Revelation 20
VERSE 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. 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.
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. 15. And whosoever was
not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
(Excerpt taken from
Daniel and Revelation by Uriah Smith 1897-1911 Editions)
With verse 11, John
introduces another scene to take place in connection with the final doom of the
ungodly. It is the great white throne of judgment, before which they are
assembled to receive their awful sentence of condemnation and death. Before
this throne the heavens and the earth flee away, so that no place is found for
them. A moment's reflection on the changes which must then take place in the
earth will bring out the great force of this language. The scene is that of
Peter's
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(picture omitted)
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day, which is the "perdition of ungodly men," and in which even the
"elements" melt with fervent heat. 2 Peter 3:7-13.
2Pe 3:7 But the heavens and the earth, which are now,
by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of
judgment and perdition of ungodly men.
2Pe 3:8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one
thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years
as one day.
2Pe 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise,
as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
2Pe 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief
in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and
the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that
are therein shall be burned up.
2Pe 3:11 Seeing then that all these things shall be
dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and
godliness,
2Pe 3:12 Looking for and hasting unto the coming of
the day of God, wherein the heavens being on fire shall be dissolved, and the
elements shall melt with fervent heat?
2Pe 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise,
look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.
The city is then
located upon the earth, the foundations of course extending under its whole
area, so that it will not be affected by any changes that may take place, or
any conditions which may exist, in the earth beneath it. Fire comes down from
God out of heaven.
First, the works
that are in the world are burned up; and by the poisonous gases evolved, and
the flames, the wicked are destroyed; this is the fire of Gehenna, which
contains all the elements necessary to consume utterly every mortal being that
comes under its power (Mark 9:43-48)
Mar 9:43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it
is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into
hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched.
Mar 9:45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it
is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast
into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Mar 9:46 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched.
Mar 9:47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out:
it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than
having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Mar 9:48 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is
not quenched.
; and then will be
fulfilled Isa. 66:24: "And they [the righteous] shall go forth, and look
upon the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm
shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring
unto all flesh."
Secondly, the heat
is raised till all the material of which, this globe is composed, is fused like
the ores in a smelter's furnace, and the whole earth becomes a fluid, fiery,
molten mass. Upon this the city floats, as the ark of Noah floated upon the waters
of the flood. Then will be fulfilled Isa. 33:14: "Who among us shall dwell
with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting
burnings?" The answer, in the following verses, shows it to be the
righteous, and this must be the time when it will be fulfilled.
Thirdly, there is
one stage more to be reached. It is well known that with a sufficient degree of
heat, any substance on this earth can be reduced to the condition of gas, and
thus become invisible. So will it be then with this whole earth. The heat being
raised to a sufficient degree of intensity, would not the whole earth be
converted into gas, and become invisible, and thus appear most literally to
flee away, so that no place is found for it? The city would then seem to be, as
virtually it would be, suspended in mid-heaven.
But the elements are
not destroyed. They are only, by that process, purged from the last and
minutest taint of sin, and every token of the curse. The almighty fiat again
goes
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"Behold, I make all things new. ... It is done" (Rev. 21:5, 6), and
the particles combine again to compose a new world; and there, beneath the
wondering and admiring gaze of all the redeemed and the angelic host, the work
of creation is gone through with again.
At the first
creation, tho morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for
joy. Job 38:7. At this new creation, that song and shout will be augmented by
the glad voices of the redeemed. So will this earth, wrenched for a time, by
sin, from its intended orbit of joy and peace, be brought back, renewed, into
harmony with a loyal universe, to be the everlasting home of the saved.
The Books of Record.
- Men are judged out of the things written in the books, from which we learn
the solemn fact that a record of all our deeds is kept on high. A faithful and
unerring record is made by the angelic secretaries. The wicked cannot conceal
from them any of their deeds of darkness. They cannot bribe them to pass over
in their record any of their unlawful acts. They must meet them all again, and
be judged accordingly.
The Execution of the
Sentence. - The wicked are to be punished according to their works. The
Scriptures declare that they shall be rewarded according to their deeds. There
are, then, to be degrees in the punishment of the wicked; and it may be asked
how this can be harmonized with the view that death is the punishment for sin,
and comes upon all alike. Let us ask believers in eternal misery how they will
maintain degrees in their system. They tell us the intensity of the pain
endured will be in each case proportioned to the guilt of the sufferer. But how
can this be? Are not the flames of hell equally severe in all parts? and will
they not equally affect all the immaterial souls cast therein? But God can
interpose, it is answered, to produce the effect desired. Very well, then, we
reply, cannot he also interpose, if necessary, and graduate the pain which will
attend the infliction of death upon the sinner as the climax of his penalty?
So, then, our view is equal with the common one in this respect, while it
possesses great advantages over it in another; for while that has to find its
degrees
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punishment in intensity of pain alone, the duration in all cases being the
same, this may not only have degrees in pain, but in duration also; inasmuch as
some may perish in a short space of time, and the weary sufferings of others be
long drawn out. But yet we apprehend that the bodily suffering will be but an
unnoticed trifle compared with the mental agony, that keen anguish which will
rack their souls as they get a view of their incomparable loss, each according
to his capacity of appreciation. The youth who had but little more than reached
the years of accountability, being less able to comprehend his situation and
his loss, will of course feel it less; to him of older years, more capacity,
and consequently a deeper experience in sin, the burden of his fate will be
proportionately greater; while the man of giant intellect and almost boundless
comprehension, - who hence possessed greater influence for evil, and so was the
more guilty for devoting his powers to the service of that evil, - being able
to understand his situation fully, comprehend his fate, and realize his loss,
will feel it most keenly of all. Into his soul the iron will indeed enter most
intolerably deep. And thus, by an established law of mind, the sufferings of
each may be most accurately adjusted to the magnitude of his guilt.
That the degree of
suffering which each one is to endure is taken into the account as a part of
the punishment of his crimes, is evident from Rom. 2:6-10. Paul, here speaking
of the future "judgment of God," says: -
"Who will
render to every man according to his deeds: to them who by patient continuance
in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality [he will render],
eternal life; but unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth,
but obey unrighteousness [he will render], indignation and wrath, tribulation
and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also
of the Gentile."
The Book of Life. -
Why, it may be asked, is the book of life brought forth on this occasion, when
all who have part in the second resurrection, beyond which this scene is
located, are already forejudged to the second death? At least one apparent
reason is, that it may be seen that none of the names of all
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multitude who die the second death are in the book of life, and why they are
not there; and if the names have ever been there, why they were not retained;
that all the intelligences of the universe may see that God acts with strict
justice and impartiality.
"And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death." This is
the final epitaph of all the forces that have risen up, from first to last, to
oppose the will and work of the Lord Almighty. Satan originated and led out in
this nefarious work. A portion of heaven's angels joined him in his false
position and murderous work; and for him and them the everlasting fire was
prepared. Matt. 25:41.
Men become involved
therein only because they join him in his rebellion. But here the controversy
closes. The fire is to them everlasting because it allows of no escape. The
second death is their punishment, and it is "everlasting punishment "
(Matt. 25:46) because they never find release from its dread embrace. "The
wages of sin is death."
"And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
Reader, is your name written in the book of life? Are you striving to avert in
your own case the fearful doom that awaits the ungodly? Rest not till you have
reason to believe that your name is registered in the list of those who are to
share at last in the blessings of eternal life.
*******
For the last few
days we've been talking about the end and our part in that end. Too many do not
want to contemplate their end. We call it morbid, senseless, and yet our Savior
would have us contemplate our end. Our Savior wants us to know about what awaits
us. Our Savior would have us know our choices-
heaven or the lake of fire. He
does not want us ignorant concerning our end.
Trusting in our Savior to do just that- be our Savior, living in that
trust, that faith that He will do all that He says He will do, this will lead
us to life everlasting, to heaven eternally. If we do not choose to have faith,
to believe in our Savior we will not be saved. We condemn ourselves. And what
we are condemning ourselves to is a very painful, eternal end.
Reread the above. Is
all of it true, the interpretations? I don't know, not 100 percent. I do know
that the truth is here, the truth in God's word. The details may be skewed but the truth is
revealed nonetheless.
Life and death.
While we may all
(but the very elect) face the first death, we will not all face the second,
permanent death.
Truth. God's word -
truth.
By His grace may we
comprehend ALL we need so that we may be found in our Savior's grace, saved by
Him, completely and utterly saved by Jesus Christ alone!
In His love now and
forever.
Amen.
