Good evening. It's a tremendous privilege for me to be doing this. And I firstly want to thank everyone who's taken the time to pray for me for this time, for strength, and that I won't be too nervous. But thank you for all that. It means a lot for all the encouragement. I hope that we can all be blessed from this, because I surely was. from this study book. I'm going to be reading the text again because I'm actually preaching from the NASB. On the screen it's going to be ESV, I believe, but yeah, 11 through 20. Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. When we were first told to pick a passage from which we would preach, this passage, this text came to my mind, and immediately I was like, no, I can't. I'm not going to do it. I prayed about it and I prayed for a different passage. I looked through scriptures, looked for a different passage to come to mind, but nothing came to mind. And then when it came on the day of the week, the following week, we're supposed to present the passage and nothing else came to mind. So I said, here, I accepted the call. It's definitely a very unpopular topic to preach from. But I think even as believers, I think it's really important to be aware of a judgment that's coming that's not even for us to take heed. It serves as a warning, I believe, to take heed lest we fall. The passage I'll be looking at tonight is often called the Great White Throne Judgment. I titled it The Final Judgment. which is in our text, but before we look at that, I want to briefly look at the preceding passage for better context of the final judgment. And I'll be explaining Revelation 20, one through 10 as I read. So I'll just make brief comments and read the passage. verses 1 through 3. These things, or after these things, he must be released for a short time. So right after the Great Tribulation, Christ returns and defeats the beast. and Antichrist and the kings of the nations at the Battle of Armageddon. So then after that, Satan is bound for a thousand years and thrown into the abyss and Christ sets up his kingdom on earth in which he will reign on, on which he will be seated on the throne of David. This is often called the millennium. There's much debate on the duration and nature of this period. There's three main views. There's premillennialism, postmillennialism, and amillennialism. I think all of us here are amillennialists, right? I'm kidding. We're not. We're premillennialists. Anyways, I'm not going to get into those three, but I'm sure Mike would have better answers for you than I would. I don't know where he is, but anyways, verse 4, So, These are the great tribulation martyrs, but also the ones who died in Christ, even the Old Testament saints, all believers, they will partake in the millennial kingdom. 1 Corinthians 6, 2, 2 Timothy 2, 12. The next, verses five and six, the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power. The rest of the dead are the unbelievers which are yet to be judged. I think between this point and the great white throne judgment, 11 through 15, is where the behemoth seat of Christ will take place, the judgment of the believers. And cross-reference passages for that 1st Corinthians 3 11 through 15 2nd Corinthians 5 and 10 Romans 14 10 Blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection The believer and the unbeliever will both have their separate resurrection and judgment the first resurrection to life and the second to judgment John 5, John 5, 25 and 29. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. And will come forth those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, and those who committed evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment. Next, verses seven through 10. When the thousand years were completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war. The number of them is like the sand at the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, which is Jerusalem, where the millennium will take place, and fire came down and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone and where the beast and the false prophet are also. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. At the end of the millennial, Saint will be released for a short time and he gathers an army together so great that it's so innumerable as a sand at the seashore. to have one final attempt to defeat Christ. But we read they only surround the city, they don't even attack, and fire comes down from heaven and devours them. This is actually the last remnant of unbelievers to have a physical death. They must all, which is the unbelievers, they must all first have a physical death before they can experience the second death. Then after the last of these sinners are killed, in verse 10, we see that Satan will join Antichrist in the lake of fire. So by the time we get to the great white throne judgment, Antichrist, the beast, Satan, are already in the lake of fire. And the Christians are already in heaven. That leaves only the unbeliever left standing at the great white throne judgment. We'll get back to that in a later part of the sermon. Terrible judgment is coming for the unbeliever. Repent while you still can. In verse 11, I want us to see the judge. And verses 12 and 13, the judged. And verses 14 and 15, the judgment. I'll read to verse 11 There's nearly 50 thrones mentioned in the book of Revelation and a whole lot more throughout the Bible But there's none like the one mentioned here, and there's none that will be like it afterward Great White Throne, three implications I think can be taken from this. Number one, great speaks of its severity and vastness. Number two, white speaks of its purity and holiness and justice. And throne speaks of its purpose, which is judgment. Great, the Greek word for great that is used to describe the vastness of this throne is megas, it's where we get the word mega from. we can really only speculate how big the throne will actually be. But if Earth is heaven's footstool, then not even our imaginations can do justice. But anyhow, great is used to describe the vastness and the grandeur of it, so much so that in all of creation, I believe nothing before or nothing after will even come close to it in comparison. Next, we see that it's a white throne. And white speaks of its purity and refers to its holiness. And I think with that, it can be used to describe its justice. Unlike the corrupt justice systems we have on earth, where the judge can be bribed with enough money and thus is more corrupt than the criminals he sets free, here, there will be no such thing. Whatever judgment anyone receives will be perfectly fair and final. and throne, I think speaks of its purpose, and that is judgment. A judgment specifically designed for the unbelievers. Let's read John chapter 5 verse 28, 29. Do not marvel at this for an hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and will come forth. Those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment or condemnation. This is a throne of justice. To all those who rejected His mercy in this lifetime, to all those, mercy will be cut off forever and ever. There will be no biased judgment. The verdict is final. I think this throne here described in Chapter 20 is worth briefly comparing to the one that's mentioned in Chapter 4 of Revelation. And I've got a few points that I just want to compare. I won't be reading the passage in Chapter 4, but the Apostle John was shown heaven's throne room before the Great Tribulation when there was still hope for salvation. But when we get to Chapter 20, the throne that's described here, that's too late. Mercy, hope, all the warnings, everything is withdrawn. It's all too late. The first thing in chapter 4, verse 3b, we see there's a rainbow seen around that throne. But in chapter 20, it's gone. Why is that? Well, a rainbow represents God's covenant with all flesh. It represents mercy and hope and promise. But now he is not seated on a throne of mercy, but of justice and judgment. The time you had to repent will be gone. The second thing I want, the second comparison I want is found in verse four of chapter four. There's 24 elders seated on 24 thrones around the throne of God. I don't know exactly what they represent, but some theologians say they represent the redeemed people. I think another thing could be is the judgment that was given to specific believers, which we see in chapter 20, verse 4. There's reference to that. But anyhow, at the great white throne judgment, they too are gone. Why is that significant? Because you will have to give an account to no one else except the one seated on the throne. The same one who invited you to salvation, the same one you rejected, that's the same one you will have to give an account to, no one else. The third thing, the third comparison found in verse 5, we see flashes of lightning and thundering around this throne. I believe they represent warnings, warnings to repent and believe in Jesus Christ for the remission of sins. Because if you don't stand before God in someone else's righteousness, namely Jesus Christ, you will stand before him in your own righteousness, which before a holy God is nothing more than filthy rags. Isaiah 64, six. And that's the worst thing you could ever do because that leaves you paying for your own debt of sin. All warnings are withdrawn on that day. The warning you have is today. The fourth thing is found in verses nine, verses six through nine, sorry. We see there's four living creatures around the throne. These are also seen in Isaiah 6. These creatures were created to be directly in the presence of God, Revelations 4, 8, and yet not even they can directly look at him, Isaiah 6, 2. They are known as the seraphim or the burning ones, but their burning is only a mere reflection from the one seated upon the throne. But when we get to chapter 20, these creatures, which are created to be in God's presence 24-7 praising him, they're gone. They fled away. They've hidden themselves from the one seated upon the throne when he reveals himself as he is. And if not even the burning ones can see him or can look at him in chapter 4 or chapter 6, How then will you be able to stand before him when he reveals himself as he is in Chapter 20? The fifth and final thing I want, the comparison I want us to see is the one seated upon the throne. The one that John seen in Chapter 4 verses 2 and 3a is not Christ, is not Jesus Christ alone, but because he is seen in the form of a lamb in Revelation 5, 6, the next chapter, proceeding from the midst of the throne, taking the scroll from the one seated upon the throne. The one that John saw in chapter 4 is the same one that Micah saw in 1 Kings 22, 19. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne and all the hosts of heaven standing by him on his right and on his left. It's the same one that Isaiah saw in 6, 1. I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, lofty and exalted, with a train of his rope filling the temple. The same one that Ezekiel saw in Ezekiel 1, 26 through 28, and Daniel, Daniel 9, 7, 9, 9, and 10. The one seated, the one seen in chapter 4 and in the Old Testament scriptures is none other than God. Obviously, God did not show himself as he is, for no one can see God and live. But when we get to chapter 20, there's a uniqueness about the one seated upon the throne here. And that is, it's God the Father and God the Son seated upon the throne together. I want to tie this next point in with the next part of the verse. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it. In chapter 20, it is God the Father who sits on the throne, but simultaneously it's God the Son, the Lord. heaven and earth the king of kings and the Lord of Lord revelation 3 verse 21 says he who overcomes I will grant to him to sit down with me on my throne as I also overcame and sat down with my father on his throne revelation 22 and 1 and 3 stresses the same thing I won't read it but it is God the father and God the son sharing the throne in chapter 20 but the son is the one and judging as we see he's going to be the one judging the unbelievers as we see in a number of passages I'll be reading John 5 22 for not even the father judges anyone but he has given all judgment to the son and in verse 27 and he And he gave him authority to execute judgment because he is the son of man. Acts 10.42, and he ordered us to preach to the people and solemnly to testify that this is the one who has been appointed by God as judge of the living and of the dead. So how do you reconcile that? I don't think there's anything really to be reconciled. The Father, or God the Father and God the Son, are seated on the throne together. In the same way that you and I can't fully understand the Trinity, the same way we can't fully understand this scene. I and the Father are one. John 10 30. If you are hearing this today and you have not yet repented and trusted and Jesus finished work for salvation, and you die in your unbelief, then you too will be among this great crowd of the damned. Don't leave here not knowing where you stand. Repent and trust in Jesus Christ while you still can. We see in verse 11 that he is seated upon the throne and in verse 12, they are standing before the throne. This depicts the one seated upon the throne is in full control. He has to give an account to no one. He is the judge of all the earth, Genesis 18.25. But woe to those who are standing before him on that day. It is a terrible thing or is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God, Hebrews 10.31. Because it says in verse 11, that from the one seated upon the throne, heaven and earth fled away and no place was found for them. All of creation will be utterly stripped away from the face of Him when He reveals Himself as He is. Everything will literally be uncreated in the same way that it came into being, the same way it'll vanish into nothingness. 2 Peter 3.10-13 and Matthew 24.31 describe that. Even the mountains that you so cried out to be covered with, unbeliever, will be stripped away to leave you standing naked before the one whom you would not surrender to. Let's move on. In verse 11, we saw the judge, or the judge will reveal himself as he is. God the Father, simultaneously through God the Son, will judge and condemn the dead. This will be the most terrifying event in all of existence to take place. But in verses 12 and 13, we'll be looking at the judged, the ones who are standing before him. Verse 12 and 13, and I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged. Every one of them according to their deeds. Three things I want to look at in these two verses. Number one, the dead. That's the ungodly. Number two, the books. That's the records or the standard. And number three, their deeds, which is their life. First, the dead. Verse 12, and I saw the dead, the great and the small. To you, it may have always been obvious, but when I came to this passage, when I started studying it, I was very perplexed with it because I always thought it would only be the dead standing before the Great White Throne Judgment. But as I started studying, I found out there's a number of theologians who believe it'll be all the people, all the nations of all the earth, unbelievers and unbelievers alike, will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment, but I prayed about it, and after comparing scripture with scripture and speaking with some of the brothers here, the perplexity was settled. He who believes in him is not judged, John 3, 18. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8, 1. So I firmly believe it will only be the dead the unbelievers of all the ages, the ones who died in their natural state of being. As Ephesians 2 says, and you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. The ones found here in Revelation chapter 20, 12 and 13, are the ones who are still dead in their trespasses and sins, the ones who were never born again, the spiritually dead. It doesn't matter what kind of status you had in this world, the great and the small, says John, the famous and the despised, the rich and the poor, the free and the bondman, all alike are equal in the sight of God and all will be judged according to their deeds. As we've seen in our intro, by the time we get to the Great White Throne Judgment, the Christians are already in heaven. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are also. That indicates that they, the beast and the false prophet, were there before anyone else, including Satan. I said we would get back to this point, and this is what I briefly want to touch on. In Revelation 19, 11 through 16, we see the Word of God, the Logos, Returns to earth for a second time to wage war against the beast and the false prophet and All the kings of the earth as shown in in verses 17 through 21 which speaks of the Battle of Armageddon To take place at the end of the Great Tribulation I want us to see in Verse 20, that the beast and the false prophet were seized and thrown into the lake of fire. Chapter 19, verse 20, and the beast was seized and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who had worshiped his image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire and brimstone. And we've seen in chapter 20, verse 10, that the devil was also thrown in the lake of fire, as we've seen. So now when we get to the Great White Throne Judgment, the beast, the false prophet, the devil, along with his demons and minions, they're already in the lake of fire. That leaves, again, only the unbeliever standing before the Great White Throne Judgment. To emphasize the judgment of the dead Notice that Satan and his angels did not even get a judgment. That's because the lake of fire was created for them. We see that in Matthew 25, 41. Why then is the unbeliever joining them in the lake of fire if it was not created for humans? Someone may ask. Because the sinner has the greater condemnation, has the greater judgment. Satan and his angels will not be charged for rejecting the Savior. The sinner, on the other hand, had a chance to repent, but denied it. Along with John Owen, this is why I think the sinner will have more sin to pay than the devil and his angels, because they, that's the unbelievers, were commanded to repent in the Son of God, but they would not. So there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin. Hebrews 10, 26. But Satan and his angels were never given that opportunity. The books. Next, I want us to notice the books mentioned in this passage, one of which will be mentioned again in verse 15, verse 12. And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. So first we see that books were opened and after that a single book was opened. In these books are all the deeds of all the unbelievers of all the ages. Every idle word, every thought, every act, every intent of the heart, every lawless deed, every so-called good deed. will be within these books. And you might even summarize it by saying that in these books is contained the debt of the unbeliever, the infinite debt the unbeliever owes God. From these books, they will be judged. But we see another book was opened, which is the book of life. Why is that? Well, I think the book of life in itself will be a judgment to the unbeliever. Because when they see their name is not found written in the book of life, excuses will start to come up, saying, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your name perform many miracles? And then I will declare to them, Depart from me. I never knew you you who practice lawlessness Matthew 7 22 and 23 Their own deeds will be a judgment against themselves The unbelievers sins have not yet been atoned for Their debt is not yet paid. So their evil deeds are contained within the books and But for those whose names are found written in the Book of Life, their deeds have been paid in full. Therefore, no books are required for the believer. The Book of Life is not a book of deeds, but a record of names for whom the Son of God died. So next to the books we see, or next to the books, plural, we see the book, singular. The final thing is their deeds, also in verse 12. And the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds, verse 13. And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. I've already touched on that a little bit. I won't go much more on that. But what deeds? They will be judged for their thoughts. That's Luke 8, 17, Romans 2, 16, their words, Matthew 12, 37, and their actions, Matthew 16, 27. Surely there'll be millions upon millions on record But the greatest and the most terrible, the most terrifying is the ultimate rejection of the Son of God. They lived as though he never gave them a law to obey. I lost my place here. Apart from Christ, these unbelievers will be left to themselves. to give an account for their deeds. But someone may well say, what about the person who never heard of God? Or the one who never had a chance to repent? The one in a far tribe somewhere who's never heard of the gospel? Let me tell you, that person doesn't exist. Romans 1, 18 through 21. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because of which is known about God is evident within them. For God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made so that they are without excuse. And verse 21, for even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish hearts were darkened. And in verse 24 and 26 and 28 of that chapter, it says, God gave them over to their sin, fill in the blank. No one will be able to say, I didn't know. Everyone knows. The law of God is written on our hearts. All of creation screams of a creator. In verse 11, we saw the judge. Verses 12 and 13, the judged. And in closing, I want to briefly look at verses 14 and 15 to see the judgment. Verse 14 and 15. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Death and Hades are both used to describe the place of the dead. Hades is actually a place of temporary punishment for the unbeliever who dies now. So all of the dead, are once and finally forever thrown into the lake of fire. This is described as the second death, and I briefly want to touch on that, but all have to die once. And as much as it has been appointed for man to die once, and after this comes judgment, Hebrews 9, 27, the believer dies to self. And at the end of his life, he does not die. but he falls asleep in Christ and is resurrected to the life at the coming of Christ. Praise the Lord for that. 1 Thessalonians 4, 13 through 14, 1 Corinthians 15, 18 through 20, there's a bunch more pastors, I won't read them, but anyways. There will be a blessed remnant of believers that will be alive to experience the rapture. And and will not even fall asleep, but nonetheless they will have died to self as a believer But most will die twice that is the unbelieving world in fact all of on all of the unbelievers will first have a physical death before they experience the second death the last remnant of unbelievers to die is found in Revelation 20 verse 9 as we've seen in our intro and But that is to say the first death. But when they are thrown into the lake of fire, that is known as the second death. Verse 14 and 15, the one who will experience the second resurrection, which is the judgment of the unbelievers, will also taste of the second death, which is judgment to eternity in hell. But notice they are thrown into the lake of fire. By whom? I've heard preachers say in person, I physically heard this, that God is love. He will never cast anyone into hell. That's their own doing. That's not the God of the Bible. The judge that's seated on the throne will cast them into hell. Matthew 10 28 and Luke 12 verse 5. I'll read that one But I will warn you whom to fear fear the one after he has killed Remember Revelation 20 verse 9 all believers must have a physical death Remember that after he has killed has authority to cast into hell Yes, I tell you fear him They will not go by volition And even though they hate God, Romans 8, 7, and yet, at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father. That's Philippians 2, 10, and 11. And R.C. Sproul said this about these knees that would not bow. Anyways, he said, in the future, every knee will bow, Either willingly or unwillingly, those who refuse to do so will have their knees broken with a rod of iron." End quote. And they will have to say, the judge of all the earth has done right. Verse 15, and if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. In closing, I once more want to urge the unbeliever listening to this to repent before it is too late. If you are unsure about your name being written in the Book of Life, then like Charles Spurgeon said, make sure it is. How do you do that? Heed to the command, to the call, to repent and believe in Jesus for the remission of sins, for your salvation. You might well say, I want to, I'll do that yet. I'll take care of that yet. But right now I want to live in my sin. I want to live in the pleasures, whatever that may be. But listen to what Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 9.10. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might. For there is no activity or planning or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol where you are going. Don't be deceived. You don't have a tomorrow. Second Corinthians 6.2 tells us today is the day of salvation. Listen, others have had their opportunity and missed it. Don't miss your opportunity. Don't miss today, because you are not promised tomorrow. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, Thank you for this time and this time in your word. Lord, I ask that your word would go forth and not return empty. Lord, my words are but a tinkling symbol. If you do not act upon them, Lord, I pray that you would do a work of grace in the heart of the believers, Lord, and even in the unbelievers. Anyone listening who may be an unbeliever, Lord, I pray that you would do a work of grace, a work of salvation in their life, Lord. I pray that this may be for your glory and for your praise. I pray in Christ's name, amen. Thank you.