The Great White Throne
Judgement
There are two judgements that will occur in the future for all those that have ever lived. We will either be at the Judgement Seat of Christ or the Great White Throne Judgement.
The judgement seat of Christ is for the believers who have put their faith in Jesus. Since they are not condemned for their sins, they get judged on their good works. No one is ever saved by good works, only by the grace of God through our belief in him. The good deeds we have done out of our love for God will earn us rewards in the future. Click HERE for the link to my article on the Judgement Seat of Christ AKA the Bema Seat.
The Great White Throne Judgement is the judgement of the unbelievers. This will be a very sad and terrible day. This Judgment will happen after the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth. This is when the resurrection of the unsaved dead will occur. On the cross Jesus paid for the sins of those who gave him their heart, since the unsaved have not covered their sins with the blood of Jesus those people will need to pay the penalty for their own sins. Matthew 25:46, And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. 9They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might. Those that don’t want to be with God are then confined to a place where none of his qualities reside.
Let’s take the analogy of the Royal family. When Prince William was single and asked Kate Middleton to marry him, she had the free will to say yes or no. If she said no, I don’t want anything to do with you, do you think at that point she would be able to live in Kensington Palace? Would she have all the benefits and inheritance of the Royal family? Of Course not! The same goes for God. You can have his full heart and all the benefits that come with him, or you can reject him and walk away. The choice is yours.
Be aware God knows who truly loves him and serves him with their whole heart and those who look at him only as “fire insurance”. There are some people who don’t seem to have a heart for God but they have a head knowledge that Jesus existed and died for sins. They think just believing that is good enough. Jesus is looking for a bride who loves him with their whole heart. It’s so easy to love Jesus right back when you know him. He is love. He sacrificed himself in a terrible death to redeem us back to him. He loves you more than any person on this earth right now loves you. His love is pure, with no ulterior motive. He knows the worst things about you and still loves you unconditionally. He loves all those quirky things about you that may annoy someone else. He flat out adores you. When you truly get to know Jesus, it’s so easy to fully love him back.
The devil has placed many lies out there about God such as he wanted your Mom to die of cancer, he killed your brother in a car accident. Your suffering is the punishment of God due to your sins. Those are all the devil’s deeds. John 10:10, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. So, the devil does these things and then blames God. He wants you to hate Jesus because he wants you in hell. The devil can’t touch God the only way the devil is able to hurt God is to get to you. When the devil gets you to reject Jesus than your sins cannot be covered and you will need to pay the penalty for them yourself.
God is a God of Justice and sin needs to be punished. We can’t go into a court room and say judge I know I broke the law but I am asking if you are truly a loving person you will let me go. Of course, that wouldn’t happen. That would not be a good judge if he let everyone go free and sin. Every sin has a penalty and either Jesus pays for it or you do. With that being said every sin will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgement. Matthew 16:27, For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Revelation 20:11-13, 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. 12 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. 13 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. What this is saying is that anyone who has died and was unsaved will only be resurrected only to be judged.
Revelation 20:14-15, 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. The first death is that of the body. The second death is an eternal state of death.
John 10:10, says Jesus came to give life and life in abundance. All life-giving substances are removed from hell because Jesus is not there. James 1:17, Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
Luke 12:47-48, And that servant who knew his master's will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more. This is saying there will be different levels of punishment. You may have a preacher who knows the word of God, but preaches only a prosperity gospel while leaving out all the commandments and the warnings of God. A preacher may also distort the gospel. Revelation 22:18-19 and Galatians 1:6-9, talks about those who add or take away from the word. They will be cursed and punished.
A teacher or preacher of the word is held to a higher standard because they are influencing the minds of people in a positive or negative way. James 3:1, Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. While the teacher may receive a worse eternal punishment if he led many astray the student is also responsible for what they choose to believe. Students may not know the word as well as the teacher but this is no excuse. Psalm 146:3, Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. Jeremiah 17:5, Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.
Just because someone calls themselves a Christian does not mean they are. There are a few religions out there with millions and millions of members who preach a false gospel but claim to be Christian. There are religions that are steeped in idolatry. The Bible is your foundation and the Holy Spirit your guide. Without these two you may fall prey to the lies.
This next verse is the scariest verse in the Bible for me. These people were calling Jesus Lord. They believed they were saved. They believed they were serving God. They believed they were going to heaven and Jesus rejected them. Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ Jesus said he never knew them. I believe what happed here is these people had a head knowledge of Jesus but never had a relationship with him. There are people who think they are righteous and going to heaven but they are self-righteous. They are trusting in their works and not the finished work of Jesus to save them. You cannot earn your way to heaven. Many will be shocked when they find out it was really themselves that they served and lifted up in glory and not the Lord. Purgatory and other doctrine of works has nothing to do with Jesus and everything to do with our own merit. Read my article The Dangers of Working for Your Salvation HERE.
It’s not just having faith that Jesus existed that saves someone. James 2:19, You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror. The demons know Jesus exists, and they are not saved because they never wanted to love or serve him. The key to salvation is knowing and loving God so much that we give our whole heart to him. Once he has our heart, the Holy Spirit will give us new desires where we serve him from a place of longing to please him because we really, truly, love him. We are not serving him to look good in front of our friends, the church, or because we think we can bribe the Judge of the universe to get into heaven with our good works.
Amos 5:18, Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! Why do you long for the day of the LORD? That day will be darkness, not light.
2 Corinthians 13:5, Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you-unless, of course, you fail the test?
Let’s make sure we don’t end up at the Great White Throne Judgement. Give thought and analysis to your life to see if you have truly given you heart to the Lord. Are you fully trusting in him for your salvation? If you have any doubt, pray to him. Ask him to show you the things in your life that are keeping you from having a relationship with him. Be quick to remove or change those things. Turn your eyes and heart to and focus on the one who sacrificed so much for you.
