The King Is Coming - 9

Satan’s Final Judgement and The Great White Throne Judgement

Introduction—In these last lessons, we will examine the final series of events prophetically laid out in the Bible, which take us into eternity.

When we began this series, we spoke about the importance of this subject, the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Word of God is always profitable.

In every generation, there is profit in understanding what God has recorded for us concerning His return.

Romans 13:11–12 says it aptly, “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.”

We discover an essential truth: Christians are not just enduring in this world; we are victorious and laboring on behalf of the Lord.

You and I have great privilege, opportunity, and purpose in this world today.

Our privilege is to walk in Christ and shine the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

Our opportunity is ever before us, moment by moment…we are to influence and reach men.

Our purpose is His purpose. Christians hold the heart attitude, not my will, but thine be done.

God’s people must understand that the Lord will bring to pass all that He has recorded.

He will bring to pass the rapture of the church. He will bring to pass the judgment of this world.

Titus 2:13 expresses the earnest desire for the Christian. We are “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

It is good for us to know, at least in general, the series of events that God has outlined for us concerning the Lord’s return.

The next event that will take place prophetically is the catching away of the church. (I Corinthians 15:51-58; I Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-11)

We express this by saying it is imminent.

The church will be with the Lord forevermore. (I Thessalonians 4:17)

Every Christian who makes up the church will go through Christ's judgment seat, and the church will be married to the Lord as the bride of Christ. (II Corinthians 11:2; Ephesians 5:24-ff)

The celebration of this blessed event is called the marriage supper of the Lamb and is in contrast with the supper of the Great God. (Revelation 19:6-10; 17-21)

The church will not experience tribulation, and it is clear that when the rapture takes place, our bodies will be changed, and we will no longer have to deal with our sin nature.

After the church's rapture, the world will enter a seven-year period known as the tribulation. (Some scholars refer to the last half of the tribulation as The Great Tribulation based on the sequence of events referred to in Daniel in correlation with Matthew 24 as well as what is spoken about Revelation 7:14)

This world will experience unparalleled wickedness and judgment because the church will be removed, and the Holy Spirit will let. (II Thessalonians 2:7)

During this period of time, a man empowered by Satan will rise to power. He is described as the Beast and is called the Antichrist. (I John 2:18, Revelation 13)

The Beast will make a covenant with the nation of Israel, a covenant of peace. (Daniel 8:24-25, 9:27; Revelation 6:2)

The second Beast, the false prophet, will support the first. (Revelation 13:11-ff)

The Bible also describes the rise of an ecumenical apostate church. (Revelation 17)

The apostate church will be worldwide, and it will ‘ride on the authority’ of the one world ruler and government. (Revelation 17)

This framework for this ecumenical apostate church is already laid.

It is hidden under the words often repeated by the world—tolerance.

It is seen on the bumpers of cars with the words Co-exist arrayed with various signs and symbols.

There is one such structure that/ points toward this ever increasing framework that was completed I am told in 2023. It is a place in the UAE called the Abrahamic Family House. I watched a short propaganda clip from this ecumenical place, where meetings, seminars and conferences are being held that support ecumenical ideas —-all with the goal of blending together all religions.

This is from their website —and I quote: “The Abrahamic Family House will be a beacon of mutual understanding, harmonious coexistence, and peace among people of faith and goodwill. It consists of a mosque, church, synagogue, and educational center to be built on Saadiyat Island, the cultural heart of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates. Through its design, it captures the values shared between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and serves as a powerful platform for inspiring and nurturing understanding and acceptance between people of goodwill. The vision for the Abrahamic Family House originated after the signing of the Document on Human Fraternity by Pope Francis and Grand Imam Ahmed Al-Tayeb in February 2019.”

“This is an important opportunity for all who believe in the power of faith and humanity. It will help build bridges between religious leaders and communities as well as foster peace and harmony in an era that is too often defined by difference,” said Rabbi M. Bruce Lustig, senior rabbi at Washington Hebrew Congregation, and a Jewish representative of the committee.”

The apostate church will be destroyed by the same government that it rode to power on. The Bible tells us in Revelation 17:16 “And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.”

After the destruction of the apostate church (Revelation 17:16-ff), the man of sin will demand to be worshipped as God. (II Thessalonians 2:3-4)

The covenant will be broken(Daniel 9:27), and the world will experience “great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be.” (Matthew 24:21)

God will exercise mercy in the midst of his great judgment, even as the psalmist sang in Psalm 89:14, “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: Mercy and truth shall go before thy face.”

In that, God will have witnesses, and some will be saved. (Revelation 7,11, 14:6)

Most who receive Christ during the tribulation will experience martyrdom. (Revelation 6:9-11, 12:11, 20:4)

In the end, the kings of the earth, under the direction of the Antichrist and the False Prophet, will war against the nation of Israel and against the Lord Jesus Christ in what the Bible calls the battle of Armageddon. (Revelation 16:13-16, 19:14-ff)

When they gather for this final battle, the Lord will return with the armies of heaven and His bride. (Revelation 19:14)

The Lord will defeat these enemies by the sword of his mouth. Revelation 19:15

After the destruction of the Lord’s enemies, He will rule and reign on the throne of David for 1000 years. (Matthew 25:31, Revelation 20:1-9)

We will rule and reign with Him. (Matthew 25:14-30; 1 Corinthians 6:1-4, Revelation 20:4)

As we saw in the last lesson, the millennial reign of Christ will be very different from what this world has experienced.

The last vestiges of sin and the Devil will be removed before the Lord makes a new heaven and new earth.

That brings us to two major events that take place at the end of the millennial reign of Christ.

Satan’s Final Judgement

Satan’s Removal From Earth

We saw last week Satan’s removal from the earth.

In Revelation 20:1–3, the Bible tells us that Satan is bound and shut up.

Dr. Lee Robertson, in his sermon, explained, “When this day comes, and he is removed, the kingdom of Christ will begin in its fullness upon the earth. The nature of wild beasts will be changed. Wars and rumors of wars will be at an end. The knowledge of the Lord will cover the earth. The curse will be removed from this earth. The saints will rule and reign with Christ. Christ Himself will rule from the throne of David.”

But this will, by God’s divine plan, be for a time.

Notice what the Bible tells us at the end of verse 23 in Revelation 20.

The Word of God says in that last clause of verse 23, “...till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.”

Satan’s Release For A Little Season

In verse 7 of this chapter, the Bible describes Satan’s release from prison.

Revelation 20:7 “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,”

Immediately the enemy of our souls goes to work.

Revelation 20:8 “And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”

During the millennial reign of Christ, there will be men born into this world just as they are now.

The population of the world though initially diminished by the judgments set forth in the book of Revelation by the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments, will increase over a 1000-year period of the Lord ruling with a rod of iron.

The people born in this period of time must make a choice for Christ or reject him.

The Lord’s reign is with a rod of iron, so there will be swift and unwavering rule and justice.

It seems that there are many who reject the Lord even after a 1000-year reign of peace.

Again quoting from Dr. Lee Robertson, “Who are the ones who Satan will deceive? They are the ones who will be born in the Millennium, not to the resurrected or translated saints but born to the people of the nations who enter into the kingdom of God after the judgment of the living nations. They cannot be any other. This will be a test for the people born in the Millennium. Remember, they have no testing during the thousand years because Satan is chained, but now comes the test.”

F.C. Jennings stated, “Has human nature changed, at least apart from sovereign grace? Is the carnal mind at last friendship with God? Have a thousand years of absolute power and absolute benevolence, both in unchecked activity, done away with all war forever and forever? These questions must be marked by a practical test. Let Satan be loosed once more from his prison. Let him range once more earth’s smiling fields that he knew of old. He saw them last soaked with blood and flooded with tears, the evidence and accompaniments of his own reign; he sees them now laughing with abundance… But as he [Satan] pursues his way further from Jerusalem, the center of blessedness, these tokens become fainter; until, in the far-off “corner of the earth,” they cease altogether, for he finds myriads who have instinctively shrunk from close contact with that holy center, and are not unprepared once more to be deceived.”

This final rebellion shows at least three things:

First, human nature, apart from God’s grace, will be unchanged. The fact that there will be one final rebellion proves this point.

Secondly, Satan’s nature will be unchanged by 1000 years of being shut up and bound. The great deceiver will still be the great deceiver. He will still attempt to subvert God.

Thirdly, God is glorified and just to judge sin, as is demonstrated by this very event.

This final uprising will be immediately dealt with by God.

Notice Revelation 20:9.

“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”

The people who participate in this uprising are devoured by fire from heaven, which brings us to the end of Satan himself.

Satan’s Reward In the Lake of Fire

Verse 10 describes this end.

Revelation 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.”

There is not much to expound in this verse except to dismiss the lie that people believe concerning Satan and the lake of fire.

Some might say, I’ll reject Christ and throw in my hat with the Devil. When we are separated from God forever, the Devil will be ruling, and I will just party.

The Devil is not going to be ruling and reigning in the lake of fire and brimstone.

The Bible shows us that he will not be a ruler. Rather, he will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.

It is a terrible fact that there will be no relief from this torment.

In fact, as presented by verse 10, the beast--- the Antichrist and the False Prophet are still there being tormented when Satan is cast into the lake of fire.

It should be noted as well his place is not something anyone would volunteer to do.

You can see plainly from the verb used in verse 10 that Satan does not walk into the lake of fire with his head down, but he is cast into the lake of fire.

The same word is used in the parable of the tares of the field in Matthew 13:36-43 as the Lord explains the meaning. Matthew 13:36–43 “Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

No one will volunteer to go into the lake burning with fire and brimstone.

That brings us to the last event before the new heaven and new earth, which is:

Man’s Final Judgment

Man’s final rebellion is seen in the last uprising recorded for us in Revelation 20.

What takes place following this event is what is referred to as the Great White Throne Judgement.

This scene is one that defies being verbalized, yet the Lord has given us what we need to know in human language.

It begins in verse 11 of chapter 20.

Revelation 20:11 states, “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.”

“When the great sea of faces stand before the Judge, the scene will be so awful that the heavens and earth shall vanish away.” (Robertson)

When we consider what took place when God met with the nation of Israel on Mt. Sinai---this ought to shake us to the core.

At Mt. Sinai they say the mountain on fire--- they heard the voice of Almighty God, but they did not see His throne as is pictured here.

There seems to be a connection between this event and what is described in Revelation 21:1 and II Peter 3:10, which states, “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.”

2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.”

This judgment, as we will see, is not a trial as you and I would think about it.

In a trial, there is a determination as to guilt or innocence.

There are opposing sides presenting arguments and the facts, and there is the possibility of innocence.

Those who stand before the Great White Throne as guilty.

One Bible commentator stated, “Those who are judged are not asked questions. They are simply judged from the things that are written in the books and accorded their punishment...”

The Great White Throne is called such because of the holiness and purity of our God. The One who sits upon the throne will be Christ, for the Bible tells us in John 5:22–23, “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.”

What exactly is this judgemnt about?

This is a judgment of the lost dead

There are only two resurrections described in the Bible, a resurrection unto life and a resurrection unto damnation.

Those who take part in the first resurrection are those who are saved by the blood of Christ. And because of this, the second death has no power over them.

Revelation 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.”

But the lost dead will be resurrected as well.

Revelation 20:12–13 says, “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. 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 Lord Jesus Christ summarized this when He states in John 5:28–29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, 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.”

Daniel 12:2 speaks of the same, “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.”

“The great men of all times who refused the Savior will be brought to judgment. And the small, forgotten individuals will stand there too. Those who have been buried for many centuries, on land or sea, will come forth… to face the judge.” (Robertson)

They will be judged out of the books

Revelation 20:12 “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.”

“The record books will be there. Every man’s sins will be plainly written down. God will judge each man out of the record.” (Robertson)

John 3:18–21 will be on display. The Bible says, “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. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.”

The Lord’s record is exact. He makes no mistakes. All will be accounted for.

And of all the terrible things that will be brought to light, the greatest of all will be the sin of rejecting Christ. Refusing the love of God, shunning God’s gracious gift of His Son.

The Bible tells us that not only are the books of the records of the deeds of men opened, but another book—the book of life.

“Even in the last judgement there will doubtless be men who will insist that they are good and deserve heaven.” (Robertson)

Concerning this Great White Throne judgment, the Word of God declares lastly that:

The outcome of this judgment is clear

Revelation 20:14–15 states, “And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” The question has been asked by some, will any be saved who stand before the Great White Throne in judgment? “If this record be true, then none will be saved, for it says death and hell will be cast into the lake of fire.” (Robertson)

“In conclusion, let us notice once sentence in Revelation 20:14, “This is the second death.” Here is a statement of finality. The second death is the lake of fire. It is called the second death because it follows after the first death, or physical death. The second death is existence without life. It is eternal death, yet eternal existence. This is what is meant when we speak of the lost soul dying, yet continuing to exist. The second is not annihilation…” (Robertson)