Please turn in your Bibles once again to the book of Revelation and the chapter 20. My text for this evening can be found in the verse 11. The Apostle John is the speaker here. And he says, 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 future is something that we're all naturally inquisitive about. We like to know what's going to happen this week. We want to know what's going to happen next month. We plan for a year ahead or perhaps even several years ahead. We like to know. It's part of our nature. We like to know what's going on. And the future holds a great fascination to so many people in the world that they go to great lengths to find out what will happen. There are those who sadly dabble in the occult. They think practices such as tarot cards, palm readers, and even fortune tellers will give them an insight into the future. But even amongst those who profess faith in Christ, there's a big fascination amongst Christians and those interested in Christianity, what will happen in this world? What sort of events are going to happen, especially towards the end of this world? If you ever turn on any of the so-called religious TV channels, you will find that quite often the preachers there have their big charts and maps out as to what will happen with the end times. And you can turn from channel to channel and you will find speaker after speaker speaking to an audience about future end time events. If you want to attract a big crowd into a church, one of the ways you can do that is advertised meetings where you're going to reveal exactly what will happen at the end times. And it's a fascination to many people. But in this fascination as to what will happen in the future, and especially what will happen at the end of the world, Something serious is missing. In fact, I would go as far as to say something serious is badly neglected and in the eyes of many people, even lost. And it's the return of Christ and the fact that we will all stand before his judgment throne. For the return of Christ, or for some people, For believers, the return of Christ will be a happy and joyous occasion. To be able to gaze with our own eyes upon the Son of God who loved us and gave himself for us will be a marvellous day that many believers, in fact all believers, should be looking forward to. But for the return of Christ, It will be a dreadful experience for another group, for those who have rejected his overtures in the gospel, for those who have despised the Son of God's offer of mercy, for those who have refused to repent and believe the coming of Christ is a fearful and dreadful day. But the Bible tells us it is a certain day. So what will happen on this last day? Well the Bible tells us, suddenly there will be a great shout and the trumpet will sound. Christ will appear with thousands of holy angels and the souls of the redeemed. The earth will be consumed with fire. The universe as we know it will pass away. All the souls who have ever lived will be gathered together. Those who are alive on earth will not die as other men. They will undergo a change equivalent to a death and a resurrection. In a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, they shall be changed. And the dead shall be resurrected also. And then the judgment will commence. Each and every one of us will be gathered before the great white throne. Now there are some in Christian circles and they try to claim that there will be two judgments. And maybe you've heard of this. Maybe you've seen it on some of those TV channels. They claim that the sinners will be before the great white throne and believers will just be before the judgment seat of Christ. But I tell you tonight that the judgment seat of Christ and the great white throne are the same place. It's the same time. It's the same event. In 2 Corinthians 5.10, Paul says, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive the things done in his body according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. And to the church in Rome, in chapter 14 and verse 10 of his epistle, he says, for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. Believers will be gathered before the great white throne and unbelievers will be gathered there as well. And dear friend, let us not play this down tonight. Let us not think that this is something that maybe the Bible has got wrong. Maybe the preacher has misinterpreted. No, the Bible is perfectly clear. Christ is coming again. And there will be that day when you and I are gathered before the great white throne. Now we can make preparations for our holiday next summer. We can make preparations for our retirement. And I'm sure most of us do. But dear friend, have you made preparation for the day you will stand before the great white throne of Christ? It doesn't matter what you prepare for in this life. It will all disappear. It will all vanish away. But stand before the great white throne you will. And you must be ready. And you must be prepared. I want to bring before you tonight this very serious and solemn place, the great white throne. I don't know what is planned for you tomorrow. I don't know what is planned for you next week, but I know what is planned for you one day. You will be stood before Christ and before his great white throne on this day of judgment. And I trust you'll be prepared and ready. So the first thing we can say in describing this great white throne is that it is a real throne. The Apostle John says, and I saw. And I believe he saw a real throne. He didn't see a fictional make-believe image. No, I believe he saw the real throne. There are many people in the world today and maybe you're one of them here tonight. And you're hoping that John's vision was just that, a vision. Maybe you're hoping that it's not real. Maybe you're hoping that there's going to be no such time, no such place, no such event when you will have to stand before God and give an account. But John says, I saw. It's a real place. Dear friend, don't try and reason it away in your mind. It's a real place. And it's certain that you'll be there. The rest of scripture confirms it's a real place. Psalm 93 verse 2 says, Psalm 103, 19, the Lord hath prepared his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom ruleth over all. And I could go on for the next half hour with verses that teach us from scripture that Christ has a throne. And he does have a throne, dear friend. And you need to realize this, because one day you'll be stood before this real throne. But let me also say in describing this throne, it is a great throne john says i saw a great white throne why is it a great throne well it's great because of the person who sits upon it It is God's throne, and anything God has is great, and God's throne is a great throne. It is a throne of greatness because God has authority and power on it. God is not weak. God has all power in heaven and earth, and he has power to command judgment from this throne. It's a great throne because it belongs to Almighty God. but it is also described as being a white throne. Why white? Well, white is the color associated with Christ. Christ will come on a white cloud. He will come riding a white horse and he will sit on a white throne. John says, I saw a great white throne. What does the color white represent? Well, it represents righteousness. And that's what Christ is, the righteous judge, the one who will judge the world in righteousness. White also speaks of purity and holiness, and that's what Christ is. He is the holy one of Israel, and he will judge the world in holiness. And White also speaks of justice, because Christ is the just judge. and he will execute justice from his throne. Psalm 89 14 teaches us that justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. Psalm 97 verse 2 says that righteousness and judgment are the habitation of thy throne. So here we see all the things that are associated with the throne of Christ, righteousness, justice, and judgment, and holiness. And dear friend, think about that for a moment, that you and I will have to stand before this throne and can you imagine a sinner standing before that throne who hasn't repented of their sin a sinner who blatantly died in their sin who rejected Christ and who openly defied and broke his laws standing before the holy and just judge what will the outcome be it is a white throne but it's also Christ's throne. Verse 11 says him that sat on it. Who is the him that sat on it? We know this is God's throne, but specifically it's Christ's throne. The second person of the Godhead, God the son, the one who had that real humanity. He is the one who will sit upon his throne. Kings and rulers of this earth, as they sit upon their throne. What is that a sign of? Well, it's a symbol of their power. The queen at the opening of parliament sits upon her throne as a sign that she has the power, the authority to open the parliament. Well, Christ sitting on his throne is a display of his power over all the souls of men and women. The one who will be the judge is the one who is God and man, the God-man, Jesus Christ. Many will, perhaps on that day, try to plead before the judge, but you don't know what it was like. You don't know what I went through. You don't know the temptations I faced, the agonies of sin. They allured me and I fell. You don't know what it's like. But the one who sits on the throne will know what it's like because he was in all points tempted like as we are yet without sin. So the one who is our judge will be able to say, I do know what you've been through. I do know the temptations you've suffered because I also suffer temptations. It's Christ's throne. Matthew 25, 31. tells us when the Son of Man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory. In Acts 17 31 Paul preaching says that God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained whereof he hath given assurance unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead. God will judge the world in righteousness by that man. Who's that man? The one that he's raised from the dead, Jesus Christ. Dear friend, can you see this today? That the one you're going to stand before on that day of judgment, the one who will be seated on the great white throne whenever you're gathered before it, is the Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls to the sinner, come unto me. The one who came into this world to seek and to save that which was lost. The one who many men and women have rejected and despised as their Lord and Savior. Can you imagine standing before Christ, having to confess I rejected you as my savior? It's his throne. And he is the one who will perform judgment on this throne. In John 5, 22, the Lord Jesus Christ said, for the father judges no man, but hath committed all judgment onto the son. So on his throne, Christ is the one who will execute judgment upon all those who are gathered before him. He is the one who will be your judge and mine. But let me say about this throne that man cannot hide from this throne. John says in verse 11, and there were found no place for them. There were found no place for them. It'll be on that day, whenever Christ returns again, that many will try to hide from him. Many will seek a place of refuge. Revelation 6, verse 16 and 17. There will be those who will say to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne and from the wrath of the lamb, for the great day of his wrath has come, and who shall be able to stand? Dear friend, there's coming that day when we'll all be summons before the judgment seat, and there'll be those looking for a place to hide. Why? Because they know they're guilty. They know they've broken his law. They've rejected the gospel command to repent of their sin and believe. And they'll seek a place to hide, but there'll be found no place to hide. Oh, men and women can hide in Stornoway tonight. They know the meetings are on here. They can hide at home. They can make their excuses for not coming. They can say, I'm busy. I have family coming. I have friends. I have the washing and ironing to do. But there'll be no excuses on that day when we're all gathered before the great white throne. Dear friend, whatever excuses you're making now in your life for not coming to Christ, whatever excuses you're making for rejecting him as savior, they'll not stand on that day. You'll have no excuse and you'll have no place to hide. What about those who are dead? Maybe you're sitting thinking, well, they'll get away with it. Their bodies have been laid in the ground. Their bodies have wasted away. They've returned to dust. They will be spared in this day. Well, no, they won't. Look at what verse 12 says. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God. The dead will stand before God. The Lord will resurrect their bodies. Even in the twinkling of an eye, they'll be summons before him, their bodies resurrected, put back together. God who made them the first time is able to make them the second time. Verse 13 says, and the sea gave up the dead. Oh, those who are maybe, or who maybe suffered death, or were buried, and their bodies lay at the bottom of the ocean. The sea will give up her dead as well. They'll be there. Verse 13 says, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. So you're maybe thinking, well, if I die before Christ returns, I'll avoid this. My body will be gone. It'll be too late. No, it's not too late, friend. Because the Bible says that all will stand before him. All who have ever lived will be there. All who are alive when he returns will be gathered before this throne. There will be no avoiding it. And God will not make any mistakes. There'll be nobody missing. The dead will be there. And then what will happen whenever we're gathered before this throne? Well, verse 12 says, and the books were opened. What books will be opened on this day of judgment? Whenever you're stood before the throne of Christ, what books will be opened? Well, there's a few different thoughts, but I believe one of the books that will certainly be opened is the book of scripture containing the law of God. and God and Christ will read the law to us, and we will be convicted of the law that we have broke. The book of scripture will be opened. You see, as the scripture is read, and even as the 10 commandments are read, who amongst us is able to say, I have kept thy law perfectly? None of us. The Bible is clear. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. There is none that doeth good, and there is none righteous. Dear friend, whenever the book of the law is read, you'll have one sentence that'll be going over in your own head, guilty. I'm guilty of breaking God's holy law. But I believe another book that will be opened on that day is the book of the sinner's conscience. Because you maybe think that everything happens in your mind is private to you. Nobody else knows about it. But God does. God gave you a conscience. God implanted the moral law upon your conscience. You know what is right, you know what is wrong, and God will reveal your conscience before you. All those things that you've maybe even forgot about, God will bring them to your remembrance on that day. You see, God is mighty, and God is powerful, and he will not forget. even that smallest of sins. And on that day, Christ himself will be a witness against us that we have broken his laws. But we're told another book is opened as well. Verse 12 says, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. What is this book of life? Well, this phrase book of life is used eight times in scriptures. But what does it mean? Well, it is a book that has names in it. It has the names of those who belong to Christ. Those who have been redeemed by his precious blood. Those who have been called by his free and sovereign grace into his kingdom. Their names are on this book of life. And look at verse 15. It says, and whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This book of life is a special book because it has the name of all God's redeemed upon it. All those whom God has called by grace, all those who have saw the horror and terror of their sin and turned to God for mercy, all those who have believed upon the Lord Jesus Christ, their names are found in this book. but what about those whose names are not found in this book verse 15 is very clear if your name is not found written in the book of life they were cast into the lake of fire oh dear friends this is very serious what will happen after this well after the books are read there will be judgment before the throne In Acts 17, 31, it says, he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness. There's going to be judgment. We are not going to stand before the throne, and Christ is not going to say, we'll just forget about it. Everybody into heaven. Dear friend, that will not happen. If that were to happen, then Christ would cease to be just. His death would be in vain. There will be judgment before this throne. Christ will judge us. Verse 12, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books. There will be judgment. Judgment by Christ, the righteous judge. We'll be judged by the law, which we've all broken. Verse 13 says, and they were judged every man according to their works. As the books are opened, we'll be judged by our works. My dear friend, let me be clear about this. Works cannot save us. Coming to church is good, but it will not save you. Becoming a church member will not save you. Partaking of the sacraments of the Lord's Supper and baptism will not save you. Joining a charity will not save you. Being kind to your neighbor as much as you should, it will not save you. Yes, we will be judged by the works. But what is the Lord especially looking for? What is the only thing that will prevail in our hearts before the judgment seat of Christ? Repentance of sin and faith in Christ, resting upon him alone as our savior and our redeemer. Nothing else will prevail. And whenever Christ examines us and whenever we stand before the judgment seat, that's what we must have. Faith in him. The apostle Paul said those lovely words, I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. Do you live by that faith today? Oh, we will be judged before that throne. And friend, be sure that you will be judged. If the Lord were to examine you this very night, would he find faith in your life? Or would it be a mess? Well, what happens after the judgment? After the judgment before the throne, we're told in Matthew 25 that there is a separation. If you turn to that passage, Matthew 25, 31, this is what happens after the judgment. Matthew 25 verse 31, when the son of man shall come in his glory and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory and before him shall be gathered all nations. Now listen, and he shall separate them one from another. As a shepherd divided his sheep from the goats, and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the king say unto them on his right hand, come ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For one group of people, They're going to hear those wonderful, welcoming words of Christ. Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. And dear friend, I'm sure those are the words that you want to hear. Whenever I stop people in the street doing outreach, I ask the question, do you want to go to heaven? And it's amazing how many atheists say yes. Atheists who don't believe in heaven say they want to be there. They forget what they believe for a moment. And everybody wants to be in heaven. And we all want to hear these words, come ye blessed of my father. But dear friend, there's only one way we will hear these words. If we turn from our sin and turn to Christ, if we repent of our wickedness and evil against God and believe upon Christ, that's the only way we'll hear these words. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Jesus Christ himself declared, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh on to the father but by me. And dear friend, if you want to hear the words, come ye blessed of my father, you must come through Christ and him alone. But what will happen the other group? Remember, before this throne, there's going to be a separation. There's going to be one group, and they're going to hear the words, come ye blessed of my father, and this group will enter into heaven, and they'll be with Christ forever. But what about those on the other side? What will happen then? Well, look at verse 41. of Matthew 25, then shall he that is Christ say unto them on the left hand, depart from me ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Dear friend, did you get it? Those who are gathered on the left, those who hear the words from Christ, depart from me, ye cursed, will be put into everlasting fire. And why will it be so? Why will this judgment fall upon them? It will fall upon them, not because Christ has rejected them, but because they rejected Christ. They had his offer of mercy. They had the gospel to believe. They had a savior who bled and died for sinners to come to, but they wouldn't come. There's going to be a great separation. On this day, families will be separated. Oh, Adam and Eve and Abel will be on one side, but Cain won't be there. Lot will be gathered onto Christ. He'll be on one side, but his wife that turned into that pillar of unbelieving salt, she'll be on the other side. And his daughters that perished in Sodom, they'll be on the other side. David and Solomon will be together. But Absalom won't be with his father. Peter, James, and John and the other disciples will be gathered unto Christ. But Judas Iscariot, the traitor, he won't be there. The apostle Paul, he'll be gathered unto Christ. But what about Agrippa, the man who was almost persuaded? Will he be there? What about Felix who trembled under the preaching of the gospel? Will he be there? What about you, dear friend? What about your family? Maybe you have a mother or father, and they've already gone to be with the Lord, and you know they're with Him today. Well, on that great day of judgment, will you be stood beside your loved ones, or will you be stood on the other side? Dear children, you're maybe sat with your parents in church today, But where will you be standing on the day of judgment? Will you be standing side by side with your parents, prepared to go into the kingdom? Or will you be on the other side? There's going to be a separation before the throne. But do you know what the worst form of separation is? The worst form of separation is being separated from Christ for all eternity. Because dear friend, today you live in the day of grace. Today you live in a day when you can reach out and believe upon Christ and embrace him as your savior and Lord. But there's coming a day when that day of grace will disappear, when it'll be a day of judgment and it'll be too late. Of course you'll believe upon him then, you'll see him then. God, it'll be too late to say, Lord, I'm sorry. It'll be too late to say, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. It'll be too late. Oh, today, if you hear his voice, harden not your heart. Separate it from Christ for all eternity. But you know that today you live in his grace. Today he has given you the strength to be here. He has fed you. He has watered you. He has nourished you. and he has presented the gospel before you, you don't know you're living. Today is the day of grace. But there's coming a day when for sinners, it'll be their last chance. Leaving this world, going out into eternity, or Christ's return, no more chances. there will be punishment issued from the throne. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Do I need to expand on this, dear friend? Do you need me to put into great detail tonight the punishment that awaits those who reject Christ and reject his gospel, a lake of fire? Many people hope the Bible is wrong. Many people hope the preacher is wrong. Many people hope that God will change his mind. God's word does not change, and God does not alter his word. If God does not put unbelieving sinners in the lake of fire, then God is a liar. And God is no liar. We're coming to a close tonight. Maybe you're asking the question preacher when will all this happen. Maybe you're going to go home tonight and type into Google when is Jesus coming again. Well the Bible says he cometh as a thief in the night. No man knoweth the hour. If you knew the time that Christ would come for you or that Christ would come again, you would be tempted to live in sin until that time came. Dear friend, behold, now is the accepted time. But the one who is coming one day as a judge is today a saviour. and he is able to save all who come to him for salvation. How is he able to do it? Well the Lord Jesus Christ came into the world and he came to take the sins of his people upon himself and that's exactly what he did at the cross of Calvary. The Lord Jesus Christ came into this world the Son of God and God the Son. He lived a perfect life, an impeccable life on the sinner's behalf. And having lived that perfect life that I could not live and you could not live, the Lord Jesus Christ went to the cross and the Apostle Paul says on that cross he was made sin for us. and he gave himself an offering for our sin on that cross and the bible says it pleased the father to bruise him christ dear friends took the sins of his people took the wrath of god for those sins and he shed his blood to redeem us the prophet said there's a fountain open for sin and for uncleanness and it was opened at calvary and the apostle john says the blood of jesus christ cleanses us from all sin So you can have your sin pardoned tonight by coming to Christ, by receiving him as your savior. That is how you can be saved. And it's the only way that you can be saved. How do you know? Maybe you're asking the question. How do you know, dear preacher, that he'll receive me? You don't know how terrible my sins are. You don't know all the times I've cursed God in my heart, all the times I've sat in church here wishing the minister would be quiet. How do you know God will receive me? Well, the Lord Jesus Christ said, him that cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. And that's a promise from Christ. Doesn't matter how wicked and sinful you've been. The Apostle Paul was a man who had the blood of believers upon his hands, went about persecuting the church, and he had mercy. And I could go on with many others, but the vilest sinner who truly believes that moment from Jesus, that pardon receives. There's coming that day we'll all stand before the judge, and I tell you it's a comfort to know the judge. For the Christian, while we be ashamed of our sin and while we lament our sin and all those times we failed God, the day of judgment isn't a day of worry for the believer. They know the judge. They know he has borne their sin upon his body, that he has satisfied the wrath of God and the justice of God for sin. It's a comfort to know the judge, to have heard his voice, to have listened to His command to come to Him, to have embraced Him as our Saviour and our King. It's a comfort to know the Judge. Can I ask today, do you know the Judge? Do you know Jesus Christ as your Saviour and as your King? Oh, there's a throne you can come to today. It's his throne of grace. In Hebrews 4, verse 16, it says, let us therefore come boldly onto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy. And there's mercy for the sinner today. And Jesus Christ says, come on to me. Dear friend, remember, one day you'll stand before the judge, but will you stand before him redeemed? from all your sin in his precious blood? Or will you stand before him still in your sin, awaiting that awful judgment? Depart from me, ye cursed. Let us pray.