Speaker: Greg Sanders

Passage: Revelation 20:11-15

REVELATION 20:11-15

All right, come on back in. Find your seats. If you have your Bibles, grab them, please. We are going to be in Revelation 20. 

So, there’s a pop culture movie that I love. I love Transformers. Maybe it’s because I was an 80s kid. I don’t know. But there’s a line in the first film where the main character, Sam Witwiky, and Sam’s math teacher, right at the end of class, the bell goes off, and his math teacher says, Sleep in fear. There’s a pop quiz tomorrow, and it always jumps out at me. It’s like my favorite line in the movie. He’s letting them know there’s an evaluation coming, and they need to be prepared. 

So, we as a family have been in the Book of Revelation, we’ve been systematically just going through the passages. And we find ourselves in chapter 20, and John, the writer, is working to communicate what he’s seeing in his vision.

If you are familiar with the Book of Revelation, the entire book is a vision that John’s receiving from the Lord, and he’s seeing things, and oftentimes, he’s seeing things that he doesn’t actually know how to explain. He’s seeing things that are new to him, so he’s trying to find language to explain those things. 

And so, there’s times when the language is a little unfamiliar, and he’s putting words to things that we don’t actually know exactly what he’s seeing, but he’s trying to convey those images the best he can. 

In the Book of Revelation, to this point, there’s been this incredibly strong progression in the vision. It’s fixated on Jesus, which I love. It begins with Jesus as the Lamb revealed early as the Lord of the seven churches, and the first few chapters are really about the way the church is responding to Him and His Lordship. 

And so, John will build on that, and he wants to move from there, not just to reveal Jesus as the Lord of the seven churches, but he develops forward towards the King of Glory. And we see this imagery of Heaven in the Throne Room and just the magnanimity of what’s going on in the Throne Room around Jesus on the Throne. He’s being adored by Heaven. 

And John will move from there and begin to reveal Him as a Lion who’s waging war against darkness. We have all these chapters that are really apocalyptic and dark, and really, the central message is that Jesus is the Lion of the tribe of Judah, and He’s waging war against all this darkness in the world. 

And He’s ultimately the coming victor. And I love this: He’s the coming victor that employs such strength that He simply speaks to the chaos of the world, and it is destroyed, whether it’s the beast, whether it’s the powers and systems of darkness, or whether it’s the enemy himself. 

It caught me as we’ve been studying this, He actually never has to lift a sword, He just has to speak, which means it was never actually a battle. 

How many ever had your parents say, Because I said so, and it ended the conversation? Because at that moment, you realize their authority trumps my authority, and I cannot argue with this. For those of you that didn’t learn that lesson, you started arguing, and life got difficult.

He comes in, and He speaks, and John will reveal Him as having a sword coming from His mouth; there’s just so much authority and so much strength that all He has to do is whisper a word and it changes everything. 

And so, now here in 20, John begins to shift directions and develops a new picture of Jesus as the ultimate Judge upon the Great Throne. 

So, for John’s readers, who’s the early church– it’s the seven churches in Asia minor– if you’ve been with us in this study, one of our fundamental rules in this study is we cannot know how to discern it in our lives until we know what it meant to them. That’s good biblical practice. We have to understand how they would have read it and brought it into their lives before we can apply meaning to it. 

So, for John’s readers, this message will come across very much like Sam Witwiky’s math teacher’s message did: something is coming and you need to prepare for it. John’s statement to them is the Judgment Seat is coming and you need to be ready.

REVELATION 20:11-15

So, let’s dive in. Revelation 20, we’re in verses 11-15. Let’s do something, we haven’t done this in a while. Stand with me while I read the Scripture, please. You’re like, But we just sat down. I know. It’s good for you. It’s exercise. It’s a squat, you’re supposed to do like forty of them a day. It’s good. 

“And I saw a great white throne, and I saw the One who was sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done. The sea gave up the dead in it, and death and the grave gave up the dead in them. They were all judged according to their deeds. And death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death– the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the Lake of Fire.” 

Let’s pray. Holy Spirit, as we step into this passage, and we step into understanding what it means and applying it to our lives, we ask for Your leadership and Your guidance. You are the guide and the teacher. Would You lead us into all truth? We love You. We honor You. In Jesus’ name, men. 

WHO WE FACE AT JUDGEMENT

Alright, please be seated. So, John is working to give language to things he has not ever seen. So, some of that language will feel a little strange to us, things like a Lake of Fire. We’re like, What is that? 

But there’s a message within his language, and I just want to give you the four messages that he’s really putting forward to his churches. The first message is that you must be ready for who you’re going to face. You must be ready for who you’re going to face. 

He says, “The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.” That’s such interesting language. He’s trying to describe what Jesus– the one on the Throne– looks like and is like. And the picture is wild: “The earth and the sky fled from its presence, and they found no place to hide.” It’s a picture of absolute power and dynamic energy. 

Here’s my question: what would make the sky disappear? I thought about that for a couple weeks, knowing I was going to teach this, and then it dawned on me: light. In the same way, nighttime flees when the sun rises, the earth and sky flee when He’s on the scene. 

I want you to consider the narrative and what it’s actually saying. It’s talking about the ultimate authority of Jesus. He’s pure light, pure truth, pure power. And John’s painting a very clear picture of what he can’t describe. 

This is Jesus, his friend. John was known as the disciple Jesus loved. They were friends. What he’s seeing is, Oh, He’s not just my friend, He’s God, and He’s beyond description. He is the ultimate power. 

ALL WILL STAND BEFORE JUDGEMENT

The second thing he shares with his young church– we will all face this one. He said, “The dead, both great and small.” Again, John’s not just seeing a lot of people, he’s not just seeing a myriad of people. We’ve had moments in Revelation where he will talk about seeing thousands upon thousands, a myriad of people. This is different. 

According to what he’s saying here, he’s seeing all of humanity that has ever lived. The word for dead here is nekros in the Greek, and it is a word used to describe those who have died previously. 

“Great and small,” though, I think is the really interesting phrase here. John is speaking to a group of people that would have been incredibly well acquainted with the unique benefits that status and position afford. A fairly hierarchical culture, where having wealth separated you and you got away with a lot more, and the rules were different if you had money. 

And John’s making a statement: It doesn’t matter if you’re great or if you’re small; at this Throne, everybody’s equal. And what he’s telling his young church is no one will escape this throne. We will all stand before it. 

THE BOOKS ARE OPENED

The third thing he tells them is you need to know you will be evaluated. “And the books were opened…including the Book of Life.” John is seeing, in this moment, a great evaluation. He’s seeing books being opened, and he sees one– the Book of Life– that in some ways, is kind of like the entrance exam into this Judgment. 

And he sees other books. He communicates one clear message here, and I want us to hear it in its strength: your life will be measured. You will have to give an account for it. 

The fourth message that he shares with this young church through his language is this is the end game. You’re like, How does he say that? He says, “And death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death– the lake of fire. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the Lake of Fire.” 

Again, John’s using language that’s new for him. He’s attempting to explain what he’s seeing. Why would death in the grave be done away with? Because this is the end, they’re no longer needed after this. There is no more death after this. There is no more grave after this. This is the Final Judgment. 

What is the Lake of Fire? What is John seeing? My guess– just Greg Sanders’ guess, no theological position here– it’s probably something like magma or lava. I was really into National Geographic. I really loved The Trials of Life with all the animal videos. We were in Bible college, and there were so many things we couldn’t watch. We could watch those. So, I watched a lot of things about killer whales flopping seals on the beach and beating them up. It was fun. 

But I remember watching one where it showed lava coming down a mountain, and everything it touched instantly got consumed, and it was obliterated. There was no remnants of it. It was like if it came across a tree, just burn it to the ground, and it was basically absorbed into the lava. John might be seeing something like that. 

It doesn’t really matter what he’s seeing because we know he’s trying to give language to what he doesn’t know how to talk about, but his message is clear to the reader: You need to know church, this Judgment is final, and what doesn’t make it through is thrown in the Lake of Fire. 

THE JUDGEMENT SEAT

Understanding the Judgment Seat, I think, is important because the primary overarching focus of John in this passage is this Judgment scene. He refers to it as the Great White Throne. His language is intentionally familiar to his audience. They would have been Greeks or Jewish people that were raised in a mostly Greco-Roman culture. 

He’s using language that was a direct parallel to something called the Bema Seat, where rulers would make absolute and final judgments, so they would have understood he’s talking about something that is definitive. 

And what John is seeing is something that others in the New Testament have spoken of. And I think as Bible students, we always need to be asking the question: is the thing we’re seeing only in one place, or are there other places that support this? And when we find other places that support this, we now can start to build theology out of it. 

1 Corinthians 3, Paul will say it this way: “Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials– gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done–” he’s not talking about housing, he’s talking about our lives. “Fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.” 

In 2 Corinthians 5, Paul will say, “For we all must stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we’ve done in our bodies.” 

And in Matthew 7– what I think is the most definitive place for us to gain our theology from– Jesus says this: “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’” 

From this, we understand the Judgment Seat is a place of evaluation where humanity will give an account for their lives. 

The Book of Life Judgment, where a person is judged for their response to the gift of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, every single one of us will go through that. The other judgments. I call them The Other Book Judgments. You say, Why? Because, according to John, there’s multiple books. 

Which instantly causes me pause. If there are multiple books, what is He paying attention to? Because somehow, in my life, I grew up thinking the only thing that matters is whether or not I accepted Jesus. What other stuff is He paying attention to? Well, what we know is these Other Book Judgments encompass a final analysis for the life, the work, the motivations, and the deeds of a person. 

MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE JUDGEMENT SEAT

To understand this, we have to look at some common misconceptions or questions that are connected to the Judgment Seat. Number one: will believers be judged? There’s a lot of conversation out there, Oh, believers won’t be judged. 

I actually believe based on the total witness of Scripture– when I say that, I mean what it says everywhere, not just in one place– believers will be judged. Otherwise, what John says here is an error because he sees all of humanity. And what Paul and Jesus both say would make no sense if believers aren’t judged. 

Are there two different judgments? Is there maybe a judgment for believers and a judgment for unbelievers? Is there like two separate lines? Where like believers line up here, unbelievers line up here, you get judged differently. Is it like being on the waitlist for standby on an airplane? 

If we consider what John writes here and what’s written elsewhere, it actually would seem there is one judgment, but at least two different things are judged there. The two that we know will be judged is salvation through Christ and our works or our deeds. 

Well, how can a believer be judged if we’re secure because of the cross? Let’s talk about that. Jesus’ sacrifice was one hundred percent sufficient for our salvation. There’s nothing lacking in His sacrifice. We’re secure in Him. Ultimately, if you and I are living in Christ’s righteousness, and that righteousness is evident in our actions, then we can rest secure in our eternal security. 

That truth is echoed earlier in Revelation, in the message to the church of Sardis. Jesus will say this: “The one who overcomes will be clothed in white garments, and I will never erase his name from the Book of Life but will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.” If our works truly reflect Him, we have the assurance that our names will remain in the Book of Life. 

Last question: Well, Hell’s a made-up idea, right? If it is, then Jesus, Paul, and John are all intentionally misleading those they spoke to. And if Jesus is lying, this whole thing falls apart. I want you to understand the theological reality of if we can assume that Jesus is lying, He cannot be sinless therefore His sacrifice cannot atone for humanity. It’s a big idea. 

And Jesus says Hell’s real. But from John’s narrative alone here, the Lake of Fire is real. According to John, it’s the final resting place for all who will reject Jesus. I know that’s a strong message. You see, blind arrogance and human ignorance often lead me to justify what I’m afraid to face. The reality is this: Hell is real. 

LET THE TRUTH OF SCRIPTURE LEAD

So, how do we respond to the reality of the Judgment Seat? What is our response to the Judgment Seat? Let me give you three things. Number one: I think we should let the truth of Scripture lead us. Let the reality of this Judgment and how it is revealed govern your lives, instead of shunning away from the truth by adopting some common misconception, like, Well, God’s love, it’s all going to be sweet and graceful. 

Because we cannot figure out how to juxtapose a completely loving God with a completely just God does not mean He’s neither. What’s between my ears– my brain– is not the limitation of theology. My job is to adopt what the Scriptures say, not make the scriptures conform to what I understand. 

Don’t look away from the Judgment because it’s scary. We know that eternity is secured at The Book of Life Judgment by salvation through Christ. That is God’s heart for humanity, John 3:16, that none would perish. That God was so in love with humanity that He sent His Son, why? Because He wanted none to perish. 

It is just only those who have not surrendered to Jesus that don’t make it through that Judgment. According to John, those who reject Jesus, the end is imminent. But don’t live in terror. Instead, just choose Jesus. We tend to want to fight against things when the answer is so obvious. The path has been given, just choose it. 

MAKE ETERNITY YOUR EARTHLY FOCUS

The second thing is make your eternal life your earthly focus. Realize that every deed, every motive, every life choice, will be revealed. Bulgakov will say it this way: “Everything that I judge in my life does not have to be judged there.” If I deal with myself, I don’t walk into that Judgment scared. 

My question is: when you consider your personal and your private life, can you say it reflects a person with an eye on a coming Judgment? Because Judgment is coming. 

I think there’s a secondary and probably more terrifying reality here that we often miss. Grace for salvation doesn’t fix the works Judgment because the works Judgment– the deeds Judgment– is a Judgment for how we’ve chosen to live the Kingdom. 

It’s the Judgment of how much of the character and nature of Christ we were willing to actually put on. Paul will say, “Put on Christ like a coat.” The expectation of the Kingdom is that we take the nature of Christ and we adopt it into our lives, and we become like Him. This is a Judgment that assesses the magnitude of our willingness to follow and surrender to Jesus. Am I really willing to lay my life down and choose Him? 

The reality of this Judgment Seat moment should draw deep humility and fear into our lives, and it should directly affect how we live. 

BUILD A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS

The third thing: build a relationship with Jesus. You’re like, Well, duh. Well, let me explain why. The protection against judgment, according to Jesus’s own words, is knowing Him. In chapter 7 of Matthew, Jesus will teach that the only way to really bring acceptable works forward is to live in relationship with Him. 

Think about what He says to those who come with their defenses, “Lord! Lord! Didn’t we do this in Your name? Didn’t we prophesy in Your name? Didn’t we do miracles in Your name?” And my answer is, that’s a pretty good list. And He looks at them and says, “Depart from me. I didn’t know you.” 

The word he uses in the Greek is ginosko, and it means to have experiential knowledge with another. It’s the same word that’s used to describe intimacy between a married couple. If I step back, what this tells me is, as long as I am in an honest relationship with Him, one where we speak and we communicate and I obey what He says, then I’m secure, and I don’t need to fear that Judgment of works. 

Why? How does that work? Because He will speak to me and lead me. And I’d love to take it one step further: when we live in a real encounter with Him, the Holy Spirit promises to govern us, protect us, and lead us. He teaches us how to live. He brings coaching and conviction. So, in so much that I’m surrendered to His leadership, I’m fine. 

WHERE WILL YOU SPEND ETERNITY

The difficulty about the Judgment Seat is you alone decide how you face this Judgment. Linfield Crowder was one of my grandfather’s best friends. My grandfather was a pastor. Linfield Crowder was an evangelist. He was this big, boisterous, and incredibly kind man. 

Now, I told you, I grew up Pentecostal. Linfield Crowder used to play the saw during worship. You don’t know what I’m talking about? He would take like an actual saw, like a four-foot saw with a bow, and play it like a theremin during worship. I mean, it was kind of fun. He was good at it. 

But I remember being six or seven years of age on a hot summer night. We’re doing revival gatherings. If you grew up Pentecostal, you know what that means? That just means we went to church every night for a while. And my mom and dad were the worship team, my grandfather was a pastor, so I was there whether I liked it or not. 

And I remember Linfield Crowder, in his big, boisterous voice, looking out over the crowd and saying, “Eternity, eternity, where will you spend eternity, and what will you do with Jesus?” And I remember it just pierced my heart as a kid. It stuck with me. 

And I would ask you that same question today and remind you that you will face these Judgments. And we err if in any way we try to anesthetize this truth and ignore it. Church, the ramifications of that mistake are costly. 

The Book of Life Judgment you will face, where you will have to answer, what have you done with the sacrifice of Jesus? Have you surrendered your life to Him? Have you accepted His gift of salvation? 

There are other Judgments we have to face. How are we living? Are we walking in relationship with Jesus? Are we living in complete surrender to His voice and His leadership? Do our deeds line up with His nature.? 

The question today is, how will you respond? You’re like, Well, this is not what I thought I was going to get for Resurrection Sunday. He rose from the grave to ascend to the Throne. The Judgment that we all stand before, His heart’s desire for us, is that we pass through it in flying colors, but it does require complete and total surrender. 

Maybe you’re here, and you’ve been a believer, and you’ve been in church your whole life, and you’re like, Yeah, there’s a lot of areas of my life that are not surrendered to Him. There’s a bunch of stuff I know that I’m a part of, and I’m doing, and I know it’s sin, and I just really don’t care, because I want it. The moment you superimpose your will over His, you are awol from your discipleship. 

Maybe you’re here, and you’ve never ever surrendered to Jesus. This is your moment. 

What I can promise each of us, we will stand and give an account for our lives. And there’s an easy way, and there’s a hard way. The easy way: accept the gift of Jesus and give Him total control; the hard way: let your own arrogance, let your own pride, get in the way. 

ARE WE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS?

I want to lead us into bread and cup. We take bread and cup every week. I love it because it’s a great reminder of just reset, for you know, Jesus, You gave Your body from me, broken. You shed Your blood for me. 

And we identify with the brokenness of His body. We identify with the restoration that His blood speaks. His blood speaks a much better word, speaks forgiveness, speaks restoration. 

But in this moment, I would challenge you to consider the question: what have I done with Jesus? Am I surrendered to Him? Am I living in relationship with Him? 

I’m going to invite the prayer teams to be up here. They’ll have yellow tags on, black lanyards. Maybe you need to share with someone. Hey, I needed to make a fresh commitment to Jesus, there’s some things I needed to work through. 

Well, why would I do that? Here’s why. Scripture says, confess your faults to one another and be healed. Romans will teach if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, God raised Him from the dead, you’re saved. In other words, saying it matters, owning it matters. It’s a great way to put a line in the sand and go, You know what? Today’s my day. From this moment on, I choose Him. 

Would you stand with me, please? So, as you take the bread and cup, I want you to answer this question with eternity on your mind: what are you going to do with Jesus? It’s not just religion. It’s not just church. He is after all of you. 

I remember John Wimber, in 1997, I remember him saying it so clearly, in his latter days, almost ready to die of cancer. And he’s teaching at a seminar, and he just says, “You know, it’s okay. He can do whatever He wants with me because last time I checked, I got all of Him, so He gets all of me.”

Don’t leave today without making an honest decision for Christ. This is your moment. Don’t chalk it up to, Maybe, I’m not ready. There’ll be another day. Don’t do that. You don’t know you get another day. What you do know is you face Judgment. 

You’re like, I’m ashamed to face the Lord. Don’t be. None of us can offer anything other than, I accept You. The best and the brightest people in the room still don’t have anything to offer. Sin is sin. It doesn’t matter which sin you did; if you murdered somebody, if you stole a candy bar, sin is sin. 

Are consequences different? Sure. But sin is sin, and Jesus doesn’t care which one it was, His answer is the same: Accept my gift. Let me fix it. 

So, Lord, we honor You today with this moment, the resurrected King, but resurrected for this purpose: to rule, to reign, to govern, to lead us. And just like You resurrected, we could walk into this moment feeling dead and walk out alive, knowing that You birthed something brand new in us. 

And Lord, today, maybe it’s a fresh passion to follow You. Maybe we have lost our way. Maybe for some of us, if we’ve never had our way and this is the day we find You. Holy Spirit, would You lead us and guide us? All right, let’s take bread and cup.