“And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. ... I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the dead were judged according to what they have done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. ... All were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. ... Anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.” [Rev. 20:11-15]
These several verses in the 20th chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ introduce to the reader “the final judgment”, otherwise known as “God’s Great White Throne Judgment”.
It represents the END of human history and the start of the eternal state. You can be sure that no mistakes were made in this judgment phase because the judge is Almighty God, who is perfect in every way (Matthew 5:48; 1 John 1:5). There are three reasons why this, the final judgment of mankind, will be fair and just (Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28). 1) God is impartial and immutable; 2) God can never be deceived (Galatians 6:7); and 3) God is not influenced in any way by personal prejudices, pathetic excuses, or blatant lies (Luke 14:16-24).
Jesus Christ, our Messiah and God’s only Son, will be the judge (John 5:22). This judgment comes after Christ’s Millennial or 1000 year reign and after the devil and his minions are permanently cast into the Lake of Fire for eternal torment. All non-believers will be judged by Christ, who is God and will be punished according to the works they have done. Rejecting Christ is what casts ANYONE into the lake of fire. The evil that you do during your lifetime is a direct result of casting aside a relationship with God in favor of a relationship, whether knowingly or unknowingly, with the enemy of our souls ... Satan.
Non-believers are accumulating God’s wrath against themselves, by refusing to see and accept what is true. You see, it is God’s will that all would come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ (“(God) who wants everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all.” - 1 Tim. 2:4-6a)
Some will simply not see or if they see they dismiss as folly. “But because you are stubborn and refuse to turn from your sin, you are storing up terrible punishment for yourself. For a day of anger is coming when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. He will judge everyone according to what they have done. He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness. There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who do good—for the Jew first and also for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism.” [Romans 2:5-11]
Followers of Christ will not be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment, but rather at the Bema Seat of Christ and that will not be regarding their salvation, for that has already been established and set because of their belief in Christ. If saved, our name appears in the Lamb’s Book of Life. Because of that we will be rewarded by the Lord and not punished, according to our deeds in the name of Christ. The destiny of the unsaved at the final judgment will be determined by an Omniscient God who judges EVERYONE based on their soul’s condition.
The end of our soul’s journey is entirely in our own hands. It will either be eternity in heaven with God or eternity in hell without God. [Matt. 25:46] It is OUR choice whether we choose to believe in and accept Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf. This choice MUST be made prior to the end of our physical life on this earth. At the Final Judgment it will be too late for choices, for your choice has been made by your reluctance or total rejection of THE GIFT of salvation offered to you. With God everything will be laid bare before him, for nothing shall be hidden. The sum of your life as a non-believer will be there for you to see, so that there will be no excuse and no defense.
If you are reading this and you’ve not received forgiveness for your lifetime of sin, it is still not too late to repent and become a new creation in Christ. It is never the time to wait, for the hour of the rapture and Christ’s 2nd Coming are unknown. The time to repent is NOW.
Waiting is like playing Russian roulette. When this train leaves the station is it not returning.
It’d like to conclude this Bible at a glance study, which began last June, with the following statement: When you lay down your own will in favor of the will of God it should be done for the right reason. You should never repent just because you don’t want to go to hell. You should repent because you’ve found something in what you have seen, heard, or read that has compelled you to move toward God. The Holy Spirit of God desires to draw you into a world where truth is paramount, and sins are removed. A world unlike any you’ve ever experienced. A world that is just and fair toward everyone and where love rules overall. This
is God’s world and you’re invited. It’s not boring as some would say, for they do not speak from experience. They speak from a position of fear; fear of the unknown. Listen to the Spirit of God speak to your heart and soul. Receive forgiveness thru salvation of your soul because it is what God’s desires for every man. You will try anything and everything this sin depraved world has to offer, which is mere baubles that are temporal at best. Nothing this world offers can remotely compare to that which God has prepared for those who love him. It’s YOUR CHOICE. Make it now. This isn’t something to procrastinate about. That’s all I have to say on the matter.
I have yet to decide what direction I will be going in going forward, but thru prayer and listening for the Lord to guide me I have no doubt it will be something special. I hope you keep coming to see what the Lord has to say next.
I want to stress that this blog is NOT all about me and my knowledge of scripture, which is scant at best. It is about me trying to be obedient to what God would like to say using scripture as my guide. If you’d like any topic covered going forward, please either make a comment on the blog or send me an email at richkeller65@yahoo.com. I welcome any comments or suggestions for topics to cover. Thank you all. See you Monday for my next post. May the Lord richly bless you and your family in Jesus precious and powerful name. Amen.
In His Name & for His Glory,
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
Sources: The Life Application Study Bible; Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary; www.gotquestions?.org
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