Here is a list of themes in the Bible. One theme is the idea of wrath and judgment. Many times in the Bible a heavenly trial is mentioned. Trinity Sunday show how the trinity is involved in this trial.
Divine Judgment is a concept in essentially every religion. It normally consists of a powerful and knowledgeable entity making a judgment on the moral worth of the acts of free creatures according to some divine or natural law. This entity then makes a verdict and there is an execution of sentence through punishment or reward. Sometimes these punishments and rewards are during the individual’s life (for example Karma) and sometimes they are in the afterlife (heaven, hell, reincarnation, etc…).
God has been seen as and called THE judge throughout the Bible, even from the very beginning (Genesis 18:25; Psalm 35:24; 96:10,13; 98:9; John 8:50; Hebrews 12:23). Specifically the person of God the Father (1 Peter 1:17) is the judge.
In the beginning, God gave the law to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. After the fall God judged the whole human race guilty [Genesis 3]. Sickness, hardship, and death were the consequences. After the fall there continued to be specific judgments against the world [such as the flood (Genesis 6:5) and the Tower of Babel ()], a group of people [such as Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 28:20) and the Plagues of Egypt (Exodus 6:6, 12:12)], and individuals [such as Core (Numbers 16) and Lot’s wife (Genesis 19:26)].
After the institution of the Israelites as God’s people, God instituted the law through Moses because he wanted people to follow it. There is a punishment for not following the law. God also instituted judges and governments for the punishments in this life. Actual sins have consequences. Additionally, being totally depraved due to original sin we cannot follow the law. God’s judgment that the whole race is guilty still stands as do the consequences, namely physical death.
At the end of the world, there will be a final judgment at the end times (general eschatology). This is mentioned in at least Joel, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Malachi, John, Romans, Acts, and Revelation. There is also a judgment of each individual at death. This is the heavenly trial.
If the Father is the judge, then the Son is our divine defense attorney. It is clear that Christ came not to judge, but to save us from the judgment (John 3:17, 8:15, 12:47). Another name for the Son of God is, “Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6), which is also what a lawyer is called. Furthermore, The Bible tells us that Jesus Christ is our advocate with the Father (1 John 2) and the mediator between us (1 Timothy 2:5).
The Holy Spirit then is our witness. Romans 8:16 states this explicitly when saying that He testifies for us.
Satan is the “accuser” (Zechariah 3, Job 2, Revelation 12:10), or the prosecuting attorney. Although we don’t really need a prosecuting attorney, because we are clearly guilty and the judge is all-knowing. Satan has evidence and witnesses abounding enough to destroy you under the weight of your sin, being exposed.
The good news is our defense attorney has taken our guilt and punishment (Isaiah 53), so the judge declares us not guilty (Romans 4). We are acquitted because Jesus has already been found guilty, sentenced, and executed. Therefore, our judgment is not based on our moral worth or our guilt or innocents! “The accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the lamb.” Therefore, Jesus can “present us faultless” before God (Jude 1:13).
The devil is persistent though and will hound us and try to get us to fire our defense attorney and represent ourselves. If we do this, then we try to list the good things we have done. This mistake of works-righteousness can get us in one of two ways. First if we focus on our guilt, we can come to despair and plead guilty. Second, we can become defensive and self-righteous enough to fight the charges on our own, to our inevitable loss (Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 64:6). This is us wanted to say that we have already worked off our debt. This is essentially saying we had self-imposed community service, so we should not get the death penalty, which is a ridiculous argument. However, if we stand firm in Jesus, then the trial is already finished (John 19:30) and there is no double jeopardy (John 10:28).
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