In Revelation 20:11-15, the apostle writes of his vision of the only second coming of Christ in judgment. The apostle Paul, speaking to the men of Athens at the Areopagus, informed them that the deity they referred to as “the unknown god” was, unbeknownst to them, the God about whom Paul was preaching to them. And he told them that God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness” (Acts 17:31). And this is that very same day that is spoken of in verses 11-15, the Day of Judgment, when Jesus Christ will return to earth coming “in his glory, and all the angels with him” (Matt. 25:31).
THE GREAT WHITE THRONE
Verse 11 teaches that Jesus will be seated on a throne, which indicates a judgment. John describes this throne as great and white, indicating that this judgment was a glorious and perfectly righteous divine judgment. We know this is Jesus sitting on the throne because Scripture teaches this (Matt. 25:31-46; John 5:22, 27; Acts 10:42; 2 Tim. 4:1).
THE END OF THE EARTH AND SKY
In verse 11, we also see the statement, “earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.” This is reminiscent of Micah 1:3-4 which states, “For behold, the Lord is coming out of his place, and will come down and tread upon the high places of the earth. And the mountains will melt under him, and the valleys will split open, like wax before the fire, like waters poured down a steep place.” This text teaches us that God is not annihilating the world but that the earth, sky (v. 11), and the universe (Matt. 24:29) will be dissolved and renovated. This is a regeneration, a restoration (Acts 3:21).
The earth, sky, and heavens will be broken down into elements, and the implication of Scripture seems to be that God will form the new heavens and the new earth from these elements. Peter writes about the day of the Lord at the second coming of Christ in this way. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (2 Peter 3:10).
Again, “Pass away” and “burned up” and “dissolved” in the preceding verse do not mean that the physical objects mentioned are annihilated or that the elemental elementary particles and atoms of those objects cease to exist. The essential elements of matter do not cease to exist but are changed by God to a different form. And the implication of Scripture is that God then takes the matter in its dissolved form and forms the new heaven and new earth.
But note that we are not saying that God does not have the power to destroy elements and objects because He does have that power. We simply state what we interpret Scripture to teach: that the earth, sky, and the universe will undergo some cataclysmic dissolution or destruction. However, they will not be completely annihilated and cease to exist; instead, they will be re-formed or regenerated into something new.
THE FINAL JUDGMENT
Now, we look at verse 12. We first are told of those who will stand before the judgment throne of Christ. All human beings who have ever lived, believers and unbelievers, will be required to stand before the throne of Christ to hear the final judgment. The general resurrection of all humans will ensure that all the dead human beings who have ever lived will be at the final judgment (John 5:28, 29). Those living at the time will be transformed and translated to the place of the judgment.
Next, in verses 12-15, we learn the basis for the final judgment. Every person who is subject to judgment will be judged according to their works during their life on earth. John speaks of only one general resurrection of all the dead, which will coincide on the last day. John writes that according to this vision, there will be no more death, and all who are not believers of Christ will be thrown into hell for eternity. If a person believed in Jesus Christ in his life on earth, he is justified and, therefore, will be saved from the wrath of Christ on the last day (Rev. 21:1ff). But for all who did not believe in Christ, they shall be judged and condemned to spiritual death (the second death) in hell and suffer separation from God forever.
BELIEVERS AND THE FINAL JUDGMENT
Some theologians and commentators are of the opinion that Christians will be required to stand in judgment before Christ, and their sins will be revealed, and then they will be pardoned. This position is often based on 2 Corinthians 5:10, which says, “we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” But this verse does not teach judgment for believers because if it did, it would contradict Romans 8:1, and we know that the Bible contains no contradictions.
We believe that this position is unsupported by Scripture. Scripture tells us that when God forgives us of our sins, he chooses to remember them no more (Heb. 8:12). Isaiah wrote that God puts our sins behind his back (Isa. 38:17). When God forgave our sins after we became believers through faith, he chose to remember no longer or keep a record of our sins and as David wrote “As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us” (Psa. 103:12). Recapitulating the sins of believers at the final judgment in order to pardon our sins is unnecessary because God had already pardoned believers when they became believers in Christ through faith and he justified them and adopted them as his own. And again, remember Romans 8:1, which reads, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
The Scripture verse used by supporters of the view that believers must be judged at the final judgment supports our position. That verse says that all believers and unbelievers must appear before the judgment seat of Christ. We agree with that. 2 Corinthians 5:10 also says that the purpose of their presence is for them to receive what is due to them for what they have done in their earthly life. We also agree with that. Nowhere in 2 Corinthians 5:10 does it say that believers will be judged. It says they will appear and receive their just due. For believers, their just due is salvation and eternal life. And that’s precisely what they will receive at the final judgment.
Believers standing before the judgment seat of Christ at the final judgment are not there to be judged, under Romans 8:1. Believers are there as witnesses to the judgment. Jesus Christ, after exercising his eternal condemning wrath against the unbelievers, will turn to the elect believers and withhold that same wrath from them, thus consummating their salvation. They will then be ushered into the new heaven and new earth to receive their inheritance and to live in glory with God forever.
