{"id":19016,"date":"2020-01-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-01-12T06:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sugar-land-bible-church.local\/sermon\/revelation-067-jesus-or-moses\/"},"modified":"2022-01-12T17:15:35","modified_gmt":"2022-01-12T23:15:35","slug":"revelation-067-jesus-or-moses","status":"publish","type":"sermon","link":"https:\/\/slbc.org\/es\/sermon\/revelation-067-jesus-or-moses\/","title":{"rendered":"Revelation 067 – Jesus or Moses?"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","book":[111],"series_event":[490],"sermon_service_type":[472],"speaker":[6],"class_list":["post-19016","sermon","type-sermon","status-publish","hentry","book-revelation","series_event-revelation","sermon_service_type-main-service","speaker-dr-andy-woods","no-post-thumbnail"],"acf":{"sermon_title":"Revelation 067 - Jesus or Moses?","sermon_date":"20200112","sermon_month":"1","sermon_year":"2020","sermon_notes":19965,"sermon_slides":19966,"sermon_mp3":19967,"sermon_id":"112201438541377","series_or_event":490,"service_type":[472],"speaker":6,"books_of_the_bible":111,"chapter_and_verse":"20:11-15","sermon_transcript":"Andy Woods\n\nJesus or Moses?\u00a0 Revelation 20:11-15\n\nLesson 67\n\nGood morning everybody.\u00a0 Let\u2019s take our Bibles if we could and open them to the Book of Revelation, chapter 20 and verse 11, moving into verses 11-15 this morning.\u00a0 The title of our message this morning is the following question.\u00a0 Jesus or Moses?\u00a0 If you\u2019ve been tracking along with us in the Book of Revelation we have completed that huge section, chapters 6-19 which is a description of the tribulation period itself, which will last seven years.\u00a0 We\u2019ve traced all of the judgments, 21 judgments during that time period; that time period culminating with the personal return of Jesus Christ to the earth, Revelation 19.\n\nThen what?\u00a0 Well, once Jesus returns to the earth four things will happen prophetically. Number one, His kingdom.\u00a0 Number two, The Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0 Number three, the destruction of the old earth.\u00a0 And number four, the\u00a0 implementation of the new heavens and new earth.\u00a0 We actually finished and as you look to the right there, the second advent,\u00a0 you can see those same four things.\u00a0 But we finished last week the kingdom.\u00a0 The kingdom will last for a thousand\u00a0 years and we were able to cover a thousand years in three sermons so for that I\u2019m grateful.\n\nBut once the thousand year kingdom runs its course then what?\u00a0 The next thing that\u2019s mentioned here is something called the Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0 And as we read this prophecy\u00a0 beginning this morning on the Great White Throne Judgment we\u2019re tempted to think that such a thing could never happen.\u00a0 In fact, if I didn\u2019t have this in my Bible, what he describes here, is so mind bending I would doubt ever such a thing could ever take place.\u00a0\u00a0 And yet Paul, on Mars Hill in Acts 17:31 says this:\u00a0 \u201cbecause He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.\u201d\u00a0 Paul is very clear in his Mars Hill Sermon as he concludes it in Acts 17:31 that there is a fixed and appointed time in which Jesus will judge every single human being.\u00a0 And we actually get a description of it here in our passage, The Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0\u00a0 It has three parts, the Judge, verses 11, the judged, verses 12-13, and then we have a description of the Judgment itself, verses 14-15.\n\nI very much agree with what David Hocking says in his Revelation commentary concerning this judgment.\u00a0 He writes, \u201cThere is no more awesome passage in the entire Bible than this one --- THE GREAT WHITE THRONE\u00a0 judgment for\u201d as we will see, \u201cfor all unbelievers.\u201d\u00a0 If someone, no matter what age of time they\u2019re living in dies without Christ this is their future.\u00a0 David Hocking, The Book of Revelation: Understanding the Future (Tustin, CA: Hope For Today Publications, 2014), page 532.\n\nSo notice, if\u00a0 you will, part one, the judge and notice, if you will, Revelation chapter 20 and notice \u00a0if you will verse 11.\u00a0 \u201cThen I saw a Great White Throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.\u201d Notice the first part here, John sees the next thing prophetically sequentially following the thousand year kingdom.\u00a0 He says, \u00a0\u201cThen I saw a Great White Throne\u2026.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 So what we have here is a description of a particular judgment that will take place in real time called The Great White\u00a0 Throne Judgment.\u00a0\u00a0 And the tendency of theologians and a group of people even today is to take this judgment and merge it with all the other judgments that are described in the Bible.\u00a0 Many theologians believe in just one universal judgment.\u00a0 If you see \u201cjudgments\u201d in the Bible let\u2019s just follow the ram, jam and cram method and make it all one.\u00a0 That makes it easy, right?\n\nDr. Robert Condon describes this trend amongst some who do not believe that Christ will return on the earth for a thousand years nor do they understand that those of the church age will return to rule with Him following a review time before His judgment seat or the Bema Seat Judgment when our roles and responsibilities will be determined.\u00a0 What he\u2019s saying there is there\u2019s another judgment, not to be confused with this judgment, for the believer.\u00a0 This one, as we\u2019ll see here, is for the unbeliever.\u00a0 The one for the believer (us in other words) is a judgment not to determine heaven or hell, this one here is such a judgment.\u00a0 Our judgment will be to determine reward.\n\nHe says, \u201cMost believe that the Great White Throne Judgment is for everyone,\u201d even if you\u2019re a Christian people think you\u2019re going to sort of pop up at this judgment, \u201cof all ages and it will determine whether one is truly saved or not.\u201d\u00a0 I want to assure you of something folks; if you are a believer in Jesus Christ, you\u2019re trusted in Him for your salvation, you have no part in this horrific scene that\u2019s being described here.\u00a0 The only judgment in your future is the judgment to determine rewards or degrees of rewards, never salvation itself.\u00a0 That was taken care of the moment you trusted in Christ as your personal Savior.\n\nHere\u2019s a chart that\u00a0 I like to use, it describes the four great judgments of the Bible.\u00a0 The one I have in yellow there embolden is our judgment.\u00a0 But there\u2019s something called the Sheep and Goat judgment and a parallel judgment for the judgment of the Jews in the wilderness.\u00a0 And those two judgments involve, not us but tribulation survivors because some will survive the tribulation period and a judgment is made there in Matthew 25 and Ezekiel 20 concerning which of these survivors are believers and which ones are unbelievers.\u00a0 The unbelievers are cast off the earth into Hades but the believers will enter the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s called the Sheep and Goat judgment, Matthew 25:31-46 and a parallel judgment for the Jews in the wilderness, Ezekiel 20.\n\n[Matthew 1:31-46, \u201cFor I was hungry, and you gave Me something<\/em> to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something<\/em> to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; [36] \u00a0<\/sup>naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.\u2019 [37] \u00a0<\/sup>Then the righteous will answer Him, \u2018Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something<\/em> to drink? [38] \u00a0<\/sup>And when did we see You a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? [39] \u00a0<\/sup>When did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?\u2019 [40] \u00a0<\/sup>The King will answer and say to them, \u2018Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even<\/em> the least of them<\/em>, you did it to Me.\u2019\u00a0 [41] \u00a0<\/sup>\u201cThen He will also say to those on His left, \u2018Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; [42] \u00a0<\/sup>for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing<\/em> to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; [43]\u00a0<\/sup>I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.\u2019 [44]\u00a0<\/sup>Then they themselves also will answer, \u2018Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?\u2019 \u00a0[45]\u00a0<\/sup>Then He will answer them, \u2018Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.\u2019 [46] \u00a0<\/sup>These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.\u201d]\n\nFollowing the rapture of the church which precedes the tribulation we will go into the presence of the Lord and we will be judged, not as members of His church to determine salvation but rewards will be given or not given, based on how we allow the Lord to express Himself through us in our present life.\n\nThe judgment on the far right, the one we\u2019re speaking of here, called the Great White Throne Judgment, \u00a0is not to be confused in any way, shape or form with those other judgments on the left side.\u00a0 The judgment we\u2019re talking about here will take place only for all unsaved and it will take place at the end of the millennial kingdom.\u00a0 It is a judgment that is completely and totally different than the Bema Seat Judgment and completely and totally different than the Sheep and Goat judgment.\u00a0\u00a0 You see, the Sheep and Goat judgment took place a thousand years before; there\u2019s a thousand years in between the Sheep and Goat Judgment and Great White Throne Judgment.\n\nThe Sheep and Goat Judgment was post second advent; this judgment is after the millennium.\u00a0 Sheep and Goat Judgment is for living people only, on the earth at the time.\u00a0 The judgment we\u2019re talking about here is for all the dead.\u00a0 The Sheep and Goat Judgment has believers and unbeliev\u00aders in it and that\u2019s why a judgment needs to be made to determine who enters the kingdom and who doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 But the judgment we\u2019re speaking of here is for unbelievers only.\u00a0 The sheep and goat judgment you\u2019ll find in Matthew 25, angels, sheep, goats, brethren.\n\nNone of that is described here; this is for unbelievers only.\u00a0 The sheep and goat judgment will take place when Jesus returns to Jerusalem and begins to rule for a thousand years on David\u2019s throne.\u00a0 This is not David\u2019s throne, this is the Great White Throne.\u00a0 The sheep and goat judgment takes place on the earth; this judgment seems to take place after the earth and heaven have fled away.\n\nLook at all those differences.\u00a0 You say well, that\u2019s exhausting to think about, I\u2019m glad you\u2019re finished talking about that.\u00a0 No, not really, because there\u2019s a second slide there which I won\u2019t talk you through, you can read it there online as we post all of\u00a0 our power points online.\u00a0 But my point is the sheep and goat judgment, just like the Bema Seat Judgment, is completely and totally different than the Great White Throne Judgment that we\u2019re speaking of here.\n\nSo when he says, \u201cThen I saw a Great White Throne\u201d he\u2019s speaking of a different judgment entirely at the end of history, at the end of the thousand years for the unsaved only.\u00a0 And notice what also it says.\u00a0 \u201cThen I saw a Great White Throne,\u201d and notice what it says, \u201cand Him who sat upon it,\u201d now who is on this Great White Throne.\u00a0 Many commentators believe that it\u2019s God the Father.\n\nIn fact, one of my favorite commentators, Robert Thomas, wrote a very wonderful two volume set on the Book of Revelation, and he says this concerning this verse: The Almighty Father is undoubtedly the one seated on this throne as He has been throughout the Book of Revelation.\u00a0 So his point is every time you see a throne in heaven the Father is on it, so the Father must be on this throne as well.\u00a0 But then my friend, David Hocking in his commentary says this:\u00a0 The word \u201cthrone\u201d appears forty-five times in Revelation but only sixteen times in the rest of the New Testament.\u00a0 The one who sits on the throne in Revelation 4 is God the Father but the throne that God the Father is on is never called The Great White Throne.\n\nSo you ask what is my perspective on it, who is it that\u2019s on this throne?\u00a0 I\u2019m of the view that it is not God the Father on this throne but it is Jesus Christ Himself.\u00a0 I get that largely from The Gospel of John which is another book that the Apostle John wrote, besides the Book of Revelation, and in this book he records Christ saying this?\u00a0 \u201cFor not even the Father judges anyone but He is given all<\/u> judgment to the Son.\u201d\u00a0 John 5:22.\u00a0\u00a0 Verse 27, \u201cAnd He gave Him authority to execute judgment because He is the Son of Man.\u201d\n\nIn fact, in the Mars Hill speech, Acts 17:31, Paul also made reference to the fact that in the final judgment it will be Jesus on that throne.\u00a0 It says, \u201cbecause He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man\u201d now who could that be?\u00a0\u00a0 Jesus, \u201cto whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.\u201d\u00a0 Who better qualified to be a judge than Jesus Christ, because how can anybody look at Jesus Christ and say \u201cYou\u2019re acting unfairly?\u00a0 You\u2019re acting arbitrarily\u201d when the very wounds are in His hands and His feet and side.\u00a0 He has done everything that can possibly be done to remove a person from the prospect of this horrible judgment that we\u2019re reading about here.\u00a0 Who better to answer the objection \u201cyou\u2019re just not fair God\u201d when you look at what Jesus did in terms of His wounds and how He did everything possible to prevent people from showing up at this particular judgment.\n\nI do notice in Revelation 3:21 that Jesus and the Father currently are on the same throne.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:21, \u201cHe who overcomes, I will grant to him to sit down with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.\u201d]\u00a0 \u00a0And part of me thinks maybe both of them will be there.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say that but I think Jesus is what people are going to see in the end as their ultimate state, their ultimate destiny is determined.\n\nAnd we continue on and it says \u201c\u2026from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and there was no place found for them.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 [Revelation\u00a0 20:11, \u201cThen I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.}\n\nThe Lord is on His throne whether you believe it\u2019s God the Father, like Robert Thomas or Jesus Christ the way David Hocking teaches it; whoever is on this throne is extremely powerful.\u00a0 In fact this being on this throne is so powerful that heaven and earth itself are portrayed as fleeing from His very presence.\u00a0 In other words, you show up at this judgment there\u2019s absolutely nowhere to hide.\u00a0 There\u2019s nothing to duck behind because heaven and earth itself have fled and you\u2019re just there naked and bare before your Creator.\u00a0 Of course heaven and earth, \u201cin the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,\u201d Genesis 1:1.\u00a0 Jeremiah 23:24, \u201c\u2026 declares the Lord, \u201cDo I not fill the heavens and the earth?\u201d \u00a0Heaven and earth is everything.\u00a0\u00a0 And yet this being is so powerful that heaven and earth are portrayed as fleeing from His very presence.\u00a0 That would fit Jesus because He is the Creator.\u00a0 He spoke and the universe, heaven and earth leapt into existence.\n\nAnd there\u2019s a very strong view that it\u2019s at this point the earth as we know it and the heavens as we know it is dissolved by fire.\u00a0 There\u2019s actually two views on this; the heavens and earth as we know it is destroyed before the Great White Throne Judgment as Revelation 20:11 intimates or is it destroyed at the end of this judgment which Revelation 21:1 intimates.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if I know the answer to that question but I do know this, whichever view you take the Bible is very clear that this world that we are living in is very temporary.\u00a0 The appointment of God is to take this world, heavens and earth contaminated by sin, dissolve it by fire and to replace it with a brand new creation which we\u2019ll read about in Revelation 21 and 22.\u00a0 And if that\u2019s true why do I hold so tightly onto the things of this earth when the reality of the situation is like going to the store and you buy a carton of milk and it\u2019ll say expires after a certain day.\u00a0 God has stamped this entire universe with an expiration date and one of these days in God\u2019s timing it\u2019s going to be dissolved.\n\nThis is why 1 John 2:17 says, \u201cThe world is passing away, and also<\/em> its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 2 Peter 3:10-11 says, \u201cBut the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.\u201d And then verse 11 says, \u201c\u00a0<\/sup>Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness?\u201d\u00a0 The necessity of hanging on to the things of this world with a loose grip, knowing that if your grip tightens you\u2019re in essence rearranging the deck chairs on a Titanic is what you\u2019re doing because the whole thing is going down, the whole thing is going to be dissolved and thus the very presence of the heavens and earth itself are fleeing from the One who is seated on the throne.\u00a0 And that\u2019s the Judge that\u2019s mentioned.\n\nAnd then what follows, verses 12 and 13, is\u00a0 the judged.\u00a0 Who ae the people that are going to be judged.\u00a0 Look at verse 12, \u201cAnd I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the Book of Life<\/em>; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the Books, according to their deeds.\u201d\u00a0 Who\u2019s being judged here?\u00a0 We have number one, the subjects of the judgment, verse 12.\u00a0 Number two, the Books of the judgments, verse 12.\u00a0 And number three, the basis of the judgment around the end of verse 12 into verse 13.\u00a0 Who are the subjects of this particular judgment?\n\nIt tells you right there at the beginning of verse 12, \u201cAnd I saw the dead, the great and the small,, standing before the throne,\u201d who are \u201cthe dead\u201d?\u00a0 The dead are all the unbelievers of all ages of time, ever since the fall of man in Eden, from that point until the end of history every single human being that\u2019s ever died without Christ is summoned.\u00a0 And you\u2019ll notice here it says, the small and the great, \u201cthe great and the small,\u201d isn\u2019t it interesting how final judgment has a way of equalizing everybody.\u00a0 The beautiful people are there and the people that are not so beautiful are there.\u00a0 The rich are there and the poor are there.\u00a0\u00a0 People of the United States are there, other people from other countries are there.\n\nAnd I just find it very fascinating that the final judgment and\u00a0 death itself is sort of the great equalizer; it doesn\u2019t matter how successful you are, how prosperous you are, how many good deeds you think you\u2019ve done in\u00a0 your life, if you\u2019re effective compared to another person you\u2019ve got a promotion compared to that other person in your workplace, it doesn\u2019t matter anymore because there you stand as an unbeliever, the small and the great.\n\nAnd then we move into the Books of the judgment and notice verse 12, it gets into some very interesting details here.\u00a0 It says, \u201cAnd I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne,\u201d look at this, \u201cand the Books\u201d now is that noun book singular or plural there?\u00a0 \u00a0That\u2019s plural, more than one, \u201c\u2026 and the Books were opened;\u201d so we have two sets of records, we have the Books (plural) verse 12, but then the verse goes on and it says \u201c and another book,\u201d is that singular or plural\u2026 singular was opened, which is the Book of Life. So a big question I think for any person to understand this is what\u2019s in the Book and what\u2019s in the Books?\n\nAs we continue this morning I\u2019ll try to make the case that the \u201cBooks,\u201d plural, as unbelievers are standing before the Lord is a record of sins, sins of commission, sins of omission, things that people have done, things that people have left undone.\u00a0 And it is what unbelievers will be judged by if they don\u2019t have the transferred righteousness of Christ.\u00a0 And apparently those summoned at this judgment do not have the transferred righteousness of Christ and so they\u2019re evaluated by a standard which is contained in the Books.\n\nYou\u2019ll notice as\u00a0 these verses go on, I think it says it twice, once verse 12, once again verse 13, it keeps saying \u201caccording to their deeds.\u201d\u00a0 So if I don\u2019t have Christ the only thing left to evaluate me is not His deed that He did for me on the cross two thousand years ago but my own deeds.\u00a0 What a scary prospect that is!\u00a0 But then it goes on after talking about the Books and it talks about something else called the Book, singular, also there in verse 12.\u00a0 It says, \u201cand the Books were opened, \u201c and then it says\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cand another book was opened, which is the Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0Well, as the Books contain a record of sins what\u2019s inside the Book?\u00a0 What\u2019s inside The Book, singular, is a record of everyone throughout the ages who has trusted in Christ, Old Testament, New Testament, Old Testament looking forward, New Testament looking backward, Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.\n\nYou say well how do you know that?\u00a0 I think that\u2019s true because John didn\u2019t just write the Book of Revelation he wrote The Gospel of John.\u00a0 This is called \u201cThe Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 And watch how John uses the word \u201cLife\u201d in his other book, The Gospel of John, is used as a\u00a0 synonym for those that are in Christ Jesus by way of faith.\u00a0 John 3:16,\u00a0 you knowledge that one by heart, \u201cFor God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.\u201d\u00a0 That\u2019s the same Greek word here, \u201cthe Book of Life.\u201d\u00a0 John 3:36, \u201cHe who believes in the Son has eternal life<\/u>; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.\u201d\u00a0 We all know John 14:6 where Jesus said, \u201cI am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father but by Me.\u201d\u00a0 Life means you\u2019re in Christ, you\u2019ve received His provision by way of faith.\n\nThe very first reference we have to the Book of Life in the Book of Revelation is Revelation 3:5 which said, \u201cHe who overcomes,\u201d and when we were back in that chapter, I don\u2019t know, 30 years ago, something like that [laughter], I said overcomer is a synonym for the believer.\u00a0 [Revelation 3:5, \u201cHe who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the Book of Life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d]\u00a0 Why would I think overcomer is a synonym for the believer?\u00a0 Because that\u2019s how the overcomer is described in John\u2019s other book, 1 John, \u201cFor whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world\u2014our faith.\u201d [1 John 5:4]\u00a0\u00a0 Who is the one that overcomes the world, \u201cbut the one who\u201d what? \u201cbelieves that Jesus is the Son of God.\n\nSo when you see overcomer in Revelation 3:5 just mentally substitute that for a believer.\u00a0 \u201cHe who overcomes,\u201d in other words a believer, \u201cwill thus be clothed in white garments;\u201d now if I\u2019m clothed in white garments that means I don\u2019t have to be evaluated by what\u2019s in the Books; \u201cand I will not erase his name from the\u201d what? \u201cBook of Life and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.\u201d\u00a0 Now who receives that privilege?\u00a0 The overcomes who is called the believer.\u00a0 It\u2019s actually used, sadly, by many people to teach the doctrine of insecurity, you can lose salvation when you understand who the overcomer is, this actually becomes one of the greatest verses in the Bible to teach the security of the Christian, secure in Christ, your name is in that book.\u00a0 Absolutely nothing can take\u00a0 you out of that particular book.\n\nUnbelievers names are not found in the Book of Life.\u00a0 How do I know that?\u00a0 Revelation 13:8,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201c\u2026everyone<\/em> whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the Book of Life of the Lamb [who has been slain.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 Those are the ones that followed the beast.\u00a0 Revelation 17:8, \u201c\u2026.And those who dwell on the earth, whose name has not been written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world, will wonder when they see the beast\u2026.\u201d\u00a0 So those that are unbelievers are always portrayed in the Book of Revelation as not having their name in the Book of Life.\n\nThis is why Jesus said what He said to His disciples who returned with joy because even the demons were in submission to them.\u00a0 Luke 10:17, \u201cThe seventy returned with joy, saying, \u201cLord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.\u201d\u00a0 Then Jesus said to them a few verses later, Luke 10:20, \u201cNevertheless do not rejoice in this that the spirits are subject to you but\u00a0 you rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.\u201d\u00a0 When you get your name inscribed in the Book of Life and that is the single greatest thing that could ever happen to you.\n\nAnd how in the world do you get your name inscribed in the Book of Life?\u00a0 Well let me tell you how you\u2019re not going to get it\u00a0 there.\u00a0 You\u2019re not going to get there through good works! Isaiah 64:6, God through the prophet Isaiah says, \u201cFor all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds\u201d you\u2019ll notice it doesn\u2019t say unrighteous deeds, \u201call of our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; and all of us wither like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.\u201d\u00a0 You think you\u2019re right with God because of what you do?\u00a0 God sees that as a filthy garment.\n\nGalatians 2:16 says this:\u00a0 \u201c\u2026since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. \u201c \u00a0[Galatians 2:16, \u201c\u201cnevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 You are not justified before God through the works of the Law.\u00a0\u00a0 Romans 3:20 says, \u201c\u00a0<\/sup>because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; [for through the Law comes<\/em> the knowledge of sin.]\u201d\n\nIf you somehow are mixed up on this and you think it\u2019s something that you do or perform or execute or accomplish or some ritual that you keep that gets your name in the Book of Life you\u2019re in for a very rude awakening.\u00a0\u00a0 NOBODY gets their name in the Book of Life through good works; they get their name in the Book of Life by receiving what Jesus did in their place two thousand years ago as a gift.\u00a0 If a person will not receive that, I don\u2019t care how religious they are, how spiritual they are, their name is not found in the most important book that your name can ever be found in, the Book of Life.\n\nOne of the most frustrating things in life is to get wrong directions somewhere.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have much of a sense of direction anyway and when someone gives me the wrong directions somewhere I get really messed up.\u00a0 And here\u2019s the reality of the situation; most Christians today, when they\u2019re given an opportunity by the Lord to evangelize are so cluttered and confused on the clarity of the gospel that they give people wrong directions.\n\nIn fact, all you\u2019ve got to do is tour ministry websites, what they think the gospel is and they\u2019re constantly pointing people in the wrong direction.\u00a0 I was just listening the other day to a visual presentation to a very popular evangelist interacting with people and it was sort of a live conversation that was recorded.\u00a0 And this person, this evangelist finally got to the gospel and this evangelist says to the unbeliever, you need to believe in Jesus Christ AND stop sinning.\u00a0 And the moment he said that, and it\u2019s interesting as you watched the camera, the unbeliever themselves is confused.\u00a0 The moment he said that he just preached a false gospel.\u00a0 He just gave wrong directions because the Bible is very clear by the works of righteousness no flesh will be justified in His presence.\u00a0 The gospel is going up to people and telling them to stop sinning.\u00a0 Those are wrong directions.\u00a0 That is a works oriented gospel.\n\nWell, gee pastor, so\u00a0 you\u2019re in favor of Christian sinning?\u00a0 That\u2019s not what I said!\u00a0 The issue of sin, the issue of profanity, the issue of whatever the sin is God will start to deal with that person in the middle tense of their salvation, not their justification but their sanctification as they grow in Christ.\u00a0 Saying no to sin under the power of the Holy Spirit is a vital step in the Christian\u2019s growth but it will accomplish absolutely nothing in terms of getting someone\u2019s name inscribed in the Book, the Book of Life.\u00a0 There\u2019s only one way into the Book of Life, you have your name inscribed there is to receive what Jesus did for you as a gift.\u00a0 If\u00a0 your performance, your energy, your ambition to do better, your New Year\u2019s Resolution, they get you nowhere with God.\u00a0\u00a0 And\u00a0 yet because the clarity of the gospel is not emphasized today in Christ\u2019s church your average Christian goes out and gives to people garbled muddled messages and sends them the wrong direction.\u00a0 God help us not to do that here at Sugar Land Bible Church.\n\nYou know, if there was somebody that Jesus could have said that to it was the woman at the well.\u00a0 You want to talk about a morally messed up person, five husbands, your current partner you\u2019re not even married to, and I would challenge anybody to look at John 4 where Jesus is conversing with the woman at the well and He never once tells her to morally straighten yourself out.\u00a0 What He talks to her about is living water which she didn\u2019t have, which is the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 That\u2019s what you need; you need to receive what I have to offer, water which can satisfy the soul, living water, you need to receive that by way of faith.\u00a0 There\u2019s no moral talk in her life.\u00a0 Now presumably the Holy Spirit once inside of her began to deal with her about certain sins but that\u2019s not what got her in the door!\u00a0 That\u2019s not got her name in the Book.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what gets\u00a0 your name in the Book.\u00a0 That\u2019s not what gets my name in the Book; it is by faith alone, faith by itself with absolutely 100% nothing added.\u00a0 Faith alone in Christ alone!\n\nAnd you see, this trial that\u2019s happening here is the dead are summoned and their names are not in the Book because they never received this gift.\u00a0 And so now they are going to be evaluated by what\u2019s in the Book.\u00a0 So that raises an interesting question, doesn\u2019t it?\u00a0 What in the world is in those books?\u00a0 I gave a generic answer earlier, it\u2019s sort of a record of sins but let\u2019s get a little bit more specific, shall we?\u00a0 You can find yourself in that predicament without the transferred righteousness of Christ, you have nowhere to head, heaven and earth just fled, what are you going to answer for exactly?\u00a0 You look at Revelation chapter 12 at the very end of\u00a0 the verse, it says, \u201cand the dead were judged from the things which were written in the Books,\u201d look at what it says here, \u201caccording to their deeds.\u201d [Revelation 20:12, \u201cAnd I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the Book<\/em> of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the Books, according to their deeds.\n\nWhat deeds?\u00a0\u00a0 I mean, what in the world are they going to be responsible for?\u00a0 The Bible doesn\u2019t say but I think when you look at the whole counsel of God\u2019s Word there\u2019s five issues that are going to come up here.\u00a0 It has to do with how frequently and with what severity unbelievers violated number one, the Old Testament Law.\u00a0 Galatians 3:10 says this: \u201cFor as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse for it is written, \u2018Cursed is the one who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law to perform them.\u201d\u00a0 If you don\u2019t want Jesus, you get Moses.\n\nJesus said this in John 5:45 to the Pharisees, \u201cDo not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope.\u201d\u00a0 Wow, you thought the Law of Moses was a stairway to heaven?\u00a0 The Law of Moses with the Ten Commandments which sit in judgment not just on what I do but what I think.\u00a0 The Law of Moses with 613 commandments in it total, you think that\u2019s going to be your vindicator on the day of judgment?\u00a0 Jesus says that\u2019s not true, that\u2019s the very thing that will accuse you because that\u2019s the only thing we have to go by now that you won\u2019t receive the forgiveness of Christ.\u00a0 How did you fare and how did you stand related to your performance under the Law of Moses?\u00a0 The sermon title is something the late Walter Martin said that\n\nWhat else are unbelievers going to be judged by?\u00a0 I mean, how could God hold people accountable to \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0the Law of Moses, a lot of people don\u2019t even have the Law of Moses; they haven\u2019t read the Law of always stuck out with me.\u00a0 He said, \u201cYou don\u2019t want Jesus, you get Moses!\u201d\u00a0 Moses.\u00a0 Think again.\u00a0 What has God done with the Law?\u00a0 He has put it where?\u00a0 In the hearts of people; every human being.\u00a0 It\u2019s something called conscience.\u00a0 God said this after Adam and Eve fell.\u00a0 He said, \u201cBehold, the man has become like one of\u00a0 us knowing good and evil.\u201d\u00a0 Genesis 3:22.\u00a0 [Then the Lord God said, \u201cBehold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever\u201d\u2014]\n\nHow could Adam in his fallen state still know the difference between good and evil?\u00a0 Because God took His Law for every human being and put it into their hearts.\u00a0 Paul talks about this in Romans 2:14-16. He says, \u201cFor when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law,\u201d has that ever struck you as odd?\u00a0 Has it ever struck you as odd that you have two little kids in your house and\u00a0 you tell one kid if you empty the dishwasher I\u2019ll take you to Burger King, and you tell another kid if you empty the dishwasher I\u2019ll take you to Disney World and the first kid is going to say that\u2019s not fair!\u00a0 Well who ever gave you an idea that things were supposed to be fair?\u00a0 How is it that you instinctively understand fairness?\u00a0 Or equity?\u00a0 It has to do with conscience.\n\n\u201cFor when the Gentiles who did not have the Law did instinctively the things of the Law, these not having the law are a law to themselves, \u00a0[15] in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them, \u00a0[16] on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Christ Jesus.\u201d\u00a0 See not having the Law of Moses is an excuse at the Great White Throne Judgment because it\u2019s in your heart.\n\nHow frequently did you honor conscience; that becomes standard for the unbeliever.\u00a0 What else is the unbeliever going to be held accountable to and for at this Great White Throne Judgment?\u00a0 They\u2019re going to be held accountable for ignoring the witness of creation because when you look at the world that we\u2019re living in it does not take a rocket scientist to know that there\u2019s something greater than ourselves that designed this.\u00a0 Seven billion people on planet earth and no two finger prints are alike.\u00a0 You think of all of the snowflakes that have fallen to the ground; when examined under a microscope no two snowflakes are exactly alike.\n\nAnd here we are in our heliocentric solar system as I speak orbiting around the sun and we\u2019re not close enough to the sun to burn to death (we feel like it sometimes in Texas) and we\u2019re not so far away from the sun that we freeze to death but we orbit at exactly the right distance to sustain life.\u00a0 And you want to deny the existence of God?\u00a0 Psalm 14:1 says, \u201cThe fool has said in his heart, \u2018There is no God.\u201d\u00a0 Psalm 139:14, David just sort of looking at his body, the cardiovascular system, the respiratory system, the fact that all of our personalities are unique and different,\u00a0 David says, Psalm 139:14, \u201cFor I am fearfully and wonderfully made.\u201d \u00a0Who can deny the existence of God?\u00a0 Psalm 19:1-4, people say I wish God would speak to me.\u00a0 He speaks to you every moment through the witness of creation.\u00a0 Psalm 119:1, \u201cThe heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands.\u00a0 [2] Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.\u201d\n\nWe say well we\u2019ve got to get on Christian radio, we\u2019ve got to get on Christian TV, we\u2019ve got to get on the internet, we\u2019ve got to get our message out, we\u2019ve got to get our sermons out.\u00a0 God says I don\u2019t need any of that, the unbeliever\u2019s got sermons every single day revealing Him.\u00a0 There is no speech nor are there words, there is no speech nor are there words where their voice is not heard.\u00a0 Their line has gone through, gone out through all the earth and their utterances to the end of the world and then He has placed a tent for the sun.\u00a0 What did Paul say on Mars Hill?\u00a0 Paul never let unbelievers on Mars Hill off the hook because they didn\u2019t know anything about Judaism or Christianity.\u00a0 He says you see evidence of God all around you, it\u2019s in your own poets, it\u2019s in\u00a0 your temples that you build.\u00a0 You\u2019re misdirected but you know there\u2019s something there that you\u2019re searching for.\n\nActs 17:24-27 it says, \u201cThe God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; [25] \u00a0<\/sup>nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people<\/em> life and breath and all things; [26] \u00a0<\/sup>and He made from one man<\/em> every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their<\/em> appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,\u201d why?\u00a0 Why has God created all of these things.\u00a0 Verse\u00a0 27 \u201c\u00a0<\/sup>that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;\u201d\n\nWell, you know, gee God, my professor in college told me that everything assembled itself over billions of years.\u00a0 Boy, that\u2019s an excuse that\u2019s really going to get you far on the day of judgment.\u00a0 Why would you believe something like that?\u00a0 That\u2019s insane to believe that!\u00a0 Can\u2019t you see God all around\u00a0 you?\u00a0 Can\u2019t you see the Bible that He\u2019s written called general revelation.\u00a0 Paul in Romans 1:18-20 says, \u201cFor the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unright\u00adeousness of men\u201d now here\u2019s the problem, \u201cwho suppress the truth in unrighteousness, there\u2019s the problem.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a lack of evidence, it\u2019s people don\u2019t want the evidence, because if I acknowledge God exists that means I have to live in submission to Him and I want to be God!\u00a0 \u00a0[19]\u00a0 \u201c<\/sup>because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. [20]\u00a0<\/sup>For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made,\u201d watch this, \u201cso that men are without excuse.\u201d\n\nYou know even the most vitriolic atheist on planet earth wakes up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat because they instinctively know that God exists, and all of this activity that they\u2019ve given themselves to is like trying to explain away the Pacific Ocean.\u00a0 It\u2019s obvious that God exists.\n\nGod will not tolerate any excuse of any person despite their academic pedigree that says well I just didn\u2019t know you were there.\u00a0 That\u2019s a lack of common sense to say something like that.\u00a0 And you know what folks?\u00a0 God deserves glory for what He has made; He deserves it!!!!\n\nRevelation 4:11 says, \u201cWorthy are You our LORD and our GOD to receive glory and honor and power for\u00a0 You created all things and because of Your will they existed and were created.\u201d\u00a0 There\u2019s having enough smarts to do what those on the earth don\u2019t do, glorifying God for the obvious.\u00a0 I mean, even Shakespeare, we\u2019ll read a Shakespearean masterpiece and we\u2019ll say wow, that Shakespeare, what an author.\u00a0 You hear a wonderful concert of music and wow, Bach or whoever, what a tremendous musician.\u00a0 And yet we look at the world that we\u2019re in and we give God no credit?\u00a0 The fact of the matter is God has spoken through conscience; God has spoken through creation and as unbelievers are standing before the Lord as the earth and heavens [can't understand words] this is the kind of thing that\u2019s in the Book.\u00a0 How frequently did you ignore My Law?\u00a0 Well God, I never had Your Law.\u00a0 NO, you had it, I put it in your heart!\n\nAnd how frequently did you ignore the obvious witness of creation?\u00a0 And then, cheer up folks, it gets worse.\u00a0 They\u2019re held accountable for all their words.\u00a0 Where am I getting this from?\u00a0 It\u2019s in Matthew 12:36-37.\u00a0 \u201cBut I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. [37] \u00a0<\/sup>For by your words you will be justified, and ]<\/sup>by your words you will be condemned.\u201d\u00a0 I read that and I say thank you Jesus that I\u2019m not in that judgment because I\u2019ve said a lot of dumb, stupid, sinful, hateful things over my 53 years of existence.\u00a0 Well, maybe 52 years, I couldn\u2019t talk when I was age one, but once I started to talk hateful, sarcastic, ridiculous self-centered anti-God statements, gossip, has been pouring out of my mouth ever since.\u00a0 I don\u2019t\u00a0 want anything to do with the judgment where God is holding me accountable for all my words.\n\nThe Book of Jude, there\u2019s only one chapter in the Book of Jude, talks about the Lord returning and holding people accountable and it says, \u201cTo execute judgment upon all and to convict the ungodly of all of their ungodly deeds which they have done in an ungodly way,\u201d I wish it stopped there but it goes on and it says, \u201cand of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against Him.\u201d\n\nYou know the late night comedians that think it\u2019s so funny to criticize Jesus Christ, criticize the Bible, criticize the people, mockery, all of that you stand accountable for.\u00a0 That\u2019s what\u2019s in the Book.\n\nI think the last thing the unbelievers are going to be held accountable for is resisting the convicting ministry of the Holy Spirit because John 16:7-11, Jesus said, \u201cBut I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. [8] And He, when He comes, will convict\u201d who?\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t just say the elect there, it says the world, \u201cHe\u00a0 the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; [9] concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; [10] \u00a0<\/sup>and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; [11]\u00a0<\/sup>and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.\u201d\n\nDid you know that right now as I speak the Holy Spirit is at work in the world, convicting every single person of those three things?\u00a0\u00a0 This makes evangelism easy, tailor your message according to what\u2019s already bothering them. I mean, it says right there that they\u2019re being convicted \u201cbecause they do not believe in Me,\u201d they\u2019re already bothered by the fact that they don\u2019t believe in Jesus, tell them to believe in Jesus.\u00a0 They\u2019re already being convicted because He\u2019s going back to the Father, they don\u2019t have in other words His transferred righteousness, tell them how to get the transferred righteousness, not through self effort but through trusting in what He has done for them.\n\nAnd they\u2019re already being convicted of future judgment because the devil is going down; they already know that, and they understand that if they die without Christ they\u2019re going down as well.\u00a0 Tell them how to escape a future judgment.\u00a0 Don\u2019t give them a self-help course, don\u2019t tell them to watch the right cable shows or\u2026 we know a guy, it\u2019s so tragic because this individual was given the wrong information about the gospel.\u00a0 He is in unbelief today.\u00a0 He was told that as a young man that if\u00a0 you want to be a Christian you need to give up dancing and he liked to go out and dance.\u00a0 Does this say when the Holy Spirit comes He will convict the world of dancing?\u00a0 Or loud music?\u00a0 Or putting an earring through your nose?\u00a0 Or having a tattoo?\u00a0 Or voting for the wrong party?\u00a0 Or watching the wrong cable\u00a0 host?\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t say anything like that.\u00a0 The Holy Spirit has absolutely no interest in morally reforming the unsaved.\n\nNow moral reformation, that\u2019ll take place after the Holy Spirit\u2019s inside of them, they don\u2019t have the Spirit inside of them.\u00a0 The only thing they have is the perpetual conviction of God and so tell them how to escape that conviction.\u00a0 Talk about the free gift of salvation.\u00a0 Don\u2019t major on external things like haircuts or denominations or all of this foolish silly talk that we bring up.\u00a0 That has nothing to do with it!\u00a0 Cooperate with what God is already bothering them about\u2014unbelief, judgment, and a lack of righteousness which they can have transferred to them because they think they can get it through self-effort.\n\nWhat exactly, pastor, is in the Book?\u00a0 This is what\u2019s in the Book, you show up at this judgment, here\u2019s the standard\u2014you don\u2019t have Jesus you get Moses, even though you may have never read him he\u2019s in your heart through conscience.\u00a0 And how frequently did you ignore and avoid the obvious witness of creation.\u00a0 And what was coming\u00a0 out of your mouth throughout your life, against the Son of God?\u00a0 And how frequently did you come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and you just ignored it?\u00a0\u00a0 Postponed the decision.\u00a0 This is horrific stuff.\n\nRevelation 20, verse 13, we\u2019re moving, look at this.\u00a0 \u201cAnd the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them<\/em> according to their deeds.\u201d\u00a0 What is all of this about?\u00a0 You have to understand the difference between death and resurrection.\u00a0 Death is a separation, the body and what we call the immaterial part of a person, sometimes called the soul in the Bible, sometimes called the spirit, separate.\u00a0 That\u2019s what happens when a person dies.\u00a0 That even happened to Christ when He died.\u00a0 The King James says He gave up the ghost, Matthew 27:50.\u00a0\u00a0 [Matthew 27:50, \u201cAnd Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.\u201d King James Bible]\u00a0 \u00a0He breathed His last, He gave up His spirit. The body, the material and the immaterial separated.\u00a0 The same thing happened to\u00a0 Steven, Acts 7:59.\u00a0 [Acts 7:59, \u201cThey went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord<\/em> and said, \u201cLord Jesus, receive my spirit!\u201d]\n\nThat\u2019s what death is.\u00a0 If a person is unsaved they go into a place, not soul sleep, they go into a place called Hades and you\u2019ll see a reference to Hades in\u00a0 Luke 16:23, \u201cIn Hades he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, and saw Abraham far away and Lazarus in his bosom.\u201d\u00a0 Jude 7 speaks of those who die undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.\u00a0 [Jude 7, \u201cjust as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after [<\/sup>a<\/sup><\/a>]<\/sup>strange flesh, are exhibited as an example in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.\u201d]\n\nThe body and the soul separate; if a person is unsaved they go to this place of conscious torment called Hades\u00a0 awaiting their final resurrection.\n\nSo what is a resurrection?\u00a0 It\u2019s the opposite of death, it\u2019s where the two come back together.\u00a0 The body is resurrected and the immaterial part of a person re-enters that body.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what\u2019s being described here for all unbelievers.\u00a0 See, we have a tendency to think of resurrection as only for the saved but that\u2019s not what your Bible teaches.\u00a0 \u00a0Your Bible teaches that there is a resurrection for unbelievers and they\u2019re standing now before the Lord and the final evaluation is being made.\u00a0 And it\u2019s pointed out to them that their name is not in the Book, they\u2019re now going to be judged by the Book, in a place that\u2019s different than Hades called The Lake of Fire.\n\nSee, the resurrection of the saved has already happened a thousand years earlier.\u00a0 And what we\u2019re speaking of here is the final resurrection of all saved of all ages (after the thousand year kingdom has run its course} at what is called the Great White Throne Judgment.\u00a0 Do you see what\u2019s happening here?\u00a0 You\u2019re coming out of Hades,\u00a0 you\u2019re resurrected, you\u2019re put through your trial legally, your name is not found written in the Book, so you\u2019re judged by the Book.\n\nWell why do I need to be judged if I\u2019m an unbeliever (perish the thought) why would I need to be judged by the Book when shouldn\u2019t it just be just a simple transfer operation?\u00a0 I mean, I\u2019m not in the Book, I\u2019m going into the Lake of Fire, why consult the Book?\u00a0 Ever asked\u00a0 yourself that?\u00a0 You consult the Book, the Lord on the throne who bled in our place is consulting the Book because the Book determines the degree of punishment in the Lake of Fire.\u00a0 Here is the reality of the situation folks:\u00a0 All sin separates from God, Isaiah 59:1-2.\u00a0 [Isaiah 59:1-2, \u201cBehold, the Lord\u2019s hand is not so short that it cannot save; nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear.\u00a0 [2] But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.\u201d]\n\nAll sin brings God\u2019s wrath, Ephesians 5:6.\u00a0 [Ephesians 5:6, \u201cLet no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.\u201d]\u00a0\u00a0 But there are some sins that are worse than others.\u00a0 Because they are worse than others they demand a higher consequence in the perfect justice and outworking of God.\u00a0 Didn\u2019t Jesus say that in John 19:11, \u201cJesus answered, \u201cYou would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the<\/em> greater sin.\u201d\u00a0 So we have lesser sins and we have greater sins.\u00a0 That\u2019s why the consultation with the Book becomes paramount at this point, because hell is hell for everybody but it\u2019s more hell for some people than others.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t that make sense in the perfect justice of God?\u00a0 Would a man like Adolf Hitler be punished the exact same way as someone that did not kill six million Jews?\n\nJesus spoke of this in Matthew 11:20-24.\u00a0 He says, \u201c\u00a0<\/sup>Then He began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent. [21]\u00a0<\/sup>\u201cWoe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles had occurred in Tyre and Sidon which occurred in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. [22]\u00a0<\/sup>Nevertheless I say to you, it will be more tolerable\u201d see that?\u00a0 \u201cfor Tyre and Sidon in the<\/em> day of judgment than for you. [23] \u00a0<\/sup>And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom\u201d a pretty bad place, \u201cwhich occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. [24]\u00a0<\/sup>Nevertheless I say to you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the<\/em> day of judgment, than for you.\u201d\n\nYou see, Chorazin, Bethsaida, you\u2019re all going off into judgment.\u00a0 Sodom, you\u2019re going off into judgment.\u00a0 But for these New Testament cities the judgment is going to be more severe.\u00a0 Why is that?\u00a0 Because they saw something that Sodom never saw.\u00a0 In fact, if I\u2019m reading this right had Sodom seen what these New Testament cities had seen\u00a0 they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.\u00a0 They saw Jesus!\u00a0 They saw the incarnate Son of God, they heard His teachings, they saw His miracles, and they turned their back.\u00a0 The more light that\u2019s rejected the greater the degree of punishment.\u00a0 I don\u2019t have a problem with that if God is perfectly just in His dealings.\n\nDid\u00a0 you know that in heaven there\u2019s going to be different degrees of reward?\u00a0 I mean we\u2019re all in heaven by God\u2019s grace but why would someone that just sort of squandered their life in Christ be rewarded the exact same way as someone that consecrated themselves under the Lord and allowed the Lord to work through them.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t it be unfair that both receive the equal reward?\u00a0 And thus in the outworking of God\u2019s purposes and in His perfect justice He provides the Bema Seat Judgment which determines different degrees of reward in heaven although all believers will be in heaven only through the grace of God.\n\nIf there are differing degrees of reward in heaven why would we expect it any different than with the damned, those in hell?\u00a0 Why would they be judged exactly the same way?\u00a0 They\u2019re not.\u00a0 And that\u2019s why \u201cthe books were opened.\u201d If you\u2019re not in the book you get the books.\u00a0 May God help us understand this.\u00a0 [Revelation 20:12, \u201cAnd I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book<\/em> of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.\u201d]\n\nHe moves on to the final judgment, verse 14, and it says, \u201cThen death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.\u201d\u00a0 They\u2019re not needed any more, death and Hades.\u00a0\u00a0 This temporary holding tank for unbelieving souls is not necessary.\u00a0 The final resurrection has happened, the sentence has been pronounced, and these folks are now thrown into the Lake of Fire.\u00a0 So death and Hades are gone.\u00a0\u00a0 This is the second death, the lake of fire.\n\nAnd by the way, when it talks about the sea giving up the dead and Hades giving up the dead, the sea I think is where the bodies come from, the material part of man.\u00a0 Hades\u00a0 is where the immaterial part of the unbeliever comes from and they\u2019re reunited in a resurrection for the unsaved only to stand trial as it\u2019s determined that they\u2019re not in the Book of Life so they\u2019re going to be judged in that resurrected body, in the Lake of Fire, throughout all eternity, the degree of which is determined by the Book.\u00a0 Think of all of the sermons that are being preached this morning in the United States of America as the Christian church is just going through it motions, and think how few of them are dealing with this.\u00a0 That\u2019s why I agree with David Hocking, this is the most awesome scene in the Bible; it God hadn\u2019t conveyed this it would be very hard pressed for me to believe that this is going to happen.\u00a0 If He has fixed a day with certainty in which this particular judgment will take place, continuing on with verse 14, look at this.\u00a0 \u201cThis is the second death, the lake of fire.\u201d\n\nA.W. Tozer put it this way: \u201cOnce born, twice died, twice born, once died.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 If you\u2019re born once you die twice.\u00a0 If you\u2019re born twice you die once.\u00a0 If I\u2019m born physically, never born again which is an absolute prerequisite to entering the kingdom, then what\u2019s my future?\u00a0 Biblical death and the second death which is the Lake of Fire.\u00a0 Revelation 2:11 also calls this \u201cLake of Fire\u201d the second death.\u00a0 [Revelation 2:11, \u201cHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt by the second death.\u2019\u201d]\n\nBut if I\u2019m born twice that\u2019s different; physically born, the gospel is presented to me, I believe it, I\u2019m born spiritually, I\u2019ve got no place in this place of fire; the very worst thing that could happen to me is physical death.\u00a0 And beloved, that might not even happen if we are the rapture generation.\n\nVerse 15, and with this we\u2019re finished, it sums it all up.\u00a0 \u201cIf anyone\u2019s name was not found written in the Book of Life he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s interesting is the beast and the false prophet are already in there; they\u2019ve been in there for a thousand years.\u00a0 Last week we saw Revelation 20:10 where Satan was thrown in there.\u00a0 [Revelation 20:10, \u201cAnd the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.\u201d]\n\nAnd then at this final resurrection as unbelievers names are not found written in the Book they go into the Lake of Fire, the books determine the degree of punishment that they experience. You say I don\u2019t know, I don\u2019t like all this stuff, differing degrees of punishment stuff.\u00a0 Well, join the club, I don\u2019t like it either.\n\nBut Luke 12:47 says, \u201cthe slave that knew his masters will and did not get ready or act in accordance with His will, will receive many lashes.\u00a0 [48] but the one who did not know it<\/em>, and committed deeds worthy of \u00a0flogging, will receive but few\u201d lashes\u00a0 This doctrine is here, this doctrine of eternal punishment is here; this doctrine of differing degrees of punishment in the Lake of Fire is in the Bible and this degree of differing rewards amongst believers in heaven is in the Bible.\n\nWell pastor, what about the doctrine of the second chance?\u00a0 I wish that there were such a thing as the second chance.\u00a0 But Hebrews 9:27 puts it very clearly, \u201cAnd inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes<\/em> judgment.\u201d\u00a0 What\u2019s so interesting to me about all of this is that hell itself was never created for people.\u00a0 Jesus, in Matthew 25:41 says this: \u201c\u2026\u2018Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels;\u201d\u00a0 When God came up with, invented, whatever word you want to use, this idea of eternal retribution He never had in mind for its people.\u00a0 That\u2019s why He bled on the cross in our place, to keep us out of this horrific place.\u00a0 But if people reject what He\u2019s done, say no to the sacrificed Savior then they end up sharing in the same space as Satan himself.\n\nPhilippians 2:10 says, \u201cSo that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,\u201d\u00a0 The reality of the situation is every knee will bow to Jesus Christ, either voluntarily as you receive Him as\u00a0 your Savior or involuntarily as you meet Him as your judge, but the knee will be bowed.\u00a0 And this is what we\u2019re reading about here as we\u2019ve looked at the judge and the judgment.\n\nWell pastor, do you have any nice interesting segway\u2019s into the gospel today?\u00a0\u00a0 If you can\u2019t segway this into the gospels then go fill out the form to sell vacuum cleaners and insurance because you shouldn\u2019t be a preacher.\u00a0 The Segway into it is you don\u2019t have to come here, no human being has to go.\u00a0 In fact, the Bible says God is not willing that any should perish.\u00a0 [2 Peter 3:9, \u201cThe Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.\u201d]\n\nAnd He did what He had to do through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension to bridge the gap between His holiness and man\u2019s sinfulness so that we don\u2019t have to stand there naked as heaven and earth flee from the very presence of the One who is on the throne, standing there without Jesus, without the transferred righteousness of Christ, standing there in my own good works, judged by the books, what kind of future is that when you can have the transferred righteousness of Christ by way of faith.\u00a0 So the gospel says avoid this by trusting in what Jesus has done for us two thousand years ago on the cross.\u00a0 It\u2019s just a matter of trusting in Him, NOT self, in Him<\/u> and receiving what He has done as a free gift.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a matter of walking an aisle or raising a hand, joining a church, giving money, it\u2019s a matter of privacy between you and the Lord where you trust in Him and His provision alone.\u00a0 And that\u2019s what keeps you away from what we might call the other side of the good news.\n\nLots of talk today about getting saved!\u00a0 Saved from what?\u00a0 Saved from this because of what Jesus has done.\u00a0 If it\u2019s something you need more explanation on I\u2019m available after this service.\n\nShall we pray.\u00a0 Father, we\u2019re grateful for the things in You Word that go down easy and are a little bit more enjoyable for us to read yet at the same time You love us enough to reveal other things that can be avoided.\u00a0 May everybody within the sound of my voice today either in this building or listening online, may they not go to this horrific place\u00a0 because today they have trusted in\u00a0 Your provision.\u00a0 I ask that You\u2019ll do this great word is\u00a0 You convict men and women of their need to trust in the Savior.\u00a0 We\u2019ll be careful to give you all the praise and the glory. We ask these things in Jesus\u2019 name, and God\u2019s people said\u2026. Amen!","series_sermon_number":""},"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t