Mm. Welcome to Turning Points. The ultimate courtroom drama won't be televised, yet billions will be impacted. It will be the final judgment where sinners are held accountable to a holy God. Today, Dr.
David Jeremiah examines the judgment he calls one of the most awesome revelations given to us in the entire Word of God. Listen as David introduces his message, the great white throne judgment. Can you imagine what it would be like if you were to stand before God today? I mean personally. and give an account of your life.
Well, the Bible says if you don't know Jesus Christ as your Savior, if you've never become a Christian in the truest sense of the Word of God, one day you will do that. The great white throne judgment, one of the final judgments of the Bible, Brings before Almighty God all of those who have denied Him and His plan of salvation. We're going to read about it today in the 20th chapter of Revelation, and we'll make some comments along the way. I hope you'll join us as we continue our study of Escape the Coming Night, the book of Revelation. And don't forget, during the month of July, we have a very special gift for you, and you will help us financially.
This gift is a brand new. venture and a brand new book. It's called Vanished. It's a novel. I did this with a friend of mine, Sam O'Neill, and it's called Vanished.
It is the story of the rapture woven into a common everyday story of life. I think you'll find it fascinating. It's kind of a page turner, and it gets released Into the bookstores this month, but we've made it available to you ahead of time. And what you need to do to receive your copy is to send a gift of any size to Turning Point to help us with the cost of airtime and production and request your copy of the book, Vanished. We'll send it to you right away.
I think you'll have a good time reading it. It will remind you of the imperatives of the coming of Jesus Christ. Here's part one of the great white throne judgment. Mm. The great white throne judgment will not be anything at all like the courtroom trials that you and I know.
At the great white throne judgment, there will be a judge, but no jury. A prosecutor, but no defender. A sentence but no appeal. The great white throne judgment has been rightly called the final judgment of the world. It is the judgment where sinners stand in the presence of a holy and just God.
To give an account for their sins. It is one of the most awesome revelations given to us in the entire Word of God. We view God as a God of love. But he must deal with sin, and he will deal with sinners.
Now, be careful that you do not confuse the judgment seat of Christ with the great white throne judgment. There are many Christians today confused about the judgment to come.
Some have even considered that it is a general judgment that all people will someday stand before God and He will separate them to the right and to the left, the saved over here and the unsaved there. Unfortunately, there are many people who believe that that judgment in the day yet ahead is based upon the works we have done here on this earth. In their mind's eye, they picture God with a gigantic scale measuring our good works and our bad works, and whichever way the scale tips determines which way we walk. Unfortunately, there are many things wrong with that picture. First of all, the Bible says that it is not by works of righteousness that we have done that we are saved.
There will be nobody in heaven who has enough good works to get there by himself. Secondly, the Bible tells us that between the judgment seat of Christ. And the great white throne judgment, there is a period of some 1,000 years' duration. The judgment seat of Christ takes place immediately after the rapture during the seven-year tribulation period here on this earth. The White Throne judgment takes place at the end of the millennium, 1,000 years later.
The judgment seat of Christ is called. the resurrection unto life. The great white throne judgment is called the resurrection unto death. If you go back to the beginning of the Old Testament, you will discover in the third chapter of Genesis that there were three curses that were placed upon this earth. There was first of all the curse of Satan.
We read in Genesis 3:14 and 15 these words: And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field. Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life. I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed. It shall bruise thy head. Thou shalt bruise his heel.
The second curse of Genesis 3 was the curse of the ground. In Genesis 3, verses 17 and 18, we read, Cursed is the ground for thy sake. In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life. Thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee. Genesis 3, 17 and 18.
The third curse of Genesis chapter three was the curse upon sinners. And we read in Galatians, Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth upon a tree. The third curse, or the curse of sinners, was removed when Jesus Christ hung upon the cross and He became our curse, so that that curse no longer had to be upon us. But the first two curses that are mentioned in Genesis three are not resolved until we come to the twentieth chapter of the book of Revelation. The curse upon Satan takes place when Satan.
Is chained in the bottomless pit for a thousand years, verses one through three. At the end of this period, he is loosed for a short season of rebellion. And then in verses 7 through 9 of Revelation 20, we are told that he is cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, and verse 10 adds to that as well. I came across a quotation from J. Vernon McGee relative to that issue.
He said, That when the late Dr. Chaffer, who was the founder of Dallas Seminary, was asked why God loosed Satan after he once had him bound, he answered: If you tell me why God let him loose in the first place, I will tell you why God lets him loose the second time. Apparently, Satan is released at the end of the millennium to reveal that the ideal conditions of the kingdom. Under the personal reign of Jesus Christ, do not change the human heart. This reveals the enormity of the enmity there is between man and God.
Scripture is accurate when it describes the heart as desperately wicked and incurably so, Man is totally depraved, and loosing Satan at the end of the thousand years simply proves it all over again. Here is the thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ. Starting out with perfect individuals, but into that environment are born individuals who have the sin nature. And after a period of 1,000 years, there's enough rebellion on this earth so that when Satan is loosed, he can get a following and he goes out and there's a final rebellion against God, actually, fighting against God.
So the curse Against Satan is finally lifted when we are told that Satan is thrown into the lake of fire where he resides for eternity. We have looked at how these three curses are being removed. The curse against sinners when Christ died on the cross, the curse against Satan when he is finally. thrown into the bottomless pit and then consigned to hell forever. But the execution of the curse upon the ground is mentioned here also.
At the very beginning of our passage, we are told in Revelation chapter 20 and verse 11 that the earth and the heaven. Flee away from the face of the one who sits upon the throne. Peter discusses this in his letters. On many occasions we read about it. It talks about the fact that at the appearance of Jesus Christ, the earth is melted with fervent heat and the earth as we know it now is destroyed.
The curse upon the earth is finally done away with as the earth is destroyed and God ultimately creates a new heaven and a new earth. You can read about this in 2 Peter 3 verses 10 and 12. Two thousand years ago, Jesus Christ was raised from the dead. At the rapture, we are told that the saved who live in this present age will be raised from the dead. Seven years later, at the close of the tribulation period, There will be still others who are raised from the dead.
All of that is a part of what we call the first resurrection. In your mind's eye, I want you to picture a little chart. Over here is the first resurrection. on this side. This is the resurrection unto life.
Everybody who comes up in the first resurrection is a believer. In that resurrection, we have Christ, we have the saints who are raised at the rapture, we have all the tribulation saints and Old Testament saints who are raised at the end of the tribulation. All of the believers are raised at the end of the tribulation period. The saved who are in Christ are raised from the dead. At the end of the millennium is the second resurrection.
The rest of the dead, we are told in Revelation chapter 20, verse 5, lived not again until the thousand years were finished. And I saw the dead, small and great, we read in verse 12, stand before God, and the books are 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. This resurrection, called the second resurrection, takes place a thousand years after the first one, and it is a resurrection of those who are dead. And please understand that is a double reference.
They are dead physically, but they are also dead spiritually. Periodically, I will hear people say, Christian people, well, you better be careful. You're going to stand before the great white throne judgment. Listen, there will be no Christians at the great white throne judgment. We'll see that again in just a moment.
Nobody who is a believer will ever stand before the great white throne judgment. That is a judgment for unbelievers only. You will someday be judged for the things done in your flesh as a Christian at the judgment seat of Christ. But, my friend, if you're at the great white throne judgment, you are in irretrievable trouble. You will never get away from there as a believer.
Now, in order to understand the great white throne judgment, I've divided this up into some easy-to-follow outline points, starting with the place of the great white throne judgment, verse 11. We read in the 11th verse, 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.
Now, if I ask you a question, could you answer it? Where will the great white throne judgment take place? I have heard people preach and identify the great white throne judgment with the throne that appears in the fourth chapter of Revelation when the door of heaven was opened and John looked up and saw the throne encircled with a rainbow. But that is not the great white throne judgment. There is no place for the great white throne judgment for two reasons.
First of all, It cannot take place on this earth. Because immediately upon the appearance of the Lord, the earth and the heavens flee away. The earth is destroyed. There's no earth for the judgment to take place on. Secondly, it cannot take place in heaven, for who is judged at the great white throne?
Sinners, and there are no sinners who enter into heaven in the presence of God.
So where does the great white throne judgment take place?
Somewhere between heaven and earth, this judgment will occur. The white throne is not set upon the earth because the earth is gone. It is not set up in what we call heaven or God's dwelling place because sinners could never come into the dwelling place of a holy God. They could only defile heaven by their presence there. This must take place in some intermediate place between heaven and earth.
Now, when you read your Bibles, you will notice how carefully the throne is described. It is described as a great white throne. And every word is important. The word great means it is the infinite before whom the finite must stand. The word white is the unveiled, undimmed blaze of the divine holiness of purity and justice.
The word throne is majesty unlimited, in which inheres utter right to dispose of the destiny of creatures. Before such a throne, creatures cannot stand, but before that throne they shall stand and hear the judgment of our God. The place of the throne is somewhere. we know not where. The person at the great white throne of judgment.
Is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Sometimes I've heard people say, well, God is on the throne. But don't forget, God has committed all judgment unto His Son, Jesus. We are told that it is Christ who opens the seals of judgment in the book of Revelation. It is Christ who treads out the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. No one is better able nor more qualified to judge than Jesus Christ.
He is the one who did all he could do to save man. And since man has rejected him, he must judge them when they stand before him. Tribulation. All of this. will seem very insignificant.
When one stands ultimately before the great white throne judgment and sees the fierceness of God's wrath. We are told in John 5:22 and 27 these words: For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son, and hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. God said, Jesus Christ will take care of all judging. He assigned it unto the Son. Acts chapter 10, verses 40 and 42 says this, Him God raised up, speaking of Jesus the third day, and showed him openly, and He commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is He, Christ, which was ordained of God to be the judge of the quick and the dead, the living and the dead.
That phrase, the quick and the dead, encompasses both resurrections. The word quick means living, that's the judgment seat of Christ, the resurrection unto life, and the word dead means dead. Those are the people who are spiritually dead.
So Jesus Christ alone has been given the authority to judge. In 2 Timothy 4 and verse 1, we read: I charge thee therefore before God, now listen carefully, and before the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom?
So, the one who is seated upon the great white throne judgment is not God the Father, not necessarily God the Holy Spirit, it is Jesus Christ. The nail-scarred hands are visible. The scars from the crown of thorns are visible. The hurt And disappointment is visible. Yet, nonetheless, in righteousness and in holiness, he must pronounce the judgment upon those who have rejected.
his plan for their redemption. We have looked at the place of the great white throne judgment and the person. At the great white throne judgment. Let's notice thirdly the people at the great white throne judgment. Notice verse 13.
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.
Now the phrase that is here great and small The dead gave up. Those that were in it, and the great and the small, stand before God. The phrase great and small is a very interesting phrase. It is found often in the Old Testament, and it occurs five times in the book of Revelation. The use of the article in front of the great and the small is a reference that special classes of the great and special classes of the small and all ranks in the church and in the world will be there before God.
It is a reminder to us that no matter how great one may think himself to be, he will stand before the great white throne judgment. No matter how insignificant or small one might think himself to be, he will be paraded before the great white throne judgment to hear the words of condemnation that will send him out into a Christless eternity. God is not a respecter of persons, and God will see that every man who has rejected him, every man who has refused the plan that he has provided for their salvation. will be judged that day. A believer was once asked.
if he would be afraid to stand before the great white throne. And he answered with some knowledge of the word of God. He said, That he did not know for sure whether he would be present at the judgment of the great white throne, but that he was absolutely certain that if he were there, he would be on the throne as the bride of the judge and not before it for condemnation. Only one group will be seen at this judgment: the dead. The spiritually dead.
My friend, if you have never trusted Jesus Christ as your Savior and you were to go out into eternity, or if the trumpet should sound and the rapture should occur, you would be eternally doomed, and someday in the future, you will have your appointment before the judge at the great white throne judgment. And it will not be a judgment to determine whether you shall survive or not. It will be like that which we call the sentencing. that takes place in our courts today. The trial is over, the judgment is passed, the decision is made, it is etched for eternity upon your heart, and it only remains for you to hear the words of sentence.
from the judge himself. the people at the great white throne. I want you to notice, number four, the purpose of the great white throne judgment. It says in verse 12, John said, 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.
Now, some people think that the great white throne judgment is set up so that a person can determine whether or not he is lost or saved. All who will be saved have been saved by this time. This is a judgment on the evil works of the unsaved. Men are judged out of the book of life and out of the book of works. Men are not sent to hell because Of being a murderer or being a liar.
They are sent to hell because they are unrighteous. And the books are consulted because they demonstrate That a man In rejecting God, Has provided himself. with no alibi. At the Great White Throne Judgment. It has been suggested that there are a number of books that are opened at the Great White Throne Judgment.
Notice the word book is plural, and the books were opened. And I thought it might be interesting for us to explore what kind of books might be there for consultation by the judge. First of all, there may be there perhaps the book of conscience. Romans 2:15 says, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing or else excusing one another. That verse suggests the possibility that when we stand before the white throne judgment as an unbeliever, One of the first books that would be open would be the book of our own conscience.
We might be judged, first of all, on the basis of whether we have even followed the dictates of our conscience, and there will be no unbeliever who will be able to answer that with a perfect score. Man will be condemned because he violated his conscience during his life upon this earth. The second book that will be opened may be the book of words. Let me read to you a verse from Matthew chapter 12, verse 36. But I say unto you that every idle word that men shall speak, They shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.
For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned. Scientists tell us that no word we ever speak is ultimately lost. That every word you and I have ever spoken in all of our lives out loud is out there in the waves somewhere. out there. potentially to be recaptured.
That sort of makes you nervous, doesn't it? If that is true scientifically, we should not guess. That God would have any difficulty at all in reproducing our words. Notice not just our words, our idle words. We will be judged by our words.
A man will stand before the great white throne to make excuses for himself, and the Lord will say, Let me open the book of words here. Let me recall for you the words of your own mouth. and he will be judged by his words.
Well, we'll continue our discussion of the Great White Throne Judgment tomorrow here on Turning Point. I hope you'll be with us then. Don't forget, we're making available to you during the month of July a copy of a brand new book called Vanished, our first ever fiction novel. Timely and relevant. It creates a new way for readers to imagine the future.
It's fast-paced, it's coupled with biblical insight, and it includes discussion questions at the end of the book. Make sure to ask for your copy when you send your gift this month. We also want to remind you that we're headed to New England and Canada in October. We still have a few rooms left for those of you who are planning to go with us but haven't let us know yet. To our website, you'll find all the details there.
The dates are October 4th through the 11th, and we're going to have a wonderful time together as we visit some places most people never get to see. I hope you'll come with us, and we'll see you right here tomorrow on this good station for the next edition of Turning Point. For more information on Dr. Jeremiah's series Escape the Coming Night, please visit our website where we also offer two free ways to help you stay connected. Our monthly Turning Points magazine and our daily email devotional.
Sign up today at davidjeremiah.org slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio or call us at 800-947-1993. Ask for your copy of David's exciting new novel Set in the End Times. Vanished. It's yours for a gift of any amount.
You can also purchase the Jeremiah Study Bible in the English Standard, New International and New King James Versions, available in several handsome and resilient cover options. Get all the details when you visit our website davidjeremiah.org slash radio. That's davidjeremiah.org slash radio. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series Escape the Coming Night on Turning Point with Dr.
David Jeremiah.
