Ques. After the Lord comes and has taken up His saints-changed the living and raised the dead saints, and they are caught up to Him, to be forever with the Lord, as in 1 Thess. 4-who are to be saved and go into the Kingdom that is to be set up on earth?
Ans. There will be three classes of people on earth after the Lord has taken away His heavenly saints; Jews or Israel: Gentiles or nations or heathen; and the apostate church, the tares of Matt. 13, or the foolish virgins of Matt. 25.
The Jews, that is the two tribes, and the ten tribes afterward, will be brought to know Jehovah, and He will make His new covenant with them (Heb. 8:8-12). The nations will be brought to own and fear Jehovah also (Ezek. 36:36; 37:28; 38:23; and many other passages.)
But the Lord will gather out of both, Jew and Gentile, all things that offend, and them that do iniquity (Matt. 13:41, 42).
There is nothing but judgment for the apostate church, and for those who have not obeyed the gospel. When the Lord comes with His saints, He will judge all such (Jude 14, 15 Rev. 2:21-23; 3:3, 16: 2 Thess. 1:8; 2:10-12.)
The judgment of the great white throne is at the end, and is for the dead only (Rev. 20:12). The Jew will be judged by the law; the Gentile will perish without law (Rom. 2:12); and the Christless professor, because he has not put on the wedding garment (Matt. 22:11-13).
Ques. At the "Bema" or judgment seat of Christ for the saints, is it before others, or to ourselves alone, that we are manifested? (2 Cor. 5:10).
Ans. The judgment seat of Christ is to show to each of us the true character of our walk and ways as it appears in the sight of the Lord. Thoughts of what others may think of us, cannot come in there. Each one will be filled with praise and thanksgiving for the grace that bore with us through all our wandering and changeful ways, and led us on. God's grace will be realized as never before, and the Lord will speak to us approvingly of all that He can, and disapprovingly of what was contrary to His mind and will. The thought of this was meant to exercise the saints at Corinth to walk in His ways. May it exercise us, too.