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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Revelation 20:11 - 20:15
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NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_20:11-15
11Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev_20:11 "Then I saw a great white throne" This is an allusion to Dan_7:9. The great white throne seems to be a parallel to Mat_25:31-46, but if this is only the judgment of the lost, it cannot be parallel to Matthew 25 because there the sheep (saved) and the goats (lost) are addressed together.
▣ "and Him who sat upon it" This is an allusion to Dan_7:9. In the NT God has made Christ the Judge (cf. Joh_5:22; Joh_5:27; Joh_9:39; Act_10:42; Act_17:31; 2Co_5:10; 2Ti_4:1 and 1Pe_4:5). However, in some passages, Christ said that He did not come to judge (cf. Joh_3:17-21; Joh_12:47-48). Christ did not come to judge, but to save, however, the fact that humans reject Him brings judgment on themselves. So, who sits on this throne? Is it Jesus? This is possible because of Mat_25:31-46 and particularly Joh_5:22 and 2Co_5:10, however, most of the time in the NT and especially in the book of the Revelation, God the Father is the One who is seated on the throne (cf. Rom_14:10; Rev_5:1; Rev_5:7; Rev_5:13; Rev_6:16; Rev_7:10; Rev_7:15; Rev_19:4; Rev_21:5).
▣ "from whose presence earth and heaven fled away" Some see this as the removal of the curse which was put on physical creation when Adam and Eve rebelled and fell (cf. Gen_3:17-19 and Rom_8:19-22). Others see this as a metaphor for the complete destruction of the current physical order as described in 2Pe_3:10; 2Pe_3:12 (cf. Act_3:21; Rom_8:21).
This is OT language signifying: (1) the coming of God to His creation, cf. Psa_114:3-6; Isa_13:10; Isa_24:19-20; Isa_24:23; Joe_2:10; Joe_2:30-31; Joe_3:15; Zec_14:6) or (2) God does not need His two eternal witnesses anymore, cf. Num_35:30; Deu_17:6; Deu_19:15. He reigns!
Heaven in this context does not refer to God's throne, but to the atmosphere above the earth as in Gen_1:1.
Rev_20:12 "And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne" The exact makeup of this large group is uncertain and is usually based on one's presupposition, as are most interpretations of the details of the visions in the book of the Revelation.
The phrase "the great and small" can refer to (1) believers (cf. Psa_115:13; Rev_11:18; Rev_19:5) or (2) unbelievers (cf. Rev_13:16; Rev_19:18). In this context it is parallel to "sheep and goats" of Mat_25:31-46 or "those in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth" of Php_2:10-11.
▣ "and books were opened" This is an allusion to Dan_7:10. There are two books mentioned: the book of deeds or remembrances and the book of life (cf. Rev_3:5; and Rev_13:8). The book of life is described in Exo_32:32-33; Psa_69:28; Isa_4:3; Dan_12:1; Luk_10:20; Php_4:3; Heb_12:23; Rev_3:5; Rev_13:8; Rev_17:8; Rev_20:15; Rev_21:27. The book of deeds or remembrances is described in Psa_56:8; Psa_139:16; Isa_65:6; Mal_3:16 and Rev_20:12-13. These are metaphors for God's memory. God will deal fairly with His creation; humans are responsible for their actions and motives and are accountable to God (cf. Gal_6:7). There is only one judgment.
▣ "and the dead were judged from the things written in the books, according to their deeds" Judgment is based on mankind's lifestyle choices (cf. Mat_25:31-46). We reap what we sow (cf. Gal_6:7). The theological truth that all humans are judged by their works can be seen in Jer_17:10; Mat_16:27; 2Co_5:10; Rev_2:23; Rev_20:13. For a full list of references see note at Rev_2:23.
Rev_20:13 "the sea. . . and death. . . and Hades gave up the dead which were in them" This does not refer to the fact that the dead are kept in three different places; the parallel metaphors assert that all of the dead stood before God (cf. Php_2:10-11).
Rev_20:14 "Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire" These were referred to earlier in Rev_6:8. Death, mankind's great enemy (cf. Heb_2:14-15), has been defeated and removed (cf. 1Co_15:26; 1Co_15:54-55; 2Ti_1:10; Rev_1:18; Rev_21:4).
▣ "the second death" The Bible speaks of three stages of death:
1. spiritual death, cf. Genesis 3; Isa_59:2; Rom_5:12-21; Romans 7; Romans 10-11; Eph_2:1; Eph_2:5; Col_2:13; Jas_1:15
2. physical death, cf. Genesis 5
3. eternal death called "the second death" in Rev_2:11; Rev_20:6; Rev_20:14; Rev_21:8, which refers to Hell
Rev_20:15 "if anyone's name" This sentence is a first class conditional which assumes that there will be those who are not written in the book of life (a metaphor for those who have not trusted Christ).
▣ "the book of life" See note at Rev_13:8.
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