Hi Mike,

I was just wondering if you’ve ever thought that Judas will be in the millennial reign of Christ, as although he went and betrayed Christ perhaps he had little choice in the matter. I could well be wrong. If so,could you shed some light on the matter. I realize he will be saved either way. I’m meditating on this thought because of three scriptures.

Mat 26:29 But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.

[Wasn’t Judas in the same room as Jesus when He made that statement, so He was either lying or very forgetful, of which neither hold water of course, maybe the Father’s kingdom is not the earthly reign of Christ. Maybe Judas from that moment on had the shortest and most intense Lake of Fire experience ever. Sorry about the supposition, Mike.]

Luk 22:28 Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.
Luk 22:29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me;
Luk 22:30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

[Again I suppose we could assume Jesus was rubbing Judas’ face in it, but I doubt it].

Mat 26:25 Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said.

[Now Judas had already been to the priests to offer Jesus up to them, so was he testing the waters? Then Jesus let Judas know that He knew it was inevitable, he must have been so torn. No wonder Jesus said it would be better that he’d never been born. I feel anyone would have hung themselves with that weight on their conscience].

I may well be barking up the wrong tree here, Mike, so I guess I’m looking for some wise counsel on this matter. I feel if there is some truth in this train of thought, it will show just how awesomely merciful and in control God is in all things. Thanks, Mike.

J_____

PS. As always no offense taken if you don’t get back to me as yours is an immense task. God bless you mightily.

Hi J____,

Thank you for your question.

You ask if Judas’s steps were ordered of the Lord. The answer is that they were indeed “ordered of the Lord.”  The fact that “the steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord” does not tell us that the steps of an evil man are not ordered of the Lord:

Psa 37:23  The steps of a [good] man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

As I feel sure you know, the truth is that God is sovereign over both good and evil:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

So, not only was Judas made for the purpose of effecting Christ’s betrayal, but so also were all who were involved.

Act 4:26  The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
Act 4:27  For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

Herod, the king of the Jews; Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor representing the Gentiles; and we can throw in Judas and each of us and even all of Christ’s own disciples; we are either against Christ or at the very least forsaking Him. And why was that so?

Act 4:28  For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

The reason I am recapping all of this is because of the way you frame your question:

“I was just wondering if you’ve ever thought that Judas will be in the millennial reign of Christ, as although he went and betrayed Christ perhaps he had little choice in the matter…”

The Truth is, as we repeat so very often on this site, we all have the ability to make choices. We all make hundreds or thousands of choices every day. However, not one choice ever made since the creation of our father Adam was a “free choice.” All choices that have ever been or ever will be made are caused choices. I will give just one quick example. Pilate was not inclined to have Christ crucified.

Luk 23:22  And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.

Peter reiterates this truth on the day of Pentecost:

Act 2:23  Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:

Act 3:13  The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

What does this all mean? Let me quote it again:

Pro 16:4  The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.

What it all means is that Judas had no more freedom of choice than did Pilate, Herod, the Gentiles or the people of Israel. Each and every one involved has a choice to make. Also, each of them and each of us will give account for our choices. Nevertheless, none of us will ever be held responsible for those choices, because those choices are each and every one of them caused choices.

That is why we are faced with the amazing fact that the word ‘responsible’ is nowhere to be found in all of the Bible! Judas was as predestinated as any of us:

Eph 1:9  Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10  That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

As far as Judas being in the millennium is concerned, we are told that if we have not the spirit of Christ, we are none of His:

Rom 8:9  But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Now the spirit of Christ, according to Christ, is the Holy Spirit:

Joh 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Joh 16:14  He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
Joh 16:15  All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Joh 14:26  But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

There was no “Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost” available until after the day of Pentecost. Judas had committed suicide long before the day of Pentecost. No suicide victim can be in the first resurrection because:

Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

The weight of what Judas had done was, as you point out, is evident in the fact that Judas could not live with the knowledge of what he had done:

Mat 27:3  Then Judas, which had betrayed him, when he saw that he was condemned, repented himself, and brought again the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,
Mat 27:4  Saying, I have sinned in that I have betrayed the innocent blood. And they said, What [is that] to us? see thou [to that].
Mat 27:5  And he cast down the pieces of silver in the temple, and departed, and went and hanged himself.

Christ was not ‘rubbing Judas’ nose’ in the fact that He was on to him. The reason all these things happened and the reason they are written down is for the very same reason the nation of Israel experienced all of their rebellions against God:

1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

Until we learn the depth of the Truth in these words…:

Mat 4:3  And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.
Mat 4:4  But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

… we will never understand the depth of the truth of God’s Word. The story of Judas is written for Mike Vinson and for you. The Truth is that Judas was “in Adam” just as you and I are “in Adam.” Consequently there is a Judas in any of us depending only on the sovereignty of God either hedging Judas in or hedging Judas out of each of us. He truly is “working all things after the counsel of His own will.”

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:

The  fact that “we have an inheritance… being predestinated…” does not mean that all others are not predestinated. The Truth is that all are predestinated or else the rest of this verse would be untrue:

“…being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:”

You and I are incapable of working evil after the counsel of our own will and cannot understand how God could do so, but that is what God’s Word teaches us.

I hope this has been of some help to you.

Mike