“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.” 

Revelation 20:12

We live in a fallen world that ranks and divides people in many ways, such as status, power, wealth, achievement, or the lack thereof. These cultural divisions form upper and lower classes of people, also referred to as the “haves” and “have nots.” However, the Bible tells about a coming day when the great and the small will stand before the great white throne of God for judgment. No matter how much money, power, or fame they enjoyed or never experienced, if they rejected Jesus as their Savior and Lord, they are all going to stand side by side on equal footing that day before a righteous and holy judge– God! It will not be a judgment that offers a plea bargain or an acquittal. Instead, those who stand before the great white throne are condemned already. Condemned because they are not covered by the blood of the Lamb, which means they are subject to the law. The Bible states that the penalty for sin is death. Those who face the great white throne will be cast into the lake of fire, separated from God for all eternity by their choosing. It is what Scripture refers to as the second death.

An important point to make is the great white throne judgment will be for non-believers only. Those who accepted Jesus as Savior and Lord in this life will already be in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ. We, too, will one day face judgment or account for our actions or inactions in this life. Apostle Paul wrote, ” For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad” (2 Cor. 5:10) This is not a judgment for sin. We are already in heaven. Instead, it is a judgment of character and how we served the Lord and used the resources He gave us. The difference between good and bad in this context examines whether we served, prayed, and gave to others with the heart of Christ to love our neighbors as ourselves, i.e., the good. Or, on the other hand, did we serve, pray, and give to others begrudgingly with a hateful or envious attitude. Paul further states that a person’s deeds that survive the test of fire shall be rewarded for those deeds; however, deeds that burn in the fire, that person will suffer loss in that no reward will be given.

The question is, do you know which line you will stand? You see, in this life, God provides hundreds of opportunities for people to accept His Son, Jesus, as their personal Savior and Lord. However, after physical death, there are no more chances. At that time, a person’s eternal fate is decided based on whether he accepted or denied Jesus. The good news is it is not too late. Today is another chance for you to accept Jesus, for as the Bible says, “Now is a day of salvation!” (2 Cor. 6:2) If you know Jesus as your Savior, rejoice, for our day of redemption is ever so near, the day Jesus returns to call His bride, the church, to meet Him in the clouds and go home to be in God’s presence forever. What a joyful, glorious day that will be!

Blessings.

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