The Final Judgment - Revelation 20:7-15
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday I ended my message by talking about the millennial kingdom in which the Lord Jesus Christ will reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. He will take the throne and rule and reign from the capital city of His kingdom, Jerusalem, and the saints will rule with Him.
John does not spend a lot of time describing the millennium for us, and he does not need to because a careful study of the Old Testament prophets and even the Psalms reveal everything that God wants us to know about the millennium.
This morning’s passage picks up at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ and it speaks of the final judgment upon Satan and sin and the fate of all those through the ages who died in their sin, rejecting the grace and mercy offered by God through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Our statement of faith says: “We believe in the literal resurrection of the body – both the saved and the unsaved. (Isaiah 26:19-21; Daniel 12:1-2; John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Joh 3:2; Revelation 20:4-6; 20:11-14);” it goes on to state: “We believe in the everlasting blessedness of the saved and the everlasting punishment of the lost. (Proverbs 11:7; Revelation 20:11-15; 21:1-8; 22:1-5).”[1] Think about these statements as we look at our passage this morning. Let’s pray and then get into our passage for this morning.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to Revelation 20:7-15, the remainder of the chapter and I will try to finish it up this morning. Please stand if you are able in honor of the reading of God’s Word.
Revelation 20:7-15,
“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 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. 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. 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. Then I saw 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. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:7–15, NASB95)[2]
SATAN’S RELEASE, REVOLT AND DOOM (Revelation 20:7-10)
John informs us that at the end of the thousand years, after the Lord Jesus has reigned on this earth for 1000 years and the people of the world have lived in peace and prosperity with no outside evil influence, that this will come to an end and Satan who has been bound and sealed in the abyss all this time will be released from his prison.
I want you to understand that those that enter into the millennial kingdom at the beginning are all believers, they are redeemed by the Lord Jesus Christ. This was the purpose of the sheep and the goat judgment recorded for us in Matthew 25:31-46 and the judgment of the Israelites in the wilderness recorded for us Ezekiel 20:33-38 both of which we looked at last week. These are the Gentiles and Israelites that lived through the Tribulation, they are redeemed, but they still possess a sinful human nature. And as all parents have done since the fall, they will pass that sinful human nature on to their offspring. Every generation throughout the thousand years will be made up of sinners in need of salvation. Many will put their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. But many others, despite the perfect rule of Christ, despite the peace and prosperity brought about by His rule, despite the effects of the fall being lifted from the world, and despite the most moral society the world will ever know, some will love their sin and reject the Savior. Even though the world will be as peaceful and perfect as it will ever be this will not change the sad reality of human depravity.
When Satan is loosed from his prison, he will provide the supernatural leadership to bring to the surface all the sin and rebellion left in the universe. The reason that Satan is released is to pull together all the rebels, revealing to the world the true character and intent of those who have rejected Christ as their Savior and as their king, making it evident that God’s judgment of them is just.
Satan’s confinement for a thousand year will not have changed him, his hatred for God and for Jesus Christ and for those who belong to Him will be just as great, and when he is released from the abyss, he will immediately begin to gather an army for his final act of rebellion.
John tells us that upon Satan’s release he will come out to deceive the nations, and he will find many that have been born during the millennium who have loved their sin and will join him in rebelling against the King of kings. The strategy and the deception used by Satan is not revealed, but he will succeed in his deception and the unregenerate people of the world will rally around him and follow him in a revolt against the Lord Jesus.
John tells us that Satan will collect the deceived nations from the four corners of the earth, which is an expression that refers to the four main points of the compass, these rebels will come from all over the world. John gives these enemies of the King the symbolic title “Gog and Magog” naming them after the invasion force from the north that assaulted Israel in the first half of the Tribulation. That invasion and their defeat can be read about in Ezekiel 38-39. Possibly John uses this title because this force coming at the end of the millennial kingdom will also be defeated by God, just as the force that invades Israel during the first half of the Tribulation is defeated by God.
John describes the number of this force to be like the sand of the seashore, a phrase used in Scripture to describe a vast, innumerable multitude. The long-life spans and the ideal conditions of the millennium will lead to a population explosion and huge numbers of these people will join Satan in his final rebellion against God.
The rebel force will come up on the broad plain of the earth, remember the topography of the earth is altered in the millennium, the valleys are filled in and the mountains leveled, and Israel becomes flat except for the city of Jerusalem which is raised for all to see. This force comes up on this broad plain and surrounds the camp of the saints and the beloved city, Jerusalem, it will be the place of the Lord Jesus Christ’s throne and the center of the millennial world. Like Armageddon a thousand years earlier this war will also be an execution. As the rebel force moves in to attack the city fire comes down from heaven and devours them. They will be instantly killed and destroyed, they will die physically, and their souls will go into the realm of punishment awaiting their final judgment.
The devil, Satan, who deceived them we are informed is thrown into the Lake of fire and brimstone to join the beast (the Antichrist) and the false prophet who are said to still be there after a thousand years of torment. Again, showing us that the Lake of fire is a literal place of everlasting torment, not a place of annihilation. John tells us that Satan, the Antichrist, and the false prophet will be tormented night and day forever and ever. Satan who entered the world scene in the Garden of Eden where he tempted Eve, now exits the world scene by being cast into the Lake of fire to be tormented forever.
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT (Revelation 20:11-15)
John opens the last section of this chapter with those words that we have become familiar with in this book, announcing a shift from what he was viewing to a new scene, he writes, “And I saw…” What John saw and is about to describe for us is said to be the most serious, sobering, and tragic passage in the entire Bible. Commonly known as the great white throne judgment, it is the final judgment of all the unsaved of all the ages.
John begins by describing the scene before him. The first thing that John sees before him is a great white throne. We have seen the word “throne” multiple times in this book. But this throne is different than all the ones mentioned before. It is the seat of God’s sovereign rule. It is called great not just because of its size, but also because of its authority, anything declared from this throne is final and absolute. The fact that it is white emphasizes the purity, holiness, and justice of the One who sits on it. The verdict handed down from this throne will be absolutely just.
John also saw the One who was sitting on the throne. The Judge is none other than the eternal almighty God, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said during His first advent in John 5:22, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son,” (John 5:22, NASB95)[3] John went on to say that from the presence of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ as the Judge the earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. What is being described here is what we read about this morning in our Scripture reading in 2 Peter 3:10-13. John MacArthur calls this the “uncreation” of the universe, in chapter 21 we will read that God will create a new heavens and a new earth to replace the one destroyed at this time. John MacArthur writes, “The present earth and heaven will not merely be moved or reshaped, since John saw in his vision that ‘no place was found for them.’ They will go totally out of existence.”[4] Just as our Scripture reading this morning said, “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.” (2 Peter 3:10, NASB95)[5]
John ends this description of the scene before him by saying that he saw “the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne.” The setting is the indescribable nothingness between the end of the present universe and the creation of the new heaven and new earth. There is no where to hide, this is the resurrection of judgment, this is the unsaved from all the ages, from the time of Adam to that future day. To help us understand the scope of this judgment, John says it includes the great and the small. All who rejected Jesus Christ and His salvation will stand before Him to be judged, it doesn’t matter who you are, with God there is no partiality.
Where did all these dead come from? John tells us in verse 13. Before the uncreation of the universe they were called forth to stand before the Lord Jesus. The sea gave up the dead which were in it, God will summon new bodies for all who perished at sea throughout human history. Death gave up the dead that it held, death symbolizes all the places on land from which God will resurrect the wicked. Hades is the Greek word used to describe the realm of the dead, it is a place of punishment where the souls of the unrighteous dead are kept until they are called forth on the day John is describing to be reunited with their resurrected bodies that they might stand before the great white throne of God. These unbelievers of all the ages will be fitted with resurrection bodies suited for hell, they will then be ready for their sentencing to the lake of fire where their punishment will last forever.
Going back up to verse 12 as the court is called to order, as judgment begins we read that the Judge opens the books. These books contain the evidence needed to sentence each individual, God keeps a perfect record of every person’s life and the dead will be judged according to their deeds. The sinner’s deeds will be measured against God’s perfect, holy standard, the Word of God. All that stand before the Judge at the great white throne will find that they “… all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23, NASB95)[6] God’s holiness and justice demands payment for every person’s sins. Jesus Christ paid that penalty for any who put their faith in His substitutionary death for their sins. But those who rejected Christ and His death on their behalf will personally pay the penalty for violating God’s law, eternal destruction in hell.
God’s judgment will be absolutely accurate for each person, it will ensure that the unbeliever’s punishment in hell fits their sin. The Bible teaches that there will be varying degrees of punishment in hell. Each person’s life will be evaluated, and each person’s punishment will be consistent with that evaluation. One thing is sure, everyone in hell will suffer intolerable misery and torment, all sinners in hell will be completely separated from God and all that comes from His goodness. They will all be miserable, but not equally miserable.
John says that another book was opened that is the book of life. This book has recorded in it the names of all who have put their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation. All those who agreed with God that they were sinners in desperate need of Jesus Christ, believing that He died and took the punishment for their sin upon Himself, and died and was buried in their place, and rose three days later proving their sin had been paid for and guaranteeing their place in the first resurrection. It is only through this act of faith that are name is written in the book of life. This is the final say as to where you will spend eternity. “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:15, NASB95)[7] Those whose names are not in the book of life are judged and sentenced to an eternity in the lake of fire and brimstone.
John records that death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. What does this mean? It means that death and Hades will go out of existence, they will not be needed any longer. There will be no more death, so the grave will not be needed, and a temporary place to hold the souls of the wicked is no longer needed either. John defines the second death as the lake of fire. Last week we learned that the saints who are blessed and holy and participated in the first resurrection will not experience the second death. Those who were a part of the first resurrection, the church, the Old Testament saints, the martyrs of the Tribulation will not even appear at the great white throne, this is only for those who die in their sins in the present world of time and space, they will die a second death in eternity, they will be sentenced to the lake of fire forever.
CONCLUSION:
As I have mentioned before, there are many, even many who call themselves Christians, that do not like the idea of judgment, especially when it means torment day and night forever and ever. Many would go so far to say that if God loves us so much why would He judge anyone. These are not serious students of the Word of God, because God’s Word clearly teaches that God is righteous and because of this He must punish sin, His righteousness requires it. But because He loves us so much He provided a way for our sins to be forgiven, by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place, to suffer God’s wrath against sin on our behalf. There is only one way to avoid the second death, and to be sure that you will be in the first resurrection and that is to confess your sins and believe that Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty required for your sin, that He was buried and rose from the dead proving that sin had been atoned for and that death had been conquered. When you believe this your sins are forgiven and you will spend eternity in heaven. Where will you spend eternity? In heaven in the presence of Jesus Christ, or in the lake of fire eternally separated from God and all His goodness?
The handout I mentioned last week, the six ways studying Bible prophecy should influence you, the second statement said, “Studying Bible prophecy should influence us to be concerned about the unsaved and to tell them the Good News of Jesus before it is too late.” A message like today’s should give us great concern for the unsaved, we have a responsibility as followers of Jesus Christ to share with them the truth before it is too late. Pray for the unsaved, share the truth of Jesus Christ with the unsaved. Do it before it is too late.
[1]Constitution/By-Laws of the McCleary Community Church. McCleary, WA : Adopted Feb. 2005, Amended March 2015
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]MacArthur, John, Because the Time is Near : John MacArthur explains the book of Revelation. Chicago, IL : Moody Publishers, 2007
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[6]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[7]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. La Habra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995