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, (20:11).
There are some definite points of bewilderment about the dragon who is bound for a thousand years.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time, (20:1-3).
And scholars still debate it. Some believe the thousand years it’s a literal time frame while others think it’s a reference to an undetermined, but very long time. And then there is the question as to when the 1,000-year reign of Christ actually occurs.
There are three primary positions held, postmillennial, amillennial, and premillennial, and below is a link from gotquestions.org for further independent study. https://www.gotquestions.org/millennialism.html
According to gotquestions.org, the millennial kingdom is the time when God will fulfill certain covenant promises. (The link below offers further information on these specific promises.)
“The purpose of the 1,000-year reign is to fulfill various promises God made to the world. Some of these promises, called covenants, were given specifically to Israel. Others were given to Jesus, the nations of the world, and creation. Jesus’ 1,000-year reign will be a time of promises kept.” https://www.gotquestions.org/thousand-year-reign-Christ.html
So while we will surely finish our time in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ with many unanswered questions, He has revealed much to us, and today He Has given us much to consider concerning Him Upon His Great White Throne.
Consider Him Upon His Great White Throne
From Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance:
Great: 3173. μέγας mégas; fem. megálē, neut. méga, adj. Great, large, particularly of physical magnitude.
White: 3022. λευκός leukós; fem. leukḗ, neut. leukón, adj. White, also shining, glittering; symbolically (Rev. 3:4, 5, 18; 4:4; 6:11; 7:9, 13; 19:14); of a horse (Rev. 6:2; 19:11, 14); of a cloud (Rev. 14:14); of the throne of God (Rev. 20:11).
Throne: 2362. θρόνος thrónos; gen. thrónou, masc. noun from thráō (n.f.), to seat. A seat, usually high and having a footstool, a throne as the emblem of royal authority.
His Great White Throne will be far beyond massive in size and grandeur, and glittering in brilliant, heavenly light. I tried to imagine how large and shining His Throne would be, but it is beyond our finite understanding to even imagine.
For how vast must be the Throne of the Almighty Creator Who holds the Universe in His Hand, and how brilliant must His Throne be as to hold the One Who radiates in perpetual, unmatched Glory?
But what is not left to the imagination, is the terrifying impact that His Presence Upon His Great White Throne will have on all of creation.
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, (20:11).
And while heaven and earth are running for cover, He will sit Upon His Great White Throne in all His Royal and Glorious authority to judge the dead. And my thoughts abruptly screeched to a halt, taken aback in fear as I read of those who would find themselves standing before Holy God to be judged. Judged not by the cleansing blood of the Lamb, but judged by the recorded account of their deeds.
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, (20:12).
And nothing would be or could be hidden from Him Upon His Great White Throne. And just as the books were opened, every creature would be opened and laid bare before His eyes.
And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do, (Hebrews 4:13).
And there would be no place to hide, not in the sea nor in the grave; but the dead would be given up and find themselves standing in judgment before Him Upon His Great White Throne.
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, (20:13).
And the judgment will be rendered and the gavel will come down and the pronouncement of guilty will bellow forth as the death sentence is passed: that is the second death that follows physical death; the eternal separation from the Holy Creator of Life to be cast forever into the lake of fire where even death and Hades will make their eternal abode.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. (20:14).
And more frightening than any film Hollywood could ever produce would be the horror of those whose names were not found written in the book of life.
And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire, (20:15).
And I began to imagine the sounds, dreadful sounds that were the complete antithesis of the Hallelujah chorus we heard yesterday. And I couldn’t help but weep as I imagined the sounds: sounds of hopelessness and death; sounds of wailing and torment. And while these sounds won’t be heard in heaven with Jesus, these sounds will be heard in the lake of fire for all of eternity.
How do we respond to His Great White Throne?
I am undone as I think of my loved ones who may one day face Him Upon His Great White Throne of judgment apart from faith in the blood of the Lamb. Oh, God have mercy please.
But oh, His heart of Love that gave His Son. And as terrifying as this chapter is, there is an incomparable gift of hope; for rather than being brought before Him Upon His Great White Throne to receive the just penalty our sins deserve, whoever will accept His Gift through faith will escape the second death and be granted eternal life in the Name of His Only Begotten Son.
“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. 18 He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God,” (John 3:16-18).
And oh how His heart of mercy is revealed in granting us a glimpse into the terrorizing future before Him Upon His Great White Throne; for He does not want any of us to be left unawares.
And I am again reminded of His Amazing Grace in John’s imprisonment for the sake of the gospel which landed him on the island of Patmos, shut away from civilization, but kept in the presence of God to record the prophetic future for us all.
I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, (Revelation 1:9).
Oh, that we would follow the examples of the apostles John and Paul, although imprisoned for the gospel, refused to stop preaching the Revelation of Jesus Christ and His message of salvation. Because John and Paul believed His Word and understood that judgment awaited those whose names were not recorded in the book of life, they took every opportunity to share Christ. Oh, let us pray that we too would take every opportunity to share the mystery of the gospel with boldness that many would be saved.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak, (Ephesians 6:18-20).
As we have considered Him Upon His Great White Throne, may we be moved to cry and beg and plead with God to allow us to really see the horrific reality of His Judgment, that He would grow our burden for those who are lost and our heart’s desire for their salvation. Oh, let us daily cry out in faith, believing He hears every cry of our heart for our loved ones and friends and acquaintances, that by His Grace they would respond in faith and be spared the eternal horror of standing in judgment before Him Upon His Great White Throne.
Brethren, my heart’s desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation, (Romans 10:1).