Lesson Seventeen • Judgment and Hell
Caleb Jones
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Revelation 20:11-15
As we get to the end of the Bible, we read about John’s vision where everyone who has ever lived will stand before Jesus who sits on the heavenly throne. This is referred to as the Day of Judgment. Revelation 3:21 tells us that both Jesus and God will sit on this throne.
It is hard to imagine the presence of God. We currently have the presence of God through the Holy Spirit. John 14:16 (NIV) says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.”
There will come a day when we stand before God and He will judge every single one of us. Verse 15 says that if anyone’s name was not found in the Book of Life, he would be thrown into the Lake of Fire. When we read verse 13, it seems to say that what we do determines where we go. However, we have to go back to Acts 3:19, “Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out.”
There will come a day that God will judge all of us. Every man, woman, and child will have to give an account for what we have done. Thankfully, Jesus gave us the way. In fact, He is the way (John 14:6).
Maybe you have received Christ as your Savior but this is your time to repent because you have been living as your own king.
If you have never repented of your sin, today is the day. Do not wait. We will soon stand before God Almighty and our name will either be written in the Book of Life because we have repented and acknowledged Christ’s kingship and salvation over our lives, or we will be cast into the Lake of Fire because we rejected the One who died for us.