And those slain by Yahweh will be many.” Isaiah 66:15-16
“And you will flee by the valley of My mountains, for the valley of the mountains will reach to Azel; indeed, you will flee just as you fled before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then Yahweh, my God, will come, and all the holy ones with Him!” Zechariah 14:5
Compare:
“so that He may strengthen your hearts blameless in holiness, before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all His saints.” 1 Thessalonians 3:13
“But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 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, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 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 will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
“This is a plain indication of God’s righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which indeed you are suffering. Since it is right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give rest to you who are afflicted and to us as well at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, executing vengeance on those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His might, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed—for our witness to you was believed. To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill all your good pleasure for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:5-12
Another remarkable fact is that the inspired Scriptures teach that every individual will appear before the judgment seat of YHWH where they will bow down before him in acknowledgment of his being the only true God and Savior:
“Declare and draw near with your case; Indeed, let them consult together. Who has made this heard from of old? Who has long since declared it? Is it not I, Yahweh? And there is no other God besides Me, A righteous God and a Savior; There is none except Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.” Isaiah 45:21-23
“For to this end Christ died and lived again, that He might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you view your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. For it is written, ‘As I live, says the Lord, to Me every knee shall bow, And every tongue shall confess to God.’ So then each one of us will give an account of himself to God.” Romans 14:9-12
Here’s where it gets all the more amazing.
The NT teaches that the YHWH God whose judgment seat all must appear, and to whom every knee will bow and confess is none other than Jesus Christ!
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” 2 Corinthians 5:10
“Therefore, God also highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:9-11
If this weren’t astonishing enough, the OT calls this time of judgment the Day of YHWH,
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of Yahweh is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14
“Woe, you who are longing for the day of Yahweh, For what purpose will the day of Yahweh be to you? It will be darkness and not light; As when a man flees from a lion And a bear meets him; Or he goes home, leans his hand against the wall, And a snake bites him. Will not the day of Yahweh be darkness instead of light, Even thick darkness with no brightness in it?” Amos 5:18-20
“Be silent before Lord Yahweh! For the day of Yahweh is near, For Yahweh has prepared a sacrifice; He has set apart His guests. Then it will be on the day of Yahweh’s sacrifice That I will punish the princes, the king’s sons, And all who clothe themselves with foreign garments. And I will punish on that day all who leap on the temple threshold, Who fill the house of their Lord with violence and deceit… Near is the great day of Yahweh, Near and coming very quickly; O the sound, the day of Yahweh! In it the mighty man cries out bitterly. A day of fury is that day, A day of trouble and distress, A day of destruction and desolation, A day of darkness and thick darkness, A day of clouds and dense gloom, A day of trumpet and loud shouting Against the fortified cities And the high corner towers. I will bring distress on men So that they will walk like the blind Because they have sinned against Yahweh; And their blood will be poured out like dust And their flesh like dung. Neither their silver nor their gold Will be able to deliver them On the day of the fury of Yahweh; And all the earth will be devoured In the fire of His jealousy, For He will make a complete destruction, Indeed a terrifying one, Of all the inhabitants of the earth.” Zephaniah 1:7-9, 14-18
Which the NT calls the Day of the Lord Jesus Christ!
“so that you are not lacking in any gift, eagerly awaiting the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, beyond reproach in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:7-8
“For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus… so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and without fault until the day of Christ,” Philippians 1:6, 10
“holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to boast because I did not run in vain nor labor in vain.” Philippians 2:16
Could the holy Scriptures be any clearer in emphatically affirming that Jesus Christ is the divine Judge YHWH God Almighty that became flesh, being the unique Son of God who is essentially one with both the Father and the Holy Spirit?
Scriptural citations taken from the Legacy Standard Bible (LSB).
FURTHER READING
The Lord Jesus Christ – the Divine Judge of All Creation
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