END OF TIME PROPHECIES 240.

The great white throne.                                                     Revelation 20 v 11 - 15.

10.  The punishment of the throne.

The issue in verses 13-15 is "the subjugation of all things"(1 Corinthians 15v24-28; Philippians 3v21).   Every element involved in the global revolt against God will be forced to yield to His bidding.
" The sea gave up the dead which were in it........"
" Death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them........"

At the divine fiat, the sea yielded the dead, the earth yielded the dead, and hell gave up all the souls in it's dark caverns.  All death is the curse of sin as seen in the following scriptures; Genesis 2v17; Genesis 3v19; Romans 5v12; Hebrews 9v27.   When God will now subjugate all things to Himself He must put all things of sin and sinners under Him, and this is stated like this "when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power, for He must reign until He hath PUT ALL ENEMIES UNDER HIS FEET. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death."   This is what is here...God is calling the dead to the bar and all holders of the dead will yield; no one will escape! No depth of ocean will be able to hide the dead; no remote mountain or desert or swamp will secrete the dead though the ashes have been dispersed for centuries of time; none of the dark caverns of Hades which hold the souls of departed human beings will fail to deliver.  God will bring before Him all the dead, because He will eradicate sin, and sinners, with all it's consequences from His presence.

"Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire....."    He now personifies death and hell.   Death, the invisible, yet very real, scourge of all mankind is forever conquered(by the bodily resurrection of all dead), and banished, never again to actively operate in the realm of the living. This is known as the second death and is an eternal status from which there is no return. The same with hell(hades) an unseen holding place for the dead souls of men in conscious existence, it will be cast into the permanent dwelling place, the lake of fire. Death will be no more, hell will be no more, all there will be in the outer darkness of eternal banishment from God, is a conscious existence devoid of the goodness and blessing of God, from whom all blessings flow. The phrase "GOD-FORSAKEN" is used to describe someone in desperate circumstances. This will be the lot of all who appear before this throne....."whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."

Whosoever...... this word should go deep into every unregenerate soul!   Every one that, no matter your status or connections or associates, or achievements; if your name is not in the book of life you will spend an eternal existence of misery; this is because of the magnitude of your sin in refusing God's grace.   What it will mean can only be imagined but it is not good.   Jesus, who created it, came to warn us, and described it as "gehenna fire".   This was the rubbish dump outside Jerusalem, where the bodies of dead animals were burned and also the trash of the city; the fire burned continuously and provides us with a graphic picture of the perdition of mankind.   We look to scripture to expand on this solemn scene.   What does the bible say eternal punishment will be like?   Please refer to blog 166 for a small summary of the sufferings of the lost; there we said the torment in the lake of fire will be:

• Physical
• Mental
• Emotional
• Perpetual
• Eternal

All this is too serious to contemplate, that any human being would undergo this kind of existence, so please, everyone, make sure your name is in the book!

Amazon bookshelf   George Neilly