The Last Judgment

THE LAST JUDGMENT

Acts 17: 31, Revelation 20: 11

From the first time you ever sinned, your placed yourself in a system that will lead to judgment and punishment. All of us know down deep in our hearts that there is a God. We know that God is in control. We know that sooner or later there is going to be a day of judgment. It is written on the pages of the Bible, it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment. Also it is written on the pages of our heart. God has appointed a day in which He will judge a world.

Now the Bible gives us a depiction of this in the book of Revelation. When is this day of judgment? It’s known to us as the great white throne judgment. It will occur at the conclusion of the thousand years, the millennium. Satan, at this time will have already been judged and cast into the lake of fire. Then there is going to be this great white throne judgment.

Three things I want us to see in this message. The setting, the summons, and the sentence. So, turn to Revelation 20 and verse 11 gives us THE SETTING. It is described as a great white throne. The word great, because it is God’s throne. The word white, because it represents the holiness and the righteousness of God. A throne, because it indicates God is in control. God rules and reigns in the universe.

Him that sat upon the throne will be recognized immediately because of the nail prints in His hands and feet. All judgment is given the Lord Jesus Christ. Today the question is what will you do with Jesus? In that day the question will be, what will Jesus do with you?

So, this is the setting. Jesus is on the throne to judge.

Now, in verses 12 and 13, we have THE SUMMONS. When the great white throne judgment occurs, there will be a summons and all the unsaved dead will be summoned to the great white throne. They will come from their watery graves. Out from all the Cemetery’s the memorial gardens the unsaved will be gathered.

Notice it says that death and hell deliver up the dead. When an unsaved person dies their bodies go to death. Their souls go to hell. There will be a resurrection of the lost. At the resurrection of the lost, the soul, which has been in Hades sense the heart stopped will be united with the body. They will be summoned to the judgment. Hades is hell No. 1. The lake of fire is hell No. 2. Hades is like the county jail. The lake of fire is like the federal pen.

Notice verse No. 12 tells us none are missed. The dead small and great stand before God. Those who put their trash in the magazine racks. Those businessmen who cheat their customers out of money. The thieves. The adulterous. All of the little sinners we would call them. All of these will be summoned to the great white throne judgment.

He also says the great are going to be there. The Hitler’s, the Mussolini’s and the Sadams. The rock stars who damned the souls of young people. The entertainers, who for money polluted the morals of the universe will be there. They won’t be bragging and boasting that day about freedom of speech. It is time for their fair trial.

Verse 12 also mentions books being opened. The evidence will be there. They will be judged out of those things written in the books according to their works. Salvation is according to grace. Judgment will be according to works. God has a record of it. At the great white throne judgment memory is going to come alive. Sins the lost have forgotten about will come back to mind.

It says another book was opened in verse 15, the book of life. There will be a check there to show the lost his name is not written in the book of life. Your name doesn’t go into the book of life at dead but at birth. For every born again believer, his name is written in the book of life.

After the search of the book we have THE SENTENCE. Look at verses 14 and 15.

Now when we find the word death in the Bible, it often times means separated from God. There is no death for the Christian because there is no separation from God. But the Bible talks of another death for the unsaved called the second death. After the sentence, the lost are never heard of again. That’s the way the scene closes. No elaborate description of hell. It just closes. They are just gone.

From the first day you sin, you placed yourself into a system that leads to judgment and punishment. For every person there is a fair trial at the great white throne judgment or a free pardon. Two choices, fair trial or free pardon. I hope you have chosen the free pardon.