Greg Laurie - The Final Judgment of Mankind (09/16/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie teaches on the final judgment of mankind from Revelation 20 and Luke 16 in this sobering message titled "The Final Judgment of Mankind." He describes the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers, the reality of the second death in the lake of fire, and contrasts it with the hope believers have in Christ. The sermon urges everyone to respond to Jesus now for forgiveness and eternal life in heaven rather than face eternal separation from God.
Christmas Season and Upcoming Events
Good evening. It's beginning to sound and feel a little bit like Christmas right now, isn't it? And aren't you glad you're in church instead of a mall? Yeah, I am too. All right. Let's pray together. Father, we're glad to be here in your house, worshiping your name, ready to open up your word. Because it's alive, it's powerful, and it tells our future. It tells us how to live. And most of all, it tells us how to know you. So we pray for your blessing on this Bible study. I would pray for anyone that has joined us here tonight, that may not yet know you, people that are maybe watching right now online. Help them to hear your word with their heart. And help them to respond if they need to, to Jesus Christ. We commit this time of Bible study to you now, in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right, you can all be seated. I want you to grab your Bibles and turn to two passages tonight. Revelation chapter 20 and also Luke chapter 16. Revelation 20 and Luke 16.
Exciting Christmas Services Ahead
I want to just reiterate what Pastor Mike said a few moments ago. Next Thursday is going to be great. We're in the full Christmas groove now. And the Katinas will be here. And these guys are amazing. How many of you have heard the Katinas? How many of you have not heard the Katinas? You've never, you know what I'm talking about. What are Katinas? Okay. There are a bunch of brothers from Samoa. It's not Samoa. It's Samoa. That's the way you say it. They've told me that. And these guys sing so amazingly. You know, the vocals among brothers can be so good. And these guys are incredible. They love the Lord. They're going to do a bunch of Christmas music for us. So this is going to be a very special night. And our message is going to be from Revelation again. And the title of it is The Best is Yet to Come. Excuse me. Wrong title. Heaven on Earth. Still a good title, right? Heaven on Earth. Then the last one will be The Best is Yet to Come. But that is next Thursday.
Special Guest Interview Announcement
But let me say something about the following Thursday. Johnny Erickson Tada. Okay. This lady, she's a living legend. I don't use that phrase of many people. But Joni's a legend. And if you don't know who she is, this is a lady who has spent most of her life in a wheelchair. But she has taken this disability and turned it into an ability to glorify God in an unprecedented way. She's special. She's insightful. She's wonderful. I really admire her a great deal. So it's going to be my great honor to interview her. You will not want to miss this. Trust me. Because if you miss it, you're just going to hear people saying, you should have been there. So just be here. That's not this coming Thursday. But the following Thursday, it's going to be incredible.
Also this coming Sunday, we're back in our World Changers series. And we're talking about Joseph. We did part one this Sunday, part two of Joseph. One more part after that. And the title is The Temptation of a World Changer. Now how many of you have ever been tempted to sin? Raise your hand. Okay. You'll want to be here for this. Because you're going to learn how to resist temptation. Temptation can be resisted. And Joseph certainly shows that. So that will be this coming Sunday.
The Final Judgment of Mankind
But the title of our message tonight from Revelation is The Final Judgment of Mankind. By the way, I've been traveling a lot of late. I'm not going anywhere for quite a long time. So you're going to be so sick of me. You're going to say, travel again. Okay. So I just wanted to say that. The final judgment of mankind.
I heard about a Bible study group that was meeting together. And the Bible study leader asked a provocative question. He said, let me ask you guys a question. What if you only had four weeks to live, and then death would come, and you would face the great white throne judgment, what would you do in the last four weeks of your life? That's a good question, isn't it?
So one guy said, well, I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd go out and share the gospel with everyone I know. In fact, I would share the gospel with everyone I came into contact with. I'd do that four weeks solid. Because that is such a short period of time. I'd want to reach as many as I could. And the guy in the Bible said, great answer.
And then a lady said, well, I'll tell you what I'd do. I'd spend more time with my family. I would spend more time reading the Word of God. I'd spend more time in church serving the Lord. He said, again, a great answer. Really good answer.
And then one guy says, well, I'll tell you what I'd do if I had four weeks before the judgment. And the leader said, what? He says, I'd go stay at my mother-in-law's house. And he said, what? Why would you go stay at your mother-in-law's house? He said, because that would be the longest four weeks of my life. See? Sorry, mothers-in-law. But okay, so that's what I want to talk about tonight. Mothers-in-law. No, I want to talk about this great white throne judgment.
Great White Throne vs. Judgment Seat of Christ
That is different than the judgment seat of Christ that Christians will stand before that we talked about last time. The great white throne judgment is for non-believers only. But before we dig into this, let's sort of pick up where we last left off.
As we come to Revelation 20, here we find Satan bound up for a thousand years. This is a period of time called the millennium. The word millennium means a thousand. But amazingly, not everyone appreciates the perfect rule of Christ. Because mankind in one final rebellion turns against God and follows Satan after he has sprung from the pit. And it's almost incomprehensible how evil man can still be.
But sort of to set the scene, remember we were looking at the return of Christ, the second coming, which is different than the rapture, right? The rapture is when he comes for his church and we're caught up in the air to meet the Lord in the air. And by the way, I believe that's the next event on the prophetic calendar. The second coming happens approximately seven years later at the conclusion of the tribulation period when Christ returns during the battle of Armageddon and establishes the millennial reign, which is what we are looking at. And we're ruling and reigning with Christ.
What the Millennial Reign Will Be Like
Now, who are we ruling and reigning over? We're ruling and reigning over survivors of the tribulation. So what will this new world be like in the millennial reign of Christ? Well, just to review, number one, if you're taking notes, there will be world peace for the first time ever. There'll be world peace. No more war, no more terrorism, no more conflict. Isaiah 2:4 says, the Lord will settle international disputes. All the nations will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. All wars will stop and military training will come to an end.
Number two, there will be joy and happiness and no disabilities. Think of all the people who've had to struggle in life with a disability. There'll be none of that in the millennial reign. No more wheelchairs, no more blindness, no more crutches. Hey, you won't even need glasses. You won't even need contact lenses. No more hairpieces. Okay, so we don't want those at all. Isaiah 35:5 says, when he comes, he'll open the eyes of the blind, unstop the ears of the deaf. The lame will leap like a deer and those who cannot speak will shout and sing.
Number three, people will live really long lives. Now, this isn't talking about us because check this out. When we go to heaven in the rapture, that is when the resurrection happens. The resurrection of the body. See, when a Christian dies, your soul goes to heaven and your body goes into the earth. But there's a resurrection of the body. That happens at the rapture. So if you get caught up to meet the Lord in the rapture and you don't die, that's super cool because you don't have to face death. But for those who have died and have gone to heaven before us, that's when they get the resurrection body. This new body, this glorified body, the perfect version of us, is what we're now living in. So we live forever in this new body.
But the folks that are coming through now, the millennial reign, they will live longer lives as well. Sort of reminiscent of the old days biblically when people would live long lives. You know, most people don't live much past 90 these days, but some make it further. I read about the oldest woman alive. Her name is Emma Morano. Just read about her this week. She's 117 years old. Wow. She credits her long life to her diet. She says, this is what she says, every day she eats two raw eggs. Wow. Not cooked, raw eggs and cookies. But she adds, I don't eat that much because I have no teeth. So that's one of the downsides of being 117, I guess. Okay.
So here's one woman, because we all want to know, how do you live a longer life? According to this lady, you eat raw eggs and occasional cookies. All right. Now another person who hasn't lived quite as long, but still pretty long, a woman as well, 116, she gave the credit to eating bacon every day. I like this woman. I'd far rather hang out with her than the raw eggs lady. Okay. This lady has a steady diet of bacon, eggs, and grits every day for breakfast.
Now there's a much, much younger man. He's only 110 years old. And he said his secret to longevity was eating garlic, honey, cinnamon, and olive oil. Boy, I hope not all at the same time. That's kind of a bad idea. But he never eats red meat. And he says his father told him, never eat hot dogs. But then I read about another person that made it past a hundred. And he said his secret is eating hot dogs every day. So go figure.
Notice none of these people eat kale. No kale. Can we just do away with kale once and for all now? No tofu. None of the ultra healthy stuff. And so I'm going to start my own diet. I've decided I'm going to basically just eat eggs and bacon and hot dogs every day. That's my new diet. So the life expectancies will be extended during the millennial reign.
Peace in Creation and Holiness Prevailing
Also the animal kingdom will be subdued. We all have heard that passage in Isaiah 11 where the wolf will romp with the lamb and the leopard will sleep with the kid and the calf and the lion will eat from the same trough and a little child will lead them. So the animal kingdom is subdued. And I'm looking forward to that because I've always loved animals of all kinds. And I just think it would be so cool to pet a lion, you know?
Have you ever seen a lion in real life? I was in Africa years ago. I went in this little safari for a day. And we went and saw lions in their natural habitat just right out there, living just out in the open plains. And they were incredible because we pulled up right next to them in a truck. And the man who was guiding us said, here's a pride of lions. And they looked very happy. And they looked like you could go and pet them, honestly. And there was one guy on our little tour. He was really inebriated. I don't know how he got so drunk this early. He wanted to go pet the lions. Literally, he said, I want to pet the lions. And the tour guide saying, sir, no, no, do not leave the truck. They'll kill you. I want to pet the lions. I thought, let them go. You know, if the lions ate this guy, they would be drunk for a week. I can say that. Unfortunately, he didn't get out of the truck. But you see how amazing it would be, you know, to go hang out with these normally ferocious beasts. We'll be able to do that during the millennial reign.
There'll be universal justice and righteousness. No more corrupt lawyers. No more injustice. No more frivolous lawsuits. Psalm 72:2 says, he'll judge his people in righteousness and the afflicted ones with judgment. He'll defend the afflicted among the people and save the children of the needy.
Also, the curse that came upon the world because of sin will be lifted. We face the curse today. The reason we age is because of the curse. The reason we have illness is because of the curse. The reason we die is because of the curse. And it has affected creation as well. But Romans 8:19 says, all creation is waiting eagerly for the future day when God will reveal who his children really are. And everything on earth was subjected to God's curse. All creation anticipates the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.
And best of all, the holiness of the Lord will prevail across the planet. Right now, the opposite is the case. Unholiness prevails. Wrong is celebrated. Right is laughed at. That'll all change in the glorious millennium. And Isaiah 35:8 says, a main road will go through the once deserted land. It will be called the highway of holiness. And evil people will never go on it. I love that, the highway of holiness. That's way cooler than the 91 or the 405, right? How do you get there? Just get on the highway of holiness. Yeah. I want to drive on that road for sure.
Satan's Final Release and Rebellion
So this is the millennium. But there's trouble in paradise. Look at Revelation 20:7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan will be loosed out of his prison. And he'll go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle. The number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about and the beloved city.
Listen to this reaction from heaven. So here's mankind with a final war. Armageddon's already happened. They've had the millennial reign of Christ. Just amazing environment. But they have one more battle. God's like, I'm done with this. Fire came down from heaven and devoured them. The Lord's just saying, okay, the party's over, guys. Enough of this.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.
So why is Satan released? And who is he deceiving? I mean, okay, God throws him into a pit for a thousand years. He can't roam about as he normally does, wrecking havoc. Why does God let him out of the pit? Why doesn't the Lord just leave him there? And who is he deceiving?
Well, the who are the descendants of the original survivors of the tribulation period who still have sinful natures and they respond quickly to Satan's enticements. You know, a lot of times we like to say, the devil made me do it. But we play a part when we fall into temptation. And the reason for that is we have a wicked heart. Do you know that? Your heart is dark. You may come off very virtuous on the outside, but you know the kind of thoughts that go through your mind. You know the impulses of your heart. We're all that way. The Bible even tells us that the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things. Who can know it?
I mean, here is a man who has been in a perfect environment. And instead of seeing it as a fortress, he sees it like a cage and he wants to break out again. Chuck Swindoll in his commentary on Revelation writes these words, and I quote, Satan's brief release and the humanity's futile rebellion proved two things. The total incorrigibility of Satan and the total depravity of humanity. In other words, Satan's never going to change and the heart of man will never change unless God changes it.
And so here is man rebelling again against the Lord. And we wonder, how could this happen? Well, it's happened before. Actually, the first rebellion against God was not on earth. It was in heaven. I think a lot of times we think the first sin that was committed was in the Garden of Eden. But that's not true. The first sin that was committed was committed in heaven by Lucifer, a once high-ranking angel who rebelled against God. And according to Isaiah 14, he said, I will be like God. I'll be like the Most High. And he rebelled against the Lord and led one-third of the angels with him in that rebellion. And those fallen angels are what we now call demons.
But how could you be in heaven and rebel against God? Well, that's what Satan did. Another example, of course, is Adam and Eve. Again, in a perfect environment. Absolute paradise. Adam had conversations with God every day. But you all know he ate of the forbidden fruit.
And we see this in our lives as well. You know, maybe a kid is raised in a Christian home and they're taught about the Lord from their childhood. But yet they go out and rebel. We have a free will. And certainly the devil has not reformed during his time in the pit. Time incarcerated has not changed the devil at all. Like the hardened criminal who spent several years in prison, or maybe decades in prison, and is then released. And he goes on to commit more terrible crimes. The devil effectively picks up where he last left off. He can't wait to get out of that pit and do what he does best, raise hell.
So God is saying, so Satan, are you down with hell? The devil is saying, yeah, I'm down with hell. Then you're going down to hell.
Satan's Eternal Judgment
So this is the final judgment. There's no more time for Satan to do his thing. He's going to face a certain judgment. Verse 10, the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast, that would be the Antichrist, and the false prophet, that would be the religious leader who works with the Antichrist, are sent, and they'll be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Now, that brings us to the great white throne judgment. The Bible teaches that there are actually two deaths that everyone will face. There's spiritual death, and there's physical death. But Jesus warned that we should fear this second death more than the first death. Revelation 20:14, death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
We read about that again in Revelation 21, when it says, cowards who turn away from God and unbelievers and the corrupt and the murderers and the immoral, and those who practice witchcraft and idol worshipers and all liars, are cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
So you're asking, okay, I don't get this. What do you mean second death? Okay, you die physically, right? That's the first death. But then there's the second death. That's spiritual death. This is the worst kind of death because this is eternal separation from God. Jesus indicated the death of your body is nothing compared to the conscious everlasting banishment of a soul from God.
One commentator wrote, and I quote, the second death is the continuance of spiritual death in another and timeless existence. End quote. Even another wrote, quote, eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset. Eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise. Isn't that well said? Let me repeat that again. Eternity to the godly is a day that has no sunset. Eternity to the wicked is a night that has no sunrise.
Now some would say, well, you know what? I don't believe in hellfire. Well, listen. Five minutes after you pass over, if you're not a believer, trust me, you'll believe in it.
The Great White Throne Judgment Described
And here's what the Bible says. Revelation 20:11. Let's read. 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. By the way, are we having fun yet? Is this fun? No, it's not fun. Okay, but this is truth, right? So everything is in fun and games. Everything is in jokes. And, you know, there's a time for that, but then we've got to get serious and see what the Bible says about the afterlife. So we have to look at this, because in doing so, we're discovering the whole counsel of God. Just wanted to throw that in there.
Verse 12. 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 that were written in the books. You might underline the phrase, in the books, plural.
The sea gave up the dead that were in it. Death and Hades delivered up the dead that were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
There's different books here. There are books that are open, and then there's the book, with a capital B, the book of life. This is a ominous scene. One of the most serious, sobering, and tragic passages in all of Scripture.
In Dante's famous poem, that is called Inferno, are these words written over the entrance of hell. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here. Scary.
There's a great white throne. Now why is it called a great white throne? Well, the white throne is called great because it's awesome and powerful, and God sits there. It's called white because it's pure. The verdicts proceeding from it are righteous.
There's no debate at the great white throne over guilt or innocence. There'll be a prosecutor, but there will not be a defender. There'll be an accuser, but there will not be an advocate. There will be an indictment, but there will not be a defense mounted by the accused. The convicting evidence will be presented with no rebuttal or cross-examination. There is no jury, just a judge. And it's a holy judgment emanating from that judge who is God.
What Happens After Death: Believers and Unbelievers
Okay, so let's just step aside from this for a moment and answer a question. What happens to a Christian when they die? They go to heaven. What happens to a non-believer when they die? Well, they go to Hades. Now, I use that word intentionally. Sometimes we interchange the word hell with it. But let's understand what this means. And that's why I had you turn to Luke 16. You don't have to go there if you don't want to, but you can if you'd like. And I'm going to point out a couple of verses there.
But the reason I had you turn to Luke 16 is because it's a behind-the-scenes look at what happens beyond the grave. I think we all love behind-the-scenes things. You know, like if you watch a DVD of your favorite film, and they have the extras on the Blu-ray, maybe. And so you go and watch, you know, behind-the-scenes things, or maybe bloopers or things that went on, because you want to know more about how that film was crafted. This is a rare, unique, behind-the-scenes look at the afterlife. We don't have a lot in Scripture about what actually happens, but here it is.
Now, this story that Jesus told about a rich man and a beggar who died is a real story. It's not a parable. Christ told many parables. Parables are illustrations. They're an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. But this is a true story. Why is it a true story? Because he used a name in the story. One of the men who died was named Lazarus. He was the beggar.
So there's a rich man, and there's a beggar. The rich man lived high on the hog. He flaunted his wealth. He wiped his greasy hands after eating his gourmet food, and threw the bread on the ground that he wiped his hands with. And that is the food that became the diet of the poor beggar who lived at the outer gate of the estate of the rich guy.
And one day, the rich guy died. And one day, the beggar died. And the beggar, Lazarus, went to heaven. Why? Because he was poor? No, because he believed. But the rich guy went to this place called Hades. Why? Because he was rich? No, because he did not believe.
And on the other side, we find out what happens. Now, the believer Lazarus was carried straight into the presence of God. Luke 16:22, Jesus says, So it was the beggar died. He was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried. I love this. Carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom.
So, before Christ died on the cross and rose again from the dead, Hades was divided into two compartments. Comfort and torment. When a believer died in the Old Testament, they didn't go to heaven. They went to Hades. But understand, not hell. They went to the comfort section of Hades in the bosom or in the comfort of Father Abraham. And they waited until the day that Christ fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies pointing to him. And now a Christian goes to heaven. So it's kind of all good, but now it's even better.
So even in the Old Testament, it was a good thing when you went into this wonderful comforting place. But for the unbeliever, it's just bad and worse. So first they go to this place, and ultimately they go to a final judgment at the lake of fire.
So the believer goes straight to heaven. So you wonder, what happens when a Christian dies? Because they're ushered by the angels into God's presence. And I think that's very comforting, don't you? Especially if you have lost a loved one.
When the great evangelist D.L. Moody was on his deathbed, his final words were, quote, Is this dying? Why, this is bliss. There's no valley. I've been within the gates. Earth is receding. Heaven is opening. God is calling. I must go. And then he breathed his last and went into God's presence.
When young Stephen was being stoned for his faith, remember that he said, I see Jesus standing on the right hand of God. And the Bible says his face became as bright as the face of an angel. And he fell asleep. I find that interesting. It says he fell asleep. It is only said that believers fall asleep when they die. It's never said of non-believers. That's an important distinction.
Because I don't know about you, but when you get older, you start liking to fall asleep. Hey, a good night is when you get a full night's sleep, right? But you take little naps here and there. Not me, of course, but others do. And you feel refreshed afterwards. So it's not a horrible thing when you're older to take a nap or fall asleep. You don't dread it. That's what death is like for a believer. They fall asleep. But not for the non-believer. Stephen, even though he died a violent death, fell asleep according to Scripture. And went into the presence of God.
The Reality of Torment in Hades
But now here is the non-believer. They go to this place of torment. So what is it like on the other side for a non-believer? If you're taking notes, here's some things to write down.
Number one, people in Hades or hell suffer. They suffer. Luke 16:23, Jesus says, Being in torment in Hades, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham afar off and Lazarus in his bosom. The fact that the rich man spoke of torment indicates that suffering is a very real thing in the afterlife. The word torment is used four times in the text of the story. People in Hades are fully conscious and they're in pain.
And that refutes the idea of reincarnation. The Bible doesn't teach that you die and come back in another life form. No, you go into the afterlife. Nor does the Bible teach anything called purgatory. Once you are in hell, you cannot cross over to heaven.
Listen, the impossibility of crossing from one side to another suggests that one's eternal destiny is settled here and now and not in some future world. So don't say, well, I'll work it out later in the afterlife. Actually, you won't. You decide now.
See, if I want to fly to Hawaii, I book my flight here. I don't get on the plane, destination New York City, and say, well, I'm going to Hawaii. No, you're going to New York City. Because you boarded this plane going to New York City. Well, turn the plane around. I want to go to Hawaii. Sir, sit down and put on your seatbelt, or you'll get no more peanuts, right? But, you know, once you're on the plane, the plane is going to its destination. Once you enter the afterlife, you are on your way to your destination. You don't work it out there. It's done. It's sealed right here and now.
Physical death is a separation of the soul from the body. It constitutes a transition from the visible world to the invisible. For the believer, that means the entrance into paradise and the presence of Jesus. For the non-believer, it marks its entrance into Hades.
Also, you're conscious there and fully aware of where you are. This is very important. When you enter the other side, in Hades now. You're conscious and fully aware of where you are. Luke 16:24. He cries and says, Father Abraham, have mercy on me. He said, Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I'm tormented in the flame. See, he's aware.
Now look, in heaven, you're aware too. I don't know where this idea has come from that when we get to heaven, it's like we all have a collective lobotomy. We don't remember our old life. We don't remember who we are. We just kind of wander around in a daze, you know. So this is it. Wow. No, that's not what the Bible teaches. In heaven, we have memory. In heaven, we're rewarded for things we did on earth, right? So there's a connection between our earthly life and our heavenly life and much more. But the same is true of Hades. There's a consciousness there. You're aware.
In fact, this guy remembers he has five brothers. In verse 28, he says, I have five brothers. Let me out of this place so I can testify to them so they don't come to this place of torment. Now this is not so much a gesture of compassion on this rich man's part, but blame shifting. In other words, he's saying, hey, I didn't know about this place, nor do my brothers. And Abraham corrects him. In Luke 16:29, Abraham said, they have Moses and the prophets. Let them hear them. In other words, hey, they know enough. You've heard about it. You're responsible.
I want you to notice, he's not partying. People say, man, when I get to hell, all my friends will be there. That may be true. If you have really lousy friends who don't believe. We'll just party. Ah, no, you won't party at all. There'll be no partying. There'll be torture. There'll be suffering. There'll be eternal separation from God.
Notice the man protests to Abraham. Luke 16:30. He says, but if one went from the dead, they would repent. If someone came back from the grave, then they would repent.
Now, a very popular thing these days are these out-of-body experiences. We hear about them all the time. They call them OBEs, out-of-body experiences. You'll see these people interviewed on TV shows. They'll write books, of course, telling about these things that they saw in the afterlife. And some people will hang on to this. Oh, I read this book, and it's given me so much hope because the person talked about, you know, riding a unicorn, and there were rainbows, and all this stuff. And it's like, really? You're getting excited about what some person wrote?
Number one, what if they made it all up? Well, that's not possible. Of course it's possible. Why would they do that? To sell books, maybe? Maybe they're lying. It's even possible, I believe, that someone had a glimpse of the afterlife and were deceived in that momentary time. Don't forget, Satan is an angel of light who can deceive.
See, the only reliable account on the afterlife is the Bible. And the Bible tells us exactly what will happen. And we... Let's clap for that. That's right.
So he says, well, if someone came back from the grave, they would believe. Is that true? Let's say we could go down to the local morgue right now, find the last person that died and said, everyone, we're gonna pray for this person to be resurrected from the dead. Will you believe in Jesus if this happens? You think everyone would believe? I don't.
You say, well, why do you say that? Well, there was another Lazarus in the Bible. Not this Lazarus in our story, but Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha. Remember, he died. He not only had he died, he had entered into the process of decomposition. Decomposition. They didn't embalm people in those days like we do now. Some people look better in their death than they did in their life after the mortician gets done with them. But in those days, decomposition happened quickly. And he had been in the tomb multiple days when Christ came there. And his sister said, Lord, by now, I love King James, it says, by now, Lord, he stinketh, which is, I like stinketh. That's a good word, don't you think? I think when a Christian smells bad, we should say, you stinketh. Just so much more biblical.
But Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Lazarus, who had been dead, who had crossed over to the other side, was brought back from the grave, and he was alive. And so they had a dinner. Jesus is there. Lazarus is there. And Mary's like washing the feet of Jesus. Hey, would that not have been the ultimate dinner to be invited to? To talk to a guy who really went to the other side and came back and have Christ himself there? And guess what? The religious leaders, they all believed, right? No, they were plotting now on how to kill Lazarus again. Again. Oh, it's not bad enough he died. Now we want to kill him again because we're mad that he was raised from the dead. Ridiculous. It just shows.
And there's someone else who rose from the dead. You may have heard of him. Can you guess? Very good. Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ rose again from the dead bodily. He appeared on multiple occasions. On one occasion to 500 at once. And everyone believed. Everywhere, right? No. No, they didn't.
So even if one's raised from the dead, it won't cause many people to believe.
Who Will Face the Great White Throne Judgment
So this is the second death. Who's going to be at this great white throne judgment? Simple answer. Everyone who rejected God's offer of forgiveness through Jesus Christ. Notice I didn't say bad people. Because conventional wisdom is bad people go to hell. Good people go to heaven. That's not what the Bible teaches.
Point of the matter, point of the fact is, or the fact of the matter is what I should say, is you can be a bad person and go to heaven. Excuse me. Yes, that's right. Bad person, go to heaven. And you can be a good person and go to hell. Now let me explain.
You can be a bad person. A sinner. You can do horrible things. But if you repent of your sin and ask Christ to forgive you, you can go to heaven. And you can be a good person. And I'll put the word good in quotes. And by that I mean moral and kind and considerate and all that. But if you reject God's offer of forgiveness through Christ, you could potentially end up in hell.
So who will be here? All who have rejected God's offer. But you know, there's different kinds of sinners. First of all, there's just out and out sinners. Sinners who own it. Sinners who even call themselves sinners. You know, they hate God. They hate church. They go out of their way to mock God and mock Christians. They shake their fist at it their whole lives. Well, they'll be there.
But listen to this. Not just out and out sinners. Self-righteous people will be there. They thought they were too good to face judgment. Maybe they're kind and considerate. But they need God and His forgiveness. And they ignored what the scripture said when it pointed out in Titus 3:5, it's not by works of righteousness which we have done but according to His mercy He has saved us. If they're trusting in their own good works, that's not gonna get them to heaven. So some of these moral people, self-righteous people will be there.
Number three, procrastinators will be there too. Procrastinators. Now these are people that maybe you thought were close to coming to Christ. These are the people that you say, would you believe in Jesus? You know, I'm gonna do that eventually. I totally respect what religion has done for you. And I'm gonna come with you to church sometime. Will you come Sunday? No. How about next Sunday? You can't. How about one month or not? No. You know, they're always putting it off. One of these days they say, I'll come to Christ. But that day never comes. The procrastinator will be there because they never believed.
Listen to this. Even unsaved church attenders will be there. Unsaved church attenders. These could be people that go to church. They have Bibles. They bow their head in prayer. They know about God but they don't know Him. They're living double lives.
You say, well, are you sure about this? Oh, I'm very sure. Here's what Jesus says in Matthew 7:21. Not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter into the kingdom of heaven but only he that does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will come to me on that day and they'll say, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and cast out demons in your name. Were we not confirmed in your name? Were we not baptized in your name? And then he will say to them, depart from me. I never knew you, you workers of iniquity.
I find that fascinating. He's talking to these people that do all this stuff. They speak in his name and they do works in his name but he actually calls them a worker of iniquity. Why is that? Because if you're trusting in your works to get you to heaven, a good thing can potentially be a really bad thing.
Now I'm not suggesting you not do good works. I'm just saying the only way we get to heaven is through asking God to forgive us of our sin and putting our faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone. That's it. Period. That's it. Period. But once I've done that, good works should follow. Once I've done that, there should be spiritual fruit in my life and so forth.
So now we have this judgment. Verse 12, I saw the dead small and great standing before God and the books were open. Notice it's plural, books. Everyone will be there. Small and great. Doesn't matter if you're a king or a queen or an emperor or a president or a rock star or a movie star or a billionaire. Whoever you are, everyone will be there.
Why are they there? Why are all these people there? Because they did not believe. Jesus said in John 3:18, he that believes in me is not condemned. He who does not believe in me is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten son.
So question, if the unbeliever is already condemned, what is the purpose of the last judgment? In other words, if they're already condemned, why doesn't God just send them straight into the pit? Why is there a last judgment?
Listen, the purpose of this final confrontation between God and man is to clearly demonstrate to the non-believer why they are condemned. So why is this happening? So the non-believer understands why this is happening. The books are open. Books. What are these books?
Well, we're not told in this passage, but we could offer an educated guess. I'm sure one of them is a book of God's law. Anyone who has been exposed to the truth of the law of God is held responsible. Romans 3:19 says, every mouth will be stopped and all the world will be guilty before God.
I bring this up because some people say, well, you know, I live by the Ten Commandments. That's all the religion I need. Really, do you know the Ten Commandments? No, I don't. But I live by them. How can you live by something you don't even know?
I read a survey that said more Americans know the names of the four Beatles than five of the commandments. So that's pretty sad. So here's what this means. Just say, well, I'm a good person. I've never broken the Ten Commandments. Oh, really? Have you ever taken the Lord's name in vain? Have you ever stolen anything? Have you ever lied? Well, no, I haven't. You're lying right now. Okay, so every one of us has broken the commandments.
But the commandments were not given to make us righteous. The commandments were given to show us we're not righteous. The commandments were given to show us we need Christ and there's no way we can live up to those standards.
Well, Greg, hold on now. Maybe I haven't kept all of the commandments, but I've kept most of them. But yet the Scripture says if you offend on one point of the law, you're guilty of all of it.
So I think it would be the Ten Commandments. You've broken the Ten Commandments. That might be one of the books.
Another book might be a record of everything you've said and done. Ecclesiastes 12:14 says, God will judge us for everything we do, including every hidden thing, good or bad.
Now we live in a time when, man, everything is recorded. We've seen what has happened with all these emails, right? And WikiLeaks and all this stuff that all these personal conversations that were put in email form come out and, you know, of course, tapes are released all the time. Every time you turn around, oh no, there's a, you know, there's a video of this person naked that's been released. They stole it off my phone. Why do you film yourself naked, okay? And if you do, why do you carry it on your phone? You know, I mean, I'm just saying this. Everything that is hidden will be disclosed. There are no secrets.
I mean, if in our government alone we can have record of so many things, you don't think God has more sophisticated technology than us? So everything's recorded. Everything. So, and you'll have to give an account for it. Every hidden thing, good or bad.
And I think another one of these books will be a record of all the times you've heard the gospel. Just like the rich man saying, well, let me go back and warn my brothers. We never knew about this. You might say, well, hold on now. I never heard about Jesus Christ. I never heard that he died on the cross for my sin. I never heard that I needed to believe in him. And I'm sure there's a record of every time you heard the gospel as well going back to your childhood and all those times you were exposed to it. And so there'll be no excuse.
God's Heart and Human Choice Regarding Hell
And then you'll have... I know whenever you bring this subject up people get upset. because the knee-jerk reaction is, well, how can a God of love send a person to hell? And even the way that's framed is a little problematic. How can a God of love send a person to hell? The very forming of the statement is basically saying, obviously God isn't loving or he wouldn't send people to hell.
But really is God sending people to hell? Who was hell created for? Bad people? No. Hell was created according to Jesus for the devil and his angels. It is God's will for us to join him in heaven. God has done everything possible to help us to join him in heaven, to bring us into this relationship with him by sending his son to die on the cross in our place.
So if we reject God's offer and we end up in hell, really, who should we blame but ourselves? J.I. Packer put it this way, Scripture sees hell as self-chosen. Hell appears as God's gesture of respect for human choice. All receive what they actually chose, either to be with God forever worshiping him or without God forever worshiping themselves.
God's just giving them what they wanted. They didn't want God in this life. They didn't want his truth. They didn't want his promises. They didn't want his forgiveness. God says, okay, that's what you want. I'll give you what you want.
C.S. Lewis put it this way, quote, there are only two kinds of people in the end. Those who say to God, thy will be done and those to whom God says in the end, thy will be done. All that are in hell choose it. Without that self-choice, there could be no hell. See?
So, God doesn't want to do this. God takes no pleasure in this. God says, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. God wants people to believe, but if you're bound and determined to reject this offer, then you have effectively charted your own course.
And if your name is not written in the book of life, you're cast into the lake of fire.
Listen to this. One day, every person on earth will meet Jesus Christ. Even if they don't believe Christ exists, they will meet Jesus Christ. He is inescapable and He is unavoidable. And if they don't meet Him as Savior, they will meet Him as judge.
So, if you believe in Jesus, you'll see Him one day. If you don't believe in Jesus, you're still going to see Him one day. And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. The Bible is very clear about this. And Philippians 2. Everyone will bow. Everyone will say it. Every world leader. Every entertainer. Every person known. Every person unknown.
So in this final day, we have sent ourselves there. It's been said, the road to hell is paved with excuses. One person put it this way. Hell is therefore a prison, in which the doors are first locked from the inside by us, and therefore are locked from the outside by God.
Let me say that again. Hell is a prison, in which the prison doors are first locked from the inside by us, and therefore are locked from the outside by God. You see? So you went to that place. That's not what God wants. God wants you in heaven.
And if you want to go to heaven, it comes down to simply saying, I know I'm a sinner. I'm not going to make excuses for my sin. And I need forgiveness for my sin. And everybody needs this.
And let me just land on this point and bring this message to a close. You're thinking, man, this is like the most depressing message I've ever heard. Sorry. It's the gospel. I don't take any pleasure in delivering a message like this. But if I didn't tell you the truth about what scripture says, I would be negligent and irresponsible and worse.
We don't want anyone to go to this place. We want everyone to join us in heaven. And I want you to join us in heaven if you have not believed in Jesus yet.
In a moment we're going to pray and I'm going to give you an opportunity to change your eternal address. Like I said, when you book a flight, you know, you book the flight not when you're on the plane in the air. You book the flight probably through a travel agent or maybe through a website. And then you get your ticket. And then you go and get on the plane. And then you're on your way. So you decide now where you're going to go. Not later now. Not in the afterlife now. In this life. The before life.
If you want to go to heaven, here's what you need to do. Admit you're a sinner. Realize Christ died on the cross for your sin. Ask Him to come into your heart and life to be your Savior and Lord and follow Him. If you do that, boom, you'll go to heaven. And you'll have a life with purpose and meaning. You'll experience God's forgiveness. You'll have a personal peace that passes all human understanding. What a deal. Why would anyone say no to this? I don't know. But they do.
And I'm going to give you that opportunity to believe in Jesus as we close now in prayer. If you've never asked Him into your life, if you're not sure if you're going to heaven, respond now to this invitation.
Let's all bow our heads if you would. Everybody praying. Father, thank You for Your Word to us tonight. It's true. It's not always easy to read. But it is Your Word warning us about what is on the other side. And I pray for any here, any watching, any listening that do not yet know Jesus Christ. I pray this will be the moment they believe. We ask Your Holy Spirit to convict and convince them of their need for Christ.
Now when our heads are bowed, and our eyes are closed, and we're praying. How many of you would say right now, Greg, I don't want to go to hell. I want to go to heaven. I want my sin forgiven. I want to know Jesus in a personal way. I want Him to come into my life right now. If that's your desire, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to go to heaven when you die, would you raise your hand up right now wherever you are, and I'll pray for you. Just raise your hand up where I can see it. God bless you, and God bless you, and you, and you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up higher where I can see it, please. You want Christ in your life tonight. God bless you too. Just raise your hand up. I'll pray for you. God bless you. Anybody else? God bless you in the back. If you haven't raised your hand yet, lift it now. Let me pray for you. You can change your eternal destiny tonight by believing in Jesus, and you can go to heaven. But you must put your faith in Christ who loves you, and that's why He died for you. Anybody else? If you haven't raised your hand yet, lift it now. Let me pray for you. Anybody else at all? God bless you. God bless you too. Alright. God bless you.
Now I'm going to ask every one of you, please, that have raised your hand, would you stand to your feet, and I'm going to lead you in a prayer where you're asking Jesus to come into your life. Every one of you that raised your hand, just stand to your feet, wherever you are, just stand up, and we're going to pray together. That's right, you heard me.