I saw a great white throne, &c.— Great, to shew the largeness and extent; white, to shew the justice and equity of the judgment; and one siting on it, that is, the Son of God; for the Father hath committed all judgment unto the Son,
John 5:22. 'The expression, that it was he from whose face the earth and heaven fled away, is inconceivably great; it is so plain, that it does not need, and so majestic and grand, that it exceeds commentary and paraphrase: it shews us, that this is properly the end of the world. The dead, both small and great, of all ranks and degrees, as well those who perished at sea, and were buried in the waters, as those who died at land, and were buried in graves, are all raised, and stand before the judgment seat of God, where they are judged every man according to their works, as exactly as if all their actions had been recorded in books; Revelation 20:13. They who are found not worthy to be enrolled in the registers of heaven, are cast into the lake of fire; whither also were cast death and hell, or the grave, which are here personified, as they are likewise in other places of holy scripture. It may seem strange that death should be cast into the lake of fire, which is the second death; Revelation 20:14. But the meaning is, thattemporal death, which hitherto had exercised dominion over the race of men, shall be totally abolished, and, with respect to the wicked, be converted into eternal death. Then, as St. Paul says, shall be brought to pass that which is written, &c. 1 Corinthians 15:54-55.
Inferences and REFLECTIONS.—What a glorious time of light, liberty, love and peace, purity, joy and triumph, shall the church of true believers enjoy upon earth, after many years of darkness, trouble, and oppression! The Lord Jesus will bind and shut up Satan, that old serpent, the devil, as in prison: the cause of truth and holiness shall revive with great power, spirituality, and splendor: and they, who, with the constancy, patience, and spirit of martyrs, had courageously renounced all idolatry, wickedness, and error, and maintained a good profession of Christ and of his gospel in the worst of times, shall, together with their successors of the same spirit, live and reign with him, under his protection and smiles, for a thousand years upon the earth. And O with what honour and acceptance will they then appear, like royal priests to him, and to God the Father through him! But how vain would it be to expect an everlasting continuance of such a happy state on this earth! At the expiration of the thousand years, Satan will, in some measure, be let loose again for a little while, and be permitted to go forth, once more, to deceive the nations throughout the world, and gather all his numberless forces together from among them, who may be compared to Gog and Magog, those last enemies of Israel, to attack and disturb the saints, the beloved city of the Lord. But, blessed be God, this regained power and last effort will be very short, and certainly end in the utter destruction of the devil, and of all his adherents, who shall be consumed by fire from heaven, and cast into everlasting flames with him: for Christ will set his throne for judgment, and the present frame of the earth and aerial heaven shall be dissolved at his appearing. Then there shall be a general resurrection of the dead, wheresoever they were buried, in the earth or in the sea; and the final judgment of all mankind will, upon trial out of the books which shall be opened, publicly and unalterably determine the eternal state of every one of them for inexpressible happiness, or misery, according to their respective works, whether they be good or bad. Then all the ungodly, whose bodies were dead, and whose souls had been in a separate state, shall, according to the just sentence passed upon them for their evil deeds, be cast into everlasting burnings. But O the happiness of the righteous; as described in the following chapter!