Eschatology is the study of the end time. “Eschaton” is Greek and means “goal.” This passage is a vision of the goal of history.
Evil finds its judgment and God holds all humans accountable for their behavior.
Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them (Revelation 20.11).
The Father is the One who sits on the throne.
He is in charge and he will execute a just sentence upon all that has fallen under the control of evil.
Seven-hundred years before the time of Christ, Isaiah prophesied about the Day of the Lord. God’s holiness will be so profound that people will cast aside every false security they served.
Enter the caves of the rocks and the holes of the ground, from the terror of the Lord and from the glory of his majesty, when he rises to terrify the earth
On that day people will throw away
to the moles and to the bats
their idols of silver and their idols of gold,
which they made for themselves to worship,
To enter the caverns of the rocks
and the clefts in the crags,
from the terror of the Lord
and from the glory of his majesty,
when he rises to terrify the earth. (Isaiah 2.19-21).
How shall humans respond to the coming judgment? Isaiah’s message is we should turn away from human security and fully rely on God.
Turn away from mortals,
who have only breath in their nostrils,
for of what account are they? (Isaiah 2.22)
The Great White Throne Judgment
We read about the first resurrection that is limited to actual martyrs. The Great White Throne Judgment involves both believers and those who have rejected God’s grace.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, as recorded in the books (Revelation 20.12).
“This is a general judgment of the entire human race (excluding the martyrs). No one is so important as to be immune from judgment, and no one is so unimportant as to make judgment inappropriate” (Robert Mounce).
The judgment is based on the evidence written by the life of every person.
God spoke through the prophet Jeremiah about the reasonable nature of God’s judgment.
I the Lord test the mind
and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
according to the fruit of their doings. (Jeremiah 17:10)
Salvation is by faith, but faith is revealed by the works it produces.
Judgment proceeds on the evidence supplied by both the record of deeds and the Book of Life.
Before the Throne of Judgment
Who stands before this throne? The vision shows that no one – not even those whose bodies had gone unburied – will escape resurrection and judgment.
On one hand, this is good news for those who died and have a relationship with the Lord. On the other hand, those who have rejected his love will not be exempt from judgment.
And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and all were judged according to what they had done (Revelation 20.13).
Death and Hades personify all that remains of the effects of wickedness in the world.
The forces of evil and those who reject God’s love suffer the same fate as the devil and his minions.
Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire,
And anyone whose name was not found written in the Book of life was thrown into the lake of fire (Revelation 20.14-15).
This is how Paul wrote about the end in his letter to the Corinthians.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death (1 Corinthians 15:25-26).
Babylon, who represents the world’s system that opposes God and his purposes, has ruled the world with regard for no one but herself. In the end, she will be reduced to a heap of burning ashes.
Think About It
The Great White Throne Judgment serves as a reminder for us to live with purpose, to examine our lives in light of God’s standards, and to find our hope and security in God alone.
It calls us to embrace a life of faith, marked by love and righteousness, and to trust in God’s ultimate victory over evil.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross and I discuss this passage on YouTube today. It is on the Bob Spradling channel.
Real Voices 