“I Saw the Dead…”
Revelation 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. 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. 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. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
God keeps perfect records! In this passage we learn about what is called “The Great White Throne Judgment”. This is God’s final judgment for those who were born and died on planet earth from the time of Adam in the Old Testament, through the church age in the New Testament, on through the Tribulation and the one-thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ. Specifically, this judgment is for those who never trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation.
John said he “saw the dead” at this judgment. He says that these dead included everyone that lived and died without Jesus Christ and it didn’t matter if they were rich or poor or if they were a king or a poor laborer. There was no place in heaven or earth left for them to hide from this judgment.
We need to remember that the scripture teaches that every person born into the human race is born a sinner. You don’t become a sinner because you sin, you sin because you are a sinner. The same reason a dog is not a dog because it barks, but a dog barks because it is a dog! We received this sin nature from Adam: “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned” (Romans 5:12). Paul also tells us that we were born spiritually “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1).
To be dead means to be “separated”. To be spiritually dead means to be spiritually separated from God, and that is the condition we were born in. Jesus came to “reconcile us to God by the blood of His cross” (Colossians 1:20). Paul put it this way in Ephesians 2:4-5, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)”.
So, this “Great White Throne Judgment” is for everyone who never made “peace with God” through the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the resurrection of the dead that Daniel spoke of in Daniel 12:2. Jesus called it the “resurrection of condemnation” in John 5:28-29: “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice and come forth--those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.”
John tells us that these “dead” are resurrected from the “sea, death (the graves) and hades”. I believe this means that every human being who ever lived and died without Jesus Christ will be physically resurrected. In other words, their mortal bodies, whether they be in the seas or dirt of the earth, will be resurrected and reunited with their soul and spirit which have been in hades (hell). (Luke 16:19-21). These unsaved people will all stand before a holy God and be judged on the basis of what is written "in the books." What books? For one thing, God's Word will be there. "The Word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). Every sinner will be held accountable for the truth he or she has heard in this life.
There will also be a book containing the works of the sinners being judged, though this does not suggest that a person can do good works sufficient to enter heaven (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5). Why, then, will Jesus Christ consider the works, good and bad, of the people before the White Throne? To determine the degree of punishment they will endure in hell. All of these people will be cast into “the lake of fire”. Their personal rejection of Jesus Christ has already determined their destiny. But Jesus Christ is a righteous Judge, and He will assign each sinner the place that he deserves.
There are degrees of punishment in hell (Matt. 11:20-24). Each lost sinner will receive just what is due him, and none will be able to argue with the Lord or question His decision. God knows what sinners are doing, and His books will reveal the truth.
This is definitely a judgment you don’t want to be at! There will be no escape from it at that time. Today is the day of salvation. Please do not take a gamble with your eternal soul! Trust Jesus today!
God bless!
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