Resurrection



And I saw a great white throne.

Rev. 20:11


Most of this book has been about heaven -- heaven in heaven and heaven on earth. But one chapter must be written about judgment. One chapter must be written about hell.

Every one of us must stand before God one day to give an account of himself.1 For the believer, this will be at the Judgment Seat of Christ.2 Cleansed of all sin by the grace of Jesus Christ, this judgment will be to receive rewards, assignments in the new world order.

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."3

For the unbeliever, the judgment will take place at the close of the kingdom age, and just before the eternal state is ushered in. This judgment is called The Great White Throne Judgment.4 The place is, strangely enough, neither in heaven nor on earth, but somewhere in outer space.

Jesus tells us about the judgment in a parable.5 A man sows good seed in his field. While he sleeps, an enemy comes in and sows weeds. Both grow up. What to do? "Let them grow together until the harvest," the man decides. "At that time we will have the reapers collect the weeds and burn them. Then we will gather the wheat and bring it into my barn."

Jesus goes on to explain. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. The weeds (or "tares") are the ungodly. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are God's angels. "Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire," the Lord says, "so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."

This judgment is further described in Revelation:6

And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 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. And 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. And Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

How does one get one's name written into the Lamb's Book of Life? Simply by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. We come back to the very simple verse many of us learned as children: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever should believe in Him should not perish, but have eternal life."7

What are the first books that were opened? These are complete records of every person's life, right on down to every word the person has spoken,8 and every secret thing the person has done.9 And who are the dead here? These people have not, for various reasons, accepted Jesus Christ as Saviour, so they must be judged under law. Since all have sinned, and since the wages of sin are death, all of these must pay that penalty themselves by being cast into hell.

Will some have it worse than others?

Some people believe that there will be degrees of punishment in hell. Jesus said it would be more tolerable in the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for Chorazin and Bethsaida, because if the mighty works done in the latter had been done in the former, they would have repented.10

Other people believe that hell is hell and punishment will be equal for all.

Some people believe that those in hell will burn and suffer indescribably forever. This is because the beast and false prophet are cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the kingdom age, and seem to still be there, burning, when Satan and his angels are thrown back in after the rebellion at the end of the kingdom age.11 (The word "are," however, you'll notice is in italics in the King James version of the Bible. That means it was not in the original versions, but was added by the translators. Another addition here could as well be, as commentators point out, "were" or "were cast.")

There is another school of thought, annihilationism, that espouses that when the unbelieving, unredeemed, judged dead are cast into the lake of fire, they die. Permanently, once and for all, never to be resurrected again. They de-materialize in the lake of fire that roars with the power of nuclear fission. Consequently, they don't suffer in torment forever. They say that the only ones who it says suffer forever are the immortal beings Satan and his fallen angels. Man, they say, is not an immortal being.

In either case, whether these souls suffer forever or are simply annihilated, this is an awesome, overwhelming event that lies ahead in human history. It cannot be taken lightly.

But nevertheless, it may not be very easy for most people to accept, or even take seriously. Many have had their consciences seared by secular humanism or evolution or Eastern mysticism and reincarnation theories. Man believes himself to be the judge, not Christ. Do your own thing, you know. Have it your way. If it feels good, do it. But our thoughts are not God's thoughts. Our justice is not God's justice. We did not create ourselves. He did.

The strange story of George Wilson

Back in the time of President Andrew Jackson, there was a man named George Wilson. He was a criminal. George Wilson was sentenced to die by hanging. His story came to the attention of the President who was motivated to grant a pardon.

Then something strange happened. To everyone's profound amazement, when he was handed the actual pardon document, Wilson tore it in pieces and threw it on the floor of his cell. This prompted a question: what to do with Wilson? Was he pardoned because of what the President did? Or did his bold act of rejection nullify the pardon? This was a legal question, and a tough one at that.

After extended deliberation, the United States Supreme Court put forth the following verdict: "A pardon is a writing, the value of which is dependent upon the acceptance by the individual for whom it is intended." George Wilson was to be hanged -- not because there was no pardon, but because the pardon was not accepted.

And so it is with the pardon of God the Father through the sacrifice at the cross of his son Jesus Christ for all mankind. If the pardon is not accepted, it has no effect.

The bad part of this chapter of human history is its staggering finality. Few things are this, well . . . final. If you lose money in this world, chances are you can make it back. If you fail a course in school, you can repeat. If you get sick, you can recover. If you lose your job, you can get another. But if you're without the salvation of the Lord Jesus Christ in the day of the great white throne judgment, there is simply no other salvation. It's too late.

The good part of this story is that it doesn't have to happen to anyone. It's just a matter of choice. And God urges us all to "choose life."12

 

FOOTNOTES
Chapter 16
RESURRECTION
1. Rom. 14:12; Heb. 9:27
2. II Cor. 5:10
3. 1 John 1:9
4. Rev. 20:11-15
5. Matt. 13:37-43
6. Rev. 20:11-15
7. John 3:16
8. Matt. 12:36
9. Ecc. 12:14
10. Matt. 11:21, 22
11. Rev. 20:10 -- "Then the devil that decived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."
12. Deut. 30:19



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Friday March 29 2024 CHICAGO Last modified: Friday February 19 2016
After Armageddon © 1983, 1996 John A. Sarkett All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with proper attribution and credit.