Revelation 21 is brutal on the conscience, its a Tough subject, not a fun message about God's judgment, the verdict and punishment for sin. However it is in the Word of God, to ignore its message means we not tell truth of impending judgment and the end times. We warn people we love, warn our friends, family, children, warn them about how words and actions have consequences. if you will tolerate wrong thoughts, they result in wrong actions, one action can sow behavior patterns, become habits and addictions and ultimately these will not end well,
the warning in Revelation is not given to be mean, but to alert us, God reveals His righteous standard one day will be fulfilled. This message is not intended to terrorize or invoke unnecessary fear, but to warn us! Hebrews 9:27, reminds us of God’s promise, its God's promise of justice, “It is appointed unto man once to die and then comes judgment,” Jesus instructed John in chapter 1, "write down what you see, what was, is, and will be to come, Chapter 21 is what will be to come, Jesus reveals events of the future, where John sees the image of a judge, who is high and lifted up, seated on a great white throne, and all people dead and alive, great and small stand in judgment, The judgment place will be a great white throne, and the judge seated on the throne is Jesus! I hope this message will spur your desire to be faithful,
For its warning is not intended to terrorize or paralyze but to challenge you to be a fully devoted follower and witness, speaking with clarity and sensitivity because this is the stuff of eternity. Read Rev. 20:11-15
Years ago I entered a tennis tournament, same day as a wedding I was to officiate, dilemma, time match scheduled, was 10 am, could potentially conflict with the promise I made to officiate a wedding which would start at 1:30 pm, I set a plan, calculated the drive time, decided If I played fast, I can finish match in time to get back, shower and dress for the wedding, I would need to finish by 12:30, allow for a 20 minute drive, 15 minutes to shower, dress and get to the church, and I would have 10 minutes cushion to spare before the bride walks the aisle,
But the match went long, I wasn’t done at 12:30, with competitive juices running, I recalculated, justified I can keep playing as long as I finish by 12:40, eliminate the 10 minutes cushion, at 12:50 it wasn't done, but I could smell the finish, I justified staying, "I really do not need to take a shower, could just put a preaching robe over my clothes, and still officiate the wedding, no one will notice." Finally at 1 pm, I reluctantly had to forfeit the match, jumped in the car, drove home fast, arrived at 1:25, ran a comb thru my hair, pulled a robe over my sweaty shirt, shorts and tennis shoes,
The anxious bride had been worrying if the pastor had forgotten, it didn’t help her to see me drive up 5 minutes before the wedding, in smelly t shirt shorts and tennis shoes, I told her it would be alright, and with a robe concealing the inappropriate garments, I walked into the church, to officiate this holy event.
but boy did I feel embarrassed. Everybody else was dressed in their finest clothing. guys wore tuxes, looked handsome, girls were dressed in beautiful wedding garments. Here was the one representing God, wearing sweaty, smelly clothing, and officiating at a beautiful formal event and my clothes partially concealed by a robe were absolutely inappropriate.
In Revelation 20 John receives a vision which follows a wedding, from chap 19, the invited guests are given wedding garments appropriate, and are dressed for the formal occasion, It is critical we hear and understand this warning, because one day we will stand before Jesus, seated on the throne! we will see clearly the Contrast between His holiness and our dirty garments! this contrast is well described in Isaiah 64: Isaiah 64:6 “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.”
All our sacrifice, our generosity, our good actions, kind words, acts of forgiveness, noble deeds, they will all seem even shabbier than dirty clothes. Isaiah’s vision, “I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Angels were calling: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; whole earth is full of his glory.’ doorposts & thresholds trembled before Him, the temple was filled w smoke.” When Isaiah saw and experienced this Holy God, his response was immediate: "Woe to me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips, I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty." When Isaiah saw Holy God, All he could sense was the contrast, There was the purity and holiness of God. and then there was a man with unclean lips, dressed inappropriate for a holy God. O how that purity and holiness contrasted with his humble sinful nature, even his best actions paled in comparison to God's purity and standards of righteousness, it frightened him. God was pure, I am not. God is righteous, I fall so far short.
in Rom. 3:23, Paul describes the contrast …"There is no one righteous, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." When compared to our past, a glimpse of the purity and righteousness of God brings fresh conviction. Rev 20:12, John wrote I saw scrolls opened which contain the record's of a persons life. What we hear from Rev. 20:12 is in this court setting, before the great white throne judgment, the record of all our Past is being opened! includes our actions, willful sin, every word, all our actions even our secret works, they are recorded on a scroll, on judgment day they will be unsealed, opened and read publicly, it will be embarrassing for us, the garment we pull on over top of sweaty smelly t shirt and shorts for a dress formal occasion is stripped away, we will be exposed and there will be nothing hidden as the unveiling of the sins recorded of our past. the verdict will be pronounced, “the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books."
Wow! Pastor that is really Bad news! Is there any hope? Listen carefully, John writes, “Another book was opened, which is the book of life.” Book of life, What’s this book of life? Well, the “book of life” critically important. Whatever you do don’t miss it, Rev 13:8, “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast, all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb.” What we discover in the Word and this is essential to know, Everyone who belongs to Jesus, their name is written in that book, the Lamb's Book.
because John sees and warns us of the destination of those whose name is not found there. In Rev. 20:14-15, the verdict pronounced, all whose sins are exposed will be judged guilty and sentenced to eternal punishment. However If a name is found, is listed in the Lamb’s book of life, those sins are pardoned. Do you remember how I said that when I’d showed up for that wedding, that I was ashamed? my smelly garments were inappropriate for dress formal occasion. I will still feel that way when I come before the throne of judgment, because I will hear and know and my conscience will be seized by actions, words, sins of omission, commission, no mission. To appreciate, to know fully the work of God’s grace, we must grapple with the reality of judgment. I want to try to draw a picture for you. but will need some impromptu help to set the scene of God's court of judgment.
(Re-enact the court room with some simple props.) 4 chairs, robe, table or desk, gavel, 2 scrolls or books,
Ask for 4 volunteers, assign roles, 1. defense attorney (Jesus), 2. prosecutor (Satan), 3. Judge (God), and 4. the accused, defendant!
Seat the defendant beside the defense attorney, and across aisle from the prosecutor, Announce "all rise" have robed judge enter while everyone stands, then is seated.
You give scrolls/books to the prosecutor. ask him to snarl and stare down the accused,
The Bible tells us before the throne of God, satan is an accuser, he is the enemy of the brethren, he is before the throne of God, day and night accusing the brethren. what we know he is the most evil person you will ever meet. you will not like him in eternity. Also as you look beside you, will see your lawyer, humble, gentle looking man you may think he looks familiar.
The judge in full flowing robes is holding a gavel. He is fair and just, he commands respect. He sits high and lifted up and will say, "Let the trial begin."
The prosecutor rises introduces himself, "My name is Satan and I am here to show you why this person belongs in hell." Then he will open your record all the sins, past and present, recorded on the scroll and he will proceed to read and reveal embarrassing details, all the lies you told, things you stole, times you cheated, sins of omission, what you should have done but didn’t and sins of commission, things you shouldn’t have done but you did. Satan will reveal horrible things that you forgot and the more he speaks, the further down in your seat will you sink. feel so embarrassed you can’t look at anyone, even your own lawyer, as the Devil piles on. As embarrassed as you will feel at Satan for exposing all these things publicly, you may even feel upset at your representative who will sit by silently, not interrupt or defend your reputation at all. You will say, yes, I know I did those bad things, but I’ve done some good in my life. Couldn’t that at least equal out part of the harm I’ve done? Satan will finish with a fury, "This man belongs in hell, he is guilty of all that I have charged and there is not a person who can prove otherwise.” Wow!
The Judge will say, "thank you mr. prosecutor, we will now hear from the defense." When it is his turn, your lawyer simply asks, "May I approach the bench." Satan objects vehemently, Judge announces "I will allow it."
He will rise, now for the first time you will be able to see your defender, his humility is apparent but also splendor and majesty shines, you now suddenly realize why he seems so familiar. This is Jesus. He will proceed to the bench, nod to the judge, "Father," then he will turn to address the court on your behalf.
"Satan was correct in saying this man sinned, I won’t deny or defend any of these allegations. The wages of sin is death, this man deserves to be punished." Jesus will take a deep breath and turn to his Father with outstretched arms and point to his hands and say, "but, I died on the cross so this man might have eternal life, he has accepted me as his Savior, he is mine." Then he will open a 2nd book, "this man's name is written in my book of life and all the names recorded there no one can snatch from me.”
Satan will get furious. "This man deserves justice, not mercy." Jesus will look at his Father, "There is nothing else that needs to be done. I’ve done it all." The judge will lift his mighty hand and slam the gavel down. Verdict is pronounced, "This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed." Satan rants and raves, "I won’t give up, I’ll win the next one." After the case, you will ask Jesus, "Have you ever lost a case?" Jesus will smile and say, "Everyone who comes to me and asks me to represent them will receive the same verdict as you, Paid in Full."
“If we will not understand the meaning of judgment, we will never come to fully appreciate the experience of grace.” Do you understand the meaning of judgment? Do you appreciate fully the meaning of grace? will you receive it today. Rom 10:9, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead you will be saved.”
