The Final Judgment

Judgment—a word I think many would agree is one of the most sobering words in the English language. But judgment is a vital and necessary aspect of God's plan and His dealings with His creation, and so it should surprise no one that it is an important topic that features prominently in and is alluded to numerous times in Scripture—in both the Old and New Testaments.

I say judgment is vital because it enables God to effectively dispose of or cause certain elements of His creation to be conformed to His perfect standards of holiness. And it is necessary because certain elements of His creation fall far short of those perfect standards of holiness. (Wait for it...)

And that would include us.

Of course, people can talk about judgment in the abstract sense; but when we are dealing with God and His Word, we must also talk about judgment in terms of specific events where God's judgment is actually exercised and the results of that judgment are meted out. And in regard to such specific events, the Bible makes it clear that there is in fact a final judgment that ultimately brings His creation in line with His perfect standards, and it is commonly referred to as the Great White Throne Judgment.

In this article, I want to discuss the Great White Throne Judgment (which I will usually refer to as the GWT in this article for simplicity), and take a closer look at a few questions and misunderstandings that often surround it in the minds of many believers, many of whom have been taught things about this judgment by their pastors or their respective denominations that, on closer scrutiny, don't always line up with other truths taught in God's Word.

What I am going to do first is give you a general overview of how I see the GWT. Now, the reason I'm doing this is not to simply hammer you over the head with my personal views. I'm doing this because after I'm through, I will go back and pick out several specific points that others see differently, and explain why they might see things that way and why I see things the way I do.

After all, I think most would agree that the GWT qualifies as a secondary doctrine, and so the old "let's agree to disagree" platitude applies here (even though it is true that a misunderstanding of one doctrinal point can sometimes lead to other more serious doctrinal errors).

An overview

Before we get to the GWT itself, let's back up and briefly review the sequence of events that precede the GWT in Scripture that help establish its context.

In Revelation 19:6–10, we see the marriage of the Lamb in heaven...and we are the bride who has now become His wife. This must necessarily occur after the Rapture and before the Second Coming, because we are returning with Him in our robes of white to rule and reign with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom.

Next, in Revelation 19:11–16, we see the Second Coming, with Christ returning as the Rider on a White Horse in order to "smite the nations," or to slay all living unbelievers remaining on earth in preparation for the establishment of His kingdom. We get a more graphic image of this in the next passage.

In Revelation 19:17–21, we see Christ slaying all those who are arrayed against Him at His return, and we see the Antichrist and the False Prophet cast into the lake of fire for eternity.

In Revelation 20:1–3, we see Satan bound in the bottomless pit (or abyss) for the 1,000-year duration of the Millennial Kingdom. It also tells us that after the 1,000 years have passed, Satan will be released for a short time.

In Revelation 20:4–6, we see a resurrection that takes place after the Second Coming but prior to the launching of the Millennial Kingdom. Here, people who became believers during the Tribulation (aka Tribulation saints) and who were beheaded for their unwavering Christian testimony during the Tribulation stand at a judgment and are welcomed into the kingdom.

A different kettle of fish: Note this passage only speaks of Tribulation saints who were martyred for their faith and their refusal to take the mark. Those Gentiles who come to a measure of faith during the Tribulation and survive until the Second Coming will stand at the Sheep and Goat Judgment, where those who maintained a faithful witness will enter the kingdom and those who didn't won't—although none of them took the mark. Those guys are dead.

Many commentators believe those sitting on the thrones in verse 4 are both resurrected Old Testament saints along with Church Age saints in their glorified bodies, both of whom have been promised they will do precisely that.

Note that verse 5 makes reference to the fact that "the rest of the dead" were not resurrected until after the Millennial Kingdom. We don't hear any more about these people until the last five verses of chapter 20 at the GWT.

At the conclusion of the Millennial Kingdom, Satan leads unbelievers from all nations on one last attack on Christ in Jerusalem, and God rains fire on them. Then Satan is cast into the lake of fire to join the Antichrist and the False Prophet, who have already had 1,000 years to get used to their eternal digs.

And here we are given a description of the GWT, where all unbelievers will be judged and sent off to eternal punishment.

Like the great majority of commentators, I believe that the scriptural context makes it clear that the GWT occurs after the Millennial Kingdom and in preparation for the eternal state that follows. One detail that appears to support this is in verse 11, where heaven and earth are said to flee away, and no place was found for them. In other words, it appears that the GWT will be held in some unspecified type of spiritual dimension or locality, rather than on earth or in heaven (unbelievers cannot enter heaven, and the earth is gone). And after it's done, it's time for the creation of the new heaven and new earth.

And whaddya know...after the above passage detailing the GWT that concludes chapter 20, here's what we see in the very next verse:

Bingo. Now, some people argue about whether Scripture is describing a truly new heaven and earth, or a renewed version of the old heaven and earth. Personally, I am inclined to go with the former. Scripture sure seems to make it sound like the present version is annihilated.

We'll get into this a bit more deeply later; but as far as who is being judged at the GWT, I think it is clear that all unbelievers for all time are being judged here, and sent off to eternal punishment—the second death.

And that will suffice as a reasonable overview of the GWT. But there are many good people who have questions and different views of some of the details of the GWT for various reasons, and next I want to take a closer look at several of these questions and differing opinions concerning certain aspects of the GWT and related events, and answer these questions and comment on such alternative opinions to the best of my ability. Hopefully, in the process I can explain why I view things the way I do with some degree of clarity.

Notes on specific points

OK, before we get neck-deep in this, I'm sure you'll excuse me while I chant my ATD* mantra a few times. I try to be nice, but you know me.

*Agree to disagree...

This is pretty straightforward, so let's knock this one out right off the bat. Many people miss this, casually assuming it is God the Father who's sitting on the throne at the GWT. I still remember visualizing God the Father on a huge white throne as a kid in church, but Scripture clearly sets us straight on this one:

Scripture clearly tells us that God the Father has dispatched all judgment to His Son, so it will be Christ sitting on the throne at the GWT, not the Father. Yeah, yeah, I know...Jesus and the Father are "one"—but God the Father and God the Son are still two distinct Persons of the Godhead. I won't take it up now, but "one" doesn't always imply "one and the same." And it doesn't in this case.

I confess that this is something that drives me bonkers—when people simply parrot what their church or denomination teaches and never bother to crack open a Bible. So, the most eloquent response I can give is simply this:

Sorry. Oh, you have cracked it open? Then understand that there is only one reason not to interpret God's Word as literally as common sense and context allow, and not to assume God says what He means and means what He says. And that's to make it say things it doesn't say and not say things it does say.

God gave us His Word to teach us, not tease us.
His Word calls for a scalpel, not a sledgehammer.

If you follow the above advice, you will readily see that the Church will soon be caught away to meet the Lord in the air, and not long after that Daniel's 70th Week will commence with a treaty brokered by the man who will become the Antichrist. You will see that God will seal 144,000 Jewish men to take the gospel to the world and bring countless millions to a saving faith in Christ, and that a remnant of Israel will be saved and protected by God until Christ returns at the conclusion of this seven-year period. At that time, He will destroy His enemies and establish the kingdom that His Father promised His people Israel, and a rewarded and glorified Church will return with Him to rule and reign in that kingdom, alongside Christ's resurrected and glorified disciples and other Old Testament saints. Oh, and the Great White Throne Judgment will occur after the 1,000-year kingdom is complete, and all unbelievers for all time will be judged and sent off to eternal punishment. And after it's over, God will create a new heaven and a new earth for us to dwell in forever.

I dare say that's about the shortest mini-outline I can muster. So all you postmillennialists out there...stop allegorizing away the entire end-time scenario and start reading and believing what God's inspired, inerrant, and prophetically confirmed Word says in black and white. It ain't that hard.

Holy Spirit: "Go easy, bro."
Me: "But...yes sir."

This is a vigorously debated aspect of the GWT, and there are certainly different opinions. As a matter of fact, this is the question that sparked my interest in writing this article in the first place.

I live in Taiwan, and discounting some formal historical connections to Roman Catholicism, real Christianity was brought to this island nation by two missionaries in the 1800s: James Laidlaw Maxwell of England in 1865 and George Leslie Mackay of Canada in 1871, both of whom were Presbyterians. And I certainly don't mean to take anything away from these two powerful men of God, but as a result the majority of churches in Taiwan today (although few are Presbyterian by name) are influenced by that denomination's doctrine to varying degrees and hold to various of its teachings.

One thing that Presbyterian doctrine teaches is that every single human being who has ever lived will stand at the GWT, including the Church. This is a terribly hurtful belief because it goes hand in hand with another Presbyterian teaching: salvation by grace plus works, one of the slithering vipers that Presbyterians inherited from Holy Roman Mother Church centuries ago. And to my great chagrin, in the past couple of years I have become increasingly aware that the majority of churches in Taiwan have bought into it. According to my Taiwanese wife Phoebe (who studies the Bible with an ardor that puts me to shame):

"When you ask a Taiwanese believer where they are going after they die, the two most common answers are 'Wo bu zhidao' (I don't know) and 'Wo bu queding' (I'm not sure)."

And they're serious, because they are convinced their works will be judged at the GWT to determine if they rate entrance into heaven. And to my wife and I, this is as mystifying as it is heartbreaking. Thanks to the pervasive influence of Presbyterian allegory à gogo, most churches in Taiwan completely gloss over end-time prophecy and have Christ returning in the sweet by and by after the Church has gone out and spit-shined the world into a glowing Christian utopia that Christ would be pleased to return to rule (i.e. postmillennialism).

Not to mention the fact that apparently the blood of
Jesus didn't quite get all the stains out, so we'll need
to stand at the GWT to see if our works finished the job.

Another reason I strongly disagree with this idea is because of what the author of Hebrews says in chapter 8 in describing the New Covenant:

Whatever you do, don't miss this—because this is the entire point. Under the Old Covenant, man's sin was only covered by the blood of bulls and goats. But God hadn't forgotten their sins—they still needed to be atoned for. And it took nothing less than the blood of God's sinless Son to accomplish that. At the moment of salvation, God forgives every sin you have ever committed or ever will commit—and then remembers them no more. They're gone. So, for those who believe the Church will stand at the GWT, I have one simple question:

Seriously. Why?! To what end? Our sin was judged on a cross at Calvary two thousand years ago, and its penalty was paid in full—and when we trust Christ for our salvation, God forgives us and remembers our sins no more.

Check the books: Some believe that when the Book of Life is opened at the GWT, it is to verify your status...as if some will be righteous and some won't, and Christ needs to check your status. I disagree. I believe this is done to "fulfill all righteousness," so to speak. I believe Christ wants to demonstrate to the entire universe that Your. Name. Is. Not. There. So your punishment is just. This is done as the definitive legal proof of the fact that you died in your sins without atonement, and the Book of Life simply provides legal confirmation of what is already manifestly clear by your very presence at the GWT.

Now, our Spirit-led works that are deemed worthy of reward will be judged at the Judgment Seat of Christ or the Bema Seat to determine the level of reward we will receive, but that's an entirely different matter.

The only "judgment" the Church has to look forward to is the Bema, where we will be rewarded for the Spirit-led works we have done during our walk with Christ. And this cannot be at the GWT, because it takes place in heaven after the Rapture and prior to our return with Christ at the Second Coming. That's why when we return with Him, we will be wearing robes of white that represent the works for which we have been rewarded (Rev. 19:8).

On the other hand, there are some who believe the Church will be at the GWT simply to give us a chance to hear Christ make the formal declaration of our righteousness. You know, just to hear Him say those words:

"Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Master!"

(Actually I swiped that from the Parable of the Talents in Matt. 25:14–30, but you know what I mean.) Well, that would be nice, I suppose. But c'mon...we've already been glorified, rewarded at the Bema, and have been ruling and reigning with Christ for 1,000 years, so...I've got strong doubts about this whole idea—it seems a bit redundant. At the very least, it seems like this would give the GWT a bizarre, schizophrenic duality, and I just don't see the point.

I actually struggled with this verse for a long time myself, and evidently I'm not the only one. I've read things written by some otherwise outstanding Bible commentators that would make you think God's Word makes special mention of unbelievers who died in boating accidents.

Speakng of boats...it finally hit me: This is a reference to the Flood of Noah. God sent a flood to wipe out the entire human race except for eight individuals: Noah and his wife, his three sons and their wives. They were the only eight people God saved from the Flood. OK, pop quiz:

Q. What was true about the entire human race besides Noah and his family?

A. Every last one of them was an unbeliever. Every single person on the planet except for those eight individuals was unrighteous, and they mocked Noah and his preaching and scoffed at God's warnings of judgment.

And that means every single last one of them is waiting to be resurrected at the second resurrection, or the resurrection of the unrighteous, and be judged at the GWT and sent off to eternal punishment.

Now, is it possible that the Holy Spirit felt that the entire human race except for Noah and his family being unrighteous and wiped out in a violent, dramatic fashion as a result of God's wrath was worthy of special mention in regard to the second resurrection...or am I just feeling a bit dizzy due to my first-ever case of seasickness?

I admit that the fate of natural-bodied believers who die during the kingdom is a rather gnarly issue in this topic. We know all believers of all time will be together in the eternal state, but just exactly what route do these particular individuals take to get there? That's the issue.

It's true that there doesn't appear to be any mention in Scripture of any special resurrection event for natural-bodied believers who die during the kingdom, and it sure sounds like Revelation 20:4–6 is telling us that the resurrection of Old Testament saints and Tribulation saints martyred during Daniel's 70th Week when Christ returns completes the first resurrection (of the righteous) before the kingdom even begins.

Order, please: Please, do not fall for the errant and crippling doctrine that teaches that the resurrection of the righteous is a singular event. People sometimes try to use this lie as a flimsy attack directed at those who believe in the scriptural teaching of the pre-tribulation Rapture, but straight up: That dog don't hunt. In 1 Corinthians 15:20–28, Paul makes it crystal clear that the resurrection of the righteous, or the first resurrection, is not one single event, but a series of events—Scripture makes it clear that different groups get resurrected at different times. It's called the "first" resurrection because it is the first type of resurrection (of the righteous), and the second type is the resurrection of the unrighteous. In other words, calling it the "first" resurrection doesn't mean it's unique resurrection #1 (followed at some point by unique resurrection #2). As I have said before:

"Sorry, but if you believe the first resurrection is a single event, then it happened two thousand years ago and you missed it!"

As did I. Anyway, I've seen people argue for three different possibilities:

a. They will be at the GWT.

That is, believers who die during the kingdom will stand at the GWT, along with the unrighteous of all time. (Hey, don't laugh...Presbyterians believe the Church will be at the GWT.) People who hold to this argument believe there will be people who are judged both righteous and unrighteous at the GWT, so they don't see any difficulties with this.

The problem, however, is that the plain text of Scripture seems to be drawing us away from this idea. Revelation 20:4–6 appears for all the world to be telling us the resurrection of the Old Testament saints and the Tribulation martyrs at the Second Coming completes the first resurrection or the resurrection of the righteous, which would preclude the possibility of yet another resurrection for believers who die during the kingdom so they can stand at the GWT in order to be judged righteous. Sounds like the old "square peg, round hole" routine.

b. There's no need for a special resurrection for them because they will simply receive a glorified body when they die.

In other words, these natural-bodied people who entered the kingdom as believers or became believers during the kingdom and die at some point during the 1,000 years will simply receive a glorified body at the time of their death. So, instead of all such people being resurrected all once at some special resurrection event, they will simply be glorified individually when they die, and in the snap of your fingers they'll be sporting a new glorified body just like the Church, the Old Testament saints, and the martyred Tribulation saints have had ever since (or prior to) the launching of the kingdom. In other words:

If your body gives out, no sweat. Get an upgraded model and press on.

To be honest, I had never heard this idea taught prior to working on this article. And although I hesitate to openly endorse it, I confess that the more I think about it, the more plausible it sounds. Several pluses in its favor would include such things as the following:

• The first resurrection is still complete prior to the kingdom (as per Rev. 20:5).
• It avoids the incongrous notion of righteous people standing at the GWT.
• It comes across as being contextually natural and fitting (at least to me).

For that last item, it's just that these will be righteous people living under the direct rule of Jesus Christ in His kingdom in a virtual heaven on earth.

I mean, "Is anything too hard for the LORD?" and all that.

c. Death will be reserved for unbelievers during the kingdom.

Some people are of the opinion that natural-bodied believers during the Millennial Kingdom simply will not die—that they won't experience physical death at all. Rather, they see death as something that will only affect unbelievers, thus this whole question is a non-issue.

Even though some outstanding Bible commentators subscribe to this idea, I confess I find it a bit difficult to warm up to—although I hesitate to rule it out. The reason I say that is because even though lifespans will greatly increase during the Millennial Kingdom, death will still exist. As the prophet Isaiah says, speaking of the Millennial Kingdom:

In other words, children will not die in their infancy, and a man who dies at the age of 100 will be considered to have died as a child. And an unrighteous person who dies at 100 will be considered to be cursed.

But here's the thing: No matter how wonderful and blessed life may be in the Millennial Kingdom, the fact remains that if we take Isaiah's words at face value, people will die...apparently both righteous and unrighteous people (see my note in the above verse). Maybe not all that many, but at least some. Of course, if you wish to apply a somewhat more flexible meaning to Isaiah's words, you are free to do so and you can safely ignore what I am saying.

Back in point 2, I said people will be living in a "virtual heaven on earth" during the kingdom. Emphasis on the word "virtual," because it won't be heaven. The infestation of sin will still exist in the kingdom. People will still rebel against a holy, just, loving God and refuse to avail themselves of His grace and mercy. So the idea of people still dying in the kingdom should come as no great shock to anyone. Death will still be with us until "death and hell" are cast into the lake of fire at the GWT (Rev. 20:14). In other words, at the GWT the curse of death itself will be destroyed and the very place where the unrighteous waited for that second death will be thrown into the lake of fire right along with them.

Why? Simple: After the final judgment, it will no longer be needed.

A modicum of humility

Obviously there is much more that could be said in regard to the Great White Throne Judgment—this is just a brief smattering of some of the related points people discuss and argue about, and that's fine.

I want to emphasize that it would be foolish in the extreme for me to sit here and try to tell you I could give you absolute, definitive proof from Scripture of the correctness of every single one of my views. As far as the GWT goes, I can't. And neither can anyone else.

Scripture simply doesn't fill in all the blanks in regard to the GWT and some of the related events, so all we can do in regard to certain questions about it is to do our best to rightly divide the Word and give it our best shot. And for that reason, a modicum of humility is called for, no matter how right you think you are (and how wrong you think someone else is).

And I'm first in line for that "modicum of humility" thing.

And now for something special...

Ever since I started this website in 2012, I have been itching to share the following story...and I figure this is as good a chance as I'm ever going to get. I mentioned Canadian missionary George Leslie Mackay earlier, and I have a deeply personal story related to him that I simply have to share because it so marvelously puts on display the wonderful grace and provision our Heavenly Father bestows on His children.

When George Mackay came to Taiwan in 1871, he settled in Tamsui (also spelled Danshui), which is basically a northern suburb of Taipei, the capital city. It also happens to be where I settled when I came here.

I was honorably discharged from the U.S. Navy in the spring of 1990 after 11 years of service, and as a native Illinoisan I was able to take advantage of the Illinois Veterans' Grant to get full funding for college at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I attended UIUC for two years to finish my B.S. in Mathematics, which I had already made substantial progress toward.

When I came to Taiwan in June of 1992, I only had one point of contact: a grad student I had met at UIUC in the fall of 1991. He was working on his Master's degree and was alternating between studying at UIUC in fall semesters and then teaching English in Taiwan in spring semesters. He taught at what was then known as Oxford College in Tamsui, which was founded by George Mackay in 1882. (It became Aletheia University in 1999.) I had been thinking seriously about coming to Taiwan to try my hand at teaching English for other unrelated reasons, and I found out that my friend was getting ready to head back to Taiwan at the end of that fall semester. When I told him I was considering coming to Taiwan after I graduated the following spring, He gave me his mailing address and told me that if I did ultimately decide to come to Taiwan, write to him with the details so he could pick me up at the airport and help me get established. Thank you, Father!

In early 1992, I finally made the decision to take the plunge, and wrote to my friend with the flight info. I landed at what was then called Chiang Kai-shek International Airport just outside of Taipei (renamed as Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in 2007) on the sweltering evening of June 18, 1992. And of course, I was fully expecting to see my friend there waiting for me.

And he wasn't there.

No one. Nobody. Nothing. So there I sat in a busy airport terminal, heavily laden with baggage (I wasn't just traveling, I was moving). I waited and waited, growing more desperate by the minute. I was in a foreign country I knew little about, and my friend hadn't given me a phone number because he didn't have a phone in his room. I was exhausted from the flight, had no idea where anything was, where I could go, or what I was going to do.

After nearly an hour of waiting in stress-filled agony, I decided to go to the Information Desk and spill my guts to a girl behind the counter. I wasn't sure if or how she could help me, but I was desperate and simply had to do something. I told her my situation, and almost as an afterthought showed her a piece of paper with my friend's name and address on it. I had no earthly reason to think that would help, but I showed it to her anyway.

The girl gazed quizzically at the paper for several long seconds, and then said "Deng yi xia" (Wait a moment). As I stood at the counter, I watched as she went over to a phone and made an agonizingly long phone call. I had no idea who she was calling or why, and just waited. And prayed.

An eternity later, she walked back over to me at the counter, handed me the phone, and in utter confusion I instinctively took it and spoke into it: "Hello??"

And I almost hit the floor when I heard the voice of my friend on the line.

In 1992, the college owned a house designed and built by George Mackay in 1875, and they happened to be using it for faculty housing that summer (today it is maintained as the Mackay Memorial Museum by Aletheia University).

It also just so happened that my friend was one of the teachers living in a room in that house built by George Mackay. And oddly enough, the girl at the Information Desk I had spoken to just happened to have graduated from Oxford College where my friend taught, and recognized the address as being located on its campus. She had called Oxford College and asked someone to contact the house where my friend was living and get him on the line ASAP.

THANK YOU, FATHER!!!

And scarcely an hour later I was in a car my friend borrowed from one of his students and we were Tamsui bound. My friend later discovered that the letter I had sent did actually arrive, but it had slipped through the cracks, so to speak—a secretary had forgotten to give it to him. He loaned me a sleeping bag and let me sleep on his floor for three weeks, and in those three weeks he helped me find a room to rent and a job teaching English in a local bushiban or "cram school," a type of local after-school learning center for kids that generously dot every city on the island.

So I literally slept on George Leslie Mackay's floor for my first three weeks in Taiwan. And just as the Lord was certainly with that powerful man of God when he arrived in Taiwan 150-odd years ago to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to an island steeped in paganism and idolatry, He has certainly been with me as well, every step of the way since I came here. So much so that I sometimes feel as if a few molecules of the grace God poured out on Mackay rubbed off on me. I can look back over the last 32 years and see how, again and again, His gracious hand has guided my steps in the most unexpected and miraculous ways to lead me to where I am now and to what I am doing today for His glory.

And I give Him all the glory!

And when I meet George Mackay in heaven and relate this story to him, I hope he doesn't mind that I crashed at his pad.

Greg Lauer — JUN '24

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