SERIES: Heaven and Hell
The Divine Bookkeeper and the Great White Throne Judgment
SCRIPTURE: Revelation 20:11-15, et al
SPEAKER: Michael P. Andrus
Introduction: The House prosecutors came to the Senate this week with 60,000 pages of evidentiary material which they believe justifies conviction of the President and removal from office. Most of this evidence has been pried from reluctant witnesses, and it involves just a dozen or so days in one man’s life. Some of it may be hearsay; some may be judged circumstantial. There have been, and will continue to be, vigorous debates about its relevance and its importance.
But a trial is coming in which ALL the defendants will be faced with a complete transcript of every evil thing they have ever done or thought or said. There will be no dispute about the facts, no hearsay, no circumstantial evidence–just the facts, ma’am! It has all been recorded by the Divine Bookkeeper. No defendant at this trial will have a prayer; all will be declared “guilty” and will be assigned a place in the lake of fire. We’re talking about the Great White Throne Judgment.
We learned last week that believers will stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ, where they will be judged and will receive what is due them for the things done in the body, whether good or bad. Apparently, there is some kind of record of our lives, to which God will refer as He dispenses rewards and disciplines His children. Interestingly, however, the term “books” is not used of this record. In the Bible, “the books” always refers to the record of the sins of unbelievers. “The books” make their appearance, not at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but at the Great White Throne judgment. One might say, “God never throws the book” at His children. He judges us, and it won’t be entirely pleasant, but it will be in love and it will be for our eternal benefit. But the wicked and all unbelievers will be faced with “the books” God is keeping.
God keeps “books.”
First, consider the purpose of these books.
The books are the basis for punishment in the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:11-15)
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”
The imagery of books being opened in judgment is repeated in the book of Daniel. Daniel is given a vision of the Anti-Christ, who appears in the last days during the events leading up to Christ’s return. In chapter 7 we are given a prophetic scene of God’s righteous judgment on the last beast who opposes God in the end times, the Anti-Christ himself:
“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days (God Himself) took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened. “Then I continued to watch because of the boastful words the horn was speaking. I kept looking until the beast was slain and its body destroyed and thrown into the blazing fire.” (Daniel 7:9-11)
Clearly, the basis for judgment of unbelievers, whether great or small, whether in the church age or in the Tribulation, will be what is recorded in “the books.” The implication is, the worse the record, the greater the punishment, just as at the Judgment Seat of Christ, the greater the faithfulness, the greater the privilege and responsibility. And there are Scripture passages which clearly imply degrees of punishment in hell. We have looked at some of those in previous weeks. Well, what exactly do “the books” record?
The books record mankind’s sins of thought, word, deed, and motive. Listen to the following passages:
(Hosea 7:2) “They do not realize that I remember all their evil deeds. Their sins engulf them; they are always before me.”
(Hosea 13:12) “The guilt of Ephraim is stored up, his sins are kept on record.”
(Jeremiah 17:10) “I the LORD search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct, according to what his deeds deserve.”
The consistent point of these passages and scores of others is that there are no secrets before God. He keeps records, and when the wicked and unbelievers stand before the Great White Throne judgment, they are going to have to answer for it all. But not only do the books record men’s sins…
The books also record the suffering caused by sin. In Psalm 56 David is lamenting the evil he has suffered at the hands of the Philistines. He pleads with God in verse 8, “Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll–are they not in your record?” In this life we may get some small measure of satisfaction from knowing that a convicted criminal is paying his debt to society. But no matter how severe, no punishment here on earth can make up for the pain suffered by a child who is abused by a parent, or a man whose reputation is destroyed by an enemy, or a woman whose husband is taken hostage, or an entire people whose freedom is stolen by their government. When the wicked are finally brought before God, they will be judged not just for sinning against God, but also for the pain, suffering, and anguish they have caused others.
The books are not balanced the way we balance books. Scores of people who are counting on the expectation that their good deeds will outweigh their bad deeds when they stand before God. Since none of us is perfect, so the argument goes, God will have to grade on the curve, i.e., if He wants any company at all in heaven. And since it’s a lot easier to spot others’ sins than one’s own, many assume they’ve got better than even odds to make it.
I’ve got some bad news for anyone who thinks this way. “The books” are not balanced by adding up one’s assets and subtracting one’s liabilities. Will you turn with me to Ezekiel 18? I want us to consider a remarkable statement by God beginning in verse 21.
“… if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all my decrees and does what is just and right, he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” declares the Sovereign LORD. “Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live? But if a righteous man turns from his righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.”
Consider the case of Jane Doe. For 50 years she was a sorry human being. She ignored God, exploited other people, married four times–each time for money—and emotionally abused her children. But when confronted with advanced breast cancer, she turned from evil and repented, asking God to forgive her and putting her faith in God’s Son. Three weeks later she died. Surely Ezekiel is not saying that Jane’s deathbed conversion offsets all the evil she has done. But that seems to be exactly what he is saying.
Consider the case of John Doe. For 50 years he led a nearly blameless life as a deacon, a solid family man, a businessman with impeccable reputation, and he sang in the choir. But suddenly, for whatever reason, he turned bad. He fell prey to corruption, had a mid-life crisis, dumped his wife and kids, moved in with a secretary at work, and turned away from God, the church, and all his old friends. He died a few months later of a heart attack while on a trip with his lover. Surely Ezekiel is not saying that 50 years of good, honest living are wiped out by a little weakness at the end? No, not a little weakness, rather a persistent choice of evil which changed the course of a man’s life. Yes, Ezekiel seems to be saying the good things such a person has done will not be remembered. [i]
You say, “But that’s not fair! John has done a lot more good deeds than Jane, and Jane has sinned a lot longer than John. If that’s how God operates, we might as well live like the devil until the very end and then repent.” Interestingly, Ezekiel anticipates just such a reaction. Verse 25: “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear, O house of Israel: Is my way unjust? Is it not your ways that are unjust?” The fact of the matter is you don’t know when your death will come, and sin may well destroy your very capacity to repent. That’s why the prophet calls upon his listeners to repent now! Verse 30: “Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel?”
What is clear is that at the Great White Throne judgment, God doesn’t add up one’s good deeds, subtract the evil ones, and then check to see if the balance is in the red or in the black.
The books will be checked against “The Book.” Let me quote Revelation 20:12 again, where John “saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books (plural).” Then moving down to verse 15 we read, “If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life (singular), he was thrown into the lake of fire.” What is this Book which is so clearly distinguished from “the books?”
God also keeps “The Book.”
The Book is sometimes called “The Book of Life” (as in Phil. 4:3) or “The Lamb’s Book of Life” (Rev. 21:27). And when you examine all the Bible has to say about this book, you find that its principal feature is that …
The Book records the names of all who are saved. That is, everyone who has received Jesus Christ by faith has his or her name entered in The Book. This includes:
Those who fear the Lord and honor His name. Malachi 3:16-18 reads:
“Then those who feared the LORD talked with each other, and the LORD listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in his presence concerning those who feared the LORD and honored his name. ‘They will be mine,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘in the day when I make up my treasured possession. I will spare them, just as in compassion a man spares his son who serves him. And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not.’”
Those who demonstrate true faith by avoiding evil, walking with Christ, and pursuing purity. Rev 3:4-5 reads, “Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.” And Rev 21:2, 27 adds, “I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God…. Nothing impure will ever enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.”
Those who are not deceived by Anti-Christ. There are a lot of frightening scenes in the book of Revelation. One of the most frightening is that of beast, or the Anti-Christ, who has power to deceive the entire world and make them turn away from God and his truth. There was a time when I wondered, “How could the majority of the world’s population be deceived into following a man who, though he makes a pretense of godliness, is thoroughly flawed in character and whose one uncompromisable principle seems to be accumulating power?” I wonder no more. I have seen with my own eyes the incredible power of spin doctors in this technological age, as well as the incredible capacity of people to be deceived.
But those whose names are written in the book of life will not be deceived by Anti-Christ. While John reveals in Revelation 13:8 that “All inhabitants of the earth will worship the beast” he goes on to qualify that statement, saying, in effect, “(that is) all whose names have not been written in the book of life belonging to the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.” As a matter of fact, even some of those whose names are in The Book will apparently be tempted to follow Anti-Christ. Jesus warns in Mark 13:22 that “false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect—if that were possible.” Apparently, that is not possible, but even the theoretical possibility should put us on our guard (13:23).
The Book also includes the names of…
Unknown, unimportant, forgotten saints. In a very interesting reference in Philippians 4:3, where Paul is addressing the conflict between Euodia and Synteche, the Apostle writes, “Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.” We have no record of the names of these fellow workers. They were apparently plain, garden-variety believers–people who were not written up in history books, who lived their Christian lives and struggled to faithfully serve the Lord in what may have seemed small and relatively unimportant ways, like putting Paul up in their homes, taking care of widows and orphans, keeping a faithful testimony at work, raising their children to love the Lord. But these unknown saints are known to God!
Now a third important truth is that …
The Book records the length of life granted to each believer. Ps 139, is, of course, a profound recital of God’s creative power as the author of life. In verses15-16 the Psalmist cries out, “My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” While I cannot be certain, I am strongly inclined to believe the book mentioned here is “The Book of Life.” Not only are names mentioned, but so are days. We talk of untimely deaths, we talk of accidental deaths, and humanly speaking, we have all seen way too many of both. But there is a sense in which such terms don’t apply to those whose name are in The Book, for the Father has recorded the days along with the names.
One final fact I want to share is that …
The Book is unpublished; therefore, we must not to be judgmental, apathetic, or presumptuous. Here’s my point. God has a Book of names, but He hasn’t divulged it to us. There are names in The Book you would be surprised to find there, so be careful about being judgmental. There are names missing you would expect to be there, so don’t be apathetic about sharing your faith. And there are undoubtedly people here this morning who think their names are there, but they aren’t, so don’t be presumptuous. How do I know? In Matthew 7:21-23 Jesus says,
“Not everyone who says to me, “Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day (the Judgment Day), ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. (Your name is not in The Book!). Away from me, you evildoers!”
Now I want to close with two questions. The first is a theological question, the other an immensely practical one.
Can names be expunged from The Book? (Exodus 32:32-33; Ps. 69:28)
This is a difficult question. First, let me state that there are several passages which hint that perhaps this is possible. The very first time we read of “The Book” is in Exodus 32. While Moses is on the mountain of God receiving the Law that is supposed to guide God’s people, the Israelites (led by Aaron) fashion a golden calf and worship it as the god who brought them out of Egypt. God is ready to destroy Israel for this great sin, but Moses intercedes for the people, asking, “But now, please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.” One might conclude that just because Moses makes such a request doesn’t necessarily mean it’s possible, but then the Lord answers Moses, “No, whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book” (Exodus 32:32-33).
Consider also the lament of David in Ps 69:4, 21, 28:
“Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me…. They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst…. May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.”
Some suggest the picture painted by these passages is that everyone’s name is entered into the Book of Life at conception, and then God erases those who turn out to be wicked or reject His Son. The problem with that view is it assumes everyone is saved until they disbelieve, whereas the great theological passages of the Bible present the opposite view–people are lost until they believe.
Another view would be that names are entered when profession of faith is made, but if the profession turns out not to be genuine, the names are erased. But that seems to imply that God has to wait and see, whereas in His omniscience, surely He knows those who are His.
Still another view would be to see these references to “blotting out” as the language of appearance. From the human viewpoint, some who seemed to be believers will turn out to be lost. I would personally incline toward this last option, but I don’t want to minimize the warning included in these passages, nor do I care to be dogmatic on the issue.
The last question is this:
Can you know for sure if your name is in The Book? (John 3:15, 36; Rom. 8:16)
I believe you can. I think you can have assurance without presumption. God has provided His promise of salvation, and then in addition He has given the witness of the Holy Spirit to the heart of the true believer to confirm his or her status as a child of God. The promise of God is found in John 3:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-18)
“Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.” (John 3:36)
The witness of the Holy Spirit is mentioned in Romans 8:16:
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.”
Do you have a settled confidence in your spirit that you know God, or more importantly, that you are known by God? This is the most important question you can possibly contemplate. When the 72 disciples returned from their first evangelistic effort, they were amazed at their success. They exclaimed, “even the demons submit to us in your name!” But Jesus chided them, “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20). That, friends, is where it’s at.
Is your name there? It can be. Just exchange your sin for the Savior’s righteousness. Receive Him today.
DATE: January 17, 1999
Tags:
Heaven
Hell,
The Books
The Book of Life
[i] Peter C. Craigie, Ezekiel, 136.