Ⅰ
"Behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me to render to each one as his work is"—Rev. 22:12:
A
The Lord repeats His warning, "I come quickly" (3:11; 22:7), so that we will consider His reward, to be rendered at His coming back.
B
At the Lord's coming, this reward will be rendered to each one of the believers, after their rapture, at the judgment seat of Christ—2 Cor. 5:10; 1 Cor. 4:5; Rom. 14:10; Matt. 16:27.
C
The Greek word translated "reward" in Revelation 22:12 means "wages."
D
When the Lord Jesus comes again to possess the kingdom, He will reward or punish all those who belong to Him:
１
Some will receive His punishment because the Lord's word "My reward is with Me" implies that there is not only reward but also punishment.
２
In keeping with this, in Revelation 22:7 the Lord declared, "I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this scroll."
３
He who keeps the words of the prophecy of Revelation is blessed because he will be rewarded.
４
The reward we receive on that day has much to do with our attitude today:
ａ
First Corinthians 3:8 says that we will be rewarded according to our labor.
ｂ
In Matthew 16:27 the Lord Jesus said that at His coming back He will reward us according to our doings.
E
Eternal salvation has nothing to do with our works, but the kingdom reward will be altogether according to our works that we have done by the Lord's life after being saved.
F
Every saved one will be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad; those who practice good will receive a reward, and those who practice evil will receive punishment—2 Cor. 5:10.
G
We will stand before the judgment seat and give the Lord an account concerning all our past living, walk, and conduct; it is because of this that even the apostle Paul says that he dared not examine himself, but He who examined him was the Lord—1 Cor. 4:3-4.
H
The way we serve and work for the Lord after we are saved is a great matter.
I
Paul says, "If anyone's work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward"—3:14.
J
When the Lord comes back, there will be a judgment; in that judgment He will determine whether we will receive a reward or punishment.
K
The reward will be decided by the judgment seat of Christ: "We must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad"—2 Cor. 5:10.
Morning Nourishment
1 Cor. 3:14 If anyone’s work which he has built upon the foundation remains, he will receive a reward.2 Cor. 5:10 For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad.
Some think that to suffer loss [in 1 Corinthians 3:15a] is to lose one’s salvation, that is, to perish. The truth, however, is that we will still be saved, “yet so as through fire” (v. 15b)…After we are saved, there are still great issues to take care of. Our conduct is an issue, and our work also is an issue. When the Lord comes back, there will be a judgment. In that judgment He will determine whether we will receive a reward or punishment.
The unbelievers will be judged at the great white throne a thousand years later (Rev. 20:11-15), but the Lord Jesus will judge all His believers at the judgment seat [2 Cor. 5:10]. There, the decision will be made regarding what reward they will receive—the enjoyment in the coming kingdom or some punishment. (The Conclusion of the New Testament, pp. 4453-4454)
Today’s Reading
The Bible reveals that the overcomers will reign for a thousand years, but it does not say how long the punishment for believers will last. However, we can still infer that the receiving of punishment will definitely take place during the millennium…In principle, the Lord wants to motivate us to cooperate with Him and to warn us of the loss that we will suffer for not cooperating with Him.The possibility of punishment in the future should keep us on the alert and be a warning to us. We should see that if we do not pay the price to pursue to overcome and to be faithful to work for the Lord after we are saved, we will eventually suffer loss, which will be so severe that we will feel as though we are passing through fire (1 Cor. 3:15). The Bible also reveals that if we habitually commit sins and remain in the enjoyment of sin, we will be salted with fire to purge the germs of sin and evil from us (Mark 9:49). As to where the punishment of fire will take place and what kind of fire it will be, we do not need to investigate. These words concerning reward and punishment are spoken to… those who are pursuing the Lord. We should not speak these words casually to others; rather, we need to first help them to have a hungry and thirsty heart for pursuing. When their heart is stirred up to pursue the Lord, we can speak the words spoken by the Lord on the mountain and in the house (Matt. 5:1; 13:36).
Reward and punishment are determined according to God’s thought and wisdom. This determination in God’s wisdom is mainly to motivate or compel us to cooperate with Him. This is because there is a part in God’s salvation that requires us to put the self aside, forsake everything, and cooperate with Him so that He can work Himself into us. This is a very difficult thing to work out in us; hence, in the economy of God’s grace, reward and punishment were determined according to His wisdom. God uses reward to motivate and attract us to put the self aside and forsake everything; He also uses punishment to compel us to forsake everything and put off all sin and evil. This is the first aspect of God's intention.
The second aspect of God’s intention with reward and punishment is to manifest His righteousness in His children. We should not think that after we are saved, there can be no problem simply because we are God’s children. If this were the case, it would seem as if God’s grace comes to us without a sense of sobriety or righteousness and without any consideration of differentiations in the living and work of God’s children. However, God is not befuddled; His approval is based on a clear and distinct realization of such differentiations. Therefore, God determined to have reward and punishment in the future in order to manifest His sobriety and righteousness in us. (CWWL, 1955, vol. 3, “Reward and Punishment,” pp. 42-43)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1990, vol. 3, “The Prophecy of the Four ’‘Sevens’ in the Bible,” ch. 1