The Great White Throne and the Second Death—Lent 38, 2022

Today’s passage separates the Christian-Happy-Wishers from the realists. The Christian Happy Wisher group wants to see all the good little Christians beamed up to heaven before things get really bad. They want judgment to happen only to those nasty evildoers at the Great White Throne and the good little Christians sit by with hands folded like preschoolers waiting for recess. Sigh…

Sorry, that’s not how it works.

I don’t care how many prominent theologians try to insist that they know for certain that all Christians will be raptured out of trouble’s way and that all self-professed, good believers will be the peanut gallery and watch from the stands, the destruction of the wicked like we’re at the Roman Colosseum and “My, my, my how the tables have turned! Now it’s their chance to be torn to pieces.” Argh!

I don’t know that any good little Christians will be cheering
for anyone else’s eternal punishment.
I certainly won’t be. That person bore God’s Image, too.
It’s a measure of love … for God.

You have no idea how angry that Happy Wisher group makes me for what it does to those who are still outside of the family of faith as we press into the Last Days. The genuine damage it does to the Gospel! Do they not comprehend how it makes God look? Selective in His punishment? Arbitrary in His judgments? Choosing for His followers those who are superficial self-proclaimed do-gooders as sycophants?

All this as if the Christian do-gooder … isn’t really … you know … a sinner?

Is gratitude for your personal forgiveness in Christ
more important than seeing and loving God’s Image
in the equally sinful person who is condemned?

” Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28)

True some are judged for reward: “For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.” (Matthew 16:27 NIV)

Will God only repay a few people? No!

“God “will repay each person according to what they have done.” To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:6-11 NIV)

Even in Revelation, Jesus is clear: “Then all the churches will know that I am he who searches hearts and minds, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds.” (Revelation 2:23 NIV)

With that tirade as a preface, today’s passage Revelation 20:11-15

Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 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. 13 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 they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Thoughts for today:

“The lake of fire is the second death.” Glad John cleared that up.

This is what I ponder in quiet moments:
I don’t know how it will all be when the books are opened.
I doubt it will be like a giant graduation ceremony or the Oscars
where names are called and recognized individually in front of an applauding crowd.
I suppose I want to know so I don’t keep looking around heaven
for someone I loved who is not there.
I know I don’t want to see those who I tried (and failed) to reach for Christ
as they get punished with eternal wrath
for the very same works for which I’ve been forgiven.
I think I would feel a mixture of tremendous gratitude,
but also overwhelming, horrific sadness and deep pain
that I had so little impact on this world.

Lord God, comfort us regarding Your wisdom in how You will do all of this.
And with tears and prayers, press on, Christian.

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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2022 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014.
Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations. We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17.
ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ. It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.