Well, I invite you tonight to turn to the last book of the Bible, chapter 20, as we are getting close to finishing our study in this book, and tonight I wanted to focus on this last section of chapter 20, verses 11 through 15, and the great white throne judgment. So, verses 11 through 15. This is the word of the Lord. 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. 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. 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. 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. And there ends the reading of God's Word. Well, I'm not sure if there's anything that terrifies us more and me more of the thought. of having to face the angry face of god before the tribunal of his justice and have no possibility for mercy or forgiveness i think that's about one of the scariest it is the scariest thing you could ever think about that terrifies us there is there's somewhat of a built-in terror in us all of us of this dreadful judgment that we inherently know that we deserve god has put eternity in our hearts hasn't he it's there so we think about this or we suppress it but but but we know the terror of the lord this is what paul said knowing the terror of the lord we persuade men that's why we want everyone to know on that day uh the smiling face of god in blessing and salvation that they enter into this glory that was prepared but even with that knowledge we still struggle with what that day is going to be like is it possible that i um will face him as an angry judge i have these uh this this eerie sort of conception of judgment day in my mind and i'm sure all of you have this kind of conception in your mind of what judgment day will be like i have us all i i think of everyone standing in a long line a long line and everyone is just waiting for their turn to see how it's going to go and i see everyone in front of me and i look back and there's people behind me and i i think of the person in front of me are they going to be consigned to heaven are they going to heaven or hell and i step up then to the plate and what what is god going to say to me i have this conception of that i i think i think is that how it's going to go ever thought you think this way because whatever it is uh it's over at that point will i regret that i didn't do things better will i uh wish i had tried harder will i look back and say i knew i shouldn't given myself to so many of these idols i didn't want to do that why did i love those things when i knew i was going to face this kind of day i knew there would be an eternity set before me here i am here i am all these things come into my head i've had these thoughts i'm sure you've had similar thoughts and here tonight if you were to ask me as a pastor you say pastor i really want to know this i want to understand what that day is going to be like god has not been silent about it god has already told us what it's going to be like and what we naturally fear because of the problem of sin the scriptures correct and give us a very clear description of what this day is going to be like i want to understand where what it's going to be like you want to understand what it's going to be like and the end of revelation chapter 20 captures that for us that that's that's one of the most clear along with matthew 25 places to go. And that's where we land tonight. I want to look at before us tonight, before we get to in the next few weeks, a study of the new heavens and the new earth. I want to have a look tonight at Judgment Day with you, with the goal of giving you a proper look at the day, a biblical look at the day, to remove confusion about the day, and to help you see that what Revelation describes, when it describes judgment day it's meant it is meant in this book to be considered as a rescue of god's people a vindication in some ways of what is already true of you a day to repay for you all those who troubled you this is the way revelation is setting this in context this is the way that revelation wants you to think about the day so we're looking at this passage as we would a sort of court scene you'll notice that that's how it appears a mighty judge takes his great seat here and you see this there's sort of trial that that begins to happen doesn't there and then there's there's a verdict i'll come back to that and then a final judgment that happens and that's how we're going to break this down shortly tonight and consider what is before us you'll notice in verse 11 what it says there that then i saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it from his presence earth and sky fled away and there was no place found for them there is no other way to describe this than this is an awesome scene of the lord in blazing glory taking his seat as judge before i try to capture the beginning of this great day here called the white throne judgment the end of the world and the recreation of the new i want you to remember the context of this because i believe the context of this is very important and it often gets missed when it's quoted to talk about the final judgment what was just previous to this was one of the worst things described throughout history that the church has ever faced last time we considered the thousand year reign of christ didn't we we considered the glorious advance of the gospel to the ends of the earth and and the gospel has prevailed um satan has not stopped the gospel it's made it all over the face of the globe and back it's wonderful what the lord has done but something startling was said right after that about satan himself satan's final judgment when he is cast into the lake of fire when he is forever judged will be preceded by one great last attempt to throw everything he possibly can at the church when the thousand years are expired we read last time he will be released for a short time creating a time of such darkness to the nations that they will completely turn on this message that they will destroy and hate this and then there's this verse they will surround the camp of the saints and the beloved city in every way you can think of he will turn the world on the church and on believers he will assault their message he will crush them with persecution he will throw every false idea at it that he can and you saw what he can do on the inside this morning dennis johnson says and i fully agree it will be nothing compared with anything the people of god have experienced since the resurrection of christ jesus described this period um looking at multiple fulfillments throughout history described this that unless those days were shortened no flesh would be saved immediately in view was the destruction of jerusalem and then of course in view is the the climax of all that before he comes again finally now that is important because that is what precedes here the description of the final judgment what does that make this then it makes it a moment of great rescue doesn't it that's the sense we get of this keep in mind the martyrs who have already died and we looked at that last week we looked at the texas massacre we thought we talked about some of those who've suffered for the gospel for the Word of God. What are they doing right now? They're not dead. Hold this thought. The entire time right now, they're reigning with Jesus. Judgment has been committed to them. Did you catch that last time? So believers who have died and are martyred are already seated on judgment thrones in this previous section since christ is seated so it's in this context they're reigning with him they're in a much better position by the way than we are right now we're getting there we're going there but they're there it's in this context in the next breath after this persecution back on earth that it says fire came down from heaven and devoured the adversaries. God put a stop to it. God ended it. And the devil was judged. He's thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone forever. It's at this moment that John introduces the theme and the subject of the final great white throne judgment. As we were assaulted on every side, he wants you to know judgment was necessary it had to happen as we were facing the culmination of we are all the assaults on uh that come to the people of god it's right then and there that the fire comes and the whole thing stops and then we have the great truth behold he comes and we're back to chapter 19 now i saw heaven opened and behold a white horse he was on the horse had eyes like a flame of fire, head full of crowns, clothed in a robe dipped in blood. His name is called the Word of God. He who is described there is awesome. And it's at that moment that we're surrounded, that we're facing all of this here, that the sky recedes as a scroll as we sing, and there the champion comes. On his thigh is written, the King of kings and the Lord of lords. At this moment, everyone has been disarmed. If I can take a little liberty here, can you imagine this? Your warrior, your Savior, my Savior, steps off the horse. Steps off the horse. A glorified man, true God and man, in blazing glory, hair like wool, eyes of fire. Just pure brilliance. Radiance. The glory of God. The one who dwells in unapproachable light steps down. Revelation 20 says, heaven and earth fled away. This is the moment. This is the moment. Now what Revelation is doing at this point is making a separation. There are two responses to this that Scripture gives, of course. The first is our response. 1 John told us, same author, when John wrote 1 John, told us that the desire of God is that we would have boldness on the day of judgment. Boldness. He wants you to have boldness. His love has been perfected in us so that we may have boldness, says John in the day of judgment. You have this graphically described in 2 Thessalonians 2 when it says, when He comes in glory, God will repay with tribulation those who trouble us and give to us who are troubled rest. When the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power when He comes on that day to be glorified in His saints and admired by all who believe. You're looking and you're saying, there He is, my Savior, my champion. So hear that, the one you've believed, the one you've worshipped, confessed your life, you've entrusted your life, you've believed in Him, you've professed faith, as we saw this morning, you know Him, He knows you, you admire Him, you love Him, and He's come to get you. That's the imagery of all this. Here's my point. The first response that's recorded here in this section that speaks of Judgment Day is not talking about you. Did you get that? Heaven and earth fled away. You're not fleeing. He just said, you're admiring him. What do you have to flee? He wants you to have boldness. Every time we've looked at, especially in Revelation, those who fled were the unbelievers. Revelation 6, all the peoples of the earth fled from his presence and called for the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the presence of the lamb at this moment think of it the sun has darkened the moon is no longer giving its its light the the very lights of creation have have been taken out every mountain and valley is cleared and here's the moment in what appears to be the great white throne judgment jesus visibly takes his seat visibly takes his seat keep in mind um no scriptures make clear every eye will see him nobody will miss this but when he comes he's also bringing with him those who've already died in the lord this is one major event one major event the angels of course will then go out and gather from the four corners of the earth all the elect so the elect are gathered at this point you have what is described and i'm putting this together from all scripture that the general resurrection of the just and the unjust jesus um told us this that the souls of those who were beheaded for the word of god they are with the lord but then us who remain remember us who are here we shall be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. The trumpet is the sound of His arrival. So here's the point I think often gets overlooked. When He comes at that moment in a twinkling of an eye, we have been received and resurrected to glorified bodies. We're already in the bodies. What Revelation 20 is describing it's what Matthew 25 describes that when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him then He will sit on the throne of His glory and the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate them as a sheep that He will put the sheep on His right hand and the goats on the left on His right hand is a place of safety a place of entering into where they are going the saints are are notice this in verse 4 i saw thrones this revelation 20 and they that sat on them and judgment was committed to them the new testament makes clear that we're sharing in this the goats also resurrected are on the left so the court is in session court is in session We've now come to the verdict, but I think it's important to say this is not discovering what the verdict is. The verdict's been preached to you your whole life. You've already known the verdict. God already rendered the verdict. He's been rendering the verdict to you every time you've heard the message preached. This is why Jesus was saying all along to the Jews, do you think that I will accuse you to My Father? There is one who already accuses you, Moses, in whom you trust the law has already been given the verdict has already been given all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of god that you've heard that verdict your whole life uh the wages of sin is death so here's the moment what we have is a recognition of this verse 12 and i saw the dead small and great standing before god notice here the one who is seated is god i saw them standing and books were open this language is directly taken from daniel chapter 7 as i look thrones were set in place and the ancient of days took his seat his clothing was as white as snow the hair of his head was white like wool his throne was a flame was flaming with fire as its wheels were all ablaze a river of fire was flowing coming out from before him thousands upon thousands attended him ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him the court was seated and the books were opened in his hand are two books in his hand are two books notice there is this general book of deeds and then there's another book i'll come back to that whatever is written about you whatever about you is written is in either one of these two books so here's the first book all the dead are judged by what was written in this book did you catch that all the dead were judged by the things written i think this is a big moment to consider what the scriptures are doing here and something that dawned on me this week i'd like to develop and think about even more but that the lord here calls them specifically the dead but he's taking great care in the scriptures to not call us that um remember what jesus said to martha she says i know my my brothers died remember remember what happened jesus said your brother will rise again martha said to him i know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day that's where we are jesus said to her i am the resurrection in life whoever believes in me though he dies he shall live and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die do you believe this whatever the lord when it seems to me that frequently when the lord speaks of the death of the righteous it's always qualified paul won't even use it in thessalonians when he's speaking of this subject in fact he particularly chooses the word of sleep it's not soul sleep but he's using it to make some kind of distinction this was said of Abraham right God is not the God of the dead but of the living not the God of the dead it's the God of the living thus Jesus comes to judge the living and the dead then I saw thrones go back up in chapter 20 are these dead remember the people I talked about who have been martyred for the word of are they dead right now then i saw thrones and seated on them were those to whom authority the judge was committed also i saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of jesus and for the word of god and those who would not worship the beast or its image and did not receive its mark on their foreheads or their hands they came to life and reigned with christ for a thousand years the rest of the dead did not until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection over such. The second death has no power. So here the dead are judged. And notice it. According to their works. Let me make as clear as I can what this is. Throughout the Scriptures, before the Lord returns, He is going to bring, when the Lord returns, and he opens this book, he is going to bring the darkest secrets to light. All people's private motives, every thought, word, and deed, every idle word that is spoken is pictured here as being written down in this book of deeds. This will take place on the day when God judges people's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my Gospel declares. How many things have you done in secret? and every thought you thought about that every impure thought every impure motive every impure action every careless word spoken he will judge every single one everyone's going to give an account on the day of judgment for the empty words they've spoken do you know that people's lives are all being recorded in a book and that is to say that God knows every single thing that they've ever done and you? It's put in a book. Now I've never been to a funeral service in all of my years even for unbelievers that have ever recorded anything bad. Have you? I mean think about it. How many speeches, how many videos where this is the spotlight of life of their life under the sun. And man, you would think heaven was just anxious to get this person, right? God has a little video of our life and it's quite a bit different. It isn't like any funeral you've ever been to, I'll tell you that. All of it's in the book. Book of Deeds. Notice there's no discussion. There's no discussion. This is not debate time. No one can speak in His presence. when faced with the utter brilliance of radiating glory glorified christ they are frozen they are disarmed they're incapacitated they can't move before him and when that book's opened all the shameful deeds they've ever done all of it is out and uh it is made clear even though right now some men's sin says paul are uh clear evidence preceding them to judgment others are revealed later but together it is all revealed in the final judgment with nothing to say the dead are judged by their works and are cast into the lake of fire that is the second death first death was their physical death the second death confirms their eternal death in hell now what context again does this come to us this is meant to say this judgment was righteous wasn't it why because they destroyed and ferociously persecuted god's people this is the whole context of this judgment And the perspective of this is to say, God answered you. God repaid for you. He repaid those with tribulation who troubled you, 2 Thessalonians. This is how He wants you to consider the judgment. It's a righteous thing, 2 Thessalonians 2. It is a righteous thing for God to repay with tribulation those who persecute you. Righteous. Righteous. If one doesn't believe, this is the side they're on, this is what they face. But this had another effect. There is the greatest surprise in the middle of this chapter of surprises. This chapter is meant, remember, to have surprises all through it. And if you see the chapter that way, there's a surprise here that is the greatest of them all. The whole chapter has been telling you to look at things from a different perspective, hasn't it? The whole thing has been telling you to look at things from a different perspective. The perspective of victory, the perspective of you've won, the perspective of Jesus is on your side. You want the ultimate climax of that? We have seen everything turned on its head here. In other words, nothing happens the way we think it should happen. That's why I began the sermon saying, I have this vision of what judgment day is going to be. That's natural to my fallen state and the problem that I have because my sins rise up against me, we see. the last thing the wicked think they will face is judgment the righteous are often tormented by false teachers and their own consciences this is why thomas watson said it's the most difficult thing in the ministry to make the wicked sad and the righteous happy most difficult thing it's the most difficult thing to make the wicked sad and the righteous happy here's the surprise for you to make you happy then i saw another book what this is the greatest moment of this chapter you see what it's called it's the lamb's book of life the dead were judged by the things written in the books depending on of course you know whether your name is in this book Another book was opened. The Lamb's Book of Life. What's written in that book? Revelation has been telling you the whole time about this book. Talking about the beast. All those who dwell on the earth will worship Him whose names have not been written in the book of life of lambs slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 21, next chapter. Talking about heaven. But there shall by no means enter anything that defiles or causes abomination, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life. Over and over and over, it's mentioned, guess what's written there? Only names. Only names. That's the surprise. Do you see what he's saying to you? This is the book, and it's this book that is the basis for your entrance into glory. This book. This book. not the book of deeds your failures are not raised at all because they don't affect in any way the basis of your inheritance of how you receive that salvation or anything your judgment day this is so important that all the scriptures are teaching you your judgment day already happened hasn't the lord been proclaiming to you your whole life there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in christ jesus when now you're saved there's no condemnation condemnation is not re-discussed at judgment day you understand that it's not raised again that would be a mockery of jesus's work The distinguishing factor is one book. Those written there who are saved. So whatever is written in the book of deeds for us are not sins or bad works, but the book of deeds includes for us the very good works that He promised to record. But that's not the basis of our entrance into glory. Understand that? That's not the basis. The book of life is. all the good works that we do god he's told you he gave them to you to do he prepared beforehand so that you should walk in them they're the things he prepared they're the things he set apart for you to do and he rewards those but that is not the basis of your entrance you see in other words what he's saying to us is because of the lamb nothing there is nothing written down that could ever indict you there is nothing written down that could ever indict you but only that that confirms that you're in jesus so blessed are those who die from now on in the lord they're in him you see this is what matthew 25 does what matthew 25 does does not raise the bad works of believers. Matthew 25 is saying, depart from me, you cursed. Cursed. But what did Jesus become for us? Cursed. Cursed. You will never hear depart from me, you cursed, as a believer. There is no more curse. It's so comforting, and it's meant to encourage you so that the end of this present age, you'll notice here, there's the first death for the wicked and then the second death in eternal punishment. But the Lord doesn't describe that for the believer that way. He doesn't do it for him that way. Notice what he says. He describes him as receiving the first resurrection when he dies, which means that there's a first resurrection, there's a second resurrection of your bodies. First resurrection is your soul to glory. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. Second resurrection is your body. For the wicked, first death, second death. You see the division he's making here? I don't see how you can miss it. So what's that described then now for us? They get the lake of fire. What now is described in chapters 21 and 22, well, in contrast to the lake of fire, There's the new heavens and the new earth where righteousness shall dwell forever. And I have to say, Revelation 21 and 22 are some of the most glorious chapters in the entire Bible. To end the Bible. You have no idea what awaits you. It's that awesome. It's that wonderful. But He wants you encouraged tonight in the midst of this hardship. He didn't, in the midst of all the affliction of His church, put a section in here of Judgment Day. to scare people for the wicked yes but not for the righteous it is to make you happy it's to make the wicked sad so that maybe they'll repent and come into the kingdom the light afflictions which are but for a moment is working in you a far more exceeding weight of eternal glory so keep your hearts focused here think about this the lord will repay those who hurt you but the final judgment cannot touch us you're already saved you're already justified there is therefore now no condemnation and as you go forward remember the ending of jude to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority through Jesus Christ our Lord before all ages now and forevermore. Amen. Let's pray. Gracious Heavenly Father, thank You for giving us encouragement and thank You for the confidence we can have that our names are written in the Lamb's book of life as we receive all these blessings by faith. We're so weak, we stumble in many ways, but thank you, poor sinners that we are, for not holding our sins against us. But your love covers a multitude of sins. And you've done that in Christ. So thank you for encouraging us this way. And even the good works that we do, you will reward. Because it's all a gift of grace the whole way through. and we stand in awe of how You've loved us and have still kept us to this day and will keep us through all of this. So this week when we become discouraged or tested or downed because of sin, may we remember these words and be so thankful for the Lamb's book of life which describes the work of Jesus for us. Thank You for that death. Thank You for that trial. Thank You for the verdict that He faced for us. So that we tonight can go forward this week in joy and have boldness for the coming day of judgment. Receive our thanksgiving for such marvelous gifts you've given to us. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.