The great white throne. Revelation 20v11-15.
6. The people before the throne.
"I saw the dead small and great stand before God....." There is no qualification on the word "dead," so it must mean all the dead of all ages who are not part of the first resurrection. They are therefore the unregenerate dead. Where are they, if heaven and earth have passed away? They must be in space, standing in the dock before the supreme court of the universe, the great white throne. We must ponder for a moment the magnitude of this; countless dead, resurrected to life, standing in space, obviously with resurrected bodies which enables them to stand. No wonder Jesus told His hearers in John 5v28 "marvel not at this; for the hour is coming in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice and shall come forth: they that have done good unto the resurrection of life and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of damnation." He said "marvel not at this" because it is indeed something of wonder. Every human being who has died without faith will be given a body, brought to life and brought to stand before the great white throne.
The small people will be there; that will be most of them, the unknown, the unnamed, the common people who in life never rose to prominence, they will be there; none too insignificant that they will be overlooked. The prominent people, the eminent people, the great men of the earth, the men who made a name for themselves on the earth, the lords of the earth, the kings of the earth, the merchants of the earth, the ship masters, the legends, the stars, the celebrities, the academics, the politicians, they will all be there. None will be too great to escape His judgment. There will be people there from every class, every kindred, every tongue, every nation, the rich, the poor, the bosses, the servants.
The above list records the public status of the individuals but there is another list in chapter 21v8 which records the moral state of those who will be there.
- The fearful. The word is "cowardly". Christianity is not for the faint hearted; it takes courage to become a Christian in this present world and well did the Lord Jesus Christ know it. To follow Christ in this Christless world is to swim against the tide and may bring you into conflict with even your nearest and dearest. This aspect is often missed.
- The unbelieving. This is the sceptical person who refuses to believe that only Jesus Christ is the answer to human sin, and that simple faith in Him will start you on the road to eternal bliss. Unbelief is the greatest sin of the age. It says in John 16 concerning the Holy Spirit "when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment: of sin because they believe not on Me." These words tells us that in the present day the greatest sin that can be committed is unbelief in Jesus Christ.
- The abominable. This word in scripture usually has to do with the profaning of sacred things, bringing God and the things of God down to a common level.
- Murders. A very serious sin; to rob someone of God giving life, made in the image of God is serious indeed. Scripture says "ye know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
- Whoremongers. God designed human beings male and female to live together one man and one woman for life; all else of a sexual nature is a perversion in the eyes of God.
- Sorcerers. This can refer to the taking of drugs, the practice of the magic arts, the practice of spiritism and demon worship, prevalent in the world today.
- Idolaters. This has to do mostly with putting material created things before the Creator. For example scripture says "covetousness is idolatry." Also the worship of fictional beings.
- All liars. The bearing of false witness, the perversion of truth, half stories, exaggerations and the like.
All human beings standing before this throne will be characterised by one or other of the above features.
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