The Great White Throne Judgment

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This great and important event takes place immediately after the destruction of heaven and earth. We will comment on it verse by verse from Revelation 20:11 to 20:15.

Verse 11. After John saw (in his vision) the devil being thrown into the lake of fire, he then immediately saw the vision of a great white throne and Him (God) sitting upon it. And the Scripture text here is written as if this throne with God upon it was all there was. That is, the earth and heaven had fled away, or we could say that it disappeared or gone into non-existence. It seems here as if John missed the great explosion of heaven and earth. His eyes saw the great white throne, and then he realized that heaven and earth were gone.

Verse 12. Then next John saw the dead (those who had died) standing (now alive) before the throne. And John here is careful to make clear that all the dead are here: great and small, which means the young and old; the rich and the poor; the big ones and the short ones, etc. And the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged according to what was written about them in the books—all their deeds (everything they ever did, good or bad, was recorded in these books).

Verse 13. God here seems to circle back to make certain that no dead is left out, even those who died at sea, or that were thrown into the sea; these were included in the number of dead. And all the places of death and hell turned in or released their dead ones to go and sand before the throne of God. Apparently, these dead beings are given new bodies suited for hell.

Verse 14. At first glance this verse was difficult to me. But when I looked back at 1 Corinthians 15:26 the meaning was made clear. At this point, that is, at the great white throne, death and hell will be abolished forever—cast into the lake of fire. And this is the second death. The first death was only physical death, but this second death is spiritual and eternal.

Take note also that this second death is only for unbelievers. It will have no power over believers. They will reign with Christ for a thousand years and then on into eternity (Rev. 20:6; 22:5).

Verse 15. Here it is made clear who will be judged. It is all those whose names are not written in the book of life.

Freedom in Jesus or Freedom to Sin

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When some politicians talk of freedom

Freedom to control their own bodies

That is, freedom to get an abortion

Or freedom to have a sex change

Or freedom to protest by

burning down buildings

Is that really the freedom

that our founding fathers spoke of

And that God grants us in Jesus?

No!

True freedom is a freedom to

Believe in God and to

Worship Him as He desires us to

And as we really desire to.

This is real freedom because

It frees us from the chains of sin and bondage

A freedom Jesus paid for with His own blood.

But the freedom of our rights that

So many are speaking of today to abort babies

and to have sex changes

is really a freedom to sin.

But that kind of freedom is no freedom at all

Is it?

It is a false freedom

It is a freedom that brings us more and

More into slavery and bondage.

The Destruction of the Universe

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After the devil is cast into the lake of fire (v. 10), John the apostle saw (in his vision) “a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them” (v. 11). Regarding this last phrase, John Macarthur commented, “John saw the contaminated universe go out of existence…The universe is ‘uncreated’ going into non-existence.”8

This destruction of the universe is also mentioned in 2 Peter 3:10, 12 as the “day of the Lord.”

But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.

12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!

Then also we will look at Matthew 24:35: “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.”

There is much we could say from these verses to back up the claim that heaven and earth will indeed be destroyed, or go out of existence. Let’s examine these terms.

  • “Earth and heaven fled away” (Rev. 20:11). This seems to indicate that they do go out of existence.
  • “Heaven and earth will pass away” (Matt. 24:35). It seems that “pass away’ and “fled away” is the same thing.
  • “The heavens will pass away with a roar…” (2 Pt. 3:10). This sounds much like an atomic reaction.
  • “And the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up” (2 Pt. 3:10, 12). The elements could be atomic components from which matter is composed and held together.

Total destruction of the universe seems to be the meaning of these verses; however, many scholars look at it differently. They see just the surface of the earth being renewed by fire, or made new by fire. We will discuss both interpretations later.

8 John MacArthur, The MacArthur Study Bible (Thomas Nelson, 2006), John MacArthur’s notes of Revelation 20:11.

Latest Update

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I’ve been reading the story of Corrie ten Boom. I was surprised at the information told regarding Hitler and the Third Reich—from Corrie’s perspective. Back then they didn’t have up-to-date news as we do now, so the takeover of Hitler was quite a shock to the European people. Here are a few quotes.

  • A growing evil appeared on the eastern horizon…a socialism of the most heartless kind (this seems much like we feel now in America).
  • It is called the National Socialist German workers Nazi party.
  • They were called progressives (sound familiar?). In this Nazi party the poor, the old, the feebleminded, and the handicapped were enemies of progress. And soon the Jews became enemies too.
  • The leader among the Nazi party, Hitler, appeared laughable at first, comical, then maddening.
  • This man Hitler sounded like the devil himself…he was afraid of no one…he was diabolically shrewd.
  • They walked into Czechoslovakia and took over the entire country. They invaded Poland, Norway, and Denmark.
  • The Dutch people of Haarlem (where Corrie lived) walked the streets in a daze. Within two days the Dutch army surrendered.
  • The Germans were very well-organized.

Of course, the worst of it was quite hidden from everyone—the concentration camps and the brutal extermination of so many Jews. In my reading, I’m just getting into the parts when they were hiding Jews behind fake walls. It was quite an operation—a labor of love!

My Work

I just finished a long painting job, taking all of August and into Sept. The job had good points and bad point. I’ll get the bad points over first. There were a lot of high areas where ladders and roof jacks were involved and as a result I now have some rib injuries; but it is healing up. And painting the high fence around the yard was not fun—trying to get in behind the flowers and tall bushes.

But the good points I think far out-weighed the bad points. The people, which I have known for over thirty years, are very kind., They invited me for lunch every day, and they also were very complimentary of all my work and paid me well. I will keep them in my prayers as they are very old. I have been retired for a about ten years—but still working. Maybe now, after my rib injuries, I will start taking my retirement more serious

The Last Great Battle

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This is the next event after the one-thousand-year reign of Christ—a great battle between Satan and Christ and His saints. We have this event recorded for us in Revelation twenty, verses seven through ten.

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The result of this battle, as you may surmise, gives us the result of the final test for man, as we have just written above—that they will not be able to save themselves apart from God’s help and the redeeming blood of Christ. But let us fill in the details as much as we can from just these four verses.

Verse 7.  This verse tells us clearly that when the thousand years are completed God will release Satan from his prison. And some may ask why. Why would God do that? The answer is obvious. It is to test, or to reveal, the character of the rebellious ones who are on the earth and to bring them to judgment.

Verse 8. Here we see that Satan immediately does what he has planned to do all along if given a chance; he does what is natural for him, to deceive. And he will deceive not just a few. This time he will go out with his demons and deceive all those in the world that are here referred to as Gog and Magog. This term is a title (used also in the Ezekiel war, Ezek. 38, 39) to refer to rebels who are enemies of God. And they are evil people that are spread out all over the earth—many of them, probably millions of them. The devil and his demons will deceive them into coming together with him to war against Christ.

Verse 9. Here we are told that they (the rebels) “came upon the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.” Most commentators will interpret this to say that they came and spread over all the land up to the city. But I think we can be more detailed than that. The “broad plain” I think may refer to how the land around Jerusalem will be. In Zechariah 14:10 it tells us that all the land for miles around Jerusalem will be changed; it will be converted into a great plain with the city rising above the plain. This change will be part of the early millennial land renewal project, probably for the growing of gardens and crops.

Nonetheless, they will come on this broad plain, which will probably hold millions of the rebels; and then, just as they will be intending to storm the saints and up into Jerusalem where Christ reigns, God will send fire from heaven to devour them.

Verse 10. The devil, apparently not hurt by the fire, was captured alive and thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where he will meet his old friends the beast and the false prophet—having been there for a thousand years. They, all three of them, with the demons, will suffer there day and night forever and ever. We are not told anything about the millions of rebels that were fighting with Satan, but I imagine that their bodies will be incinerated by the fire and their souls will be sent to hell. Then, it will happen very soon that their bodies also will be resurrected, judged at the Great White Throne, and then cast into the lake of fire.

The Millennial Kingdom

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I will be quite brief on this subject, but if you want to dig deeper I invite you to read my book, The Coming Millennial Kingdom.6

After the disastrous effect of the seven-year Tribulation and an urgent need for renewal (although, the Tribulation fires may be a part of the renewal process), I imagine that the first thing on the agenda for the millennial kingdom will be the setup. The very first on the list will be to lock up Satan and his demons (Rev. 20:1-3). After the old dragon is put away, the next on the list—though there is no way we can know the exact order of things—may be to establish a new and righteous government with new rulers (Isa. 9:6-7). Next, I suppose, is to enlarge the borders of Israel (where the new administration will be located); and also, to redistribute the land according to how it has already been planned (Ezek. 48). Then they will begin building the new temple with a new system of worship (read Ezekiel 40-44). And a new glorious city of Jerusalem will also be built (Ezek. 48:30-35). But this is not the heavenly city spoken of in Revelation 21.

After those thing are set up, a restoration process on the earth will begin—if it hasn’t already begun. Some things, like the removal of the earth’s curse (on the ground, the atmosphere, and the animals) will be taken care of immediately through God’s miracle wonders. But most other changes will be affected gradually.

Because of His strong government and His crack down on crime, idol worship, and false teaching, the earth will begin to experience peace and justice, joy and gladness, protection and comfort.

In addition to the ruling of Christ from His throne, His brilliant teachings will be heard everywhere. As Isaiah tells us, “The earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9).

Now besides the renewal process, there are three more important purposes for the millennial kingdom that we will now mention briefly.

1. To fulfill God’s eternal covenants with Israel. What we are talking about is the Abrahamic covenant and its tributary covenants: the Palestinian covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the New covenant. These carry the promise of land, the promise of descendants, and the promise of salvation and blessing. And they have certainly have been partially fulfilled, showing the literal nature of the covenants. But in the Millennium they will be completely fulfilled. Here in five points is a picture of this fulfilment.

  • Israel (the Jews) will possess all the land that was promised to them according to the covenant in Genesis 15:18-21.
  • Israel’s possession of the land will be a permanent possession.  In both Genesis 13:15 and in Genesis 17:8, Abraham’s descendants were promised the land as an everlasting possession.
  • Abraham’s descendants will forever be blessed with physical and spiritual blessings (Gen. 12:2; 22:17).
  • Israel will be a blessing to all nations.  As a result of God blessing the Jews with His wisdom and knowledge, all the world will be more prosperous and will live well.
  • All nations will bless Israel.  In the millennial kingdom, as never before, when God blesses Israel, and as Israel blesses others, they will in turn bless Israel (Gen. 12:3; 27:29).7

2. To display the character and glory of Christ. It is altogether proper for every person in the Millennium to lift up Jesus Christ for His works and for all He is. And the kingdom will in fact display His character and glory. He is the one who will bring renewal to the earth by His mighty miracles and by His government and teaching. And all will see His glory on His throne as Prophet, Priest, and King. We will see Him as Priest in His governorship; we will be mesmerized by Him as Yahweh; and we will glorify Him as the Good Shepherd, as our Savior and Redeemer, and as Jesus Christ the anointed One or Messiah.

3. To provide a final test for man. Let me begin this section by telling you, first of all, that the test is not for the redeemed, but only for those who choose not to believe. Secondly, we already know the result of this test according to what the book of Revelation reveals. And here is the result of the test. We will find that those that are unregenerate, even under the most ideal circumstance will not be able to save themselves and to make themselves fit for the eternal kingdom—and in the end will be deceived by Satan and choose to rebel (with Satan and his demons) against God. Hence, we will see that man always needs God and the redeeming blood of Christ to save Him from his sins.

6 Stephen Nielsen, The Coming Millennial Kingdom (published by Stephen Nielsen, http://www.stephennielsen.com., 2017).

7 Ibid., pp. 105-112.