The Dead Are Judged
11Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Dig Deeper
It was absolute chaos as we went about warming up for a summer basketball tournament game. The previous game had just finished and our team had gone on the court to warm-up. The problem is that about twenty other people who were not playing in the tournament had also gone on the court and were now shooting baskets and milling around right where we needed to warm-up. An announcement was made that all non-players needed to get off the court but that didn't make much of a difference as it was quite loud in the gym and the warning fell mostly on deaf ears. Then suddenly several tournament workers and security officers swept through the court and everyone who was not wearing a uniform was quickly escorted off, while we were left to get down to business.
In a sense, this is something of the scene that John has in mind. He envisions the Second Coming of Christ, a time when all humans will be brought fully under the authority of Christ. At that time a uniform will be just as necessary as it was for us during that tournament. This uniform, however, will be Christ himself. Those who are clothed with Christ will be able to get on with business while those who have chosen not to be remade into the image of Christ will be swept off in the scene that John describes here.
20:11 - With this sixth vision, the present age has come to a close. John sees a great white Throne and him who was seated on it. Generally in Revelation it is the Father that is seen seated on the Throne (Rev. 4:2-3; 5:1, 7), but this being a white Throne, he may be referring to Jesus, who has been seen on a white cloud (Rev. 14:14) and a white horse (Rev. 6:2, 19:11). There is a great deal of Scriptural evidence that points to Christ as being the future Judge (Matt. 25:31-32; John 5:27; Acts 10:42; 17:31; Phil 2:10; 2 Tim. 4:1), and He has all the authority to do so (Matt. 28:18; John 5:27; Phil. 2:9-10). The great creeds of the early church, including the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene creed, and the Athanasian Creed all agree that Christ shall come to judge "the quick (living) and the dead." Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. This is an allusion to Psalm 114 which demonstrates the precursors in judgment of the final judgment. Although this judgment is terrifying, we must remember that it is a redemptive act of God meant to bring the age to come into reality; it is not a destructive act.
20:12 - John intentionally uses, I saw, for the seventh time, although this is still the sixth vision. We will see the purpose in the next chapter. John is not writing of a judgment for all men, but the unrighteous dead who have not shared in the first resurrection. This means that their 'life' after the thousand years is nothing but a matter of judgment before they meet their ultimate fate. The second death is a sentence that may fall on all types of people, including the great and the small. They will find themselves standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The book of life is the membership of the Covenant, which contains the names of the saints (cf. Rev. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8). The purpose of the book of life here is to reveal that the names of the dead are not in it. John goes on to say that the dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. John is not teaching salvation by works, rather damnation by works. This is a consistent theme in Scripture (cf. Ps. 62:12; Prov. 24:12; Matt. 16:27; John 5:28-29; Rom.2:6-13, 14; 1 Cor. 3:13; 2 Cor. 5:10; Eph. 6:8; Col. 3:25; James 2:14-25; Rev. 2:23; 22:12). While it is true that we are not saved works (Eph. 2:8-9), it is also true that we are not saved without having works (Eph. 2:10; Phil. 2:12-13).
20:13 - The sea gave up the dead that were in it, signifying all the wicked in a sense, but symbolized by those who died in the judgments of the Flood and the Red Sea. Death and Hades also gave up the dead that were in them. Hades in the New Testament Greek is the same place as Sheol in the Old Testament Hebrew. John is showing God emptying all of the place, both literal and symbolic, where the dead might be found. The ungodly that pass from the present age will go to Hades as a holding place of torment, with their final fate of Gehenna to look forward to. John emphasizes the importance of actions again, stating that each person was judged according to what he had done. Certainly this would have been a comforting reminder to a church that was being persecuted.
20:14-15 - Paul had promised that when Christ appeared for His Second Coming that death would be destroyed (1 Cor. 15:26). This is exactly what John sees as death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death, the fate of those who do not participate in the first resurrection. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire, which is Gehenna. The universalists that claim that God will save everyone in the end, and that no one will go to "hell" as their eternal fate must deal with this passage. Perhaps John still had Jesus' metaphor in mind when he wrote the current passage: "If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned" (John 15:6).
Devotional Thought
How much do passages like these motivate you to share your faith? If we truly understood the fate awaiting those who do not take part in the first resurrection, we would be much more willing to consistently share our faith with the lost. Let passages like this one motivate you this week to share your faith with everyone you wish to see avoid this fate.
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