Commentators have had no end of trouble over these verses, and there is little agreement among them. In some sense saints judge the world and angels, but how? and when? It is a hazardous and foolish thing to build a theory on a difficult passage, especially when little, if any, light on the point can be gained from other Scriptures. But it does not seem possible that Christians will be judges in the last day, when all shall be judged. From Matt. 25:31-46 we learn that the righteous will be judged along with the wicked. Saints will not then occupy judgment thrones, but will be gathered before the judgment throne. They cannot be judges while being judged. After that they cannot judge the world, for the world will already have been judged. And there is no Scripture that teaches that the heavenly angels will then be judged by any one. But the gospel is God’s law, and every time it is preached sinners are judged as guilty, as are also the devil and his angels. And saints have this same law by which to judge among themselves. These are facts, whether the passage in question has that meaning or not. This view has the merit of not being out of harmony with the general teaching of the New Testament. But let us be sure not to build a theory on a difficult passage of Scripture, nor use it in support of a theory. We might be found wresting the Scripture to our own destruction.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE JEWS, THE KINGDOM AND SALVATION
Tell me: When, or how, did Christ offer the Jews the kingdom? What passage, or passages, or teaching as a whole do you think the earth-kingdom advocates rely on to prove the statement that the kingdom was offered the Jews?
Was the kingdom offered the Jews in any sense that _salvation_ was not offered them?
Did they reject the kingdom in any sense they did not reject salvation?
If the kingdom was offered the Jews, and they rejected it, and the Lord for that reason postponed the kingdom, why is it he did not also postpone the salvation offered?—X
Perhaps I might as well answer the foregoing questions as a whole as to answer each one separately. The querist has been doing some close thinking, and his questions open up a field for some profitable investigation.