REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 20.11

Gleanings from the Book of Revelation:

A Weekly Verse-by-Verse Bible Study Series

 

The

REVELATION TO JOHN

 

Chapter Twenty

The Great White Throne Judgment

(Part 1)

 

 

Introduction

There is a final Great White Throne Judgment, the greatest of all judgments, also known as "the Resurrection of Sinners." At the close of the Kingdom Age and Satan is bound forever, only one group of people remains to be judged by God. They are the wicked spiritually dead lost sinners of all ages. These are those who are on "death row," so to speak, awaiting sentencing to eternal Hell at the end of human history.

 

John, in a new phase of his vision, witnesses a Judge seated on a great judgment throne and the accused (those of the second resurrection) standing before Him. After this judgment, there will never be another ungodly person or being to inhabit the New Heaven and Earth or the pearly white gated City.

 

 

1. The Removal of Satan (Vv. 1-3)

2. The Reign of Christ and the Saints (v. 4)

3. The Resurrected of Saints to Life (Vv. 5-6)

4. The Return of Satan (v. 7)

5. The Revolt: The Battle of God and Magog (Vv. 8-10)

6. The Retributive White Throne Judgment

(Verse 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.

 

The word throne is mentioned over thirty times in Revelation. However, this throne (megan leukon thronon) is in strong contrast and not like any other throne in heaven or earth. During the interim, it appears to be set apart somewhere in an unseen realm of the cosmos, for the old world has been dissolved by fire while the New Heaven and Earth are about to be or are being created.

 

Him that sat on it [the throne]

The Judge

Even though God and Christ are one, to a Jew it may seem natural that God the Father would be the Judge. According to David:

Psalm 9:7-8 - But the LORD (Yahweh) shall endure for ever: He hath prepared His throne for judgment. And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

 

Coinciding with David, Daniel too envisions God as a judge sitting on the throne:

Daniel 7:9-10 - I (Daniel) beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of Days did sit, Whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like the pure wool: His Throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire. A fiery stream issued and came forth from before Him: thousand thousands ministered unto Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

 

However, after the writing of the New Testament, Christ, One with the Father, is also seen on the Throne. Many New Testament passages support this claim. Listed are but a few:

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.

 

Acts 17:31 - Because He (God the Father) hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man (Jesus) whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead.

 

2 Timothy 4:1 - I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, Who shall judge the quick and the dead at (in view of) His appearing and His Kingdom.

So, in Revelation 22 verses one and three read: "The Throne of God and of the Lamb.” And, according to Chapter Three’s rendering, it appears the throne is more like a judicial bench rather than a single throne seat:

Revelation 3:21 - To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His Throne.

 

A Comparison

A. The Throne of Revelation 1:4 is a Throne of sovereignty

B.  The throne of Revelation 20:11 is a throne of judgment

 

From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away

The God of creation now becomes the God of un-creation. Recall, that two chapters in Genesis are allocated for the creation of the world. But, after the Millennium, it takes a couple of verses to document the universe being uncreated.

 

This verse makes clear that the devastation of the world we know is complete. Preceding the earth's renewal many believe, according to verse 9, the earth is purified by fire and destruction. This premise is confirmed by the Apostle Peter’s foretelling:

2 Peter 3:10, 12b - 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…because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on (by) fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat.

 

It must be noted that the new man in Christ must have a new world in Christ. Upon its renewal, the stage is set for a New Heaven and Earth; i.e., all things will be made new:

Isaiah 66:22 - For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before Me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.

 

2 Peter 3:13 – Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

Therefore, at the termination of the universe (not mentioned), God will somehow preserve righteous national Israel and the saints until the New Heaven and Earth come into existence.

 

And there was found no place for them

The world and all other bodies in the universe seem to have vanished. The present state of the earth’s existence ceases to exist. And so the scene takes place in the absence of heaven and earth.

 

This final conflagration precedes the general White Throne Judgment. Hence, God executing His righteous judgment aligns with His character as a righteous Judge. And, the Apocalypse should serve as a consolation and encouragement for the eternal glory of believers.

 

 

(Verse 12a)

 

And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God.

 

Whether rich or poor, young or old, kings or subjects, they are seen standing before God in a general assembly awaiting their final doom. Peter’s statement in Acts seems apropos here:

Acts 10:34 - Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons.

 

End-Time Judgments

To place eschatological judgments into perspective, a chart below is provided as a simplification of various judgments.

1. During Tribulation

In Heaven: Since the Church has already been glorified at the Rapture, the saints are judged from Christ’s Bema Seat

2 Corinthians 5:10 - For we must all appear before the  (Bema) judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done (reward) in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

 

2. After Tribulation

On Earth: The Beast and the False Prophet are judged by being cast into the eternal Lake of Fire.

a.  The Beast (Antichrist)

b.  The False Prophet

Revelation 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.

 

Included in this judgment are several other groups:

a.  The Old Testament saints (cf. Daniel 12:1b-2)

b.  The martyred Tribulation saints (cf. Revelation 20:4-6)

c.  The living Messianic Jews (cf. Ezekiel 20:34-38)

d.  The living Gentile believers (cf. Joel 3:1-2)

e.  Satan bound a thousand years (cf. Revelation 20:2)

 

3. After the Kingdom

In Heaven: Before the Great White Throne

          a. Satan (cf. Revelation 20:10)

   b. Satan’s fallen angels (cf. Jude 1:6-7)

 

In a set-apart place: At the Great White Throne

c.  The unsaved dead of all ages are judged according to their works

Revelation 20:11ff - Then I saw a Great White Throne and Him who sat upon it…And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne...and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds…And if anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the Lake of Fire. (NASB)

 

 Comparisons

A. Judgment of the living is at the beginning of the Millennium

B. Judgment of the dead is at the end of the Millennium

 

A. Judgment at Christ's Second Coming deals with nations

B. Judgment at the Great White Throne deals with individuals

 

In the next Bible study segment (Part 2) of the Great White Throne Judgment, God’s books or ledgers are opened to determine the punishment and destiny of the unsaved wicked dead.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.   What is the Great White Throne Judgment?

2.   Where is the Great White Throne Judgment?

3.   When does the Great White Throne Judgment occur?

4.   Who judges at the Great White Throne Judgment?

5.   Differentiate the Bema Seat and the White Throne.

6.   Who is judged at the Great White Throne?

7.   What is the defendants’ final punishment?

 

 

If this study was a blessing to you, make it a blessing to others.

SAVE AND FORWARD THIS LINK

http://breadoflifeministriesassoc.blogspot.com/