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NOTE: This article or series has not been updated recently. As such, it may possibly contain some outdated information, and/or ideas and beliefs which I no longer embrace, or which have changed to some degree.



Following the short-lived Battle of Gog and Magog, and the final defeat and judgment of Satan, who will be cast into the Lake of Fire along with the rest of his Fallen Angels, we arrive at the scene of the Great White Throne Judgment. Whereas the Saints of the Most High God will have already received their reward one thousand years earlier, and will reign with Jesus Christ on the Earth during the Millennium, this Second Resurrection will be for everyone else who has ever lived on the Earth. They will all be raised to life, in order to face their Final Judgment before the Throne of the Almighty God, and His Son, Jesus Christ. Whereas the Saints were judged according to their faith in Jesus Christ, and the works which they have done for Him in this current life, it seems that at the Great White Throne Judgment, the Books will be opened, and everyone else will be judged according to their works alone, as we see by the following verses:

"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. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."


Even as one who has placed his faith totally in the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ alone for my Salvation, I must say that I still find being judged according to one's own works a very unnerving thought. If you don't understand why I say this, then please consider the truth of the following verses:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away."


"If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?"


"But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap:"


"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one . . . But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;"


"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."


"Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;"


This time of Final Judgment in which everyone is destined to appear before the Throne of God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ, during which they will have to give a full account of the lives they have lived, is mentioned in a number of other places throughout the Bible as well. As the Apostle Peter rhetorically asks, if those of us who belong to the household of God through our faith in Jesus Christ -- please see Ephesians 2:19 -- barely survive God's Judgments, what can possibly be the fate of those people who have not obeyed the Christian Gospel, and who have in fact willfully rejected the Salvation which Jesus Christ freely offers to everyone? Please consider the following sample verses:

"If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? and he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? and shall not he render to every man according to his works?"


"But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment."


"For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works."


"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God."


"For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."


"And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons judgeth according to every man's work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:"


"Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead . . . For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?"


". . . I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works."


"And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them."


Clearly then, a Great Day of accountability and judgment is coming for every single person on this planet, and we will all be weighed in God's Divine Balances when the Books are opened. Some people will be rewarded for all Eternity, while others will be left embarrassed, humbled and ashamed. As we are told in the Book of Daniel:

"And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt."


No doubt, as Jesus warns us in the Gospels, on that Great Day of Judgment, some people will be so full of themselves, and so full of their own pride and delusion, that they will deceive themselves into believing that they have done great. They will stand there proudly, just waiting for God to heap praises on them, and reward them for the so-called wonderful Christian lives they have led. However, consider what Jesus Himself had to say regarding this "Lord, Lord" group of self-righteous hypocrites:

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."


"Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples, Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat: All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not."


"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."


"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"


"Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last."


"Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men."


If we are not saved by our works, and if these people will be judged solely by their works, is it really any surprise then that many of them will meet their fate in the Lake of Fire? As the Apostle John writes in the Book of Revelation:

"And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."


"But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."


What a tragic and unnecessary end for such hard-hearted reprobates. Tragic indeed, because their destruction could have easily been avoided, if they would have only humbled themselves, forsaken their own pride and ego, admitted their sinful condition, and embraced Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Such will be the eternal fate of everyone who continues in rebellion against the Almighty God and His Son, Jesus Christ, whether it is that old serpent Satan and his Fallen Angels, the Nephilim, the demons who now roam the Earth, or mortal men. As the Apostle Paul told the ancient Athenians as he stood on Mars Hill two thousand years ago:

"And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:"


God has given us an additional two thousand years to repent since the Apostle Paul first spoke those words, but time may be running out. These verses concerning the Lake of Fire are sobering indeed, and they should motivate every one of us to carefully examine our hearts, and to determine if our lives are truly in order, and if we are as pleasing to the Lord as we ought to be. There is always room for some improvement.

Following the Great White Throne Judgment, the Apocalypse -- or Book of Revelation -- concludes with the most inspiring chapters in the entire Bible. These two chapters describe the arrival of the New Heavens and the New Earth, and the descent from Heaven of God's beautiful city, New Jerusalem. Following are the opening verses of chapter twenty-one:

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."


I invite all of you to read these chapters in their entirety. Without a doubt, they will inspire your heart. As Jesus tells us in the Gospel of John, this Heavenly City, which the Bible refers to as New Jerusalem, is the wonderful place that He has gone to prepare for those of us who love Him, who believe in Him, and who also serve Him. It is in fact the very same place that the Saints and Patriarchs of old longed for, as we see by the following verses:

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."


"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they had been mindful of that country from whence they came out, they might have had opportunity to have returned. But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city."


So again, this is the wonderful Heavenly City which God has prepared for those who love Him, and we can't possibly begin to imagine how beautiful it really is. It is in this place where we will spend all of Eternity. Consider these verses:

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."


"For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."


It won't be long my friends. As the old saying goes, this life will soon be past, and only what is done for Christ will last! That wonderful Heavenly City -- New Jerusalem -- awaits everyone who has placed their faith in the Atoning Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and who has thus been washed in and cleansed by the precious Blood of the Lamb of God. Have you? I certainly hope so. Please don't be so foolish as to allow your pride and ego to cause you to remain lost for all of Eternity, banished outside of the Gates of the Heavenly City, or worse yet, to be cast into the Lake of Fire. The choice is up to you. Please be smart. Repent of your silly unbelief, and choose Jesus today!

With these thoughts, I will bring this article to a close. It is my hope that you have found it informative, enlightening, and I pray that it has been a blessing in your life as well. If you have an account with Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr or with any other social network, I would really appreciate if you'd take the time to click or tap on the corresponding link that is found on this page. Thanks so much, and may God bless you abundantly!

For additional information and further study, you may want to refer to the list of reading resources below which were either mentioned in this article, or which contain topics which are related to this article. All of these articles are likewise located on the Bill's Bible Basics web server. To read these articles, simply click or tap on any link you see below.

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