Tag Archives: God's judgment

The Great White Throne Judgment

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The Great White Throne Judgment is the final courtroom scene in human history. It’s not a trial—it’s a sentencing. The evidence is already in. This is God’s last judgment on all unbelievers from every dispensation, from Cain to the last rebel at the end of the Millennium. It is described in Rev 20:11-15, and make no mistake—no believer will be present at this judgment (John 3:16-18; Rom 8:1). If you’re at the Great White Throne, you’re already on the wrong side of history—and eternity. The Judge is the Lord Jesus Christ, as Jesus said, “For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all judgment to the Son” (John 5:22). He sits on the Great White Throne, pure and blinding in righteousness and justice. Heaven and earth flee away—no place to hide, no defense attorneys, no character witnesses. Just perfect divine integrity measuring every unbeliever by the only standard that counts—God’s absolute righteousness.

Now observe the divine irony: these individuals are judged “according to their deeds” (Rev 20:12). Why? Because they rejected God’s grace. They refused the imputed righteousness of Christ (Rom 5:17; Phil 3:9) and chose to stand before God on their own works. So God gives them what they wanted—evaluation by their own human good. But Isaiah already told us how that ends, that “all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment” (Isa 64:6). Human good has no saving value in God’s sight (Rom 4:4-5) and cannot measure up to divine righteousness. These books are opened to reveal that no matter how moral, religious, sincere, or well-intentioned, none of it comes close to God’s standard.

Then comes the final verdict, where John states, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). The lake of fire is populated by people who rejected the one solution to sin—faith alone in Christ alone. Now contrast that with God’s free gift. Paul wrote, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). That verse says it all. Sin pays a wage: death—spiritual death, eternal separation from God. But God offers the opposite, a gift: eternal life. Not earned. Not deserved. No religious strings. No behavioral conditions. Just simple grace. It’s free to us because it cost Christ everything. And because Christ died for everyone (Rom 5:8; 1 John 2:2), everyone is savable (John 3:16; 1 Tim 2:4; 2 Pet 3:9)

How does God’s free gift of eternal life save from the lake of fire? The moment a person believes in Jesus Christ, the eternal life of God is imputed, given instantly, irrevocably (John 3:16; 5:24; 10:28). Your name is recorded forever in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Luke 10:20; Phil 4:3). You’re given God’s gift of righteousness (Phil 3:9), justified by faith (Rom 3:28; 5:1), regenerated by the Holy Spirit (Tit 3:5), and sealed unto the day of redemption (Eph 1:13-14). That means you’re not showing up at the Great White Throne. Instead, you will stand with other believers at the Judgment Seat of Christ, where rewards—not condemnation—are given (Rom 14:10; 1 Cor 3:12-15; 2 Cor 5:10). There is no possibility for Christians to be in the lake of fire, for “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).

The lake of fire is the logical end for those who say “no thanks” to the gospel of grace. The gift of eternal life is God’s rescue from that destiny. It is received the only way God will accept—by grace alone (Rom 6:23; Eph 2:8-9), through faith alone (Rom 3:28; Gal 2:16), in Christ alone (John 14:6; Acts 4:12), totally apart from works (Rom 4:4-5; Eph 2:8-9). The issue in salvation isn’t your sins—that was handled at the cross. The issue is “What do you think of Christ?” (Matt 22:42). God’s Word says, “whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16b), and “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not believe in the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).

You trust Him, you’re in forever. You reject Him, you face the final verdict. Got eternal life? Then you’ve passed from death into life and will “not come into judgment” (John 5:24). Case dismissed.

Dr. Steven R. Cook

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How God Judges a Nation

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God sometimes brings judgment upon a nation that is pursuing a path of unrighteousness. He did this with the nation of Judah. God’s judgment came upon His people in three ways.

First, He caused a reduction in supplies for daily living. Isaiah said, “For behold, the Lord GOD of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah both supply and support, the whole supply of bread and the whole supply of water” (Isa 3:1). That is, there would be a reduction in food supplies, most likely caused by a drought upon the land. This would naturally lead to a rise in cost of living as food resources would become scarce. Though economists consider various factors that affect the supply side of economics (i.e., commodity prices, production, distribution, regulations, etc.), God’s Word tells us the Lord is THE major factor in a nation’s prosperity or poverty. God controls all geophysical factors that determine agricultural production. This is divine viewpoint thinking that helps us orient to reality.

Second, God removed the nation’s leaders, both good and bad, all who were trusted by the people. Those whom God removed included “The mighty man and the warrior, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the honorable man, the counselor and the expert artisan, and the skillful enchanter” (Isa 3:2-3). These are mostly good leaders, but also included “the diviner” and “the skillful enchanter” who relied on pagan practices to lead others. The Bible tells us that it is God “who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings” (Dan 2:21a), for “the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes and sets over it the lowliest of men” (Dan 4:17b).

Third, God replaced the nation’s leaders with immature and inexperienced rulers. God said, “And I will make mere lads their princes, and capricious children will rule over them” (Isa 3:4). According to Gary Smith, “This could be understood literally or it could be a metaphorical way of saying that the new leaders would be people who act like immature, unwise, mischievous, strong willed, and inexperienced children.”[1] Even if good and godly men were available to help, the Lord would prevent them from advancing to their office because of His greater plans to punish the nation.

The result of God’s judgment upon the nation was that “the people will be oppressed, each one by another, and each one by his neighbor; the youth will storm against the elder and the inferior against the honorable” (Isa 3:5). According to Earl Radmacher, “For everyone to be oppressed by another describes a state of anarchy. In such an upside-down world, child is against elder, the base against the honorable. In His judgment, the Lord has given over the wicked to their own evil ways.”[2] Biblically, we know that “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Prov 14:34), and “Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD” (Psa 33:12a).

Dr. Steven R. Cook

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[1] Gary V. Smith, Isaiah 1–39, ed. E. Ray Clendenen, The New American Commentary (Nashville: B & H Publishing Group, 2007), 146.

[2] Earl D. Radmacher, Ronald Barclay Allen, and H. Wayne House, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers, 1999), 810.

When God Disrupts the World

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     Pastors who preach the gospel of grace and accurately teach God’s Word are dangerous men. They will disrupt your worldly thinking and cause great damage to your human viewpoint perspective. And they should. If exposed to their teaching for any period of time, you’ll experience an epistemological shift that will fundamentally shake the foundations of your metaphysical and ethical views on life. The blessed result will be a radical new way of thinking built on the foundation of God and His Word. We have Jesus to thank for such good men. Those who support these teachers through prayer, encouragement, and financial support are accomplices to their disruptive activities and will be appropriately rewarded by God, both in time and eternity.

    Biblically, God has a well-established pattern of disrupting the lives and activities of sinful people. He disrupted and dispelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden after they’d sinned (Gen 3:1-24). He quarantined Noah and His family in the Ark and then disrupted the world by means of a universal flood (Gen 6:1—8:22). He confused the languages of those building the Tower of Babel, disrupting their activity and scattering them geographically (Gen 11:1-9). He disrupted Egypt by sending severe plagues that destroyed the nation, and afterwards, His people were expelled in a great exodus (Ex 5:1—14:31). In 586 B.C., God disrupted the Judahites and drove them into Babylonian captivity for seventy years (Jer 25:11-12; 29:10), and this because they broke covenant with Him and worshiped idols and committed horrible sins, including child sacrifice (Jer 7:25-34). Disrupt and divide. That’s the pattern. Those who love God and abide by His Word celebrate His actions in the world.

   God’s greatest disruption so far occurred when He sent His Son into the world, into Satan’s hostile kingdom of darkness, to be the Light of the world and to provide salvation to those enslaved to sin (John 1:5-9; 3:19-21; Gal 5:1, Col 1:13-14). Jesus declared “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12). When Jesus presented divine viewpoint to others, on several occasions it is recorded that “a division occurred” because of Him (John 7:43; 9:16; 10:19). As a result of His teaching, we learn that “many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him” (John 6:66). But those who were positive to His teaching stayed with Him (John 6:67-69). On one occasion, Jesus said, “Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? I tell you, no, but rather division; for from now on five members in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three” (Luke 12:51-52). When Jesus commissioned His apostles to go into all the world, they obeyed His directive and became “men who upset the world” because of their teachings (Acts 17:6). As Christians, we are called to be “diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3), but never at the price of God’s will or at the price of His truth.

     Today, God works through Christians to promote the gospel of grace and biblical teaching. Those who walk with God and teach His Word continue to disrupt Satan’s kingdom by calling out of it a people for God who are to mature spiritually and live in the light of Holy Scripture. By learning God’s Word, Christians can identify worldly conversations and either avoid them or disrupt them by interjecting biblical truth. Of course, not everyone wants to hear truth, and the personal choices of others should be respected. God is a perfect Gentleman and never forces Himself on anyone, and neither should we. However, this does not mean we are to conform to the world about us or surrender our biblical values for the sake of peace. Christians are to be lights in the world and this means learning and living God’s Word and interjecting His truth into our daily discussions and activities. We are not neutral.

     In the future, we know God will cause further disruptions when He removes all Christians from the world by means of the rapture (1 Th 4:13-18). Following that event, He will send great judgments upon the earth for seven years, upon the wicked who deserve it (Rev 6:1—18:24). At Christ’s second coming, the King of kings and Lord of lords will slay all who oppose Him (Rev 19:1-21), arrest and confine Satan (Rev 20:1-3), and then establish His kingdom on earth for a thousand years (Rev 20:4-6). The reign of Christ on the earth will be a time when righteousness prevails. Isaiah says of Messiah, “There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this” (Isa 9:7; cf., Jer 23:5; 33:15; Dan 2:44). Afterwards, God will separate forever into the Lake of Fire all who have rejected His offer of salvation (Rev 20:11-15). Finally, God will destroy the current heavens and earth and create a new heavens and earth. For “according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (2 Pet 3:13; cf., Rev 21:1—22:21). There will be no further disruptions in the eternal state. Until then, we thank and praise God for His disruptions!

Dr. Steven R. Cook

If this article has enriched your understanding and walk with Christ, and you feel led to support my ministry, your generosity is greatly appreciated. Your gifts enable me to continue sharing the gospel of grace and providing in-depth biblical teachings. Thank you for partnering with me in this mission.

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