We began looking at Revelation chapter 20 yesterday which is divided into 3 sections; the Millennium reign of Christ on the earth, the final defeat of Satan at the battle of Gog and Magog, and then the final judgment. We looked at the first two yesterday, so we conclude chapter 20 today by looking at the final judgment or what the Bible calls the White Throne judgment.
"And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.
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Revelation 20:11-15 NLT. Let me start by saying everyone who stands before this judgment are likely to spend eternity in the lake of fire. This is because they are being judged on 2 grounds as the books are opened; whether their names are written in the Book of Life and whether according to what each person has done as recorded in the books, they qualify to come into the kingdom. The outcome here is already determined, it's a failure. There is only one way for your name to be written in the Book of Life, you must have accepted Jesus as Lord, saviour and king over your life. These people have all rejected that. Speaking about this Jesus said; “I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life. “And I assure you that the time is coming, indeed it’s here now, when the dead will hear my voice—the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live. The Father has life in himself, and he has granted that same life-giving power to his Son. And he has given him authority to judge everyone because he is the Son of Man.
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John 5:24-27 NLT. You saw it there, those who have accepted Christ cannot be judged for their sins, they have passed from death to life. No Jesus, no name written in the Book of life. On the second count of our deeds and the works done here on earth, again, it's a fail. The prophet Isaiah answered this perfectly when he said; "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.
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Isaiah 64:6 NLT. All our good deeds are at best in God's sight like filthy rags, they will not be enough.
