Day 362: Revelation 20:7–15

Then I saw a great white throne and One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them (v. 11).

Based on my understanding of Scripture and the final judgments, only the lost will stand at the great white throne. This seat of judgment seems to differ from the one described in both 1 Corinthians 3:10–15 and 2 Corinthians 5:1–10. Those who know Christ will stand before the judgment seat of Christ where those who have served Him lovingly and obediently will receive rewards. The judgment seat for the saved will not be a place of condemnation (Rom. 8:1).

Our passages in Revelation, however, describe a very different scene. The great white throne appears to be a seat upon which only condemnation takes place. Every person who has refused God will stand before Him on this dreadful day. Though the earth and sky will try to flee from His awesome presence, those who have refused God will have no place to run. I am convinced, in fact, that Revelation 20:13 suggests differing levels of punishment according to the depths and lengths of the evil accomplished by each person. Why would I have ever thought otherwise? Is our God not just? Does He not look upon the individual hearts and deeds of every responsible man and woman? The lake of fire will be a place of torment for every inhabitant, but I believe Scripture clearly teaches that punishment will vary according to each person’s deeds. The Righteous Judge knows every thought, and He rightly discerns every motive of our hearts.

Though planet Earth now bulges with billions of people, God still breathes life into each being, one at a time. We were fashioned for God and designed to seek Him. He created a universe and an order with the divine purpose of bearing constant witness to His existence. Heaven unceasingly declares His glory, and all who truly seek Him find Him.

Not one person’s absence from heaven will go unnoticed by God. Not one will get past God haphazardly. Not one will accidentally get swept away in a sea of nameless souls. God is not careless. He intimately knows every soul that will refuse to know Him. Because He created us for fellowship, God’s judgments cannot be rendered with cold, sterile detachment. For God so loved the world that He sent His Son to seek and to save the lost. Though none can refuse to be seen, many will incomprehensibly refuse to be “found.”