The Great White Throne Judgement
What is the Great White Throne Judgement?
Revelation 20: 11, "And 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. And 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."
There are two major resurrections revealed in scripture. Three if you include the spiritual resurrection of new birth. When one is born again of the Spirit of God, he is raised from spiritual death to spiritual life.
This is a spiritual resurrection.
The Bible tells us that we look for a physical resurrection of the body.
1 Corinthians 15:52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.
The first of these physical resurrections takes place at the Rapture, (The Harpazo) at the second coming of Christ in the air, (Clouds)
(1 Thessalonians 4:13-18).But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters, about those who have died, so that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have died. For this we declare to you by the Word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will by no means precede those who have died. For the Lord Himself, with a shout, with the archangel's call and with the sound of God's trumpet, will descend from heaven, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air; and so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words.
This is when all the saved will stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ, to receive reward for what has been done in their lives since coming to faith in Jesus Christ.
The second and final resurrection will be when all the dead who have ever lived, will be raised from the dead, to stand before the Great White Throne of Almighty God.
This is the Final Judgement at the end of the 1000 year Millennial reign of Christ.
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.
The False Prophet and the antichrist and his followers will be cast into the lake of fire at the end of the Great Tribulation.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Jesus Christ comes back to earth to the Mount of Olives and sets up a 1000 year Millennial Kingdom.
There will be those that survive the Great Tribulation and there will be those that look on Him whom they pierced, (Israel). These will enter the Millennium in natural bodies and Christ will reign for a 1000 years.
Throughout this period, Satan will be bound in the bottomless Pit for the whole 1000 years.
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.
Those that live and are born during the Millennium reign of Christ will not be influenced or deceived by Satan. Christ will rule with an iron sceptre.
Rev 2: 27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
At the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be released for a little while. He will muster an army against Christ but will be defeated yet again for the final time.
Satan and his army will be cast into the fires of hell (The Lake of Fire).
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Rev 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
God will roll up time like a scroll, time will be no more.
Rev 6: 14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
Isaiah 34:4 And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll: and all their host shall fall down, as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig tree.
Isaiah 51: 6 Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look at the earth beneath; for the heavens vanish like smoke,the earth will wear out like a garment, and they who dwell in it will die in like manner;
but my salvation will be forever, and my righteousness will never be dismayed.
Before the New Heavens and Earth, there will be one final judgement. (The Great White Throne).
ALL the dead shall be raised to judgement.
Rev 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Who stands before this throne?
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God.
There is a difference between the dead. There is the dead in Christ. 1 Thess 4: and the dead in Christ will rise first.
These are they that take part in the first physical resurrection at the Rapture (The first phase of Christs Second Coming).
There are the dead outside of Christ, all those that are not saved, the unbelievers, those that rejected the Gospel.
These are the dead referred to here in Rev 20: 12.
This judgement is on the unbelievers.
All the people that have ever lived from Adam to this time, will stand here before this Throne.
Rev 20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them:
The final judgment is that it cannot be avoided.
The scripture reveals that no one will escape this judgement.
“it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27)
Jesus Christ will be the judge.
As God the Son, Jesus Christ will be the judge
John 5:22 For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son,
The earth and heaven fled away,
Rev 20:11 the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
Rev 20:12 The books were opened.
Rev 20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
Rev 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Everything that anyone has ever done will be revealed, the great and the small, the rich and the poor and everyone will be judged according to what is written in the books.
This judgement will be different from the judgement seat of Christ.
The judgement at the judgement seat of Christ is a judgement on performance, this is where believers will receive rewaerd for what they did whilst on the earth. There is no condemnation at this judgement.
However the judgement at the Great White Throne will be condemnation.
The judgement will be just, and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
All unbelievers go to hell but all judgement is not the same, it is according to what is written in the books.
Another book was opened, which is the book of life: and if anyone’s name is not in the book of life, they are cast into the lake of fire.
This is the Second Death.
Rev 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 20: 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
The difference between the Judgement Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgement is clear.
The Judgement Seat of Christ is the judgement of believers for what they have done in the body since new birth.
The Great White Throne Judgement is the final judgement of all unbelievers, the rejecters of God and His Messiah Jesus Christ.
This is the final Judgement. There will be no defense. There will be no advocate. There will be no excuse.
Hebrews 10: 31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
This is but a little image of the fierceness of the wrath of God, which will cast sinners into the pit that burneth with fire and brimstone. 2. The wrath and vengeance of the living God is Eternal and Everlasting; and this it is that renders it so fearful a thing to fall into his hand.
John 3: 16 For God so loved the world, that He gave is only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Our fate is in our own hands.
The end of our soul’s journey will be either in an eternal heaven or in an eternal hell.
Matthew 25:46. And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
We must choose where we will be by accepting or rejecting the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, and we must make that choice before our physical lives on this earth come to an end.
Hebrews 3:15 As it is said: Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.
2Co 6:2 (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)
After death, there is no longer a choice, and our fate is to stand before the throne of God, where everything will be open and naked before Him declares that God.
Romans 2:6 “will give to each person according to what he has done.”
