In Lesson 58 we looked at Revelation 20:4-6 and the completion of the first resurrection. It included all the righteous who were destined to return to earth with Christ to reign with Him through the Millennium and on into the eternal earth. And in 20:5 we saw this, “But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were over.” Now we come to Revelation 20:11-15 that deals with “the rest of the dead”. This would include every wicked man from Adam to the end of the Millennium. Jesus tells us in John 5:27-29 that the time will come when the dead will hear His voice and will come up out of the grave to face their judgment (compare Daniel 12:2; Acts 17:31).
“Then I saw a great white throne, and the One Who sat on it, from the sight of Whose face the earth and sky fled and there was no place for them (to hide).” (Revelation 20:11) Here you see an indication of fear and impending doom. This is the last judgment in God’s plan for the ages. It is the completion of God’s dealing with all those who have opposed Him through time.
There are 7 judgments in scripture. But none of the previous judgments have the finality this one has. And those who face this judgment know full well what is in store for them. It is the literally the judgment to end all judgments. This explains the phrase in verse 11, “and there was no place for them (to hide)”. In some of the other 6 judgments there was no permanent condemnation. In fact, in some there was no condemnation at all; instead, there was the opportunity to escape this final condemnation. Again, this is a great example of God’s good intentions and grace towards man.
Let’s stop here and take a quick look at the 6 judgments that have already taken place to put this in perspective. The first was when God first judged man (through Adam) for his disobedience (Genesis 3, Romans 5:18-19). The second is His continual judgment of Israel for their centuries of rebellion (Ezekiel 20:33-44). The third was the judgment of believer’s sins in the cross of Christ (John 3:14-16, Romans 5:1-21). The fourth is the exhortation to believer’s self-judgment (I Corinthians 11:31-32). The fifth is the judgment of the living nations at Christ’s second coming (Matthew 25:31-46). The sixth is the judgment of the angels who joined Satan in rebellion against God (II Peter 2:4, Jude 6-7).
Some would add God’s judgment of believer’s works (Romans 14:10, II Corinthians 5:10-11). However, as we have already discussed, this should not be considered a judgment, but rather an examination to determine reward for those who obviously are under no condemnation (Romans 8:1). So, as you look at the six judgments listed above, you can see which ones involve condemnation, and which ones actually provide opportunity to escape the final condemnation of the seventh judgment.
“And I saw the dead, both great and small; they stood before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And these dead were judged by what they had done according to what was written in the books.” (Revelation 20:12)
“Great and small” probably refers to the powerful or famous and the not so powerful or famous, just to emphasize that power or fame has nothing to do with this. It is determined by what is written in the “books”. These books are then described as containing a written record of what the dead had done in this life. Then “another book” was opened, the Book of Life. So, it appears there are “books” and “the Book”. Let’s see if we can sort this out.
First, our names are written in one of God’s books before we are even born and the days of our lives are recorded in it before any of them took place according to David in Psalm 139:16. Then, there’s an interesting aspect of this found in Revelation 17:8, which tells us the names of those who follow the Antichrist “will not be recorded in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world” (compare Revelation 13:8). Now, we’ve talked about the “foundation of the world” before. This is katabole kosmos, first found in Matthew 13:35, then in other places, and is a reference to the overthrow of the original earth (Lucifer’s kingdom or the pre-Adamite race) as described in Genesis 1:2 and II Peter 3:5-7. From this we can conclude that the Book of Life is something God planned before that time.
Also, the Book of Life is obviously a written record of those who accept Christ, the redeemed (Daniel 12:1, Luke 10:20, Philippians 4:3). But, it is also understood that names previously written in this book can be removed because of sin and disobedience (Moses knew it, Exodus 32:32-33; David understood it, Psalm 69:28; Jesus says it, Revelation 3:5).
According to Malachi 3:16, there is a book of remembrance in which the names of “those who reverenced the Lord and honored His name” are recorded. Then David mentions a book in Psalm 56:8 where God has recorded his “wanderings and tears”, maybe a figurative expression for the details of his life. Finally, only those whose names are found in the Book of Life will be allowed to live in the eternal city, New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27).
Taken together, all these things point to the possibility that there are books that record the names of everyone born and how long they will live, books that record their experiences and books that contain a record of the things done in the days of their lives. And there is a separate book that is a record of the redeemed. And their purpose is so God can judge all men fairly with written evidence (Matthew 16:27, Romans 14:10-12, II Corinthians 5:10 and Revelation 20:11-15). “The days of the blameless are known to the Lord, and their inheritance will endure forever.” (Psalm 37:18)
There is one more verse I should mention here that is an obvious mistranslation. The King James Version of Revelation 22:19 says, “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.” From Revelation 21:2 to 22:19 the subject is the eternal city, New Jerusalem. The word translated “book” is xulon, and should be translated, tree. If it were “book”, the word would be biblion. The verse is a warning not to change John’s message of coming events, God’s judgment of the disobedient and the eventual fulfillment of all His promises to the obedient. And those promises include the description of the holy city that will provide all that is needed for His people to live forever, the subject of a future lesson. I simply mention it here so no one thinks I missed a verse that talks about a book.
“And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and hell surrendered the dead who were in them, and they were all judged by what they had done. Then death and hell were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. And if anyone’s name was not found in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:13-15)
The sea, death and hell giving up their dead represent the universality of this gathering. Remember the just or redeemed are already determined; they’ve been reigning with Christ a thousand years. The fate of this group is obvious. But the books are a written record to be presented at their trial. I’ll write a lesson on hell, the lake of fire and the second death to follow this one.
One more note. In verse 14 the KJV omits “lake of fire” in the second sentence. The translation above is correct.