What is the Great White Throne Judgment?

[angels4u]

What is the Great White Throne Judgment?

 

The great white throne judgment is described in Revelation 20:11-15 and is the final judgment prior to the lost being cast into the lake of fire. We know from Revelation 20:7-15 that this judgment will take place after the millennium and after Satan is thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are (Revelation 19:19-20; 20:7-10). The books that are opened (Revelation 20:12) contain records of everyone’s deeds, whether they are good or evil, because God knows everything that has ever been said, done, or even thought, and He will reward or punish each one accordingly (Psalm 28:4; 62:12; Romans 2:6; Revelation 2:23; 18:6; 22:12).

Also at this time, another book is opened, called the “book of life” (Revelation 20:12). It is this book that determines whether a person will inherit eternal life with God or receive everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. Although Christians are held accountable for their actions, they are forgiven in Christ and their names were written in the “book of life from the creation of the world” (Revelation 17:8). We also know from Scripture that it is at this judgment when the dead will be “judged according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:12) and that “anyone’s name” that is not “found written in the book of life” will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

The fact that there is going to be a final judgment for all men, both believers and unbelievers, is clearly confirmed in many passages of Scripture. Every person will one day stand before Christ and be judged for his or her deeds. While it is very clear that the great white throne judgment is the final judgment, Christians disagree on how it relates to the other judgments mentioned in the Bible, specifically, who will be judged at the great white throne judgment.

Some Christians believe that the Scriptures reveal three different judgments to come. The first is the judgment of the sheep and the goats or a judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-36). This takes place after the tribulation period but prior to the millennium; its purpose is to determine who will enter the millennial kingdom. The second is a judgment of believers’ works, often referred to as the “judgment seat [bema] of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). At this judgment, Christians will receive degrees of reward for their works or service to God. The third is the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:11-15). This is the judgment of unbelievers in which they are judged according to their works and sentenced to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire.

Other Christians believe that all three of these judgments speak of the same final judgment, not of three separate judgments. In other words, the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 will be the time that believers and unbelievers alike are judged. Those whose names are found in the book of life will be judged for their deeds in order to determine the rewards they will receive or lose. Those whose names are not in the book of life will be judged according to their deeds to determine the degree of punishment they will receive in the lake of fire. Those who hold this view believe that Matthew 25:31-46 is another description of what takes place at the great white throne judgment. They point to the fact that the result of this judgment is the same as what is seen after the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. The sheep (believers) enter into eternal life, while the goats (unbelievers) are cast into “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46).

Whichever view one holds of the great white throne judgment, it is important to never lose sight of the facts concerning the coming judgment(s). First, Jesus Christ will be the judge, all unbelievers will be judged by Christ, and they will be punished according to the works they have done. The Bible is very clear that unbelievers are storing up wrath against themselves (Romans 2:5) and that God will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:6). Believers will also be judged by Christ, but since Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to us and our names are written in the book of life, we will be rewarded, but not punished, according to our deeds. Romans 14:10-12 says that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and that each one of us will give an account to God.https://www.gotquestions.org/great-white-throne-judgment.html

[Diaste]

11 hours ago, angels4u said:

Whichever view one holds of the great white throne judgment, it is important to never lose sight of the facts concerning the coming judgment(s). First, Jesus Christ will be the judge, all unbelievers will be judged by Christ, and they will be punished according to the works they have done. The Bible is very clear that unbelievers are storing up wrath against themselves (Romans 2:5) and that God will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:6). Believers will also be judged by Christ, but since Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to us and our names are written in the book of life, we will be rewarded, but not punished, according to our deeds. Romans 14:10-12 says that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and that each one of us will give an account to God.https://www.gotquestions.org/great-white-throne-judgment.html

I was just contemplating what this would be like at the judgement. A great sea of souls before the throne, each waiting for their turn for the moment of hearing before the King, maybe dozens of angels with open books of recorded deeds in solemn gallery. I was thinking of the time this would take if all souls were to appear singly before one and only one Judge, Jesus Christ. 

I get that there is an eternity of time in which to do this but what a task! One Ultimate Being, billions of souls each with a hearing by the Great Judge. "And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books" Their deeds, good and bad, are in books. They have to be read. What a monumentally long process this would be. How many billions would have to appear for their adjudication? A reasonable estimate might be 100 billion. That's how many people have ever existed from what is known about history, minus about 13 billion believers in Christ from all time[my estimate. could be more or less]. If each appearance before the throne takes 1/2 hour it would take 2.8 million years to finish up. I don't think this is reasonable.

Of course this is all speculation.

More reasonable would be that those who are dead in Christ who rise from the graves at His coming, to meet Him in the clouds of the air, and those alive at His coming who also meet Him in the clouds of the air, are active participants in the judging of the souls after the 1000 years when the 2nd resurrection occurs. We are going judge nations and angels, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6, and as Jesus said in Rev 2. I mean, we aren't the trophy wife whose only responsibility is to look pretty in the latest fashions.  

26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations. 

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels?

We have a great responsibility in ruling and reigning with Jesus. In my mind part of that responsibility is at the GWTJ. 

I'm also of the mind the GWTJ does not automatically condemn souls to the lake of fire. Just because the evil in the heart of man puts on show trials and convicts the innocent on a daily basis is not reason to think the GWTJ is a similar show. If the souls before the GWT are just to be condemned what is the purpose of the long process of reading the deeds? Humiliation? Embarrassment? That's what the evil court system of mankind does. I think that sort of behavior is far from the holy righteousness of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the saints. 

It's my hope the GWTJ is find find even the smallest good deed which Jesus can defend and use as justification for entrance into His, and our, Father's house. If God our Father is not willing that any should perish then I hope in mercy and forgiveness by the merest good deed as in:

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Many think this goat on the left and sheep on the right is a predetermined grouping before the books are opened, read, and judgement rendered. I don't see that written and it would be contradictory to the process of appearing before the GWT for the hearing and subsequent adjudication. And these didn't even know what they did to become justified! Believers alive today know and understand where their righteousness comes from and why it's assured, and that by the indwelling Spirit. These in Matt 25 don't. They say they never even saw the Lord. But they did have love for others. That is enough for Jesus to defend them, confess their name and justify their entrance into eternity. 

Anyway...just my thoughts. 

Peace.

 

 

 

[Selah7]

Rev. 20:11 And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

Read it in Rev. 6:14:  This is the last day of this earth age. "And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places."

Rev. 2o:12 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.

The Great White Throne Judgment happens after the Millennium.  The GWTJ is not talking about resurrection; this is the coming before The Judge! (But God is the judge: He putteth down one, and setteth up another.- Psalm 75:7)

Also, those of the FIRST resurrection are not subject to the judgment of the second resurrection and/or the second death. Read it:  

Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. - Revelation 20:6 (KJV)

Rev. 20:13 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.

(14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

It’s all over!

1 Cor. 15:55 
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Rev. 20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Having our names written in the Book of Life is our VICTORY!

ETERNITY BEGINS!

Selah.
  

[angels4u]

4 hours ago, Diaste said:

I was just contemplating what this would be like at the judgement. A great sea of souls before the throne, each waiting for their turn for the moment of hearing before the King, maybe dozens of angels with open books of recorded deeds in solemn gallery. I was thinking of the time this would take if all souls were to appear singly before one and only one Judge, Jesus Christ. 

I get that there is an eternity of time in which to do this but what a task! One Ultimate Being, billions of souls each with a hearing by the Great Judge. "And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books" Their deeds, good and bad, are in books. They have to be read. What a monumentally long process this would be. How many billions would have to appear for their adjudication? A reasonable estimate might be 100 billion. That's how many people have ever existed from what is known about history, minus about 13 billion believers in Christ from all time[my estimate. could be more or less]. If each appearance before the throne takes 1/2 hour it would take 2.8 million years to finish up. I don't think this is reasonable.

Of course this is all speculation.

More reasonable would be that those who are dead in Christ who rise from the graves at His coming, to meet Him in the clouds of the air, and those alive at His coming who also meet Him in the clouds of the air, are active participants in the judging of the souls after the 1000 years when the 2nd resurrection occurs. We are going judge nations and angels, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6, and as Jesus said in Rev 2. I mean, we aren't the trophy wife whose only responsibility is to look pretty in the latest fashions.  

26And to the one who overcomes and continues in My work until the end, I will give authority over the nations. 

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3Do you not know that we will judge angels?

We have a great responsibility in ruling and reigning with Jesus. In my mind part of that responsibility is at the GWTJ. 

I'm also of the mind the GWTJ does not automatically condemn souls to the lake of fire. Just because the evil in the heart of man puts on show trials and convicts the innocent on a daily basis is not reason to think the GWTJ is a similar show. If the souls before the GWT are just to be condemned what is the purpose of the long process of reading the deeds? Humiliation? Embarrassment? That's what the evil court system of mankind does. I think that sort of behavior is far from the holy righteousness of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the saints. 

It's my hope the GWTJ is find find even the smallest good deed which Jesus can defend and use as justification for entrance into His, and our, Father's house. If God our Father is not willing that any should perish then I hope in mercy and forgiveness by the merest good deed as in:

Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave Me something to drink, I was a stranger and you took Me in, 36I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you looked after Me, I was in prison and you visited Me.’

37Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You something to drink? 38When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? 39When did we see You sick or in prison and visit You?’

40And the King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of Mine, you did for Me.’

Many think this goat on the left and sheep on the right is a predetermined grouping before the books are opened, read, and judgement rendered. I don't see that written and it would be contradictory to the process of appearing before the GWT for the hearing and subsequent adjudication. And these didn't even know what they did to become justified! Believers alive today know and understand where their righteousness comes from and why it's assured, and that by the indwelling Spirit. These in Matt 25 don't. They say they never even saw the Lord. But they did have love for others. That is enough for Jesus to defend them, confess their name and justify their entrance into eternity. 

Anyway...just my thoughts. 

Peace.

 

 

 

Quote

I was just contemplating what this would be like at the judgement. A great sea of souls before the throne, each waiting for their turn for the moment of hearing before the King, maybe dozens of angels with open books of recorded deeds in solemn gallery. I was thinking of the time this would take if all souls were to appear singly before one and only one Judge, Jesus Christ. 

Think of it , I don't think we can even start to believe what a moment in this will be, all those people standing in the Throne room listening to the King and all the angels with the open books of life around it reading everything what written in the books. ( give me goosebumps to think of it)

Quote

A reasonable estimate might be 100 billion. That's how many people have ever existed from what is known about history, minus about 13 billion believers in Christ from all time[my estimate. could be more or less]. If each appearance before the throne takes 1/2 hour it would take 2.8 million years to finish up. I don't think this is reasonable.

It's amazing isn't it to get a glimpse of what it could be at that day, so scary for the ones who rejected Jesus no , they will have no excuse than to just wait for their judgment

Quote

More reasonable would be that those who are dead in Christ who rise from the graves at His coming, to meet Him in the clouds of the air, and those alive at His coming who also meet Him in the clouds of the air, are active participants in the judging of the souls after the 1000 years when the 2nd resurrection occurs. We are going judge nations and angels, as Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6, and as Jesus said in Rev 2. I mean, we aren't the trophy wife whose only responsibility is to look pretty in the latest fashions.

I can see that happening, sounds scriptural

Quote

I'm also of the mind the GWTJ does not automatically condemn souls to the lake of fire. Just because the evil in the heart of man puts on show trials and convicts the innocent on a daily basis is not reason to think the GWTJ is a similar show. If the souls before the GWT are just to be condemned what is the purpose of the long process of reading the deeds? Humiliation? Embarrassment? That's what the evil court system of mankind does. I think that sort of behavior is far from the holy righteousness of God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and the saints.

The Bible says that everybody will be judged accordingly for what they did in their life, what a sad day that will be for the ones who reject Jesus

"WHAT A DAY THEY WILL BE"

This shows us  that we have to be praying in the Spirit for Salvation of our loved ones and all who reject Jesus at all times, if they only realized that that day is coming...

I love your post,it's very thought-provoking

 

 

 

[missmuffet]

18 hours ago, angels4u said:

What is the Great White Throne Judgment?

 

The great white throne judgment is described in Revelation 20:11-15 and is the final judgment prior to the lost being cast into the lake of fire. We know from Revelation 20:7-15 that this judgment will take place after the millennium and after Satan is thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet are (Revelation 19:19-20; 20:7-10). The books that are opened (Revelation 20:12) contain records of everyone’s deeds, whether they are good or evil, because God knows everything that has ever been said, done, or even thought, and He will reward or punish each one accordingly (Psalm 28:4; 62:12; Romans 2:6; Revelation 2:23; 18:6; 22:12).

Also at this time, another book is opened, called the “book of life” (Revelation 20:12). It is this book that determines whether a person will inherit eternal life with God or receive everlasting punishment in the lake of fire. Although Christians are held accountable for their actions, they are forgiven in Christ and their names were written in the “book of life from the creation of the world” (Revelation 17:8). We also know from Scripture that it is at this judgment when the dead will be “judged according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:12) and that “anyone’s name” that is not “found written in the book of life” will be “thrown into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:15).

The fact that there is going to be a final judgment for all men, both believers and unbelievers, is clearly confirmed in many passages of Scripture. Every person will one day stand before Christ and be judged for his or her deeds. While it is very clear that the great white throne judgment is the final judgment, Christians disagree on how it relates to the other judgments mentioned in the Bible, specifically, who will be judged at the great white throne judgment.

Some Christians believe that the Scriptures reveal three different judgments to come. The first is the judgment of the sheep and the goats or a judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:31-36). This takes place after the tribulation period but prior to the millennium; its purpose is to determine who will enter the millennial kingdom. The second is a judgment of believers’ works, often referred to as the “judgment seat [bema] of Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:10). At this judgment, Christians will receive degrees of reward for their works or service to God. The third is the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennium (Revelation 20:11-15). This is the judgment of unbelievers in which they are judged according to their works and sentenced to everlasting punishment in the lake of fire.

Other Christians believe that all three of these judgments speak of the same final judgment, not of three separate judgments. In other words, the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15 will be the time that believers and unbelievers alike are judged. Those whose names are found in the book of life will be judged for their deeds in order to determine the rewards they will receive or lose. Those whose names are not in the book of life will be judged according to their deeds to determine the degree of punishment they will receive in the lake of fire. Those who hold this view believe that Matthew 25:31-46 is another description of what takes place at the great white throne judgment. They point to the fact that the result of this judgment is the same as what is seen after the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20:11-15. The sheep (believers) enter into eternal life, while the goats (unbelievers) are cast into “eternal punishment” (Matthew 25:46).

Whichever view one holds of the great white throne judgment, it is important to never lose sight of the facts concerning the coming judgment(s). First, Jesus Christ will be the judge, all unbelievers will be judged by Christ, and they will be punished according to the works they have done. The Bible is very clear that unbelievers are storing up wrath against themselves (Romans 2:5) and that God will “give to each person according to what he has done” (Romans 2:6). Believers will also be judged by Christ, but since Christ’s righteousness has been imputed to us and our names are written in the book of life, we will be rewarded, but not punished, according to our deeds. Romans 14:10-12 says that we will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and that each one of us will give an account to God.https://www.gotquestions.org/great-white-throne-judgment.html

Very sad for them. But those who are not believers do not seem to care. They don't believe this will happen to them. 

[angels4u]

2 minutes ago, missmuffet said:

Very sad for them. But those who are not believers do not seem to care. They don't believe this will happen to them. 

That's the sad part, knowing they will be in that room to be judged, makes me want to pray more for unbelievers,they have no clue...

[missmuffet]

1 minute ago, angels4u said:

That's the sad part, knowing they will be in that room to be judged, makes me want to pray more for unbelievers,they have no clue...

They will know what has happened to them when the day of the Great White Throne happens. That will be the sad part. 

[angels4u]

1 minute ago, missmuffet said:

They will know what has happened to them when the day of the Great White Throne happens. That will be the sad part. 

Very very sad as we all know so many loved ones and all the people who have no clue ...

[missmuffet]

9 minutes ago, angels4u said:

Very very sad as we all know so many loved ones and all the people who have no clue ...

When I hear of someone I know that has died and I am not sure if they are saved I always think of this.

[angels4u]

3 hours ago, missmuffet said:

When I hear of someone I know that has died and I am not sure if they are saved I always think of this.

I prayed while I was shopping this afternoon for people ,also I always pray when I hear an ambulance..