End Times Prophecy Passport

By Chuck Colson

THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

With Jesus ruling for a thousand years, it might be easy to believe that everyone in the world will happily follow the Lord. But just as it was at His first coming, there will be those during the millennium who will not follow. After defeating Satan and his army at Armageddon, Jesus will resurrect every nonbeliever who has died since the time of Adam.

The nonbelievers will appear before Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:11). He will judge them based on their deeds—in particular, their sins. No one will be able to stand before the Lord and claim sinless perfection.

This reality makes the single paragraph of Revelation 20:11-15 one of the darkest of all Scripture. Here we have something unparalleled in the entire Bible; hopeless finality. The language is clear, direct pointed, and unembellished. And the facts are set forth without a hint of hope…because there is none. No appeal, no debate over guilt or innocence, no final offer of clemency, and no possibility of escape. The purpose of the Great White Throne judgment is not to decide the fate of the nonbeliever. It will be a time of sentencing. Eternal destiny is never decided after death, only before.

These nonbelievers who will appear before Christ will witness many books being opened, books that may record how they lived during their time on earth. The Book of Life will also be opened, a book that records the names of those who trust in Christ’s righteousness, rather than their own, for salvation (Revelation 20:12).

The result of the Great White Throne judgment? Not only will Satan join the Antichrist and the False Prophet in hell—the lake of fire—but since nonbelievers’ names will not be found in the Book of Life, they will also be sent to hell.

YEAH, BUT…

The concept of never-ending, conscious punishment for unbelievers is unpopular among Christians. They would prefer to believe that all people are forgiven and will go to heaven one day (universalism) or that the unsaved will simply be destroyed rather than continue existing forever (annihilationism). Others see the lake of fire as figurative or metaphorical rather than literal.

The doctrine of never-ending, conscious punishment of the lost is a difficult one to accept mentally and emotionally. However, the Bible is clear that those who choose not to have their sins forgiven through faith in Christ will suffer for eternity in the place “prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41). Also, with chilling imagery, we are told the clear fate of those who will worship the Beast during the tribulation: “and the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night” (Revelation 14:11). As Christians we take no pleasure in the eternal punishment of other human beings, but we cannot deny the clear teaching of Scripture.

So What?

Is eternal punishment biblical?

The Great White Throne judgment is different from all the other judgments Scriptures describes. This is a singular, biblical event—one that should bring healthy fear to those who have not believed in Jesus as Lord. Without faith, the end for all who refuse Christ’s offer of salvation will be eternal torment, fire and death. For believers, awareness of the coming judgment at the Great White Throne should spur our efforts at evangelism. As we look around at our fellow human beings, the prospect of their eternal damnation should fill us with the compassion and mercy of God. In addition, such a terrible fate for nonbelievers should remind us never to look down upon them as lesser people but to hold out hope for their redemption.