REVELATION SIMPLIFIED

 

CHAPTER 20.12b

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 2)

 

 

Introduction

In this chapter the universe is at its end, Heaven and earth are absent, the elements of the earth are dissolved by fire and time is no more. Now, God must deal with sin once and for all. Sin and death need to be destroyed before anyone can enter the New Heaven and Earth. God designates a specially prepared place in the cosmos for the Great White Throne Judgment to accomplish this purpose.

 

In the following scenario, all great and small nonbelievers are seen by John standing before Christ and Father God being judged. Final judgments are all based upon their works:

A. The works of Christians were already determined at the Bema Seat Judgment of Christ during the Great Tribulation. Every sin has been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb at the Cross of Calvary

 

B. The works of unbelievers or the unsaved are presently being judged during the Great White Throne. Records of their sins will be exposed and judged accordingly

 

A recapitulation of Scripture is stated before continuing to Section 2:

(Verse 11)

And I (John) 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.

(Verse 12a)

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;

(Verse 12b)

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.

 

Books

The word books defined in Greek is biblion [(plural) Strong’s G975, a diminutive of biblos, G976], meaning a written parchment scroll or ledger. Recall, that the Apostle John is documenting something he is visually seeing in the realm of the Spirit that resembles a scroll, in the same manner, he is viewing the Great White Throne Judgment.

 

So, God is omniscient (all-seeing, all-knowing, and all-wise) and holds a bookkeeping system that keeps accurate records of every person that has ever lived since the beginning of creation. His divine ledger itemizes:

1. Every thought (cf. Romans 2:14-15)

2. Every word (cf. Matthew 12:36-37)

3. Every action (cf. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14)

 

Bookkeeping in Antiquity

Any reader, historically or in John’s day, would be familiar with such registers. For example, emperors, kings, rulers, lords, and governors would keep a census on their subjects in the district they reigned or ruled. For instance, examples regarding the text include:

A. When a ruler demanded census ledgers for tax purposes such as in the days of Caesar Augustus - That all the world should be taxed (cf. Luke 2:1)

 

B. When a person committed a crime against the state, their name would be removed from one register and placed on a criminal record

 

 

C. When a person became deceased, the same procedure would apply

 

God’s Books

Prophetically, in the Old Testament, Daniel foresaw the same scene John is envisioning:

Daniel 7:9b 10b - The Ancient of days did sit…and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.

 

Now, several references are made to heavenly tables contained in the Bible. But, three main possible books applicable to the Great Judgment are listed as such:

1. The Book of Conscience

Men will be judged according to the law written in their hearts by their inward conscience materialized through their conduct and conversation, whether right or wrong:

Romans 2:15 - Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another.

 

2. The Book of Words

Men will be judged according to the words they have spoken. An account will be given without excuse:

Matthew 12:26-37 - But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

 

3. The Book of Works

Every man will be judged according to their works. Defined in the Greek, works (erga: from the primary of ergon, G2041) are toil, deeds, labor, or actions. Moreover, works have nothing to do with a person’s salvation. Faith alone in Jesus Christ is the key element of salvation:

Ephesians 2:9 - For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.

 

However, good works are a consequence of faith and pleasing God.

James 2:20 - But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead?

 

God possesses a detailed account of every sinful act or deed: For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap (cf. Galatians 6:7b). But the sins of the just are erased at the Cross and they shall acquire rewards at the Bema Seat Judgment:

Matthew 16:27 - For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.

 

On the other hand, the unjust shall garner punishment at the Great White Throne Judgment:

2 Corinthians 11:15 -Therefore it is no great thing if his (Satan’s) ministers (servants) also be transformed (masqueraded, disguised, transformed) as the ministers (servants) of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works (actions).

 

Revelation 20:13b - …they (the lost, unregenerate, unsaved or unredeemed) were judged every man according to their works.

 

And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life

The Book of Life

Before the foundation of the world, God possesses a written account of everyone who ever lived from the time of conception. To Jeremiah, the Lord said:

Jeremiah 1:5a - Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

 

This principle is recounted by Paul in his epistle:

Ephesian 1:4-5 - According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

 

 

Then, anywhere between the age of accountability and death, the date a person genuinely accepts and places their faith in Jesus Christ as personal Saviour and inherits eternal life is also documented, i.e., believers, saved, the elect, redeemed, repentant, and regenerate. Paul speaks of them in Philippians as such:

Philippians 4:3 - And I intreat (beg, urge, request, ask, beseech) thee also, true yokefellow (a consort, comrade or partner), help those women which laboured with me in the Gospel, with Clement (bishop of Rome) also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the Book of Life.

 

After a careful examination, the names of unbelievers are then blotted out. This is also explained earlier in Chapter 3:

Revelation 3:5 - He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.

 

Subsequently, their fate is determined in Verse 15.

 

 

7. The Resurrection of the Wicked Dead

(Verse 13)

 

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.

 

Buried at Sea

Over the ages, the sea has claimed many lives. Anyone who has ever died at sea without a normal burial regardless of their body’s condition, whether their ashes are spread, buried at sea, or have been consumed by sea creatures, will appear before the Great White Throne Judgment in a specially prepared resurrected body for judgment. Recall, that their souls have been temporarily restrained in Hades or Hell, a place of torment.  

 

Death and Hell

Apart from the spirit, there are essentially two states when someone dies:

A. Death –

The death that men die on earth is only temporary. All will be resurrected. To the person who has not accepted Christ the death of the body faces death a second time (i.e., the second death). Wherever and whatever the condition of the body is at the time of death, the body and soul are reunited when the graves and the seas give up their bodies.

 

B. Hell or Hades (Hebrew, Sheol) will be emptied of men’s souls that are temporarily restrained in the lower parts of the earth, a place of torment (see the rich man and Lazarus: Luke 16:23; Psalm 63:9; Ephesians 4:8-9).

 

In the end, all bodies and souls of men become joined together to face their punishment according to God’s books.

 

Degrees of Punishment

Some passages of Scripture make evident there are different degrees of punishment in Hell. Not all receive the same discipline. It will be worse for some than for others according to their sins against God and His Son Jesus Christ. Speaking about the unrepentant Jesus said for example:

Matthew 11:22, 24 – But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the Day of Judgment than for you…But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment, than for thee.

 

Those who openly sinned against the Lord, such as Judas, will reap a more severe penalty.

Luke 12:47-48 - And that servant, which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

 

He who has renounced the blood covenant of Christ deserves a much more severer punishment than the person who has apostatized from the Jewish faith.

Hebrews 10:29 - Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

 

Some have suggested possible applicable degrees;

1. The degree to which you gnash your teeth

2. The degree to which you bear the pain

3. The degree to which you feel the remorse

 

 

(Verse 14)

 

Then Death and Hades were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.

 

Once again, death and hades are mentioned;

A. Death claims the body: Death or the grave is the place of the unsaved dead

 

B. Hades claims the soul: Hades or Hell, the intermediate state, is the prison of lost souls

 

 

C. The Second Death – The second death follows physical death. It is known as the Lake of Fire and one is eternally separated from God

 

The Lake of Fire

Originally, the Lake of Fire was known as Ge Hinnom (the Valley of Hinnom) also called Topheth, located west and south of Jerusalem. In ancient Israel, children were sacrificed to the god Molech (cf. 2 Chronicles 28:3; 33:6; Jeremiah 7:31; 19:2-6).

 

Later it became not only a place of burning refuge but also where dead bodies of animals, outcasts, criminals, and the very poor were cremated. The fire always kept burning, thus it was called a place of everlasting destruction.

 

The Eternal Lake of Fire

Someplace outside the created universal, space and time, God has prepared an absolute eternal resting place where the souls of lost men are tormented. It is not annihilation, but a final separation from Almighty Creator God.

1. It is a place people are thrown

Revelation 19:20b – These both (The Beast and the false prophet) were cast alive into a Lake of Fire burning with brimstone. [See also Revelation 20:10;, 14; 21:9].

 

2. It is a place of torment

Matthew 13:42 - And (God and His angels) shall cast them (those who practice lawlessness) into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. [See also Luke 16:23-25].

 

3. It is a place of eternal immeasurable torment

Mark 9:48 - Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. [See also Revelation 20:10].

 

 

(Verse 15)

 

And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the Lake of Fire.

 

The last sentence of the Great White Throne defines the final destiny of all who are judged. No one can blame God for being unjust or causing him to go to Hell. God has always provided a way of salvation through His Son Jesus Christ that whomsoever believeth in His death, burial, and Resurrection shall inherit eternal life, not eternal death.

 

Hence, there is no excuse. Jesus clearly stated:

John 3:16-17 - For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.

 

 

QUESTIONS:

1.   Describe the two Judgment Seats.

2.   What is the reason God keeps books on everyone?

3.   Whose names are written in the Book of Life?

4.   Where is the Lake of Fire?

5.   Name all who are cast into the Lake of Fire.

6.   How does one become eternally separated from God?

7.   How can one avert the Great White Throne Judgment?

 

 

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