This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

This is day four of our look through Revelation chapter 20. We've looked at the
millennium, the first verses of this chapter, the last three days, and now we're
going to focus on the great white throne of God, Revelation chapter 20 verses 11
to 15, the great white throne judgment. Let me read these verses for you.

"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. And I saw the dead,
great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.

Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. The dead were judged
according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the
dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them.

And each person was judged according to what he had done. And then death and
Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.

If anyone's name was not found written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into
the lake of fire. " This is the great white throne judgment of God that you've
heard about so often in scripture. Revelation 20 is where God clearly lays out
for us what will happen at the end of time.

Now many, many people, as they first read these verses, there's a question that
comes into your mind. The dead are judged according to what they have done. That
sounds to many of us like we're going to make it into heaven or not make it into
heaven based on our good works or our lack of good works.

And if you have read through the Bible or have been taught through the Bible
about grace, you know that Ephesians 2, 8 and 9 tells us that it's not by our
works that we're saved. By grace are you saved through faith, not of your work,
so that no one should boast. So what is this talking about?

That we're going to be, the dead are going to be judged according to our works
and based on that it's determined where we're going to go. You need to
understand who the dead are here. You as a believer in Christ are not the dead.

The dead here are those who have not yet believed. You as a believer in Jesus
Christ are not in these verses. You're not standing there for this judgment.

Do you know why? Because you're not the dead, you're the alive. God has already
made you alive together in Christ.

So when the Bible talks about the dead here, it's talking about those who don't
know Christ. Jesus tells us, I love what Jesus tells us, the confidence he gives
us in John 5, 24. Jesus says, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears my word
and believes in him who has sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment, but he's already passed out of death into life.
It's a done deal. You have already passed from death to life.

You are not among the dead. You are among the alive. " This goes entirely
opposite to the picture many of us have of what it's going to be like with the
judgment of God in heaven.

We picture this long line leading up to the gates of heaven. And we're in this
line, and all through the line we're wondering, am I in or am I out? I think I
trusted Jesus, but did I trust him well enough?

Am I in or am I out? And it's snaking up to St. Peter at the gates, and he's got
this book, and he's going to check and see if your name is in it.

As a believer in Jesus Christ, let me just tell you two things about that
picture that are wrong. Number one, you're not going to be in that line. You've
already passed out of judgment into life.

You just go directly to be in the presence of God forever in heaven when you die
on this earth, immediately. There's also a second picture that's wrong in that
we're not going to stand at a line to get into the gates of heaven. It's not one
at a time standing before St.

Peter. No, it's all together standing before the throne of God, who do not yet
know him. Now, before we go on, let me just share with you, this is the power to
me of sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, the good news that Jesus Christ has
given us this gift of passing out of death into life.

I don't want anyone to be standing at that great white throne of God. I don't
want anyone to stand before God depending just on their works to get into
heaven. I want everyone to know that their name can be, can already be written
in the book of life.

If you have said to Jesus Christ, "I trust you for forgiveness. I'm not
depending on my good works to get into heaven. And Jesus, I trust you not just
as fire insurance and I'm going to live any way I want, I trust you personally.

I trust you to guide my life. I want to learn to love you more and more every
day. If you have trusted Christ for forgiveness, trusted him for leadership, for
his lordship in your life, then your name is written in the book of life.

It cannot be erased from the book of life. Here's what these verses are
reminding us of. If I depend on what I've done, I am truly and eternally dead.

I don't want to be one of those who is judged according to what is written in
the books of what I've done, because according to what I've done, I'm a sinner.
I've rebelled against God. I've been selfish.

I've taken my own way. I want what I want, what I want it. I don't want God's
will done on this earth.

I want my will done in my life and in everyone else's life. I don't want to be
judged before a holy God, a perfect God based on what I have done. I know some
people are better than others.

And if you're judging works, you can get in a room of people you could feel
pretty good about yourself. I'm better than him, better than her, better than
him, way better than him. We're not talking about standing in a room with other
people now.

We're talking about standing before a holy and perfect God. What a terrible,
fearful thing to stand before God with only my pittance of good things that I've
done that were motivated by my selfishness anyway. God's standard is perfection.

And no matter how long the list of good things that I've done, there's just as
long a list of imperfect things and reasons why I've done them. So to depend on
what I've done, I am truly and eternally dead. But if I depend on what he has
done, what Jesus did when he gave his life for me on the cross, what Jesus does
when he makes me a new creation as I trust in him, then I am truly and I'm
eternally alive.

This is reminding us that my name is in the book of life because of God's grace.
That's not something to be proud of. I don't glory in myself.

It's something to praise him for. And it's something to invite other people to.
We have passed out of death into life.

And because of that, we do not live our lives as believers afraid of what might
happen someday. We live in appreciation for what he's already done for us. You
don't live in fear of what God might do to you when you get to heaven.

You live in appreciation of what God's already done for you, guaranteeing you
heaven. He's already given you eternal life. The quality of your eternal life,
it's going to change when you die and you get a new resurrected body.

No doubt about that. You get to go to a perfect place. But he's already given
you that gift.

No doubt about it. Not based on my promise, but based on the promise of Jesus
Christ. As a believer, you are already in one sense living the eternal life that
he's given you.

That is good news. Don't miss the fact in these verses that books and a book of
life are talked about. There's two different kinds of books here.

There's the books, and in the books is all the things I've done. I don't want to
be judged based on that, but then there's the book of life. And in the book of
life, it's trusted Jesus Christ.

And I always wonder, will the date be there? Will something about the moment be
there? In the book of life, under your name, with your name, over your name,
greater than your name is the name of Jesus Christ.

And in one sense, when the books are open, the one where all your deeds are
done, if that were to be open, the reference there would be, in your name, once
you come to Christ, once you come to faith in him, it would say, "See the book
of life. " And you go over to this other book, and there is your name. But
really, that's not even going to happen.

God's not going to first judge your deeds and say, "Wow, what a terrible person
you are. Oh, here at the end, I see you're a Christian. " No.

It's already done. It's already finished. Your name's in the book of life.

You've already passed out of death into life. So let me ask you, in
appreciation, in appreciation and praise for the release from judgment that
you've been given in Christ, the new creation that you've been made in Christ,
how are you going to live today? Jesus, help us to live as a new creation.

Oh, we're still living in an imperfect world, and we're still living with
temptations every day from outside of us and from within us. But Lord, we are a
new creation in you. We do have the promise in you of living a new way.

There is the opportunity to make a different choice than the choice that that
temptation is leading us towards, to make a different choice than the choice
that that selfishness is leading us towards. Jesus, show me how, show us how to
live as a new creation today in you. And thank you.

Thank you for the promise of life that you've given us. Thank you for names
written in the book of life. And if you're not sure your name is written there,
get it written there right now.

Just say, Jesus, I trust you for forgiveness. I trust you for your leadership.
Instead of trusting me, I'm trusting you.

In your name, Jesus, we pray. Amen. Tomorrow, we're going to take a look back
together at chapters 19 and 20 of the book of Revelation.