Troublesome Topic: The Great White Throne

Lesson 18 of 22

Revelation 20:11

Translation

Then I saw a throne,

great and white,

and I saw

the one sitting on it,

from whose face

the earth and

the heavens

fled,

and there was no place found for them.

Paraphrase

Then I saw

authority itself,

immense and pure, and I saw

the one exercising that authority, and His inner qualities that were being revealed to all were so far beyond everything else that the abode of men, and even

the abode of the angels,

could not remain in his presence,

in fact, it was impossible for them to go far enough away to match how much greater His qualities are than theirs.

Revelation 20:12

Translation

And I saw the dead, both great

and small,

standing before the throne, and records were opened, then another specific record was opened, which is the Book of Life, and the

dead were judged from the things written in those records, according to their deeds.

Paraphrase

And I saw the dead, those who had been rich, powerful or famous, as well as those considered insignificant,

ready to hear the verdict from the one with all authority, and various records were opened, then another specific record was opened, which is called

the Book of Life, and the

dead were judged by the things written in those records, according to their deeds.

Revelation 20:13

Translation

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and

death

and hades

gave up the dead who were in them, and each of them

were judged according to their works.

Paraphrase

That which causes death gave up those it had claimed, and death itself gave up those it had taken, and the place where the souls of the unrighteous go after death gave up the dead it had received,

and they were all judged

according to their deeds.

The emphasis of this passage is that everyone will be judged according to what he has done, and God’s judgment will be just and fair because it will be based on the records of one’s actions and also on the Book of Life which, according to the most widely accepted interpretation, will indicate whether or not one has come under the blood of Jesus. Even if we are under the blood, our actions matter and are written down, however, they are not the basis of our salvation; that is based on faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus. In Revelation there is a strong emphasis on those who have suffered persecution or have given their lives as a price for their testimony about Jesus. Such names and events appear to be recorded, kept as proof of one’s faithfulness. Other things may also be written down, but we cannot know.

Will there be a “great white throne judgment,” as described by typical “end times” experts? It appears that there will be a final, conclusive rendering of judgment for each person after death. It also appears that the souls of men are “held” after death for judgment to occur at a future time, rather than immediately after death (see the next verse as an example, but it is also found in other parts of Scripture). These things are consistent with the idea of a final, major-event-type-of-judgment. We also must admit that, down through history, God has been executing judgment on a regular basis on the living, be it on individuals or on nations, or both. No problems arise from saying there will be a day of ultimate judgment, even the Old Testament prophets spoke of “great day of the Lord,” which could mean a number of things, but judgment was often in view. The problem arises when we try to guess any further details surrounding that day of ultimate judgment, such as the sequence of events leading up to it. That is not the purpose of this vision.

The next lesson is: The Seal Of God

Footnotes

1

The white throne is more about quality of judgment than an event of judgment. Indeed, there will come a time when God judges all mankind; it may even be a single event. However, that is not the primary point. The idea being communicated is that God’s judgment is pure, right, and just, communicated by the color white.

2: “The earth and heavens fled”

This is a quasi-symbol: Here it makes most sense to convey heaven as the abode of the angels because it is being contrasted with the abode of men.

3: “According to their works”

There is a simple point being made here, and there is a deeper layer of meaning as well. The primary point is that no one who has lived and died will escape being judged by God for his actions. Absolutely all will be judged. The hints of symbolism in this passage also teach us that only God has the power over life and death. The things which cause death (persecution and martyrdom, represented by the sea), as well as death itself, and even the place to which the dead go after death, are all under God’s ultimate control. These were encouraging words for people facing death on a daily basis because of their faithfulness to Jesus.