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Foundational Doctrines of Christ 6
Eternal
Judgment, Part 2
The
Great White Throne Judgment
by Pastor John Hamel
JHM
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Table of Contents
The
Great White Throne Judgment Is Reserved for Christ-Rejecters
God
Sat Upon a Great White Throne
Those
Who Stood Before the Judgment Throne
John
Saw the Angels Open "The Books"
From
Where Will All These Unfortunate People Come?
"This
Is the Second Death"
Hell
Is a Place of Eternal Torment
God
Would Prefer to Show You Mercy Not Judgment
The Bible says that it is appointed unto
each living individual to die only one time.
Immediately after death comes judgment.
"And
as it is appointed unto me once to die, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
The Bible also reveals that death could
come suddenly to anyone who insists on living life outside of a
relationship with Jesus Christ. (Psalm 55:23)
In
today's lesson we will focus on the Judgment which will be faced after death
by those who rejected Jesus Christ.
Top
The
Great White Throne Judgment Is Reserved for Christ-Rejecters
If you were to die having rejected Christ
as your Savior, the first words out of your mouth upon arriving in Hell
will be a cry for mercy. That cry for mercy would go
unheeded because mercy is not offered on that side of the grave.
Mercy is offered only on this side of the grave.
Jesus said if you
die in your sins, "...whither I go, ye cannot come." (John 8:21)
After death nothing you can say or do will
change the decision you made for yourself by rejecting God's means of
escape while you were living in this Earth. This is an eternal
decision you made for yourself. It is not a decision God made for
you.
The Bible says, "...the wicked is
snared in the work of his own hands." (Psalm 9:16)
God never has sent anyone to Hell and He never will. People send themselves to
Hell by gambling and daring to reject His plan of escape in Jesus.
After death the unsaved will ultimately be
brought before The Great White Throne Judgment. Here they will be
dealt with swiftly and justly.
Let's look at some things John saw
during his vision of this coming Judgment.
Keep in mind, there will be no Christians,
no Believers in Jesus at this Judgment. Believers in Jesus go to
another Judgment. A Judgment of joy, not one of horror.
Believers go to a Judgment of Rewards, which the Bible refers to as the
"Bema Judgment Seat of Christ."
(2Corinthians 5:10)
The Greek word "Bema"
actually means "reward."
Only Christ-rejecters will appear
before the horrifying Great White Throne Judgment, the subject of this
study.
Top
God
Sat Upon a Great White Throne
“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."
(Revelation 20:11-15)
Recalling his vision, the Apostle John
said, "And I saw a great white throne and Him that sat on it
..." (Vs.11)
The Throne is called "great"
because it is here that the eternal destiny of all men and women who
rejected Christ is finally resolved.
The Throne is called "great"
because it is not only the Supreme Court of the Universe, but it is the
Supreme Court of the Ages.
However, the Throne itself is not nearly as
great as the God Who sits upon it in Judgment.
God is so great and so
powerful that the Earth and the atmospheric heavens, which we call
"Space," will actually flee from Him, looking for a place to
hide.
"The earth and the heaven fled away;
and there was no place for them." (Vs.11)
Why do the Earth and atmospheric heavens
flee from God at this time of Judgment? Because they have been defiled
by the sins of mankind. They have been defiled by the rejection of
Jesus Christ. They have been defiled by mankind's welcomed infestation
of Satanic and demonic powers.
The Throne is also called "white."
It is "white" because it is Holy. It is "white"
because the One Who sits upon it is the embodiment of
Holiness. It is
"white" because once every scene of sin has been removed, a Holy place will have been created from where
Almighty God will proceed to judge every single human being, without
exception, who ever rejected His Son, Jesus Christ.
Top
Those
Who Stood Before the Judgment Throne
Continuing to describe his vision, the
Apostle John said, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God." (Vs.12)
Everyone who ever lived and died rejecting
Christ will be there, small and great. From the most unpopular,
ignored human being to the most popular, in demand human being. If
they died rejecting Christ, this is one appointment they will not reschedule.
The most uneducated, unknown, obscure
people will be there. Individuals who spent
their lives in drunken stupors, drowning to death in their own vomit and
were never even missed by one single human being, will be there.
The most famous world leaders, actors,
musicians, athletes, religious and cult leaders, educators and all others
who were loved and honored by the world, will stand there in shame as they
prepare to be judged by the God Who sent His Son to prevent their judgment -
His
Son Who was not good enough for any of them.
All the Christ-rejecting "great
minds" of human history will stand before their subscribers,
constituents and fans for the very last time in a public display of
wretchedness and horrifying embarrassment. Most will squat and hunch
like sick animals, begging for a hiding place and finding no relief. Although the Bible says they were made in
secret, their undoing will be public and excruciatingly shameful. (Psalm
139)
All of the man-made excuses for rejecting
Jesus and all of the false religions of the world will
suddenly collapse like sand castles at high tide. There will be no
more boastful speaking out against the Spirit of God and His family here,
only knees buckling under the most extreme pressure a human being could
ever imagine.
The only ones who will dare to open their
boastful mouths now
will be confessing, "Jesus really is Lord. Oh, my God. He
really is. I'm damned."
"That at the Name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things
under the earth; And that every tongue should
confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:10,11)
Of course, all who confess the
Lordship of Jesus Christ at The Great White Throne Judgment will be unable
to receive salvation as a result of doing so. Salvation is a gift
that is offered to man only before physical death, not after.
However, all who stand at that Judgment will indeed suddenly realize exactly
how just and fair God had been to them over the
course of their lives. Every prior opportunity to accept Christ will
somehow be played back to them. They will then realize what is
happening to them is something they did to themselves.
Top
John
Saw the Angels Open "The Books"
"...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." (Vs. 12)
All who are unfortunate enough to
stand at this horrifying Judgment will be judged out of the sixty-six Books of the
Bible. Books which
they despised and rejected on Earth. Actually, every law and
principle contained within the Books of the Bible will now be their judge.
Everyone there, will give
account for every thought, word and deed, all accurately and supernaturally
recorded and played back for them publicly. Everyone will see and
hear through this God's fairness in judging them as they await their turn.
(Matthew 12:35-37)
The mind of the Most High God is far more accurate
than any man-made computer. Every sinful, unconfessed
secret will be dragged into the pure white light of Judgment. Every self-made, false, religious support system will snap and
collapse. Those being judged will either fall completely silent on
their faces,
shaking like frightened animals or they will babble on and on incoherently
like vain, frightened idiots.
This is where Mr. Big Mouth finally
bows his knee in stark horror while listening to the playback of each and
every time he cursed the God of Love, falsely accusing Him of that which He
is not guilty. (Jude 15)
If
you are there, the Bible says if God were to ask you
a
thousand questions at that time, you would not be able to come up with the
answer for even the simplest one of them. (Job 9:3)
If you are there, once you are judged based upon your
rejection of Jesus and the sixty-six Books of the Bible, the Angel will
then open the Book of Life. You will be horrified, dropping to your
knees, your face pressed to the floor having discovered your name is not in there.
This
Book is not the "Who's Who" that received mankind's accolades
back on Planet Earth. You don't write a short embellished resume
about yourself and submit a check for $300 to get your name in this
Book. No, sir. The only way you get your name put in this Book
is by accepting Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior
back on Earth.
If you don't do this, you'll be
facing the Great White Throne Judgment nauseous and weeping hysterically
along with untold octillions of other Christ-rejecters from ages gone
by. An octillion is the number one followed by forty-seven thousand
zeros.
Top
From
Where Will All These Unfortunate People Come?
"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." (Vs.13)
The spirits of all dead men and women will be
called up from the "holding tank," the "waiting room"
compartment of Hell where they were sent at the moment of their physical
deaths. Their bodies will also be called up from the graves to be
rejoined with their spirits eternally. Whatever condition their body
was in when they died is the condition in which it will remain for eternity,
only worse.
Jesus said, "Don't act so
surprised at all this. The time is coming when everyone dead and buried
will hear His voice. Those who have lived the right way will walk out into
a resurrection Life; those who have lived the wrong way [by rejecting
Christ], into a resurrection Judgment." (John 5:28,29)
Bodies turned to ashes centuries ago
will be "restored" to their condition at the time of death.
Bodies burned on ancient funeral pyres will come forth for this
Judgment. Cremated bodies,
which were spread over oceans or continents, will reappear suddenly.
Body ashes sent into Space in miniature capsules, which dematerialized upon
re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, will rematerialize for this
Judgment.
Body ashes that were compressed into "living
memorial" rings and jewelry will also reappear as they were at the
time of death. Bodies destroyed during times of war or in horrible
accidents will come forth. Bodies that were buried at sea and swallowed
up by ten thousand fish that swam off in ten thousand different directions
will all stand fully restored before the Great White Throne Judgment.
There's simply no getting away from the Great White Throne Judgment. No matter how a no-longer-living human body
returned to the Earth from whence it came, God knows where everyone's DNA is
and He will raise every Christ-rejecter again.
Individuals who died flatly, boldly
denying Jesus' resurrection from the dead, will now stand fully persuaded of
Christ's resurrection by the very resurrection of their own bodies.
However, this
"resurrection" will free no one from the horrible clutches of
death. It will merely allow them to pass from Hell's waiting room into
Hell itself.
Top
"This
Is the Second Death"
"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." (Vs.14)
John actually saw the contents, or
the population, of Hell being cast into the Lake of Fire once the Judgment
was over. He referred to banishment to the Lake of Fire as "The Second Death."
There are three kinds of death
mentioned in the Bible.
First, there is spiritual death. That is
when someone lives in the Earth disconnected from the Life of God.
They are considered to be spiritually dead because they are not Born
Again in Christ. (Ephesians 2:1; Colossians
2:13)
Then there is physical death. This is when the human
spirit departs the human body and all bodily functions cease and
desist. It's off to the funeral home with them. (Matthew 8:22)
Then there is "the second death." This is when a
spiritually dead individual, separated from God, is raised from physical death and is cast into
the Lake of Fire with no hope of ever, ever
being restored to God.
God desires the second death for no
one.
God did not design the Lake of Fire
for man. God designed the Lake
of Fire for Satan and
his fallen angels. (Matthew 25:41)
However, when one dies in their
sins, they've got to go somewhere and they can't go to Heaven. Sin is not allowed in the presence of Holy
God.
Besides, Heaven would be Hell for Christ-rejecters. Heaven
would be Hell for Christian haters. There's no one there but those
"wimpy," "religious" folk whom they always despised for
"leaning on their Jesus crutch."
Top
Hell
Is a Place of Eternal Torment
Don't be foolish enough to believe
the lie that Hell is a drunken orgy with a bunch of Hell's Angel
Bikers.
Don't believe the lie that Hell is simply a little red
burning schoolhouse where you'll finally learn all your lessons.
Don't believe the lie that Hell is nothing more than "eternal soul
sleep."
If you end up in Hell, the first thing you will
experience is all of your attractive little "theories" being brutally
raped by a powerful gang of facts. All of your intellectual theories,
explanations, reasoning and excuses will never, ever quench the painful
fires of Hell, which were not created for man.
"And the devil that deceived them
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false
prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
(Revelation 20:10)
The Bible is to be taken literally
unless it's very obviously figurative. When it is figurative, we are
to always look for the literal meaning. When the Bible says that
Satan, his fallen angels, the beast, the false prophet and all human beings
will be tormented day and night forever, it means they will be tormented
day and night forever.
Listen to something Jesus said.
"...it is better for thee to
enter into the Kingdom
of God with one eye,
than having two eyes to be cast into Hell fire: where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched." (Mark 9:47,48)
The word that Jesus used for
"worm" is a reference to the maggots that eat dead human
corpses. He is saying that people in Hell spend Eternity with maggots
breeding in and feeding upon their corrupt resurrected bodies in the same
way they now do in dead bodies.
Would you like to see this word for
yourself? Simply open a Strong’s
Concordance to the word “worm” in Mark 9:48. It has the number “4663” assigned to
it. Look that number up in the Greek
Lexicon section and it will confirm to you that Jesus was indeed talking
about maggots breeding in and feeding upon your body eternally if you end
up in Hell.
This is no Halloween masquerade or Nightmare on Elm Street.
You will literally be the living dead. Jesus said the maggots that
feed upon dead human bodies will continue to do so eternally in the bodies
of all who insist on ending up in Hell.
Add to this the torment of literal
physical suffering in a literal fire with the inability to be killed by
that fire because you are an eternal being.
To that add the longing
to be with loved ones that you will never see again or forget. (Luke
16:19-31) Loved ones who made it to Heaven because they were smarter
than you and more humble than you.
To that add the loved ones who are
in Hell with you. Your heart will break for what you will watch them
suffer eternally. Your conscience will forever pound with guilt knowing
it's your fault that they're there. At the same time you'll hate them
passionately for not having done all they could to keep you out of
there.
We are talking about the absolute ultimate in suffering,
spirit, soul and body, for all of Eternity.
It is not possible to adequately
describe the suffering of Hell with human language.
Although I've
done my best to describe the horror of Hell that I see in Scripture, it
pales in comparison to Hell's awful reality.
Top
God Would Prefer to Show You Mercy Not Judgment
Listen, you have a Divine
appointment with Almighty God to make Jesus Christ the Lord of your life
right now. Nobody, including God, wants to see you stand at the Great
White Throne Judgment. Jesus paid the price to keep you from standing
before that Judgment and ultimately being cast into the Lake of Fire.
The Holy Spirit led you to this
article so you could know the truth.
The Bible says that God sent
Jesus into the Earth to save man, not to condemn him. (John 3:17) God
is trying to spare you, not scare you. He wants to save you, heal you, prosper you, fix your family
and your finances.
Jesus promises that He will not cast away
anyone who comes to Him humbly and sincerely, regardless of their present
condition or horrible past. (John 6:37)
God would prefer to show you mercy on this
side of the grave, not judgment on the other side of the grave.
Listen to what the Bible says about God
and you.
“The Lord is gracious and full of
compassion; slow to anger and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all: and
his tender mercies are over all of his works.” (Psalm 145:8-9)
When the Bible says that God’s tender
mercies are over all of His works, it’s talking about you. You are God’s workmanship.
“For we are his workmanship, created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should
walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
God’s tender mercies in Christ are hovering over you
right now. He loves you. He wants to
save you from the horror of the Great White Throne Judgment and the Lake of
Fire.
God would prefer to see your beautiful face
at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ with all of His other precious children
who chose Him as their Father through a
conscious act of their own free-will.
God is building a family – a family of free
moral agents who will surround Him with their love throughout all of
Eternity.
God is inviting you to be
a part of that Forever Family.
Why
not accept His invitation by saying, “Jesus, You’re my choice”?
That’s all it takes to cancel your present
appointment before the Great White Throne Judgment.
That’s all it takes to reserve your place
at the Bema Judgment Seat of Christ. (Romans 10:13)
Tomorrow might be too late.
Be forewarned & be blessed … John and
Barbara Hamel
How
to Be Born Again (Receive Christ as Your Savior)
How
to Receive The Holy Spirit & Power
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