Revelation 20:11-15--Judgment Before the Great White Throne

Revelation 20:11-15
English Standard Version

Judgment Before the Great White Throne
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

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As Jesus promised in the Gospels, "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Word will never pass away."  Here we see the first heaven and earth pass away as we are told other places in Scripture that they are burned with fire or rolled up like a scroll or a garment  Whatever the analogy that the Bible uses, it's meaning is the same--the time has come for God to judge the wicked and to make all things "very good" again.

There will be no place to run or hide on this Judgment Day--all the souls of the wicked (they are not just physically dead, but spiritually dead) both great and small are gathered together and the books or scrolls are opened.  Note that the righteous need not fear this judgment--there is nothing in this story that says He will separate a group to His right and a group to His left (that was done at the beginning of the Tribulation when he sorted the Jews into those who believed in Him and were His "sheep" and those who did not believe in Him but maybe looked like they did and were "goats.").  Everyone gathered here already stands condemned (see John 3:18-20).

Death is no escape from this judgment for earth and sea gave up their dead (the bodies of the dead people are resurrected so they can have a body fit for the place that has been prepared for them) and Hades gives up the souls of the wicked so that their bodies and souls may be reunited--there will be no disembodied people in The Lake of Fire.  Death and Hades will be thrown into The Lake of Fire for they are condemned and serve no more purpose--they are a result of sin, this new creation will never be touched by sin again.

Each person was first verified that his or her name was not found in The Lamb's Book of Life.  Once it is confirmed that the person standing before The Great White Throne is not a citizen of heaven that Jesus atoned for (again, none of them will be there), the books that recorded the deeds of each person are opened and each person's works (deeds) will be judged.  Each person will be condemned by a complete record of all the evil they committed (there is no need to consider the "good" things they did, because the Bible tells us that we can do nothing "good" and pleasing to God when we are dead in our trespasses and sins.  "We have all become like one who is unclean and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.  We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away." (Isaiah 64:6).  That is to say all of us have a nearly infinite "debt/liabilities" on the balance sheet and zero "credits/assets" on the balance sheet.  It is enough though simply to know that they are not found on on the registry of the citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, for their is no illegal immigration into heaven--no one seeks in by climbing over a wall, there is but one Door for the sheep to enter His sheepfold (their spirits to go to heaven to await the Kingdom) and to go out to green pasture (the New Heaven and New Earth they will inherit) and one Way to the Father and to heaven.  Anyone who tries any other way, no matter how sincere they are will not succeed because the one who is Judge is the one who is also the Elector and knows whom He has chosen.  He is the Good Shepherd and He knows His sheep, and His sheep know His voice and listen to and obey Him. (See John 10).  There will be no mistakes made on that day.  Perfect justice will be served.

All those whose names were not listed in The Lamb's Book of Life were thrown into The Lake of Fire that was prepared for devil and his angels to join those that have preceded them like the Antichrist, the False Prophet and Satan.  This is the end of the wide road that leads to destruction that many will take--few will find the narrow and hard path that has a narrow door for Jesus is that Door and the only Way to eternal life and heaven.  Choose your path, choose your destiny.  There are only two choices.  Choose wisely, for you will not be able to change your mind or win your case on a technicality on that day.  Note that there is no testimony or argument from the defense--the only side who speaks here is the prosecution, and yet, it is a fair trial because Jesus is Righteous Judge with perfect knowledge.  As the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, it is His decision, and His alone who He lets into His Kingdom and who is cast out.  There will be no one to appeal to.  Get right with Jesus because you will either stand before Him as the judge of a race that has been run well who is giving out the rewards (for those who belong to Him) or as the judge of a courtroom who is demanding justice be done for the crimes you have committed (and your lack of remorse about any of them).

One last verse on this topic from verse 8 of the next chapter, even though that is not the theme of that section:  "But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death."  We'll talk more about that statement when we get there--it does not mean that anyone who has ever told a lie will not be allowed into "heaven" and will go to "hell" (using the slang terms here for convenience).  However, those who are identified by their sin--even the sins of cowardice and faithlessness, will have their part in The Lake of Fire.  This reminds us that those who have had a true encounter with Jesus should have a different a different kind of identity.