Judgment and Justice
Why the coming judgment is good news — for those who've waited for it
Judgment in Scripture is not a threat from a capricious God — it is the promise that every injustice will finally be named, every victim vindicated, and every crooked thing made straight. The Hebrew mishpat and tsedaqah, the Greek krisis and dikaios — together they paint a picture of a God whose justice and love are the same thing.
מִשְׁפָּט — Justice as Right Order
properly, a verdict (favorable or unfavorable) pronounced judicially, especially a sentence or formal decree (human or (participant's) divine law, individual or collective), including the act, the place, the suit, the crime, and the penalty; abstract
Also rendered: adversary, ceremony, charge, crime
The Hebrew mishpat — judgment, justice, legal decision — describes the verdict that puts things right, the fair treatment each person is owed, and the way a good ruler settles disputes. When the prophets cry out for mishpat, they are calling society back to the standard of fairness and care that God himself exercises.