Now the Lord Jesus has come, in the spiritual fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, to remove from His Body, His Church, all the works of Satan. It is a consequence made possible by the judgment and condemnation that occurred on the cross. The deliverance from the bondages of sin taking place today is not primarily a judgment of the human being. Rather, it is a judgment of Satan. It is an appearing of the Lord Jesus "without sin unto salvation" to those who are looking for Him (Hebrews 9:28).

The final judgment of Satan, as far as the members of the Wife of the Lamb are concerned, is the first resurrection from the dead. Here that last enemy, death, is crushed under the feet of the Church. Again, this is not a judgment of human beings. It is a judgment of Satan.

If such is the case, are human beings ever judged? Yes. We indeed are judged. We are judged according to our works, according to what we have done.

It can be observed that we are making a distinction between what the person does, and the satanic bondages that reside in his physical body. The deliverance of the human being from the satanic bondages that reside in him is a judgment of Satan. The judgment of the human being himself is the judgment of the decisions he has made throughout his lifetime.

There is a relationship between these two judgments—the judgment of Satan and the judgment of the individual. As we do the things that please God, being judged worthy in His sight, God passes judgment on the bondages of Satan that reside in us and delivers us. This process, which is the process of redemption, begins with our initial acceptance of Christ and continues until the fullness of deliverance is realized in the first resurrection, in the case of the royal priesthood; or at some point after that, in the case of those who do not attain the first resurrection from the dead.

Human beings always are judged according to their works. The sentence of judgment either is our release from Satan and the resulting fullness of eternal life, or else we are cast with our satanic bondages into the Lake of Fire, into the environment reserved for Satan, his angels, and all human beings who refuse to enter the process of redemption the Lord God has provided for us through Christ.

The seventh chapter of the Book of Romans reveals the difference between the person, and the satanic bondages that dwell in him.

Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. (Romans 7:17)

Here we see two personalities, two motivations. On the one hand we have the human being, the believer. On the other hand we have an enemy who is dwelling in the flesh of the believer and attempting to control his flesh.

Two different judgments are required because we have two different personalities with whom we are dealing. There must be a judgment of the enemy who is dwelling in the flesh of the individual. Then there must be a judgment of the individual himself.

To be continued.