Revelation chapter 20. And we'll begin our reading in verse
11. And I saw a great white throne,
and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heavens fled away. And there was 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. Here we have in this book the
revelation. The revelation, most say it is
the revelation of John. We know that's not true. It is
the revelation of Jesus Christ. This book If you are to read
this book and find any comfort or solace in it, you must see
that it is a gospel message. A gospel message. It is the message
of Jesus Christ. And listen to what it is saying.
John says, And I saw a great white throne, a great white throne,
and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the
heaven fled away. There was no place for them.
Friends, there is a day coming when all the men, all people
of all time will be judged of the Lord Jesus Christ. All men
that have ever lived, God Himself will call them from their graves,
their souls that have been departed from them. will be united together
again with their bodies. We know this is true when a man
dies. After this is the judgment. We
know that a soul departs from a man and goes to his final abode,
whether into heaven itself with the Lord Jesus, or the soul departs
and goes into the torments of hell. But there is a day coming
when the body shall be raised again. The body shall be raised,
and the soul, wherever it is, either in glory or in hell, will
reunite itself with the body. And the body shall rise from
the graves and be made whole, and the soul will join together
and stand before God. This final day, God will Bring
the body and soul together to be judged. And listen to me, not one person
will escape. This is a great judgment. This
is a great thing. And I saw a great white throne. Sinner, consider this truth that
no man will escape this day. It is appointed unto man once
to die, and after this, the judgment. You can try to ignore it if you
want to. You can put it out of your mind.
You can try to drown it out with the noise of the lust of your
flesh and the amusement of this world, and men do that. When
you start talking about heaven and glory and death and judgment,
what do men do? They look for a way out. I know this when I witness. People
are just, they could be the most knowledgeable person, a very
intelligent person. I'll tell you, you start witnessing
of the coming judgment and they'll start looking for a place to
hide. They don't want to hear it. You can try to ignore it
and stick your head in the sand, but I'll tell you, it's coming.
It's coming. Judgment is coming. And behold Him who sits on this
throne, from whose face the earth and
the heavens fled away. In other words, this One who
sits on the throne is so holy that it's so high and infinite
that the heavens and earth have no place in His presence. This
is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This is He who first
came in weakness, but will come again in perfect strength, taking
vengeance on all those who reject Him. In Revelation chapter 22, this
throne is called not only the throne of God, the great white
throne, but it is also called the throne of the Lamb. Revelation 22 and verse, you see which one I is, I lost
my place, just give me a second. Oh, well that's it. 22 verse
1, And He showed me a pure river of water, clear as crystal, proceeding
out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. You see, this throne
is the throne of Jesus Christ. He is coming. He who came in
weakness, He who suffered under the justice of God, the hatred
of men, He Himself will descend from heaven, as the Apostle says,
with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the
trumpet. Believers in Christ pay no attention
to those men who would try to tell you when he is coming Those
who try to tell you when he is coming when it doesn't come to
pass they erase that and write another book And there's there's
so many of those books leave them alone They do not know when
he is coming. I That's not for us to tell when
He is coming. It is only for us to look for
His coming. It is only for us to know and
believe and trust this, that He is coming again. And when
He comes again, there won't be any mistaking it. It won't be
a secret coming. He'll come with a shout. And notice His throne. His throne
in our text is said to be a great throne. Behold the throne of
God. Behold that God is the only true
and living God. There is only one God. Now, there
are many false gods, but truly there is only one true and living
God. And listen, He's great. I didn't mean like, gee, He's
great. I didn't mean like, He's awfully nice. What I meant is
He is supreme. God is supreme and infinite in
all His attributes. He is the being, listen, the
being of beings. Nobody has being without Him. He is the source of all being. There is no God before Him and
there is no God beside Jehovah. He created the heavens and the
earth and the seas and the skies. He created the seasons and He
sends His rain and His sun descends on the just as well as the unjust. Listen to what Jeremiah says.
He says, but the Lord is the true God. He is the living God,
an everlasting King. At His wrath the earth shall
tremble. and the nations shall not be
able to abide his indignation. The gods that have not made the
heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth. and from under the heavens. Do
you realize when this great day comes that God will be the only
God and all other gods will disappear? All of these gods of men will
disappear when He comes. They'll perish. They'll end. See that no God shall continue
except the living God. Listen, when Jesus Christ comes
in judgment, all men will know of a surety that He is the only
manifestation of God. They'll know that. Everyone will
see it. It will be plain to everyone. Now it's not plain. Now it's
very obscure. Men ask the question, who is
God? They ask that, and they say that,
not because there's not enough evidence, but because they desire
to worship other gods. But in this day, God will be
God, and all the other gods will be seen to be what they really
are, nothing, nothing. Only God has all power. Only
God is omnipotent in power. Which is truly displayed in His
creation, isn't it? You can look at this creation,
you can see the power of God. The power of God in His creation. God established the world and
stretched out the heavens. The psalmist said, He stretched
them out as a curtain. Consider that. You that stretch
out a curtain, you just open a curtain, and how easy is that
for you? You that have any strength at
all, if you open a curtain, it is nothing to you. Consider that
God stretched out the heavens as a curtain. How great is this God, to whom
we must all give an account. He is great. Behold, how great
our God, who spoke all things out of nothing, and what resisted
Him. When God said, Let there be,
what could hinder Him? Nothing. There is nothing that
hindered His sovereign decree. Consider when Jesus Christ, who
is the only manifestation of the Father, shall come in judgment
that not even the grave will hinder him from bringing all
men before him. You consider some of the foolish
things men do with their bodies when they die. They say, oh,
I'm going to grind it up, cast it into the sea, surely God won't
find me. You fool, He'll find you. He
knows exactly where everybody is. And He will bring them before
Him. They will appear before this
judgment. Second, notice that this throne is white. Not only
is it great, but it's white. What is this speaking to us of?
The purity of His justice. The purity of His holy judgment
throne. When all men shall be called
before the throne of God, listen, all of us will be judged by the
same standard. There won't be one standard for
you and another standard for someone else. This standard will
be all the same for every one of us. In this world, men's justice
is not pure, is it? It's not pure. It's often moved by emotion. Men's judgment is often moved
because of relationships or political reasons. Because man is wicked
and sinful, he cannot know what is righteous, and our judgment
is corrupt. But listen, God who is above
all... God is above all influence of
man. Do you see that nothing influences
his holy justice? Nothing. He is above all and
is influenced by none. He is wholly independent from
all his creatures and needs nothing. Therefore, his justice cannot
be bribed. His justice cannot be bribed.
His justice is not moved or ruled by emotion, but is firmly rooted
in infinite, holy justice. And therefore, when, it's not
a matter of if, it is just a matter of when He comes. When He comes,
He will judge all men in righteousness. In righteousness. He will judge
them all according to one holy standard. And that standard,
what is it? When God judges you, how will
He judge you? He will judge you by Himself. Do you understand that God Himself
is the standard? God's holiness is the bar. And anyone who does not measure
up will be cast into the lake of fire forever. God says, be ye holy even as
I am holy. Can you meet such a standard? Can you honestly in all sincerity
ever hoped to attain such a height of holy perfection? No, no. For all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God. There is none righteous, no,
not one. All our righteousness are as
filthy rags. Yet consider men still running
about trying to establish their own righteousness. How foolish,
how arrogant is it for man, who is a wicked creature by nature,
to run about in religion trying to please God by his obedience. That is in direct opposition
to God's Word. God says that none by the law
shall be justified in His sight. The psalmist asked the question,
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Or who shall stand
in His holy place? Listen, here's the answer. He
that hath clean hands... Have you had clean hands? Have
you done all the law requires of you? And a pure heart. Not only does
he require you to perfectly obey the law with your deeds, but
he also requires of your heart to be pure in thought, in motive, as well as action. who then shall ascend into the
hill of the Lord? Only those who are holy. The
psalmist declares, Lord, if thou shouldest mark iniquities, O
Lord, who should stand? Who should stand when he comes?
Who's going to be able to stand when he comes? Only those that
are holy. But the scripture tells us that
God does mark iniquity. He does. Look at our text. Look what he says. The great
white throne has come, who nobody can stand before. And I saw the
dead, small and great. Isn't that everybody? Small and
great. Stand before God. And notice,
the books were open. And another book was opened,
which is the book of life. Now then, we know that these
aren't literal books. God doesn't need a book. He doesn't
need a fountain pen to remind Him. Joanne, you wanted to make
that announcement. You had a paper, didn't you?
You wrote it down. You wrote it down so you wouldn't
forget it. I know. I recognize that. I need a book.
I need something to remind me. God doesn't need books. He does
this to illustrate something to us. Notice. that there are
two sets here of books. One is a set of books, plural,
and another is a singular book. A singular book. Notice that
the books were opened. Books, plural. They're books, many, because
they record the works of men. Because this is how God will
judge the wicked from these books. He will judge those from these
books. What a day of horror that's going
to be for many. Imagine the disappointment of
so many millions of people who expected glory and will receive
hell. They died in full assurance that
they were going to be with Christ. And when God opens the books,
what horror will avail them when they see and are exposed? You can hide from me and I can
hide from you, but we cannot hide from God. It's all going
to come out. It's all going to come out. Those who suppose these books
will contain their good works and bad work, and somehow God
will put them on a scale and balance them out so that, well,
if your good weighs outweighs your bad. Listen to me. Imagine
a scale, if you would, the size of the universe. And on one side
of the scale is your evil deeds, and it's completely full. On the other side is your good
works, and it's completely empty. It's completely empty. This is how it really is. You
have no good. You can do nothing to please
God in your flesh. Yet men somehow suppose that
their good works will somehow outweigh their bad when they
have none. God says, listen, there is none
that doeth good. Isn't that clear? None that doeth
good, no, not one. And I'll tell you, even if there
is one sin recorded, you're guilty of all. What James
says, if you're guilty in one point of disobeying the law,
in one point you are guilty of it all. Therefore, if we have broken
one of God's commandments, if one sin is recorded in the books,
there's no hope. There's no hope. All who are judged out of that
which is written in the books, plural, of all their works will
be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death. You
see, these that'll be judged out of these books, multiple
books, these are the same as that man who appeared at the
wedding feast in his own wedding garment. You remember how that
the man had made a wedding feast for his son and provided all.
He provided the wedding garments. And there was a man who came
with arrogance in his own wedding garment. What happened to him? He was cast into outer darkness. This will be the end of all who
appear before God dressed in their own righteousness. They
will be cast into eternal darkness. Who then should escape? Sounds
bleak, doesn't it? Does it not sound hopeless? Who
then shall escape? Who will be found acceptable? Listen, there's another book. This is the only hope for man. There is another book that is
opened. This is the book of life. It is the book of life. And only
those whose names are written in that book will escape eternal damnation. Only those. He says in our text
in verse 15, whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire. Only those are written in the
book. Who's written in the book? Who is it? These are the elect. These are
the ones that God had written their names from before the foundation
of the world. You see where the hope of man
is? It is in the eternal election of God. That's where hope is. These are the elect of the Father,
the redeemed of the Son, and the called of the Holy Spirit.
This book is also called the Lamb's Book of Life in Revelation
21-27. It is the Lamb's Book of Life. As I've said, these are not literal
books, but these are to show God's exactness of His holy record,
both of the sins of men and of the names of His saints. You know, when Jesus was here
on earth, the Scripture says He knew who believed not and
who should betray Him. You see, the Son of God loves
His own because He knows who His own are. He knows them because
He wrote it down. These names are written down
before the world began. I think it's in Revelation chapter
17 it says that. That these names were written
before the world began. According to the sovereign, free,
and eternal love of the Father, He has from everlasting chosen
people for Himself. These are His chosen adopted
sons. These are the beloved of the
Father. And they were given to Christ
to be their mediator of a new covenant. These were chosen,
as the Scripture says in Ephesians chapter 1, they were chosen to
be holy. Now what did I say? What did
I tell you before was the requirement, the standard of God's acceptance,
holiness. And yet these who are written
in this book, they were chosen to be holy. They were purposed
to be holy and without blame before Him. Well, man by nature
seeks a covenant of works with God that he can by no means fulfill,
yet even before the world was, God made a covenant with his
elect. A covenant. And listen what's
in this covenant. This covenant is not one of works,
but of free and unmerited favor. This covenant is free and full
of pardon for sin. This covenant is free and full
of redemption. This covenant is full of perfect
righteousness for all those written in the book. Over in Jeremiah chapter 31,
God says, I will make a covenant with them. I will make a covenant,
a new covenant, with the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
not according to the one I made with their fathers, which they
break. But this is a covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my law in
their inward parts and write it in their hearts, and will
be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall
teach no more every man his neighbor or his brother, saying, Know
the Lord, for they shall all know me from the least of them
to the greatest of them. for I will forgive their iniquity
and will remember their sins no more." When God makes a covenant,
it is not a two-sided contract. It is a one-sided Contract God
said I will and you shall that's the covenant the covenant with
these elect these that are written in the book is I will be your
God and they shall be my people I Will forgive them of their
iniquities. I will pardon them of their sins And even at the end of that I
love it God says, you know, I I created the sun and the moon to be lights. And He said, when those things
will not obey Me, then I'll forsake My people. When is that? Never. Never. He will never forsake
them. This is the covenant He made.
This is the promise He made. And when He could swear by none
greater, He put His hand on His own heart and said, I swear by
Myself I'll do it. I swear by Myself. Is that not
assurance enough? When God puts his own name on
the line, he said, I swear by myself, I'll do it. I'll save them. I'll make them
holy. And how did he do it? How could God make sinners who
are actually guilty to be actually innocent? That's what it takes. God is not pretending. He's not
going to pretend these people to be holy. He is actually going
to make them holy. How does He do it? He does it
by sending His Son as a representative. That's how He does it. Jesus
Christ came and took upon Himself the form of a servant and being
found in fashion as a man. He humbled Himself and became
obedient unto the law. Why? Because the law must be
fulfilled. Holiness, righteousness must
be obtained. And we didn't obtain it, He did. He did it for all those that
were written in the book. And not only did He obtain righteousness
for us, He also bore our sins. Remember that God is not pretending
here. God cannot. He cannot. He cannot show mercy at the expense
of His justice. He cannot. If God is going to be merciful,
His justice must be satisfied. In other words, sin must be paid. Hell must be endured. Therefore, the sinless Son of
God took our sins in His own body on the tree and actually
suffered hell for us. And because our sins, he took
our sins. And where did he take his blood?
The scripture says he once appeared in the holy place. Who shall
ascend into the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in the holy
place? The Lord Jesus Christ did with
his own blood. How many times did he offer himself?
Once. And God said, that's enough. That's enough. Justice said,
that's enough. And God raised Him from the dead,
exalted Him to glory where He sits on the throne right now
in holiness and righteousness. Payment. Jesus Christ came into
the world to save sinners out by being made sin for them. That they might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Consider the weight of sin to
all those that he calls. Now then, those that the Father
had written in the book, those that the Son redeemed in the
book, all of them shall be called by the Holy Spirit and be quickened
from the dead. Back in our text in verse 6,
it says, Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection, over which the second death hath no power. The
first resurrection, what is that? That is the resurrection of the
soul. I've never seen this book. Have you? I've never seen my name physically
written down. How can I know if my name is
in that book? Is there any other thing more
important than knowing that? Men are running around trying
to get their names in all kinds of books. Book of Society. They want to be in the who's
who. They want to be in the books of men. I don't care about being
in the books of men. I want to know if my name is
in that book. Because that's the only thing
that really matters. How do you know if your name's
in that book? Have you been born again of the
Spirit? because only those written in
that book are going to be born again. Only those who believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ. Those elect who are written in
that book, every one of them will know themselves to be sinners. I confess that all I am And all I've done
is sin. I confess. Not to you, to God. What good is it if you confess
to me? We're just as worthless as each other. We're just, we're
the same. We're sinners. I confess before
the living God, I have no righteousness of my own. I confess. And all who confess, as soon
as the Son of God is preached, flee to Him. Have you fled to
Him for refuge? Have you forsaken all and found
Him to be all? If you have, you're in that. And when God comes, we who are
in that book have no fear of judgment. Why? Because I am as righteous
as the Son of God. You get that? You who believe
are as righteous as the Son of God. Jeremiah chapter 50 and verse
20. Look at that. I want you to read it. Read it.
Jeremiah chapter 50 and verse 20. When God opens the books, What is he going to see regarding
you who are in Christ? Jeremiah 50 and verse 20. In
those days and in that time, in all the days of our life,
And in that time, even of judgment, saith the Lord, the iniquity
of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be, how many? None. And the sins of Judah,
and they shall not be found. For I will pardon them whom I
Reserve. When those books are opened,
do you know what you'll find under your name? Innocent. Righteous. Holy. Come, you blessed of my Father. Enter into the kingdom. Inherit
the kingdom prepared for you from before the foundation of
the world. When I was hungry, you fed me.
When I was sick and in prison, you visited me. And we say, well,
when have we done those things for you? We did them when he did them. So when he comes and men flee and try to hide
themselves from the wrath of the Lamb, that will not be so with us. What a day of joy for the elect. What a day. perfect rest and peace. To be able to enjoy my God forever. Scripture tells us that no one,
no sin will ever be allowed into God's heaven. Isn't that like, isn't that the
perfect scene for us? I despise my sin. We are afflicted
in this world, aren't we? Aren't we misjudged all the time? Aren't believers misjudged? You bet we are. But then we'll
be judged righteously. And if we're in Christ, John
Bunyan said this, Jesus Christ is my righteousness. And I am just as righteous, no
matter of my ill-deservings or good-deservings, my righteousness
doesn't change. For my righteousness is the same
yesterday, today, and forever. My righteousness is Christ. So
when he comes, We say, even so, come, Lord Jesus. Come and judge
this world. And we are in Him, we'll be found
righteous. May God comfort your soul with this. Give you peace. Let's stand. We'll be dismissed
in prayer.