ACC ~ 1 Peter 4 v17

PERSECUTION. CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: This is the judgment which will occur in times of persecution. ADUMBRATIONS.

THE END OF THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY. DIDYMUS THE BLIND: When the time comes for God’s judgment to begin, it will start with the best and work its way downwards, that is to say, it will commence with those who believe and belong to the church of God. Just think—if the examination of our lives begins with those who belong to God’s household, what will it be like by the time it gets to those who have rejected the gospel? God sends great suffering and fear on believers so that they may learn that he is the judge to whom they must answer, and on unbelievers he sends the same fear, saying that they will not escape the great punishments which are their lot. CATENA.

HIDDEN AND PUBLIC JUDGMENT. BEDE: Scripture teaches us that there are two kinds of divine judgment—one which is hidden and one which is public. The hidden judgment is a punishment by which each one of us is moved to repentance, or to conversion, or if we despise the calling and discipline of God, to damnation. The public judgment is the one which will take place when Christ comes again to judge the living and the dead. This judgment is already beginning at the house of God, that is, in the church, in that by undergoing our present sufferings we are being prepared for the joys of eternity. The wicked are currently living securely in this present transitory life, but once that is over there will be nothing left for them but God’s vengeance, which will be as great as the punishment which they deserve. ON 1 PETER.

1 Pet