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February 20, 2005

“What Will Judgment Day Be Like?”

February 20, 2005.  Pastor Matt

 

Revelation 20:11-15

 

We are not going to focus on the events leading up to judgment day, but judgment day itself. 

Next week we will focus on what Hell be like.

 

11a.  Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

 

-          Jesus will be our judge

 

11b.  Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them.

 

-          2 Peter 3: 7.  By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.

-          Matthew 5: 18.  I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

-          Matthew 6: 19-20.  "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

-          Matthew 24: 35.  Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

 

You can’t take it with you when you go.

 

Do you collect stuff?  It won’t be worth a penny.  In fact, it won’t even exist

 

WHAT WILL JUDGMENT DAY BE LIKE?

 

I. Everyone will be there

 12a.  And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne,

 

-          no one gets out of judgment day

 

-          Hebrews 9:27.  Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment,

 

-          Romans 14:10-14.  You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat.  It is written: "`As surely as I live,' says the Lord, `every knee will bow before me; every tongue will confess to God.'"  So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God.

 

-          Matthew 12: 36.  But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

 

13a.  The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them,

 

-          the dead had to arrive because the believers are already present with the Lord

 

-          Judgment day is the closest some people will ever get to heaven

 

-          2 Corinthians 5:8.  We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.

 

II. Two Books will be read

 

12b. 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 he had done.

 

Book #1: The Book of Life

Only those of us who believe are in this book.

 

John 14:6.  Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.

 

Revelation 3:5.  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.

 

John 3:16.  "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.

 

Book # 2: What I call The Book of our life

 

Every royal court in the ancient world kept records of day-to-day activities and detailed accounts of the events that transpired. The actions of the king would have been logged…

 

2 Corinthians 5:10.  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

                       

God sees everything we have ever done and everything we are ever going to do.

 

Good news for those who have put their faith, their trust, their life in Jesus…

 

1 John 1:9.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 

 

Hebrews 8:12.  For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

 

Psalm 103:10-13.  He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.  As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;

 

Jesus “erases” our sins and judges us by our “good”

 

Bad news for those who have not put their life in Jesus…

 

            Your sins have not been erased

 

            Romans 3:23; 23.  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 

 

 

What else do we know about Judgment day?

 

III. Two judgments will be given

 

14.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death.  15.  If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

 

Judgment #1 Eternity in Heaven with God

 

Same principle, same hinge point.  Jesus.

 

Romans 3:23-24.  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

 

It is the act of a judge.

The law is not relaxed or set aside, but is declared to be fulfilled in the strictest sense; and so the person justified is declared to be entitled to all the advantages and rewards arising from perfect obedience to the law

 

Matthew 5:24  "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. 

 

1 Corinthians 2:9.  ". . . Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”

 

 

Romans 10:9-10.  That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.

 

Lord: Heb. 'adon, means one possessed of absolute control. It denotes a master, as of slaves

 

Judgment #2 Eternity in Hell by myself

 

The Lake of Fire.      What is the lake of fire like?

 

It is humanly impossible to comprehend.  No nightmare could produce a terror to match it. No horror movie could describe its fright. No crime scene with all its blood and gore could begin to match its horror.

 

Jesus, when prophesying about judgment day, describes The Lake of Fire:

 

Matthew 13: 41-50.  The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.  They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 

Romans 6:23.  For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in  Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Unforgiven sin results in death, and where is death thrown? 14.  Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.

 

Romans 3:23-24.  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

 

Justification: justification declares that all the claims of the law are satisfied

 

Ephesians 2:8-9.  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- not by works, so that no one can boast.

 

Works will not be enough to get someone into heaven. 

No matter how much you turn your life around, it will never be good enough.

You must accept the gift.

 

Closing

1 John 4:9-10, 15-16

This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins…If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.   God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

 

 

-          We know of God’s great love because we understand what He did for us

-          We understand what He saved us from. 

-          We rely on His act of love because we can do nothing to be saved from the fires of Hell.

 

1 John 4:17-18. 

In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 

-          Because of God’s love there is no punishment for those who believe

-          What do you believe about Judgment day?

-          Whom do you believe in?

 

 

I’m a sinner.  I am sorry for my sins.  Please forgive me.  I know I deserve Hell but I want to live forever in Heaven.  Because I can do nothing to deserve Heaven, I’m asking you to do it for me.  I believe you already paid for my sins and I am now saved from the fires of Hell.  I owe my life to you.  With your help, I will turn from sin and live for you.  Jesus, I want you to be in total control of my life.  Thank you for loving me.  Help me to love you.  Amen.