(Read Rev. 20:11-21:811And 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. 12And 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. 13And 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. 14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 1And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. 2And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. 4And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. 5And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. 6And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. 7He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. 8But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (Revelation 20:11‑21:8).)
THIS Scene opens at once with the "great white throne.” Time is no longer, man's day is over your day, my day. Eternity has begun. What is the first thing that meets our gaze here? Blessedness? No. The sweet and blessed portion of one who has believed on the name of Jesus? No. It is the darkness which is the result of slighted grace!
“I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it." Who fills that throne? John tells us, “The Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son," and" hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man” (John 5:22, 2722For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: (John 5:22)
27And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man. (John 5:27)).
Will it be any terror to the Christian to be called out of the grave by the voice of the Lord? Oh no; His voice has long been known to him, and it will be joy to him to hear it then, calling him up to glory.
But this scene is the last of Christ's session, the last action of the judgment-seat. The Christian will have been long since manifested there to get his reward: not a cup of cold water given in Christ's name will be forgotten. But the great white throne is different entirely from that, and that is why, my beloved unsaved reader, I wish you never to be there. God is beseeching you, pleading with you, but your heart is pre-occupied with the vanities and frivolities of the world. 'Alas you have only turned a deaf ear to Him. It is Jesus, who hung upon Calvary's tree in agonies and blood, who will then righteously judge those who refuse to let Him save them now. Mark this, you will be judged by Him if you do not let Him save you. The believer's sins were all borne by Jesus, they are put away, and that is why he will never come into judgment. There will be no sins to talk about then.
That throne is of dazzling purity, spewing that no sin can be allowed there, no sinner spared, and only sinners will be there in their sins. The day of mercy is gone by, the silvery voice of grace is silent. Alas! for every soul who is there, his doom is surely fixed.
Ah, sinner, it is time you were roused, time you waked up. Not one prayer will break from your lips in that day, you will have nothing to say. You will remember then that you have despised God's grace, abused his mercy, refused His salvation, and then you must taste his judgment. God “has appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained." So said the Apostle in old Athens, and so says the Holy Ghost in this day. There is before you, sinner, a day of judgment. I want you to escape it.
“I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face heaven and earth fled away; and there was found no place for them." Is Christ then so terrible? Ah no; I, a poor vile sinner, fled to Him, and He saved me. But there all things are brought out in their true colors, and they flee. This poor sin-stained earth, defiled by Satan, and polluted by man, shall pass away. Peter tells us it is" reserved unto fire." It is the Holy Ghost's verdict; and these three words faith sees indelibly carved on all that man has erected and boasts in.
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." Who are they? God's children? No, none of God's children will be there. His children have part in the first resurrection." Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power." There are two resurrections; the first is after the pattern of Christ's, and includes every one who has been redeemed by Him, and it takes place before the millennium. After the 1000 years are ended comes the resurrection of the dead, when the throne is filled by Christ—God and man; not less God, because He is man. The answer to those who call on His name now is, that they get linked with Him who was judged for them on the Cross, and they, therefore, will never come into judgment.
If you do not know Christ as your Saviour now, you must stand before Him then, and sustain the judgment of your sins. Called by His voice, you must rise; body and soul are brought together again, God knows how. When you have passed from this scene, sinner, you must face Him in the body (changed though it will be), and own all the sins you have committed in it, that you are ashamed now your fellow-creatures should know of. Do not think, my young friends, that you will escape in that day; you are not too young to die, nor too young to believe.
Next, we find "the books were opened." There will be no mistake; there may be ten thousand John Browns, but you, the particular John Brown, will be found out. The book of life will be searched in vain for your name; but there is no believer whose name will not be found in it. Oh, you say, I have had my name on the communion-roll. That is not the book of life. The books are opened and searched in vain; there is nothing to prove that you have eternal life, and everything to prove, by your deeds, that you have not; so you are judged according to your works. You were born in sin, you lived in sin, you died in sin. There will be the record of many deeds; of many times listening to the gospel, very likely, but you slighted it, thought the preacher a fool, went on in your unbelief, died, were buried, and then, raised, you will be judged, and condemned to everlasting punishment. You will find then that you were the fool, and not Christ's Evangelist who sought to turn you to the Lord.
Young man, wake up; believe the gospel and you shall be saved. The simple soul says, I will make it impossible that I shall ever stand there and be judged, because I will turn to Jesus now, and His will receive me, and forgive my sins.
But more, "The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hades delivered up the dead which were in them." The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. How is it destroyed? By the resurrection of the wicked. It is annulled now for the believer by the death of Christ, but then it is destroyed. Not one shall be left in the grave. The murderer and his victim will meet there, the father and his godless son shall face each other, the swindler and his dupe stand side by side. Oh what a meeting that will be, as they stand together, and the secrets of every heart are unfolded!
Not a soul that stands there can be saved, for "whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Whosoever: you have heard often that word before. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely," has often fallen on your ears. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life," is familiar to you. "Whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved," makes it clear that any one who hears and believes the Gospel, shall have present and eternal blessing. Let not this world-wide grace lead you to delay, for it is also written, "whosoever was not found ' written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." Oh, "make your calling and election sure.
Something brighter is seen now, "a new heaven and a new earth," and "wherein dwelleth righteousness," as Peter says. This is their new state before God. The former are “passed away, and there was no more sea." The sea has broken more hearts than anything else, I suppose, and made countless widows and orphans. What a thought is conveyed to the heart, of eternal stability and rest, by the words, "there was no more sea”
But next, John sees the Bride, the Lamb's wife. The Bride is the Church of God, composed of every believer who has been washed in the Saviour's blood, and sealed by the Holy Ghost. It is presented here under the figure of a city. She has gone up into heaven a thousand years before, but there is not a gray hair nor a wrinkle on her, i.e., there is neither age nor decay. Oh bright and blessed portion for every believer's heart! Sorrow, trial, and pressure change the earthly brides, but there is none here. We shall be like Jesus, and shall never lose our likeness. " Christ loved the Church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish " (Eph. 5:25-2725Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. (Ephesians 5:25‑27)). How does He take out the spots? By His own blood. It is a figure of the perfection of the work of Christ, applied to all who believe in His name.
Oh, do not you want to read your title clear to this scene of joy? Every believer will be there. Some whom we tenderly loved have passed away from us, but we shall see them again in the beauty and radiance of Christ. Never shall a tear roll down the cheek any more, neither shall there be any more pain. Tell me, would you not like to be there? Look at this beautiful city; it has no need of the sun to lighten it, for the Lamb is the light thereof. The hymn says, —
"All taint of sin shall be removed,
All evil done away,
And I shall dwell with God's Beloved
Through God's eternal day.”
The tabernacle of God, this Bride is called also. It is the place where God dwells, and it is formed by the Holy Ghost. Men are afraid of God now; they do not like to hear His name. Just mention it in a railway carriage,—people look up from their novels to stare at you. Speak more closely, tell of the value of Christ's blood, of His name; they do not like it, they get uneasy. And when you get out at your station, they are relieved; the restraint is gone, and they say, “How entirely out of place all that was; this is not the time nor the place for these subjects." Is this not true? Of course it is; I have seen it many times. But here God dwells with men, and they shall be His people.
When Jesus was born in this world, there was a plot made to destroy Him; and the first time that He preached in His own city, Nazareth, they led Him to the brow of the hill, to cast Him down. Often did they lay plots to take His life, till at last they got Pilate to condemn Him, though he knew He was innocent. But here heaven and earth are in perfect unison. God dwells with men, and men rejoice to have Him dwelling with them.
Where will you spend eternity, my reader? You do not know? Well, thank God, I do. I shall be in the midst of that scene where there will be no more tears. This world began with tears, we may say, when Adam and Eve were turned out of Eden. In hell tears roll plentifully, for " there shall be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." Oh sinner, who will dry your eyes in hell? There will be no hand stretched out to comfort you there. You are beyond even the reach of God then.
“There shall be no more death," we also find. Death, that has so severely robbed and smitten us here, is no more. Life, eternal life, is in perennial force. Everything is after the pattern of God's own mind, and "the former things are passed away.” Jesus said on the cross, "It is done;" and He says it again here, “It is done; I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end." Everything that marked our history down here is gone forever.
Then God adds a precious word for a thirsty soul: “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." To "give," and "freely” also, is just God's character.
The Holy Ghost then turns for a moment to show the final terrible fate of the unbeliever. Have you ever studied that list in the eighth verse of Rev. 21.? Who are "the fearful and the unbelieving"? They are, I believe, by far the largest class of that doomed list. The "fearful" person is a timid one not a dreadful person. A young man says, "If I confess Christ, I may lose my situation, and I shall get laughed at." Surely he is a "fearful" person. A girl reasons thus, "I may lose much that I prize now, and must turn my back on the world that so charms me, if I decide for Christ." She too, alas, is of the company of the "fearful.”
“The fearful and the unbelieving" are around us on all hands. How many sit and hear the gospel hundreds of times, and are unconverted yet! My reader, if yet "fearful" or "unbelieving," see your fate for eternity. Do you like it? Oh no, you say, I do not. Then hear this, "I will give to him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely." What are you to do? If you are wise, you will "take" freely what God "gives" in the same way; and that is salvation. Jesus gives, and you take; that is all. "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely." Oh beloved reader, Jesus gives; do you take? Will you not take Him for your Saviour? Take this living water now, I beseech you, and escape from the doomed company of "the fearful and the unbelieving.”
What a wonderful thing to know God's salvation now! Dear reader, do not rest till you are in the full enjoyment thereof. May your soul be settled, and able to say, Thank God, I shall never stand at the great white throne to be judged, for Jesus is my Saviour. W. T. P. W.