The Last Judgement: a civilized trial or a barbaric ordeal?

Question

From the Book of Revelation I've got the idea that the Satan will be our prosecutor at the Last Judgement. I've got this idea by interpreting the word 'accuser' as 'prosecutor' in the context of the Book of Revelation.

So I can imagine the Last Judgement as a very civilized trial with a prosecutor and, perhaps, other things similar to what we have here on Earth in civilized countries.

But then the Book also says that at the Last Judgement "the deeds of everyone will be exposed". It can be thought then that no formal procedure is required at the Last Judgement and there will be no prosecutor nor anything.

So, then is it correct to understand that at the Last Judgement the Satan will be our prosecutor? Otherwise how I will even know what I am accused of??

Answer 1

Neither. You're asking the wrong question.

Earthly and fallable court systems work one way. As omniscient maker of the universe and its sovereign King, God is not required to work quite the same way. We use the imagery of a courtroom to talk about the last judgement, but it is just imagery. The actual proceedings are a little different.

For one thing, there won't be a "discovery" phase. God knows every detail of your life backwards and forwards better than you do -- including your motivations. There will be nothing to argue, nothing to learn.

You will be found guilty.

What role Satan may play is not terribly important. He is an accuser and would love to remind God of the fact that you are guilty. But God already knows that. You are going to know it too. There won't be any doubt.

The only question remaining is, who is your defense. You will either have none at all, or if you belong to Him, you will have Christ who can step up and say, "That one is mine, I paid his ransom, I have removed his guilt and made him a new creation."

The guilty will have no chance of slipping through because some evidence against them is inadmissible. There is no jury that might let things slide. There will be no question about the strength of the evidence, whether presented by Satan or whether it's just known.

There is nothing barbaric in this. You will either be administered perfect justice or you will be redeemed through another having been justly punished in your place.

Answer 2

I think there are two important pieces you're missing here:

• God is the perfect judge. He already knows all the facts of case, including the alleged offense and your intentions. He will take everything into account. This is important because it seems like you are looking for assurance that justice and due process will be given. The answer is that they will be more perfectly administered than any human court system in existence. There will be no escaping on technicalities, no clever legal maneuvers, no bias for race, creed, position, gender, or national origin (well, maybe for creed :). The correct verdict will be reached, for all of us.

  You want to know what you are accused of. The answer is simple: sin. It doesn't matter what sin; any minor offense against the holiness of God is enough to result in the final separation from God.

• You are guilty. We are all guilty (Rom 3:23). In light of this, a fair trial is the last thing you want. The only thing that can save you from a sentence of eternal punishment is the unfair intervention of Jesus Christ.

Answer 3

Alex, you really don't seem to be taking this seriously at any level. You should probably be aware that some of the language is probably symbolic more than literal. We don't necessarily expect a trial like we understand it on earth, and you certainly shouldn't be worrying about what clothes the participants are wearing.

Since you seem to want to cast this as if it were an earthly trial, there isn't really a contradiction between "the deeds of everyone will be exposed" and "Satan is the prosecutor". I present for your consideration this hypothetical snippet of dialog:

Satan: I submit, your honor, that this person is a sinner who has fallen short on many occasions and deserves to be punished.

God: Where is your evidence?

Satan: I present exhibit A: a recording of everything this person has ever done!!!! (maniacal laugh, or not, depending on where you stand on this question)

Answer 4

Actually, the Fathers teach that it will be both Christ (who is the Judge) and the Saints who will judge us. This is from scripture. Satan tries to accuse us, but it will be God and the Saints who will judge us.

http://bible.cc/1_corinthians/6-3.htm

Here is a discussion of the matter:

http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?7943-1-Corinthians-6-2-quot-the-saints-shall-judge-the-world-quot

The second point is that Revelation itself points to a twofold judgement - first of the book of life, secondly of the book of deeds. This means that even those who are in the Book of Life still are judged by their deeds. As to whether this will be a literal trial of any kind, it would be a mistake to take a complex vision like Revelation and treat it like a future-historical narrative.

The final point is this: The scripture and the Fathers teach that both the Saints and God will judge us. We will be judged both by our deeds and by our faith, that is, if we are in the Book of Life. Being in the book of Life does not exempt one from having one's deeds examined, nor does having good deeds exempt one from needing to be found in the Book of Life.