Please turn to Revelation chapter 20 verse 11. In this 20th chapter, we have witnessed a fine rhythm from earth to heaven, back to earth, and now, in this text, back to heaven. The first vision, and these visions always begin with the same phrase, and I saw, or then I saw. The first vision introduced the millennium on earth, The second vision introduced the millennium in heaven. The third text that we studied last week returned to earth for the end of the millennium on earth, and we are now back in the very heaven of heavens in God's throne room. Chapter 20, verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged by what was written in the books according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them according to what they had done. 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. I was born in Germany, and so English is not my native language. And when you learn a foreign language, in a country like Germany, there are certain words that you don't come across until you actually live in the culture or for some other exceptional reason. One such word is bailiff. When I first heard, or actually I read this word bailiff, my first thought was, it sounds like a creature from a fairy tale. or a rumpelstiltskin. But far from it, a bailiff is an officer, and his job is to maintain order in a courtroom. A bailiff, not a rumpelstiltskin. And here it is. All rise. This court is now in session. The Honorable Judge Williams presiding. These are the words that you will hear a bailiff announce when the judge enters the courtroom and takes seat on his chair. All those who are present in the courtroom, they will rise. in attention to the judge. The bailiff will see to it. Now here is a scene impossible to enact in any court of human justice. Nevermind rising in attention before the judge, the whole creation flees. It takes flight as the judge takes his seat. In the depths of his or her being, every human knows that there comes a day of reckoning, a day to account for your life, and a day to stand face to face with a judge. Of course, we put this thought out of our minds. We chase it away by all the routines and the distractions that mark life in the human plane, life on this planet. But no matter how hard we try and no matter how we run, the thought still lingers in every human mind. You must be trained and inculcated not to believe this, not to see this, or to forget this, that there will be a day of reckoning. You must be trained not to see it, because the thought lingers. It lingers still, even in the loudest and busiest places on earth. Of course, if you are a Christian, on the other hand, the final judgment, that's one of the most elementary truths that you positively affirm. Well, of course, there will be a judgment day. The whole world is heading towards its rendezvous with the judge. And we have seen visions of this, not just one or two. We've seen many visions of this in the book of Revelation. Well, I have good news for you. This is the very last one of these visions. So we're almost through, and I'm sure that this is a relief to you, but not yet. Now this vision of the final judgment, the last one in the book, the last one in the Bible, this vision, It's not intended to give us a photographic account of what that day will look like, but to instill assurance in us who believe And all those who have taken refuge in the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, it is to instill insurance in all those who trust Christ, in all those who seek to obey Him, in all those who continue to repent, and in all those who know that this day is coming. but you didn't see this coming, did you? This is the vision of the day of judgment and its ultimate purpose is to make you secure, feel secure. Yes. Yes, the primary aim of this vision is not merely to be a terror to God's enemies. Now, this is also true, but its primary aim is to instill assurance in us Who believe? Let me remind you that this entire book, therefore also this last of the judgment visions, this entire book is given or was given first to the seven churches in Asia and to all Christians, us included. Its first aim, therefore, cannot be to merely scare people. But to encourage us in our faith, of course, that's the primary aim. And how does this vision do this? By answering three questions. Who is the presiding judge? Who are the judged? And by what standard, or rather simply, how are they judged? Who's the presiding judge? Well, that's the easy one, isn't it? We've already answered it and you know the answer. But this is how the vision begins. I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The great white throne. This is an image and you have to picture it larger than life, larger than anything that you have ever seen, a great white throne in the heavens. that bespeaks sole supremacy and absolute unrivaled sovereignty that is about to be expressed. This is a scene that is set up for this very purpose, to express divine sovereignty. And this is a sight that is glorious. It's a glorious, overwhelming sight. It bedazzles you. And it captures your imagination. And it holds your attention. It holds you in a spellbound. But what do we read? Earth and sky fled away. And no place was found for them anymore. Creation is personified and she runs like pigs from a gun. She runs like a criminal. Why? Because of her moral unfitness for this occasion. The flight of creation. signifies un-creation or de-creation. The undoing of the created order, such as we have seen in previous visions of the final judgment. Think only of chapter 6 verses 12 following or chapter 16 verses 17 following. Do you remember what we saw there? That great earthquake of unprecedented magnitude. It is so great that it reaches up to the heavens and it removes mountains and islands and throws them out of place. It is so great that the sky is split open and rolled away like a scroll. Sun and moon are darkened and the stars shattered. The first heaven and earth cannot stand. Even if a divine bailiff would call them, they cannot stand before the throne. Because they've been defiled by the taint of human sin. You must remember that this creation, beautiful though it still is, it's still God's world. But this creation, It is fallen under God's curse. And again, it's a beautiful creation. The tension exists. It's a beautiful creation. You can see it. It's obvious. It has the handwriting of God. And everything that the Psalter says about the beauty of creation or any part of the Bible says about the beauty of creation is true and verifiable. But it is fallen. It's tainted by human sin. It bears the consequences of human sin. And this situation Paul describes in Romans 8 as creation having been subjected to futility. Being subjected to futility means that, boy, this earth, this creation, it can never reach its intended potential. It's like Sisyphus in Greek mythology. He carries this boulder up the hill. And just as he gets there, it rolls back down again, only to carry it up. And again, and again, and again. It's continual frustration. The earth, the creation, cannot reach its potential. It's subjected to futility. And this futility results in what Paul calls slavery. A bondage to corruption. This earth and this creation is unfit to stand before the judge and she must flee from his presence, leaving us only with a throne in sight and with a person who is seated on the throne. Who is this judge? Well, that's the easy part. As I said, it's Jesus Christ. That's not a secret. Jesus Himself says, the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, so that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. And in this parable of the goats and the sheep, He tells us that it is the Son of Man who makes the division. It's the Son of Man who is the presiding judge. It's Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul. And more than one place tells us that Jesus Christ will be the presiding judge at His return. And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess to Him. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10 says that we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Presumably the very chair or the throne that we see here in this vision. Jesus Christ. will come dressed in the glory of the Father, the regalia of the presiding judge. So that just as God was in Jesus Christ reconciling the world to himself in weakness, So God will be in Jesus Christ judging the world in power and glory. Now, we have seen preliminary judgments in the book of Revelation. If you only remember those cycles of seven, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls, Most of these were preliminary judgments. So there were famines and earthquakes. There were all kinds of catastrophes. There were human warfare and even demonic oppression as preliminary judgments on rebellious people. But all these were executed through agents. They came from the throne of God. They were ordered by Christ. But he didn't do these things. They were executed through agents. Which is why they were not so obvious. They are not so obvious. It takes revelation to discern the truth behind these. But this one, he's kept for himself. This one he won't leave to another. He keeps it in his own hand because this judge will not be lied to. This judge won't be swayed by bribes or threats. And this judge can't be manipulated by sentimentality or even by tears. Jesus Christ will judge in uncompromising, unassailable equity. And if there is anyone who is used to saying, as you have heard it before, and we have all been guilty of thinking this at one point or another, I don't deserve this. All I ask is my fair share. I don't deserve this. I only want what's rightfully mine. Well, that's what this judge will give you, your fair share. So who are the judged? It's the dead. The text says it no fewer than four times, the dead. Now that must be important to John or rather to Jesus who gave him this vision, the dead. The dead. Well, this phrase had already been used in verse 5, which spoke of the first resurrection, that all those who die in Jesus Christ are immediately carried up into heaven in their soul existence, and they live and reign with Jesus Christ throughout the New Testament era until the end of time, which is called the millennium. And in that context, we read verse 5, the rest of the dead didn't come to life until the 1,000 years were ended. So again, the millennium is the New Testament era. The end of the millennium is the end of time. And this is what the Bible teaches, of course, The dead will be raised in the end. The dead will come to life at the end. And here then we have the dead. They have come to life. Beloved, this vision presumes or assumes the general bodily resurrection of the dead at the end of time, on the last day. Just as Jesus used to say, don't marvel at this, an hour is coming in which all those who are in the grace will hear the voice of the Son of Man and they will come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment." So, are the dead that we see here, are they all people? The good and the evil or the saved and the unsaved? Are they all people because all people will be raised? No. This vision of the final judgment shows only unbelievers. For they will be judged, not believers. And before I defend this claim with exegetical detail, I want to make two general observations. Number one, many of you will have in mind that I thought that the New Testament teaches that all people will stand before the judgment seat of Christ. And didn't you say, you yourself said it, 2 Corinthians 5, verse 10, We, not you Corinthians or you people over here, but we all must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. The New Testament teaches that somehow or other everyone will be manifest at the resurrection. All will appear before Christ's seat. Yes, that's true. But, as for God's people, And I will make this point quite clear to you today. They will not come into the judgment. They will not be judged. Their works will be evaluated. That's also true. The New Testament teaches that. but these are works that are done by faith. There are works, in fact, that God has wrought in his people, and although he gets the credit, he graciously agrees to reward us for these works, and he will do it. He will reward the good works that God's people have done by the power of the Spirit and God working in them. He will reward them and they will be evaluated therefore. That is true. But all these good works, as you know, they're also tainted with sin. There's no good thought of mine that doesn't also come with some kind of a mortgage, a sinful mortgage. I cannot do a good deed with a completely holy attitude. I'm not able to. So understand that as far as we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, it is only the works that we do in faith that will be evaluated and rewarded minus all sins, all sins. And the second thing I would like to emphasize is that the book of Revelation, as we have learned, is a very unique kind of literature. It has very unique characteristics. And one of them is a certain kind of dualism. Namely, to divide the human race into two basic camps. The believers and the unbelievers. We see this throughout the book and in all these visions that we have studied. There's a strict separation between those who bear God's seal and belong to him and those who have the mark of the beast and belong to him. There's a strict separation between those who serve God and worship God and those who worship the image of the beast. It's dualism. And this dualism exists for the purpose of showing us ultimate reality. That is, to show you the world from God's perspective. Of course, no one sees the world as God does in perfect, absolute, intuitive, and comprehensive fashion. Impossible. But in this type of literature, He gives you the most important slice of reality so that you can see it. That is the most fundamental truth about human beings. Oh, and what is that? I would like to know. You either belong to God or you belong to the devil. You belong to God or you don't. And brothers and sisters, it matters not whether you consider this unsophisticated. God doesn't care whether you like it. He does care actually, whether you like it or not. But it doesn't matter whether you like it or not. But this is what you must realize in God's eyes, from God's perspective. This is the most important thing you can say about any person that walks the face of this earth. When you strip away all of the trappings and the decor and the naked truth appears. You either belong to God or you don't. You are either with Christ or you are against him. You are either alive to God or dead in sin. And the dead here, they are the latter. They're the unbelievers. And this characteristic dualism that is the hallmark of this literature, of this book, it also defines the 20th chapter. And in particular, this last, this very last of the visions of the final judgment. The basic camps, the two camps that divide the human race are here, the living and the dead. Take a look at verse four. the saints appear as martyrs, along with all the faithful, not necessarily martyrs, but those who remained faithful and then died. Their physical death is clearly implied in verse 4, because it speaks of the first resurrection. And you cannot speak of a resurrection without also assuming death. But John refuses to say that they're dead. Instead, or rather, he says that they came to life. The ESV renders the heiress as they came to life. You could simply say they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. God's people are not the dead. They are the living. And God is the God of the living, not of the dead. And this is consistent with Jesus's self-referential statement in chapter one, verse 18, where he says, I am the living one. I died and behold, I live forevermore. So do God's people. They're the living and not the dead. Now, as far as the dead, they come into view in verse five. They're actually called the dead. And they did not come to life. They did not live and reign with Jesus Christ because they have no share in the first resurrection. And those characterized as the dead, they now come into full view in this vision, in our text. By the way, they've already been identified as early as chapter 11, verse 18, where we read, the nations raged, but your wrath has come and the time for the dead to be judged. That's the language of our text. The dead, they face God's wrath, not the living who are with Christ. And this leads to another observation. You notice this, our text contains two visions of the final judgment. Take one of the final judgment is covering verses 11 and 12. Take 2, verses 13 through 15, offer a second view of the same event. Now, take 1, verses 11 and 12, simply shows the dead standing before the throne being judged. Take 2, 13 through 15, reveals their origin and their destiny. The dead, where are they coming from? And where are they going to? So verse 13 says, now listen carefully, keep your thinking caps on. They have come, not from the place where Christ lives and reigns with his people, the place of the living, They've come from a different place, another place, the place of the dead. And the place of the dead is metaphorically referred to as the sea and death and Hades or the underworld. It's a threefold metaphor, it's one. It's the place of the dead. And these three, they now, this is the resurrection, they surrender what has been entrusted to them. And the storehouse of death and perdition is emptied. And the text insists everyone is coming out of this storehouse. It's emptied completely. The text insists each and every one of the dead, they were judged according to their works. But Christ's people, they're not in this place. They're not in this storehouse of the dead and of perdition. They are in their own place with Christ. not down below, but up above in heaven, where Christ sits on the right hand of God. Notice also that eventually, even death itself is thrown into the lake of fire. And this is what the New Testament teaches. The apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, Death is the last enemy. When all opposition to God will have been dealt with and taken out of the way, there will be a last man standing. Death. Now, God ordained death, but death is God's enemy because He is not the God of death. He is the God of life. And death stands in the way of the realization of God's purpose for us, eternal life and the kingdom of God, its full manifestation and glory. So the last man standing, the last enemy is death and death here is thrown into the lake of fire. But did you notice? It's thrown into the lake of fire along with its inmates, the dead. My point is both the dead And death itself, or the storehouse of death, they're associated with a second death. Thanks be to God, this isn't your destiny. You who call on God's name, who trust Him, who seek to obey Him, who continue to repent, who persevere in good works, this isn't your destiny. You are not going to be in this place and you are not among the dead. Believers won't come into the judgment because as verse six says, over them, the second death has no power. So whoever is in that storehouse of death, all of those inmates that are thrown into the lake of fire, they cannot be the believers because they cannot be overpowered by the second death. All those who are judged and those who stand before this throne of judgment and him who is seated on this throne, they are not God's people. It is as Jesus used to say, amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me and believes in him who sent me, has eternal life. And he will not come into the judgment, but has passed from death to life. We are the living, not the dead. You are the living, not the dead. And you will therefore not come into the judgment. And even if we die, we will live. The first resurrection will make sure of this. Finally, the scene portrayed here as we already said, assumes that the general resurrection, the bodily resurrection, has already taken place. And here's what the Apostle Paul says about that resurrection from a Christian vantage point. He says, behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep. By this he means not all Christians will be dead by the time that Jesus returns. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the last trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." Paul says it twice, and thereby identifies the mystery that he has in mind. We will be changed. No one knows the power of God, but If you experience the resurrection, then you will know the mystery. We will be changed. Changed means raised in glory, in bodies whose glory rivals the glory of Jesus's own body, who are at least like unto his own glorious body. And these bodies, my friend, they're like the wedding robe of the bride of Christ. They won't get soiled. These bodies that we will receive, they will be so glorious and so shining like the stars. They will mark us out as those who will not come, who cannot come into the judgment. We will not be raised in glory only to be humiliated before the throne of God, will we? We will not be raised in glory only to be put to shame in the judgment. The resurrection itself is your vindication before all creation. Because at that day and on that moment or in that moment, everyone will realize these are the children of God and we didn't know it. But now it's clear beyond the shadow of a doubt. There they are. Or will Christ put us through a purgatory? in a limbo, so to speak. Will He put us through a purgatory and recount all of our failures and all of our sins while we stand there with the rest of the human race? Will He? No. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed. We will not come into the judgment, notwithstanding that there will be evaluations on the good works that people have done. Yes, that's true. And in that sense, we will stand there. But not in the sense that this vision portrays it. Do you understand this? Do you see this? And do you understand that you have nothing to fear? You should not have anything to fear. You will not come to the judgment. And this point is now driven home in the third issue that the text raises. How are they judged? Good question. Based on irrefutable evidence. And this cuts both ways. Based on the records of lives. They'll be judged by the books. As the text says, the books were opened. These books are a metaphor for God's unfailing memory. He does not forget a thing. Every life is an open book before God, and he remembers everything that people have done. It's as good as recorded in a book without fail. The books were open. This is a reference to Daniel 7, verse 10, which is the Old Testament subtext to this vision. Here is what it means. While in Daniel chapter seven, it's the ancient of days who sits on the throne and the books are opened. Ultimately, we now know who will sit in that throne. The presiding judge is Jesus Christ. And the books will be opened means that he will give to everyone precisely what he or she deserves. No more and no less. And this finally will right every wrong. This finally will be a verdict of holy justice. Don't worry about little babies. Will Jesus send babies to hell? Don't worry about little children. Is Jesus going to judge little children? Who have no food to eat and barely any clothes to wear. Is he going to judge children? Don't worry. Is he going to judge people who have never heard the gospel and supposedly never had a chance to become saved? Don't worry. Jesus is the presiding judge. He will do right, right, right by everyone, great and small, and the great sinner will get his reward, and the small one will have it good by comparison. But don't you worry. Leave it to him, okay? He's in control. It's in his hand. That's why he has reserved his judgment for his own hand to execute. Don't worry about this. But of course, there is another book. There is another book. It is the book of life. And this book, it doesn't contain deeds, only names. No deeds, only names. It's the book of life. And as verse 15 indicates, it's this book that makes the ultimate difference. This book that is the ultimate distinguishing factor in the final judgment. This book is called the book of life because it identifies the living, you see, not the dead. And when this book appeared in previous visions in the book of Revelation, for it has appeared, we saw that in 17.8, for example, that the names in that book, they were written in that book before the foundation of the world. Before God made anything, they were already there. And we learned In chapter 13, verse eight, that this book is the property of the lamb that was slain. It's the lamb's book of life. It's the registry of the elect from every nation, every tribe, every tongue, all of God's people. whom Jesus purchased for God with his own blood. And it's the one book in all the universe that makes the difference between eternal life and unending death, between the living and the dead. Now, how do you know that you will escape the judgment? The dead are judged according to their works. You are saved, you will be saved by works. You will be saved by works. The perfect works, the righteousness of Jesus Christ, and His perfect sacrifice, His death for you. You see, your salvation is not the result of God letting five be an even number. It's not a matter of mere mercy or feeling pity. Or far better, your salvation is founded on justice. What is right? Divine justice. Because God has given you full justice in the life and in the death of His Son. He has given this to you. You have been given justice, a just reward for the finished work of Jesus Christ. Your name is in the Lamb's book of life. It has always been there. It has been there all along. And it would be a gross injustice for God to take it out. Or not to save you on that day. Because it's the Lamb's book. And what does that mean? It means that it ... Assumes the lamb's slaughter. That's why Jesus is called a lamb in this book. He's a lamb for slaughter. It's the lamb's book of life. That's why it would be unjust for God not to let you in, but to keep you out. That cannot be. And not only is it the Lamb's book, it's the book of life. Because in this book and with this book, written before the foundation of the world, Jesus Christ bequeaths his life to you. It's this book. As verse 15 says, that makes the difference. And that's how God intended it to be, because he loves you. And He has loved you before the foundation of the world when He wrote that book and put your name in it. And there it will remain until the end of time. And it will be the record to show that your being in heaven is the right thing. It's fully justified. If I was judged according to my works, or if you were judged according to your works, we would be counted among the dead, which is where we would belong. But you see, that's the trick with these books in this chapter or in this vision, both the many books for the dead and the one book for the living, the book of life. That's the trick with these books because they're all metaphors of God's unfailing memory. I am not very good with names. It takes me so long to tie people to names. In fact, I have made a virtue out of this evil. I give people names. Names that are not their real names. I just do it. I'm not good with names, but God is. And how can He forget? the names of his own children who have taken refuge in the lamb that was slain. How can he forget them? And while it says, all who were not found written in the book were cast into the lake of fire. It's also true that none found in it can perish or come into the judgment. It's impossible. There is a book of life and it's for the living, not the dead. God wrote your name in this book before the foundation of the world. He thought of you. God calls your name now. That's how you know that your name is in that book. You hear his voice and you obey him. That's how you know that your name is in that book. And God will remember your name forever. That's what God has saved you from. death and hell, they will shut their mouth forever. They will not hurt you. What God has saved you for, that will be the subject for the next couple of months and we will spend ample of time speaking about heaven. But what ought to be our final response to this text, to this vision of the final judgment, it ought to be the same that we have seen throughout the book of Revelation. When God rose to judge, the angels in heaven worship and praise Him. That's our response. Worship. Why? Because that day will reveal the truth that up until this day, human beings will not accept until they believe in the gospel that Jesus is Lord. But that day will make it clear to everyone. And you can rejoice in this. And that day will, because he is the presiding judge, that day will ensure that every wrong that has been committed on this planet will be righted. You can take comfort in this. And finally, worship is the proper response because on that day, Jesus Christ will perfect his grace to the praise of God's glory. Because that day will show what he is already saying to you now. There is therefore now no condemnation. for those who are in Christ Jesus. So take courage and know that He is God. You're in His hand with everything else. Let's pray.