The end time great white throne.
Revelation 20:11-15 10/16/05
It has been sometime since I have flown but I remember the flight attendant giving some instructions before takeoff. She or he would tell the importance of keeping seat belts buckled while taking off and landing. He or she would tell of the exit signs over the doors if there was power failure, the exit signs could be seen. He or she talked about if the cabin decompressed, there would be some oxygen mask dropping down and he or she gave instructions on how to put them on. My experience in flying was that not many people paid attention to their instructions. What if he or she had taken a doll, covered it in gasoline, set it afire and moved up and down the cabin and said listen people, this could be you if you don’t listen?
The Bible is a book of blessings but I want to tell you, you have missed some of the Bible if you have never paid attention to the warnings that are pasted on many of the pages. We all do well to pay attention to the warnings that are listed in the Bible, the Word of God. The Bible teaches us that life is a journey and it has two destinations and every one of us is moving toward eternity. Shouldn’t we think about that once in a while? If it has been some time since you have thought about it, I want you to think about yourself moving toward eternity this morning. That is really what is taking place. You are closer to eternity today than you have ever been in your life. Some of you say there is a lot of time out there for me and I hope that is true but graves are all sizes. Doesn’t make any difference how old you are, you are heading toward eternity. Eternity can be the last home and we call that heaven. Eternity can be horror and we call that hell. Each one of us is closer to one of those places than we have ever been in our life.
Now when we read our text for this morning, there are some things that really stand out. Some people have trouble wondering who is on the throne that our text is talking about. Some have said that is Jesus on the throne as the judge of the earth. Others have said that is God the Father on the throne getting ready to judge the world. I don’t have to guess because Jesus said long time ago I and My Father are one, so I don’t spend that much time wondering who is on the throne.
Then in verse 12 we read that John saw the dead, small and great stand before the throne. The key word in the verse is neither the standing, nor the books necessarily, but the key word is the word dead. That tells me that the ones that are getting ready for their judgment are not believers. What I mean is that the ones that are standing waiting for their judgment are the unsaved. They never received Jesus through faith and now will meet Him as their judge. The believer is never dead; he is either on earth or in heaven, but never dead. So what the Bible is talking about in our text this morning is the final abode of the lost person.
There are two families in this world in which we live. There is the family of God and they are on their way to heaven. Then there is the family of the devil and they are on their way to hell. Everyone on this earth will go to one of those two places. Here is the kicker, every person makes the choice. Of course there aren’t many choices but only one. When a person decides for Jesus and makes Him their Savior, Then they are going to heaven. There may be some of you that have never made that choice then you will find if you don’t choose for Jesus and heaven, then you do chose the devil and hell. There are two families in this world. There is the family of God on their way to heaven. There is the family of the devil on their way to hell. You and I am a member of one of these families.
The first thing I want to point out in our text this morning is THE REALITY OF HELL. When you read the Bible, you find many ways that the place hell is referred to. It is called the bottomless pit; a place where the worm never dies; a place where there is weeping and the gnashing of teeth; a place of everlasting fire; a place called the lake of fire.
Jesus had the tenderest heart of anyone that you will ever read of and yet He had more to say about hell than anyone else. Listen; if Jesus was not telling the truth about the reality of hell then He is wrong in every area of the Word of God and the biggest fraud that ever lived. But I want to tell you if you believe the Bible to be true then you have no alternative but to believe in the reality of hell and it will be the place of eternity for the lost without Jesus as Savior.
I want to tell you when we read the Word of God we see not only the reality of hell but you cannot read the Word of God with seeing THE MISERY OF HELL. The Bible talks about the misery of hell. The Bible tells us that the antichrist, the false prophet and the devil are going to be there. Hell is a place of misery where those in hell are always dieing but never dead. Jesus said it is a place where there will be gnashing of teeth and screaming. But it is also a place that you can never escape or have any opportunity to leave because when in hell all the opportunities you had will have vanished.
Finally in our text this morning I want you to see THE TRAGEDY OF HELL. When anyone goes to hell, it is a tragedy. It is so unnatural to go to hell because hell was not created for the human race. Going to hell is so unnecessary because two thousand years ago Jesus made a way that you and I don’t have to spend one second in hell. The tragedy of the whole thing is that Jesus has provided a way for all to go to heaven but many refuse His way. To refuse His way then is to choose the way that leads to hell with the devil, antichrist and the false prophet. Listen, if God has stirred your heart this morning, then you ought to come during this invitation to do business with God. If you are lost then you have heard the truth about heaven and hell. The choice is left up to you.
Probably the worst thing about hell will be the realization of the many times you rejected the gospel. To spend eternity knowing all the times you said I will wait till some other time. To spend an eternity in hell knowing that you had this opportunity today to come to Jesus will be forever be etched in your mind. Do you know Jesus as your Savior?
