THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

The final judgment mentioned in the Bible is the Great White Throne Judgment (GWTJ) of Revelation 20:11-15.  Chapter twenty begins with a description of the Millennial Kingdom of Christ (Rev. 20:1-6).  The Millennium is followed by a “little season” (Rev. 20:3, 7) during which Satan gathers the armies of the world against Christ in Jerusalem (Rev. 20:7-8).  They are all killed by fire from heaven (Rev. 20:9).  Satan is then cast into the Lake of Fire to join the Antichrist and the False Prophet; thus ends the satanic trinity’s influence upon mankind (Rev. 19:20; 20:10).  The GWTJ is then described by the Apostle John: 

“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.  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.  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.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:11-15).   

In other words, those whose names were not found in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 13:8), spend eternity tormented by fire and with the awareness that they deserve to be there (Matt. 22:12; Rev. 20:12).

The GWTJ has three factors in determining the fate of each individual.  The “books” from which man will be judged are possibly the Scriptures, or they may be the record of the individual’s sins.  Either way, the actions (sins of commission) and the inactions (sins of omission) of the individual declare him guilty and worthy of death (Rom. 6:23a; Rev. 20:14).  Once found guilty, the Lamb’s Book of Life will be opened to see if his name is written there.  If it is not, that means he did not accept the gift of eternal life based upon the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ on his behalf (Rom. 6:23b).  Therefore, he will pay for his own sins, and be sentenced to an eternity in the Lake of Fire.  However, there are apparently varying degrees of torment, because Jesus taught that those who rejected Him were going to suffer more than those who had not seen Him work His miracles (Matt. 11:20-24).  I do not know how that will work, but I picture it as the Lake of Fire being “neck deep” in the middle, and “ankle deep” near the edges.  If a person rejected the preaching of Noah, they may be “ankle deep.”  If they rejected the preaching of John, the Baptizer, they may be “knee deep.”  But if they rejected Jesus, Himself, they will be “neck deep” in torment forever.

We all deserve to be in the Lake of Fire, but by the grace of God, the sacrifice of Jesus, and the conviction of the Holy Spirit, those of us who have trusted in Jesus as Lord of our lives, will be forever grateful in His presence!