This morning we will be finishing out chapter 20 which will leave us with only 2 chapters left in the entire book of Revelation. I started out this book with much trepidation and it has been spiritually rewarding to say the least. But it has also been every bit the challenge that I thought it would be. Revelation is a very heavy, very emotional book. God is righteous and He is just, and He will one day fulfill His right to judge the world and it’s unbelievers justly.
But this study has also been very hard for me spiritually. I have a heavy heart for the lost and I want to see no one perish without a personal relationship with Christ, but ultimately it is the choice of the individual heart. To reject or to accept Christ. It is one choice that all must make and one that is why I have dedicated my life to seeing that everyone can hopefully hear about the saving power of Christ Jesus. Therefore, today is a very somber passage indeed. Today we will see 9 sentences that will doom countless souls to eternal separation from God in hell. Nine sentences that should not be claiming one single soul, but because of the hard, arrogant hearts of men, it will claim billions. Let’s look at part 2 of chapter 20 of Revelation, the Great White Throne of Judgement on unbelievers by Jesus Christ.
“11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
20:11 – “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.”
John continues to personally view these events and faithfully write them down. Throughout Revelation we have been afforded an amazing first hand view of all the events. Now John looks upon a great white throne. Thrones of course are the places of kings and the color white in God’s Word represents purity, holiness, righteousness, and justice. None other than the Lord Jesus Christ is seated upon this throne, the king of kings. He is about to judge all the unrighteous of all time. And folks, in order to judge perfectly, you must be perfect. And Jesus is the only perfect and worthy to judge sinners. Check out these verses on Jesus as a worthy judge:
“Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son. (John 5:22)
“For as the Father has life in Himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in Himself. And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.” (John 5:26-27)
“He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead.” (Acts 10:42)
John notices that that the “earth and sky fled away, there was no place for them.” This is a mention of the result of the seventh bowl judgement. Recall this final judgement was an earthquake that completely changed the face of the planet. “Every island fled away and no mountains were to be found.” (Rev 16:20) Friends, when God starts over, He starts over. Recall the great flood in Genesis. When He decided to destroy all mankind because of their egregious sin, He flooded the Earth and it was completely destroyed, completely different than before. It will be the same here. We will see a new earth as Jesus returns to rule during the thousand year period called the millennial reign.
20:12-13 – “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.”
John sees a vast group standing before the throne, “the dead, great and small.” Folks, this will be every unbeliever that has ever lived. If they have rejected Jesus and died, they will be here. If they had no need for Jesus and died in 1756, they will be in front of the white throne. If they clung to atheism and died in 1958, they will be standing in front of Jesus on this day. If they always planned to sit down and really decide what to do with Jesus Christ and then died in a car crash, they are here looking into the eyes of Jesus on this day. If they waited just one day too long to call upon Christ and had a heart attack on a Monday morning at 8am, they are amongst this crowd, moments from the judgment of Christ. We’re even told if they died in the sea, they will be here. Also, all those that have died and have been waiting in the torment of Hades will be here in front of this white throne with Jesus seated upon it. You see, rejection of Jesus has a cost. Today we think it is somehow our right as Americans to do anything that we want. That we have a right to believe what we want and there will be no ramifications to our decisions and thoughts. But folks, that’s a lie. Your rejection of what Jesus Christ did on the cross will land you before the white throne on the day mentioned here. Your denial that He rose again three days later and conquered the death of sin will earn you a place in this crowd. Your decision with Jesus determines your eternal fate.
As this crowd assembles, there are multiple books. Friends, God keeps records. Very good records. In fact, if you want to cringe, think about this. Your entire life is being taped. Every second, every act, every word, every deed of your hands is being recorded. If you’re in this crowd, you will have the horrible job of watching it all replayed...right alongside Jesus.
I have done some terrible things against God in my life. I know that if you’re honest, you have the same moments in your life. But if you have called upon the Holy name of Jesus Christ to save you from these sins, His precious blood will blot them out as you one day stand before God. All of the vile sins you have committed against God will be covered by the blood of the lamb. The perfect sacrifice. But for this group, this group that stands before the white throne, they do not have the blood. They have not accepted Jesus and their deeds, all of them, will be viewed in their entirety. They cannot be denied, they cannot be explained away, they cannot be blamed on someone else. The video of their life before Jesus will be damning.
The first books mentioned here will be the record of all the sins they have committed against God. A sin is anything you think, say, or do that displeases God. These books will document all of their sins. The next book is the book of life. The book of life holds the names of those that can claim Jesus as their Savior. Folks, if you have asked Jesus to save you from your sins then Praise the Lord, your name is in this book of Life. Your name is written in the blood of the Lamb, never to be removed or blotted out. But if you have not called upon Jesus, your name will not be found. On this day, in front of the white throne, their will be an accounting. Jesus will have these books out and they will speak for themselves. Your life will tell its own true story.
20:14-15 - “ Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
We see here talk of the “second death.” There’s a great quote that says, “If you are born once, you will die twice. If you are born twice you will die once.” Let me explain this amazing statement that fits so perfectly here. We are all born naturally once, that is a fact, we all have an earthly mother and father. We will also all die. In fact, there’s been a recent study done that proves that 100% of all people born also die. (ha) So we agree that we are all born and will all eventually die. So how can some die twice and some not?
If you reject the Lord Jesus Christ, you will end up at the white throne of judgement. Your life will be evaluated and be found to be wrought with sin, which is abhorrent in the sight of God. Without the blood of the Lamb to cover your sin, you will be found unworthy to live in His presence and you will be cast into the lake of fire for eternity. This is the second death, a spritual death. An eternity of torment and suffering separated from the goodness, peace, and joy which exists in the presence of God. You will be born once and die twice.
But if you cry out to Jesus Christ to save you from the death penalty of your sins, everything changes. Everything. You will not ever stand before this white throne. There is no need. When God looks at the video of your life, instead of seeing all the sin, He sees only red. He only sees the blood of His precious Son. He sees your life as the life of Jesus, white as snow, a perfect sinless life. If this is you, if you say that you claim this amazing gift, you will be born twice and only die once. You will experience your natural birth and you will also be born again with a new life in Jesus. Because of this new life in Jesus, you will never experience the second death. Upon your physical death on this earth you will be spirited away to Heaven to live in the presence of God for eternity. An eternal existence worshipping and praising a God that sent His only Son here to die and be raised so that you could have this amazing opportunity.
Folks, it’s simple, it’s free, it’s a gift. It’s not complicated, it’s not litigious, there are no barriers. Your eternity starts in your heart and is sealed in that 4 inches between your head and your heart. Will you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior? That simple decision will determine where you will stand when you die.
Praise God for His precious Son Jesus Christ.
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