• We can look through our history books and we can see where men have gone through some horrible times, and we rejoice that we did not have to live during those tragic times.
• We can look in our Bible and see a period of time known as the Great Tribulation, that is yet to come. The Bible says this will be a time of suffering like the world has never seen before. As Christians, we certainly rejoice that we will not be here to endure such afflictions.
• But the most dreadful time for lost men to face, is the time when lost men and women are going to be forced to stand before the Lord Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment. And again, we Christians greatly rejoice knowing that we will not have to appear at this judgment.
This will be the most dreadful time in the lives of lost men.
Illus: A minister was at a trial where a man had committed a very evil act. The Judge asked him to stand for the sentencing. As the minister sat behind him, he could not help but to notice that as he stood before the Judge who was preparing to sentence him, that his pants trousers were shaking because he was so fearful.
We can not imagine the fear that will take place in the lives of those who have lived their life in sin, who are standing before the throne, and now the Lord Jesus is preparing to sentence them to an eternity in Hell.
• It is bad enough when a man stands before a judge on this earth, and the judge tells him he will spend the rest of his life behind bars. The only thing he has to look forward to is knowing that sooner or later, death will deliver him from this situation.
• But we can not imagine how horrible it will be when lost men stand before the Lord Jesus Christ, and He says, “Depart from me, ye curse into everlasting fire!”
Lost men will not even have the hope that death will free them from this terrible place called Hell.
People in this world in which we live have never experienced the fear that they will experience at the Great White Throne Judgment.
Today we live in an age when men and women have lost their fear of God. We see it in two ways, such as:
• From those who are unsaved. If they feared God, they would not live the way they live
• From those who claim to be saved. If they feared God, they would not live the way they live
WHY IS IT THAT PEOPLE DO NOT FEAR GOD?
Mostly because they can not see God. They remind me of some people that we know.
Illus: That is, when a particular person they do not like is not around, they will say all kinds of things behind their back. They talk tough! But that same person can walk into their presence, and they will change the subject.
Today, we have ungodly men who talk tough, because they can not see the Lord.
They TAKE HIS NAME IN VAIN, they mock him, but one day they are going to stand before Him and see Him in all HIS POWER and MAJESTY.
They are going to see:
• The One they rebelled against
• The One they mocked
• The One they cursed
• The One they ignored
• The One they despised
They are going to have to stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment and see Him in all HIS MAJESTY.
In a previous sermon, we looked at THE MAJESTY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT, in this sermon we want to look at -
II. THE MULTITUDES OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
WHO WILL BE THERE?
Look at Rev. 20:12-13, we read, “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.”
Notice, the SMALL and the GREAT were there.
• If you are considered to be SMALL in the social circles that exist in our society, and you reject Christ, YOU WILL BE THERE!
• If you are considered to be GREAT in the social circles that exist in our society, and you reject Christ, YOU WILL BE THERE!
And notice what is going to happen when you are there. The Bible says in verse 13, “And the books were opened.”
Notice, the word “Books” is plural.
WHY WILL GOD HAVE THESE RECORD BOOKS AT THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT?
Because at the Great White Throne Judgment:
1. The ungodly are going to get PURE JUSTICE!
2. The evidence in these BOOKS will prove that they are guilty of what they are charged with, and that the punishment they are going to receive is just.
God is going to have the record books there to show them that they are guilty sinners.
• Some one might say, “God, I did not use your name in vain.” God will say, “Let’s look at the record books.” Every time they took His Name in vain will be recorded.
• Some one might say, “God, I did not tell any lies.” God will open the record book and show them every lie they ever told.
• Some one might say, “God, I did not commit any evil acts.” God will open the record book and show them every evil act they ever committed, and every evil thought they ever thought.
These books are not brought forth to see if a person is lost or saved. The fact that a person stands before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment means they are doomed for eternity.
WHAT KIND OF BOOKS ARE THEY?
Let me mention a few:
(1) THE BOOK OF LIFE
This book contains the name of every person who has ever lived on this earth.
You see, it was God's plan that every person created would know Christ as their Savior and live with Him for eternity.
Every one who has ever lived on this earth has their name recorded in that book. If they once lived on this earth, their name is in that book. (Ex. 32:32-33; Dan. 12:1; Rev. 3:5; Rev. 13:8; Rev. 17:8; Rev. 21:27; and Rev. 22:19)
And at the Great White Throne Judgment, these books that are in heaven will be there.
Illus: We have those in the U.S. space program who rejoice in knowing that we have a U.S. flag on the moon. We can look up at the moon on any given night, and though we may not be able to see it, we know that somewhere on the moon is a United States flag. That is quite an achievement for mankind.
But also as we look up into the heavens, according to the Word of God, there is a record book of every human that has ever lived, and their name is listed in that book.
Every one who has ever lived on this earth has their name recorded in the BOOK OF LIFE.
But just because you have your name written in the BOOK OF LIFE, does not mean that you will enter heaven.
Illus: Every person’s name is written in this book. Hitler, Stalin, Jesse James and etc., but certainly these men are not in heaven unless they got saved before they died.
The sad news is that if you do not accept the Lord as your personal Savior, your name will be blotted out of the BOOK OF LIFE, and as far as God is concerned, you will no longer exist.
Look at Rev. 20:12-15 we read, “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.”
In Psalm 69:28 we read, "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous."
But remember, the Bible said “BOOKS”, not “BOOK”.
Beside the Book of Life there will also be-
(2) THE BOOK OF CONSCIENCE
In Roman 2:15, we read, “Which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also BEARING WITNESS….”
Some folks will say it is not right for God to condemn a sinner who has never heard the gospel, to a devil’s hell.
But what they fail to realize is this, God has placed a conscience within every one who has ever been born in this life.
And if a person who is lost will follow that conscience that is placed within him, it will make him aware of WHAT SIN IS!
Their conscience will show them there are some things in our life …
• That are right and good
• That are wrong and bad
At the Great White Throne Judgment, a man might say that he did not know right from wrong, but God will open up the BOOK OF CONSCIENCE, and his conscience will be a witness against him.
God will show him that there were times and places when his conscience tried to lead him in the right direction.
If a person wants to be saved, God will place a calling on a man’s heart somewhere, and someone with the gospel will be led to that person.
Illus: Look at the Eunuch in Acts 8:26-40. Philip was in a great revival in Samaria, and God miraculously picked him up and put him beside that lost Ethiopian who knew he was lost and wanted to be saved.
The BOOK OF CONSCIENCE will be used against the lost man. But look at another book that will be there.
(3) THE BOOK OF WORDS
Matthew 12:36-37, we read, “But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”
At the Great White Throne Judgment, someone might say that they did not say certain things they are accused of saying. God will open the BOOK OF WORDS and show them that they said certain things at certain times.
God keeps good records, He writes down every idle word that we speak.
WHY DOES GOD WRITE DOWN EVERY IDLE WORD THAT WE SPEAK?
Because this tongue that we all possess has done more to destroy happiness, lives, and churches than anything else on the face of this earth.
There are churches today that would be flourishing, but the tongue has destroyed them.
People spread gossip and do not think a thing about it, but one day they are going to have to give account to God at the Great White Throne Judgment.
Also, remember there are many folks who think they are saved but they are not.
WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
James tells us who these are.
Look at James 1:26 “If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain.”
People have done some horrible things, and they must stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment and give account of those deeds that have literally destroyed the work of God.
But also, some have said some horrible things, and they must stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne Judgment and give account of those words that have:
• Destroyed homes
• Destroyed happiness
• Destroyed churches
• Destroyed reputations
• Destroyed careers
God said that evil men and women will give account of every idle word they have spoken.
God keeps a record of everything we say. People today will use their tongue to say all kinds of things, they will tell a lie and never bat an eye.
We Christians are always inviting people to come to church. And people will look us in the eyes and say, “Ok, I will be there,” knowing all the time they do not have any intention of coming.
There are some folks that we invite to church, and they have told us so many lies that we do not even ask them anymore. We know if we ask, they will tell us a lie and it will only making things worse for them at the Great White Throne Judgment.
When the BOOK OF WORDS is opened, their words are going to come back to haunt them
These books are going to be open. Another book that will be open will be
(4) THE BOOK OF SECRETS
Romans 2:16, we read, “In the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.”
• Some young people did things in the back seat of a car and no one knew about it, but God was there and He wrote it down, and at the Great White Throne Judgment it is going to be brought out.
• Some committed adultery against their spouse, and their spouse does not even know it. But one day at the Great White Throne Judgment, it is all going to come out when God opens the BOOK OF SECRETS.
• Some people have stolen from others, and it seems they have gotten away with it. The police are no longer even looking, because they have no clue who stole the things. But God knows, and at the great White Throne Judgment it will be revealed.
• Some people have murdered and it seems that they got away with it. The police do not have one piece of evidence about who did such an evil thing. But God knows and it is recorded in the BOOK OF SECRETS, and will be revealed at the Great White Throne Judgment.
The only way you can keep those secret sins from being revealed is to receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, and he will wash them all away.
1 John 1:9 we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
If you do not want to appear at the Great White Throne Judgment, you need to come to Christ and let Him CLEANSE YOU FROM ALL YOUR UNRIGHTEOUSNESS.
Those who stand before the Great White Throne Judgment are there to give account of everything they ever said or did! They are going to get JUSTICE.
There will be no mercy at the Great White Throne Judgment, only JUSTICE!
The Judgment Seat of Christ had a rainbow around it that represents God’s mercy. Remember when God sent the flood, God gave Noah the rainbow as a sign of His mercy, that He would never send such a world-wide flood again.
But at the Great White Throne Judgment there will be no rainbow of mercy. Why? Because there will be no mercy.
The multitudes who are brought before Him at the Great White Throne are preparing to receive JUSTICE, not MERCY!
Conclusion:
I. THE MAJESTY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
II. THE MULTITUDES OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
III. THE METHOD OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
IV. THE MISERY OF THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT
