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 Sermon > Lecture Messages |
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Title |
Revelation Lectures(84) |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Revelation 20:11-15 |
Date |
2008-12-05 |
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Scripture
Revelation 20:11-15
[11] Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
[12] And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
[13] And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
[14] Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire This is the second death, the lake of fire.
[15] And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
In the last session I finished explaining about the Millennium Kingdom.
The people of the flesh were deceived by the enemy devil and Satan, and they tried to attack the children of God, but then the fire came down from heaven and consumed them.
Now, Apostle John saw a surprising scene.
Revelation 20:11 says, "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them."
Then he saw the Great White Throne, which is the Throne of God; this is the throne of the Final Judgment.
For all creation, the Throne of God, who is Spirit, has been in the 4th heaven.
However, the His Throne can be found in the 3rd heaven as well. God can place His Throne even in the 1st heaven as He pleases.
You don't need to wonder, "How is it possible that the Throne of God who is Spirit can come down to this 1st heaven which is the fleshly world?"
The Throne of God in New Jerusalem shines with the Light of glory, surrounded by rainbow; it gives peace and fullness.
Of course, those who are not sanctified cannot look up at the glorious throne of God.
However, they can see the throne with the hearts of love and reverent fear.
But, at the time of the Final Judgment even the saved souls can only bow their heads before the mighty dignity and authority commanded by the Great White Throne.
In case of the unsaved souls, they tremble in such great fear just standing before the dignity of the Throne.
Don't regard the Throne as one of the thrones on which kings of this earth sit.
The Great White Throne includes not only the very God- Seat, but also includes the distinctive space near the throne.
The throne is white because the light from the throne is so bright and brilliant that the throne looks all white.
It also shows the attributes of God such as cleanliness, purity, truth, and eternity.
Such a glorious throne of God is placed in the 1st heaven, and the Judgment finally begins for the souls who have been cultivated since the Creation.
This Judgment takes place in the 1st heaven.
It implies that the Judgment is made in the place where the mankind was cultivated according to their deeds.
By the way, even though the Judgment takes place in the 1st heaven, the space is not the limited fleshly space that it is now.
Just as the scripture says, "From His presence earth and heaven fled away." During the Judgment there is no border between the earth and heaven.
For the Final Judgment, all the spaces from the 1st heaven to the 3rd heaven open as if they were all the same space.
In a building, for example, if you remove the ceiling of the 1st floor, the 1st and the 2nd floor become one space.
Everything that is happening on the 1st floor can be seen and heard on the 2nd floor.
If the ceiling of the 2nd floor is removed, the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd floors become one space.
By the same token, God opens the heavens in different spaces, and makes them appear as one.
Wherever you may be, you can feel His dignity vividly as if you were standing right before His Throne.
At the moment of the Great White Throne Judgment, the souls who are to be judged are scattered in different spaces.
Those who lived on earth during the Millennium Kingdom stand before the Throne of God as they are.
Among the saved souls, there are some who are staying in the Upper Grave.
As you may have heard in the lecture series "Hell", they are the souls who died in their mother's womb but received salvation through the Judgment of Conscience.
Among the souls who were saved during the 7 Year Great Tribulation, some of them don't enter the Millennium Kingdom but stay in a separate place.
They don't even participate in the Wedding Banquet, but stay in the separated place in the 2nd heaven from the moment they died as martyrs until the Judgment Day.
They go to the outskirts of Paradise after the Judgment.
Next, there are unsaved souls who are being punished in the Lower Grave.
The souls who are scattered around in these different places such as the Upper Grave, the Lower Grave, and the 2nd heaven will receive Judgment before the Throne of God.
However, they aren't actually moved to the space of the 1st heaven. But since the spaces are opened, they feel as if they were all in the same place.
In the case of the Lower Grave, the space opens as if the sky of the Lower Grave opened.
Then, the souls in the Lower Grave also feel as if they were standing right before the Throne of God which is in the 1st heaven.
This Judgment can be seen not only the souls in the Upper Grave and Lower Grave, but in the space of the second heaven opens and the people in the Garden of Eden can also watch this Judgment.
They watch every detail of this amazing scene as if they too were in the same space.
Of course, since they were not cultivated, they are not subject to the Judgment, either.
However, those souls cultivated on this earth who are being judged are their very forefather, Adam, and his descendants.
Many of those who are living in Eden at one time lived together with Adam and Eve as their sons and daughters or as grandchildren; they witnessed the glory and curse of Adam.
Therefore, they are always curious about the things happening to the people of the earth.
Watching the Judgment is also helpful for the people in the Garden of Eden to understand the Human Cultivation.
At the Judgment, the 3rd heaven also opens.
In the 3rd heaven, there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal, before the throne of God.
During the Judgment, every detail of each one's deeds is clearly seen on this sea of glass.
As the space of this 3rd heaven opens, everybody can see this sea of glass as if it had been moved before the throne of God and unfolded in the 1st heaven.
Since many spaces are open as if they were one, the earth and sky of the 1st heaven doesn't have much meaning before the throne of God during the Judgment.
That's why tonight's scripture says, "no place was found for them."
There is another reason for this expression; after the Judgment is over, the earth and the sky of the 1st heaven no longer have any function.
The earth, the solar system and the whole universe was a place prepared for the human cultivation.
After the Judgment, there is no need for the souls who enter heaven to return to the earth and no reason for the people in the Garden of Eden either.
There is no longer a capacity for life on the earth. It doesn't move or rotate and the 4 seasons are no more.
However, this space isn't just discarded and does not just cease to exist.
The space itself exists, but God shuts down the gate to this space.
That's why the scripture says, "earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them."
Now, Revelation 20:12 says, "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds."
"The dead" refers to those whose spirit is dead; they are those who have nothing to do with salvation.
Regardless of their position or fame or fortune, everyone - big or small, man or woman, young or old - stands before the throne of God.
There is no exception.
All of those who didn't believe in God and who would not accept the Lord go to hell.
According to their deeds, they go either to 'the Lake of Fire' or to 'the Lake of Sulfur' which is 7 times hotter than the Lake of Fire.
If we look at the scripture, there are other books and the Book of Life.
The Book of Life is the book which records the names of the saved souls.
And other books record, in great detail, the deeds of both the saved souls and the unsaved souls.
Who wrote these books?
There are angels which were given this writing task.
An angel is assigned to each individual, and the angel records all the details of the heart, the thoughts, and the deeds from the moment of birth till death.
Matthew 12:36 says, "But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment."
As said, every word that is spoken becomes a standard of the Judgment.
The sidewise-glance out of hatred, a word of abuse or gossip, violence, anger, quarrelling, murder, adultery, stealing, and even spitting; the angel never misses a thing.
Of course the angel records all the good deeds as well.
The deeds of the saved children are also recorded, but they don't need to worry.
In case of the believers, the sins that they committed before they accept the Lord are forgiven when they accept the Lord.
Just as Psalm 103:12 says, "As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us," when they believe in the Lord and repent of their sins, they are forgiven by the precious blood of the Lord.
In addition, if they repent, from the depth of the heart, of the sins they commit after accepting the Lord, turn back and live in the Light, they can be forgiven again.
But, you should not think that you can be forgiven whenever and just because you repent of your sins.
It must be the true repentance that God can accept.
Hebrews 10:26 says, "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins."
If you truly repent, you should change and bear the fruit of repentance.
But, if you think, "I can be forgiven if I repent," and continue to commit sin, then that is not acting in faith, and you cannot be forgiven.
Furthermore, the bible says blaspheming and speaking against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven; it is the sin that leads to death.
God will doesn't give the spirit of repentance, and thus you cannot even repent.
After the Judgment, you will go to the Lake of Sulfur, instead of the Lake of Fire.
When a judgment is made based of the records in the books, it is useless to deny what a person has done, saying, "I've never done it before."
Besides the records that are written in the books, God shows more firm evidences.
It is in the scenes that can be observed on the sea of glass which is before the Throne of God in the 3rd heaven.
All the records in the books are replayed as if you were watching a movie.
It shows not only the deeds and the words, but also the thoughts, minds, and intentions.
Like this, the Judgment of God proceeds based on all the thoughts, minds, heart, words and deeds collectively.
No one can say, "I'm innocent of the charge."
Now, Revelation 20:13 says, "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds."
The dead - the unsaved souls - are judged, and it says, "the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them."
What does it mean?
The sea spiritually refers to the place where the human beings are cultivated; it refers to this world.
"The sea - this world - gave up the dead which were in it" shows that the souls that are judged were actually cultivated on this world.
This world also gives up the flesh of the dead for the Judgment.
When a man dies without being saved, the spirit is confined in the Lower Grave, and his flesh decays and turns back into dust.
However, on the Judgment Day, the spirit of the dead in the Lower Grave also puts on the body adequate for the Judgment.
Of course, their spirit and body are different from the spirit and body of the saved.
They are also called 'spirit,' but their spirit cannot communicate with God, and it is the dead spirit that falls short of its duty.
Only its spiritual shape remains containing the immortal attributes of its nature and character.
Their body is not like the resurrected body of the saved.
It is, again, the imperishable body that only contains the immortal attributes of its nature and character.
When the saved put on the heavenly body, they can feel the happiness and joy all the vividly in the space of heaven.
By the same token, when the dead put on the body for the Judgment, they can feel the punishment of Hell more vividly.
Actually, the punishment of Hell is much more terrible than that of the Lower Grave.
Moreover, they can suffer the pain all the more greatly than in the Lower Grave because they wear the body that they didn't wear in the Lower Grave.
The scripture also says, "death gave up the dead."
It means that the dead receive the Judgment because of their deeds.
Just as Romans 6:23 says, "the wage of sin is death," it clearly shows that the Judgment is made strictly according to the justice.
According to the sin they committed while being cultivated, they fall into the Lower Grave after they die, and later they fall down to either the Lake of Fire or the Lake of Sulfur.
When death gives up the dead for the Judgment, they are released for a while from the Lower Grave where they receive punishment.
This fact that the dead are released from death is 'the second resurrection.'
When did the first resurrection take place?
Revelation 20:6 says, "Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years."
Those who believe in the Lord have a part in the first resurrection when the Lord comes back in the air.
They wear the resurrected body, participate in the 7 Year Wedding banquet, and reign in the Millennium Kingdom of a thousand years.
Is there anyone who wondered, "It says not just 'the resurrection,' but 'the FIRST resurrection. Does it mean that there is the 'SECOND' resurrection?"
I didn't explain it, but if you read the scripture carefully, you should have been curious about it.
The bible doesn't clearly use the term, "the second resurrection."
However, when tonight's scripture says, "death gave up the dead," it refers to the second resurrection.
The second resurrection is that death releases the dead before the Judgment of the lake of Fire and the Lake of Sulfur.
However, this resurrection is not the resurrection of life and salvation, but it is the resurrection of fear and judgment; it only applies to the unsaved souls.
Like this, this second resurrection has nothing to do with the saved souls. That's why the bible doesn't' refer it to a "resurrection".
When death releases the dead for a while, they are free from the punishment of the Lower Grave for a while.
However, it is just a very short break. It doesn't give any peace or hope.
Since they know that all the more miserable punishment of Hell is waiting for them after the Judgment, they just wait full of fear.
The scripture also says, "Hades gave up the dead."
As just explained, it refers to the fact that the dead will put on their body when death gives up the dead and stands before the throne.
Even though they stay in the Lower Grave, because the spaces are open as if they were one as I explained earlier, they can feel the dignity and authority of the throne as much as those who are before the throne in the 1st heaven.
It is in this way that as the sea, death, and Hades give up the dead, no one can escape from standing before the Judgment of God.
And they are judged according to their deeds.
By the way, here is one thing you should remember. There are souls who already received judgment and fell down to hell even before the Great White Throne Judgment.
The bible says, at the end of the 7 year Great Tribulation, the judgment of God comes upon the beast and the false prophet, and they are thrown alive in the lake of brimstone (which is the Lake of Sulfur.)
And at the end of the Millennium Kingdom, the people of the flesh who betrayed others are consumed by fire and thrown into the Lake of Fire and the Lake of Sulfur.
Since they already received the Judgment and fell into Hell, they don't receive the Final Judgment again.
However, as all the spaces are open as one, the space of hell also opens, and thus they, too, can watch the Judgment while suffering in the fire and sulfur.
Now, Revelation 20:14-15 says, "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire this is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
Here, "the lake of fire' refers to the whole of Hell collectively, including both the lake of fire and the lake of sulfur.
Death and the Lower Grave finished their roles, and those who were in death, and those who were in Hades (the Lower Grave) are now thrown into hell.
It says, "death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire," but not the sea.
Since the world, which is the 1st heaven (namely the fleshly space) doesn't need to be thrown into hell, it is just abolished.
I will explain some exceptional cases in Hades later.
1 Timothy 5:24-25 says, "The sins of some men are quite evident, going before them to judgment; for others, their sins follow after. Likewise also, deeds that are good are quite evident, and those which are otherwise cannot be concealed."
The unsaved souls have the different gravities of sin.
Those with heavier sin are thrown into the Lake of Sulfur, and those with less, into the Lake of Fire.
On the Final Judgment Day, those with heavier sin receive the Judgment ahead of others.
However, they are not thrown into hell one by one as soon as the judgment is made. Once the Judgment is over for the whole, they all fall into their appointed hell.
Now, I've finished the explanation on the Final Judgment written in tonight's scripture.
However, even if you've followed me well up to this far, you may not have the general idea of the Final Judgment yet.
Therefore, I will continue with the things not covered in tonight's scripture in the next lecture.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
Heaven and Hell surely exist.
No one can enter Heaven unless their name is found in the Book of Life to be saved.
They will be judged before the rigid Judge, and receive the eternal punishment of Hell.
However, since you believe God in good conscience and accept the Lord, when you hear about the Judgment, you will rather be full of hope for heaven.
That's because you expect to receive reward for your deeds of faith, good deeds, and faithfulness.
Even if you say, "I'm thankful for I believe in the Lord and have received the Holy Spirit," however, you should remember these words.
Revelation 3:5 says, "He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels."
Exodus 32:32 also says, "please blot me out from Your book which You have written!"
It indicates that, even though a name is written in the Book of Life, the name can be erased in a certain case.
In addition, 1 Thessalonians 5:19 says, "Do not quench the Spirit."
It means that, even if a man received the Holy Spirit, when he continues to disobey the will of God, the Holy Spirit can be quenched.
When he professes that he believes but lives in sin, if the Holy Spirit is quenched, he is no different from unbelievers.
When he stands in front of the rigid judgment seat, how much will he regret?
"Why didn't I live by the word of God? Even though I surely learned what the will of God was, but I took the lust of the world, and thus I stand now on this fearful place. Why did I do that? Why was I foolish then? How much good it would be, if just one more chance could be given to me?" He will regret like this.
I hope none of you will be like this.
You should stand before the judgment seat of God with confidence, not with fear, and receive a better dwelling place and rewards.
Please live everyday with such a hope.
BY doing so, when the Judgment is over, may you enter through the gate of heaven singing hymns of joy and thanks, in the name of the Lord, Jesus Christ, I pray!
[Amen] |
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