“When Unbelievers Stand before God”
(Revelation 20:11-15)
Series: Understanding The Book Of Revelation
Rev. Todd A. Linn, PhD, First Baptist Church Henderson, KY
(1-14-07) (AM)
- Please open your Bibles to Revelation, chapter 20.
We are continuing our series of messages through the book of Revelation and we’re in the last part of chapter number 20. After this morning’s message we have just three more messages from this marvelous book. In our passage this morning, verses 11-15, we read what will happen at the end of the millennium, at the end of the one thousand year reign of Christ upon the earth, we read what will happen when unbelievers stand before God in judgment. John sees this in his vision. Let’s read what he saw.
- Please stand in honor of the reading of God’s Holy Word.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
- Pray.
Introduction:
This passage teaches what will happen when unbelievers stand before God in judgment. It does not teach us about believers standing before God in judgment. Believers, however, will be judged. Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, whether good or bad.” We are not told specifically in the Scriptures exactly when all Christians will stand before Christ in judgment, but they will.
I hope you study this teaching because there are people who differ on this. Some popular preachers tell us that when Christians are raptured into the air that they will disappear for seven years during which time they appear at the judgment seat of Christ in heaven. I hope you’ll study the Scriptures to see whether those things are so. I believe when we read through the book of Revelation in a plain, straightforward, commonsensical manner that we will not come to that conclusion. I do not believe that Jesus Christ will come again twice. I don’t believer there’s a “Part A” and a “Part B” of His coming. I believe the Bible teaches that Jesus is coming again once and when He comes again we will rise up to meet Him in the air and welcome Him back to His creation. It is at some point when Christ returns that believers will be judged and this judgment is largely a judgment of rewards or loss of rewards as the case may be.
There are several texts that teach us that believers are judged when Christ returns to establish His millennial kingdom, His one thousand year reign upon the earth. For example, in Matthew 16:27, Jesus says, “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.” And Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:1, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom” and in 2 Timothy 4:8, “Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
So at some point when Christ returns, all believers; all Christians, will be judged. I believe Christians will be judged before the non-Christians. 1 Peter 4:17 says, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?” What we have in our text this morning is the answer to Peter’s question. John tells us what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God. They will stand before God in judgment. I want us to look at this future judgment that every single unbeliever will face. And let me say that if you are here this morning as someone who has chosen not to follow Jesus Christ, these words speak directly to your future. And I hope that at the end of this message you will turn to Christ and follow Him as your Savior. First:
I. Unbelievers face a Fearful Judgment (11)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
In his vision, John sees something that surely must have struck fear in his heart. First, he said, “I saw a great white throne.” This is the throne of God upon which He sits. The throne is described as great because of God’s bigness and God’s majesty. The throne is white to signify God’s purity. And John says he saw “Him who sat on it.” This could be either God the Father or God the Son. Typically in Revelation the throne imagery suggests God the Father. In either case, this is a fearful scene as the next part of the verse demonstrates. John says “the earth and the heaven fled away” from the face of Him who sat on the throne. They “fled away” but “there was found no place for them.” This is poetic imagery, to be sure. But you get the picture, don’t you? Heaven and earth, God’s creation, shakes in fear at the sight of their Creator. They see the face of God and they cannot stand it. They try to flee, but there is nowhere to run and no place to hide. If heaven and earth cannot bear to look into the face of their Creator, how much more fearful will be the unbeliever who must stand before God?
Unbelievers face a fearful judgment. Sometimes a rather arrogant unbeliever talks about his disdain for God as though he will one day stand before God and tell God a thing or two. Who is the creature to lecture his Creator? Unbeliever, mark well the reaction of heaven and earth when they stand face to face before God. Their reaction will be yours. Unbelievers face a fearful judgment. Number two:
II. Unbelievers face a Fair Judgment (12-13)
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
Let’s remember our context. John says back up in verse 4 that he saw Christians raised up to reign with Christ. Last part of verse 4: “They lived (that is, they came to life) and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Then he says in verse 5: “But the rest of the dead did not live again (did not come to life again) until the thousand years were finished.” So the rest of the dead are those who are not Christians. That’s why John says in verse 6: “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power.”
So when we read of “the dead” occurring twice in verse 12, and twice in verse 13, we are reading about all the unbelievers who died without Christ, all the unbelievers who are raised up at the end of the one thousand years to stand before God in judgment.
Verse 12 says all the dead, all the unbelievers, stand before God. John identifies them as “small and great.” Every single unbeliever, every single non-Christian, small and great, will stand before God. People who were well-known and people who were not well-known will stand before Him.
John says, “And books were opened.” There are books that record the works of unbelievers and then there is a book called “the Book of Life.” And the Bible says that the dead, the unbelievers, were judged according to the works, by the things which were written in the books.
One thing that is crystal clear in these verses is that no man will be saved on the basis of his works. You see, men are being judged here according to their works, by the things written in the books, but their works do not make it possible for them to enter into heaven. We know that because of verse 15. There we read, “And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” The only way to avoid the lake of fire is to have your name written in the Book of Life. How is one’s name written in the Book of Life? By believing in Jesus Christ and receiving Christ as personal Lord and Savior (cf. Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:15; 21:27). As Paul writes in Philippians 3:20: “Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”
So unbelievers face a fair judgment as the books are opened and they are judged according to their works. You see, our works condemn us. No matter how many works we do, good or bad, our works are tainted by the sin that is part of our nature. Our failure to live a perfect life is demonstrated by our works. Our works point us to the need for Jesus Christ, the only One Who perfectly worked in such a way as every work was pure, righteous, and without the stain of sin.
We get these DVDs, you know, with special features on them. You can listen to running commentary and jump to different scenes. Imagine God’s playing a video recording of every thing you have ever done. Every single thing you have said has been recorded on a personal DVD that God will play back on the day of judgment. He provides the commentary. He jumps to the scenes and everything you have done will be subject to review, every single thing. Every lie you told. Every thing you stole. Every lustful glance you took. Every evil thought. Everything!
Children, I remember once when I was small and traveling with my dad. I stole some candy once in a store and got away with it. Nobody saw me. My dad didn’t know, either. I got away with it! No, I didn’t get away with it. My Heavenly Father saw it. He sees everything. When unbelievers stand before God every single thing we’ve done will be subject to review. We don’t get away with anything.
Now, of course, the good news is that if you are a Christian you need not fear this judgment. As Paul writes in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.” Praise God for that! But the unbeliever will stand before God at this judgment and his works will condemn him.
It may very well be that God judges the unbeliever’s works in order to determine the degree of his punishment in hell. For example, Jesus says in Mark 12:38-40 that the scribes will “receive greater condemnation” for their hypocrisy. He says in Luke 12:47-48, “And that servant who knew his master’s will, but did not do his will shall receive a severe beating. But he who did not know and did what deserved a beating, shall receive a light beating.” The Bible seems to teach degrees of punishment in hell.
We are responsible for what we hear and read in God’s word. God is fair. Some people have heard the gospel a thousand times and refused to follow Christ as many times. They will receive greater condemnation in hell than the one who has only heard the gospel a few times. But both will be in hell. What about those who have never heard the gospel at all? Well, we certainly believe God has a special place in heaven for little children and the mentally challenged who do not understand spiritual truth, but what of those who are capable of understanding truth but have not yet heard the gospel, what of those living on an island somewhere? Well, it is important to remember that man is not condemned on the basis of not believing in a Jesus he has never heard. He is condemned, according to Romans, chapters 1 and 2, on the basis that, while his heart and all creation tell him there is a God, he refuses to follow Him. That is why the man on the island is condemned. That is why he needs to hear the gospel. That is why we believe in evangelism and missions. That’s why you and I need to share Christ with our family.
Verse 13 says “the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each according to his works.
So again, every single unbeliever who has died throughout history will be raised up to stand before God in judgment, every single one. This is the meaning of “Death and Hades” delivered up the dead who were in them.” These are people who are presently in hell, a place referred to here as “Hades.” They are there now in judgment. You see there is kind of judgment that takes place immediately at death. The Bible says in Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.” The unbelieving dead are already in hell, but they will be raised to stand before God in the final judgment.
Imagine all the unbelievers standing before God in judgment. Who will be there?
Well, of course the terribly wicked will be there. We think of cruel dictators like Adolf Hitler or, more recently, Saddam Hussein. Their bodies will be raised to face God in final judgment before the great white throne.
The self-righteous unbeliever will be there. He is the one who says, “I don’t need God. I’m a good person.” The Gospel is for others. Look at all the hypocrites in the church. You start telling them about their need for Christ and they start telling you about some hypocrite. Let me be clear: we will stand before God alone. Alone! We will not be able to hide behind the sins of others. It is not for other people’s sins you will be judged. You will answer for your own. Forget about the hypocrite. The question is, “What about you?” What about you?
I remember visiting once in my former church. We visited with this guy in the neighborhood and as we talked with him it became increasingly clearer that he didn’t know Christ. I remember at one point he said something like, “I’ll tell you who you guys need to visit—this guy down the street. He really needs what you’re talking about!” Truth is, we all need the Gospel. The guy down the street needs it no more than the guy we were visiting. And the guy we were visiting needed it no less.
The good unbeliever will be there. Our goodness will fail to secure a place for us in heaven. Paul says in Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace are you saved through faith and not of your own. It is a gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast.” We are not saved by our good works.
“No one is so bad he cannot be saved. No one is so good he need not be saved.” Can I spend just a little more time here? It has often been said when we get to heaven we’ll be surprised by who’s there. Some we thought would be there are not there and some we just knew wouldn’t be there will be there. Why? Because we’re not saved by our works. You cannot get into heaven by your works. You must come by the way of Calvary’s cross.
All of our human achievement will count for nothing if we have not trusted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior—trophies, accolades, achievements, awards, certificates on the wall along with pictures of our shaking hands with important people—these things mean nothing if our names are not written in the Book of Life.
You know who else will be there? A lot of church members. A lot of folks who made sure their names were written on the membership rolls and that their names were spelled accurately on the church directories, but people whose names are not written down in the Book of Life. Yes, Sunday school teachers, deacons, some preachers. Church members!
Unbelievers will face a fearful judgment and a fair judgment. Thirdly:
III. Unbelievers face a Final Judgment (14-15)
1. A Judgment of Eternal Separation (14)
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
The second death is the final death. It is the mark of eternal separation from God. I mentioned earlier that the unbelieving dead are presently in hell and will be raised to stand before God in judgment. After this judgment, they will be cast into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the final destination of the unbeliever. It is the “final hell” if you will.
When I was a parole officer in Gainesville Georgia, I frequently dealt with folks who got in trouble while on parole and faced having their parole revoked. They would be arrested on a parole warrant and would be incarcerated in the Hall County Detention Center. That was the local jail. It was the holding place until their final sentence. Then, at their parole revocation hearing they would get sent “down the road” as they put it. They would be shipped off to one of the Georgia State Prisons. You might think of Hades and the Lake of Fire that way. Unbelievers today die and go to Hades. It is hell, but it is a temporary hell until they are raised to face God in judgment at their final hearing. At the end of this hearing they are then cast into the Lake of Fire where they will spend eternity separated from God.
This is a final judgment. There are no appeals to follow. This is it. It is the second death. There is no third. The unbeliever is sentenced and into the lake of fire he goes. It is a judgment of eternal separation. But it is also:
2. A Judgment of Eternal Suffering (15)
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second time in our text we read the phrase “lake of fire.” It seems to be repeated for emphasis. All unbelievers spend eternity in the lake of fire. Is it a literal fire? I don’t see why not. Remember, we are to take the Bible literally unless context suggests we take it some other way. I realize this sounds horrible to our ears, eternal fire in hell.
Remember the one from whom we get most of our teaching on hell. Do you know who it is? We read the word in the Greek “Gehenna,” which means, “hell.” We read it a total of 12 times. And in all of the cases, but one, 11 times the word comes to us from the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke on hell more than anyone else.
He spoke of hell as a judgment of eternal suffering. In Matthew 13:42, He called it “a furnace of fire” where there will be “wailing and gnashing of teeth.” In Mark 9:44, He called it a place, “where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
But to tell you the truth, whether or not the fire is literal, or metaphorical, I know this: I don’t want to be there. It is the place where Jesus is not. I don’t want to spend eternity separated from God.
It is a judgment of eternal suffering. You know, these verses clearly teach that false doctrines like universalism are not biblical. Universalism is the idea that everyone is going to be saved in the end. Everyone’s going to heaven in the end. Not according to these verses. The only ones who will be saved are those whose names are written in the Book of Life.
Another false doctrine is the doctrine of purgatory. These verses do not support the false teaching of a kind of holding place for the dead from which souls may eventually enter into heaven. No, the Bible teaches in Hebrews 9:27, “it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this the judgment.”
Another false doctrine is what is called annihilationism. This is the belief that there is no eternal awareness or consciousness in hell. But we recall the words of Jesus from Matthew 13:42 and Mark 9:44, as well as Revelation 14:11, “the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day or night.” It is a judgment of eternal separation and a judgment of eternal suffering.
Foolish and ignorant people joke about having a great time, seeing all of their friends in hell. Oh not, it won’t be fun at all. It will be a time of eternal separation and eternal suffering.
Conclusion:
When unbelievers stand before God they face a fearful judgment, a fair judgment, and a final judgment. Stand for prayer.
Invitation:
Hebrews 9:27, “It is appointed unto man once to die and after this the judgment.” Let me say again what I said earlier: “No one is so bad he cannot be saved and no one is so good that he need not be saved.” If you don’t know Jesus Christ in a saving way, turn to Him this morning. Come to Christ. Receive God’s forgiveness of your sins. By believing in Christ your name will be written in the Book of Life and you will escape this judgment upon the unbeliever.
COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER: The text contained in this sermon is solely owned by its author. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name. The author intends to provide free resources in order to inspire believers and to assist preachers and teachers in Kingdom work.