Purpose: To describe the judgment of sinners.
Aim: I want the listener to fear and reverence God’s holiness.
INTRODUCTION: Why would a loving God send people to hell? Many people don’t want to believe that hell exists, or that it only exists for those who have committed really bad things (which usually includes only those things that we aren’t personally guilty of). Today we will see the terror of facing God with our sins and then we will discover why the penalty, as horrifying as it is, is a fair and just penalty.
What would it be like to stand in the presence of the God of the universe with your sins unforgiven? Our text today answers that question.
REVIEW:
1:1-20 I. John’s Vision of the Past "the things which you have seen"
2:1-5:14 II. Christ’s Vision of the Present "the things which are"
Ch.6-22 III. John’s Vision of the Future "things which will take places"
6-7; 12-14 A. Satan’s war against God’s creation: the first six seals
8-11; 13:11-18; 15-18 B. The wrath of God: the seventh seal
Ch.19-20 C. The worship of God
19:1 1. A description of worship "salvation...glory...power"
19:2-6 2. Four reasons to worship God "true and righteous"
19:7-10 3. The Believer’s eternal union with Christ "marriage of the Lamb"
19:11-16 4. The King appears "He will rule them"
19:17-20:3 5. The King acts "great supper of God"
20:4-6 6. The results of following Christ
Vs.4b a. Persecution now "beheaded...not received the mark"
Vs.5, 6b b. Eternal life later "death has no power"
Vs.4a, c, 6 b. Blessing forever "Blessed and holy"
Vs.7-10 7. The results of NOT following Christ
Vs.7-8 a. Foolish decisions "come out to deceive"
Vs.9-10 b. Eternal death "fire...devoured them"
LESSON:
Vs.11-15 8. The eternal fate of the unforgiven
Many years ago a survey was taken of 607 heads of households in Wisconsin. They were all asked this question: Do you believe that you will go to heaven? 83 percent said they expected to go to heaven. Five percent said they didn’t know and seven percent declined to answer. Only five percent said they expected to go the opposite direction.
Are most people going to heaven? Jesus said, No. Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.(NAU)
So, what are the majority of the people going to experience when they meet God?
Vs.11-12a a. The scene
This same scene is described by Peter: 2 Peter 3:7 But by His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the Day of Judgment and destruction of ungodly men. (NAU) 2 Peter 3:10-12 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! (NAU)
Vs.11a (1) The throne "great white throne"
The word THRONE appears 45 times in Revelation, while it only appears 16 times in the rest of the NT.
The throne we see here is different than the one we saw in chapter four. Notice: Revelation 4:3 And He who was sitting was like a jasper stone and a sardius in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, like an emerald in appearance. (NAU)
The throne here is white which speaks of God’s purity and holiness. There is NO rainbow of God’s promise and there is no Lamb, just pure blazing holiness.
Vs.11b (2) The One on the throne "Him who sat upon it"
There is no question that this is Jesus Christ. John 5:22 "For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son, (NAU)
1 Timothy 6:14-16 ... the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, ... who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see. To Him be honor and eternal dominion! Amen. (NAU)
Vs.11c (3) The panic before the throne "earth and heaven fled away"
Remember what happened when the 6th seal was opened? Revelation 6:14-16 The sky was split apart like a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Then the kings of the earth and the great men and the commanders and the rich and the strong and every slave and free man hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains; and they said to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; (NAU)
Jesus said that this day will come. Matthew 24:35 "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (NAU)
When God comes in all His glory, there will be no place to hide and nothing that will remain a secret. Psalm 139:7-10 Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Your hand will lead me, And Your right hand will lay hold of me. (NAU)
Vs.12a (4) Those before the throne "dead...standing"
These are those who are spiritually dead. This is not where the unsaved are condemned, that has already happened, this is where they are sentenced. John 3:18 "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (NAU)
Notice that there are no distinctions between the rich and the poor or the beautiful and the homely, or powerful and the hopeless. "The great and the small" all stand before God.
Vs.12b-15 b. The sentence
Vs.12b-13 (1) The Degrees of punishment: the books "according to their deeds"
Vs.12 The amount of sin determines the amount of their punishment. Luke 12:47-48 "And that slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes, but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging, will receive but few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more. (NAU)
When God opens these books [ ] every sinful deed and thought will be made public. There will no longer be any secret sins. Luke 8:17 "For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. (NAU)
Some will protest that they did some good works that should be considered as well. Matthew 7:22-23 "Many will say to Me on that day, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ "And then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness. (NAU)
No amount of good works could ever erase the bad works. Titus 3:5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, (NAU) Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (NAU)
Everyone who is judged by their works will be condemned. Galatians 3:26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. (NAU)
Vs.13 The SEA and DEATH and HADES (or the grave) surrender the bodies to be reunited with the dead spirits of those without Christ.
Vs.14 (2) The destiny of the condemned "lake of fire"
What is hell like?
Hell is torment
Look back at verse 10: Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone ... and they will be tormented ... (NAU)
Hell is eternal
Revelation 20:10 ... day and night forever and ever (NAU)
Jude 13 [the ungodly are like] wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. (NAU)
Hell is conscious
Revelation 20:10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also... (NAU)
Hell is dark
Jude 13 [the ungodly are like] wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever. (NAU)
2 Peter 2:17 These are springs without water and mists driven by a storm, for whom the black darkness has been reserved. (NAU)
The March 1985 issue of Omni magazine reported a study by Dr. Maurice Rawlings, cardiologist and professor of medicine at the University Of Tennessee College Of Medicine in Chattanooga. He and his emergency room colleagues are constantly treating those who had near death or out of body experiences. It is now standard that those who have near death experiences, later speak of having experiences of light, lush green meadows, rows of smiling relatives and tremendous peace. However, in his study, reported in his book Beyond Death’s Door, Dr. Rawlings obtained new information by interviewing patients immediately after resuscitation while they are still too shaken to deny where they have been. Nearly 50% of the group of 300 interviewed reported lakes of fire and brimstone, devil-like figures and other sights hailing from the darkness of hell. He says they later change their story because most people are simply ashamed to admit they have been to hell, they won’t even admit it to their families. Concludes Dr. Rawlings, "Just listening to these patients has changed my whole life. There’s a life after death, and if I don’t know where I’m going, it’s not safe to die."
Vs.15 (3) The decision to punish: the book "book of life"
First we saw the BOOKS (plural) which contained the sins of every unsaved person. Now we see the BOOK OF LIFE which contains the names of those who have been forgiven by Christ. [ Picture of the throne]
Here we see a Judge, but no jury; the Prosecution but no defense; a sentence but no appeal. Matthew 16:26 "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (NAU)
An umpire named Babe Pinelli once called Babe Ruth out on strikes. When the crowd booed loudly at the call, the legendary Ruth turned to the umpire with disdain and said, "There’s 40,000 people here who know that the last pitch was ball, tomato head." Suspecting that the umpire would erupt with anger, the coaches and players braced themselves for Ruth’s ejection. However, the cool headed Pinelli replied, "Maybe so, Babe, but mine is the only opinion that counts."
Men and women need to realize that God’s judgment is the only one that counts. Often people say, "I don’t think that God would send people to hell." The bottom line is simple: it doesn’t matter what you think. What matters is what God is going to do. It won’t help to stand contemned before God and say, "But I thought..."
CONCLUSION: The "great" American philosopher, Homer Simpson, said on one of his television shows: "I’m not a bad guy! I work hard, and I love my kids. So why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I’m going to hell?" [1]
The answer to Homer Simpson’s question is that Jesus has already endured all the horrors of hell for us so we don’t have to go to hell. The question is, Do we truly love Jesus because of what he did for us on the Cross? If we turn our back on Christ’s love for us then we deserve hell.
If, on the other hand, we are trusting Christ’s work on the Cross we can KNOW for sure that heaven, not hell, is in our future. 1 Peter 1:3-5 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (NAU)
That is why having our names on the Book of Life is the greatest blessing we could ever have. Luke 10:20 "Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven." (NAU)
"A few years ago the National Transportation Safety Board released its official findings on the plane crash that killed John F. Kennedy, Jr., his wife, and his sister-in-law. The headlines read, "Crash of Kennedy plane blamed on pilot error." What happened is that JFK, Jr. became disoriented while flying and lost control of the plane. He trusted in his feelings instead of relying on the plane’s instruments to tell him the truth about what was happening with the plane. A news program interviewed a seasoned pilot who said, "When you become disoriented, it is easy to think you are flying level when in fact you may be in a steep descent. You have to trust your instruments, not your feelings." As I heard that, I thought, What a parable about life! When we look at the world around us, it is easy for us to respond and make decisions based on our feelings but our feelings are not trustworthy! We need to follow the sure guide, the Bible, the book that always tells us the truth about our situation and how we are to live." --Dr. Timothy Beougher [2]
In our sufferings for Christ there is joy, not so when we suffer for our sins. John Trapp [3]
[1]Morgan, R. J. Vols. for <2002- > have accompanying CD-ROMs.; Description based on: 2002 ed. Nelson’s annual preacher’s sourcebook.; 2006 Edition (34). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[2]Morgan, R. J. Vols. for <2002- > have accompanying CD-ROMs. Nelson’s annual preacher’s sourcebook.; 2007 Edition (328). Nashville, Tenn.: Thomas Nelson Publishers.
[3]Thomas, I. (1996). The golden treasury of Puritan quotations. Includes index of authors. General index created by Christian Clasics Foundation. (electronic ed.). Simpsonville SC: Christian Classics Foundation
