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The Impartiality of the Law at the Great White Throne

When we speak of the impartial application of the divine law, it must be understood that "equal rights" do not include the right to worship false gods. The First Commandment makes this very clear: "You shall have no other gods before Me." The law is impartial in the application of this law, because no one is allowed to bring other gods (and other religions) into the Kingdom of God.

The original reason given is that Yahweh redeemed Israel from their bondage in Egypt. He bought them; therefore, He has every right to demand obedience. Israel was the core nation where the Kingdom of God was established as a national entity. Therefore, if anyone wishes to join that nation and come under Israel's covenant, they must set aside all other gods, all other religions, and all laws that contradict the law of God.

No one was expected to be perfect in every way, of course, but everyone was still uniformly liable to the same law, whether he was a naturally-born Israelite or an immigrant (alien). Numbers 15:15, 16 says,

¹⁵ As for the assembly [kahal, "church"], there shall be one statute for you and for the alien who sojourns with you, a perpetual statute throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the alien be before the Lord. ¹⁶ There is to be one law and one ordinance for you and for the alien who sojourns with you.

There was no hint that aliens were incapable of following the law, due to satanic genes. There was no hint that genealogical Israelites had sacred genes that made them more capable of keeping the law. Neither did men have an advantage over women in this regard. The Jewish Talmud is simply wrong in its "traditions of men" that espouse such views. In fact, such views go fully against the second half of the Abrahamic Covenant, which says, "and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Gen. 12:3).

The late Dr. Israel Shahak, emeritus professor or organic chemistry at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, was sickened by the common attitude in his country. He wrote on page 95 of his book,Jewish History/Jewish Religion (in 1994),

"And at the root of this religious obligation [is the fact that] the Jewish people are the best of the human species, created to know their Creator and worship Him, and worthy of having slaves to serve them."

On page 88 he writes, "all Gentile women are presumed to be prostitutes." Again, he says on the same page, "Gentiles are presumed to be congenital liars, and are disqualified from testifying in a rabbinical court." On page 96 he says,

"Anyone who lives in Israel knows how deep and widespread these attitudes of hatred and cruelty towards all Gentiles are among the majority if Israeli Jews."

For this reason, Dr. Shahak did what he could to reverse these unlawful attitudes.

The New Testament shows clearly that Jesus was not infected with such an attitude toward non-Jews. For example, he treated the Roman centurian with respect and love in Matt. 8:5-10. Jesus showed no reluctance to heal the man's servant. But more significant was His statement afterward in verses 11 and 12,

¹¹ And I say to you, that many shall come from east and west and recline at the table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven; ¹² but the sons of the kingdom shall be cast out into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Just because someone was a genealogical "son of the kingdom" did not mean that he would retain his citizenship at the day of judgment. Likewise, there would be non-Israelites who would obtain citizenship in the kingdom, as the prophets tell us.

Jesus also surprised His disciples by talking to a Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar in John 4. He was simply fulfilling the terms of the Abrahamic covenant, which was to be a blessing to all the families of the earth--including Samaritan women.

The purpose of God was NOT to subject all men as slaves to a certain chosen race, but to set all men free by the power of God and His law of Jubilee. Those who desire perpetual slaves are not qualified to rule in the Kingdom.

There will indeed be a form of "slavery" following the Great White Throne Judgment. It is called "the lake of fire." It is the application of the "fiery law" (Deut. 33:2). When the law of God judges all mankind for the things that they did during their life time, each sinner who has not been justified by faith in Christ will receive judgment according to his works (Rev. 20:12). All sin is reckoned as a debt, so each sinner will become a debtor according to his works.

Those debtors, then, will be "sold" to others (i.e., "redeemers") in that day. Only non-debtors can redeem debtors. These are the ones whose faith in Christ has liberated them from the debt of their own sin. As part of the body of Christ, they are redeemers under the Head Redeemer. Their calling is to teach and train sinners in the ways of God.

At the Great White Throne, men will come under the law's judgment for sin. It will be involuntary at that time, much like a criminal might be arrested today and from then on he must do as the court orders. Such sinners will be placed under the authority of the body of Christ, so that he has no choice but to learn the ways of God and conform to the will of his new master.

That master, of course, will be an expression of the character of his Head, Jesus Christ, so he will rule by perfect love as seen in Jesus Christ. Hence, he will not be self-serving, and his authority over "slaves" will not be as we have seen in human history. There may be an application of force if necessary, but certainly not with a self-serving motive. Above all, such rulers will not have the prideful Talmudic attitude toward non-Jews.

At the Great White Throne, "every knee will bow," and "every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Phil. 3:10, 11). That means everyone who has ever lived will make a confession of faith and will become a believer in Christ. New believers, however, need to be tutored in the ways of God, even if they are destined to be heirs of God. Paul says in Gal. 4:1, 2,

¹ Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, (2) but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father.

Hence, these new believers at the Great White Throne are yet unqualified to rule. As minors, they do not differ from a slave. This is actually a more accurate portrayal of the divine plan for sinners at that time, rather than viewing them as court-mandated slaves. The principle is certainly the same, but when we see this in a family setting, it better reflects the heart of Christ.

In fact, this is really what biblical slavery was meant to be. A thief who was caught and sold for his theft (Ex. 22:3) was being judged, not punished per se. The judgments of God are designed to benefit the sinner in the end by correcting him and changing his heart. His redeemer was to be an example of righteousness, even as parent is to be to his children. This is why Isaiah 26:9 says,

⁹ For when the earth experiences Thy judgments, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

This is the purpose of the Great White Throne judgment. The new believers will mature and ultimately come into the full liberty of Christ at the time set by the father. This is the Jubilee.