Revelation 20:11-15 is a scene of the judgment of God in the future; the passage takes us to a courtroom where the Lord Jesus is the Judge with all the power and authority of God to make righteous judgments. This solemn scene is one we must be conscious of, because it is the certain destiny of all souls.
In verse 12, we saw that the dead were standing before the throne, and books were opened. In verse 13, the universal nature of the judgment is emphasized; the sea gave up its dead, Death and Hades gave up the dead in them, and all were judged according to what they had done.
We need to be prepared for death, and that means preparation for what takes place at death. There is a judgment to come for all of us. The time of death is uncertain, but we know the hours pass by quickly and we will be plunged into eternity soon. The desire of God’s children is to die in the faith of Christ.
Death is a terrible thing when it is armed with our sins and opens the doorway to the wrath of God. It is the end of happiness and the beginning of misery. It is a curse brought on by sin and the end of all comfort. It is a terrible thing, and nothing can overcome it but faith in Christ.
We must learn to live by faith now in order to die in faith later. The Lord Jesus taught us that life was more than eating and drinking. A man without faith makes a poor accounting of his life; it boils down to eating, drinking, working, amusements, sleeping, and sinning until death comes.
Faith comes through hearing God’s word and believing his promises. Christ and heaven are wrapped in promises. There must be faith daily exercised and tried along with an experience of communion with the Lord and seeing how through rain and sunshine, plenty and want, you have found out that the Lord has worked out all for good.
Now is the time to exercise faith, to confess sin and repent, to serve Christ, to give thanks, to live by grace, to worship, and to be generous. We must learn to entrust our soul to Christ by entrusting him with all things now. It doesn’t matter if we die rich or great in the world, but only that we die in faith.
We see the great necessity of faith in the direst warning there can be in verse 15: “And if anyone’s name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” The lake of fire is a metaphor for severe suffering. The devil and his angels are thrown into the fire, so it is spiritual suffering since they are spiritual beings. Men also suffer spiritually, as well as physically.
The descriptions of hell in Scripture aren’t just fire; there is weeping and wailing, darkness, grinding of teeth, forfeiting of eternal life, and being away from the presence of God. The Lord Jesus spoke of the reality of hell and taught men to avoid it at any cost. Men are judged according to their deeds (verses 12-13). No sinner will be able to justify himself before God, as no devil will be able to justify himself, but men are offered another way.
The way to life is Christ. The book of life is the Lamb’s book of life. When Jesus was on the cross, he suffered pain, divine wrath, darkness, and being forsaken of God because he was bearing the sins of his people. As the Lamb of God, Jesus offered himself as an atoning sacrifice-his death for my life. He bore the curse of God that I might receive the blessing of God.
Christ offers and gives, requiring nothing in terms of worthiness or cause of acceptance, but offers life as a gift, with the promise, I am the Lord your God who takes away your sin. He requires faith, not as a cause, but as an instrument whereby I am sure of my Savior and his glory in my salvation.
I am to strive to put down sin in me to honor my Lord who saved me. When my conscience afflicts me, I listen to the comforting words, “This is my body given for you,” and that “my grace is sufficient for you.”
