(11) 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. (12) 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. (13) 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. (14) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Here we arrive to that great day of God, so long, so faithfully foretold, and now so solemnly introduced, with everything that may strike the mind in the contemplation of it. First, it begins with the sight of a great white throne. it is a great throne, for the Lord Jesus, the judge of quick and dead, who sits on it, is the great and only Potentate, King of kings, and Lord of lords. And it is a white throne, to intimate, perhaps, the justice and equity of his administration. And, oh! how great and glorious, and holy, and pure must he be that sits on it, before whom, the earth and the heaven fled away; for the heavens are not clean in his sight.
John proceeds. And I saw the dead small and great stand before God. Reader! think how solemn the moment, how interesting the event, involved in that day's decision! These must be the dead spoken of before, who lived not during the thousand years of Christ's reign (Revelation 20:5). Not the dead now or then, dead in trespasses and sins only, but the twice dead, dead in soul, and dead in body, and now raised up to judgment. The books opened, is spoken of after the manner of men. But the sense is, it should seem, that of the wretched dead, who died out of Christ, who trusted to equity and not grace, these books, meaning God's knowledge and their own consciences, could not fail of bringing them in guilty before God.
Sea, death, and hell giving up their dead, evidently proclaims the side on which those characters all stand. And their being all judged according to their works, most plainly show the same. The salvation of God's people is not noticed in this judgment; and consequently, the dead in Christ, in sea or land, are not here spoken of. For all that are noticed, are those whose names are not written in the Book of Life. This record is the only security, and a blessed and sure one indeed it is of the Lord's people.
I beg the Reader to notice with me, that nothing is said of the trial of the faithful. Indeed their trial hath taken place long before, when passing under the sentence of a broken law, they fled for refuge to the hope that was before them in Christ. It is said, indeed, and blessedly said, we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:10. But this not for trial, but for the Lord's blessing. There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus, Romans 8:1. And if there be no condemnation now, there will be no trial then. If the law be answered, as it hath been answered by Jesus our surety here, nothing can be brought forth to criminate there.
Reader! pause over this statement, and look at it every way, and examine whether it be strictly scriptural.
It is a grand, a momentous concern! If a child of God be truly and savingly called, is awakened, regenerated, justified in Christ Jesus, and made one with Christ, can there be any doubt or suspense as to the state in which he will appear before God? Will not Christ and his salvation be the same in death as they are in life; and will not his acceptance in the Beloved, be as sure in heaven, as it is here on earth. Could Paul, could Peter, could all the saints of God in the Old Testament and the New, talk with so much assurance of everlasting happiness in Christ, and by Christ, had a doubt remained of their interest in Christ, and their union with Christ? I pray the Reader, if his ground work of assurance be not founded on the same bottom, to see to it on what other footing his faith rests. If the prospect of that day of God be blessed, and the hope of it a joy unspeakable and full of glory, here is the strength of it in Jesus. And the assurance of our acceptance in Christ now must remove the possibility of failure then. Sweetly doth the Apostle sing to this note, when he saith for whom he called, them he also justified, and whom he justified, them he also glorified. And if so, what shall separate from the love of Christ.
Reader! beg of God the Spirit to be your Teacher! Bring this subject daily before the Lord. See to it, that nothing satisfieth your mind, until the Lord himself hath given you an answer of peace. And let every day find some portion or other of it, engaged in your soul's desire in looking for, and hasting unto this great day of God. And, oh! the unspeakable mercy, to be always on the lookout for Jesus, without suspense, without doubt, without fear, but in a fulness of joy, having redemption in his blood, waiting his coming, when Christ will own you before the congregated world, as his own, and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy.