The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Resurrection and Eternal Judgment, #37

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. (Revelation 20:12)

After the thousand-year Kingdom Age the Lord Jesus and His saints will sit on the great white throne judging the dead who are raised at that time.

When the time comes for the general resurrection of the dead, every person (with the exception of those who participated in the first resurrection) will come from his waiting area and stand before Jesus Christ and His saints. The spirit of death and the spirit of Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

This does not mean, according to our understanding, that all the inhabitants of death and of Hell will be cast into the Lake of Fire. Rather, it is death itself and Hell itself (we believe them to be spiritual creatures) that will be cast into the Lake of Fire.

It is a Kingdom principle that after those who have caused the necessary pain to the saint have done their work, the instruments of judgment (death and Hell, in this instance) will themselves be subjected to Divine judgment (II Thessalonians 1:6).

The people who have been summoned to the Judgment Seat of Christ, in the general resurrection, will be judged according to their behavior. This will happen at one time or another to every individual who has ever lived on the earth.

Whoever is not found written in the Book of Life will be cast into the second death. This indicates that the processes of redemption are closed to such individuals. They no longer can avail themselves of the atoning authority of the blood of Jesus. God will not hear their supplications. The Holy Spirit will not intercede for them or touch them in any manner whatever. They finally have chosen Satan, and Satan will be their portion for eternity.

The Lake of Fire is a horrible fate. For the saint, to be subjected one minute to the spiritual death of the Lake of Fire would be excruciating, unbearable—utterly terrifying!

The thought of spending eternity in the Lake of Fire should cause even the most hardened criminal to tremble.

The remainder of those raised at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age (hopefully the vast majority) will receive a portion of Christ and will enter the new world. They then will have continued access to the tree of life by which they will be healed and renewed in personality.

As the citizens of the new earth learn to obey God ever more perfectly they will be given to eat of the fruit of the tree of life, of the Life of Christ, so they may receive the Presence of God in their bodies; and of the leaves of the tree of life, so they may be healed of any sort of distress they may be experiencing (Revelation 22:2).

At that time, God in Christ will be tabernacling in all His creatures, especially in the members of the royal priesthood. The new Jerusalem is composed of the glorified personalities of the members of the royal priesthood, the Bride of the Lamb, the dwelling place of God in Christ.

To be continued.