A Response: “A Biblical Guide to Revelation” — Part 7

We have been making our way through a free guide I downloaded earlier this year, A Biblical Guide to Revelation (hereinafter, “Biblical Guide” or “Guide”; Part 1 is here). In this post, we’ll look into the “Great White Throne Judgment.”

Chapter 7: What Is the Great White Throne Judgment?

The phrase “great white throne” comes from Revelation 20.11. But, before getting to that passage, the Guide tells us that Jesus refers to this in the Gospel of John:

John 5.28-29 (CEB):[1] Don’t be surprised by this, because the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. 29Those who did good things will come out into the resurrection of life, and those who did wicked things into the resurrection of judgment.

By what were the people not to be surprised? To answer that question and understand the context of this quote, let’s back out and look at more of the passage.

John 5.25-30 (CEB; adapted): “I assure you that the time is coming — and is here! — when the dead will hear the voice of God’s [Only Begotten], and those who hear it will live. 26Just as [Abba God] has life in [Godself], so [Abba God] has granted the [Only Begotten] to have life in himself. 27[God] gives the [Only Begotten] authority to judge, because he is the [Only Begotten]. 28Don’t be surprised by this, because the time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice. 29Those who did good things will come out into the resurrection of life, and those who did wicked things into the resurrection of judgment. 30I can’t do anything by myself. Whatever I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just. I don’t seek my own will but the will of the one who sent me (emphasis added).

The Guide states that Jesus’ alludes to the “Great White Throne Judgement” in this passage. And perhaps that’s correct; it’s certainly plausible.

However, verses 28-29 seem to be tied to verses 25-27. Jesus is saying that “the dead” will hear his voice and “live.” The reason for this is because, just like Abba, Jesus is the source of life. In other words, Jesus gives life to all things just like Abba God does. This makes sense because they’re of the same essence or substance (known in Orthodox theology as homoousios meaning “of the same substance”).

The thing Jesus’ audience shouldn’t be surprised by then, seems to be the fact that he will be the one administering justice (or judgment). The Greek word here is κρίσιν (krisin) and means, “decision, determination, judgment, trial, sentence, accusation, quarrel, dispute, turning point or decisive point of disease progression.” In other words, “judgment” is a good translation. The problem with it, though, is we’ve been so conditioned to hear the word “judgment” and think, “punishment,” when the word simply means to render a decision. Furthermore, when we hear the word “judgment” or “punishment” in a biblical context, we think, “eternal, conscious torment in Hell.” It’s equally not helpful when some translations render the word as “condemnation.”

The Guide then turns back to Revelation 20.11-15 and states— 

When you are reading or studying Scripture it’s always good to ask questions to help understand the passage. These can be referred to as the W questions, who, what, where, when, why. Let’s do that with this passage.

Finally! It seems we’ve gotten to a great place where we’re finally going to ask some important and key questions.

Except we don’t.

Instead of asking “To whom was this letter written?” or “How would the original audience(s) have understood these things?”, the Guide asks the following questions— 

Who will be judged?

When and where will they be judged?

What will they be judged for?

Why are they being judged?

We’ll briefly look at the questions and the answers the Guide gives.

Who will be judged?

The Guide states that “Great White Throne Judgment” is for “unbelievers and not for believers” (pg. 21). The Guide goes on to say, “For these (i.e., the “unbelievers”), there is no hope of eternal life which is why John wrote ‘Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection.’”

But nowhere in scripture does it state, “there is no hope of eternal life” for people who have already left this world’s realm. In fact, the New Testament indicates that people who have already died can still hear the Gospel and believe. The writer of 1 Peter wrote — 

1 Peter 3.18-20a (CEB): Christ himself suffered on account of sins, once for all, the righteous one on behalf of the unrighteous. He did this in order to bring you into the presence of God. Christ was put to death as a human, but made alive by the Spirit. 19And it was by the Spirit that he went to preach to the spirits in prison. 20In the past, these spirits were disobedient — when God patiently waited during the time of Noah (emphasis added). 

And in the next chapter, it states — 

1 Peter 4.5-7 (CEB): They will have to reckon with the one who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6Indeed, this is the reason the good news was also preached to the dead. This happened so that, although they were judged as humans according to human standards, they could live by the Spirit according to divine standards. 7The end of everything has come. Therefore, be self-controlled and clearheaded so you can pray (emphasis added).

There are two things we can glean from these passages — 1) Jesus preached the Gospel to the dead; 2) “The end of everything” had come to the first century generation of Jesus’ followers. We’ll briefly look at these two points.

Why would Jesus go to Hades and preach the Gospel to the dead if people can’t believe after physical death? This is even alluded to in Revelation. John tells us that the 12 gates that lead into the New Jerusalem “will never be shut by day…” (Revelation 21.25). And later, John describes the New Jerusalem stating that it contains a “river of life-giving water” and the “tree of life” whose leaves are for “the healing of nations” (Revelation 22.1-5). Finally, John states that there are “dogs, the drug users and spell-casters, those who commit sexual immorality, the murderers, the idolaters, and all who love and practice deception” outside the city (verse 15). These passages generate some questions: Why would there be “dogs, drug users, etc.” after the “Great White Throne Judgment”? I thought they were supposed to be “in Hell?” Are we to suppose that “hell” is right outside the New Jerusalem? Furthermore, why is there “healing of nations” if everyone is already in Heaven by this time? Again, this is supposed to be after the “Great White Throne Judgement” so who would need healing in the way this Guide understands things?

The answer is that there is now, because of the work of Jesus, an ever present “way” into God’s presence (Revelation 21.25). That is to say, because of Jesus, all people now have access to God. These passages, then, point to the inclusiveness of the Gospel because Jesus brought “salvation to all people” (Titus 2.11; see 2 Corinthians 5.19; 1 Timothy 2.4; 4.10).

Next, we can’t be living in the “end times” as the Guide states because it had already come in the first century since “Peter” wrote, “The end of all things has come” (1 Peter 4.7). In the pages of the New Testament, the first century followers of Jesus progressed from the “last days” to the “end of the age” to the “last hour” to the “time is near” and “must soon take place” to “the end of everything has come” (see Matthew 16.27-28; Matthew 23.35-36; Matthew 24.34; 1 Corinthians 10.11; 1 John 2.18; Revelation 1.1-3; Revelation 22.6, 12). The New Testament writers were very clear — the “end times” were being fulfilled during their generation. Indeed, it was coming upon them, just as Jesus and the apostles predicted. Either that or the writers of the New Testament were wrong. We can’t have it both ways.

When and where will they be judged?

The Guide states that this judgment will take place in front of God’s throne “after the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth” (pg. 21). But as we’ve already seen, Christ does not reign “on the earth.” The New Testament is clear that Christ is currently sitting on the throne at the right hand of God reigning over everything (Matthew 26.64; Mark 16.19; Luke 22.69; Acts 5.31; Romans 8.34; 1 Corinthians 15.23-26; Colossians 3.1; Hebrews 1.1-3; etc.).

What will they be judged for?[2] and Why are they being judged?

I’ve put these two together because they’re really the same thing even though the Guide doesn’t think so.

In answering the first question, the Guide gets it right — people will be judged for their actions (Revelation 20.12). However, the Guide thinks this is just for “unbelievers,” whereas the New Testament states that this judgment is for all people (cf., Revelation 20.12ff). Paul wrote:

Romans 14.10 (CEB): But why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you look down on your brother or sister? We all will stand in front of the judgment seat of God (emphasis added).

2 Corinthians 5.10 (CEB): We all must appear before Christ in court so that each person can be paid back for the things that were done while in the body, whether they were good or bad (emphasis added).

The Guide then asks the second question — Why are they being judged? The answer should be the same as before — because of their actions. The Guide, however, adds something that Revelation doesn’t. In fact, it’s not found in any judgement scene in the New Testament — belief in Jesus.

This judgment is because they have rejected Christ as their substitute and they have chosen to pay the penalty for their sins themselves. Because God is a just, holy, and righteous God all sin requires that a penalty be paid for it. For those who receive Christ, the penalty for their sin is placed on him. For those who choose to reject Christ, they carry in themselves the penalty of their sin. As you can see the penalty is extreme and severe.

There are several things about the above paragraph that need to be addressed but I’m only going to spotlight a couple. We won’t go into all of the different theories of Jesus’ death on the cross, just note that penal substitutionary atonement the Guide is putting forward is but one view of Christ’s death on the cross and not even the most popular view. Again, we see the Guide leaning heavily into Protestant (i.e., evangelical) doctrine.

Another point I want to highlight is the idea that people can somehow choose “to pay the penalty for their sins themselves.” Plainly put, this isn’t biblical. The New Testament is quite clear on this point, Jesus died for everyone. That’s what the Good News is — a declaration of what God has done through Jesus and it’s true whether one believes it or not:

John 12.47 (CEB): “I didn’t come to judge the world but to save it.” (Jesus is literally saying, “I came to save the world.”)

 

1 John 2.2 (CEB): [Jesus is] God’s way of dealing with our sins, not only ours (i.e., current believers) but the sins of the whole world (cf. John 1.29).

 

1 Timothy 4.10 (CEB): We work and struggle for this: “Our hope is set on the living God, who is the savior of all people, especially those who believe.”

 

Romans 5.18, 21 (CEB): Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone … So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus the Christ our Lord. (That is, because of Jesus, “God’s wonderful grace now rules … over all people.”)

 

1 Corinthians 15.22 (CEB): In the same way that everyone dies in Adam, so also everyone will be given life in Christ. 

 

I could go on and on. The testimony of Scripture is twofold — those who believe now, and everyone else believing later because “everyone will be given life in Christ.”

 

Finally, the Guide again seems steeped in Protestant doctrine, perhaps even Reformed doctrine. I say this because the Guide understands God as a “just, holy, and righteous God” and because of this view, God “requires that a penalty be paid for” all sin. My friends and I have discussed this at length lately. We all agreed with John’s understanding of God —

 

1 John 4.7-10 (CEB): Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. 8The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how the love of God is revealed to us: God has sent his only Son into the world so that we can live through him. 10This is love: it is not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son as the sacrifice that deals with our sins.

 

Here we see several things to rebut this Guide’s view. For starters, “God is Love” (verse 8). And it’s because of God’s love — not because God’s “just, holy, and righteous” — that Christ was sent as “the sacrifice that deals with our sins.” In other words, as I noted above, Christ has already dealt with our sins. And it’s because of God’s Love. All of God’s other attributes flow out of Love; Love is the foundation for everything God does; it is the very essence of God’s being.

 

That’s it for this post! Please click here for the last post in this series.

 

 

 

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In the Love of the Three in One,

 

Br. Jack+, LC

 

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[1] Scripture quotations marked (CEB) are taken from The Common English Bible. Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible. Used by permission.

 

[2] This question should really be, “For What Will They Be Judged?” I know that it messes up their “W” questions, but one should try to avoid ending a sentence with a preposition and this was a simple fix!