The Great White Throne Judgement

MAY 21, 2023 STUDY NOTES REVELATION 20:11-15 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT The Great White Throne judgment will take place after the Millennium (Rev 20:1-6) It will be after Satan’s final revolt and after he is cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:7-10) Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. God will then judge the lost of all ages, God is the one who is on the throne The purpose of the judgment is not to determine whether one is saved or lost The purpose of the judgment will not be to determine whether they will enter Heaven or Hell Only the lost who are destined to the eternal state of Hell will appear before the judgment The purpose of the judgment is to determine the degree of their punishment in the Lake of Fire Rev 20:11 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. “And I saw a great white throne,” the description identifies with the one who sits on the throne It is “great” because of the almighty power of the judge who sits on the throne “White” is the standard Biblical representation of God the Father Symbolizing His purity, holiness, justice, righteousness, and His eternal nature “White” also symbolizes His worthiness to sit on the throne, Rev 3:4 Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white: for they are worthy. (The “Worthy God” has made the saints worthy to walk in white) “Him that sat on,” the throne is God the Father, His authority, glory, and power is manifested “From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away,” identifies the power of His presence His “face” identifies the Person who is present, His power is explained by what follows “The earth and the heaven fled away,” the present earth and the present heaven above the earth They vanish, they cease to exist, just as Jesus had predicted, Mat 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. This world as we know it today comes to an end, 2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. “And there was found no place for them,” this is not the throne or event described in Rev. 4 Rev 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne. There was a place for many before the throne in Revelation 4 who were worshiping God, Rev 4:4 And round about the throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and they had on their heads crowns of gold. Rev 4:10 The four and twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. There will be no place found before the throne set in Heaven for the lost who are without Christ Jesus has prepared a place for the saved, Joh 14:3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were Page 1 of 4 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. An important truth is presented, “the dead” are standing before God Physical death is not the cessation of life, death is the separation of the soul from the body The soul continues to exist in an eternal state for both the saved and the lost The eternal state of the lost is being presented in Revelation 20:11-15 The soul of the lost entered into “Hades,” the realm of the dead, at the time of their death Their body that went to the grave will be resurrected to unite with their soul, Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. The lost will have no part in the first resurrection, which is the resurrection of the saved The resurrection of the saved will be before the 1,000 year earthly reign of Christ, the Millennium The saved are “the living,” and there is no mention of the “living” in Revelation 20:11-15 There is a reason why, Joh 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. (The “dead” will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment) The resurrection of the lost, the “dead,” will be after the Millennium All-of the lost of OT and NT days will “stand before God,” regardless of their earthly status “Small and great,” every earthly category of wealth, power, and fame will individually stand From every walk of life, from the various degrees of fame, fortune, and accomplishments Individually they will stand before God, those who lived their life with no desire for God They stand before God to give an account of the earthly life they lived without God “The books were opened,” written in the plural distinguishing them from the “Book of Life” There is a distinction between the two, the purpose of the books, and the reason for the book The dead were judged from the things written in the “books according to their works” Many believe that their works is that which is written in the “books” (Could be) I believe that what is written in the books is that which will judge their works The Bible contains 66 books of God’s written Word which we are to live our daily by The works of the daily life of the lost will be judged by the Word of God, Rom 2:16 In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel. Joh 12:48 He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. And another book was opened, which is the book of life, names are written in the book of life The “Book of Life” is a heavenly book in which the names of those who are saved are written Because of God’s omniscience, they have been written before the foundation of the world, Rev 17:8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. The names of “earth-dwellers,” those who worship Antichrist, are not written in the book of life, Rev 13:8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. The Lamb of God died for those whose names have been recorded in the “Book of Life” Names are written in the “Book of Life” because of the Gospel The Gospel is the “Good News” of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ Php 4:3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life. (Their names are in the Book of Life because they accepted the truth of the Gospel) The names of the saved are registered in Heaven, Heb 12:23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, Page 2 of 4 It is impossible for names to be blotted out of the book of life, Rev 3:5 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. Those who have received Christ as their Savior have a reason to rejoice, Luk 10:20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. The names of the lost are not written in the Book of Life, Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. (Because they rejected the Gospel) Only those whose names are written in the “Book of Life” will enter the New Jerusalem Rev 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life. Rev 20:13 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. The sea refers to the literal waters of the earth, bodies of the dead will be delivered from them Whether earth or sea claimed the body of the dead they will be resurrected Bodies of the lost will be resurrected from the sea or the grave, God will deliver them up The word “hell” is “hades,” the abode of the dead, no one who is saved is now in “Hades” Jesus delivered the saved from Hades at the time of His ascension (Ephesians 4:8-10) At the time of physical death, the saved now enter the third Heaven, the dwelling place of God Rev 20:13 does not refer to the first resurrection, the resurrection of life (Rev 20:4-6) It is the second resurrection, the resurrection of damnation, Joh 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. The resurrection of damnation is to the “second death,” Rev 20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. The “second death” is eternal separation from God, Rev 21:8 But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. Death and hell will deliver up the dead to face the Great White Throne Judgment The soul and body will be reunited to face the Great White Throne Judgment The purpose of the Great White Throne Judgment is stated again in this Rev 20:13 There is emphasis upon the purpose, “they were judged every man according to their works” Their punishment will be eternal, the degree of punishment is based upon how they lived Mat 16:27 For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Luk 12:47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. Luk 12:48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Death refers to those who are no longer alive physically, death never indicates nonexistence “Death” had claimed the body, “Hades” had claimed the soul until the time of resurrection Hades is a place of torment, but it is not the place of eternal punishment for the lost Following the judgment according to their works the lost will be cast into the Lake of Fire Their degree of punishment will have been determined at the Great White Throne Judgment The eternal state of punishment and torment for the lost is the “Lake of Fire” Page 3 of 4 Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. The Lake of Fire is the fiery lake that was prepared for the devil and his angels, Mat 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: The antichrist and the false prophet are the first ones to be cast into the Lake of Fire, Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Then the devil will be cast into the lake of Fire, Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Following the Great White Throne Judgment, the lost of all ages will spend eternity there Which is called the “Second Death,” Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. All whose names are not written in the Book of Life will be cast into the Lake of Fire They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever just like the devil (Rev 20:10) The question is often asked, “Is the fire of Hell actual fire?” “Is the fire of Hell literal or is it a symbol?” If it is a symbol, then the real thing is far greater in torment than we can imagine There is nothing in human language to describe the reality of Heaven or Hell Heaven is far more glorious than can be described in human language Hell is far more terrible than language can express Earthly language cannot explain the eternal torment that the lost will experience It will be far greater than we can imagine by the terms used to describe it You don’t want to go to Hell when you die Accept Jesus as your Savior today, Joh 3:18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. Page 4 of 4