RESEARCH ON THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT

RESEARCH ON THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT

“Behold a throne” Here the throne of God, the seat of power in heaven.  Revelation 4:2 And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

The one seated upon the throne is none other than Jesus Christ.  John 5:22 For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:

Matthew 25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:

Matthew 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.

Matthew 24:35 Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away.

Mark 13:31 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

Luke 16:17 And it is easier for heaven and earth to pass, than one tittle of the law to fail.

Luke 21:33 Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away.

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

2 Peter 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

James 1:10 But the rich, in that he is made low: because as the flower of the grass he shall pass away.

Romans 8:19-23 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20- For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21- Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22- For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. 23- And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

2 Peter 3:10,13- But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

13- Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

This part deals with Rev. 20:12-13

The wicked dead not raised in the First Resurrection:

Daniel 12:2 And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Acts 24:15 And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust.

Revelation 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Revelation 11:18 And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Revelation 13:16 And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:

Revelation 19:5, 18 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye that fear him, both small and great. 18- That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great.

Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: 

It is noteworthy that all the final judgments are judgments of works. In the case of the judgment seat of Christ believers are judged according to their works and rewarded.

2 Corinthians 5:10-11 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11- Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.

In Matthew 25:31-46 the Gentiles are judged according to their works in the sense that the works dintinguish those who are saved, that is, the sheep, from those who are lost, the goats. Here salvation is not the issue, but rather the degree of punishment.

Matthew 25:31-46 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32- And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33- And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34- Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35- For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36- Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37- Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38- When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39- Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40- And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41- Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42- For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43- I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44- Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45- Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46- And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

The absolute justice of God is revealed in this judgment of works. Even for those who have rejected the truth and preached a lie, there is differentiation in degree of wickedness and apparently variation in punishment. While works are never a ground of salvation, they are, nevertheless, considered important before God. There are at least 42 instances in Scripture where man is said to be judged according to his works with the following references in Revelation:

Revelation 2:23 And I will kill her children with death; and all the churches shall know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works.

Revelation 18:3-6 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies. 4- And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. 5- For her sins have reached unto heaven, and God hath remembered her iniquities. 6- Reward her even as she rewarded you, and double unto her double according to her works: in the cup which she hath filled, fill to her double.

Revelation 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.

Revelation 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.

Though men are judged according to their works, the book of life is introduced as the deciding factor as to where they will spend eternity.

In Revelation 13 the resurrection of the wicked dead is described with special mention of those who are raised from the sea where they did not have normal burial. No matter the type of burial God is able to find and resurrect all of the lost dead.

The Lake of Fire, Rev. 20:14-15.  Death and Hell are cast into the lake of fire, v. 14. This describes the Second Death which stands in antithesis to the first resurrection, or the eternal state of bliss, enjoyed by the saved. Both the wicked and the righteous in the eternal state are athus permanently assigned to their respective destinies.

The basis of the judgment is found in V. 15, “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

This phrase connotes that a careful search of the records was made to be sure that no mistake was made.

It is very clear, according to Rev. 20:10, that those cast into the lake of fire are not thereby annihilated. The beast and the false prophet are still alive and tormented a thousand years after they were cast into it and the Scriptures make plain that along with Satan they will be tormented forever. Not only is no termination of eternal punishment recognized in the Bible, but explicit statementes are made to the contrary in the strongest possible language.

It is difficult for creatures of earth, born in sin and never completely extricated from it even though experiencing God's satisfying grace, to enter into the fact of God’s inexorable righteousness and inflexible justice which insist that judgement be administered when the grace of God has been spurned.

Even Bible-believing Christians have tended to tone down the awfulness of eternal death to somehow reconcile the destiny of the lost with the prospect of the saved of being eternally in the presence of the Lord. A thorough appreciation of eternal punishment, however, will in the end enhance the doctrine of the grace of God and make the love of God all the more wonderful for those who enter into its truth.