Rest and Rewards

There are different definitions of "rest". And as Christians, we have a more complete understanding than a non-believer, who knows only what he or she experiences as a natural-man or natural woman. Everyone is familiar with sayings like "You need to take a rest, you've worked hard all day long. Meaning, a physical rest for the body. Or,"Put your mind at rest, everything is taken care of!" Meaning, Give your mind a rest! Or as the world and sometimes Christians say "Rest in Peace! [ R.I.P.]" It is this last phrase I'd like to elaborate on now. SOME CROSS REFERENCES: PS:37.7a "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him."
Rest for your soul. Heb.4.9,10,11 "There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience." Matt. 11:28,29b "Come unto Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest...you will find rest for your souls."
And in Revelation 6:9-11 "When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the alter the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice, saying,"How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" And a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them; that they should rest a little while longer, until both the number of their fellow servants and their brethren, who would be killed as they were, was completed." Here the dead in Christ were instructed to rest until the complete congregation was fulfilled!
This is a significant statement, for the meaning of the word "church" is "the called-out ones", a gathering, a group. These are in the presence of the Lord in heaven yet still waiting the final rest of being united with their resurrection bodies! When will this happen? Aren't you begging the question? Well, let me state that this will of course happen on Resurrection Day! The Last-Day!
Turn with me in your Bible first to 1 Thess. 4. 13- ***** to second Thessalonians chapter one and read with me verses one thru twelve "Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds towards each other, so that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer; since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed. Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." Did you get those brethren? "... and to you who are troubled rest with us WHEN THE LORD JESUS IS REVEALED FROM HEAVEN WITH HIS MIGHTY ANGELS..." When Jesus comes back in power and glory at His glorious second coming we will receive rest with all the other saints in Christ ...in that Day! Elaborate...
A eternal rest that even the dead in Christ are waiting for, which is: the rest of being joined to resurrection bodies, like that of their Lord's. see the chapter on FOR AND WITH for more on this subject. Another area of Bible doctrine is that of "the Rewards of the saints". Those who teach the novel per-tribulational rapture, make a unique distinction the judgment [of the nations] when Christ comes in glory and a pre-trib. rapture judgment of believers referred to as "the Bema seat of Christ".
Here are some quotes from some respected teachers and Pastors to state this distinction: [Chuck Smith; Jeff Johnson; Hal Lindsay; John Walvoord; etc... So these say that this Bema seat of Christ is years before Christ comes in glory and is strictly for the rewards of believers!
Now let us turn to the New Testament and see how this Greek word "Bema" seat is used. The first occurrence of it is in Matthew 27.19-30 And here we find that Jesus stood before "the Bema seat of Pilate. Pilate washed his hands and handed Jesus over to the crowd to be mocked, crowned with thorns, ridiculed, spit upon, and struck on the head (all for us and are sakes, Praise God). The next set of verses is found in Acts 18:12, 16, 17. They brought Paul in before the Bema seat in Achaia and the Jews brought accusations against Paul and Gallio stood in Paul's defense and the Jews had Sosthenenes beaten in front of the Bema seat or Judgment seat. And in Acts 25:6,10,17 Paul stands before Festus and says he is now standing before "Caesar's Bema seat," Caesar's judgment seat! Then he goes in front of King Agrippa and Bernice. So we see from these few N.T. uses of the word "Bema seat or judgment seat that rewards in the good=sense are not the picture as pre-rib rapturists would have us believe! Now we'll look at how some other translations and paraphrases render Bema seat. In Matt 27:19 P.M.V. "sitting on the bench" the T.E.V. "judgment hall" the J.B. "sitting in the seat of judgment" the N.E.B. "sitting in the court" and N.I.V. "the judge's seat. John 19:13 L.B. "judgment Bench" the N.I.V. and the T.E.V. say "judge's seat" the J.B. "chair of judgment" and the N.E.B. "seat on the tribunal". Now for Acts 18:12, 16,17. Other versions like Greens's Greek N.T. the R.S.V. and J.B. say "tribunal" whereas the T.E.V. the P.M.V. and the N.E.B. say "Court". Now in Romans 14:10, the K.J.V. says "Judgment seat of Christ," whereas the R.S.V. the L.B. and the J.B. says "Judgment seat of God" and the N.I.V. says "God's judgment seat". The N.E.B. in this passage says "We shall all stand before God's tribunal." II Cor 5:10 the N.E.B. "For we must all have our lives laid open before the tribunal of Christ." In the J.B. it says, "in the law court of Christ," and T.E.V. "we must appear before Christ to be judged by him," and the N.I.V. says "judgment seat of Christ."
It needs to be stated that, frequently the Bible uses the word "rewards" in a "two-fold sense", for both good rewards and bad rewards! Here are some New Testament references for both its good and bad inferences [connotations!]:
for good for bad

Psalms 31.23 (both) Matt. 10.41,42
Acts 1.18 Luke 6.23,35
2 Tim. 4.14 1 Cor.3.8,14
2 Peter 2.13 1 Cor.9.17,18
Jude 11 Col. 2.18/3.24
Rev. 18.6 with Ps.137 1Tim.5.18
Heb. 2.2/10.35/11.26 Give more references!
2 John 8 Rev. 11.18 / 22.12

Sometimes reward is translated as [render]! Or render is translated as reward. Jesus, after He had given the parable of the Wheat and the Tares in Matt.13 and saying that both are to grow together until the Harvest, three chapters later makes a strong statement concerning the timing of the rewards of believers. Matthew 16.27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father's glory with His angels, and He will REWARD each person according to what he has done."
1 Corinthians 3.7,8 Paul is talking about winning souls for Christ and says "...and each will be REWARDED according to his own labor."
And please notice the incredible wording of Romans 2.5,6 "But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath against yourself for the Day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will RENDER [or REWARD] to each one according to his deeds." And Rev. 11.18 "The nations were angry and your wrath has come and the time of the dead they should be judged, and that You should REWARD Your servants the Prophets and the saints,..." And in Rev. 22.12 "And behold, I am coming quickly and My REWARD is with Me, to give to every one according to his work."
The timing of this rewarding is clearly put forth in the Scriptures, when Jesus Christ comes in power and glory, at the end of the Great Tribulation! Now here are few references to REWARDS in the bad sense! Acts 1.18,20 "Now this man [Judas Iscariot] purchased a field with the wages of iniquitity [the margin note says: reward of unrighteousness] and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his entrils gushed out... let his habitation be desolate and let no one live in it, and let another take his office..."
2 Timothy 4.14 "Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord REWARD him according to his works. You also must beware of him for he has greatly resisted our words." 2 Peter 2.13 "And will receive the wages [reward] of unrighteousness as those who court it pleasure to course in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you."
Some might say that [wages] refers only to the wicked and [reward] only to believers, the righteous. Just a couple more references should make the point clear. Proverbs 10.16 "The labor of the righteous leads to life, the wages of the wicked to sin." 1 Timothy 5.17,18 "Those who labor in the word and doctrine...are worthy of their wages [reward]!"
Another area in which pre-tribers try to make a difference which has to do with rewards is Crowns! They try to make distinctions by saying that the crowns in the Bible are different... such as "A Crown of Life" an "Incorruptible Crown" a "Crown of Righteousness" a "Crown of Glory" and a "Martyr's Crown". Most of distinctions would almost be unimportant and only an issue hardly worth mentioning except when it comes to the area of Pre-trib. Theology! The implication that is brought out is, in so many words, a crown for Church Age Believers and Tribulation Believers. Some go to considerable lengths to describe or teach a distinction of many crowns for Believers. Here are some selected references to "Crowns" pertaining to Believers in the N.T. First is 1 Cor.9.25 ...they do it for a corruptible crown ...and we run the race for an incorruptible one! Philip. 4.1 "Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and crown, so steadfast in the Lord, beloved." With 1 Thess.2.19 "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming. _