Article by: Kenneth J. Ester
Judgment Day
The thousand years of peace on earth, where the righteous judged under Jesus, has come to an end. The dreaded day has come. The day when the fates of billions will be realized. It is the day of Judgment!
All of those who rejected Jesus as the Son of God and their Lord and Savior have been in Hades, awaiting this day. They are brought back to life and given new bodies. Bodies like we have now only imperishable. They cannot die, but they can still feel pain. They can still suffer.
They will be placed before the great white throne of judgment and they will be given books. These books will be filled with everything they had done in their lives. Every good deed and every sin they had ever committed. They will be judged according to the lives they lived. That judgment, whether good or bad, will not save them. Their fates are already sealed.
After they are judged, another book will be opened. This book is called the Book of Life and it is filled with names. Anyone whose name is in the Book of Life will be saved. Only none of their names will be in it. The names that are in the book are the names of those who believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and have already been accepted into His kingdom.
When the Book of Life is opened and they find their names are not in the book, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 20:11-15 (NASB)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, 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 who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each 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.
If they are cast into the Lake of Fire because their name is not found in the Book of Life, then why are they judged according to their deeds?
Many try to interpret this to mean that there will be some who did enough good that they will have their names entered into the Book of Life. That is part of the reason some believe we are saved by works.
They are not saved by their deeds. We are only saved by believing in Jesus as Lord during our life time on this earth. Nothing else. "The Truth of Salvation".
The reason they are judged according to their deeds is not to decide whether their names will be entered into the Book of Life, but it is to decide the level of their suffering. Just as the saved will receive rewards according to their deeds, the unsaved will receive their suffering according to their deeds. God is a just God. He will not make a good person who never accepted Jesus suffer the same as the likes of Hitler or Charles Manson.
The Lake of Fire will have different levels of suffering. Some areas will not be as hot or terrible as others. Though some will suffer far worse than others, they will all suffer for their rejection of Jesus as the Son of God.
Those who are saved however, will be given a New Earth
All of those who rejected Jesus as the Son of God and their Lord and Savior have been in Hades, awaiting this day. They are brought back to life and given new bodies. Bodies like we have now only imperishable. They cannot die, but they can still feel pain. They can still suffer.
They will be placed before the great white throne of judgment and they will be given books. These books will be filled with everything they had done in their lives. Every good deed and every sin they had ever committed. They will be judged according to the lives they lived. That judgment, whether good or bad, will not save them. Their fates are already sealed.
After they are judged, another book will be opened. This book is called the Book of Life and it is filled with names. Anyone whose name is in the Book of Life will be saved. Only none of their names will be in it. The names that are in the book are the names of those who believed in Jesus as their Lord and Savior and have already been accepted into His kingdom.
When the Book of Life is opened and they find their names are not in the book, they will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
Revelation 20:11-15 (NASB)
11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled, 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 who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each 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.
If they are cast into the Lake of Fire because their name is not found in the Book of Life, then why are they judged according to their deeds?
Many try to interpret this to mean that there will be some who did enough good that they will have their names entered into the Book of Life. That is part of the reason some believe we are saved by works.
They are not saved by their deeds. We are only saved by believing in Jesus as Lord during our life time on this earth. Nothing else. "The Truth of Salvation".
The reason they are judged according to their deeds is not to decide whether their names will be entered into the Book of Life, but it is to decide the level of their suffering. Just as the saved will receive rewards according to their deeds, the unsaved will receive their suffering according to their deeds. God is a just God. He will not make a good person who never accepted Jesus suffer the same as the likes of Hitler or Charles Manson.
The Lake of Fire will have different levels of suffering. Some areas will not be as hot or terrible as others. Though some will suffer far worse than others, they will all suffer for their rejection of Jesus as the Son of God.
Those who are saved however, will be given a New Earth
