Will the Judgment be at Mount Sinai?

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In our last Prophecy Letter about the recent Hamas war, a reader wrote with a question concerning the place where the saints will be judged. As it is an excellent question and one that many might have, I thought it would be beneficial to share the response with others.

The Question

Dear Brother,

These are my thoughts and if anyone can prove this Sinai scenario to me please do.  I am trying to envision Noah, Abraham, David, etc.  going up from Sinai to Israel fighting along the way.  It just doesn’t make sense. And at what point does he stand on Mount Olive for all eyes to see him?

1 Corinthians 14:33 kjv

33 For God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

I have a hard time that many believers speak of our judgement taking place in Mount Sinai.  In secret.  It absolutely makes no sense.  First I would ask you if this is true why would the Israelites be told to stay away from it.

Exodus 19:12-13 kjv

12 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death:

13 There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

Seriously, in this day and age how can you gather that many people to Sinai in secret?  And then travel to Israel.  Think about this for one minute.  This judgement is not just for those who died in the last 50 years or for just those who are alive at his coming, but from Adam on up.  That scenario alone makes no sense.

In   Acts 1:9-11kjv

9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight.

10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel;

11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Again in  Revelation 1:7 kjv

 7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

We are told in,

  1 Thessalonians 4:17 kjv

17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

UP, CLOUDS, AIR! How can we not see this makes sense, since when Jesus steps on Mount Olive we are with him in the clouds.

Zechariah 14:4-5 kjv

4 And his feet shall stand in that day upon the mount of Olives, which is before Jerusalem on the east, and the mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst thereof toward the east and toward the west, and there shall be a very great valley; and half of the mountain shall remove toward the north, and half of it toward the south.

5 And ye shall flee to the valley of the mountains; for the valley of the mountains shall reach unto Azal: yea, ye shall flee, like as ye fled from before the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah: and the Lord my God shall come, and all the saints with thee.

Love in Christ, Sister ___________

Our Response

Dear _______,

It's an excellent question! I'll be glad to explain my reasoning for it as best as time will allow.

I believe there are a couple of ways of coming to the conclusion that the judgment will take place at Mount Sinai. I think it’s important to mention that Sinai is in Arabia and not the Sinai peninsula as has been traditionally thought. Galatians 4:25 specifically tells us this: “For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia”.

The first thing I think is worthy of consideration is the last set of verses you mentioned in Zechariah 14. This is undoubtedly the time when Christ will appear to Israel’s salvation. Yet we find that it is not only the Lord Christ that is there, but as it says, “and all the saints with thee” (verse 5). Christ therefore has his immortalized multitude with him at this time, which means we must conclude that the saints have already been gathered, judged, and immortalized. Obadiah 17-21 bears this out as well. These verses describe how Israel destroys Edom and occupies the lands of Edom, the Philistines, the Canaanites, and that of Samaria and Benjamin (vss. 19-20). The last verse shows who executes the judgment on these Gentile nations: “And saviours shall come up on mount Zion to judge the mount of Esau; and the kingdom shall be the Lord's.” 

The mention of “saviours” is important, for it teaches us two things. Firstly, that the Lord is certainly the cause of Israel's salvation. The Hebrew word for "saviours" in this passage is the same as in

Isaiah 43:3 – For I am the LORD thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour: I gave Egypt for thy ransom, Ethiopia and Seba for thee.

The Lord is Israel's savior, but note that it is not singular in Obadiah, but plural. By comparing this with the mention of “all the saints” in Zechariah 14, we see that this is the multitudinous Christ that saves Israel.

Now, these verses obviously do not tell us that the judgment is at Sinai, but they do tell us some critical information: Christ has already judged his household by this point. What ties this in with Mount Sinai are the other prophecies that show Christ's progress before he sets his foot on the Mount of Olives. These are primarily Isaiah 63:1-6 and Habakkuk 3.

Tying it to Sinai

With Isaiah 63, we are given a prophecy of Israel's salvation from the perspective of someone in Jerusalem. What's interesting is that it doesn't show Christ appearing directly from the heavens and landing on the Mount of Olives, but as coming from the south. Note the locations that Christ comes from and what he has done in those locations:

Isaiah 63:1-6 – Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah? this that is glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength? I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save.  (2)  Wherefore art thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth in the winefat?  (3)  I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury; and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment.  (4)  For the day of vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come.  (5)  And I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold: therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me; and my fury, it upheld me.  (6)  And I will tread down the people in mine anger, and make them drunk in my fury, and I will bring down their strength to the earth.

We see that Christ came from Bozrah – the ancient capital of Edom – before he appeared in Israel. This is south of the Mount of Olives, which means that Christ was moving northward to Jerusalem. Now, we must ask: Why is Christ coming from the south? The reason is supplied in the text. He is destroying the armies of Edom along the way. Thus, his apparel is already stained red by the time the Jews lay their eyes upon him. His garments are stained with the blood of Israel’s enemies as he will have trodden them down in his anger (vss. 2-3,6). This is why we say that Christ will destroy the Arab armies along the way to Jerusalem. His garments are already stained at the moment they see him, and they are stained with the blood of Israel’s Arab enemies.

Like the other passage we have considered, this in itself does not teach us that the judgment is at Sinai, but it is an important milestone that points us in that direction. We’re able to trace a line from the Mount of Olives to Bozrah and see the progress of the multitudinous Christ.