Great White Throne - Revelation 20:11-15

Revelation 20:11-15 NASB
Judgment at the Throne of God
Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 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.

John next sees a white throne, which speaks of purity and authority of God. The old heaven and earth are found no more, unable to exist in God's presence. The dead are left standing before the throne, exposed to the judgement to be pronounced.

The books are opened. It doesn't say how many books it will take to give a record of all the deeds which require accounting. It will only take one book to list those who have chosen life. Only one entry is needed - their name.

The dead are gathered from the land and sea, the spiritually dead. The grave gave up those who had fallen asleep, those who were never awakened to the life of God. They stand before God to answer for their deeds. For those who have chosen Jesus, He is their and the answer.

Death and Hades are removed and thrown into the lake of fire. They no longer will be a part of creation. The first death ceases to be.

After accounting for their deeds, the dead join death in the lake of fire. This is the second and final death. The all consuming fire of God burns through the chaff and unproductive branches of mankind. Those left will participate in the life of God and partake in the tree of life.

Psalms 97:1-5
PSALM 97
The L ord’s Power and Dominion.
The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice;
Let the many islands be glad.
Clouds and thick darkness surround Him;
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him
And burns up His adversaries round about.
His lightnings lit up the world;
The earth saw and trembled.
The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord,
At the presence of the Lord of the whole earth.

Matthew 25:31-33
The Judgment
“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right, and the goats on the left.

Acts 17:30-31
Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”


Romans 2:5-11
But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God, who will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God.