The Great White Throne Judgment

Kim Alexander

Understanding the End Times • Sermon • Submitted 2 years ago

Last Judgment

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This passage deal with the resurrection of the unrighteous dead, and their eternal judgment.

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Introduction: What follows Satan’s Final Rebellion and Doom? Well, according to our text, the judgment of the wicked dead follows at the Great White Throne.

We must be careful that we do not mix up the Judgment Seat of Christ with the Great White Throne Judgment. The Judgment Seat of Christ is the place where believers will stand before God and be rewarded for their faithful service. Whereas the Great White Throne Judgment is the place where the unrighteous dead will be judged for their wicked deeds.

Scripture speaks of two very distinct judgments, and they are separated by time. The Judgment Seat of Christ takes place after the Rapture of the Church, and the Great White Throne Judgment takes place after the millennium and the doom of Satan. It is the last judgment.

· Daniel 12:2 - And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

· John 5:28-29 - Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

· Revelation 20:4-6 - And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Dr. John MacArthur calls Revelation 20:11-15, “The most serious, sobering, and tragic passage in the entire Bible.”

So, what do we learn about the Great White Throne Judgment?

I. The Judge – 20:11

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

A. Then I saw a great white throne

Why does John mention this great white throne? Because it was in his face – he could not miss it. It stood out! John is telling his readers what he saw. He was an eyewitness.

I also might add that “white” in Scripture speaks of purity, holiness, and righteousness. This is telling us that only perfect justice will flow from this throne.

B. And Him who sat on it,

Here we have the judge who sits on the great white throne. Bible teachers believe that Christ is the one sitting on this throne. We need to be reminded in theology that God is ONE (here we have the Godhead or the Trinity). God the Father is God, Jesus Christ is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. Why? Because God is One.

Look down at verse 12, we read,

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,

What does the Bible teach us about who will judge the wicked dead when they stand before the great white throne judgment?

· John 5:22 - For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

· 2 Timothy 4:1 - I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:

D. from whose face the earth and heaven fled away

John also tells us that the heavens and the earth fled away from Him. This may be speaking about the dissolution of the old heavens and the old earth. We read of this in:

· Matthew 24:35 – Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

· 2 Peter 3:10 - But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

We know that God is going to do away with what we see today as the heavens and what we view today as earth. And that He will create a new heaven and new earth (that is another chapter).

As I read this the following thought came to my mind – NO DISTRACTIONS!There will be nothing that gets in the way with this final judgment of the wicked dead. No one will gaze off and dwell on what is around them. They will be front and center of this great white throne judgment.

E. There was found no place for them

What this is telling us is that there will be no place to hide from God. No one will be able to flee into the heavens to get away from God, and no one will be able to crawl into a cave or hide under rocks to hide from God.

Who are the “them”? This brings us to our next point:

II. The Judged – 20:12-13

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

A. The dead standing before God

The dead here are the dead from the beginning of time to the present who said, no to the grace of God. Here we are looking at the wicked dead.

The word “dead” is used 4 times in our text, and “dead” and “death” together are used 7 times.

These wicked dead are standing before a righteous, fair, and impartial judge. They are standing before Jesus Christ who does all things right.

Note how the judged are presented – “the dead, small and great”. Here we have the least to the greatest. The unpopular to the most popular. The very poor to the wealthiest. The beggar to the most successful businessman. However, at this judgment status in life means nothing. Now they are all equal before God.

It is the dead resurrected standing before Jesus Christ!

B. Books were opened

These books here have been called by theologians, books of works, or books of deeds. One author I read called these books – God’s Evidence.

What we see here is that our God is a recorded keeper. He has in the past kept records, and He continues to keep perfect records down to the present. Everything anyone has said, thought, or done has been recorded by God. Nothing slips past God (see Ecclesiastes 12:14; Matthew 16:27; Luke 8:17; Romans 2:16).

Years ago, I met a missionary named Dwayne Howe and after spending time with him he showed me the journals that he has written about his 30-plus years of ministry in the Brazilian rainforest. Dwayne kept tedious notes about each day of his wild adventures (I’m in his notes, and so are three mission teams from Spirit Lake Baptist Church). We were a part of some of his adventures in Acre, Brazil. Dwayne journals every day!

If a missionary keeps records of his earthy days so well, don’t think that an all-knowing God doesn’t keep records for a moment.

I heard a man talk about a friend of his showing him his herd of sheep. He said that they all looked the same to me, but when they came running at the sound of the shepherd’s voice that he introduced each sheep to him by name. The shepherd knew his sheep.

Our God will keep perfect records – there will be no mistakes.

C. Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life

The book of Life will be opened just to show those standing before God at this judgment that their name is NOT in the Book of Life. This is the MOST IMPORTANT BOOK of all ages. This book determines who makes it to heaven and will spend eternity with God. If your name is in this book, you are among the saved, but if your name is missing from this book, it means that you refused the grace of God, and you rejected the person of Jesus Christ in life.

God is just and fair. He will show them His Book of Life. He will show them that their name is missing. And don’t miss this – there are NO clerical errors. There will be no second look.

D. The dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

The dead will be judged based on their works, by the things which were written in the books. Can you imagine the number of books God possesses? God will be able to show every individual everything they have done in an instant. And these people standing before God will be judged based on their works.

Degrees of punishment: Matthew 10:15; 16:27; Luke 12:42; Revelation 20:12-13; 22:12

E. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and hades delivered up the dead who were in them.

How many millions of people have been lost at sea – perished in the deep blue oceans? Millions I assure you. Well, the sea will give up its dead. God will be able to reassemble them and they will stand before Him at the great white throne.

We also read that death and heads delivered up the dead who are in them. What is meant by death? Well, the word can simply mean the grave. The grave holds our bodies until resurrection day. Well, it apparently will be resurrection day for the wicked dead. God will bring their bodies to stand before Him. What is hades? Hades is the waiting place for the souls of the wicked dead. So, then, the grave holds the body, and hades hold the soul. Here at this point, we see that God will reunite the bodies and souls of the wicked dead to stand before Him at the great white throne of judgment.

F. They were judged. Each one according to his works.

Every wicked person will be judged according to his works. Keep in mind that no Christian will be at this judgment. This is a judgment only for the wicked, evil, monstrous individual who said no to the repeated calls of God to be saved.

III. The Judgment – 20:14-15

Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

What will the verdict be at this judgment? Well, God will throw death and hades into the lake of fire. Again, I believe that what we are seeing here is that the body that mankind had on earth, and the soul (the seat of emotions) will one day be thrown into the lake of fire.

What is the lake of fire? It is called here in verse 14, “the second death.” The words “second death” speak of dying a second time. I heard it best explained like this:

Born once, die twice

Born twice, die once

We are born once when our mothers give birth to us and we are born twice when we receive God’s Son, Jesus Christ into our life. However, we will die twice if we are only born physically and not born spiritually (a second birth), and we will only die once physically if we have been born twice – we have had a spiritual birth as described in John 3.

It is very clear from verse 15, that anyone whose name was not found in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire. This is a picture of the final judgment. This place of punishment is called, Hell. Hell is an eternal separation from God.

Dr. Warren Wiersbe wrote, “Hell (“the lake of fire”) is a witness to the righteous character of God. He must judge sin. Hell is also a witness to human responsibility, the fact that people are not robots or helpless victims but creatures able to make choices. God does not send people to hell; they send themselves by rejecting the Savior (Matthew 25:41; John 3:16-21). Hell is also a witness to the awfulness of sin. If we once saw sin as God sees it, we would understand why a place such as hell exists. (The Wiersbe Study Bible).

Hell is a very real place. Hell is an eternal place – there is no checkout from hell. Here is how hell is described in Scripture:

· Matthew 13:41-42 – The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

· Matthew 12:36-37 - But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

· Philippians 1:28 - and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.

· Matthew 25:46 - And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

· 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 - in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

· Romans 2:9 - tribulation and anguish, on every soul of a man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek;

Charles Spurgeon penned, “Think lightly of hell, and you will soon think lightly of the cross. . . . He who does not believe that God will cast unbelievers into hell will not be sure that He takes believers into heaven” (“Future Punishment” quoted from Exalting Jesus in Revelation P. 353).

The Horrors of Hell

· Mark 9:47-48 – their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

· Revelation 19:20 – lake of fire burning with brimstone.

· Matthew 18:8 – everlasting fire.

· Matthew 25:46 – everlasting punishment.

· Matthew 7:13 – destruction.

· 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 – flaming fire.

Let’s play a Bible game – Finish the Scripture verse:

· For the wages of sin is ________, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.(Romans 6:23)

· And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the ____________. (Hebrews 9:27)

Conclusion: Will you stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ – at the place where believers will receive rewards, or will you stand before God at the great white throne judgment – the place where you will be forever separated from God?

You are in the valley of decision right now. You need to decide while you are living, breathing, and have your being. Decide now to follow Jesus Christ! Once you are dead your lack of decision will be sealed forever. You see, after death, there is no decision.

Our text taught us:

1. There is a judge (Jesus Christ), and He is righteous.

2. There are the judged (wicked dead) and they will be raised to stand before the great white throne.

3. There is the judgment (second death) and it will be the lake of fire, hell, and eternal separation from God.

Understanding the end times ought to cause us to live with more urgency than ever. Now is the time to decide for Jesus Christ. Now is the time to live for Jesus Christ. And now is the time to share the love of Jesus Christ with others.

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