Introduction
Last week we talked about the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ. So today we are going to talk about the next major event in the end times calendar, the GWTJ.
The GWTJ is also know as:
the end of the world
the end of time
the last day
judgment day
the day or reckoning
It will be a day of final justice for God against all the unforgiven sins against Him. For all the wicked will be judged for the deeds they did while on earth.
Who will be there?
Well folks, believe it or not I have some good news for you about the GWTJ. You and I will not be there. And that is something that I learned during my research.
You see, by the time the GWTJ happens, you and I as believers have already been judged by God.
So the GWTJ is not intended for believers. So who is it for you may ask. Well, let’s let the Bible answer that question:
Rev. 20:12-13
12 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.
13 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.
Now when John uses the word dead, (greek NECK-ROS) he may be speaking of the spiritually dead and the physically dead.
In v. 12 it seems that he is talking about the spiritually dead. However, in V. 13 it is more likely that he is speaking of the physically dead.
Either way, all non-believers are raised up out of their graves and brought to the GWTJ. Somebody in the back is saying, well what if they are cremated?
Or a shark eats me? Whatever the case, the Bible says that ALL were delivered up. I mean, if you believe that God created the world, planets etc.
Surely you believe that he can reconstitute the elements of your cremated body and deliver it up? Right?
And so this brings up a very interesting point that we may as well cover right here. What happens to you when you die? Again, let’s let the Bible answer it:
2 Corinthians 5:8
8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
So to take this verse in its correct context, it is obviously talking about believers only. IOW as a believer in JC, when you die, you go to be with the Lord, just like that.
And where is the Lord, in Heaven! Right! But what if you are not a believer?
Rev. 20:13
13 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.
When an unbeliever dies, they go to hades. That word hell can also be translated hades. Hades is a temporary holding place for the unredeemed, the unsaved.
The phrase death and hell, really refers to the same thing. So when you die without the Lord JC in your heart you go to hades. More on this later.
Great and small
Look back at V. 12, where it says great and small. That means that all kinds of people will be there.
It won’t just be the so called bad boys and girls that we think of in today’s society NO! There will be:
Politicians
Doctors
Lawyers
Police officers
judges
military people
And there will also be religious people:
Baptists
Methodists
Prebysterians
Jews
Gentiles
Buddhists
Muslims
Hindu’s
Protestants
Catholics
There will be those who believed in many gods
and there will be those who believed in one God.
and those who don’t believe in God at all
those who believed in meditation as a way of salvation
or those who believed in doing good deeds as a way of salvation
the moral, the immoral
nuns and missionaries
priests and preachers
All who did not intimately know the Lord JC as king, and Savior will be there.
Where will the GWTJ be
So where will all of this take place. Well, the Bible does not tell us where the GWTJ will take place. But it does tell where it will NOT take place:
Revelations 20:11
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
You see that phrase: from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, that means that it will NOT be in heaven or on earth.
Luke 21:33, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.”
So we do not know where it will take place but don’t worry about it, if you are saved you will not be there anyhow!
Description of the GWTJ
And look at the word great there. It speaks of the infinite, great one, JC who is the judge of all.
And the word white, white represents purity, cleanliness and something that is holy and divine.
And the word throne, a throne is for a king. And so the king of kings, JC will sit upon his great, white holy throne! More on that later.
WOW! What a site? Can you just imagine what may be going through the heads of those standing before this awesome site?
Well first they are going to be scared out of their wits. Think about it, everyone who has ever lived and is unsaved will be resurrected and will be standing there.
Millions of people folks. You think woodstock was a big crowd, that is nothing compared to this.
And it will be at a place that is unfamiliar. We don’t know where but it will not be in your backyard.
What will happen?
So what will happen to all these unsaved people. Well they will stand before JC and be judged by what is written in the books.
Then what happen then. Well, again let’s turn to the Bible for that answer:
Matthew 7:21-23
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Now folks, if JC says depart from me, you are going to have a bad day. In fact you are going to have a bad eternity.
Let’s look in the Bible to see what happens next:
Revelation 20:15
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
And might I add that the lake of fire burns forever and ever. There will be no end for their torment
The Person of the GWTJ
Now this is where I had it wrong folks. And if you had it wrong too, don’t feel bad because your pastor is right there with you.
I always thought that it was God the Father sitting on the throne of the GWTJ. But in my research and thanks to Dr. David Jeremiah I found out otherwise. Listen to this:
John 5:22
22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:
You know I have probably read that verse dozens of times, but I never applied it to the GWTJ.
As I said earlier, the Lord JC Himself will sit on the throne. And He and Him alone will judge the unsaved.
AND He will judge the saved, you and I as well. Jesus paid it all and therefore Jesus judges it all.
In our case, Christians that is, He is Judge, advocate (attorney) and Jury. And guess what? We are completely expunged and acquitted! PTL
The Book of Life
Let’s go back to V.12 for a moment.
Rev. 20:12-13
12 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:
When I was researching this, I came across a rather interesting thought about the Book of Life from Dr. David Jeremiah.
I believe that the Book of Life was created before the foundation of the world. Because the Bible says that Christ knew you before the foundation of the world.
David Jeremiah says that he believes that everyone’s name is originally in the BOL. But if you die without JC in your heart, then your name is blotted out of the BOL.
Let’s see what the Bible says about this, now this is Jesus talking:
Revelation 3:5
5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
When you die without JC, Jesus Himself will blot your name out of the BOL. And so on judgment day, the BOL is opened and where your name should be, is nothing!
Your name is gone and JC will say to you, depart from me, I never knew you!
Why didn’t you tell me
And I don’t know, but I imagine this as huge lines of people, coming to Christ one by one. And the books are opened and the sins are read aloud for all to hear.
And one by one, Christ says depart from me for I never knew you. Not once does He say, well done my good and faithful servant, enter into my Heaven.
And everyone present is seeing this. And they are seeing their unsaved friends and relatives being cast alive into the lake of fire.
And they hear their screams of burning and torment. And you and I will not be there but if we could, perhaps you would see one of your unsaved friends in line.
Someone that you knew but for some reason you never told them about Jesus. And they see what is happening and they know that they too will be cast into the lake of fire.
And they look over at you, knowing that you are a Christian and they mouth over to you, “why didn’t you ever tell me”?
Why didn’t you tell me about Jesus. And folks at that point, you will not be able to say anything. You will not be able to answer that question.
What an awful feeling. That’s why it is so important to tell people today about JC!
Conclusion
In conclusion a story is told of a group of pioneers who were making their way across the country heading west.
They traveled in covered wagons drawn by oxen, and progress was necessarily slow.
One day they were horrified to see a long line of smoke in the west, stretching for miles across the prairie.
Soon it was evident that the dried grass was burning fiercely and coming toward them rapidly.
They had crossed a river the day before but it would be impossible to go back to that before the flames would be upon them.
One man only seemed to have understanding as to what could be done. He gave the command to set fire to the grass behind them.
Then when a space was burned over, the whole group moved back upon it.
As the flames roared on toward them from the west, a little girl cried out in terror,
"Are you sure we will not all be burned up?" The leader said, "My child, the flames cannot reach us here, for we are standing where the fire has already been!"
In a way that is a picture of JC. The fires of God's judgment burned themselves out on Him.
and all who are in Christ are safe forever, for they are now standing where the fire ok of God’s wrath has already been.
