Revelation | May 11, 2026

Start your day with a short, Scripture-centered devotional from Paul Michael. In about seven minutes, you will hear the Word, reflect on its truth, and be encouraged to live it out in everyday life.

Revelation | The Great White Throne

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Transcript

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Welcome to your daily devotional with me, PMV. Today, as we continue our study through the book of Revelation, we are going to look at the judgment of the great white throne, and we will conclude Revelation chapter 20. Okay, let's read Revelation 20, verses 11 through 15. Then I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away, and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened, and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, and any one not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Okay. In recent previous episodes, we saw the first resurrection. That was when God gave resurrected bodies to his children. Thus it is also called the resurrection to life. Today's passage is the second resurrection, which is to judgment and eternal death. Some scholars believe this passage also includes a judgment of works for the believer. As we believe in Jesus Christ, we pass from death to life. Jesus has taken the judgment that is due to us, that we deserve. But the Bible also speaks of our works that would pass through judgment. So while we don't pass through judgment, our works might pass through judgment. So if that's the case, there are at least two things that are happening in these verses. First is the judgment of works for the believer. Second is the final judgment or the sentencing of the unbeliever. So first the judgment of works for the believer. Two passages helped me personally to understand this more. The first one is 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses 9 through 11, which read, Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to him, for we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad. Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are well known to God, and I also trust are well known in your consciences. Okay, again, the judgment of believers is not whether or not we're God's children, it is a judgment of works. The second passage that really helped me understand this concept of the judgment of works is 1 Corinthians 3, verses 11 through 15. 1 Corinthians 3, verses 11 through 15 read, For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each one's work will become clear, for the day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test each one's work of what sort it is. If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. So this is the image that I want you to grasp. When we stand before God, what will we have to offer to him? Will the judgment reveal that our works were done in the flesh for self-serving purposes and thus be burnt up like straw in the fire? Or will the judgment of works reveal that we lived in the spirit and therefore have precious gifts that pass through the fire and are things that we can now offer to our God? The life that you live now determine what gifts you bring to God then as you pass through this judgment of works. Our love for God should bear the fruit of obedience, and our love for God should create within us a desire to present Him with the works of a life that were lived by His Spirit. That brings us to a question I want us to ask all of ourselves today. Are you building a treasure in heaven to present to your God one day? Are you working towards and building towards that which is eternal, that which is in heaven? To ask that when we say, what are we working towards? It is also a motivation for why and how are we spending our time and how are we living today. But to those that would say, well, it doesn't really matter when I get to heaven, it doesn't matter what I present to God, because it's heaven. We'll be there, everything's done, everything's going to be fine. But I think to ask that reveals a root in our heart that is a lack of gratitude for what God has done. We know what it is to be grateful for a gift. Someone does something nice for you, and you want to do something nice for them. You're grateful. So if the love of God has truly changed your heart and you are grateful for Christ who has given himself for his sins, wouldn't you want to bring something to God, to present something, to lay something before him in eternity? I think that it matters greatly what our attitude is towards heaven and what it will be like then. I think that it affects the way we live now. What will you offer to your king? Next, look again at verse 13. It reads, The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one according to his works. Okay, so this is the second thing that happens in this passage, and it's the second resurrection. This is the resurrection of those who died apart from faith in Jesus, and are now brought before God's throne for a final judgment. At this point, people who died apart from Jesus have already been sent to hell, and now they're brought before God for sort of a final sentencing, and they're thrown into the lake of fire for all eternity. But before unbelievers are sent to the lake of fire, God judges something else. God judges death and Hades. And this is where death will finally die. Let's read verse 14 again. Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. Man, what a wonderful verse. I hate death. If you think about it, death is the byproduct of the fall of man. God's original creation did not have death in it. Death came because of sin. Death in that sense is our enemy. And every time I stand over a grave, I'm reminded of the loss and the separation and the pain that is in this world because of sin. Yes, the grave of a Christian is a place of victory. But we still hurt now, we still weep now. But one day, God, the author of life, will kill death. Death and Hades, our enemies, will be cast into the lake of fire. They will have no more dominion in this world or in the new heavens and the new earth that God creates. Listen to this. One day we will stand over death's grave, and as a believer in Jesus Christ, that will be the last grave we ever see. No more mourning, the loss of a loved one, no more separation, no more sorrow, no more death, no more tears, only life in Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15 is a wonderful chapter in the Bible on the defeat of death. And speaking of Jesus, I just want to read two verses. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 25 and 26 read, For he must reign till he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. Again, death is an enemy, and it's an enemy that one day will die. Jesus will destroy death. I don't know about you, but I am looking forward to that day. And now, verse 15, one more time. And anyone not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. Okay, this is the final group cast into the lake of fire. It consists of everyone who has lived, who has rejected God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. This group will consist of everyone from Cain in the book of Genesis to the present day. And this will be their eternal destiny. That brings us to a second question I want to ask you today. Where will you spend eternity? It seems simple, but we make it difficult at times. We are eternal beings. It's been said that we're not physical beings having a spiritual experience, we're spiritual beings having a physical experience. One day, the physical world we know now will cease to be and will face eternity. What you believe about Jesus now determines how you will spend eternity. True faith in Jesus results in good works that will be the treasure we present to God who loves us and has provided a way for us to be saved. Revelation chapter 19, verse 15 says that if your name is not written in the book of life, then you will be cast into the lake of fire. So to conclude, how do we get our names written in the Lamb's book of life? Well, it's by Jesus, by faith in him. There's no other way. But the great news is that God has provided a way and he welcomes us to himself through his son, Jesus Christ. He wants us to be with him now and forevermore. I hope today has been a blessing to you. For more information, go to pmvministries.org. And as always, I hope you have a great day.