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AfterLife
"The Great White Throne Judgment"
What happens after death?
The following message from the Bible will answer this and other questions about "AFTER LIFE".
This sermon was preached at Christian Bible Church
by Pastor Gary Stearn.Revelation 20:11:15
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.
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.
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.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
You have just read a description of the most awesome, fearful, terrifying event that ever has or ever will take place in the history of the universe. It occurs at the end of the 1,000 year millennial reign of Jesus Christ.
The Bible teaches that there will be one last rebellion against God, which is led by Satan. In verse nine God terminates the rebellion and the millions who are a part of it by sending fire from heaven to consume them.
And then begins "The Great White Throne Judgment". The one sitting upon the Throne is none other than God Himself. He is manifest in His full Shekinah glory. His countenance and glory are more brilliant than a trillion suns combined. His full might and power are revealed. He is, the Bible declares, a consuming fire. It is such an awesome moment that the very earth and atmosphere surrounding the earth are both consumed.
Verse 11 ,"From whose face, the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them."
Jesus declared in Matthew 24:35 , "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away."
This event is the fulfillment of Jesus prophetic statement that heaven and earth shall pass away.
A more detailed description of this event is seen in II Peter 3:10-12.
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.
11 Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness,
12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat?
When God reveals Himself in His complete glory, the entire atmosphere will be engulfed with fire and the heat will be so intense that planet earth will melt. The very elements, which comprise the earth, will melt and be totally destroyed. Vaporized!
I’m not talking about a huge forest fire that burns millions of acres of trees. I’m not talking about an entire city burning to the ground, as did Chicago in the last century. I’m not talking about a city being melted into oblivion, as did Hiroshima at the end of World War II. The Bible declares that everything ---the entire earth is totally consumed. The Himalayan Mountains, including Mt. Everest are gone. The Atlantic and Pacific Oceans turn into steam in a matter of seconds. Every building is gone, every city is gone, every river is gone, every valley is gone, every desert is gone, every mountain is gone, every ocean is gone, every country is gone, every continent is gone, every island is gone, everything that we can see and touch will be gone. Absolutely nothing is left!
Verse 11 , "And there was found no place for them."
In the place of our solar system where the earth once rotated around the sun, there is a vacant spot, a void. The earth is gone without a trace!
Verse 12 , "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God."
This group is composed of every individual who has ever lived in the history of humanity. Some may say," but how can the dead be alive again? " Because no one ever truly dies. Oh, the physical body may die, but the soul and spirit live forever. The real you, the inner man, the inner woman, which include your memory and ability to think, lives on forever.
Thus, all the unsaved dead of all the ages are assembled at this fearful event. Peasants, slaves, common men and women, people who lived in obscurity, men and women whose names have been forgotten for thousands of years, the unknown millions of the ages whose names were never recorded in a history book, are all present. The great will be there as well. Kings of nations and mighty emperors will be present on that day; from the Egyptian Pharaohs to the Russian Czars. Once they ruled over millions and did as they pleased. But now they stand cowering in terror before the Creator of the universe. Rich men who were millionaires and billionaires will be there on that day. They once owned huge mansions and luxurious estates. They ate the best of food and had servants to fulfill their every whim and desire. They had gold mines, and oil wells, and land. But now, that matters nothing. The only thing that matters on that day is whether you were saved through the blood of Jesus Christ and were born again.
Verse 12 , (As all of the unsaved of all ages, billions, stand before God), 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.
God is keeping a detailed account of the life of every human being. Lost men and women think that they are getting away with committing sin. However, nothing is hid from God.
Ecclesiastes 12:14 , "For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Jesus declared in Luke 12:2, 3 , "For there is nothing covered, that shall not be revealed; neither hid, that shall not be known."
3 Therefore whatsoever ye have spoken in darkness shall be heard in the light; and that which ye have spoken in the ear in closets shall be proclaimed upon the housetops."
Perhaps God has a recording angel for every human being. There is also the possibility that God will use our own brain as the means of judgment. Everything that you do and say, and see, and experience, is permanently stored in your brain. You cannot remember it all, but nevertheless it is there. Perhaps stored for the Day of Judgment.
Whenever there is a tragic air crash, those searching through the rubble always look for the flight recording device called the black box. It is able to play back all of the conversation that took place before the crash. This is similar to what God will do at this time of Judgment.
Visualize with me what the Bible teaches. Every human being that has ever lived will be assembled at this event. The entire human family, for the first and only time, will all be assembled together. They will be divided into two groups---the saved and the unsaved. There will be no in between or intermediate classifications. The saved will be near to God and will not be judged. But the unsaved will all be judged. Each unsaved individual will have his name called and be forced to stand before God to have his life judged. Every human being will look on as each sinner’s life is viewed. It may be that each person will have his life reviewed similar to a movie. It would require a huge screen, miles tall and wide.
Obviously, God does not need a review since He already knows everything. It is so that everyone else can see that God is just in what He does and so that those judged realize they are without excuse.
Words of gossip spoken about others will be heard by all. Secret sins of murder, adultery, fornication, lies, stealing, hypocrisy, idolatry, witchcraft, drunkenness, strife, etc. will all be revealed on that day. Nothing will be hid.
Can you imagine the absolute shame of each individual? You stand before the Creator of the universe whose piercing eyes look right into your heart and mind. Every other human being sees what you have done. And what can you say? How can you deny what you thought was covered and hid when everyone has seen it? What can you say to the God of the universe?
Men, women, and teens that blasphemed God, or arrogantly denied Him, people who scoffed at salvation, atheists, etc., will all scream out to God for mercy. And God will reply that mercy was shown, but they refused to accept Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Some unsaved people will console themselves with the thought that they will not be judged since they have not murdered anyone, or committed adultery, or robbed a bank, or have ever hurt anyone, and lived a good moral life.
Listen, the sins revealed from the various books of works are not the biggest problem. There is one other all-important book called the Book of Life.
Verse 15. ,"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
The greatest sin of all is failure to accept Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. It is for the sin of not knowing Jesus Christ that a person will be eternally judged. When a person truly repents of their sins and receives Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, their name is written in the Book of Life. Good works will never get you into heaven.
Jesus declared in Matthew 7:21-23 ,"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
"The will of the Father in heaven is that you accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and live your life according to the Bible.
II Peter 2:9 , "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."
Can you imagine the agony of hearing it declared that your name is not written in the Book of Life?
The result of that judgment is that you are cast into the lake of fire. The lake of fire and hell are two different and distinct places. When a person dies without knowing Jesus Christ he goes immediately to hell. Hell is the temporary place of torment for all the unrighteous dead. It is probably located in the center of the earth. Scientists have confirmed that earth’s core is thousands of degrees hot. It is a horrible place of torment. But when God vaporizes the earth, the inhabitants of hell will stand before God for Judgment, and go to the permanent place of torment , the Lake of Fire.
Note verse 14 , "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
The first death is physical when you die. The second death is spiritual and its consequences are forever.
The lake of fire is very likely a star at some remote corner of the universe. For instance, the phenomena of white dwarf stars illustrate all the characteristics of this lake of fire. Astronomers and physicists agree that because of the enormous density, heat, and other characteristics, white dwarf stars can never cool off. They will burn forever. In a white dwarf star the pressure is so great that gases become compressed to the consistency of a liquid. Thus , a lake of fire.
The Bible clearly teaches that lost men and women will suffer and be tormented forever and ever. Just as the saved will have new bodies that will live forever, the lost will have bodies that will be in a constant state of torment and pain. A burn is probably the most agonizing type of pain. Can you imagine your entire body on fire, in agony, not for 15 minutes, or 15 days, or 15 years, or 15 centuries, but forever, and ever, and ever? There is no hope, no relief, no rest, only eternal damnation and suffering.
Someone may be thinking in his or her mind ,"Oh no, my God would never do that. He is too loving and kind." You are right! Your god would not cause people to suffer in such a manner. The only problem is that your god doesn’t exist, except in your mind. I’m talking about the God of the Bible, the Creator of the universe. He has made it crystal clear in His Book that eternal punishment is exactly what will happen to all that are unsaved.
Conclusion
Everyone in this room will be there on that day that may take millions of years to complete. All of the human family will be assembled. There will be two different groups of people, the saved and the unsaved. I want to briefly address both groups.
To my saved Christian brothers and sisters, this may be a terrible day for you. There will be no rejoicing as you see lost men and women cast into the lake of fire. You will see friends, loved ones, and relatives thrown into the lake of fire. Are you doing your best to reach them? Do you pray for the lost? Do you seek to win souls? Will you be filled with remorse on that day because while you had the opportunity, you didn’t get involved? You were too busy to find a place of ministry in the church. You were too busy to join an evangelism outreach. Too busy with your career, too busy having fun, too busy with your hobby, too busy. You just didn’t have opportunity to give to missions to see the lost saved because you were too busy obtaining more luxuries and adult toys.
My Christian friend, so many things that you are so involved with now and that you think to be so important will be as dung on that Day of Judgment. Are you using your time, money, talents, energy, and life for eternity?
Unsaved friend, you may think I am a wild fanatic. But I have declared for you the truth of the Bible. It is true! I believe that in the lake of fire those who rejected Jesus Christ will agonize over the lost opportunities they had to accept Him as their Savior and Lord. Trillions of times they’ll remember reading a tract, hearing the Gospel on radio or TV, sitting in a church service and thinking it was all foolishness. If you reject Christ and die, you’ll remember this sermon. You’ll hear it a trillion times in eternity. You’ll call yourself a fool for rejecting the truth. Oh, accept Him today!
2 Cor 6:2 , " behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation."
Sinner, friend--accept Christ today!
Christian friend, rededicate your life to God by giving God your entire life in full surrender.
You may be uncomfortable with this message. You may block it from your mind. But someday you’ll discover, it was the truth. When we all (everyone in this room) meet together at "The Great White Throne Judgment."
Christian Bible Church
205 Manchester Street
Nashua, New Hampshire 03064-1570
(603) 882-1055