1 Peter 4:17

Verse 17. For the time is come that judgment.

The sense of this verse becomes easier by discarding the supplied words "is come." The judgment begins at the Church of God; that is, the righteous are judged first. The Lord himself explains this matter, and leaves us no room for doubt. He tells us all about it in Matthew 25:1-46 :, commencing at the thirty-first verse, and completes the explanation at the end of that chapter.

If it begin at us, what shall be the end?

If the righteous, as such, are to be judged, what can be the fate of the unrighteous, those who have not obeyed the gospel? They, of course, will be judged likewise. The sentence in each case will be measured by the conduct of each while here on earth.