God has fixed a day in which He will judge the world. In this message, Pastor Brian expounds Revelation 20:11-15 to consider the Judge, the Dead, the Books, and the Judgment of that great day. The only hope any sinner has on that day is that his name will be found in the Book of Life!
The Judgment of the Great Day
Revelation 20:11-15
In Revelation 20 we have the story of Christ and His Church told again from a different camera angle. It is a recapitulation of the same story we have already seen in Revelation depicting the church age. During this age, Satan is bound in the sense that he can’t deceive the nations any longer, like he did during the Old Testament era. The kingdom advances into all the nations of the world, and Satan can’t keep them in the dark any longer. That is Revelation 20:1-3
The saints are born again, come to life, and reign with Christ over the world, the flesh and the devil by the power of His grace. That is Revelation 20:4-6
Then comes the final battle. Satan is loosed so that he does deceive the nations with the result that there is an all out war against the saints, seeking to annihilate the church from the face of the earth. However, fire comes down from heaven and devours them. We are told in 2 Thess. 1:6-9 “For after all it is only just for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give relief to you who are afflicted and to us as well when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. These will pay the penalt6y of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power, when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day, and to be marveled at among all who have believed – for our testimony to you was believed.” That text tells us Jesus will be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, and will give relief to those who are afflicted, dealing out retribution to those who don’t know God. Well, that’s what we see in Revelation 20. The saints are being afflicted by Satan and his followers. Fire cam down from heaven (Christ’s second coming) and devoured them. The same themes are repeated here. Thus, I believe what we are seeing in Revelation 20:7-10 is the second coming of Christ at the end of world history. The saints are going through great persecution. Christ returns, delivers them, and destroys His enemies. It’s the very same thing we saw in Revelation 19:11-21, just from a different camera angle.
When Christ returns, several other things take place as well.
- The rapture of the church. 1 Thess. 4:15 – 5:3. “For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” We are told here that the rapture takes place at the coming of the Lord. Everywhere in the NT, the “coming of the Lord” is speaking about Christ’s second coming. Further, in 5:2-3, this coming of the Lord, is called the Day of the Lord in which sudden destruction comes upon the wicked suddenly. This is not talking about a “secret rapture” when millions of people suddenly disappear and go to heaven for 7 years until Christ returns. It is talking about what takes place when Christ comes again. As He comes to the earth, He glorifies living saints and catches them up in the air to meet Him as He descends.
- All the dead are raised. John 5:28-29 “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 the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.” John 6:39 “This is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” The last day, is the day after which there are no more days. After this day, eternal heaven and hell begin. This is the day in which Christ returns.
- All the dead are judged. 25:31 “But when the Son of Man come in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.”
- The present heavens and earth are destroyed. 2 Peter 3:10 “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”
- God will create new heavens and earth. 2 Pet. 3:13 “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
In our passage this morning, we are going to see the resurrection and judgment of all men. I call this “The Judgment of the Great Day.”
In this passage, we are going to see 4 elements: the judge, the dead, the books, and the judgment.
1. The Judge
Then I saw a great white throne. John sees a throne. A throne is what a king sits on. This One sits as a King to render judgment on them, which will have eternal consequences.
This throne is called great because it points to the majesty and authority of the One sitting on it. It is great because the decisions rendered by the One sitting on this throne will endure forever. It is great because the ramifications of this judgment will last forever! Your eternity will be determined by the Judge at this judgment.
This throne is white, because white symbolizes purity. The One on this throne is absolutely pure. The Law this Judge has given is absolutely pure. The verdict He will render to every person will be absolutely pure, with absolutely no flaws whatsoever. He will make perfectly righteous judgments on all His subjects. He sees all, knows all, including the motives of men’s hearts. The eternal sentences He pronounces upon all will be absolutely righteous. Psalm 89:14 “Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne.”
And Him who sat upon it. Who is this One sitting on the throne. We might jump the conclusion that this is God the Father. However, Jesus said in John 5:22 “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son… the Father gave the Son authority to execute judgment.” Romans 14:10 speaks of “the judgment seat of God.” But 2 Cor. 5:10 speaks of “the judgment seat of Christ.” 2 Tim.4:1 says “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, ad by His appearing and His kingdom…”
It makes sense that Jesus would be the judge of all men. He is the person of the godhead who assumed a human nature, entered human history, lived a perfect life, bled and died to atone for the sins of men, and then rose from the dead and ascended back to heaven. He is one of us. He is qualified to judge us.
From whose presence earth and heaven fled away. This points to the dissolution of the present heavens and earth as we have just read of in 2 Peter 3. When Christ comes to judge the world in righteousness, the present heavens and earth melt with fervent heat and the earth and its works will be burned up. As soon as this judgment has taken place, we read in 21:1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.”
And no place was found for them. On this Judgment Day, there is no escape from the presence of Christ. There will be no mountains or rocks to fall on them to hide them from the wrath of the Lamb. When He issues His summons it will be impossible for any person to disobey. All men will be forced to come before Christ to receive their eternal judgment.
2. The Dead
And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. I know that Premillennialists believe these are only the unsaved present at this judgment, because they believe believers during the church age have already been judged first at rapture, and then OT and tribulation saints at the second coming of Christ. They believe there is a 1,000 year earthly millennium that happens after Christ’s second coming, and then Christ judges the wicked. However, 20:15 says “IF anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” That “if” implies that there are some there whose name is found written in the book of life. Elsewhere in Scripture we read that the final judgment will be of all people, righteous and wicked. Mt. 25; Acts 24:15.
The great and the small. This is just a way to speak of all people. The great in this world (kings, presidents, emperors, dictators, billionaires, famous) and small (ordinary, obscure, not famous or wealthy, or powerful). No one gets a pass. No one escapes. ALL are summoned.
Standing. No one is sitting, or lounging around, or playing on their phone. They are all standing, no doubt in great dread of receiving their eternal judgment. This not a casual setting. This is a setting of great anxiety and terror for the wicked.
20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. This is not talking about the souls, but of the bodies of those who died at sea. All those who drowned in the flood of Noah’s day, all the Egyptians who drowned in the Red Sea, and all those who have perished at sea will come forth. God will resurrect their bodies and unite them to their souls to stand before Him for judgment.
Death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them. Death and Hades simply stands for the realm of the dead. All men rise from the dead in resurrected bodies.
3. The Books
Books were opened. What is recorded in these “books”? “the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.” Their deeds are written in the books. These “books” are a detailed account of the lives of all people who have ever lived. God knows everything that every one of us has done, and He never forgets. He is omniscient, and He will bring a very clear, thorough and detailed knowledge of the deeds and life of every person to this accounting. God will bring forth irrefutable evidence of the guilt of all people.
The problem of course, is that our deeds are evil! Romans 3:23 “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Eccl. 7:19 “Indeed, there is not a righteous man on earth who continually does good and who never sins.” Of course, the only exception to this is Jesus Christ, who knew no sin. He was the perfect man, the Righteous One, holy and true. But apart from Him, all people are sinners. When God reviews their life, it will be shown that all have violated His holy law, and given themselves to sinful lusts and pleasures. That includes Christians. All men deserve nothing more than Hell.
Another book was opened. Notice there are the “books” and then “another book.” Books plural, and another book, singular. In the books are recorded the deeds of every person who has ever lived. In the book are the names of the elect. This is a kind of membership roll of all who trust Christ for their eternal salvation.
Which is the book of life. In this book are the names of those who have been given eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ. John, the same one who wrote Revelation, also wrote 1 John. 1 John 5:11-12 “And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.”
When were these names written in the book of life? I know it is popular to talk about a person’s name being written down in heaven when they believe in Christ. However, in the book of Revelation, we are told that their names were written in the book of life from the foundation of the world! Revelation 13:8 “All who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.” Revelation 17:8 “And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast, that he was and is not and will come.” Why are their names written in the book of life from the foundation of the world? Because Ephesians 1:4 says that God chose us in Christ from before the foundation of the world. The imagery of having your name written in the book of life is simply a way to picture God’s election of particular people to eternal life.
4. The Judgment
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is a visual picture that tells us that death and Hades will be no more. Death will be no more because all men will go on living forever, either in heaven or hell. Hades will be no more, because Hades is the realm of the dead. But all those people who have died have been raised and judged. Hades has been emptied. Hades will be forever removed, because people will no longer die and enter Hades from this point forward.
This is the second death, the lake of fire. Remember 20:6 “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power.” The first resurrection is a spiritual resurrection, a resurrection of the soul, the new birth. It is to be made alive together with Christ. All those who are born again will never be cast into the lake of fire. Hell has no power over them! Just the thought of being cast into the Lake of Fire should shoot terror into the heart and mind of any unsaved person. If you know you are not right with God this morning, this passage should cause you to shrink in fear. If it doesn’t, it must mean that you don’t understand what the lake of fire is, or your heart is so hardened that it has been seared as with a branding iron.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” When God looks in the books and sees a record of everyone’s deeds, he sees records of sin and failure. Why then do some people escape the lake of fire? Because their name was written in the book of life! How can I know that my name is written in the book of life? Listen to the same author, John, in 1 John 5:13 “These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” What must a person do in order to know that they have eternal life? They must believe in the name of the Son of God. Now, in Scripture there is such a thing as dead faith, and living faith. Only true living faith receives eternal life. The person with a dead faith will say they believe in Jesus, but their life is never transformed. They continue to live with the same heart, desires, and affections that they always had. They still love their sin, and dislike the idea of surrendering their will to Christ. The person with a living faith experiences transformation. God changes his heart, desires, affections and will. He longs to please God. He repents of sin. He trusts the promises of God. And the indwelling Holy Spirit changes him from the inside out.
He was thrown into the lake of fire. Notice that the lost are not annihilated. That don’t cease to exist. Jesus said, “These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” The stakes here are extremely high! You will either be in ecstasy in heaven with Christ for all eternity, or you will be in torment in hell separated from God and His grace for all eternity.
Conclusion
Do you have faith in Jesus Christ? If so, is it a living faith or a dead faith? Does it bring forth the fruit of the Spirit?
God will judge all people by their deeds. Will God reveal good deeds you have done as a result of faith? If you have living faith the deeds will be there. If the works are not there, the faith was not living and real.
The Unsaved. What are you waiting for? Why are you delaying repenting and trust in Jesus Christ? Are you waiting to clean up your life? That’s the biggest mistake you can ever make, because you can never clean up your life on your own. We will never deserve Christ and eternal life! Don’t try to become good enough to deserve salvation. That’s a fatal mistake! Today is the day of salvation! Repent! Change your mind about God, yourself and sin. Put your faith in Christ. Trust that when He died on the cross He took your hell punishment. If Jesus took 100% of your punishment for all your sins on the cross, how much punishment is left for you to endure? None! Therefore, if you are really trusting Christ, you have eternal life. Will you trust Him today?
The Saints. Judgment Day is coming! God will reveal everything about your life before His holy gaze on that day. Will your deeds show evidence that He saved you and gave you eternal life? Mt.5:16 “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Also, Jude says in vs. 23 “save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh.” Are you snatching anyone out of the fire? Are you going after your family and friends who are still lost and headed for the lake of fire? Let’s all seek to bring the gospel to lost people, before it is too late. “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment” – Heb.9:27.
May God help us to live with this Judgment of the Great Day ever before our minds!
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