The platform or throne from which kings and officials administer justice. God presently exercises judgment from his heavenly throne, symbolised in the OT by the ark of the covenant, and will one day bring all peoples before his judgment seat to give account of their lives and to receive their due reward.
Examples of earthly seats of judgment
Proverbs 20:8; John 19:13 parallel Matthew 27:19 See also Exodus 18:13–14; 1 Kings 7:7; Psalm 122:5; Proverbs 31:23; Acts 12:21, Acts 23:3, Acts 25:23; James 2:6
A king who sits on a throne to judge sifts out all evil with his eyes.
When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat on the judgment seat at a place called the Stone Pavement, which in Hebrew is Gabbatha.
God's judgment seat
God judges from his throne
Psalm 9:4–5 See also Psalm 9:7–8, Psalm 11:4–7, Psalm 45:6, Psalm 97:2
For You have upheld my just cause; You sit on Your throne judging righteously. You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.
The ark as a symbol of God's throne
2 Samuel 6:2 parallel 1 Chronicles 13:6 See also Exodus 25:22; 1 Samuel 4:4; 2 Kings 19:15 parallel Isaiah 37:16; Psalm 80:1, Psalm 99:1
And he and all his troops set out for Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, which is called by the Name— the name of the LORD of Hosts, who is enthroned between the cherubim that are on it.
God's future judgment
2 Corinthians 5:10 God's future judgment is exercised through Jesus Christ; Revelation 20:11–13 See also Daniel 7:9–10; Joel 3:12; Matthew 25:31–32; Romans 14:10
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.
Believers will share Jesus Christ's judgment throne
Matthew 19:28 See also Luke 22:30; Revelation 20:4
Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.