The White Throne Judgment of the Wicked

 Isaiah 66

²³ And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

²⁴ And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

     The twentieth chapter of Revelation is a spectacular picture of final judgments. First Satan is captured and bound for a thousand years. His location will be the bottomless pit under Hell where the vilest creatures have returned after their actions recorded in chapter nine. There action and hatred for each other will make this place the vilest location in all the universe.

     Satan will create a hellish war after the 1,000 years of peace and prosperity. Millions have been born during the 1,000 years and many will love the moral freedom Satan offers them. There must be a contest and Satan and his mob lose. The Creator has no desire for anyone in His eternal abode that has not chosen Him over the noted loser, Satan.

The White Throne Judgment

• Every unsaved soul in human history
• Every person cremated: “The whole idea of cremation is a slap in God’s face.”
• The books have every sin ever committed.
• The books have all the records of every good thing anyone has done.
• The Book of Life will be there for the final check.
• The thousand year reign will have a great company saved during this millennial period.
• The wicked will have bodies of wickedness just like they died.
• A sodomite will be a sodomite for eternity.
• The liar will go all over the Lake of Fire telling lies.
• One of his lies will be, “Don’t worry; we will be out of here soon.”
• The child molester will attack a multitude.
• The Lake of Fire will not have one expression of love.
• The light will be the fire.
• Foul language will be your only entertainment.

     Now comes the final moment where every lost soul must be judged according to their works. The Lake of Fire will provide the degree or judgment due every lost soul. Never in my wildest emotion have I wanted one soul to go to this place. To think of someone I love being consigned to this misery is unbearable.

A Picture of Hellish Events

     The twentieth chapter of the Book of Revelation is full of the prophetic future.  There are at least three movements of great significance in these fifteen verses.  Each one is a major part of End Time events.  Casting the devil into the bottomless pit where he is chained for one thousand years begins the peaceful and prosperous time of the coming Millennium.  The final or complete finishing of the First Resurrection is of special importance.  The company of kings and priests to reign with Christ during this great period will be complete.  No one for which this time is planned will be missing.  Finally, the judgment of the wicked will close out the Millennium period and leave only New Jerusalem to enter earth’s immediate sphere and inaugurate the eternal Brideship of Christ.

     Of all the twenty-two chapters in Revelation, none places a more infallible guarantee on the authenticity of this book.  Hell and the Lake of Fire were prepared for the devil and his angels. “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).  Denying Satan’s role in the world and its coming judgment would be to accuse God of being the source of all rebellion and wickedness.  The presence of evil is everywhere and this chapter shows us its final demise.  The very term “White Throne Judgment,” where the wicked will be judged, is etched in the minds of all Christendom.  On the bright side, every Christian theology in the world testifies to the coming great resurrection of the saintly dead.  Here is its grandest picture.  In one chapter of this masterpiece is proof positive that the Book of Revelation must be reckoned with by all Bible-believers.  This great book belongs at the completion of Holy Scripture.  Do not doubt it.  Read it and believe it.

     The great Battle of Armageddon that occurred in the closing verses of chapter nineteen brings Israel, both as a nation and the individual Jewish person, into the middle of these two chapters.  We know that this book was written and sent to the New Testament church, but we were warned to never forget the Jewish people.  When Jesus Christ rides His white stallion into Jerusalem, He does so to the worship and praise of the entire Jewish world.  They have seen His defense of Jerusalem when the Antichrist army was poised to march on the city.  The one hundred and forty-four thousand Jews sealed out of the twelve tribes have been effective in proclaiming Jesus Christ as Messiah.  The two prophets certainly accomplished their intent by proclaiming the Lord and His commandments.  All Israel is saved, born-again, the very day that the Lord arrives in the ancient city and the capital of Israel.

     Both the First and Second Testaments confirm this marvelous Day of Triumph.  Zechariah proclaimed, “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn” (Zechariah 12:10).  They will see His scars and cry to Him, “What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends” (Zechariah 13:6b).  Apostle Paul was a diehard in his love and defense of Israel’s future hope.  He said, “And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob” (Romans 11:26).  The City of Jerusalem will become the capital of the Millennium kingdom, and the world’s wealth will enrich the city beyond present understanding.  This city is the one and only earthly city that can be called the “Eternal City.”

     The Bible is a Book of Books, and it talks about other books that are significant to God’s total plan.  The sixty-six books in the Bible are a perfect whole, with each book playing a very important part.  The books united represent God’s covenant with man.  The First Testament is His covenant with Israel as God the Father provided a temporary sacrifice while His entire universe waited for the day of His Son.  The New Testament is the completed sacrifice and His plan for the future.  This masterpiece of Revelation is the comprehensive finality to all prophecies in both Testaments.  It is perfectly chronological and ends exactly as the Father and His Son have planned.  This chapter is the link between the seven years of the Great Tribulation with the New Jerusalem revealed in the last two chapters.

Revelation 20

¹¹ And I saw a great white throne, and him that 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, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

¹³ And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

      There is a central book called “The Lamb’s Book of Life.” It is the recorded list of the name of every redeemed saint.  Nothing but the blood, the Lamb’s blood, can merit a name to be written in this book.  The Church of Sardis was promised that all overcomers would not have their names removed from the Lamb’s Book of Life. “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels” (Revelation 3:5).

     Even after the Rapture, the Blood of Christ will be redeeming repentant souls, and names will be written in this book.  As the Beast of Antichrist is revealed, those that repent and have their names written in this book will be able to resist the Antichrist and refuse his mark. “And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him (Antichrist), whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).  This book will be opened at the White Throne Judgment of the wicked.  It appears that the Father will always make a final search in this book before a soul is cast into the Lake of Fire.

     Another group of books appear in the Holy Bible.  They are called the Books of Records of all our deeds.  We see these books in this chapter. “… And the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works” (Revelation 20:12).  We have no idea how many of these books there are, but they contain every deed, every work, every sin or righteous act committed by every living soul of all human history.  The only acts of men not in these books are sins that the blood of Jesus Christ has washed away.  The saints will be rewarded for every good work on their record.  The wicked will be rewarded with judgment for every sin in these books.  Nothing can change one thing recorded but the blood of the Son of God.  Once your sins have been blotted out, those sins can never be recorded again.  Even God has no memory of them. “… For thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back” (Isaiah 38:17).

     One more book is found in the Word of God that demands mention.  It is called the “Book of Remembrance.” It is mentioned in a lively passage from the Book of Malachi. “Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon his name” (Malachi 3:16).  The rest of this passage created a context for the understanding of this particular book.  It is a First Testament reference to the Rapture and to the return of the saints to reign on the earth as kings and priests during the Millennium.  This book is God’s record being kept in the past, right now, and right on into the future until the Rapture of the saints in chapter four of Revelation.  These are His rapture-ready saints over whom His angels keep a constant watch and record.  Those written in this book are His jewels, His future bride.

     “And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season” (Revelation 20:1-3).

     Before Christ suffered on the Cross and won the eternal victory, angels often came to each other’s rescue when they were in battle against the devil or his unclean spirits.  One angel stood toe to toe with the Prince of Persia and could not prevail until a second angel broke the stronghold. “But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia” (Daniel 10:13).  After Calvary, “all power in heaven and in earth” was assigned to the victorious Conqueror.  Jesus Christ and one angel at His command needs no help in any battle.  This angel that descends to take hold of the devil himself and to take him down into the bottomless pit is fully capable of the task.  It has been millenniums since Lucifer was cast out of heaven and began his reign in the mid-air.  Now it is time for him to be chained and to taste his own defeat.

     It is no wonder that Satan hates the Book of Revelation so intently.  Little is said concerning Satan in the sixty-five books of the Bible before we get to this masterpiece.  From the Garden in Genesis to the book of Jude, he is always in the background working his dark deeds.  The Bible is about redemption, so Satan is viewed as the foe.  But this great book fully exposes his character, his witty style, and his insane blasphemy.  Fully exposed, Satan is now to pay the price of his masquerade.  This text uses every key name that represents his character.  He is the dragon, the old serpent, the devil, and Satan.  Satan has stood in the presence of the Father and His Son.  He was originally created for their glory, but he rebelled.  Because of his created glory, he has fought long and hard.  Now, he is bound and delivered into the pit under Hell in the darkest and most painful spot in the realm of Sheol.

     There will be no more deception for one thousand years.  Then, there will be a short release for Satan.  After that short span of time, Satan will be cast into the Lake of Fire.  The King of Kings and His appointed saints will now govern the nations, where prosperity will abound, and “the plowman shall overtake the reaper” (Amos 9:13).

     “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished.  This is the first resurrection.  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years” (Revelation 20:4-6).

     Immediately, the government of the world falls unto the King of Kings and authority to govern in righteousness is fully established. John said, “And I saw thrones and those that sat upon them.” His statement here about the “thrones” refers back to chapter nineteen verse fourteen and chapter twenty verse four.  Let’s read these two verses together, “And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean” (Revelation 19:14).  “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them”  (Revelation 20:4a).  Clearly, the army of saints that descended with Him occupies these thrones.  The Bible is full of promises that the saints will inherit the earth and that we will rule the kingdoms of the earth with our great Lord and King, Jesus Christ.

Jude

¹⁴ And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,

¹⁵ To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

¹⁶ These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men’s persons in admiration because of advantage.

     Carefully read verse four. The “they” in the first part of this verse is that army of saints that were previously caught up to Him and His throne and were present at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, either as the Bride or guests of His Bride or the Groom, and are ready as glorified saints to reign with Him.  They are an awesome company, fully united with the Word of God and King of Kings, and there is not a selfish thought in one heart among them.  It is an army under His banner, and they are ready to rule a redeemed world and set up a kingdom of righteousness.  The world will become a garden. 

     But another company of saints suddenly joins the great army that descended with the Son of God.  John said, “And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” This group of victorious saints has not previously appeared in this great book.  They came through, either part or all, the last half of the seven years of the Antichrist’s reign of terror.  They could not have been the Tribulation saints of chapter seven or the Jewish saints of chapters fourteen and fifteen.  This company paid the ultimate price and withstood the darkest time in human history.  Now, they are seen resurrected and ready to join the army of saints and to “reign with Him a thousand years.” They were all beheaded or martyred because they rejected the Antichrist and his mark, his worship, and his image.

     The rest of the dead must wait until the end of the great Millennium reign without their resurrection or participation.  John specifically states that this is the completion of the “First Resurrection.”  We watched as “elders were seated on thrones” in chapter four after the Pre-Tribulation Rapture up to Heaven.  We saw a company of Tribulation saints in chapter seven.  We saw two witnesses ascend to Heaven in chapter eleven, one hundred and forty-four thousand Jews in chapter fourteen, and a remnant of Jews in chapter fifteen.  Now, we see another remnant just before the one thousand years of Christ’s reign begins.  This completes the First Resurrection.

     A great blessing and honor is declared for every one of His saints that are a part of this First Resurrection.  Their rewards will be different, but exactly the reward they have earned in their use of the talents and privileges He gave them.  The saints of God will be held accountable to Him, the Lord of the church, and His records of our lives will include every action, attitude, and deed we have performed in His name or failed to perform because of indifference, disobedience, or laziness.  It is beyond my imagination to grasp the extent of this coming day of rewards and celebrations.  We are talking about millions of saints and the entire redeemed earth set up a kingdom fit for the Great Son of God and the Sovereign of this whole earth.  The wealth of the earth will be totally the property of this great company of His glorified family.

     There will be no crashes of the stock markets and no storms on the seas.  The earth’s curse is lifted and the animals are peaceful pets.  Lying and stealing is finished, and there will be no locks on doors or gates of this world. “Nothing will hurt or destroy” and perfect peace will reign in every heart.  The lion and lamb will sleep together, and the nations will learn war no more.  It’s the Millennium of Jesus Christ and it will last one thousand years.

     “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever”  (Revelation 20:7-1).

     The natural people that survived the Seven Year Tribulation but did not take the Mark of the Beast and were not killed will reproduce great families.  During the thousand years of blessing, they have never known temptation by Satan, and they will be given an opportunity to choose.  Satan will be loosed for a short season and unredeemed hearts will yield to his lies and deception.  The only possible way to understand this choice by the multitude is the old nature of self and sin.  When you give unredeemed men an intriguing chance to do their own thing, seldom do they turn it down.  Above all else, the self-nature is the sin nature.  The greatest of sins is not to lie or cheat but to be selfish and self-centered.  All sin begins with self and that’s all Satan needs to win a host of otherwise blessed people.

     He deceived a great number identified as “the sand of the sea,” and they attacked the saints of God and Jerusalem determined to take the reigns of government.  Without question, it will be the power of wealth and control that Satan will use as his approach of deception.  The saints will be totally in charge of government and the world’s wealth during this Millennium.  Although all will be blessed and prosperous, the unredeemed will serve them.  This is the seed that Satan uses to gain their attention.  We presently call it “class warfare.”  A lot of money only serves to make unspiritual people hungry for more.  They attack the city of Jerusalem, and the Father acts to stop their insanity.  Fire descends from Heaven to destroy this great army of greedy and selfish souls. 

Matthew 25

³² And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:

³³ And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

³⁴ Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

     Satan is taken, and this time he will be cast into the Lake of Fire. His Antichrist and religious false prophet are already there.  He joins them to be tormented day and night forever and ever.  Every character of evil that wicked men or angels possess will be the character of their resurrected bodies or entities in the case of angels forever.  A brute beast will be full of hatred and will seethe in that hatred for eternity.  The unclean will long to satisfy the urge of that uncleanness.  The sexual perverted will be consumed with lust every moment forever.

     “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.  And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.  This is the second death.  And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).

     Between the one thousand years reign of our Lord and all of His saints and the descent of New Jerusalem and eternity will be this “White Throne Judgment” of the wicked.  The wicked dead that have slept from the earliest death in Sumer or Southern Iraq to the end of the Millennium reign must be judged.  There will be death during the Millennium among natural people, and they must be judged.  This “White Throne Judgment” is the last and final judgment of all the wicked and for all eternity.  This is an awesome event because the darkest characters of human history will be there.  Millions have festered in their wrath and filth in hell fire.  These souls have suffered an endless hell, and, now, they are resurrected to add darkness upon darkness.  With damnable bodies united with their souls, they must be judged.

     The dead, small and great, the great fearless dictators, the powerful kings and queens, along with the poor, wretched subjects of the great will be standing together on equal footing.  Suddenly, the wealth of the rich has no bearing.  Famous men and women will stand without applause.  The glory of God in His holiness will be so awesome that even the earth and heaven stand back to let Him, the Great Jehovah God, be the absolute center of attention.  The least sin will feel like the weight of the world.  Conscience will strike terror in hearts of men as they tremble in guilt.  Standing back or moving away from His presence will be impossible. 

     The books of works will cause every soul to search their whole life like a flash.  Hidden sins will no longer be hidden.  Angels will begin to name every soul and then read the list of sins that have never been exposed.  Each sin will bear a penalty and the culmination of sins will leave souls hopeless for escape.  The words missing on this day will be words proclaimed by the righteous and known to almost every soul that have lived.  Mercy, forgiveness, grace, and redemption will be words of the past as death, sorrow, pain and a sense of being lost rules the day.  Even when the sin debt is almost unknown, the search for the names in the Book of Life will still leave no hope.  No one will be sadder than the moral and upright in life but who failed or refused to trust Christ for salvation.  The good will perish right along with the worst.

     The angels of God will discover every living soul.  The sea will not be able to hide those consumed in its depth.  Whether by fire or by other forms of death, the soul of man is like a falcon that when released cannot escape.  Some think that to be cremated is to rob God of His justice, but they shall not escape.  No doubt there will be just men and women that died during the Millennium.  The Book of Life is there so that no one can be lost that was redeemed.  God is perfect in judgment.

Conclusion

     Death and Hell are now cast into the Lake of Fire.  This death is not just to cease to live, but to cease to have one semblance of beauty.  The sun will never shine again for those that enter this judgment realm.  They will never hear the cry of a newborn baby or see the smile of choice loved ones.  Everything God created to make life beautiful is forever removed.  The wicked will remember when mercy was real and love was close, but will know that all is forever gone.  The Lamb’s Book of Life is the final act of this chapter.  It towers above all that exists.  It stands as the opposite of the Lake of Fire.  To have your name in this book means “Life Everlasting.”