Understanding The Apocalypse

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
Revelation 20:11-15
Chapter 36

The account of the Great White Throne Judgment is perhaps the most difficult passage in all the Bible for the unrepentant to consider. Here, in these five brief verses, it is explained that the final destiny of those who do not trust Christ as their personal Savior is the Lake of Fire, where, with Satan who deceived them, they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.

However, this sternest warning of Scripture has historically been dismissed by the unsaved with ridicule and laughter or by tendering objections in the form of questions that seek to debase the person and character of the Lord God.

Unrepentant humanity has always sought to deny the reality of everlasting condemnation in the Lake of Fire because if there is no hell, there is no devil. If there is no devil, there is no sin and if there is no sin, there is no need for a Savior. No Savior means no Son of God and the very existence of God is questioned.

Scoffers realize if it is possible to do away with the Lake of Fire, it then becomes very easy to do away with the rest of the Bible and its restraints to sin. Mankind is then free to indulge in sin without fear of judgment meted out by a righteous and just God.

In spite of these attempts, the Word of God is truth and just as surely as there is life and death, there is sin and judgment. Whether we believe it or not, the Bible says all who die apart from faith in Christ are doomed to eternity in the Lake of Fire. However, this account of the Great White Throne Judgment is not a threat, for God never threatens. Rather, its purpose is to warn of the consequences of rejecting the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as the complete payment for one's sins.

I. The Throne and Its Occupant

"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them" (Revelation 20:11).

John mentions the throne of God in the Revelation thirty-eight other times but none is the Great White Throne mentioned here. This, because the context of the passage reveals this throne will be established for the sole purpose of judgment.

That it is "great" indicates the power and authority of this judgment. There is no higher tribunal. There is no appealing the decisions rendered here. This is the place of final verdict. Those who are sentenced here are without exception, condemned for eternity. Clearly, they are powerless against this throne.

This is also a "white" throne meaning it is righteous and just, indicating this will be the time for justice, not mercy. Those who stand before the Great White Throne will receive the just reward for rejecting Christ, not the mercy now available, to all who trust Him as Savior.

Because it is a "throne" only the One who has the sovereign authority to judge may sit upon it. This can be none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, for all judgment has been committed to Him according to John 5:22, which says, "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son." God, Himself, in the Person of our Lord Jesus Christ will sit on the Great White Throne to judge all "from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them."

Those from among the human inhabitants of the earth, who fled from the face of Christ, by refusing to receive Him as their Savior, along with those former holy angels who left their first estate, will stand before the Sovereign of the Universe, to receive their just reward. There will be no place for them to hide from this judgment.

II. Those Before The Great White Throne

"And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works" (Revelation 20:12-13).
John plainly says he "saw the dead, small and great stand before God." Clearly, it is only the dead that will stand before the Great White Throne. However, the word "dead" must involve something other than bodily death for it is difficult to understand a lifeless body being judged. As it is pointless to "flog a dead horse," it is pointless to judge a dead body that is oblivious to its surroundings.

The word "dead" used here, means the spiritually dead in trespasses and sins. One group in this category was revealed when Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Also, in John 3:5, He said that unless a person is born of the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

Those who stand in judgment before the Great White Throne are not destined to enter the kingdom of God because they are spiritually dead. Therefore, their destiny is the Lake of Fire.

The sea, death and hell will give up the dead that are in them, according to Revelation 20:13. This means those who are not born-again, those who are not justified by faith, that is, the spiritually dead, will be resurrected to stand before the Great White Throne and will be judged "according to their works."

The spiritually dead are further identified in Revelation 20:12, as the "small and great" and in Revelation 20:13, we are told their whereabouts as they await their judgments before the Great White Throne.

The words "small and great" tell us that no matter what one's position or what he achieves in life, without forgiveness of sins, he must stand judgment before the Great White Throne. From the poorest of poor, to the richest of rich, from the vilest of sinners to the morally upright, from the weakest of mankind, to the strongest of warriors, all who sin and come short of the Glory of God, without forgiveness, must stand before this throne.

To do this they will be bodily resurrected. Even those buried at sea where the elements of the ocean have destroyed the bodies and dispersed them over a vast area, will be resurrected. This demonstrates the bodies of all the spiritually dead, even though they may be totally destroyed, will be resurrected. God who created them originally will re-gather them in resurrection.

Not only will the bodies of the spiritually dead be resurrected, the text also says "hell" will deliver up the dead in it. To understand what will happen we must take a closer look at the word translated "hell." In Greek, this word literally means "the unseen or the place of departed souls." Kenneth S. Wuest, in his Expanded Translation of the New Testament, renders the portion of Revelation 20:13, containing this word: "And death and the Unseen gave up the dead who were in them."

John is not saying the Lake of Fire, commonly called "hell" will give up its dead. He is saying the "unseen place, the place of departed souls," will give up its dead.

The bodies of the spiritually dead will be resurrected from physical death, rejoined with their souls, now in the "unseen place," to stand before the Great White Throne.

Death, in Revelation 20:13, represents the state and place of the physical bodies. Hell or Hades, meaning the "unseen" represents the state and place of the souls of the unsaved dead as they await reuniting of body and soul to be judged.

In Revelation 20:12, we read, "And the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

The spiritually dead, bodily resurrected and reunited with their souls will be judged out of the things written in a set of books. One of the books is identified as the Book of Life and we know from other portions of Scripture (Philippians 4:3; Revelation 3:5) it contains the names of those who are justified by grace through faith. However, we are not told the names of the other books or what they contain.

Because the text says "the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works," some believe these books are the records of mankind's deeds during life on earth.

Also, some think that at the Great White Throne Judgments if the good deeds outweigh the bad deeds then one is rewarded with heaven, or if the bad deeds outweigh the good deeds, one is cast into the lake of fire.

This theory is proved wrong by Revelation 20:15, that says, "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Clearly, one will be cast into the Lake of Fire because his name is not in the Book of Life, not because of what is written in the other books.

Others say the books contain a catalogue of sins committed by the unsaved and the degree of their punishment in the Lake of Fire will be determined by the degree of their transgressions. Again, we must look to Revelation 20:15, and realize people will not be cast into the Lake of Fire because of their sins. They will be cast into the Lake of Fire because their names are not in the Book of Life. Their names will not be in the Book of Life because they did not trust Christ as their Savior.

John 3:18, says plainly, people are condemned because they do not believe in the name of the only begotten Son of God. There are no degrees of unbelief resulting in degrees of condemnation. One either believes in the Son of God and is saved, or does not believe and is condemned to the Lake of Fire forever and ever.

A clue to the contents of the other books is in John 12:48, where Jesus said, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."

It is the Word of God that is the standard of judgment for those who reject Jesus when they stand before the Great White Throne. The books opened will be the books of the Bible, wherein every self-justification unbelievers offer in their own defense will be answered. They will be shown in the Word of God that nothing other than faith is sufficient for salvation. Today, the required faith is in the substitutionary death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as the complete payment for sins.

Over the years I've asked many people a question that usually reveals what they are depending on, for salvation. The question is, "Why should God let you into His heaven?" Quite often, people will begin to detail how good they've been and how much they deserve heaven, completely ignoring the sacrifice of Christ in their behalf, for their sins.

It is not unreasonable to think the Lord will ask those who stand before His Great White Throne, "Why should I let you into my heaven?" And when they begin to tell how great they are and how much they deserve heaven, He will merely show them Ephesians 2:8-9, which says, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."

A similar account is given in Matthew 7:21-23,

"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. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Then as now, the Bible, God's own Word, will be the only standard of righteousness and judgment. Hebrews 4:12, tells the effect it has:
"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart."
When God opens His Word at the Great White Throne Judgment there will be no doubt concerning the guilt of all who stand before Him. Because they have not trusted Christ, they are condemned forever. The final proof of their unbelief is the absence of their names in the Book of Life.

III. The Second Death

"And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire" (Revelation 20:14-15).

To be cast into the Lake of Fire is identified as the second death. "The dead, small and great," physically resurrected and joined with their souls from the "unseen place" will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Because they have been resurrected they will be alive and fully conscious of their surroundings and like the devil, the beast and the false prophet, they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The second death is immeasurably worse than the first and it never ends.

In spite of the warnings of Scripture, lost mankind has always rejected the truth that God will one day judge those who are not saved from the penalty of sin. Two of the most common questions offered in objection to God's judgment are:

(1) "If humans are born in sin and therefore, cannot refrain from sin, where is the justice for God to condemn them, when He creates them in sin and allows sin to exist in the earth?"

(2) "How could a loving God condemn anyone to everlasting torment in the Lake of Fire?"

The answer to these objections lies in the fact that humanity today is not condemned to the Lake of Fire solely because they have sinned. They are condemned because they have not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18).

The Word of God is clear. God gave His Son, our Lord Jesus Christ to die for the sins of the world (John 3:16; 1 John 2:2). Therefore, it is not God's fault humans are condemned sinners. On the contrary, He proved His love for us and provided the remedy for our sins by allowing His own Son to die in our place (Romans 5:8). If one fails to trust Christ's sacrifice, he condemns himself.

Matthew 25:41, says the everlasting fire was prepared for the devil and his angels meaning God did not intend for mankind to enter the Lake of Fire. On the contrary, God desires that humans live forever in His presence, but only if they are willing to do so, on God's terms.

However, those who refuse salvation by grace, through faith in the shed blood of Christ must be separated from God and His people else they would forever pollute creation with their wickedness.

Because there are only two places in eternity, Heaven or the Lake of Fire, it is only fitting that those who trust the Savior dwell in His presence, while those who reject Him dwell in the place prepared for the devil they followed on earth.


From "Understanding The Apocalypse"
A book of sermons by Pastor Jim McColloch, Th.M., Th.D.
© Copyright 1994, 1999

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