The bailiff steps forward, and there is a tension present in the courtroom. Anticipation of what is to take place is at a peak. As the door behind the Judge’s bench opens, the bailiff gives the “cry,” “All Rise! Hear Ye, Hear Ye, this eternal court is now in session! The Honorable Creator of the Universe, the Lord God Jehovah is presiding! All having information to present before this ‘Judgment Seat,’ stand ready for the call!” The gavel comes down, and the first case is called. It’s my trial that is being started. (emphasis mine)
At the “defendant” bench, I stand to face this fair, impartial and totally just Judge. He asks the “court recorder” to read all the charges that are against me. Every sin, great or small, that I ever committed was read into the record. My shame is obviously visible, and my anticipation is for the worst possible outcome.
The “Judge” asks what my plea will be. My only response is to hang my head and to confess, “Guilty, My Father.” At this point, I deserve to be thrown into eternal punishment. However, from the back of the room, a voice is heard: “Your Honor, I must approach.” Then, a person who has a total look of Heavenly Love steps forward and says just three words, “He’s Mine, Father.” The Judge recognizes His Own Son’s plea, and the gavel drops once more. “All charges are dropped; the defendant is remanded to an eternal Heavenly Home prepared for him by My Son, and his sins are completely removed from all records.
I realize this seems a bit melodramatic, but going to 2 Corinthians 5:10, “For we (all believers) must all appear before the “Judgment Seat of Christ” so that each one may receive what is due for what he/she has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Going to 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For our sake, He made Him to be sin, who knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.” At this judgment, we receive or lose rewards for our earthly deeds, but are not condemned to the Lake of Fire that was prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). All who are here accepted Jesus as their Savior while on this earth.
On the other side, all who refused to accept Jesus from Calvary to whenever they left the earth, and all of those from creation to the Cross that went against the Lord God Jehovah, will not be at this Judgment Seat.
Revelation 20:11-15 gives the actual scenario of what happens to all of them. It should be noted, the antichrist and false prophet will have already been “sentenced” in Revelation 19:20; and Satan, the ultimate evil one, receives his sentence one thousand years later in Revelation 20:10.
“Then I saw a Great White Throne, and Him who was seated on it. From His presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it; death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them; and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then, death and hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death, the Lake of Fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the Book of Life, he/she was thrown into the Lake of Fire” (Revelation 20:11-15).
To be very clear, no one at this judgment has their name in the Book of Life. The White Throne is the final judgment to determine what punishment and to what degree will be given each individual for all eternity.
It should be noted, there will be no last-minute plea for mercy from the Father’s Son, as all who are here made their own decision not to obey God or follow Jesus. There will be no pardon or suspended sentences; and there is no parole. It’s Forever!
What is so very tragic is that no one at the Great White Throne needs to be there. Acts 2:21 and Romans 10:13 say, “All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” There are no exceptions as God is no respecter of persons, whether rich or poor, powerful or weak, or of any race or color (Acts 19:34-35; Romans 2:10).
God loves all of us (John 3:16-18; Romans 5:8) and is giving us extra chances to repent and be saved (2 Peter 3:9). However – and this is critical – He will in no way force anyone to receive and accept the free gift His Son paid so dearly for at Calvary. He could force everyone to worship Him in any way He would determine, but that would not be a true form of Love, and Our God is Pure Love!
Our Jesus knew even before He came to this earth that there would be many who would reject Him. He made this very clear in Matthew 7:13-14, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide, and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow, and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
Our Savior knows the “pull” of this world is great, and it’s something we can see, touch and experience firsthand. To some, this is the “easy” way, to just “roll with the flow.” The hard part is to accept, believe in and put our faith in something unseen. We have a wonderful written authority that was given to us by the Father through the works of about forty Holy Spirit-influenced writers. Again, we must put our faith in this as being “real.” Jesus had an encounter with Thomas in John 19:29: “Jesus said to him, have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet have believed.” Thomas had been with the Savior nearly all through His earthly ministry, yet still had to be shown directly before he would believe.
This world is gaining speed every day in its downward spiral, bringing the end of this age rapidly to its conclusion. All Jesus spoke of in Matthew 24, Paul spoke of in 2 Timothy 3, and other prophecies by numerous other biblical writers are all present at one time right now. We do not know how much time is left before Jesus calls all believers to meet Him in the air, but it could be at any second now. That’s about how long the Rapture will take as it’s in the twinkling of an eye according to Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:52.
It is your choice completely. Call out to Jesus and be saved; or follow the world and be condemned. There is no other option. Jesus is the only way, the only truth and the only life that leads to the Father. (John 14:6). Which court would you rather be judged in? Judgment Seat of Christ, or the Great White Throne? Today would not be too early to decide.
At this point, the message given to me by the Father was ended. However, I received an email just before submitting this which had information that showed the Father is truly involved. It’s from a reader that did not know I had prepared this, and I will give the content of that email below*. Our God is an Awesome God!
*MIRANDA RIGHTS
Most of us have some knowledge of how crimes and infractions result in detainment, citations, even arrest, and arraignment under charges of those alleged behaviors. In the U.S., controlled provisions are in place to protect you and give you a fair trial to confirm or remove those charges. [Other countries have differing programs and rules.]
You have the right to remain silent; Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law; You have the right to an attorney and have him present during the interrogation; If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be appointed to you free of charge; You can invoke your right to be silent before or during an interrogation, and if you do so, the interrogation must be halted; You can invoke your right to have an attorney present, and until he is present, the interrogation must be halted. (When I was a police officer, I gave this warning a number of times.)
Now, consider your Spiritual Condition…
SINNER’S RIGHTS – AKA ‘MARANATHA’ RIGHTS
Any sinful thing you have thought, said, or done will be used against you to condemn you at the Great White Throne of Judgment. Those sins are already documented by the all-knowing God, and are not deniable;
God has granted you, an already documented and proven sinner, certain rights in appeal;
You, during your physical lifetime, have the appeal rights to the Advocate, Jesus Christ, the only begotten and sinless Son of God the Father, and have His position as having already taken your punishment by dying on the Cross to stand in place for your standing death sentence;
You cannot afford this Divine representative, so He has been granted to you free of charge upon your acceptance of His Salvation. Your case will be transferred to the BEMA Seat Judgment and Reward – of your works as a servant (slave, actually), not your sins. During your physical lifetime, you will have unlimited rights in access to His scriptural instructions, prayer, and Holy Spirit for guidance and comfort, doctrine, instruction, corrections, reproofs – along with mutual support of fellow true believers;
You do have the free will during your lifetime to waive and reject this single avenue of rescue and Salvation, and your rejection becomes final and inalterable at physical death. Sentence is then automatic – to be cast into the Lake of Fire – a forever existence of darkness and torment away from God’s Divine presence. This judgment pathway is only halted upon your acceptance of the Salvation plan;
“…If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9). [endnote*]
As I said, it was amazing to receive this. God is calling out to all of us to be ready to leave this earth, and He’s trying to reach as many as possible. To turn a deaf ear to His plea will be the worst decision you could ever make. Call on Jesus today!
Shalom!