Sermon Tone Analysis

Text: Revelation 20:11-15

Theme: The end of the world includes the judgment of Satan and the unsaved.

At the end of time God will judge the unsaved for their sin and unbelief and consign them to their eternal fate.

Date: 03/17/19 File name: Revelation41.wpd

ID Number:

Have you every thought much about death?

Most Americans prefer not to think about their death.

They ought to because eternity is coming.

Last year a pew research poll revealed that most Americans believe in heaven… and hell.

Seventy-two percent of Americans say they believe in heaven, and believe that it is a place "where people who have led good lives are eternally rewarded."

The poll also reveals that 58% of U.S. adults also believe in hell, and believe that it is a place "where people who have led bad lives and die without being sorry are eternally punished."

Among professing Christians those numbers are even higher.

What's interesting, is that among some groups of people death is becoming chic.

There are now Death Salons, and Death Cafés where people gather to eat cake, drink tea, and discuss death.

Well that sounds like a cheery afternoon!

(For those of you who are interested there is the "Death Café of the Ozarks" which every Sunday from 2:00 PM to 4:00 PM in Springfield.

If you skip out of church right now you can probably make it).

There are now over 100 such establishments in the United States.

Some colleges are now offering courses on "Death and Dying."

Now, to be honest, I'm not sure I would recommend you attending a college class on a death and dying or a Death Café for the simple fact that most of what you hear will not be biblical.

But death and dying is something that everyone needs to think about from time to time, for the simple reason that death and eternity are coming for all of us.

"Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment," (Hebrews 9:27, NIV84).

Revelation chapter 20 teaches some essential truths; we all live, we all die, we will all be resurrected, and we will all be evaluated by God.

If you’re in Christ all your sins were evaluated on the cross, and God sees you through the imputed righteousness of Christ.

You’ll be part of the first resurrection John speaks of in Rev. 20:6.

But if you’re outside of Christ, then there is a fearsome encounter awaiting you that John reveals at the end of Revelation 20.

There is looming across your horizon a time of final judgment.

“It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31, NIV84).

In this passage, John paints the picture of God’s courtroom where the lost will give an account.

There is 1) The Scene, 2) The Summons, 3) The Standard, and 4) the Sentence.

I. THE SCENE

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, ... .”

(Revelation 20:11–12, NIV84)

1. John, for the 6th time in the last two chapters, says, “I saw”

a. the Apostle has been given a panoramic view of the end time

1) he has been caught up into the third heaven into the very presence of the Lamb who sits upon his throne

b. in a series of visions he witnesses the great and terrible events that will take place as the world nears its end

c. the first ten verses of chapter twenty walks us through, in quick succession, the coming of the Lord, the Battle of Armageddon, the defeat of the Antichrist, and his False Prophet, the binding of Satan, the resurrection of the saints, the millennial kingdom, the loosing of Satan, and one last rebellion of mankind that ends in their destruction and the imprisonment of Satan in the Lake of Fire

2. now comes the last great event of world history before eternity — the judgment of all who refused to turn to God in faith

a. John sees a great white throne

A. JOHN SEES A POWERFUL THRONE

1. the first of two adjectives describing the throne is great — it comes from the word mega — a word John uses 80 times in the Book of Revelation — and which can mean large in size, but also mighty or powerful

ILLUS.

I can never read this passage without thinking of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.

The statue of President Lincoln sits on a large circular throne of gleaming white marble.

The chair sits on a dias — a raised platform — that is meant to convey authority and power.

His arms rest on bundles of wood, called fasces, that have represented power for centuries.

a. it’s an impressive and powerful scene that inspires as you stand before it

2. God’s throne of judgement is great, not necessarily in its size, but in its purpose because the One who sits on the throne is omnipotent, and omniscient

a. twenty-seven times in the Old Testament we read of God being enthroned

b.

Christ our Lord sits enthroned with the Father

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2, NIV84)

“[Jesus] who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand—with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.”

(1 Peter 3:22, NIV84)

3. the one from whom the earth and the heavens fled from is the Son of God to whom God the Father has given great authority to judge all those who rejected him

“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son, ... For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.

27 And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

28 “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice 29 and come out—those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.”

(John 5:22, 26–29, NIV84)

B. JOHN SEES A PURE THRONE

1. the other adjective John uses to describe this throne is white, it is a great throne, but it is also a white throne

2. virtually everywhere it is found in the Scriptures, the color white refers to purity

a. God’s great white throne is a place of absolute holiness, because the one who sits on it is holy and righteous

1) John doesn’t expressly tell us who is sitting on the, but from other passages it’s the one who has nail-prints in his hands, scars upon his brow, and lacerations on his back

2) there is a spear wound in his side

3) John sees the Lamb of God slain since the foundation of the world

b. but John sees more

1) John sees someone like a son of man ... dressed in a robe with a golden sash

2) his hair is white as bleached wool, and his eyes are like blazing fire, and his face shines like the sun

3) his feet are like burnished bronze, his voice is powerful like rushing water

4) out of his mouth comes a sharp, double-edged sword

c. this is the Son of God who became the Son of Man that he might become the Lamb of God, only to become the Lion of Judah!

3. his justice will be pure, but also inflexible

C. JOHN SEES AN IMPARTIAL THRONE

1. standing before this throne are the dead, great and small — they are all of the unsaved who have ever lived

a. this group is mentioned back in Rev. 20:5 “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended ... “

b. they have been resurrected and are standing before God’s throne

2. this is the time when all the lost from all the past millenniums of earth’s history are put on trial

a. there is no debate over their guilt or innocence

1) there will be a prosecutor, but no defender

2) there will be an accuser, but no advocate

3) there will be an indictment, but no defense mounted by the accused

4) convicting evidence will be presented, but there will be no rebuttal

b. the sentence will be final

II.

THE SUMMONS

“The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged ... .”

(Revelation 20:13, NIV84)

ILLUS.

Have you ever been served a summons?

A summons is a written notification served on a person as a legal demand to appear in court at a day specified to answer to the plaintiff.

It’s been years ago.

I was sitting at my desk when I heard the back door open.

A gentleman I didn’t know came to my office, and asked if I was the pastor.

I said yes, and he proceeded to introduce himself, and asked a number of questions about the church, and how we were doing, and how long I’d been here.

It was a nice chat.

After a few minutes of conversation, he reached into his coat pocket, handed me an envelope, and said, “You’ve been served.”