From what we can surmise, this court is to convene in Heaven before the Almighty God. Literally, there is none higher, none more supreme upon the earth than this Heavenly court. Its name gives insight to its nature and character. It is called THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT.

It is called GREAT Great describes its power. This court or throne has full power and authority to destroy both the body and soul in Hell for eternity! Jesus warned in Matthew 10:28 "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell."

The most an earthly court can do is pronounce the sentence of death upon the physical body of the guilty. Most courts today are severely limited in the sentence they have power to issue. Not this court! Its sentence is unquestionable, indisputable and incontrovertible. This court has the power to sentence a person to experience the "second death." Verse 14 says, "And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."

It is called or described as WHITE. White speaks of purity or righteousness. The judgements of this court are pure and right, they are just and fair. Romans 2:5-6 "But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgement of God: Who will render to every man according to his deeds."

We live in a world characterized by injustice. Man's judgement at best is flawed. It is often jaded by prejudice, a lack of complete knowledge, by politics, and the "love of money." The judgement of God is different. His judgements are holy, right, and true. He gets it right every time!

The judge presiding over this Heavenly court is none other but God Himself! Verse 12a says "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God..." Can you imagine the fear and trepidation, standing before the Lord, on His turf, so to speak and stand there guilty! His face or countenance will cause the guilty to seek to flee and hide. Verse 11 reads, "And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them." They will seek to flee from the face of God, but there will be no place to hide!

Most believe that this is God the Son who is the judge over this court. Why? It was Jesus Christ the Lamb of God, the Lion out of Judah, who was able to open the seven sealed book in Revelation chapter 5. It is Jesus who treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Besides, Jesus said Himself in John 5:22 "For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgement unto the Son." Acts 17:31 reads "Because He hath appointed a day, in the which He will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom He hath ordained; whereof He hath given assurance unto all men, in that He hath raised Him from the dead."

Who is better qualified to preside over this court than Jesus Christ Himself? Having done all that He could to save man, man now must face the one rejected as their final judge! In time, everyone must come face to face with Jesus Christ in faith or in fear, as Lord and Saviour or as final judge.

When an earthly judge enters his courtroom, everyone rises in respect for the honorable judge. Listen, when the righteous judge Jesus Christ enters His Heavenly courtroom, every knee shall bow, every tongue shall confess!

Just "who" will stand before Jesus in this Heavenly courtroom? Now, I have given every person present tonight a summons or subpoena to THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT.

The truth illustrated is this, everyone in their life time has been summoned to this court. That summons came to you via the Holy Spirit of God. That summons arrived at your heart's door the very day, hour, moment you realized that you were a sinner before God and that sin demanded eternal death. "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." That summons presents a choice. We call this the age of accountability. Either you can remain in your sin, remain in your pride, and appear in this court scene, or you can accept the Savior's payment for your sin.

Who will stand before THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT?

The answer is dead people. Verse 12 reads, "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." These are people who are "dead" in two ways.

They are dead physically. This is the "second resurrection", the resurrection unto wrath. The resurrection of the wicked dead will be a literal bodily resurrection, which necessitates the spirit and soul returning to the body. In verse 13 it is clear that bodies are brought forth from every depository that holds their dust. No matter what happens to your body, whether it be burned by fire, buried at sea, or blown to bits by a bomb, God will gather your body once again to stand before His presence.

These people are also dead spiritually! These are those who by their own choice are dead to God, "dead in trespasses and sins." You see, THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT is for the unsaved, the lost, those who have refused the sacrifice of Jesus Christ by which God is able to forgive sin! If you are lost tonight, place yourself here at this resurrection, this judgment! This passage tells us that there will be present both "small and great." Big sinners, little sinners, rich, poor, employers, employees, educated, uneducated, famous, unknown, all types of people of all ages, in all walks of life, will stand before Christ unprepared. No one is excluded from this judgement unless they are saved!

All those who stand before THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT will be guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ. Their sin stain is the only one which God cannot forgive, the sin of unbelief. Those who deny the person of Jesus Christ and His redemptive work at Calvary, deny the very means of their salvation. To refuse Jesus Christ is to disallow God the only way or means by which He can forgive your sins and remain holy, just and righteous. When you refuse Jesus Christ, all hope is lost. It is a slap in the face of a righteous God!

All humanity is guilty of the blood of Jesus Christ. Who killed Jesus Christ? Not just Pilate. Not just the Romans. Not just the Jews! We all killed Jesus! It was our sin that nailed Him to the cross. Unless you in this lifetime, this journey called life, own up to your sin, repent and believe from y our heart in the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, you will be prosecuted and punished for your sin and His death.

At first thought we might assume that Jesus Christ is both judge and prosecutor. After all, the sin of unbelief is directed toward Jesus Christ. Verse 12 tells us however that "books" or records have been kept. "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."

Present at each hearing is the "book of life" and "books" which contain the record of our works. Those who stand before this tribunal are not found in the "book of life," and the record of their works or deeds give evidence of that unbelief. In reality, the sinner is his own persecutor. Everyone who is present at this judgement is there by his or her own appointment! Jesus did not come to condemn the world but to save the world.

Notice John 3:16-18 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." God sends no one to Hell. Man sends himself to Hell by his own stubborn pride. Not only were you issued a subpoena, but you were also given a red exemption which symbolizes the sacrifice of Calvary available to all who believe. More than a prosecutor, Jesus longs to be your Savior! God has sought to save every soul, but love must make a choice!

In this country, everyone has the right and access to a lawyer who is to defend the accused no matter how vile the crime. Some time ago, a convicted killer on death row suffered a stroke. His lawyer tried to stay his client's execution on the basis that he was too sick to die! Now that is a creative defense.

What will be the lost man's defense? The answer is "None!" The books which contain the deeds of man will be overwhelming evidence against him. There will be no defense. There will be no excuse! Psalms 63:11 "But the King shall rejoice in god; everyone that sweareth by Him shall glory: but the mouth of them that speak lies shall be stopped." Romans 3:19 "Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God." The case against lost humanity will be open and shut.

The obvious verdict is "guilty!" Sad to say, there will be no mercy, no pardons, no acquittals in this court! Our justice is corrupt. Often the powerful and the wealthy receive special treatment in earthly courts of law. Jesus Christ knew first hand how unjust man's treatment can be. Not so in this court with the righteous judgement of Heaven! Every man will receive his just reward. All men without Christ stand guilty before God!

Verse 15 "And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." The sentence will thunder from the throne of God. "I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

Read Proverbs 1:24-29 "Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord:"

Those who have rejected the love of God through the person of Jesus Christ will be cast into everlasting fire with Satan and His imps of Hell! How tragic, how sad, it will be to be a part of this judgement. How senseless it would be for anyone present tonight to hold on to their subpoena when Jesus stands ready to forgive and save.

At the beginning of this sermon, each of you were given two slips of paper, one red and the other white. The white slip represents your subpoena, your summons, your appointment, to appear before God at THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGEMENT. The red slip represents the price paid by Jesus Christ on the cross. The price was His own sinless blood.

If you are saved, right now you can put that white slip away. You see, your sins have already been judged on the cross of Jesus Christ, once and for all. They are covered by the blood of Jesus.

If you are lost, without Christ, you still possess that white slip of paper. There is no exemption for those who reject the Son of God. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me." This red slip in your hand represents another opportunity to trust in Jesus Christ. Why not be saved tonight? Are you ready for YOUR FINAL JOURNEY?