Apocalipse 20:11-15

DISCOURSE: 2528
THE DAY OF JUDGMENT

Apocalipse 20:11. 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.

WE are not to imagine that the mysterious parts of Scripture are unworthy of our most attentive perusal: for though we should not succeed in our endeavours to comprehend all that is contained in them, we shall find much that is plain, intelligible, and important. The chapter before us speaks of a resurrection of all the martyred saints to reign with Christ on earth a thousand years: it informs us also that, at the expiration of that period, Satan shall be loosed from his confinement, and prevail against them, deceiving many, and destroying many. It tells us moreover, that God, determining to execute vengeance on that deceiver of the nations, and on such ministers as have been his instruments, and upon all those who have been deceived by them, will then come to judge the world in righteousness.
We apprehend this reign of Christ on earth, though not improbably attended with occasional manifestations of himself as on Mount Tabor, will be chiefly figurative: but, without dwelling on the points that are of difficult interpretation, and which events alone will with certainty explain, let us attend to the instruction here given us respecting that in which we are all so deeply interested, the solemnities of the day of judgment. In these we may notice,

I. The appearance of the Judge—

[Christ is the person who shall judge the world [Note: Atos 17:31. João 5:22.]: and he is here, as elsewhere on the very same occasion [Note: Romanos 14:10.], declared to be “God,” as well as man, Emmanuel, God with us. His being seated on a “throne” denotes, that from his decisions there will be no appeal, but that, sanctioned as they will be by the authority of the King of kings, they will be final and irreversible. Nor is it without design that the throne is described as “white,” seeing that it will exceed the meridian sun in brightness, nor ever be sullied by the smallest instance of partiality or error.

The idea of “earth and the heavens that surround it, fleeing from before his face, and no place being found for them,” is calculated to impress our minds with the most awful sense of his majesty and glory. This guilty globe was once the place of his residence, till its impious inhabitants rose up against him with one consent, and put him to death. But in that day, as though it was conscious of its own desert, it will flee from his presence; nor will any place be found for this theatre of sin to exist any longer in its present polluted state [Note: 2 Pedro 3:10.]

II.

The persons that shall be summoned to his tribunal—

[Not only at the deluge, when the whole world was drowned, but since that time, millions, who, for mercantile or hostile purposes, have traversed the mighty waters, have found their graves in the bosom of the ocean. But at the last day, “the sea shall give them up;” “death” also shall surrender up the bodies that have long since mouldered into dust, and “hades,” or the invisible world, shall deliver up the souls that have long abode in happiness or misery. All who have ever lived upon the earth, whether “small or great, shall stand before the tribunal of their God.” The God that formed them out of nothing will collect with ease their scattered atoms, and reunite them to their kindred souls. Every one shall appear in his own proper body, nor shall he be able either to withstand the summons, or elude the search. The king and the beggar, the sage philosopher and the child that died ere it saw the light, shall be no otherwise distinguished, than as they are classed with the righteous or the wicked.]

III.

The rule of judgment—

[Various “books shall then be opened” to serve as grounds of the Divine procedure [Note: Daniel 7:9.]. The book of God’s law, originally inscribed on the hearts of our First Parents, and still not wholly effaced even from the minds of heathens, will be the rule by which they shall be judged, who never saw the light of revelation [Note: Romanos 2:14.]. The book of the Gospel, wherein the mysteries of redemption are unfolded to our view, will be the touchstone by which our faith and practice shall be tried. The book of conscience too, which now omits many things, or grossly misrepresents them, will then give a juster testimony to our conduct: for then it will be a perfect transcript of another book that shall be opened, namely, the book of God’s remembrance. In this, every action, word, and thought, was faithfully recorded by the unerring hand of God himself: and every purpose, desire, or motive, shall have an influence on his decision to enhance our happiness or augment our misery [Note: 1 Coríntios 4:5.].

There is yet another book, particularly specified in the text, “the book of life.” This is none other than the book of God’s decrees, wherein were written from the foundation of the world the names of his elect. And as the other books will be opened in order to vindicate the equity of his decisions, so will this, in order to display the sovereignty of his grace. Twice is this book mentioned in the text; but twice also is it declared, that all “shall be judged according to their works:” while therefore we honour God’s electing love, we must carefully dismiss every thought that may disparage his remunerative justice. Though to God’s election the saints will be indebted for their salvation; the wicked will never perish through any influence of reprobation: their happiness men will owe to him; their misery to themselves alone.]

IV.

The sentence that shall be executed—

[Nothing is expressly mentioned in the text respecting the sentence of the righteous; though it is evidently implied, that they, having their names written in the book of life, shall have a very different end from that of the ungodly. Yes; to them there is no condemnation; they shall never perish, but shall have eternal life [Note: Romanos 8:1. João 10:27.]. If indeed God should judge them by the strict tenour of his law, they must perish: but he views them as clothed in the Redeemer’s righteousness; and accepts, for his sake, not their persons only, but their services, treasuring up their tears in his vial, and noticing their very desires in order to a future recompence [Note: Malaquias 3:16.].

As for those whose names are not written in the book of life, their state will be inexpressibly awful. They, together with “death and hell,” the present receptacles of the damned, shall be “cast into the lake of fire;” in order that, except in that place, there may not remain any vestige of sin or misery in the whole creation. This is emphatically called “the second death.” The pangs of dissolution are often great, and the consequent separation of soul and body very distressing: but the anguish attendant upon these is a very faint emblem of the torments that shall be endured in that state of separation from God, in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone.
Nor will the ungodly have any just reason to complain that their names were not written in the book of life, since they never desired to be there registered, nor ever regarded the Lamb of God, who alone could inscribe their names therein.]

Infer—
1.

How needful is it to secure an interest in Christ!

[We all are hastening to his judgment-seat; nor will and thing avail us there but an interest in his blood and righteousness — — — By the law we are all condemned; but by the Gospel we may all have life — — — Let us then not waste all our time in seeking the things that perish with the using; but rather secure an inheritance that shall never fade, and that shall continue when all earthly things shall be dissolved.]

2. How carefully should the professors of religion take heed to their ways!

[All must be judged according to their works, the quantity of which as well as the quality, will make an essential difference in our state [Note: Gálatas 6:8; 2 Coríntios 9:6.]. Every hour, as it passes, wings its way to heaven, and records the manner in which it was spent. We are, in fact, dictating daily our own sentence, and determining the measure of our own happiness or misery. Let us then frequently ask ourselves, what the last hour has recorded respecting us; and whether we shall be glad to see the transactions of it brought forth as evidences at the bar of judgment? God help us to bear this in mind; and so to pass our few remaining hours, as we shall wish we had passed them, when we shall be standing naked before his tribunal!]