Justice at the Great White Throne: The Summons and the Books

Let's dive in. Revelation 20, verse 13, the first part, we're talking about the summons.

Revelation 20:13

Remember, we're talking about the great white throne judgment.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them.

As the next scene in this ultimate courtroom drama unfolds, this is,

remember, this is man's last day in court. This is it. It's over.

And who all is at the great white throne judgment? Do you remember from last week?

The unsaved dead from all time.

And so as this next scene unfolds in this ultimate courtroom,

the prisoners here are summoned from their cells to appear before the judge.

And since their deaths, their souls have been tormented in a place of punishment.

And now the time has come for them to be sentenced to the final eternal hell.

Before the sea was uncreated, as we talked about last week, and went out of

existence, it gave up the dead, which was in it.

Okay? The sea may be singled out because it's seemingly the most difficult place,

if you stop and think about it for a moment, from which bodies could be resurrected

in the depths of the sea, right?

But God will summon from its depths new bodies for all those who've perished

throughout all of human history, including those who were drowned in the flood,

those who went down with the Titanic,

the other sinking ships we've heard about, the Arizona, many others,

and the countless other ships that have sunk throughout time,

as well as all the millions of other people who met their end at sea as well.

But death here symbolizes all the places on land from which God will actually

resurrect new bodies for the unrighteous dead because they'll get new bodies

too because they have to get bodies because you got to remember they're going

to be tormented for all eternity.

In hell and so this the sea and death are pictured as as these if you kind of look at it kind of like,

racist monsters you know they're they've swallowed up the

the you know the bodies and then they're forced to to disgorge

them if you will to dislodge them before the uncreation of the world remember

last week we talked about just to catch you up with those you might not have

been here last week we talked about here at this time that the world will be

uncreated just like god spoke it into existence, he will speak it out of existence.

And no one will survive this. But it says, you know, Hades here,

y'all probably heard Hades. We're talking about hell, the eternal hell.

And some people mentioned last week about, well, what about today?

I thought everybody went to hell when they died if they didn't know Jesus. Well, not right now.

Okay. Not according to scripture. Eternal hell may be in existence,

but it is not actually utilized. The first two that are cast into it,

Do you remember who they are? The lake of fire?

Cross, cross, and the beast, right? But Hades is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew word Sheol.

And both words actually describe the realm of the dead.

Sheol is used 67 times in the Old Testament. It actually describes the realm

of the dead in general terms.

Hades is used 10 times in the New Testament. and it's always in reference to

the place of punishment.

You can look in Luke 16, verse 23. We covered that not long ago on Sunday morning

Luke 16:23

where the unrighteous dead are kept pending their sentencing to hell, the lake of fire, right?

The eternal hell. And in this incredible scene, Hades, that place of punishment

that those unrighteous souls are being kept.

Is emptied of its captive spirits who are reunited with their resurrection bodies

before the bar of God's justice.

Unbelievers, in other words, again, will be fitted with resurrection bodies

suited for hell, will then be ready for their sentencing to the lake of fire

where punishment, unlike that in Hades,

will last forever according to scripture.

And we gave a good indication of that the other week, because when we looked

at those first two that went into the lake of fire, we know beyond a shadow

of a doubt that they were there for the entire millennium, right?

Until Satan was released for just a short time.

So there was a thousand literal years that they were there.

So it's not all this annihilationism and stuff. It's just not scriptural.

It's not what the word of God teaches. So we see the summons of all the dead,

and now we're going to see the standard.

So let's pick back up here, it says, 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.

Now we're talking about unsaved people. We're talking about the unrighteous dead, right?

And they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds.

So as the judgment here commences, the judge actually opens the books.

The scene here, I think it's reminiscent of the one described by Daniel, by the way.

Listen to what he said. He said, I kept looking until thrones were set up and

the ancient of days took his seat.

His vesture was like white snow and the hair of his head like pure wool.

His throne was ablaze with flames. Its wheels were burning fire.

A river of fire was flowing and coming out before him.

Thousands upon thousands were attending him and myriads upon myriads were standing before him.

The court set and the books were opened. That's Daniel 7 verses 9 and 10, that prophecy.

Daniel 7:9

The books contain y'all the record of every thought,

word deed of every unsaved person

who ever lived you may have heard

people in the past give an illustration you know how would you

like just the last week you live put up on the big screen for everybody to see

you know most people are just like oh no you know don't don't play back that

time on you know monday morning at 10 a.m don't just skip over that you know

but literally here before the great white throne judgment,

there's nothing hidden and the books are open.

And God has kept perfect, accurate, and comprehensive records of every person's life.

And the dead, according to this passage, look at it, will be judged from the

things which were written in the books according to their deeds.

Sinners' deeds will be measured, you know, against what?

It'll be measured against God's perfect, holy standard, which Jesus actually

defined in Matthew 5, verse 48, where he says, therefore, you are to be perfect

Matthew 5:48

as your heavenly father is perfect.

In his first epistle, Peter actually wrote, like the holy one who called you,

be holy yourselves also in your behavior because it is written,

you shall be holy for I am holy.

First Peter 1, 15 and 16.

And then also we think of Paul, the apostle Paul, who to the Galatians,

he actually wrote for as many as are of the works of the law are under a curse for it is written,

cursed is everyone who does not abide by the things that are written in the

book of the law to perform them.

Galatians 3.10, a truth that was also taught by James, y'all.

For whoever keeps the whole law, he said, and yet stumbles in one point has become guilty of all.

Remember, I was talking about that a little bit this morning, James 2.10.

No prisoner here at the great white throne judgment seat, no prisoner before

the bar of divine justice will be able to claim the perfect obedience to God's

holy standards that is required.

They all, just as scripture says about all of us, really, they all have sinned

and fall short of the glory of who?

God, Romans 3, 23, and are dead in their trespasses and sins,

according to Ephesians 2, 1.

You see, all sin is going to be paid for by somebody.

It's either going to be paid for by you or it's going to be paid for by Jesus.

But if you choose to reject God, you choose to turn your back on him and his

ways, you will end up right here at the great white throne and your mouth will

be stopped because you have no defense.

God's justice here in this passage demands payment for every person's sins.

Christ paid that penalty, though, for believers. Amen.

I mean, he was pierced, Scripture said, through, pierced through for our transgressions.

He was crushed for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being fell upon

him, and by his scourging we are healed. By his stripes we are healed.

All of us, like sheep, have gone astray. Each of us has turned to his own way,

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

That's Isaiah 53, 5 and 6. So we also think about in Scripture,

it reverberates in our mind, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law,

having become a curse for us, y'all.

A curse for us for it is written cursed is everyone who it hangs on a tree that's in galatians 3 13.

Here's another one. We sing a song about this one. Jesus Messiah says,

God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become

the righteousness of God in him.

Second Corinthians 521. So Christ himself, don't miss this tonight.

Christ himself bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to

sin and live to righteousness. 1 Peter 2.

But unbelievers, not having Christ's righteousness imputed to them,

as it tells us in Philippians 3.9,

will themselves pay the penalty for violating God's law.

And we know what Scripture says, that is eternal destruction in hell forever.

Lake of fire. 2 Thessalonians 1.9.

So God's judgment of impenitent, unbelieving sinners, evil deeds will include their thoughts.

God knows, remember from Psalm 44, God knows the secrets of the heart.

Hey, lost people can put on a show for everybody else, but you can't fool God.

And he will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus, it says in Romans 2, verse 16.

Romans 2:16

For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that

will not be known and come to light, it says in Luke 8, 17.

Y'all, you ever thought about how fitting the title sheep are?

Is, I should say, you know, dumb, right?

Da-da-da-dum, right? Bah, yeah. Y'all, do we think we're going to get away with anything, right?

Thank God that Jesus paid it all for us, right? All of us. All to him we owe.

All to him we owe. Sinners will also be judged for their words.

Jesus said in Matthew 12, 37, for by your words you will be justified,

and by your words, you will be condemned.

And finally, unbelievers will be judged by their actions.

God's going to bring, he says, every act to judgment, everything which is hidden,

whether it's good or evil, it says in Ecclesiastes chapter 12.

Ecclesiastes 12 · chapter mention

So the son of man is going to come in the glory of his father and with his holy

angels and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

It says in Matthew 16, 27.

But at this great white throne, y'all, as we see in Revelation.

No one here will be able to claim ignorance of God's commands or his standards

because both creation, it says in Romans 1.20, just read Romans 1 tonight when

you get home, and the conscience, it says there, creation and your conscience.

Con means with, science means knowledge. Every time you sin,

you do it with knowledge that it's wrong. Every lie you tell, you know it's wrong.

Every commandment you break, you know it's wrong because God has written his law on your heart.

Creation testifies, your conscience testifies, It says in Romans 1,

it reveals God's righteousness, and it tells us we're without excuse because

God himself has revealed himself to every man, no exceptions.

Those without knowledge of God's law will be judged on the basis of the knowledge they do have.

You might say, well, what if they don't know everything? They'll be judged on

the basis of what they do know, according to Romans 2.12.

The absolute unerring accuracy of God's judgment will ensure,

y'all, that unbelievers' punishment in hell, don't miss this,

fits their iniquity, their lawlessness.

Each person's life will be individually evaluated. Each person's punishment

will be consistent with that evaluation.

And so scripture teaches that there will be varying degrees of punishment in hell.

When he sent the 12, if you remember, out on a preaching tour,

Jesus told them, Whoever does not receive you nor heed your words as you go

out of the house of that city, remember what he told them to do?

Shake the dust off your feet. Truly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable

for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city in Matthew 10.

In fact, rebuking several cities for their unbelief, Jesus actually declared these words.

Listen, he says, woe to you, Chorazin, woe to you, Bethsaida,

for in the miracles, if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon,

which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. That's what he said.

Nevertheless, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in

the day of judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, this is what Jesus talking, will not be exalted to heaven, will you?

You will descend to Hades, for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom,

which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day.

Wow. These are Jesus' words.

Nevertheless, I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom

in the day of judgment than for you.

Matthew 11. So the hypocritical scribes who like to walk around in long robes,

you remember those, and like, you know,

respectful greetings in the marketplaces that we read about in scriptures and

chief seats in the synagogues and places of honor at banquets who devour, it says in scriptures,

widows' houses and for appearance sake, offer long prayers.

And these will receive greater condemnation.

He also says in Mark 12, is God holy? Is God just?

Does anything get by God? Does anyone's attitude get by God?

Does anyone's behavior get by God? Absolutely not.

In describing the final judgment in the parable of the faithful steward, if you remember,

Jesus taught that the slave who knew his master's will and did not get ready

or acts in accordance with his will will receive many lashes. You remember that?

But the one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive but few.

Do you see the varying degrees there?

It kind of jars to my memory, Brother Ronnie.

Judgment must begin at the house of God. Because I'm going to tell you what,

we know as believers what God would have us to do.

And if we choose not to do it, that's a testimony to us about, hey, do we know the Lord?

Do we know him? Is he really our father? Is God our father?

But also, keep it in mind, Jesus paid it all.

None of us are perfect but we strive we

strive to be holy as he is holy

but the writer of hebrews asked an important question

i want us to look at tonight he said how much severer punishment do you think

he will deserve who has trampled underfoot the son of god and has regarded as

unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified and has insulted

the spirit of grace That's in Hebrews 10.

Y'all know it should be noted that while there are varying degrees of punishment

in hell taught in Scripture, everyone there will suffer intolerable,

indescribable misery and torment. It doesn't matter what degree.

Because we are gonna be separated from God and his love.

Separated. And all sinners in hell will be utterly separated from God.

And all that comes from his goodness, all of it.

So they will be miserable, but not equally miserable according to scripture.

So after the books containing the prisoners' evil deeds were opened here at

the Great White Throne Judgment, what does it say in the text?

It says, another book was opened, which is the book of what again? Life.

This book's energy, it just corresponds to, if you will, the registries of citizens

kept by ancient cities even.

It contains the names of all those whose citizenship is in heaven.

Talks about that in Philippians 3, by the way. And it's referred to several

times here in our study here in the book of Revelation as well.

The book of life, y'all, is the record of God's elect.

The called out one, called out ones, which is the church, right?

His elect, all those chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.

And by the way, we talked about this last week. When was our name written in the book of life?

According to scripture, before the foundation of the world, even though we can't

wrap our minds around it.

And all those names, it says, are not recorded in it, will be eternally damned.

Since their names were not in the book of life, the prisoners before the great

white throne were judged here in Revelation.

In fact, here at the end of the millennium, every one of them,

according to their deeds.

Some in shock and horror will protest out like we read a couple weeks ago on

Wednesday night, Lord, Lord,

did we not prophesy in your name and in your name cast out demons and in your

name perform many miracles? Mark 7.

You know, in our day, we could say those same things or we could say,

Lord, didn't we teach Sunday school?

Didn't we come to church once every three months? Didn't we do this?

Didn't we try this, Lord?

But they'll hear and reply the most chilling, terrifying words that any human

will ever hear according to scripture.

What will they hear? You see it? In Matthew 7, I never knew you.

Depart from me, you who practice lawlessness.

Matthew 7, 23, those who refuse to plead guilty to their sins in this world

and repent and ask God for a pardon based on the substitutionary work of Jesus

Christ on the cross will face trial after they die.

And on that day they will be pronounced guilty no exceptions no exceptions.

So let's come to the sentence, verses 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.

The evidence is irrefutable, y'all. The verdict is rendered here at the great white throne.

A judgment will be swiftly carried out as the sentence is passed.

Death in Hades, the grave and the temporary place of punishment for everyone

whose name was not found written in the book of life, will be thrown where?

Into the lake of fire. Meaning that they will, if you will, go out of existence,

swallowed up by the final hell in the sense of they will be in hell forever and ever.

And as this world is uncreated by the word of God, That will be their eternal home.

Their inmates, currently suffering in their spirits only, will be united with

specially designed resurrection bodies and cast into eternal hell.

So where are people who don't know the Lord when they die today,

who refuse to put their faith and trust in Christ? Where do they go, according to the Bible?

Hades, place of punishment. It is not a pleasant place, but it is not eternal Lake of Fire Hill yet.

That's coming here. So as we look at this, that final hill described as the

Lake of Fire, it may already exist.

Matthew 25, 41 talks a little about it. But if so, according to Scripture anyway,

it's currently unoccupied.

Its first two occupants, again, the beast and the false prophet,

will not arrive until the end of the tribulation, as we studied in chapter 19, 20.

So the clearest, y'all, and most vivid of the New Testament terms used to describe

the final hell, the lake of fire, is Gehenna.

Yehenna is actually the New Testament word for the Valley of Ben-Hinnon, also called Topheth.

And it's located southwest of Jerusalem, by the way.

In Old Testament times, idolatrous Israelites actually burned their children

in the fire there as sacrifices to false gods.

And in Jesus' day, it was actually the site of Jerusalem's garbage dump.

And the fires just kept constantly burning there and they gave off this foul-smelling

smoke and the dump was infested with, you can imagine, maggots.

Sometimes the bodies of criminals were dumped there as well.

The Valley of Ben-Hinnon was just an apt picture here that was used of eternal

hell, just a glimpse of what that would be like.

One used repeatedly by Jesus.

The symbol here is that the fires never go out. It's an eternal fire,

the lake of fire. It goes on and on and on.

Hell will be God's eternal, if you want to look at it this way, cosmic dump.

Its inmates will be burning as garbage forever.

The blessed and holy participants in the first resurrection will not experience the second death.

Y'all help me out. Here's a pop quiz quickly. who's going to be the ones who

experienced the first resurrection the church will be raptured who else.

Old Testament saints. And who else? Those who died in the tribulation.

Yep. The martyrs in the tribulation will be in their resurrected bodies,

right? At the first resurrection.

And those who actually are the kids of those believers at the beginning of the

millennium will actually repopulate the earth during Christ's thousand-year reign we talked about.

And they will be part of those, just like today, just because mom and dad know

Jesus doesn't mean their kids will, because those believers,

the ones who survive the tribulation,

they are Christians because that's all that's left, but they are still in their

mortal bodies in the millennial reign of Christ.

They have not received their new bodies yet. They will not until the end of

the millennium receive it.

And so the blessed and holy participants of this first resurrection,

which the church is a part of, will never experience the second death.

But the rest of the dead who did not participate in the first resurrection will face the second death.

That's all the unbelievers from all time will be resurrected with new bodies

fit for hell that will be judged at the great white throne judgment.

No Christian will stand at the great white throne.

And that's defined here though the second death as the lake of fire so those

who die in their sin in this present world of time and space that we live in

today will die a second death in eternity.

So y'all see why we want to see people saved right now why we want to see people

life change because there's no second chance you know a lot of people say well

i read in the book of revelation that people get saved during the tribulation.

Why do you think you're going to be alive to experience the tribulation?

And why would you say yes then and you don't now if you know the truth, right?

Because when people die in their sins, y'all, there is no second chance.

No second chance. They'll be sentenced. These people here, the great white throne,

all the unbelievers of all time will be sentenced to the lake of fire forever.

Scripture just vividly portrays the various aspects of the final fiery hell.

You know, fire is used more than 20 times in the New Testament to actually depict the torment of hell.

I mean, that's pretty serious. Whether the fire of hell is literal,

physical fire is unknown.

Since the lake of fire exists outside the created universe as we know it.

If fire here is symbolic, the reality it represents will be even more horrifying

and painful because we can't even fathom what it'll be.

The Bible also depicts hell as a place of total what? Darkness.

Darkness, which is going to isolate its inmates from each other.

You know, you heard some people in the past, I know, talking about,

Well, I'm just going to be with my friends in hell. We're going to party in hell. Really?

Y'all ever been in total darkness before anybody pretty much?

Yeah, I'm going to party in hell, right? I'm going to be in all this torment

and I'm going to feel like partying, right?

And as a place, it says in scripture, where the worm, possibly that's emblematic

of an accusing conscience. The worm dies not.

Devouring the wicked will never die, that conscience. as a place of banishment

from God's kingdom and as a place of unending sorrow, y'all,

where Scripture says there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Y'all, there's only one way to avoid the terrifying reality of hell.

Those who confess their sins and ask God to forgive them on the basis of Christ's

substitutionary death, on their behalf, will be delivered from God's eternal wrath.

That's what we need to be saved from after all is God's wrath.

For those who refuse to repent, the somber warning expressed by the writer of

Hebrews is going to apply. Listen to this as we close.

For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth,

there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of

judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.

Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony

of two or three witnesses.

How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled underfoot

the Son of God and is regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which

he was sanctified and has insulted the Spirit of grace.

For we know him who said, Vengeance is mine, I will repay.

And again the lord will judge his

people it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living god hebrews

10 y'all i think not only should this stir our hearts tonight to reach the lost

so they don't have to end up here before the great white throne but it also should be a.

Do we really believe the gospel? Do we take this seriously, y'all?

I mean, are we trampling underfoot the blood of God? We know the truth. We hear the truth.

We live in the Bible belt after all.

Is it become so commonplace to us that we just brush it off as a common thing?

These are serious questions that I think need to challenge us because just because

you come to church doesn't mean you're a Christian. Y'all know that, right?

Where do you stand with God tonight? Has your heart been transformed by the

gospel of Jesus Christ, by the good news?

Have you actually put your faith and trust in him who died in your place?

Has your life been changed like we talked about today?

If you're still living like the world, that hasn't been changed.

If you still value the things of the world and make decisions just like the

world would make, your heart hasn't been changed.

According to scripture, you're a new creation in Christ Jesus.

The old things pass away. All things become new.

Don't be surprised when the trumpet sounds and you're left behind.

Take it seriously, y'all. What have you done with Jesus? Have you truly repented

and put your faith and trust in Him.

I think that's important for us to know tonight because I would hate to think

that anyone that would ever darken the door of Eastwood Baptist Church would

spend an eternity in the lake of fire,

forever and ever and ever.

And those of us tonight who can sit here and say, hallelujah,

Judd, amen, I know I've repented, put my faith in Christ,

I'll never have to be there because of what Jesus did for me,

then y'all yeah it's time to wake up and seize the day make the most of every

opportunity a scripture says to seek and save the lost just like jesus talked

about this morning let's pray.