Rev. 20:11-15
5.31.15
Last week we talked about what the Gospel is and the importance of that message. Today I want to take as our subject, the Urgency of the Gospel. I want to use a passage in Revelation 20 to impress this upon our minds.
Come with me to the last great event of human history. This is the end of the world. This is final judgement day. We do not have all the details about this; but God has let us know how the world will end. He has revealed in His word the way the current order of things will conclude. He has shown us how the eternal kingdom will begin. And most importantly, He has told us how our decisions now will affect our eternal state. It seems to me that is pretty important stuff. I hope you make an A in that class you’re taking; but how important is that in relationship to your condition for all of eternity. I hope the home team wins the game; but either way you’ll be ok. I hope you get that promotion or that better job; but I’m even more interested in where you will be 10 billion years from now. Nothing should take priority over that!
So we go to our text Rev 20:11-15. “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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”i
This morning we will examine the nature of this event, the necessity of this judgement, and then we will apply all that to the urgency of the gospel.
I. Nature of this Event
A. Overwhelming in its Majesty.
John describes the scene, “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.” The Judge of All the earth has taken His seat in the court room of Heaven. John sees Him there on His throne—a white throne, symbolic of radiance, glory, and most importantly purity. It is a day like no other day. The glory of the King overshadows all else. His gaze penetrates and intimidates even the heavens. All things are naked and bare before Him. No place to hide, no place to flee, no one escapes the accountability of the day.
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it….” Who sits on this throne? Who possesses such indescribable authority and majesty? Who is worthy to execute this judgement upon these multitudes?
John 5 gives a clear answer to that question. “For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son, 23 that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him (vs 22-23).” Verse 26-30 “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, 27 and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man. 28 Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice 29 and come forth -- those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
The Father has given Him authority to execute judgment over all mankind, because He is the Son of Man. He who sits on this throne is both God and man. He is both Son of God and Son of Man. Do you know Jesus in this light?
Is this the one who slept in a stinky manger as a babe because there is no room for Him in the inn? Is this He who tenderly sits little children on His lap and teaches His followers lessons on humility? Is this the one who stooped down to wash the disciples feet, even the feet of Judas? Is this He who stood silent as Pilot’s soldiers slapped his face and spat on Him? Do you see how far down He came to bring you and me salvation? Do you see the contrast to who He is in all His glory, and the depths He stooped to lift us up. This is your King. He laid it all down to be a sacrifice for. But in our text John sees Him seated—now Pilot stands before his Judge. Now Herod gives account to Him. Now He has taken up His rightful place as Judge of All.
This judgment is:
B. Comprehensive in its Scope.
Rev. 20:12 “And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God….” Nobody is exempt. The dead, small and great, stand before Him. Kings and paupers alike will give an account for the deeds done in this body. Someone has said, “Death is the great leveler.” Position and bank account don’t mean much when we breathe our last breath. Everybody comes into this life naked, and everybody leaves naked.ii And most of the things people spend their time and energy on now, won’t mean a thing on that day. The judgment will be comprehensive in its examination. Every idle word, every whisper, every secret event will be brought to light. Luke 12:2-3, “For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, nor hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have spoken in the ear in inner rooms will be proclaimed on the housetops.” So Rev. 20:12 concludes “and books were opened.”
This judgment is:
C. Just in its Verdict.
Every mouth will be stopped when the books are opened. People think they will stand before God and argue their case. But the books do not lie and the evidence will be overwhelming. At that day, everyone will know that God is right in His judgment. Job was a righteous man. He didn’t understand all that was happening in his life. In his conversation with friends, he kept asking for the chance to come before God and plead his case. Listen to what he said in chapter 23:3-4 “Oh, that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat! 4 I would present my case before Him, And fill my mouth with arguments.” But when he actually encountered God, he was awestruck and went silent (Job 40:3-5). That happened to the most righteous man alive at that time. If the righteous scarcely be saved, Peter asked, where will the ungodly and sinner appear? (1 Peter 4:18).
Here they are in our text standing before God. Rev. 20:12 “…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. 13 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.” The Book of Life is a record of all those who have receive Christ as Lord and Savior. Rev. 21:27 calls it the Lamb’s Book of Life.iii Paul refers to it in Phil. 4:3. And Rev 13:8 calls it “…the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? It is if you have surrendered your life to Christ. It is if you have received forgiveness of sin through His death on the cross. It is if you have been born of His Spirit.iv It is only through the Lamb that anyone gets into the Book of Life. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”
“As it is written: (Rom 3:10), ‘There is none righteous, no, not one….” No one gets his/her name in that book by the works of the law (Rom 3:20). No one qualifies for eternal life except by the Lamb that was slain before the foundation of the world. So our text concludes in verse 15 with these awe-filled, foreboding words, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
This Great White Throne judgment is directed to those people who have not received Christ. It is usually referred to as the resurrection of the unjust (or unjustified) to distinguish it from the resurrection of the just that occurred 1000 years earlier at the rapture.v
So we have talked about the most important book, the Book of Life. What are the other books about? God’s moral law is recorded in this book (the Bible). Sinners will be judged according to His law, not according to what they collectively have decided is right or wrong. As the Creator, as the Beginning and the End, God decides what behavior is ok and what behavior is not ok. It doesn’t make a bit of difference what the Supreme Court of America says, because in the final analysis that court is not supreme. We’re seeing the real Supreme Court here in our text. There is no jury, no public vote, and only one Judge on the bench. And what He says goes! He is God and there is none beside Him (Isa. 43:11). “All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?" (Dan 4:34-35).
Rev 20:12 “And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.” Each person is given just judgment according to the deeds done in this body. Without the blood of the Lamb they stand guilty; then their guilt is specifically scrutinized according to their deeds recorded in the books. Not every sinner is going to receive the same level of punishment as Hitler or Stalin. It will be according to their deeds. In Mark 12:40 Jesus spoke of those who would receive “greater condemnation” (degrees of condemnation).vi And it will be absolutely just. But it will be the Lake of Fire for all who are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
This judgment will be:
D. Final in its Outcome.
There is no court of appeals. There is no second chance. There will be no escape. Notice the phrase in Rev 20:14 “Then Death and Hadesvii were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” This is the final separation—the second death. 2 Thess 1:8-9 says, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9 They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (NIV).
Shut out from the presence: it is the presence of God that brings life. He is the source of eternal life. If you’re shut out from presence of God, you’re shut off from the flow of eternal lifeviii—you’re twice dead, you’re without hope. And the Bible describes this judgement as an everlasting judgment. Dan 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” (disgrace, reproach, shame). The same word for everlasting used to describe the resurrection of godly is also used to describe the resurrection of the ungodly. If the “everlasting” of the godly lasts forever, so does the “everlasting” of the ungodly. In Matt. 18:8-9 Jesus talked about the “everlasting fire” of hell and in Mark 9:48 He describes it as a place where 'Their worm does not die And the fire is not quenched.'
So why is this judgment happening”
II. Necessity of this Event
A. Required for the New Order to be fully realized.
You can see that by examining the context of Rev. 20. It is part of the process of putting away evil so that righteousness can fill heaven and earth. Just prior to this judgment the Lord casts the devil into the Lake of Fire. Rev 20:6-10 “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. Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
How many would like to see the Devil cast into the Lake of Fire so that he can never again work his diabolical evil? Me too! Now how many would like to see All Evil put away forever and ever? That is what is happening at the Great White Throne Judgment.ix Evil is like cancer. You can’t just ignore it. It spreads its destructive influence. A little leaven leavens the whole lump, Paul said in 1Cor. 5:6. This judgment is the clearing of the last obstacle to a perfect paradise. Immediately after this, John sees the New Heaven and New Earth.
Take away the man-made chapter break between Rev. 20 and Rev. 21. Rev. 20:15 “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” Rev 21:1-5 “Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. 2 Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. 4 And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." 5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful.” Also read verse 27. “But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.”
You can’t have an everlasting heaven without an everlasting hell! Satan’s nature will not change with time, neither will his followers (both fallen man and fallen angels).
B. Hell is required for the free will of these rebels to not be violated.
The same people who fault God for there being a hell would fault Him for eradicating free will. I can hear their complaint: Why would a loving God take free will from people and make them zombie slaves to serve Him? If He did that, His critics would scream just as loud about that as they do about hell. Eccl. 7:29 says, “God made man upright but he has searched out many schemes (Matt. 25:41). God made man in His own image.x He gave to man a spirit that will last forever and ever. He gave to man free will, the right to make his own moral choices. With that free will comes the capacity to love and enjoy love. This is what heaven is all about. “Now abideth these three: faith, hope, and love; but the greatest of these is love.” Without the capacity to experience love, heaven would not be heaven.
People go to hell by their own choice and against God’s will.xi It never was and never will be God’s desire for people to go to hell. In fact, hell was created for Satan and his angels, not for people (Matt. 25:41). 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”xii “Do I have any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?" says the Lord GOD, "and not that he should turn from his ways and live?” (Ezek 18:23). Verses 30-32 "Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways," says the Lord GOD. "Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. For why should you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of one who dies," says the Lord GOD.
"Therefore turn and live!" This is God’s cry to all humanity. I have no pleasure in your destruction, turn to Me and live. What people must understand is this: turning to God is the only way to live. Without Him we wither and die, for He alone is the source of life. I can’t reject God without rejecting eternal life at the same time.
In his book, The Problem of Pain, C. S. Lewis writes, "In the long run the answer to all those who object to the doctrine of Hell is itself a question: 'What are you asking God to do?' To wipe out their past sins and, at all costs, to give them a fresh start, smoothing every difficulty and offering every miraculous help? But He has done so, on Calvary. To forgive them? They will not be forgiven. To leave them alone? Alas, I am afraid that is what he does."xiii
The self-condemnation of man comes from his rebellion against the Creator. He insists in going his own way, even though it leads to his own eternal destruction. Yet, God has gone to extraordinary links to give him eternal life.
John 3:16-20 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 "He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.”
With every moral choice men are shaped little by little into the being they choose to be.xiv God does not want the wicked to go to hell, but they can exist nowhere else. They could never enjoy heaven where God rules supreme. It is His rulership they despise. They have chosen to follow the Devil in his rebellion against God and it takes them both to the same place.
I’ve given a couple of reasons why this judgment is required. But we do not know the necessity of hell through human reasoning.xv We know it’s there because divine revelation has told us it is there. It really all comes down to how you view the Bible. If you understand Scripture to be divine revelation from God,xvi then you must accept the clear language of our text. It is a straightforward picture of the future. If you see the Bible as mere human writings, then you can fanaticize anything you want. You can rationalize false doctrines like annihilation and universalism. You can tell yourself sweet nothings and then argue the logic with others. I am convinced that this word is a revelation of truth—take it or leave it, like it or lump it, none of that will change the reality. We do not know much about heaven or hell. There are lots of unanswered questions concerning both. Deut 29:29 "The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.” We are given enough information to know what to avoid and what to pursue. We are given enough information to choose life instead of death. We are given adequate warning to turn from our own ways and turn to God.
Conclusion: The Urgency this brings to our message
Hell is one of the most politically incorrect subjects of our society. I watch Christian leaders blush when asked about hell by the secular media. The people who ought to be blushing are the ones headed that way. But somehow we have gotten the idea that we have to somehow shield Christianity from the embarrassment of hell. As if somehow God made a mistake and we have to cover for Him. As if somehow we have to make what He has done acceptable to His critics.
Jesus spoke more straightforward about hell than anybody else. Here’s an example from Matt 10:28 “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” That statement is about as far from politically correct as you can get in our society. Why did Jesus say that? Because He does not want anybody going to hell. He wants us to know the facts as they are. I don’t think we can scare people into loving God. God wooes us with His love;xvii but He awakens us with His warnings.xviii The old hymn puts it well. “It was grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.”xix
An awakened conscience is a gift from God. Yesterday at about 6:15 pm I was leaning back on my easy chair taking it easy in the den. Suddenly the most objectionable sound came ringing out on my phone. It was an alert warning me of a possible tornado in my area. I didn’t like the sound of that warning; but I had enough good sense to pay attention to and alter my behavior accordingly. The message of hell is not designed to scare people into loving God. It is designed to inform them of reality and truth. It is designed to alert them to possible, serious danger.
“Charles G. Finney, a young lawyer was sitting in a village law office in the state of New York.…It was very early in the day; and he was all alone when the Lord began to deal with him. ‘Finney, what are you going to do when you finish your course?’ ‘Put out a shingle and practice law.’ ‘Then what?’ ‘Get rich.’ ‘Then what?’ ‘Retire.’ ‘Then what?’ ‘Die.’ ‘Then what?’ “And the words came trembling, ‘The judgment.’ He ran for the woods a half mile away. All day he prayed, and vowed that he would never leave until he had made his peace with God. Finney came out of the woods that evening, after a long struggle, with the high purpose of living henceforth to the glory of God….”xx
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom….” (Ps 111:10).
The Gospel message is not so much about hell as it is the way of eternal life. We have a message entrusted to us. Our message is supremely important. It is an urgent message because the things we have talked about this morning are all too real. There are people all around us stumbling forward into an eternal hell, without God, and whether they know it or not, without hope. We cannot be passive about the words of eternal life. There is too much at stake.
Charlie Peace a criminal in England years ago. On the way to his execution, the prison chaplain read to him from the Bible. When he realized the minister was reading about heaven and hell, he looked at the preacher and said, “Sir, if I believed what you the church of God say, and even if England were covered with broken glass from coast to coast, I would walk over it on hands and knees and think it worthwhile living just to save one soul from an eternal hell like that.”xxi
In 2 Cor 5:11 Paul wrote, “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men….” Paul was tireless in his efforts to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. He knew that to be the only way of salvation. He knew the terror of entering a Christless eternity. He worked night and day to get the message out.
The cares of life can get us so entangled and so distracted that we forget the urgency of our message. The world is subtly telling us to tone it down. It’s ok if you want to get together in private and talk about Jesus and read your Bibles; but don’t disturb others around you. They have their own religion. Live and let live. That would be fine except those without Christ are not going to live; they are in a death process. We see their destiny in Revelation 20. Knowing the terror of these things, we persuade men. We tell them the truth as we understand it from Scripture. We do it with tears and humility. We do it with respect. But we do it.
How can we read Revelation 20 and not tell the lost about Jesus? How can we ignore their plight? As I share this word today, I shudder to think that there might be someone here this morning without the Lord. What if someone in this room were headed to that Lake of Fire we saw in the text? I must take a moment and make sure you have examined your soul? I must ask you very directly, have you received Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Have you entrusted your eternal soul to Him? Have you turned from going your own way and given yourself entirely to His will? Please bow your heads.
Invitation
END NOTES:
i All Scripture quotes are from New King James Version unless indicated otherwise.
ii Job 1:21
iii Thus directly associated with the atonement (1Peter 1:18-20; Rev. 1:5; 5:9).
iv John 3:5-7; 1John 5:1.
v Rev. 20:1-10; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1Cor. 15:21-25. Christians are not judged at the Great White Throne judgment in Revelation 20:1-15; we are judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ (2Cor. 5:10; 1Cor. 3:11-15).
vi See also Luke 12:47-48.
vii Unfortunately two Greek words (haides and geenna) are translated “hell” in the Bible. Hades is a temporary holding place where the lost go immediately when they die (Luke 16:19-31). We are told in Rev. 20:14 that hades (haides) is emptied into gehenna (geenna) (Luke 12:5) where the wicked abide forever (Matt. 26:46; Mark 9:47-48; Rev. 19:20; 20:10). Gehenna and the Lake of Fire are two terms used for the same place.
viii In salvation a person is united with the Lord (1Cor. 6:17; John 14:16; 15:1-4; 17:21; 1John 1:3). The damned are separated from God (Matt. 25:41; Jude 13; Rev. 21:27; 22:14-15).
ix It’s interesting that the same people who fault God for not immediately putting an end to all evil, also fault Him for putting an end to all evil in Revelation 20:11-15. Why doesn’t God immediately end all evil? 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”
x Genesis 1:27. God also granted moral choice (Gen. 2:15-16).
xi Even those who have not heard the gospel have the light of conscience and the general revelation of creation to turn them toward God (Rom. 1:18-21).
xii 1Tim. 2.4
xiii C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain, chapter 8, p. 128.
xiv C.S. Lewis writes, “…every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different than it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature…To be one kind of creature is heaven…To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness” (Mere Christianity, HarperCollins Publishers, 1980, p. 92).
xv 1Cor. 1:19-21, 25-29; 2:14; Rom. 1:21-22, 25.
xvi 2Peter 1:19-21.
xvii 1 John 4:19 “We love Him because He first loved us.”
xviii Jude 23
xix John Newton, “Amazing Grace” Hymns of Glorious Praise p. 206.(Springfield, MO: Gospel Publishing, 1969) p. 206.
xx Walter B. Knight, compiler, Knight’s Master Book of New Illustrations (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979) p. 351.
xxi John King quote from (Ravenhill, Leonard, Why Revival Tarries, Fires of Revival Publishers, Zachary, LA, 1973, p. 19) Accessed May 30, 2015 at http://www.provokeblog.org/the-death-walk-of-charlie-peace/.
