Final Judgment – Part 2

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On today's edition of Pathway to Victory. Have you ever heard people say, well, I don't believe in a Jesus who would judge people. Well, you don't believe in the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus is going to preside over this final great white throne judgment. In Acts 17 31, Luke says, God has fixed a day in which he will judge the world and righteousness through a man he has appointed, and that man is Christ Jesus. Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress. You know, tragically, many Christians today have a one dimensional view of God as a loving Heavenly Father who welcomes all of us with open arms.

But we can't celebrate God's boundless love without acknowledging his righteous judgment. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress describes the terrible fate that awaits those who reject Jesus Christ. Now, here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Dr. Jeffress. Thanks, David, and welcome again to Pathway to Victory. If you're like most people today, there's a measure of fear looming in the background of your life. As you think about current events and as you hear the news reports, it makes you wonder if our nation and our world has gone too far. Maybe it will never return to the way God intended his world to be. Well, I want you to know that nothing has taken our sovereign God by surprise.

He's not shocked or scratching his head. In fact, the future has already been written and revealed in amazing detail in the Book of Revelation. You see, even though the world in which we live is growing darker, there is a day of glory coming when Jesus Christ will be revealed as our triumphant king. This is why I want you to have a complete grasp of the book of the Bible called Revelation. And right now I'm prepared to send you my commentary on Revelation.

It's a best selling book called Final Conquest, and it's yours when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory. In fact, when you respond today, I'll also be sure to include a booklet I've written for you called Bible Prophecy Made Simple. Don't be embarrassed if you can't recall the meaning of biblical terms such as the rapture, the second coming of Christ, the judgment seat of Christ. My booklet provides a simple timeline along with a brief explanation of each event.

We'll give more details about these resources later in today's program. But right now, let's turn in our Bibles to Revelation chapter 20 as we resume a study that began on Tuesday's program. I titled my message Final Judgment. If you have your Bibles, turn to Revelation chapter 20, beginning with verse 7, as we look at God's final judgment against unbelievers. Revelation chapter 20. Before John describes the final judgment of the unsaved in one of the most terrifying passages of all the Bible, John describes a curious happening that occurs at the end of the millennium. Look at this in verse 7. And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from prison. In fact, verse 3 says he must be released after the thousand years.

Why? To lead one final rebellion. Look at verse 8. Who are the participants in this rebellion? Satan will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog.

To gather them together for the war, the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. There will be some people born during the millennium who will actually choose, after experiencing the rule of Christ, the perfect rule of Christ, they will choose to follow Satan in that final rebellion. Verse 9.

Look at the result of this rebellion. Verse 9. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints in the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

They are judged in an instant because of their rebellion against God. And then notice in verse 10 the judgment of Satan. And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire, where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever. Now, remember, at the beginning of the millennium when Christ returns to earth, remember what happened? The angels seized the antichrist and the false prophet and dropped them into the lake of fire, the eternal place of torment for those who die apart from Christ. But at that very same time, Satan was taken, and he wasn't put into the lake of fire at that time. He was held into the abyss to be held there for a thousand years. And at the end of the thousand years, he's released, he leads the rebellion. Then finally, God says, enough, and he takes Satan here, and what does he do? He takes him out of the abyss, and he drops him into the lake of fire. And it says the same lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are.

I want you to circle that word are. You know, some people think, well, hell's bad. It's certainly a terrible place, but if I end up there, I'll be thrown into the lake of fire, burned up, and I won't know the difference.

No. The torment of the lake of fire, hell, is forever and ever. John says it's the same place where the beast and false prophet are, not where they were. It's where they are, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever and ever. And as we'll see in a moment, that is going to be the same place where non-Christians spend eternity.

They will be tormented there day and night forever and ever. That word translated forever is the Greek word ionon. It's used 69 times in the Greek New Testament. 62 of those times, the word forever refers to the eternal blessings of those who know Christ as Savior.

We will live with Christ forever and ever and ever. But that same word is used seven times to describe the eternal torment of unbelievers. They will be tormented forever and ever and ever.

That is the terrible, awful truth about the lake of fire, Gehenna. It's the ultimate destination of Satan. But sadly, Satan, the beast, the false prophet are not the only occupants there. Look at verse 11, the great white throne judgment.

That will send unbelievers to that terrible place as well. Chapter 20, verse 11, John says, Then I saw a great white throne and him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away and no place was found for them. You know, there are many references to the throne of God in the book of Revelation.

We see 30 references. Remember in chapter 4, the rainbow that surrounded the throne, the 24 elders, the church. We saw the lightning flashes signaling God's judgment.

The rainbow symbolizing the promises of God. That was the throne of God, but this is a different throne. It's a single solitary throne suspended in outer space.

The earth, the heavens have passed away, they've already been destroyed by this time after Satan's final rebellion. And John says, And I saw him who sat upon the throne. The one who sat upon the throne was not God the Father, it is Jesus Christ the Son. Remember in John 5, 22, the Bible says, Jesus said, For the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment unto the Son. Have you ever heard people say, Well, I don't believe in a Jesus who would judge people. Well, you don't believe in the Jesus of the Bible. Jesus is going to preside over this final great white throne judgment.

In Acts 17, 31, Luke says, God has fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness through a man he has appointed, and that man is Christ Jesus. Who are the subjects of this great white throne judgment? Look at verse 12 and verse 13, And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them, and they were judged, every one of them, according to their deeds. Remember I said the second resurrection occurs at all at the same time. This is the time that every unbeliever who has ever lived since the time of Adam will be raised from the dead. His spirit is already in Hades, the temporary place of suffering for the unsaved, but his body is now raised not for blessing but for eternal judgment. It's the second resurrection. And by the way, will you notice this reference here?

I saw the great and the small. It doesn't matter who you are, the president or a prostitute, the governor or a gunman, the mayor or a murderer. It doesn't matter to God.

He is no respecter of persons. Anyone who dies apart from faith in Jesus Christ will be the subject of this great white throne judgment. And what is the basis of the judgment? Verse 12, And the books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead, the unsaved that is, were judged from the things which were written in the books according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. They are judged according to the books. Now, please stay with me on this.

It's so important you understand this. Did you know God keeps two sets of books, so to speak? There are the books, and there is the book. The book is the Lamb's book of life that records the name of everyone who's ever trusted in Christ as Savior.

We saw it in chapter three. The names in that book were written down before the foundation of the world. Did you know before the foundation of the world, God wrote the name of every person who would ever live in that book, every person who would or ever has lived was written in that book because Jesus Christ came to die, not just for some people's sins, but for the sins of the entire world.

Salvation is open to anybody and everybody who will trust in Christ as Savior. Everybody's name was written in that book. But if you leave this planet, if you die before ever receiving that gift of forgiveness in your own life, the Bible says your name is blotted out of the Lamb's book of life. The Lamb's book of life contains the names of everybody who has received, accepted that gift of forgiveness.

That's the book of life. But it says the unsaved were judged according to the books, that is, according to their deeds. Why are non-Christians judged by their works?

Two reasons. First of all, because they've chosen to be judged by their works. The unbeliever is somebody who said, I don't need that gift of forgiveness that Christ offers. I don't need his grace. If he died for my sins, he needn't have bothered, as Ted Turner once said. If a few girlfriends and a few drinks are going to send you to hell, so be it, the great billionaire said. That's what the unbeliever says. I don't need the grace of God.

I'll roll the dice. I'm good enough to get into heaven. God says, fine, we'll judge you just like you want to be judged by your works. The only problem with that is the standard of our works is not other people.

It's Jesus Christ himself. He's the standard by which everybody is judged, and unless your righteousness meets his righteousness, you fall short. The reason the unsaved are judged by their works is because they've chosen to be. The second reason is their works will determine the kind of hell that they experience.

I bet you haven't heard this before. We've already seen there are degrees of heaven. After we're saved, what kind of life we lead determines the kind of heaven that we experience. We've talked at length about rewards in heaven, but did you know there are degrees of hell as well? That's why unbelievers will be judged by their works to discover what kind of hell they will experience. You say, Pastor, you've gone off the deep end. We knew it was going to happen sometime.

You've gone off the deep end. Where do you find degrees of hell in the Bible? One place is in the Gospel of Luke. Jesus talked about it. Do you remember the story he told about the slave who was judged by his master? This is one of the most interesting and frequently overlooked passages in the Bible.

Luke 12, verses 47 to 48. Jesus said, And that slave who knew his master's will, and did not get ready or act in accord with that will, will receive many lashes. But the one who did not know it and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive but a few lashes. From every one who has been given much, much will be required.

And to whom they entrusted much of him, they will ask all the more. Jesus said a slave who knows exactly what the master wants him to do, but decides not to do it, he's worthy of severe punishment, many lashes. But the one who disobeys the master's will, but never really had knowledge of that will, he'll receive a few lashes. In other words, the judgment will be based on how much knowledge he had.

Now both receive lashes, some receive more than others. And by the way, that's where this verse fits. For those to whom much is given, much will be required. I bet you've heard that verse many times. We often refer to it in the sense of stewardship. If God's given you a lot of material possessions, then you have an obligation to support the church and help others.

That's an okay application, but that's not the major application. When Jesus is talking about to those who much has been given, he's talking about those people who have heard the word of God, have received the knowledge of God, and yet choose to rebel against God, their judgment is going to be even more severe than those who have never heard the master's will. They don't know much about the Bible at all. Now don't misinterpret this. The least degree of hell is still going to be horrible. Every unbeliever is sent to the lake of fire, but there are degrees of hell based on the revelation, the knowledge we have. By the way, that means every one of you sitting here today, every one of you watching on television, you are without excuse.

Much is required of you because you have heard the true gospel of Jesus Christ. That's the basis of our judgment. The unbelievers will be judged according to their works.

And what is the result of that judgment? Look at this, verse 15. And if anyone's name was not written in the book of the life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Jesus called this place Gehenna, the valley of Hinnom. Those of you who have been to Israel, you've been there before, no doubt. You know it's located outside the walls of Jerusalem. It was a garbage dump for Jerusalem for many, many years. It was a place the sewage, the refuse would be dumped. It was a place where criminals' bodies after they were crucified or executed would have been left to decay.

In the Old Testament times, that same valley was the site where Israelites, following the pagan god, Moloch, would burn their infant children alive. It was a horrible place. In fact, Jesus described it as a place just like Gehenna, hell, of weeping and wailing and of gnashing of teeth. There was no more cursed place than Gehenna. And that's the analogy Jesus used to describe hell. Listen to Dr. Criswell's description of that place.

In that refuse of Gehenna, the worm never died as it ate into the putrid mass. The fire was never quenched as it burned the endless waste, and the gnashing of teeth never ceased as the jackals fought with one another over the dead carcasses that were cast into that horrible place. And it is that place, Jesus said, that best describes the endless, eternal, weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth that awaits those who die without Christ. And listen to me, ladies and gentlemen, it is that place that Jesus died to save you from. You know, I have to do some sad things as a pastor, but there's nothing sadder that I do than having to visit with a family who has lost a loved one who was not a Christian. Because in all integrity, all honesty, I have absolutely no hope to offer them about their loved one because there is no hope for their loved one.

They have died apart from Christ. Why would anyone reject the grace of Jesus Christ? Why would anyone say, I would rather be damned than go to hell than ever trust Jesus for my forgiveness? Why would any sane person say such a thing?

There's only one reason. Verse 10, they have been deceived by Satan. Satan has placed a veil over their eyes where they cannot see the truth. And ladies and gentlemen, that's why we do what we do as First Baptist Church Dallas. That's why we pray, that's why we preach, that's why we witness, that's why we sacrifice our money, that's why we build these buildings all so that people might come to know Christ as Savior and be saved from that horrible, horrible future that awaits those who die without Christ. Have you taken advantage of that gift of salvation?

Have you done it yet? Let me tell you, there is no hope for Satan. There has been no provision for his forgiveness or salvation.

His destination is certain. But if you're not a Christian yet, there is a provision for your salvation. Right now is the time to change your eternal destiny.

Can I share a personal word with you? I've preached this passage over the last 40 years, many, many times, but I've never had this experience before. I was preparing the message in my study this week, and at one point, I was so overwhelmed by what I was reading and thinking about and preparing to share for you that I shut my Bible, and I knelt down by my chair, and I said, God, I don't want to go to hell. Please, Lord, save me from this terrible, terrible place. I believe Jesus is my only hope, and I'm trusting in him to save me, to forgive me, to save me from that judgment I know I deserve. Save me, dear Lord. Please save me. You may say, well, pastor, I thought you told us you did that when you were five years old.

Why would you do that again? Because I want to be sure. I want to be absolutely sure that I want to be in that place called heaven. Regardless of what I've done or haven't done in the past, I want to know right now that I've done what the Bible says I must do to be saved.

Are you sure? Instead of unraveling what you may or may not have done in the past, why not now say, God, save me. Save me.

Forgive me. Usher me into your presence that day that I die so that I can be with you forever and ever and ever. The Bible promises whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. Over the years, I've found that Christians are often intimidated by the book of Revelation. The sensational imagery John uses feels foreign, and yet it's absolutely essential that we have a grasp of this final book in the Bible and the warnings we receive about the last days. So let me highly recommend that you become a student of this final conquest of God. As I mentioned earlier, I've written a best-selling book to help you understand the mysteries of the revelation given to John.

It's called Final Conquest, and the final day to request your copy is Friday. This book is by far the most comprehensive one I've written about biblical prophecy. In my book Final Conquest, we'll walk together through every chapter in Revelation so that you have a firm grasp on the essential storyline and how this biblical account impacts your life today. Plus, when you respond right now, I'll also include the booklet I've written for you called Bible Prophecy Made Simple.

My booklet describes events like the Tribulation, the Millennium, the Rapture, and more. In the last couple of weeks, we've been pleased to send thousands of copies to listeners all across our country. So while supplies last, I'm pleased to send one to you as well.

Let me recap today's special offer. When you give a generous gift to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory, I'll be sending you a copy of my best-selling book called Final Conquest, which is a verse-by-verse study through Revelation. And then, as a bonus, you'll also receive my booklet called Bible Prophecy Made Simple. Here's David now to give you our contact information.

Thanks, Dr. Jeffress. Today, when you give a generous gift to support the Ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request your very own copy of Final Conquest, the verse-by-verse commentary on the book of Revelation by Dr. Robert Jeffress. Plus, you'll also receive the booklet called Bible Prophecy Made Simple. Just call 866-999-2965 or go online to ptv.org. And when you give $75 or more, we'd also like to send you the complete CD and DVD teaching sets for this month's series on the book of Revelation titled Final Conquest.

It's perfect for a small group Bible study or a Sunday school class, and there are only a few days left to take advantage of these resources, so don't put off calling any longer. One more time, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, here's that mailing address, P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas, 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. When the Tribulation finally ends, a peace will descend upon the universe like never before, and Jesus Christ will establish His eternal reign over a new heaven and a new earth. Hear a message called The King is Coming. That's Thursday on Pathway to Victory. Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. Picture yourself relaxing aboard a luxury cruise ship as you sail the Mediterranean Sea on the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. This 11-day journey will take you to unforgettable destinations in Italy, Turkey, and Greece.

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