The day we’ve been waiting for has arrived – Jesus returns. This devotional reading looks at how and what He will do upon that return.
Nuggets
- The Day of the Lord arrives when the throne appears.
- The judgment seat means He is ready to judge mankind.
- We know it is Jesus on the throne.
I have been so waiting to get to this verse. The thousand-year reign is over. The Day of the Lord finally arrives.
I have really been looking forward to digging in and seeing what we can get out of our study. We start talking about judgment in this devotion but will pick it up in a later devotion.
There is a lot in the draft folder as it is, so let’s just jump in.
Let's Put It into Context
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Devotions in the The Day of the Lord series
The Great White Throne
“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it …” (Rev. 20: 11 ESV)
The Day of the Lord arrives when the throne appears.
Christ’s judgment seat is also called the Great White Throne. It is the symbol of Jesus’ glory. We’ve talked many time about white being a symbolism of purity – white robes, white horses.
The purity is all wrapped up in truth and justice. Remember, we’ve been saying that justice is bringing order back to God’s creation so that all people receive the rewards He has for His children.
In other words, the purity signifies Who the One Who sits on the throne is.
What is downplayed here is that Jesus (Who we know is on the throne) comes in His glory. Manton said that His glory is because of His dignity, including wisdom, justice, power, and authority.
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Bonar gave us the result of that: calm. Usually, we refer to that as peace.
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Jesus has already proved Himself by living a sin-free life and dying on the cross
This raises an important question. Why doesn’t God Himself judge us? Or maybe the Holy Spirit?
Well, They are one, which means that have the same character. They have been together since creation. Each – God and Jesus – have a part in judging.
Time to Judge
The judgment seat mean He is ready to judge mankind.
Too many times, we see Jesus – as we do God – as a loving, kind Shepherd. We don’t see the Judge in Him. We don’t want to see it.
All the way back to David, we knew there would be judgment. “Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel” (Ps. 2: 8-9 ESV).
God made it clear that He would give Someone an iron rod with which to rule. It also made it clear that those found guilty would be dashed to pieces. He would give it to the Messiah.
There are also some other verses that talk about judging.
- “But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness” (Ps. 9: 7-8 ESV).
- “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened” (Dan. 7: 9-10 ESV).
- “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne” (Mt. 25: 31 ESV).
To me, probably the most important point is that Jesus rules with a rod of iron. That represents strength.
No deviation from God’s laws and commandments will be allowed. We must ABCD and have our sins covered.
God’s Word tells us exactly how we should be obedient. “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. For truly, I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5: 17-18 ESV).
Yes, we are in these sinful bodies, so no, we won’t be without sin.
Our salvation is based on a conscious choice. He will judge us on whether we have chosen to have Him as our Savior and Redeemer or whether we choose Satan.
We choose to follow God’s laws and commandments or not.
We don’t want to misread “… not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the Law until all is accomplished” (Mt. 5: 17-18 ESV).
We can mistakenly read that as when all is accomplished – i.e., eternity has started – that we will no longer be under these laws. They will become obsolete.
Well, depends on how you look at it. These laws show us God’s character. His character is not going to change, because He cannot change.
We will have the same character, so the laws are no longer needed. They will be a part of us.
So, in other words, the “Thou shall nots ….” will still be there, asking us to follow God with the same faith we have always had. They just won’t be laws – they will be character.
Once the judgment is made – which we’ll get to in the succeeding devotions – judgment will no longer be needed.
None of us are going to escape the judgment. “Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Rom. 14: 10 ESV).
This is going to be when the book of life is opened. Stay tuned for that discussion.
For right now, let’s talk about something Batchelor said. No penitents will be welcome because it isn’t a throne of grace.
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What do we keep saying? There will be a time when the Plan of Salvation will no longer be offered to us. We’ll have had to have already made our decision.
In other words, it is the throne from which the sentence will be meted out.
Jesus as Judge
We know it is Jesus on the throne.
John had also previously identified the Judge as the Conqueror. “The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father” (Rev. 2: 26-27 ESV).
We shouldn’t think that Jesus only receives this throne on the Day of the Lord. He is already on His throne.
- “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1: 3 ESV).
- “But of the Son he says, ‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom’” (Heb. 1: 8 ESV).
- “Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven” (Heb. 8: 1 ESV).
- “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God” (Heb. 12: 2 ESV).
Jesus isn’t going to be sitting in a chair they took from the dinner table beside God’s throne. He has one of His own – now.
What can we gain from this?
- Jesus Himself will judge us on our character. Do we have God’s character or Satan’s character?
- This will be nation-wide, age-wide (all living and dead from Adam on).
- Our fates are sealed before we show up in front of the throne.
- Where we will spend eternity will be decided.
Making the Connections #1
What was Jesus like the first time He was on earth? He was poor. He died a scandalous and humiliating death.
But now Jesus has angels with Him and is sitting on a throne. He has power and authority.
Making the Connections #2
Okay, I have never heard what Spurgeon said. He wrote, “The sapphire throne of God, at this moment, is revealed in heaven, where adoring angels cast their crowns before it; and its power is felt on earth, where the works of creation praise the Lord.”
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Hmmmm. Jesus’ throne is the white throne. This says God’s throne was sapphire.
At first, I thought John said God’s throne was emerald, but the color of the throne was not given. It was the color of the rainbow around the throne. “And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald” (Rev. 4: 3 ESV).
Making the Connections #3
How many people across all of time has said that there is no God? How many more have acknowledged there is a God but refused to obey Him?
Ooo, baby! Wait until they get a look at the throne. More importantly, wait until they get a look at the Judge.
Whatever they feel at the time, it isn’t going to make a difference. They’ve already made their choice.
Making the Connections #4
What don’t we have here? We have no indication of when this is going to occur – or really how.
We just know judgment is coming.
Remember, that Peter said the Day of the Lord is coming as a thief in the night. “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed” (II Pet. 3: 10 ESV).
Oh, yeah. The fireworks are coming in the second part of Revelation 20: 11.
But it starts on the quiet.
Making the Connections #5
Ooo, baby. Just think what this day means. For the last 2,000+ years, millions and billions have been waiting for this day.
Everything God promised will be fulfilled. Everything Jesus said will come to place.
What a day that will be!
How Do We Apply This?
- Work on our salvation by navigating the Sanctification Road to gain God’s character.
- What who our friends are in this life.
- Follow God’s laws and commandments so be will not be separated from Him for eternity.
- What for the Day of the Lord.
- Keep navigating the Sanctification Road until that Day comes.
- Watch so that we don’t become indifferent or lazy.
- Not only watch for the Day of the Lord but also desire it to come to pass.
- Ask God to forgive us of our sins.
- Walk with God daily.
- Meditate on God’s Word to know more of Him.
- Evaluate our relationships with God.
- Don’t be a hypocrite.
Resources
Father God. The ending verses of Revelation 20 are jammed packed with things You want us to know. Help us to know exactly what You are telling us and no more. We know we will not understand everything, but we will watch and wait for Jesus to come. Amen.
What do you think?
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