What is the Great White Throne?
The Bible contains the certainty of judgment. The word judgment appears in the Bible over two hundred and twenty six times. It has always illuminated itself over the hearts, minds and souls of every human being.
The writer of Hebrews aptly warns, “Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment (9:27).” It is not a matter whether or not a person will be judged, but a matter of the kind of judgment an individual will receive. The Christians will face the Judgment Seat of Christ when they die. This judgment is not concerned with sin (for Christians are the ones being judged) but with reward based on the faithful stewardship of the believer (Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:9, 10). However, the Book of Revelation describes an unparalleled judgment that will take place at the Great White Throne immediately following the Millennial Reign of Christ on earth.
A great parallel passage of John’s description of the Great White Throne is found in the prophetic writings in the book of Daniel. Daniel received this amazing account, “As I looked thrones were set in place and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and it wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; then thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated and the books were opened (7:9, 10).”
Unlike this account of Daniel, there are many other scriptural passages that implicitly refer to the coming Great White Throne Judgment. Luke recorded the words of Paul at Areopagus, “For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the man He has appointed (Acts 17:31).” Paul told the Romans, “But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. God will give to each person according to what he has done (Romans 2:5, 6).” And finally, Paul depicted the type of wrath that will come upon unbelievers, “He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power (2 Thessalonians 1:8, 9).”
Furthermore, John writes in Revelation 20:11, “Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them.” Though John does not refer to the person on the throne to be Jesus, the text and many more scriptural references support this implication.
In John 5:22 it states, “The Father has entrusted all judgment to the Son.” Walvoord comments, “Christ has all judgment committed to him, and it is in keeping with God’s purpose that Christ should rule over Israel (Psalm 2:6) as well as over all the nations (vv. 8-9). The concept of Christ being the Judge is found frequently in Scripture (Matthew 19:28; 25:31; 2 Corinthians 5:10).”[1]
Moreover, the timing in which the Great White Throne takes place is also an indication of the Judge being Jesus Christ. Walvoord continues, “The time of this judgment will be at the end of the Millennium and the beginning of the eternal state, and the judgment is related to both of these factors”[2] Jesus is overseeing the final judgment of mankind while seated on His throne in space before He ushers in the New Heavens and New Earth. Lastly, only the awesome splendor and perfect holiness of Jesus’ presence can cause the earth and sky to flee.
The word throne appears some thirty times in the Book of Revelation.[3] However, the throne John records in Revelation 20:11-15 is completely different. John uses the word dead four times in five verses to convey a point. These people who stand before this Great White Throne are individuals who willingly rejected the free gift of salvation. Notice the graphic words that depict where these people come from in order to be judged. John mentions the “sea,” and “death and Hades.” The Bible emphatically states that people without Christ are “dead in their trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1).”
Furthermore Jesus told Nicodemus that “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son (John 3:18).” Therefore, the unbelievers went to Hades (a place of torment recorded in Luke 16:18-31) after they died and await their final judgment at the Great White Throne before they are cast into the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41; Revelation 19:20; 20:10, 14-15). The lake of fire is also referred to as “the lake of burning sulfur,” where the beast, the false prophet, Satan at his last rebellion, Death and Hades, and all those whose names were not found in the Book of Life will be cast into. The lake of fire is also mentioned as “the second death (Revelation 20:14)” because it is the final judgment and destination of the wicked, as well the final resurrection because the first resurrection had to do with the righteous (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; Acts 24:15).
Dwight Pentecost refers to the second death to be the “final act in the program that was enacted, ‘that God may be all in all (1 Cor. 15:28).’”[4] He further writes, “The second resurrection, better termed the resurrection of damnation, includes all who are raised to eternal condemnation. It is not chronology that determines who is in the second resurrection, but rather the destiny of the one raised (pg. 398).”
John describes in verse twelve the people who will be judged at the Great White Throne as “great and small” (Rev. 11:18; 13:16; 19:18). He points out two different types of sources by which unbelievers will be judged, “books” and the “Book of Life.” John writes that these unbelievers were judged according to what they have done. Walvoord provides his commentary on the reason for these books, “Those who are judged worthy of the lake of fire fail to meet the requirements of God’s judgment in two respects. First, their works are not according to the will of God. Second, they do not have life, as witnessed by the fact that their names are not found in the Book of Life.”
There are many passages of Scripture that offer explanatory reasons for the books being opened at the Great White Throne. In Romans 2:15, 16, Paul teaches that men will be judged by their conscience and secret works (Ecclesiastes 12:14). Jesus professed that each person will be judged by every word they speak (Matthew 12:36, 37). Lastly, in Revelation 14:11 those who received the mark of the beast will have their name removed from the Book of Life, and therefore, we be judged and sentenced to eternal damnation in the lake of fire.
As a result, if a person is found to only have “works” without Christ, then their names are not found in the Book of Life (Revelation 17:8; 20:12, 15). The ultimate consequence to not being found in the Book of Life is to be thrown into the lake of fire (Matthew 25:41, 46).
Pentecost writes, “God’s purpose of the judgments at the end of the Millennium is to remove from the Eternal Kingdom ‘all things that offend, and them which do iniquity.’ By this judgment God’s absolute Sovereignty has now been manifested.”[5]
Though the Great White Throne Judgment graphically portrays the horrifying reality of the second death, it is crucial to understand that those being thrown into the lake of fire willingly and continuously rejected the incredible and undeserved free gift of salvation that was offered to them. Their decision to turn away from God's grace and mercy has inevitably led them to this tragic and eternal consequence.
The significance of the Great White Throne Judgment cannot be overstated, as it represents the ultimate culmination of God's justice and the ultimate eradication of sin from the universe. It marks the final chapter where sin, rebellion, and the powers of darkness are forever vanquished, bringing forth an era of complete purity, righteousness, and harmony with God.
In this momentous event, God's perfect justice is fully displayed, as every action, motive, and choice of every individual who rejected salvation is laid bare and evaluated, leaving no room for doubt or debate. As the Great White Throne Judgment concludes, the reign of sin is forever sealed in the lake of fire, allowing a new era of divine restoration and redemption to begin for those who embraced the free gift of salvation.
Let us, therefore, recognize the importance of this pivotal event in the sequential flow of God's plan and gratefully accept the free gift of salvation offered to us, ensuring that we will not be among those who experience the dread of the Great White Throne Judgment.
[1]John f. Walvoord, “The Great White Throne Judgment,” in Major Bible Prophecies (Michigan: Zondervan, 1991), 407, 408.
[2]Ibid., 408.
[3]John F. Walvoord, Every Prophecy of The Bible (Colorado: Chariot Victor Publishing, 1999), 630.
[4]J. Dwight Pentecost, Things to Come: A Study in Biblical Eschatology (Michigan: Zondervan, 1958), 554.
[5]Ibid.