Eschatology 14 Of 16 The Great White Throne Judgment

• We can look through our history books and we can see where men have gone through some horrible times, and we rejoice that we did not have to live during those tragic times.

• We can look in our Bible and see a period of time known as the Great Tribulation, that is yet to come. The Bible says this will be a time of suffering like the world has never seen before. As Christians, we certainly rejoice that we will not be here to endure such afflictions.

• But the most dreadful time for lost men to face, is the time when lost men and women are going to be forced to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment. And again, we Christians greatly rejoice knowing that we will not have to appear at this judgment.

This will be the most dreadful time in the lives of lost men.

Illus: A minister was at a trial where a man had committed a very evil act. The Judge asked him to stand for the sentencing. As the minister sat behind him, he could not help but to notice that as he stood before the Judge who was preparing to sentence him, that his pants trousers were shaking because he was so fearful.

We can not imagine the fear that will take place in the lives of those who have lived their life in sin, who are standing before the throne, and now the Lord Jesus is preparing to sentence them to an eternity in Hell.

• It is bad enough when a man stands before a judge on this earth, and the judge tells him he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. The only thing he has to look forward to is knowing that sooner or later, death will deliver him from this situation.

• But we can not imagine how horrible it will be when lost men stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and He says, “Depart from me, ye curse into everlasting fire!”

Lost men will not even have the hope that death will free them from this terrible place called Hell.

People in this world in which we live have never experienced the fear that they will experience at the Great White Throne Judgment.

Today we live in an age when men and women have lost their fear of God. We see it in two ways, such as:

• From those who are unsaved. If they feared God, they would not live the way they live

• From those who claim to be saved. If they feared God, they would not live the way they live

WHY IS IT THAT PEOPLE DO NOT FEAR GOD?

Mostly because they can not see God. They remind me of some people that we know.

Illus: That is, when a particular person they do not like is not around, they will say all kinds of things behind their back. They talk tough! But that same person can walk into their presence, and they will change the subject.

Today, we have ungodly men who talk tough, because they can not see the Lord.

They TAKE HIS NAME IN VAIN, they mock him, but one day they are going to stand before Him and see Him in all HIS POWER and MAJESTY.

They are going to see:

• The One they rebelled against

• The One they mocked

• The One they cursed

• The One they ignored

• The One they despised

They are going to have to stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment and see Him in all HIS MAJESTY.

In a previous sermon, we looked at THE MAJESTY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, in this sermon we want to look at -

II. THE MULTITUDES OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

WHO WILL BE THERE?

Look at Rev. 20:12-13, we read, “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.”

Notice, the SMALL and the GREAT were there.

• If you are considered to be SMALL in the social circles that exist in our society, and you reject Christ, YOU WILL BE THERE!

• If you are considered to be GREAT in the social circles that exist in our society, and you reject Christ, YOU WILL BE THERE!

And notice what is going to happen when you are there. The Bible says in verse 13, “And the books were opened.”