Great White Throne
Judgement Seat of Christ
The first thing to understand
about the final judgment is
that
it cannot be avoided.
Regardless of how we may choose to interpret prophecy on the end times,
we are told that “it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
We all have a divine appointment with our
Creator.
The apostle John recorded some details of the
final judgment:
“And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And a place was not found for them.
And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God.
And 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 in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.
And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life,
he was cast into the Lake of Fire”
(Revelation 20:11-15).
This remarkable passage introduces to us the final judgment—the end of human history and the beginning of the eternal state. We can be sure of this: no mistakes will be made in our hearings because we will be judged by a perfect God (Matthew 5:48; 1 John 1:5).
This will manifest itself in many undeniable proofs.
First,
God will be perfectly just and fair
(Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28).
Second,
God cannot be deceived
(Galatians 6:7).
Third,
God cannot be swayed
by any prejudices, excuses or lies
(Luke 14:16-24).
As God the Son, Jesus Christ will be the judge
(John 5:22).
All unbelievers will be judged
by Christ at the
“great white throne,”
and they will be punished according to
the
works they have done
The Bible is very clear
that unbelievers are storing up
wrath against themselves
(Romans 2:5)
and that God will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:6). (Believers will also be judged, at a different judgment called the “judgment seat of Christ”
(Romans 14:10), but since
Christ’s righteousness
has been imputed to us and our names are written in the Book of Life,
we will be rewarded, not punished, according to our deeds.)
At the final judgment the fate of the unsaved
will be in the hands of the omniscient God
who will judge everyone according to his soul’s condition.
For now, our fate is in our own hands.
The end of our soul’s journey
will be either in an eternal heaven or in an eternal hell
(Matthew 25:46).
We must choose where we will be by accepting or rejecting the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, and we must make that choice before our physical lives on this earth come to an end.
After death, there is no longer a choice, and our fate is to stand before the throne of God, where everything will be open and naked before Him (Hebrews 4:13). Romans 2:6 declares that God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”
Believers are judged
at the Judgment Seat of Christ
(Romans 14:10-12).
Every believer will give an account of himself, and the Lord will judge the decisions he made—including those concerning issues of conscience.
This judgment does not determine salvation, which is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9),
but rather is the time when believers must give an account of their lives in service to Christ. Our position in Christ is the “foundation” spoken of in
1 Corinthians 3:11-15.
That which we build upon the foundation can be the “gold, silver, and precious stones” of good works in Christ’s name, obedience and fruitfulness—dedicated spiritual service to glorify God and build the church.
Or what we build on the foundation may be
the “wood, hay and stubble”
of worthless, frivolous, shallow activity with no spiritual value.
The Judgment Seat of Christ will reveal this
The gold, silver, and precious stones in the lives of believers
will survive God’s refining fire
and believers will be rewarded based on those good works--
how faithfully we served Christ
(1 Corinthians 9:4-27),
how well we obeyed
The Great Commission
(Matthew 28:18-20),
how victorious we were over sin
(Romans 6:1-4),
how well we controlled our tongues
(James 3:1-9), etc.
We will have to give an
account for our actions,
whether they were truly indicative of
our
position in Christ.
The fire of God’s judgment will completely burn up
the “wood, hay and stubble”
of the words we spoke and things we did which had
no eternal value.
"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God”
(Romans 14:12 ).
The second judgment is that of unbelievers who will be
judged
at the Great White Throne Judgment
(Revelation 20:11-15).
This judgment does not determine salvation, either.
Everyone at the Great White Throne
is an unbeliever who has rejected Christ in life and is
therefore already doomed to the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:12 says that unbelievers will
be “judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.”
Those who have rejected Christ as Lord and Savior
will be judged based on their works alone,
and because the Bible tells us that
"by the works of the Law no flesh
will be justified”
(Galatians 2:16),
they will be condemned.
No amount of good works and the keeping of
God’s laws can be sufficient to atone for sin.
All their thoughts,
words and actions will be judged against God’s perfect standard
and found wanting. There will be no reward for them, only eternal condemnation and punishment.
Matthew 21:23
When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
Mark 11:28
and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?”
Luke 20:2
and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”
John 5:22
For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,
Acts 10:42
And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
John 6:27
Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
Hebrews 3:2
He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.
Hebrews 5:10
being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:4
And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.
Acts 17:31
because He has fixed a day
in which He will judge the world in righteousness
through a Man whom He has appointed,
having furnished proof
to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Judgement Seat of Christ
The first thing to understand
about the final judgment is
that
it cannot be avoided.
Regardless of how we may choose to interpret prophecy on the end times,
we are told that “it is appointed to men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).
We all have a divine appointment with our
Creator.
The apostle John recorded some details of the
final judgment:
“And I saw a great white throne, and Him sitting on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.
And a place was not found for them.
And I saw the dead, the small and the great, stand before God.
And 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 in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead in them. And each one of them was judged according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death.
And if anyone was not found having been written in the Book of Life,
he was cast into the Lake of Fire”
(Revelation 20:11-15).
This remarkable passage introduces to us the final judgment—the end of human history and the beginning of the eternal state. We can be sure of this: no mistakes will be made in our hearings because we will be judged by a perfect God (Matthew 5:48; 1 John 1:5).
This will manifest itself in many undeniable proofs.
First,
God will be perfectly just and fair
(Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28).
Second,
God cannot be deceived
(Galatians 6:7).
Third,
God cannot be swayed
by any prejudices, excuses or lies
(Luke 14:16-24).
As God the Son, Jesus Christ will be the judge
(John 5:22).
All unbelievers will be judged
by Christ at the
“great white throne,”
and they will be punished according to
the
works they have done
The Bible is very clear
that unbelievers are storing up
wrath against themselves
(Romans 2:5)
and that God will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:6). (Believers will also be judged, at a different judgment called the “judgment seat of Christ”
(Romans 14:10), but since
Christ’s righteousness
has been imputed to us and our names are written in the Book of Life,
we will be rewarded, not punished, according to our deeds.)
At the final judgment the fate of the unsaved
will be in the hands of the omniscient God
who will judge everyone according to his soul’s condition.
For now, our fate is in our own hands.
The end of our soul’s journey
will be either in an eternal heaven or in an eternal hell
(Matthew 25:46).
We must choose where we will be by accepting or rejecting the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf, and we must make that choice before our physical lives on this earth come to an end.
After death, there is no longer a choice, and our fate is to stand before the throne of God, where everything will be open and naked before Him (Hebrews 4:13). Romans 2:6 declares that God “will give to each person according to what he has done.”
Believers are judged
at the Judgment Seat of Christ
(Romans 14:10-12).
Every believer will give an account of himself, and the Lord will judge the decisions he made—including those concerning issues of conscience.
This judgment does not determine salvation, which is by faith alone (Ephesians 2:8-9),
but rather is the time when believers must give an account of their lives in service to Christ. Our position in Christ is the “foundation” spoken of in
1 Corinthians 3:11-15.
That which we build upon the foundation can be the “gold, silver, and precious stones” of good works in Christ’s name, obedience and fruitfulness—dedicated spiritual service to glorify God and build the church.
Or what we build on the foundation may be
the “wood, hay and stubble”
of worthless, frivolous, shallow activity with no spiritual value.
The Judgment Seat of Christ will reveal this
The gold, silver, and precious stones in the lives of believers
will survive God’s refining fire
and believers will be rewarded based on those good works--
how faithfully we served Christ
(1 Corinthians 9:4-27),
how well we obeyed
The Great Commission
(Matthew 28:18-20),
how victorious we were over sin
(Romans 6:1-4),
how well we controlled our tongues
(James 3:1-9), etc.
We will have to give an
account for our actions,
whether they were truly indicative of
our
position in Christ.
The fire of God’s judgment will completely burn up
the “wood, hay and stubble”
of the words we spoke and things we did which had
no eternal value.
"So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God”
(Romans 14:12 ).
The second judgment is that of unbelievers who will be
judged
at the Great White Throne Judgment
(Revelation 20:11-15).
This judgment does not determine salvation, either.
Everyone at the Great White Throne
is an unbeliever who has rejected Christ in life and is
therefore already doomed to the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:12 says that unbelievers will
be “judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.”
Those who have rejected Christ as Lord and Savior
will be judged based on their works alone,
and because the Bible tells us that
"by the works of the Law no flesh
will be justified”
(Galatians 2:16),
they will be condemned.
No amount of good works and the keeping of
God’s laws can be sufficient to atone for sin.
All their thoughts,
words and actions will be judged against God’s perfect standard
and found wanting. There will be no reward for them, only eternal condemnation and punishment.
Matthew 21:23
When He entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came to Him while He was teaching, and said, “By what authority are You doing these things, and who gave You this authority?”
Mark 11:28
and began saying to Him, “By what authority are You doing these things, or who gave You this authority to do these things?”
Luke 20:2
and they spoke, saying to Him, “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?”
John 5:22
For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,
Acts 10:42
And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead.
John 6:27
Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you, for on Him the Father, God, has set His seal.”
Hebrews 3:2
He was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was in all His house.
Hebrews 5:10
being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:4
And no one takes the honor to himself, but receives it when he is called by God, even as Aaron was.
Acts 17:31
because He has fixed a day
in which He will judge the world in righteousness
through a Man whom He has appointed,
having furnished proof
to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
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