11STUDY IN REVELATION 36
The Great White Throne Judgment
Revelation 20: 11-15
Many people today scoff at the idea of a final judgment. They think that the preaching and teaching of the final judgment is absolutely hysterical. Scripture tells us that every believer and every unbeliever will stand before God in a final judgment.
Who is the Great White Throne Judgment for? Believer Unbeliever
V. 11 tells us the place and the time of this judgment.
The place of this judgment is before the Great White Throne of God.
There are two things we should notice about this throne.
1. This throne is great. This gives us the idea of power and authority. The Great White throne will have more authority than any judicial system ever known to man.
God’s decision will be :
a. Final. There will be no opportunity to appeal His court.
b. For eternity. There will be no life sentence, since you will never die. There will be no chance of parole for good
behavior.
Everyone who stands before the Great White throne has rejected the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
There will be no TRUE believers standing before the Great White throne.
Hbr 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
Hbr 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more [shall we not escape] if we turn away from Him who [speaks] from heaven,
2. This Throne will be white. This tells us that the one who sits on this throne is Pure.
Not a single unbeliever will be able to claim purity based on his/her own abilities or goodness.
Even as a believer I am unable to stand before God as a pure and righteous man. The only way we are able to stand in purity and righteousness is to stand in the pure and righteous blood of Jesus Chris, God’s own Son.
God will judge in purity and righteousness.
Psa 96:12-13 Let the field be joyful, and all that [is] in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.
Mat 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
*Mar 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." *
The time will be when the earth and the heaven flee.
The earth and the heavens, as we know them will some day be destroyed. That is not some preacher’s scare tactic but a promise from the Word of God.
Mat 24:35-44 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
But as the days of Noah [were], so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Then two [men] will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
Two [women will be] grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
2Pe 3:7 “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
V. 12 shows the people that will be present.
1. Ordinary people will be at the Great White throne Judgment.
Good deeds won’t matter now. Giving won’t help you here. You won’t be able to smile, charm or beg your way in.
2. The greatest of mankind will be there. The rich and famous, the Kings and Queens, the high society folk.
Those who are used to running the show, making the decisions and ordering people around will be standing there, powerless.
The Books were opened and another book was opened, which is the book of life.
The dead were judged, according to what was written in the books.
Notice they are judged based on hear-say [he said/ she said]
The books that are opened are the books of records. In these books are recorded, everything every unbeliever has every done. There is nothing added and nothing taken away. What you see is who you really are.
Mat 11:22-23 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment than for you.
And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Jer 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart, [I] test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
There is another book that gets opened and it is the book of Life. Would you believe that every persons name is written in the Book of Life? God’s desire is that every man, woman, boy and girl live for eternity with Him.
When a person refuses to accept His Son, that persons name is erased from the Book of Life.
Exd 32:32-33 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."
And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
V. 13 Tells of a resurrection to judgment.
There has already been one resurrection. It took place 1000 years earlier and was the resurrection of the believers.
Notice the places that will give up their dead.
1. They will come from the sea. Even the deepest parts of the ocean, the deepest lakes in the world will be unable to hold the bodies on the Day of Judgment. Man may not be able to reach them but God will call them out.
2. The grave will give up her dead as well. Man made or natural disaster, those who are buried in the ground will be brought out. Those caves where miners or explorers were lost, out of reach of machines and man, God will be able to reach them. [The word hell in the KJV is the Greek word grave]
Vs. 14-15 The terrible punishment that awaits.
Who goes into the Lake of fire first? Death and hell [Hades]
Hell or hades is the place where those who refuse Jesus are sent, when they die to await the final judgment.
Lake of fire is the second and final death of all unbelievers. Some will argue that the term Lake of fire does not mean a real fire. We need to understand that if it is not a real fire, it is something much, much worse.
Mat 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.
Mat 22:13 Then the king said to the servants, ’Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Mat 24:50-51 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for [him] and at an hour that he is not aware of,
and will cut him in two and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 25:30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Remember that anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be condemned to spending the rest of eternity in the Lake of fire. There will be none who can claim exemption, based on being a member of any church. They will not be exempt just because they are our children, grandchildren or friends.
If WE don’t tell them, I wonder, will they ever hear?
STUDY IN REVELATION 36
The Great White Throne Judgment
Revelation 20: 11-15
Many people today scoff at the idea of a final judgment. They think that the preaching and teaching of the final judgment is absolutely hysterical. Scripture tells us that every believer and every unbeliever will stand before God in a final judgment.
Who is the Great White Throne Judgment for? Believer Unbeliever
V. 11 tells us the and the of this judgment.
The place of this judgment is before the Throne of God.
There are two things we should notice about this throne.
1. This throne is . This gives us the idea of power and authority. The Great White throne will have more authority than any judicial system ever known to man.
God’s decision will be :
a. Final. There will be no opportunity to appeal His court.
b. For eternity. There will be no life sentence, since you will never die. There will be no chance of parole for good
behavior.
Everyone who stands before the Great White throne has rejected the offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
There will be no believers standing before the Great White throne.
Hbr 2:3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,
Hbr 12:25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more [shall we not escape] if we turn away from Him who [speaks] from heaven,
2. This Throne will be . This tells us that the one who sits on this throne is .
Not a single unbeliever will be able to claim purity based on his/her own abilities or goodness.
Even as a believer I am unable to stand before God as a pure and righteous man. The only way we are able to stand in purity and righteousness is to stand in the pure and righteous blood of Jesus Chris, God’s own Son.
God will judge in purity and righteousness.
Psa 96:12-13 Let the field be joyful, and all that [is] in it. Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge the world with righteousness, And the peoples with His truth.
Mat 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
*Mar 8:38 For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." *
The will be when the and the flee.
The earth and the heavens, as we know them will some day be destroyed. That is not some preacher’s scare tactic but a promise from the Word of God.
Mat 24:35-44 “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.
But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
But as the days of Noah [were], so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark,
and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.
Then two [men] will be in the field: one will be taken and the other left.
Two [women will be] grinding at the mill: one will be taken and the other left.
Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming.
But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.”
2Pe 3:7 “But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.”
V. 12 shows the people that will be present.
1. people will be at the Great White throne Judgment.
Good deeds won’t matter now. Giving won’t help you here. You won’t be able to smile, charm or beg your way in.
2. The of mankind will be there. The rich and famous, the and Queens, the high society folk.
Those who are used to running the show, making the decisions and ordering people around will be standing there, powerless.
The were opened and another was opened, which is the book of .
The dead were , according to what was in the books.
Notice they are judged based on hear-say [he said/ she said]
The books that are opened are the books of records. In these books are recorded, everything every unbeliever has every done. There is nothing added and nothing taken away. What you see is who you really are.
Mat 11:22-23 But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the Day of Judgment than for you.
And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
Jer 17:10 I, the LORD, search the heart, [I] test the mind, Even to give every man according to his ways, According to the fruit of his doings.
There is another book that gets opened and it is the book of . Would you believe that every persons name is written in the Book of Life? God’s desire is that every man, woman, boy and girl live for eternity with Him.
When a person refuses to accept His Son, that persons name is erased from the Book of Life.
Exd 32:32-33 Yet now, if You will forgive their sin--but if not, I pray, blot me out of Your book which You have written."
And the LORD said to Moses, "Whoever has sinned against Me, I will blot him out of My book.
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
V. 13 Tells of a resurrection to .
There has already been one resurrection. It took place years earlier and wad the resurrection of the .
Notice the places that will give up their dead.
1. They will come from the . Even the deepest parts of the ocean, the deepest lakes in the world will be unable to hold the bodies on the Day of Judgment. Man may not be able to reach them but God will call them out.
2. The ______________ will give up her dead as well. Man made or natural disaster, those who are buried in the ground will be brought out. Those caves where miners or explorers were lost, out of reach of machines and man, God will be able to reach them. [The word hell in the KJV is the Greek word grave]
Vs. 14-15 The terrible punishment that awaits.
Who goes into the Lake of fire first? and [Hades]
Hell or hades is the place where those who refuse Jesus are sent, when they die to await the final judgment.
Lake of fire is the second and final death of all unbelievers. Some will argue that the term Lake of fire does not mean a real fire. We need to understand that if it is not a real fire, it is something much, much worse.
Mat 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.
Mat 22:13 Then the king said to the servants, ’Bind him hand and foot, take him away, and cast [him] into outer darkness; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Mat 24:50-51 the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for [him] and at an hour that he is not aware of,
and will cut him in two and appoint [him] his portion with the hypocrites. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Mat 25:30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’
Remember that anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life will be condemned to spending the rest of eternity in the Lake of fire. There will be none who can claim exemption, based on being a member of any church. They will not be exempt just because they are our children, grandchildren or friends.
If WE don’t tell them, I wonder, will they ever hear?
