Christ's Rule on Earth, part 4 Rev. 20:11-15

I have been speaking about the Supreme Sovereignty of Jesus Christ on earth and in heaven as it is revealed in this chapter. We have seen that it is affirmed by the incarceration of Satan in the Abyss for one thousand years. It is further revealed by the fact that His rule is assisted by the OT and NT saints who rule with Him during the millennial reign. Thirdly, we saw last time that it is approved by the defeat of Satan and his being cast into the lake of fire. Now in this final section I aim to show you that Christ’s rule on earth, His supreme sovereignty is seen by his judgment of the unbelieving dead.

This is the fourth point of this chapter:

The Rule of Christ adjudicated by the judgment at the great white throne.

Now, don't confuse this with the Judgment seat of Christ where believers will be judged according to their works and rewarded, Paul refers to the judgment seat of Christ in

“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.”

1 Corinthians 3:10–15 ESV

According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.

; .

2 Corinthians 5:10 ESV

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.

So you see, we are not talking here about the judgment of believers. Rather, This is the judgment of the unbelieving dead.

The Holy Bible: King James Version. (1995). (electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version., ). Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.; ; .

This is the judgment of the unbelieving dead.

Many people don’t want to talk about hell and judgment. They often deny that it exists. Or they think God will grade on the curve and somehow He will let them into heaven.

Bible's Description of Hell fire and brimstone ,burning wind, fiery oven , flames of fire, judgment by fire, unquenchable fire, furnace of fire, eternal fire, eternal punishment, fiery hell, pits of darkness, lake of fire

Punishment in Hell smoke of their torment, no rest day and night, weeping and gnashing of teeth, tormented, death, their worm does not die, destruction.

There are those who would say that Hell is not eternal, but we will see that the Lake of Fire is eternal. This will not be a pleasant place to see all your friends and hang out forever having a big party. No! It will be torment that you could not imagine in a thousand years. This is the destiny of all who reject Jesus Christ.

As we look at the text we will see that John saw:

I saw:

The purity of the throne

The God on the throne, the judge

The dead great and small before the throne

The books opened, which are the basis for judgment

The resurrection of the dead, v.13

The judged cast into the lake of fire, v.14,15

First of all let’s examine the throne

I. The purity of the throne, v.11

v.11

John sees a great white throne. Now first of all, there is no power in the throne. I don’t mean there is no importance in it. Rather, I mean that the power is in the one occupying the throne and the throne identifies that power or signifies that power.

John sees a great white throne.

For example: If I go to the Allegan county courthouse and enter one of the court rooms and sit behind the ‘bench’ the chair of the judge, I can pass out judgments all day long, but they will not mean an thing. Why? Because it is not the ‘throne/bench’ that has the power it is the judge who sits on the bench. the one who has legal right to sit there and adjudicate trial cases. So it is God, who we will see in a moment, who wields the power.

On the other hand, the throne signifies the level of authority of the judge. For example, there are county judges, state and federal judges and ultimately the Supreme court judges. The bench they sit on signifies their ranking as a judge. A supreme Court judge has more authority than a state or federal judge.

So it is in our text. Now notice how John describes the throne he sees.

This throne that John sees is great and white. Now I think the reference to the throne being ‘great’ while referencing size is most certainly better referencing power or importance. We have seen the throne in where we see 24 thrones with the 24 elders sitting on them. Clearly this is contrasting those thrones. Even the ones mentioned in are clearly not as important or powerful as this throne. So John uses the contrastive word ‘Great’ as opposed to not great or small to emphasize the importance of this throne. This is not just any throne. This is THE THRONE of thrones.there is no higher power to appeal to. And so he uses that word mega to emphasize that.

Folks this is what the dead will see and how they will react. There is no other response to His holiness in relation to their sinfulness. Even our own.

I mean we are here to worship the Lord on His throne. Is there anyone here who does not see how sinful they are in relation to God's holiness?

Secondly, he describes it as being ‘white.’

This throne that John sees is great and white.

Just off hand the idea of great not referencing size as much as importance. We have seen the throne in ; However, the word mega means large relative to the normal size for such things. It is thus great in contrast to thrones mentioned earlier, .

white-highlighting purity, pure light, holiness of holiness. We could look at

Daniel 7:9 ESV

“As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire.

white-highlighting purity, pure light, holiness of holiness. We could look at ;

;

Psalm 97:2 ESV

Clouds and thick darkness are all around him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

There is nothing more pure, more white than this. this shows that God's judgment is completely wholly pure. It is just, no hint of corruption or wrongness in this judgment. The judgment He conveys will be based on fact, on truth. He who knows the human heart, whose eyes sees all the activities of men, knows the thoughts and intentions of men will judge with perfect justice and judgment. No one will be able to deny the charge laid against them. In fact, they will concur they are guilty. The rich man didn't deny or complain that he shouldn't be in Hades while Lazarus was in Abraham's bosom. The man on the cross with Jesus confessed he was there justifiably getting what he deserved, even telling the other man so. So it will be with all who are called to this judgment before the Great White throne. They will agree God's judgment on their character and deeds is absolutely correct.

Some in human courts might concur that they are guilty as charged but lay complaint that their punishment is too much. Like Cain who complained that God's punishment of him was "greater than I can bear." Not so in that case nor this case. God's punishment will be completely just. It will not be too much like a parent who disciplines his child with the rod when a stern look would have done well enough. No injustice in God's punishment here. This is the Great White throne of Judgment. The way John describes this throne is exactly as it should be "Its size conveys the grandeur of its authority, and its appearance reflects the presence of the glory of God." Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation (p. 375). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

We see The purity of the throne, it’s holiness because of Him who occupies to throne.

Now lets move on to who John sees on the throne

II. God on the throne,

I am drawn to Read this passage and his vision of seeing God on the throne - what a powerful vision that is. This would certainly be the same one. The majesty and holiness of God is lifted up in contrast to his own sinfulness as the seraphim cry out "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" and Isaiah's own cry in response "Woe is me! For I am lost/undone; for I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" John tells us regarding Jesus use of this passage in that the one Isaiah saw on the throne is none other than Jesus Christ,

John 12:41 ESV

Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him.

"Its size conveys the grandeur of its authority, and its appearance reflects the presence of the glory of God." Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation (p. 375). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

Folks this is what the dead will see and how they will react. They will see Jesus in all His glory High and Lifted up and they will be undone. They will realize once and for all their lostness. They will say what Isaiah said. Only in this case there will be no angel to take a coal off the altar and touch their lips in order to cleanse them. They will be in the fire themselves.

When John first saw into Heaven in chapter one he was overpowered by the sight of Christ. But here what has his attention is this great White throne. He doesn't even spend alot of time describing the One who sits on the throne. It was enough to say it this way in order to get his point across.

I am drawn to and his vision of seeing God on the throne - what a powerful vision that is. This would certainly be the same one. The majesty and holiness of God is lifted up in contrast to his own sinfulness as the seraphim cry out "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!" and Isaiah's own cry in response "Woe is me! For I am lost/undone; for I am a man of unclean lips; and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!"

Folks there is no other response to His holiness in relation to your sinfulness than that. That is why it is so important that you deal with your sin now. Repent of your sin now. Don’t wait til the service is over or til you get home. Confess your sin now and believe now.

Folks this is what the dead will see and how they will react. There is no other response to His holiness in relation to their sinfulness. Even our own.

Beloved, we are here to worship the Lord on His throne. Is there anyone here who does not see how sinful they are in relation to God's holiness? Thank you Jesus that you took the wrath for us. You paid the penalty for our sin on the cross and You now sit on the throne to render judgment on those who rejected you though they had evidence of who you are. Thank you for revealing the truth to those of us who believe now.

I mean we are here to worship the Lord on His throne. Is there anyone here who does not see how sinful they are in relation to God's holiness?

Notice with me, The one who sits on it, though not mentioned by name is surely the Almighty Father, God. As we will see

So we move to the second point

II. THe

The one who sits on it, though not mentioned by name is surely the Almighty Father, God.

(., 9; 5:1, 7, 13; 6:16; 7:10, 15; 19:4; 21:5)

describes the throne in heaven, v.3 describes His appearance as gems with a rainbow around it. It also has the 24 thrones of the elders, Notice v.5 out of the throne come sounds and lightning. and the Holy Spirit is there. As well as the four creatures.

In he is described as also having a book in his hand with seven seals. Which is clearly the book of judgment from which the seals, trumpets and bowls come. At the throne also we see the lamb in this chapter, the lamb who was slain.

According to the Son sits there with Him. See also to see that Christ works also with the father from the throne.

We see again in that those around the throne worship God and praise Him. as well as verse 18 where the say that the time of the dead to be judged and reward to be given to the saints.

According to the Son sits there with Him. See also to see that Christ works also with the father from the throne.

Christ will be judging with the Father, .

the judge is Christ of course,, ; for all judgment has been committed to Him, .

So which one is it on the throne? The Father or the Son? It is either one.

The way we can reconcile who is on the throne of judgment here: is it God the Father or Jesus Christ, is by realizing the unity of Father and Son in all they do. John records Jesus statement in "I and the Father are one."

We can easily conclude that the one on the throne is both the Father and the Son, they are one.

Now If you will notice too, that everyone who comes around the throne worships the One on the throne and the Lamb and they break out in Praise to them. If it is this way with them, do you think it will be any different at the Great white throne? No way. All these who refused to give honor and glory and praise in worship to God and the Lamb on earth because they refused to see Him for who He is, they will now see the truth and bow before Him in worship, knowing full well their folly. In addition the testimony of the saints was that the one who is seated on the throne is the one who saves, "Salvation to our God and to the one who is seated upon the throne and to the Lamb." In other words, this is one more nail in the coffin for those who stand before the throne in our text. For they had refused the salvation that had been offered them. Now they know what they lost by their rebellion.

We read the worship of the elders and 4 beasts as they praise the One who sits on the throne. And to give glory to Him, , , ,

We see again in that those around the throne worship God and praise Him. as well as verse 18 where the say that the time of the dead to be judged and reward to be given to the saints.

We read the worship of the elders and 4 beasts as they praise the One who sits on the throne. And to give glory to Him, , , ,

they are called to worship God, v.10.

We also see that God's judgments are declared as just and true because his ways are true,

He judges in Righteousness, you also read the description of the one who sits on the throne to judge in vss. 12

Additionally we read that “the earth and heaven fled from the one who sits on the throne and there was no place found for them. “

Thus, creation flees from the throne of God. Now this was not unusual biblically speaking. We saw that at Mt. Sinai. There the mountains and Heavens were astir at the presence of the mighty God the holy God. The All powerful Creator. We have read that His creation cries to the caves and hills to fall on them because they cannot stand before God, , "fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand." Well no one can, accept those who have been marked with the holy brand of God by faith through the Spirit.

This is the one also:

the earth and heaven fled from the one who sits on the throne and there was no place found for them.

Even the earth flees from the presence of the Holy God. At Mt. Sinai the mountains and Heavens were astir at the presence of the mighty God the holy God. The All powerful Creator. We have read that His creation cries to the caves and hills to fall on them because they cannot stand before God, , "fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand." Well no one can, accept those who have been marked with the holy brand of God by faith through the Spirit.

What this means the heavens and earth no longer exist, they disappeared. This is poetic symbolism showing the dissolution of the universe as we know it. Over the course of our study we have already seen the sweeping changes to the landscape of the earth from the volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and such that have leveled the mountains and raised the deep. Now this heaven and earth are dissolved. And as we will read in chapter 21 the New heaven and new earth appear.

Why do they disappear? because of the judgment, because of the majesty of God.see . See how the psalmist describes this in "the mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth." and the prophet Isaiah in "Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth beneath;

for the heavens vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;

but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed."(ESV)

Jesus mentions this in "Heaven and earth will pass away but my word will abide forever."

Peter in speaks of the heavens passing away. no place found for them, "But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed." (ESV)

Why do they pass away? Because all that has been tainted by sin must be dealt with. Just as in the flood all that was tainted by sin was destroyed. Every living creature that breathed air was killed except for Noah and his immediate family. So it will be here. All that remains are God’s people. Those who have been redeemed by the lamb. Everyone else is judged.

Peter brings to mind what we should do with that information as believers: v.11"What sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness." That is a legitimate call to action for all believers to the presence of Jesus Christ. Live a godly holy life now.

So we have dealt with two elements of John’s vision in this section as we examine the Supreme Sovereignty of Jesus Christ in His rule on earth: His throne, and that He sits on that throne. Now we turn to the third element:

III. The unbelieving dead before the Throne of God. v.12

The resurrection of the unbelieving dead called the second resurrection

v.12

John also saw the dead, small and great, standing before the throne. KJV says 'God'. The idea would be the same, for God is on the throne as Judge.

These dead are not the church, nor the OT or NT saints up to the point of entrance into the kingdom. These are the dead of unbelievers. The reason we know that is because they are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. Believers will not suffer that. Therefore these dead here must be unbelievers who are standing before the throne to be judged. They are the rest of the dead in v.5 This reinforces or is furthered in understanding by

Daniel 12:2 ESV

And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

are cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. Believers will not suffer that. Therefore these dead here must be unbelievers who are standing before the throne to be judged. They are the rest of the dead in v.5 This reinforces or is furthered in understanding by ; and all three speak of resurrection of the just to life and the unjust to resurrection of judgment. This is the resurrection of judgment of the unbelieving dead.

; and all three speak of resurrection of the just to life and the unjust to resurrection of judgment. This is the resurrection of judgment of the unbelieving dead.

John 5:28–29 ESV

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

and all three speak of resurrection of the just to life and the unjust to resurrection of judgment. This is the resurrection of judgment of the unbelieving dead.

Acts 24:15 ESV

having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust.

all three speak of resurrection of the just to life and the unjust to resurrection of judgment. This is the resurrection of judgment of the unbelieving dead.

All three of these verses speak of resurrection of the just to life and the unjust to resurrection of judgment. This is the resurrection of judgment of the unbelieving dead. the resurrectio to life has already happened as we saw in v.5.

Two books will be opened.

Remember when the dead stand before the throne it is Jesus, the one whom they rejected who is sitting on the throne getting ready to pass judgment on them. They will be without excuse.

If that is not enough for them to recognize the one they rejected, the perfect cornerstone, is about to judge them, John also sees two books opened.

What are they?

The Word of God will surely be one of them though it is not mentioned explicitly here, for said, "the word which I have spoken, the same shall judge him on the last day."

The other books will be the book of works and the book of life.

Those not in the book of life are the only ones who will be in this judgment though.

This judgment will be completely just. says, "I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind to reward a man according to his conduct according to what his deeds deserve."

Paul said, God "will give to each person according to what he has done." and Peter said, God "judges each man's work impartially." .

This is also what the Lord said to the church at Thyatira "I will give to you each according to your works." This is what he states after telling them that all the churches will know that I am the one who searches the minds and hearts.

The dead will be judged according to their works so then this book will determine good and bad works, not so they could go to heaven, but to determine what must be a degree of punishment in hell. Each one will receive what they deserve in hell. All will be cast into hell, lake of fire for rejecting Jesus Christ, which is the reason for the second book, the book of life, they are not written in it because they have rejected the gift of God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

My friend if you have not made sure your salvation yet, don’t put it off today. Once you pass through this life you are out of chances to repent and believe. This is it.

In order for this judgment to occur, for the dead to stand before the throne, then we read in v.13 that the sea, death and Hades each gave up their dead. In other words this is the resurrection unto death. Now death is the place of the bodies, Hades the place of spirits/souls. Why is the sea mentioned? Because it shows that not even those whose bodies had been lost at sea and unburied would escape resurrection and judgment. The mention of all three places indicates all the dead. there will be none that miss out on the resurrection of the dead to judgment.

v.13

The sea, death and Hades each gave up their dead. In other words this is the resurrection unto death.

We see this explained in the following verses:

death is the place of the bodies, Hades the place of spirits/souls.Why is the sea mentioned? Because it shows that not even those whose bodies had been lost at sea and unburied would escape resurrection and judgment. The mention of all three places indicates all the dead.

In the keys of death and Hades is in the hand of the glorified Christ. Now we see what is meant by that because Jesus sits in judgment on the throne. He is the one who delivers the verdict and the sentence.

In Death appears as the rider of the pale horse and Hades follows him.

hades is the place of the unrighteous dead,

Acts 2:27 ESV

For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption.

; .

Luke 16:22–28 ESV

The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side. And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’ But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’ And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father’s house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’

III. The Judgment of the unbeliever,

We see in Revelation the testimony that God's judgments are just, ;

And we see in Revelation the testimony that God's judgments are just, ;

v.14

Death and hades are cast into the lake of fire. It symbolizes the final destruction of death,

1 Corinthians 15:54–55 ESV

When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?”

. The effects of the fall are gone. Death in this way is swallowed up forever,

Isaiah 25:8 ESV

He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

The effects of the fall are gone. Death in this way is swallowed up forever,

v.15

Anyone not in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Thus, anyone not 'in Christ' follows the devil, beast and false prophet into the lake of fire for ever. there is no annihilation, no second chance, no soul sleeping. There is a resurrection to death as well as life, ; ; .

Many reject the idea of a literal hell, but Jesus taught its reality, ;

This is a real place. there is a physical and spiritual resurrection. So this second death has to be real. Whatever it is it is clearly a place of physical and spiritual torment that is eternal and conscious. It is surely complete separation from God for ever. The wicked will never again plague God's people.

No one who goes there will be able to condemn God for sending him or her there. All will agree their punishment is just. They will be without excuse.

This will be a place of torment. The only way you can escape it is through faith in Jesus Christ. .

In fact, the full title of the second book is the "book of life of the Lamb who was slain" ; and "lamb's book of life" . The implication is obvious. Those who have faith in the Lamb and show that through repentance and belief in Him have life. Those who rejected Him experience this second death.

so ends all that symbolized sin and wickedness and rebellion. All those in rebellion against God, all the ungodliness is done away with. It's final epitaph is to be burned for eternity.

What is your decision? Know Him now and you will avoid this eternal torment. Reject Him now and if you die in that state this is your destiny.

In Summary, this chapter has shown us the Supreme Sovereignty of Christ as He reigns on this earth. We see His rule affirmed by the incarceration of Satan for a thousand years, we see it assisted by the Saints who rule with Him for that thousand years. We see it approved by the defeat of Satan and his being cast into the Lake of fire for eternity and we see it adjudicated by his Judgment of the unbelieving dead at the throne of Judgment.

Beloved, He is supremely Sovereign over this world and your life. Rejoice in that. Take comfort in that. Rest in that truth today. No matter what happens in your life He Rules. Humble yourself under His mighty hand. He always has your best interests and His glory in mind. This chapter reinforces that. He will bring you safely home and He will avenge and judge all who have rejected Him.

Might I close with Peter’s plea: What kind of men and women, what kind of believers ought we to be in lives of holiness and godliness?

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