Great White Throne Judgment

Revelation 20:11-15

The Great White Throne Judgment

The 32nd in a Series of Studies on

Biblical Prophecy1 John 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

“Making & maturing disciplesof Jesus Christ to the glory of God”

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,

Hebrews 9:27

Seven Biblical Judgments2. The Judgment of

1. The Judgment of

3. The Judgment of

4. The Judgment of

5. The Judgment of

Believer’s Sins (Jn. 12:31)

Believer’s Self-Judgment (1 Cor. 11:31)Believer’s Works (2 Cor. 5:10)

Gentiles at Christ’s Return (Mt. 25:32) Israel at Christ’s Return (Ezek. 20:3)

6. The Judgment of

7. The Judgment of

Angels (Jude 6)

Ungodly (Rev. 20:11-15)

To Which Court will you be Summoned to Appear?

Revelation 20:11-1511 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

Revelation 20:11-1513 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

“This passage describes the final sentencing of the lost and is the most serious, sobering, and tragic passage in the entire Bible. Commonly known as the Great White Throne judgment, it is the last courtroom scene that will ever take place. After this there will never again be a trial, and God will never again need to act as judge. The accused, all the unsaved who have ever lived, will be resurrected to experience a trial like no other that has ever been. There will be no debate over their guilt or innocence.

John MacArthur’sdescription of Revelation 20:11-15

“There will be a prosecutor, but no defender; an accuser, but no advocate. There will be an indictment, but no defense mounted by the accused; the convicting evidence will be presented with no rebuttal or cross-examination. There will be an utterly unsympathetic Judge and no jury, and there will be no appeal of the sentence He pronounces. The guilty will be punished eternally with no possibility of parole in a prison from which there is no escape.”


“What a sea of faces will appear before Him in that solemn hour of tremendous import! All the lost of all the ages; all who preferred their sins to His salvation; all who procrastinated until for them the door of mercy was closed; all who spurned His grace, and in self-will chose the way ‘that seemeth right unto a man,’ but was in truth ‘the way of death’—all such are summoned to stand before that inexorably righteous throne.”

Harry Ironside’sdescription of Revelation 20:11-15

“The language of this passage is plain, stark, and unembellished. Few details are given, and the description is utterly lacking in the vivid, eloquent modifiers that might be expected. But the scene is frightening enough in its own right that such language would be superfluous. The beloved apostle John, recording this vision in a cave or on a hillside on the island of Patmos, no doubt was shaken as he wrote of the eternal damnation of the wicked.”


“I saw a . . . throne . . .”Revelation 20:11

Meaning of “Throne”

King Tutankhamun’s

Throne Chair

Meaning of “Throne”Throne Room for Prince of Persia

Biblical Meaning of “Throne”Hebrew (kissē’)

root (Heb. kāsâ, ‘to cover’) suggests a canopied construction,

Greek (thrónos) = a seat, usually high andhaving a footstool, a throne as the emblem of royal authority

(kathédra) = a seat

(bḗma) = first seat

= may refer to any seat or to one of special importance

Biblical Meaning of “Throne”Pharaoh elevated Joseph to the status and office of viceroy, “only with respect to the throne shall I be superior to you” (Gen. 41:40)

The establishment of David as king of Israel was equivalent to the establishment of the throne of David (2 Sam. 3:10)

Only one throne is described in detail in the OT:

The throne of Solomon(1 Kgs. 10:18–20; 2 Chr. 9:17–19)

Biblical Meaning of “Throne”Angelic powers, both good and evil, are also described as thrones (Col. 1:16; cf. Eph. 1:21; Rev. 2:13)

Jesus will occupy David’s throne forever (Luke 1:32; cf. Isa. 9:7; 16:5; Acts 2:30; Heb. 1:8; 8:1; 12:2).

The 12 apostles will reign with Christ on 12 thrones (Matt. 19:28; Luke 22:30).

Biblical Meaning of “Throne”

Jeremiah 3:17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem.”

Immanuel KantPrussian philosopher Immanuel Kant asked the question, "What would it take for ethics to be truly meaningful?” For humanity to have true ethics, and for there to be meaning in ethics, there must be true justice.

Kant reasoned that if good people suffer and the unjust prosper, there is no practical reason to be ethical; in other words, crime does indeed pay.

Kant was asked another question: "What does it take for justice to be truly real?"

Kant observed that this world shows that justice doesn't always prevail, so Kant said for justice to be real, there must be life after death where true justice is meted out.

Kant reasoned that meant there must be a judgment in the next life of all who have ever lived. And, said Kant, that judgment must be perfect.

Immanuel Kant

But for that judgment to be perfect, Kant said there must be a perfect judge, one who knows all the facts of every case, and that means the judge must possess all knowledge so that no fact escapes his awareness.

Immanuel Kant

PLACE OF EXHALTATION

A Throne of Authority: “Great”

John 5:22 For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son,

Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.


A Throne of Purity: “White”

Revelation 4:8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!”


A Person: “Him who sat on it” Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it,

Isaiah 6:1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple.

PLACE OF TERMINATION

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

A Sudden Removalof the Heavens & the Earth


“God stepped from the curtain of nowhere onto the platform of nothing and spoke a world into existence. The reason God came from nowhere is because there wasn’t anywhere for him to come. And coming from nowhere He stood on nothing, and the reason He stood on nothing was because there was nowhere for Him to stand.”

S.M. Lockeridge



Psalm 102:25–26 Of old You laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of Your hands. 26 They will perish, but You will endure; Yes, they will all grow old like a garment; like a cloak You will change them, and they will be changed.



Isaiah 51:6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look on the earth beneath. For the heavens will vanish away like smoke, the earth will grow old like a garment, and those who dwell in it will die in like manner; but My salvation will be forever, and My righteousness will not be abolished.


PLACE OF TERMINATIONA Severe Removal

of the Heavens & the Earth

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.

PLACE OF TERMINATIONA Severe Removal

of the Heavens & the Earth

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.

PLACE OF EXAMINATIONRevelation 20:12-13 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.

PLACE OF EXAMINATIONJohn Phillips: “There is a terrible fellowship there. . . . The dead, small and great, stand before God. Dead souls are united to dead bodies in a fellowship of horror and despair. Little men and paltry women whose lives were filled with pettiness, selfishness, and nasty little sins will be there. Those whose lives amounted to nothing will be there, whose very sins were drab and dowdy, mean, spiteful, peevish, groveling, vulgar, common, and cheap.

PLACE OF EXAMINATION“The great will be there, men who sinned with a high hand, with dash, and courage and flair. Men like Alexander and Napoleon, Hitler and Stalin will be present, men who went in for wickedness on a grand scale with the world for their stage and who died unrepentant at last. Now one and all are arraigned and on their way to be damned: a horrible fellowship congregated together for the first and last time.”

PLACE OF EXAMINATIONGod’s Record Book

Revelation 20:12 “and books were opened. . . . And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

Luke 8:17 For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Ecclesiastes 12:14 For God will bring every work into judgment, including every secret thing, whether good or evil.

PLACE OF EXAMINATIONGod’s Register Book

Revelation 20:12 . . . And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

PLACE OF CONDEMNATIONA Factual Judgment

Revelation 20:12 “and books were opened. . . . And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”

PLACE OF CONDEMNATIONA Fateful Judgment

Revelation 20:14–15 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

PLACE OF CONDEMNATIONThe Believer’s Response

2 Corinthians 5:11 Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;

PLACE OF CONDEMNATIONThe Believer’s Response

Acts 10:42–43 And He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. 43 To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission of sins.”

This study was produced by Harry Morgan, M.A., M.Div., Th.M., Ph.D.,

LMHC, CFMHE, CCSOTS

This is part of a series of studies on world events from a biblical perspective. Each of these messages have a video file available to you on YouTube at FAITHBIBLEBRADENTON. If you have found this study helpful give God the glory. If you find an error it’s my fault.

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Great White Throne Judgment

Spiritual

Transcript of Great White Throne Judgment