The Great White Throne Judgment

efore we get the New Heaven and New Earth, there is one more big event that must take place – the Great White Throne Judgment.

In my last article, “Satan is Let Loose One More Time,” you saw that Satan will end up in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone forever and ever – never to bother, harm, or tempt humans ever again! Now what happens to the rest of unsaved humanity?

They will all come before the Lord in what is called the Great White Throne Judgment. This event has to be the most disturbing and bothersome event in all of Scripture.

Before this event happens, the Bible tells us that all of the unsaved people are kept in a place called Hades (Hell) until the Millennium Kingdom is over. Hades (Hell) is a temporary place of torment that these souls are kept in until they have to appear before God in this final judgment, which will then determine their eternal fate once and for all.

The New King James Version calls this place Hades. However, the Original King James Version calls this place Hell. Either way, Hell or Hades is a temporary place of torment where all unbelievers go to before this final judgment comes to pass.

Here is the verse that will give us the details on what will be happening to all of the unsaved in this final judgment.

“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.

The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11-14)

Remarks

1.  The above verse refers to a second death. The first death is when all the unsaved are thrown into Hades (Hell) after they physically die and then they are kept there until the Millennium Kingdom is over. The second death refers to when the unsaved are then cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where they will then remain for all of eternity.

Notice that the above verse definitely establishes that these unsaved people are kept in Hades until this judgment comes forth. The verse says that “Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.”

2.  After this final judgment is pronounced, not only are the unsaved cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone, but Hades (Hell) itself is also cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. This would thus be a merger of Hades and the Lake of Fire and Brimstone.

Not only is God going to merge His heaven with our earth when we get the new heaven and new earth, but God is also going to merge Hades (Hell) with the Lake of Fire and Brimstone when everything all is said and done. This will be God’s final and ultimate end for the saved and the unsaved.

The Bible does not give us the specific details of the nature of the torment they will be undergoing once they are thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone for all of eternity. And God may never tell any of us, even when we get into the New Heaven and New Earth. It may be something that He may never really want us to know about and we may be better off not knowing the full details. However, just the thought that a certain percentage of humanity will not make it into the New Heaven and New Earth, and will have to spend the rest of their eternal lives in this horrible place of torment just blows the human mind!

Some people ask how could a loving and merciful God create such a horrible place of torment for people to end up in if they choose for whatever reason not to accept Him. I believe there is only one answer to this question.

I believe God has everything set up on a “all or nothing” principle. There is only maximum life or maximum death. If you choose God and Jesus, then you will end up with maximum life in the New Heaven and New Earth.

If you do not choose God and Jesus, then you will end up with maximum death – which will be the Lake of Fire and Brimstone. There are no middle or neutral grounds! It’s all or nothing. It’s either God or the Devil, heaven or hell, or maximum life or maximum death. It’s really all black and white.

God the Father is a God of maximum intensity. He is not playing games. There is only one God and one Savior – Jesus Christ! There is only one way to live this life – and that is to choose Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior and then follow all of God’s ways and commandments as best you can.

Here is the Scripture verse that perfectly spells all of this out for us:

“… I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days …” (Deuteronomy 30:19)

I do not think God could make things any more clear than by the way He has worded this specific verse. This verse is about as black and white as you can possibly get.

You will notice that God says absolutely nothing about any type of middle or neutral areas. However, the actual choice is up to each person. God will not force Himself or His ways on anyone. Each person has to freely choose God and His ways with their own free wills. If they do not, for whatever reason, the final consequence will be maximum death in the most horrible place imaginable.

The other thing to try and understand why God would create such a horrible place of torment is to just look at some of the people who commit pure evil in this life – the serial killers, the rapists, the murderers, and the leaders of nations who enslave and torture their own people. Just look at the nature of Satan himself and all of the horrors and evil he has caused throughout the history of our world. Some of these fallen angels and evil human beings really deserve nothing less than maximum death, which really does line up with their evil natures and personalities.

The real sad part about all of this is why a certain percentage of the angelic and human race have chosen with their own free wills to live their lives on the dark side, and to allow themselves to deteriorate to the lower levels of the dark side where they themselves have now become nothing pure evil, giving God no other alternative but to throw them into this lake of fire for the rest of their eternal lives.

None of these angels and humans were born or created pure evil. They all became pure evil over the course of their lives and they freely chose to do so with their own free wills. To fully understand why these humans and fallen angels have chosen to live this life on the dark side, when they also had every chance to choose God and all of His righteous and holy ways will probably always remain a mystery.

But for those of you who have chosen Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, and have chosen to follow God and all of His holy ways, you will not have to go through the Great White Throne Judgment. Your final reward is going to be maximum life – and this reward is going to be the New Heaven and the New Earth. I will discuss what the Bible has to say about this new paradise in the next article.

-Mike

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Comments

3 Responses to “Great White Throne Judgement”

1. Dr MZ Zakhary says:

   February 2, 2012 at 1:16 am

   I disagree when you say “…you will not have to go through the Great White Throne Judgment.” Everybody will be go through the Great White Throne Judgment and not only evil doers. Judgment doesn’t necessarily mean punishment only! It can also mean rewards…
   Have a nice day and keep up the good work!
2. Jonathan says:

   February 5, 2012 at 5:56 am

   *”Gehenna” (most of the times translated to Hell in KJV) was used by The Lord Jesus Christ 11 times, never by Apostle Paul, and once by James (the Lord’s brother). This is one of the few words of Hebrew origin used in the writing of the New Testament. It was an actual, physical, geographic place which those in Jerusalem and surrounding areas were well aware of.

   This was originally the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem, where the filth and dead animals of the city were cast out and burned up.

   *”Hades” is a translation from the Greek word “Sheol” wich only means… “place of the dead” or “buryplace” not nessecarily Hell itself. Jonah called out from Sheol when in the stomach of the Whale. And yet the KJV says hes calling out from “Hell”, but he never died?

   Did you now what the people of Britain in the age in and around the time the KJV was written (1611) called the place where the potatoes were growing in the garden? The word everybody used was “hell”. It only meant underground.. buryplace.. only later did Dante Alleghieris vision of “Hades” sneak into the bible doctrine teached by the church fathers.

   Did you also know that Sodom and Gomorra burned “for ever” with an “unquenchable fire” (wich only means that the flames will not go out until everything in its way is burnt up) according to the Scriptures? Yet we cant see that place burning today can we? And also in Deuteronomy 15:17 KJV, it says;

   Then thou shalt take an aul, and thrust it through his ear unto the door, and he shall be thy servant for ever. And also unto thy maidservant thou shalt do likewise.

   Can they still be slaves in heaven? Or can for ever mean somthing else than a infinite time period? It sure can. It literally means “for ages” directly translated from the Greek texts. That can also be until someone dies or a city is burned down, dont you agree?

   I recommend these Bible studies, they really shine light on the true nature of God in the ways he judges us humans, everything is taken from the Bible and the Greek/Hebrew texts:

   Is Hell For Eternity?
   http://www.remnantofgod.org/hellfire.htm

   THE BIBLICAL TRUTH ABOUT HELL
   http://biblelight.net/hell.htm

   Biblically dispelling the myth of eternal torture
   http://www.hell-know.net/
3. CTR says:

   March 3, 2012 at 12:02 pm

   In reply to Dr. Zakhary,
   You are right about all of us being judged and some receiving rewards. However, the rewards judgement is called the “Bema seat of Judgement” or the “Judgment Seat of Christ” and in biblical times it has happened at the rapture of the church which was before the second coming of Christ.At the marriage supper of the Lamb Rev.19:7-10 Therefore, because the rewards have been given and the righteous have been judged. That was the 1st resurrection Rev. 20:6 The dead in Christ, those in Hades and Unsaved, will be judged at the Great White Throne Judgement Rev. 20:5. After the millenium. And then comes the New Jerusalem(Zion) in which no unclean thing could enter Revelation 21:27 But, now in ending my commend the most important time is now….

   “But as many as received him,to them gave he power to become the sons of God,even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12

   The Lord’s invitation Luke 14:16-24

   Sincerely,
   CTR