What Will Happen At The Final Judgment
Today, we’re continuing our study of Revelation, and we only have a few weeks left. I hope you have learned as much from this study as I have. I can say that I have a much better understanding of Revelation now than I did before. And even though there are a lot of details I still don’t understand, the passage we’ll be studying today is actually pretty clear, although not easy. It’s not easy because it’s dealing with the final judgment and hell. It’s not easy, and it’s certainly not popular. There are not a lot of churches preaching sermons on the final judgment and hell today. But what’s interesting is that pretty much every major religion teaches some version of judgment and eternal punishment. Islamic doctrine teaches that people will cross a bridge and the faithful will enter into paradise while the unfaithful will fall into the place of punishment. Buddhism teaches that there are seven hells to endure on the way to Nirvana. Hinduism has twenty-one hells tailor-made to match a person’s behavior on earth.
None of those are Biblically accurate, but they show us an inherent sense of justice within us. We know that wrongs should and will be paid for. They show us that all people have a conscience that leads to feelings of guilt, remorse, and shame. And they explain why so many people are afraid of dying; wondering if they’ve lived a good enough life to escape punishment or at least lessen the blow. Well, our text today is going to address this issue. You can open your Bibles to Revelation 20:11-15. The scripture will also be on the screen as we go. The title of today’s message is What Will Happen at the Final Judgement? And here’s the Big Idea: Either your works will condemn you or your faith will save you before the throne of God.
Last week, Pastor Louis covered the return of Christ and the millennium reign, which is the thousand-year period when Satan is imprisoned and Christ reigns on earth. It’s not heaven, but a taste of what’s to come. At the end of that thousand years, Satan will be let loose, and there will be the final battle between Jesus and the enemy army. But it won’t be much of a battle because Jesus will quickly defeat Satan and throw him into the Lake of Fire (hell). So, we pick up today in Revelation 20:11 after that final battle, and there are three major parts we will cover.
The first is The Judge and His Throne.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.
This is God on his throne. More specifically, this is God in the form of Jesus on his throne. We know that because John 5:22 tells us, “The Father, in fact, judges no one but has given all judgment to the Son.” This is one of those trinitarian distinctions that we can’t really understand, but just trust that somehow God gives Jesus the authority to judge. It’s fitting for Jesus to have this role since he knew every temptation common to man but was without sin, and then he still experienced the fullness of God’s wrath on the cross. That qualifies him to be judge therefore, he is the one on the throne.
The fact that the throne is white demonstrates the purity and holiness of God. He is perfect, and his judgment will be perfect. Unfortunately, this is not the reality that we live in on this earth. Many of the judges in our world are corrupt. They can be bribed, blackmailed, and paid off or, at the least, make decisions based on their own biases. Even the best human judges aren’t perfect. But God is holy and perfect, and he is perfectly just.
The other thing to notice in verse 11 is that the earth and heaven flee from his presence. Why would that happen? Why would heaven and earth run away from God? Because of his holy perfection. When sin entered the world, it affected everything, not just humans. Romans 8 says that after the fall, creation was subjected to futility and now waits with eager longing for the return of Christ. If you’ve ever tried to garden or even keep the weeds and ants under control in your yard, then you know that all of creation has the sin curse. I’m pretty sure fire ants are actually part of Satan’s army.
What this means is that, up until this point, God has seen and tolerated sin from humans and the rest of creation. But here we see God removing all tolerance and allowing creation (and people, as we’ll see) to be subjected to the fullness of his blazing holiness. The result is that creation is uncreated. With nowhere to run and hide, creation ceases to exist. God is allowing the slate to be wiped clean. The Bible speaks to this in other places.
2 Peter 3:10-13, “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed… the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat.”
One theologian called this a cosmic dissolution. This is literally the end of time. When the thousand-year reign ends, and Jesus comes back and defeats Satan, that is the end of the time continuum as we know it. What’s interesting is that science lines up with this idea because when time ceases to exist, motion ceases to exist, and therefore, matter ceases to exist. If matter doesn’t exist, it means elements cease to exist, which means creation ceases to exist. You can go back and check your physics books on that, but it’s cool to see how science lines up with something as complex as the end of time.
It’s important to get into some of those details so we can begin to understand the magnitude of who God is. Our minds can’t comprehend how holy, powerful, and sovereign God is. We naturally scale things down into the framework of our understanding, but it’s impossible to do that with God. He is incomprehensible! (It reminds me of the worship song that used to be popular: Indescribable, uncontainable, You placed the stars in the sky, and you know them by name….All powerful, untamable, awestruck, we fall to our knees as we humbly proclaim, You are amazing, God.)
Here is God sitting on his throne, and the universe is melting away because of his holiness. Then, we get to the second component of this scene, The Final Judgement.
12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works.
There’s a lot to unpack in these two verses, and like much of Revelation, there are differing opinions on some of the interpretations.
The big question is the identity of the dead who stand before the throne. There are two main viewpoints on this.
Some believe that the dead in Revelation 20:12 only include unbelievers …those who have rejected God (the spiritually dead). That’s based primarily on the fact that the following verses speak clearly of punishment, but nothing is specifically mentioned about the rewards given to believers. People who hold to this view believe Christians will be judged at a different time, called the Judgement Seat of Christ, which could occur at the resurrection mentioned in 20:4 or possibly immediately upon death. This is also referred to as the Bema Seat. Bema is a Greek word that means platform or to be “raised up,” like stepping up onto a platform to receive judgment…whether that is a reward or punishment. Paul uses this word in 2 Corinthians 5:10, “ For we must all appear before the judgment (bema) seat of Christ, so that each may be repaid for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.”
In this view, the Bema seat and the Great White Throne Judgement are two different events. One for believers, the other for unbelievers.
However, it is also possible that the dead in Revelation 20:12 refers to those physically dead and thus includes believers. This is very possible since there will be people who come to faith in Christ during the Millennium and were not included in the first resurrection mentioned earlier in the chapter. If that’s the case, there is only one throne judgment, and both Christians and non-Christians are judged in the same event. This view seems to be consistent with Jesus’ parable in Matthew 25:31-46 where the nations that stand before the throne are separated as sheep and goats. The sheep are welcomed into his kingdom, and the goats are cast into hell. In reality, we can’t definitively say it’s one way or the other (separate judgments or all together).
Verse 13 is also a little challenging to understand when John mentions the dead coming up from the sea, Death, and Hades. How you interpret the dead in verse 12 will somewhat determine how you interpret verse 13, but the general meaning is the same either way. The sea is a symbolic term for the earth. When we die, our physical bodies remain on this earth. So, as the earth is melting away, the physical bodies of the dead are being given up to be united with the souls of the dead. That makes sense whether they are only unbelievers or believers also.
Death and Hades are terms used throughout Scripture to refer to a place the ungodly go when they die. It’s also called Sheol in the Old Testament. We can see an example of this in Luke 16, with the rich man and Lazarus. Luke says the rich man died and was in torment in Hades. Death and Hades are temporary places of punishment for the souls of the ungodly until the time they are called up (with their resurrection bodies) for judgment, which John 5:29 refers to as the resurrection of condemnation. We also saw this in Revelation 20:3 when Satan was bound and thrown into the Abyss during the thousand-year reign as a temporary prison until he was released and then thrown into hell.
So, if verses 12 and 13 include both believers and unbelievers, this second resurrection would mean that all people are now standing before Jesus, ready to be judged. This all makes sense, considering Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today, you will be with me in paradise.” If we take that to mean the souls of believers are somehow united with Jesus immediately after death (we don’t really know where or how that is), then it seems fitting that the souls of unbelievers are kept somewhere until judgment. There’s a lot more to consider in all of that, and it can be some great discussion for your small group this week because we don’t have time to cover it all this morning.
But here’s what we do know. No one is left living on Earth at this time because the universe is melting away, and we know for certain that at some point in this timeline, all people will stand before Jesus and receive judgment. The Bible affirms this for those who follow Jesus and those who don’t.
Jesus said in Matthew 16:27, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each according to what he has done.”
Paul said in Romans 2:5-8, “5 Because of your hardened and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment is revealed. 6 He will repay each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality; 8 but wrath and anger to those who are self-seeking and disobey the truth while obeying unrighteousness.”
We will all stand before the throne and receive what we’ve earned. Isn’t it interesting how that immediately makes us a little nervous? Did you feel your stomach tightening just a little bit? Even if you don’t believe the Bible, don’t believe in God…. the idea of this still makes you feel a little anxious…because what if it’s true? Inherently, we know what we deserve. Let’s see what this judgment will look like.
Notice that the text says that multiple books are opened. A series of books holds a detailed diary of our actions. It’s not just the highlights. The Bible says that on this day, the secrets of men will be revealed. God keeps an account of all that we do, say, and think. It’s kind of like a giant grade book, and each moment of our lives is recorded and graded…each moment a test. One thing that’s important to know when you go to take a test is the grading scale. You want to know how the test will be graded. A lot of times, we just want to know the minimum requirement to pass the test. If a C is passing, we’re good with that! Well, God is a very strict grader. He demands perfection. Anything less than 100% is a failure. James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the entire law, and yet stumbles at one point, is guilty of breaking it all.” In other words, there’s no room for error. One mistake and you fail the test! Why is God’s standard so high? Because he is perfect. God is holy and perfect, and he can’t accept anything less than perfection. We’ve talked about this many times here at City Awakening, but if God lowers his standard, if he gives a pass to sin, then he ceases to be God. His holiness demands perfection. This is a big stumbling block for a lot of people. They think it’s unfair and cruel. How can a loving God be like that? John MacArthur says,
“A whole world of sinners calls for injustice, they don’t want the just due to their sin, they don’t want the reward that they have earned, they don’t want to pay for their iniquity. They cry out for a God who is unjust, a God who looks over their sin and turns away and leaves them alone, and they will not have it. No matter how they attempt to bribe God to be unjust, God will be just. Justice is the perfection of the divine nature. God never has done anything unjust, and He never will. His justice has been wronged, but never has His justice done wrong. God is just. He sets the standard. He carries it out”.
Think about it. Do you want a God who isn’t perfect? Do you want a God who overlooks sins, who isn’t just, and ultimately can’t be trusted as being good? Isn’t the only kind of God worth having a God who is pure, and right, and just? The answer has to be yes, but that also means that when we stand before God we must be held to that perfect standard.
I can feel some people starting to get uncomfortable but hang with me. Verse 12 says there’s another book (one book) that’s opened, and this is the book of life. This book has already been mentioned several other times in Revelation. This is not a list of deeds but a list of names. It’s not a grade book but a role book. This book holds the names of everyone marked by the name of Jesus…. everyone who placed their trust in Jesus as their Savior is recorded in the Book of Life. So, when we imagine ourselves in this scene, standing before Jesus, it’s crucial to keep both books in mind.
A lot of Christians wonder what this will be like. If our sins have been forgiven, will we still have to give an account for everything we’ve done? And again, I can’t give you an exact answer, but I want to summarize what John Piper says about this. Imagine Jesus takes all our graded work. None of it is perfect, but maybe there are a few A’s, a few B’s, maybe some C’s, and a lot of D’s and F’s, and he sorts through them. He pulls out all the A and B material and puts it in a pile, then he pulls all the D and F material and puts it in a pile. (The C material depends on how you see a C…for some of you, a C is pretty good, so it goes in your good pile; for others, in the bad pile). Then Jesus takes the Book of Life and finds your name, and there are two things with it. One is a wooden matchstick in the shape of a cross. He’ll take the matchstick and set the “F” pile on fire, with all your failures and deficiencies, and burn them up. They won’t condemn you or reward you.
The other item by your name in the Book of Life is a sealed envelope marked “Free Bonus: Life!” He takes that and puts it in your “A” pile. Then he will hold up the entire pile and declare, “By this your life bears witness to the grace of my Father, the worth of my blood, and the fruit of my Spirit. These bear witness that your life is eternal. And according to these you will have your rewards. Enter into the everlasting joy of your Master.”
All your works will be laid out before Jesus on this day in court, but all your sins and failures will be erased because their price has already been paid. What’s left is the evidence of faith, obedience, and fruit of the Spirit in your life. Based on that, you will only be rewarded instead of punished! This is where God's unfathomable grace meets his holy perfection. This is where his justice intersects with his mercy. This is where the finished work of the cross gets directly applied to our lives, as Christ’s righteousness is counted as our own.
That’s the good news of Jesus….but it’s only for those who belong to him. What about everyone else? Well, I gave you the hope before the heartbreak.
Let’s look at the last couple of verses, which is The Eternal Sentence.
14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
The second death refers to the eternal death. The first death occurs when our bodies die. For the ungodly, the first death resulted in a temporary sentence to Hades, as we mentioned before. But now, the second death is the final eternal sentence. Notice that even Death and Hades are sentenced. God is doing a final sweep of his entire creation to clean up all the unrighteousness. It’s kind of like when you’re on vacation, and you have to check out of the rental by 10:00 because another family is coming in. You pack up all your stuff into the suitcases and get them loaded into the car. Then, you go back through the VRBO to get the cooler, beach towels, and games. Then, once everything is loaded, you do a final sweep to take out the trash and look in all the drawers and under the beds, so nothing gets left behind (There’s always a phone charger and somebody's razor).
God is working his way through creation, leaving nothing behind because everything is being reset. The antichrist and the anti-prophet were the first to be sentenced to the Lake of Fire. Then Satan was thrown in. Then Death and Hades are thrown in. And finally, those whose names are not written in the Book of Life.
It's important to note we will all stand before God with the full account of our lives exposed, but the deciding factor comes down to whose name is in the Book of Life. This is where the heartbreak happens. It’s heartbreaking for us as Christians to know that people, a lot of people, will suffer eternity in hell when there is a way out. It doesn’t have to be that way. Their name can be in the book, too… but it’s ultimately up to them to accept or reject Jesus. It’s heartbreaking…
It will also be heartbreaking for those who suffer the punishment of hell, not because they will be repentant or remorseful. I don’t think they will. I think their sinful rebellion will continue with eternal bitterness and anger towards God. It will be heartbreaking for them because their hearts will be broken forever. They will no longer no what hope is. They will no longer experience any kind of peace. They will no longer experience the joy of healing or relationship. The brokenness of this sinful world will consume them for eternity, except it will be multiplied tenfold since God’s grace, even his common grace, will not be in effect.
The Bible says a good bit about Hell. In Revelation, it’s often referred to as the Lake of Fire. In the synoptic Gospels, Jesus often used the word Gehenna to refer to hell, and in the Old Testament, it is sometimes referred to as Topheth, like in Ezekiel 33. Topheth refers to a valley where some of the rebellious Israelites sacrificed their children as a pagan sacrifice to the Canaanite god Molech (they threw them into the fire). You can read about that in 2 Chronicles 28 and Jeremiah 7. So, Topheth was seen as an evil and detestable place. It was so detestable that it later became the city dump just outside of Jerusalem, and it was called the Valley of Bin-Hinnom…. also known as Gehenna. All the trash from the city was thrown into the valley. Dead animals and even bodies were thrown there if they were strangers who no one knew or criminals who didn’t deserve a proper burial. There was a fire that burned in the valley constantly, burning the trash and flesh, so as you can imagine, it was a worm and maggot-infested, dark, nasty, smokey, even frightening place.
I explain all that to show you just how God refers to hell. It’s vile and wretched, and the Bible tells us about some of the suffering that will be experienced there. It will be full of darkness. And it’s not just the absence of light, but the absence of life…there’s no vitality. It will be lonely, with no companionship or community. There will be an unquenchable fire, just like in the dump, and Mark 9 says there’s a worm that never dies. A lot of scholars believe that could be symbolic of a chewing conscience. An overwhelming sense of guilt, shame, and anger towards both self and God, which leads to the last description of suffering…. weeping and gnashing of teeth. When you consider the overall experience, it only makes sense for that to be the reaction. It’s eternal torment of both body and soul.
The last thing I’ll say about this is that here in verse 15 and pretty much every time in Scripture, the action given is casting or throwing into hell. That makes a lot of sense when we think about the reference to Gehenna, the city dump. What do we do with our trash? We throw it out. We throw it away from us because it’s trash, garbage…we don’t want it hanging around. I don’t think this means God flippantly throws people into hell like we toss a piece of paper. But I do think it highlights once again the holiness required for his presence. We all deserve to be cast into hell (thrown to the dump) because our “righteousness” is like filthy rags to God. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” And if your name isn’t on the role, you will be thrown out of God’s presence into the Lake of Fire.
As difficult and heartbreaking as this passage in Revelation 20 can be as we think about the harsh finality of hell, we can also find great comfort in it. We can rest assured that God will not send innocent people to hell. Donald Whitney says, “Hell is inevitable if you have never come to Christ. Hell is inescapable once you are there. Hell is avoidable if you will repent and believe in Jesus Christ.”
Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;” but verse 24 says, “24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”
The Big Idea of the message is: Either your works will condemn you or your faith will save you before the throne of God.
In other words, you can either plead guilty now or be found guilty later when you stand before the throne of God. The day will come when you stand in the courtroom before the great white throne of God, and then it will be too late to change your destiny. But today, you have a choice. Today, you can still choose to put your faith in Jesus and accept the gift of his salvation. If you’re not a believer, I hope that you will make that choice and accept the gift of salvation.
If you are a Christian, this should do 3 things for you:
1. Give you a burden to share the Gospel with the people God puts in your path.
2. Give you comfort, knowing that your works won’t condemn you.
3. Give you motivation to pursue Jesus. Don’t use your faith as an excuse to give sin and unrighteousness a pass in your life. Jesus calls us to be holy. I’ll quote Romans 2 again, “6 He will repay each one according to his works: 7 eternal life to those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality;” Let us pursue righteous rewards in heaven and leverage our lives for God’s eternal Kingdom and not a temporary counterfeit kingdom on this earth.
