1. Judgment of a believers sinsGreat White Throne Judgment
Part 1
Dr. John Hoole – May 25, 2014
In our last two lessons, we were introduced to what the Bible says about the subject of God’s Judgment. During our last lesson, we took note of 7 judgments in the Bible starting with the time of Christ.
1. Judgment of a believers sins
2. Judgment of a believer’s walk
3. Judgment of Israel
4. Judgment of the gentile nations
5. Judgment of fallen angels
6. Judgment of all believers
7. White Throne Judgment
Last week we said little about the last two of these judgments. That was true because we are going to examine the details of them, beginning today. The Bible tells us that a judgment will follow at some time after our time on Earth. Specifically, we are told that in Hebrews 9:27.
Hebrews 9:27 NKJV
27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
As we go through the details of these two judgments, it will become apparent that all who have ever lived will stand at one of these two judgments.
Today we are going to take a closer look at the last of those judgments. In Revelation 20, the Apostle John, by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tells us about the very last judgment to take place just prior to the moment when the eternal destiny of the remaining humans is declared. Verse 11 gives us the name of this Judgment. It is called The Great White Throne Judgment.
Isaiah 33:22 NIV
22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; it is he who will save us.
The prophet Isaiah gives us the four major dimensions of God’s revelation of Himself. Taking them in reverse: The LORD is our Savior, The LORD is our King, The LORD is our Lawgiver, The LORD is our Judge. We don’t like to think of the LORD being our Judge, but we will all stand before our Creator. Romans 14:12 adds support for this fact.
Romans 14:12 NKJV
12 So then each of us shall give account of himself to God.
How do you see God? Do you see Him primarily as a loving God who would never judge mankind. Or do you see Him as Someone just waiting for you to do something wrong so He can punish you?
A number of people on the street were asked a question. They were aware this was a religious question. The question: Who deserves judgment?
Voice 1: Um, I don’t think anybody deserves judgment.
Voice 2: Everybody really deserves judgment, I guess. I mean, it’s going to happen.
Voice 3: I don’t think anybody really. Everybody has their own judgment of what they think, right or wrong.
Voice 4: Who deserves judgment? Uh, I think at certain times everybody deserves judgment?
Voice 5: Everybody
Voice 6: No one really.
Voice 7: I don’t think anyone deserves judgment. I think we should all just judge ourselves.
Did you notice that these responses had no range in their answers. It was everyone deserves judgment – or no one deserves judgment. People tend to one extreme or the other when it comes to judgment. We either hope the worst people will get what they deserve, or that none of us are bad enough to be judged at all. Judgment is something we often struggle to understand about God. Some people see Him as too loving, to good to bring judgment on sinners. Others believe that the God of Christianity does nothing but judge.
Let’s read what Revelation 20 says about the Great White Throne Judgment.
Revelation 20:11-15 NKJV
11 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.
12 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.
13 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.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Let’s take a closer look at what we are told in this passage.
Revelation 20:11 NKJV
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it……
Earlier in the same chapter, in Revelation 20:4, John describes other thrones, but in the verses of 20:11-15, he uses two distinct adjectives to describe this throne. It is depicted as being a “great” and “white” throne. It is great because of:
1. Its immense size.
2. The One who occupies the throne.
3. The magnitude of the judgments that will come from this throne.
If the number of times a word is used in the Scriptures gives any indication of its importance, then the word “throne” must be an important word in the Book of Revelation. The word “throne” appears 45 times in Revelation, but only 16 times in the rest of the New Testament.
In Revelation 4:2, we are told that John sees a “throne set in heaven.” It is obvious this is the Throne of God the Father. But the throne in Revelation 20:11 seems to be different than all the rest. It is a special place of judgment.
John tells us he saw a great white throne and he also saw the one sitting on this throne. He goes no further in identifying who this person is. But I don’t think the rest of the Bible leaves us in the dark as to who this person is.
WHO IS THE ONE SITTING ON THIS GREAT WHITE THRONE?
In Revelation 20:11-15, the apostle John does not directly identify by name the occupant of the throne. In Revelation, “The one who sits on the throne,” frequently refers to God.
However, John 5:22 (NIV) helps us understand who this is.
22 The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
John 5:27 NIV
27 And he has given him (Christ) authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
Acts 17:31 (NIV)
31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."
The one sitting on this Great White Throne is Jesus Christ.
For a moment, let me skip the phrase making up the last half of verse 11. It speaks of the fact that the earth and heaven flee from the face of Him who sits on this throne. In a few minutes, I will come back and briefly address that statement. But, first, I want to address verses 12 & 13.
Revelation 20:12-13 NKJV
12 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.
13 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.
Let me introduce these two verses with a questions.
WHO IS IT THAT ARE BROUGHT TO THIS THRONE FOR JUDGMENT?
To fully answer this question, we need to understand two things. First, we know that when saved individuals die, according to 2 Corinthians 5:8, their souls are in the presence of God, awaiting eternal reward at the Bema Seat, which occurs after the Rapture.
Secondly, however, the story is much less appealing for individuals who chose not to accept Jesus as their Savior and who have died. The Bible tells us that all of the unsaved people are kept in a place called Hades (KJV=Hell), until the Millennial Kingdom is over and the Great White Throne Judgment begins. Hades is a temporary place of torment where all unbelievers go until they have to appear before God in this final judgment.
The first description of those at this judgment is “and I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,….”
The phrase small and great” used previously in Revelation (11:18; 13:16; 19:5, 1), indicates that those appearing before the white throne come from all walks of life and degrees of greatness. Their standing posture means that they are now about to be sentences. This becomes part of the principle of Hebrews 9:27, It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”
In referring to the “dead”, the language used here is not indicating some of the dead stand before the Great White Throne. No! Everyone who is dead at this moment, are ushered to this judgment.
The phrase “the dead” can have two thoughts derived from it, both of which will lead us to the same group of people. Death can be either spiritual death or physical death.
If “the dead” mentioned here are all those who are spiritually dead, then, it is quite obvious that those before this throne are all the ungodly who have ever lived. Up to this time, there has been no eternal resurrection of any ungodly person. So, one way you could interpret this verse is to have it speaking about those who are spiritually dead.
But, what if this verse has in mind those who are physically dead? Does it make a difference? I already hinted at my answer a moment ago when I said that both answers will lead to the same group of people.
I believe that we will again arrive at the same answer, that those brought to this judgment are all the ungodly people who have ever lived and died in their sins.
Let me give you 5 reasons why I believe this is so. After I give you the reasons, I will go back and give you more details for each.
1. All the godly people who have ever lived and died physically will already have been resurrected by the time of this judgment.
2. Those ushered to this judgment are mentioned as coming from the same place for each body and soul.
3. There is only one place mentioned where people go after this judgment.
4. The Bible indicates that the Just and the unjust will not be judged together.
5. The earth and heaven fleeing from the face of Christ indicates this is the judgment of the ungodly.
Now, let’s go back and look at each of these.
1. All the godly people who have ever lived and died physically will have already been resurrected by the time of this judgment.
That leaves only the ungodly left to be resurrected bodily and then judged. They are the only people who remain dead at the moment of this judgment.
2. Those ushered to this judgment are mentioned as coming from the same place for each body and soul.
Their bodies come from the place where they had been buried, whether that is the sea, the normal grave, or any other place, and the spirits of all of them come from Hades.
John tells us, in our text, that “death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them…..” “Death” claims the body of the deceased, and “Hades” is where the soul and spirit of an individual resides in torment, awaiting the Great White Throne Judgment.
You may remember that when we studied death and the resurrection, that the only people now in Hades are ungodly people. Prior to Christ’s resurrection, Hades had two compartments. One was called Abraham’s bosom, or Paradise, where the godly people went. The other compartment was called, according to Luke 16, a place of Torment.
We are told, in Ephesians 4:8-9, that Christ descended into Hades, where He released those held captive in Paradise waiting for Christ to conquered death. These are all the godly people who had died from Adam until Christ. He releases them from Hades and ascends with them to Heaven. Now, because of Christ conquering death, hell and the grave, all godly people, according to 2 Cor. 5:8, immediately go to heaven upon their death.
That leaves only one compartment in Hades with occupants. That is the Place of Torment, where only the ungodly go at death.
3. There is only one place mentioned where people go after this judgment.
That is the Lake of Fire. If there are saved people at this judgment, their destiny is not mentioned here.
4. The Bible indicates that the Just and the unjust will not be judged together.
2 Peter 2:9 NKJV
9 …...The Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment,
The godly and the ungodly are distinct groups of people, and God separates them, and is holding the ungodly for the day of judgment.
5. The earth and heaven fleeing from the face of Christ indicates this is the judgment of the ungodly.
Earlier, we skipped over the last half of Revelation 20:11. I said at that time, I would come back to it. Now is that time. I want to compare what is mentioned there with a Passage in 2 Peter. Let’s read them.
Revelation 20:11 NKJV
11 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.
First, the majesty of the person sitting on the throne results in the earth and heaven fleeing away.
2 Peter 3:7 NIV
7 By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
Before getting into comparing these two verses, let me make a couple of statements on a related side issue. Scholars differ on whether the physical elements of heaven and earth will be totally destroyed (into nothingness) and then newly created or merely a renovation of the existing heaven and earth. We will study that more closely when we get to the subject of a New Heaven and New Earth. Now, back to our discussion at hand.
The last of these two verse tells us that the changes that take place with the heavens and earth will occur at or near the same time as the judgment and sentencing of all ungodly people. The time of the renovation of heaven and earth is being reserved – is kept – is waiting for the judgment of all the ungodly people to occur so the renovation can happen.
You might ask, what is the connection between the passing away of the present heaven and earth with the fleeing away of the earth and heaven? Are those two phrases really speaking of the same event?
All Bible scholars, which I have read, that address this subject, believe the earth and heaven fleeing away from the White Throne is the passing away of the old heaven and earth.
Here’s one reason I and they believe this. The passage we are studying today is Revelation 20:11-15. These are the final 5 verses of chapter 20. What does the very next verse say? That would be the first verse of Chapter 21.
Revelation 21:1 NIV
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
If that is true, and I believe it is, then, according to 2 Peter 3:7, the renovation or recreation of the earth and sky occurs when the judgment of all ungodly people also occurs.
I believe we have presented enough arguments showing who is being judged at this judgment. The unregenerate of all ages since Adam will appear before Jesus on this throne. If a person has not accepted Jesus as their personal Savior, they will stand before God here.
What have we learned so far?
1. The judge is Jesus Christ Himself.
2. He will sit on a throne somewhere in space – away from the earth and sky.
3. Those being judged are all the ungodly of all generations since Adam and Eve.
This is what we have discussed today. In past lessons we have learned some additional things about this judgment.
4. It occurs after the 1,000-year millennial reign of Jesus Christ on the earth.
5. This resurrection is the Second Resurrection, in contrast to the first resurrection mentioned earlier in Revelation 20.
6. Satan will already have been cast into the Lake of Fire.
We will continue to examine our passage in Revelation 20 in our next lesson.