The White Throne Judgement, Part 2

If you know my house is burning down, you better say something to me. Dr. Tony Evans says we're ambassadors of Christ called to share the good news with our friends and neighbors who are unknowingly on their way to disaster. I am not ashamed of the Gospel, not when I know there's a lake of fire out there.

Celebrating 40 years of faithfulness, this is The Alternative with Dr. Tony Evans, author, speaker, senior pastor of Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in Dallas, Texas, and president of The Urban Alternative. Everybody, from cartoonists to movie makers, even to our friends on Facebook, has an idea of what Judgment Day will look like. Today, Dr. Evans explains what the Bible says people can expect when they face the great white throne. We're told in verse 7 of Revelation 20 that Satan will be released from his prison, and he will come and deceive the nations.

Let me explain again. Only believers go into the millennium, but those believers who are in their human bodies are going to procreate. And over a thousand years, millions of people will be born on earth in the millennial kingdom. These millions of people who will be born, many of them will reject Christ's rule, but they won't be able to express it, because Jesus will rule with a rod of iron. He will be the righteous dictator, and no rebellion will be allowed in the millennial kingdom. And so, at the end of the tribulation, God will release Satan in order to allow people who have rejected him to express their rejection.

They've stuffed it in for however long they've been born during that thousand-year period of time, and now they will be free to release it, because Satan will draw it out of them, having been released from prison. Satan will not cause it. He will reveal what's already there. So in an instant, at the end of the millennium, when the rebellion occurs, fire comes down from heaven and destroys all the rebels who have joined Satan in his final battle.

Satan will join the false prophet and the beast, the Antichrist, and he will be tormented day and night forever and ever in the lake of fire. We have now come to the end of history as you now know it. The millennial kingdom is finished, and now it's time for the transfer to the eternal state, heaven and hell.

But before the transfer occurs, there will be a transfer event. That event is called the white throne judgment. It is the last courtroom in history and the darkest moment in time. John says in verse 11, a great white throne comes down. I saw a great white throne.

It was awesome, great. It was white purity. It was a throne.

A king sat on it. When this king who sits on the throne shows up, heaven and earth flees. Here you have the rolling back of creation, and creation as you know it, the universe as you understand it, will evaporate. And you will be back now in the uncreation, because now we're no longer dealing with time.

Now we're in the process of transitioning to eternity. This is a courtroom scene. The judge is sitting on the throne, the gavel is hit, order in the court. Every non-Christian in history is going to be summoned, and you will show up. To make sure you show up, God is going to create an unglorified eternal body to house your soul that has been being held in a holding tank—I'll describe that in a moment—for this judgment day.

It says all will be called, all will show up. When they come to meet the judge, it says there are books, plural, and a book. He uses books, plural, and a book. The books, plural, it says are their deeds, everything they have done during their time when they were alive. Activities they did, works they did, thoughts they thought, activities, all manner of action while they were alive have been recorded in this book.

And there will be a personal review with each one, it says. From the judge's perspective, the purpose of this judgment is not to determine your eternal destiny. If you are at this judgment, your eternal destiny has already been determined.

The purpose of this judgment is only to determine the degree of judgment, not the fact of judgment. Adam was created and he sinned. When he sinned, the Bible says that sin was passed down to the whole human race. So everybody who was born is born in sin and shaped in iniquity. We all sin because we all carry the Adamic nature that includes sin, which is why you don't have to teach people how to sin. You don't have to teach kids how to be selfish.

You don't have to teach them how to lie. It's built in and transferred from parent to child and from Adam to the human race. So the whole world is born in sin. But the Bible says Jesus died for the sins of the world before the foundation of the earth. In other words, before Jesus ever entered the earth, God took into account his death. And in taking his death into account, addressed the original sin of Adam because Romans chapter 5 verse 18 says, In Adam all die, but in Christ all are made alive.

Let me explain. When God initiated creation, every name of every man, woman, boy, and girl was written in the book of life. Every person.

Why? Because 1 John 2 2 says, He not only died for our sins, He died for the sins of the whole world. So on the cross, even before Jesus got to the cross, God took into account the cross so that the cross, even in the mind of God, would cover Adam's sin.

And it's transferred to the human race. Since original sin was covered by God, in His mind, before Adam even was created, because God knew Adam would sin, God covered the human race. And that is why when a woman comes to me, or a man or a family who has lost their baby in a childbirth situation, where the baby didn't live, or the baby was young and hit by a car, and they ask me, Where is my child? I can with confidence tell them, Your baby is in heaven because the death of Christ has already judged the sin of Adam that you, the parents, transferred to them, according to Romans 5 18.

Well, wait a minute. Then if that's the case, why does anyone go to hell? Because while the death of Christ covers original sin, it does not cover personal sin where rejection of Christ is involved. In other words, it covers original sin saving you from Adam's condemnation. But personal sin gets covered when you accept Christ. So original sin is covered, therefore babies are covered, until the age of accountability.

What's the age of accountability? It's when you can understand that you are a sinner, that you have sinned, and you have the capacity to respond to the gospel. Once you hit that age of accountability, which varies from person to person based on where they live and what they've been exposed to, once you hit that age of accountability, the death of Christ has made you saveable, but you must accept Him to be saved from your personal sin.

So you can't blame Adam for your spiritual condition Jesus covered that one. Your spiritual condition has to do with your personal decision to respond or reject the good news of the gospel. Dr. Evans will tell us what happens in God's accounting department when we reject Jesus Christ's gift of salvation, when He returns after this 40-year reflection on the roots of His ministry through the local church and the urban alternative. I was taking a course from Gene Getz called Sharpening the Focus of the Church, about making the church relevant in a new world that we were in at that time. At the same time, Ruben Conner, who was head of the organization that was church planning, challenged me to start a church in light of some of the ideas I had about doing some things differently with church in a predominantly African-American context.

So all this is hitting at the same time. That's when Gene Getz, who was the professor, who was also a pastor, said, if you want to start a church, our church will support you. And so after prayer and thought, we decided to start Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship while I was working on my doctoral degree at Dallas Seminary. So on June 6, 1976, we took a Bible study that we were having in our home that was 10 people in the house, and we began Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship with the idea of having a biblically-centered church that was relevantly addressing the issues of the day and in the community. One lasting hallmark of the ministry here at The Alternative is our commitment to offer resources that help listeners like you grow strong in faith, wisdom, and dedication to God's kingdom.

And our current featured resource is no exception. In Tony's powerful book, Prayers for Victory in Spiritual Warfare, you'll learn God has given you the tools you need to win every spiritual battle you'll ever face. He'll teach you how to pray your way to victory when Satan attacks through relationship problems, drug and alcohol struggles, financial hardships, sinful impulses, and much more. We'll send you a copy of Prayers for Victory in Spiritual Warfare as our way of saying thanks when you make a contribution to help support Tony's work here on the air and around the world.

You'll get the brand-new luxury edition with a special cover that looks and feels like leather, along with another bonus, all twelve lessons in Tony's current two-volume series, Prophecy and Our World. Get the details at TonyEvans.org before this limited-time offer runs out. That's TonyEvans.org. Or call 1-800-800-3222. I'll have our contact information for you again a little later.

Right now, though, here's Dr. Evans with more of our message. If you live out your life and reject Jesus Christ, your name is erased from the Book of Life. The death of Jesus Christ got your name in it. But if there is the rejection of Jesus Christ, your name is erased out of it.

So there will be, at this judgment, millions and millions of people who will be looking for a name that's not there because they never responded to Jesus Christ for personal forgiveness. This world has been cursed by sin, and God must get rid of it so He's going to burn it all up so that there is no sin ever again. Then death and Hades will be thrown into the lake of fire.

This is the second death, the lake of fire. God is an eternal being. Sin is an eternal crime against an eternal being. When we sin, we insult an eternal being.

And therefore, the crime must fit the punishment. 2 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 9 says, they will pay the penalty of eternal destruction away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power. The simple definition of hell is that there is no enjoyment of God there. You are separated from God. Everything you enjoy on earth is because of God, directly or indirectly. Anything legitimate that you enjoy on earth has to do with God. Hell is God's goodness missing.

Now here's where you must pay close attention. Every non-Christian, your brother, your mother, your sister, your friends, your co-workers, who have not come to faith in Jesus Christ will be at this judgment. You will not be able to bring anybody in to vouch for you.

You'll not be able to bring character witnesses in. It's a private meeting between you and God. The book will be open. Your name's not there. That validates eternal destiny.

He looks at the books to determine the level of it. There are no second chances. There's no parole. It is eternal in nature. Jesus Christ died so that you won't have to be summoned to this court. That's why He died. God, knowing that the requirement to be accepted by Him is perfection, came up with a plan. It's a credit plan. On the cross, God took the sins of the whole world and credited them to Jesus Christ, which is why Jesus uttered the words tetelestai, the Greek phrase meaning paid in full. God had to get payment for sin. So all the sins of everybody who has ever lived were coupled and cupped and handed over, and the wrath of God, the Bible says, was laid on Him by credit because He had no sin of His own.

God then says to every man, woman, boy, and girl, if you will, at this age of understanding, accept my Son as your substitute, I will credit back to you His righteousness. For He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Jesus Christ has perfect righteousness because He who has no sin. So when God judged Jesus, He took the sin of the whole world, dumped it on Jesus Christ, and to the sinner who accepts Jesus Christ, He takes the perfection of Jesus Christ and credits it to the sinner's account. So when God looks at the sinner who accepts Christ, He sees on His account perfect righteousness. You stand before God as though you've never sinned because of your credit score. The credit of Christ has been transferred to your account, which is why when God judges you at the judgment seat of Christ if you're a Christian, it only has to do with your reward. It cannot deal with your sin because if it dealt with your sin, you wouldn't even be there. It can only deal with your reward because your righteousness has been credited. So the issue of sin is tied to reward. It's not tied to your legal standing before the Holy God. You don't have to buy it, you don't have to work for it.

In fact, He won't let you buy it and He won't let you work for it. By grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not according to work so that nobody can brag, talking about we made it, didn't we? It's by grace and grace is always free.

So here it is. Unless you plead guilty in this life and seek forgiveness at the cross, you will be guilty in the next life. You can't play with this because losing at Monopoly is a lot different than losing in Las Vegas. Losing at Monopoly is a lot different than losing at a blackjack table. Because you lose over here, it don't matter.

You lose there, it matters a lot. Because this is not real and that is. This judgment is more real than you sitting here today.

Because it's been defined by the inerrant Word of God. Now what do you do if you're ordered to court because of a situation you've been involved in and you know the sentence could be rough? Well, what you ought to do, if possible, is settle out of court. Since I have explained to you this judgment, you ought to settle out of court.

You ought to settle out of court. Because you don't want to be part of this judgment. You don't want to be part of this.

You don't want to be part of this time. You do not play Russian roulette with eternity. And after you die, it's too late. Hebrews 9.27, it's appointed unto man once to die and after that the judgment. Some of you have been raised in religions that say, well, there's another chance after death, place called Purgatory.

Uh-uh. There's a place called Hades and that's a holding cell till you get to this judgment. After you die, it's it. Now if you know you're going to die 20 years from now, maybe you got some time.

But since, nobody knows. And in sense, you may be late for a lot of things in your life, but you're going to be on time for this. It's appointed unto man once to die. It is in your best interest to make your calling and election sure that you have come to faith alone, in Christ alone, for the gift of salvation that He gives away to all who come to Him for it. It also should mean something else. It should mean if you are saved, you ought to be the most grateful person walking on the planet.

It means if you are saved, God shouldn't have to beg you to praise Him because He has established your eternal destiny and paid the price for your sins. Dr. Tony Evans will wrap up today's message with a very important closing thought as he returns in just a moment, so stay with us. In the meantime, don't forget about that special offer I mentioned earlier. As our way of saying thanks for your contribution to help us keep Tony's teaching on this station, we'll send you all 12 full-length messages in his current two-volume sermon series, Prophecy and Our World, along with his book, Prayers for Victory in Spiritual Warfare.

You'll get the keepsake edition of this 100,000-copy bestseller, with a special binding that looks and feels like leather. But only if we hear from you before this special offer runs out at the end of the week. Make the arrangements by calling our resource request line day or night at 1-800-800-3222. That's 1-800-800-3222.

Or visit us online at toneyevans.org. Some people say life's too short to be religious. Tomorrow Dr. Evans will explain why eternity's too long not to be as he takes a look at what happens when we die.

Right now, though, he's back with this closing thought. If you know my house is on fire, please don't talk to me like everything is okay. If you know my house is burning down, you better say something to me. You better tell me if I don't do something quick, this thing is going to become ashes. Don't tell me you're too scared to talk to me and you don't feel like talking to me and you're not sure what I'm going to say.

If you talk to me, you better tell me something. If this thing is burning down, you should be a witness for Jesus Christ and sharing the gospel in light of this judgment. For we are ambassadors for Christ, called to share the good news. I am not ashamed of the gospel, not when I know there's a lake of fire out there. Every person in here who can claim salvation in the name of Jesus Christ ought to tell folk whenever you get the opportunity about the good news of the gospel, you can talk about the cowboys, if you can talk about the mavericks, if you can talk about this star and that star and this show and that show, you ought not be ashamed to talk about the one who loved you and gave himself for you and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. .