Mm. The Bible says those whose names aren't in the book of life in the final judgment. cannot spend eternity in heaven. Is your name in the book? Today, on Turning Point, Dr.
David Jeremiah shares some biblical insights into how names are recorded and removed. as well as the eternal punishment. From Escape the Coming Night, here's David to introduce the conclusion of the Great White Throne Judgment. Yesterday we began a discussion of a judgment that will take place at the end of time. It's called the Great White Throne Judgment, and it is only for those who have rejected Christ.
It's for unbelievers. No Christian will stand before the Great White Throne Judgment. Those who stand before that judgment that day will be overwhelmed by the evidence against them because the Bible says God keeps track of what we do with our lives and He will bring forward the evidence of our unbelief. You don't want to ever be at the great white throne judgment. It's a place only for unbelievers.
So if you put your trust in Christ, you don't have to worry that you're going to stand before the great white throne. But if you have friends who aren't Christians, you should worry for them. And you should tell them about Jesus Christ and how they can become Christians and have their sins judged at the cross once and for all. We'll get to the second half of this discussion on the great white throne judgment in just a moment. By the way, we're in Revelation chapter 20.
And I want to take just a moment and remind you that Turning Point publishes a magazine. I've become more committed to the magazine in recent days than ever before because I see the value of it in having this everyday reminder of passages to read, articles about your walk with the Lord. The new issue of the Turning Point magazine is called What We Leave Behind. And you can have your copy of this magazine just for asking for it. Get your request to us any way possible.
Let us know you'd like to receive the monthly magazine Turning Points, and we'll send it to you as soon as the next issue is ready. Right now, we need to get started with part two of the great white throne judgment from Revelation chapter 20. Mm-hmm. I want you to notice 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 open. 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 opened 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. Another book may be taken down from the shelf at the great white throne judgment. We shall call this the book of secret words. The Bible says in Romans 2:16, that God shall judge the secrets of men. By Christ Jesus.
Ecclesiastes 12, 14 says, For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. D. L. Moody, the famous evangelist. used to say that if a man ever invented a camera that could take a picture of a man's heart, he would starve to death.
For people would refuse to have this picture ever taken, and if they had it taken, they would never, ever have it developed. In that awesome day before the great white throne judgment, God will have taken a picture of the human heart, and all of the secrets that men feel they have covered up from everyone will be exposed. And in that day, They will be brought to light as they stand before the judge to give an account of their own soul. Then there is the book of public works. Second Corinthians 11:15 says, Whose end shall be according to their works?
Matthew 16, 27 says, For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works. God will have so much evidence at His disposal that day that every mouth will be stopped. There will not even be a whimper that any man can speak in His own defense if he has rejected His God. There will be all of this evidence piled up against Him and He will be without a plea. There is one last book.
Perhaps the most important of all, it is called the book of life. In fact, in the text it is given special reference, is judged out of the book of life. The book of life is mentioned many times in the Bible. Did you know that? I was quite surprised to discover how many times the book of life is found in all of the scripture.
Let me just give you some of the references and read them to you. You listen carefully. Exodus 32, 32, and 33. Moses is speaking, Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not, blot me, I pray thee out of thy book which thou hast written. And the LORD said unto Moses, Moreover, whosoever hath sinned against me, I will blot out of my book.
Psalm 69:28, Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not written with the righteous. Daniel 12, 1. And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince, which standeth for the children of thy people. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that same time. And at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.
There are two other references right here in the 20th chapter of the book of life. There are other references to the book of life that I have not mentioned. Over and over and again in the scripture, we are told that God has a book called. Called the book of life.
Now, obviously, if you've listened carefully to these references, you know that there are many of these passages that are fraught with discussion for believers. Is it possible for a Christian to have his name blotted out of the book of life? And I have been asked that numerous times. Let me suggest to you that in order to understand the book of life, it may be necessary for us to understand a bit. of the Roman and Greek practices of the day.
Every city which was known to the writer of the book of Revelation. had what was called a city registry. That city registry contained the names of every person who lived within the confines of that city. The cities were not large as ours are today, and so it was possible for them to keep a very accurate register of every person who was an inhabitant of the city. When a new baby was born, their name was written into the city's book of life.
It was possible for a person who was a citizen of that city. to so defile his citizenship. that on a given day he would be called before the tribunal. And the penalty For his action would be That his name would be taken out of the city register. It would literally be blotted out of the city book.
He would be considered no longer a citizen of that particular metropolis, and he would be consigned to either stay there in anonymity or to move to some other place. It is that background, I believe, that forms the concept of the book of life. I believe That the book of life is a book which originally contained the name of every single person born into this world. If by the time a person dies, he has not received God's provision of sacrifice to remove his sin. Then his name is blotted out of this book of life.
Those who have received the mark of the beast at that very moment were told their name was erased. from the book of life. It's a very awesome thing to think of God looking through that book. and seeing empty spaces where names once were written. But because they refuse the provision of God for their spiritual life, They could not live.
and their names were blotted out. There is one other reason why. There is such a thing as a great white throne judgment, not only that there might be sentence passed upon those who have forsaken the gospel and refused to believe, but secondly, And this is something that is a little known fact among Christians. The Great White Throne judgment also stipulates the sentence because. I don't know how to say this any better.
Hell is going to be hotter for some people than it is for others. Did you know that? There are gradations of punishment. There will be some who will suffer eternally more suffering. Than others, although it seems rather relative when you think about the suffering itself.
Over in the book of Luke, chapter 12, and verses 47 and 48, we have some evidence to this fact. Once again, because of the time, if you want to just listen, I will read that passage to you. And that servant which knew his Lord's will. and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will. shall be beaten with many stripes.
But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required, and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. That parable and the setting of it. Gives to us reason to believe that when men stand before the great white throne judgment to hear the sentence that has been passed against them, some will receive a heavier sentence than others. And the reason seems to be only this.
Because they have had the opportunity. to do something about it. And their opportunities have been multiplied. To whom much is given, says the scripture, much is required. That leads me to believe.
That a man who grows up in a pagan country and has only the witness of God's creation, which the Bible says is sufficient to draw a person back to his Creator. That person who has never heard a clear verbal presentation of the gospel, such as that which we are exposed to day after day after day in our culture, that person, though he will be assigned to an eternity apart from God, will not nearly experience the suffering for eternity that a person. Will experience who has trodden underfoot the gospel of our God and has rejected time and again the opportunity to be saved. Men and women, if you have come to church and heard the gospel and it's been preached to you and you've been witnessed to, and your friends have told you about Jesus Christ, and you've heard that voice speaking in your heart and you know it's true, but you haven't responded, when you stand before God someday, you will be passed a stiff sentence from the Lord. As you pass out into eternity, And I am not just saying that because it makes good preaching.
I'm saying it because it's the truth. God is a God of justice, and He will deal with it. With those who reject him in a just manner. That is, The purpose for The judgment at the white throne judgment.
Now, notice. Number five, the punishment at the great white throne judgment, verses 14 and 15. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
And we read in Matthew 25, verses 41 and 46: Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eternal. Uh I know that the subject of hell is not a popular one. In fact, most theologians today have consigned it to the oblivion. Of a prior generation, but the Bible teaches it.
In fact, Jesus Christ says three words about hell for every one word that He says about heaven. Jesus Christ often spoke of an eternity in a place called hell that burns with fire and brimstone. The Lord did that. And he did it for a reason. He could not ever come to this earth without giving a warning to men and women that there is a hell to be shunned and a fire that burns forever, where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched.
And over and over again, Jesus Christ warned of such a place. Dr. I. M. Haldeman has written About those who have this sentence passed upon them.
They will die the second time. From the second death, there is no resurrection. They will be sent out into the wide universe, into the outer darkness. They will be wandering stars to whom the blackness of darkness is reserved forever. They will wander through this unlit darkness of eternity as derelicts of humanity, tossed upon an endless and shoreless sea, souls that have missed the purpose for which they were created, which is union and fellowship with God.
End of quote. I do not enjoy Reading this. I do not enjoy preaching it. But men and women, the clear truth of God's word is this. God has set before us a choice.
We may choose life or we may choose death. But God is not a doting old grandfather who sits in heaven, and when we deny the choice He has given us. Pats us on the head as he ushers us anyway into a life eternal. where those who have trusted his Christ will also dwell. If there is a God who has created heaven, then there must be a God who has created hell.
If God promises heaven to those who believe, Then the judgment of hell awaits those who refuse to believe. One author I read has tried to capture the scene before the great white throne judgment. It is vivid. And perhaps it will be like this. Here He writes, is the heart-rending scene that's going to take place at the judgment of God.
As each man steps before the throne, God will first open the book of the law. He shows the man what was required of him if he was to come to God by the merit of his own good works. He'll patiently go over each point of the law, showing afresh that the standards are so high that no man could keep them. Then God will remind the offender that this is why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. to perfectly fulfill the demands of the law for us.
And in us. After this, God will open the book of works. with this man's name written on the outside. God will painstakingly compare it point by point with the book of the law. Showing the man how he failed to measure up to what the law of God demanded in the way of righteousness.
He'll show the many times that he failed to heed the prompting of God's still small voice in his conscience, which told him to get right with God while there was still time. He solemnly opens the book of life and he begins to scan the pages for the man's name. Those nail scarred hands turned first one page and then another. all the time wishing the man's name could be found somehow. Tragically, it can't be found on any page, and God slowly closes the final book of judgment and says with great pain and reluctance, Depart from me, Accursed one, into eternal fire, which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.
The man begins to tremble. And frantic words rushed to his defense. Lord, Lord, didn't I prophesy in your name? And in your name, did I not cast out demons, and in your name perform many miracles? The father slowly shakes his head and says, I never knew you.
And those will be the words that will ring in the ears of the condemned man for all eternity. Yeah. I never knew you. I Never. knew you.
Perhaps the reason why God will not allow believers to attend this awful event or even to observe it. Is that he knows that we wouldn't be able to bear having a friend or a loved one turn to us and say, Why didn't you tell me about this moment? and help me to receive the forgiveness of my sins. Why? Why?
Most of you know that I grew up in a strong, fundamental evangelical church. I remember some of the great evangelists that came to the town where my father pastored and the great evangelistic crusades that took place. We call them revivals, but they were really just opportunities for people to bring their lost ones to church and hear the gospel. I suppose it was before we were all caught up in the tremendous pull of television in the entertainment world, and church was still something pretty special even in the middle of the week. I remember evangelistic campaigns with John Carrera, Hyman Appelman, some of the great evangelists of another day.
And we would go for two weeks, Sunday through Sunday, two weeks straight, every night. And every night would be a special night. And on the first night, the evangelist would stand up and he would give his topics for the week. And I remember I would always think as I would hear him give the topics that I knew there was going to be one on hell. And I would always go to that service and I would sit there in fear, sometimes on the very edge of my seat, because some of those evangelists could paint the picture of hell so real it was like you were there.
We don't have preaching like that much anymore. We have made hell so commonplace. And we have allowed it to be So unheard of in our churches that we have no fear. And because we have no fear of people, we have no compassion. Because we have no compassion, we let day after day go by.
People pass us in the streets and in our everyday journey. We never even look at them as someone who is going to burn in hell forever if they don't know Jesus Christ before they die. I prayed as I prepared this message that somehow God would maybe take us back to some of those days in our mind's eye. Yeah. And remind us that though our culture may have changed and we have been somewhat desensitized to the subject.
God hasn't changed. Hell hasn't changed, death hasn't changed, eternity hasn't changed, it's all the same as it's always been. and the same consequences that are written in the book. Await those. who have rejected Jesus Christ as their Savior.
And you have some friends that you have been praying for. Maybe they show a little bit of interest in the things of the future, but not much. Maybe they think about prophecy, but not too seriously.
Well, I have an idea for you. We have just finished a book called Vanished. It's our first ever fiction book. It's a book about the future, about a man who struggles with life and struggles with his own personal determinations, how he works his way through this. It's a really interesting book.
It's a page turner, if you want to know the truth. And Vanished is our brand new first ever novel. It's available from Turning Point for a gift of any size during the month of July. It's not only for you to read, but it's a great evangelistic tool as well. Make sure to ask for your copy when you send your gift this month.
And then don't forget to join us tomorrow as we talk about the new heaven and the new earth. I'm David Jeremiah. Thank you for listening. Our message today originated from Shadow Mountain Community Church and Dr. David Jeremiah, the senior pastor.
If this ministry is an encouragement to you, let us know by writing to TurningPoint PO Box 3838 San Diego, California 92163, visiting our website at davidjeremiah.org slash radio or calling 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 view over 1,200 of Dr.
Jeremiah's sermons on any screen, anytime you like. On our Turning Point Plus streaming service for a monthly gift of any amount, visit turningpointplus.org for details. That's turningpointplus.org. This is David Michael Jeremiah. Join us tomorrow as we continue the series Escape the Coming Night on Turning Point with Dr.
David Jeremiah.
