Daily devotion – A greater judgment!
The Great White Throne
Revelation 20:11–12
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.”
The scene of the Great White Throne Judgment is one of the most solemn moments in Scripture. Here, every unsaved person of every age will stand before the very Saviour they once rejected—Jesus Christ. But now He is no longer offering salvation; He sits as Judge.
The books will be opened. Every deed, every word, every hidden thought will be laid bare. Nothing is forgotten, for God has recorded it all. Then the Book of Life is opened—and for those whose names are not found written there, there is no appeal, no second chance, only eternal separation from God.
Jesus taught that there will be varying degrees of judgment in hell. In Matthew 11, He declared that it would be more tolerable for the wicked cities of Sodom and Gomorrah than for Capernaum, where He lived and ministered. Why? Because Capernaum saw the very presence of God in the flesh, heard His words, and witnessed His miracles—yet still hardened their hearts. Greater light rejected brings greater accountability.
This truth makes the Great White Throne Judgment all the more sobering. Many who faithfully attended church, who heard sermon after sermon, yet never surrendered to Christ, will stand before Him condemned with greater guilt than those who never heard the Gospel so clearly.
As a pastor, this reality weighs heavily on me. This is why, almost every Sunday, I extend the invitation to come to Christ. To repent of sin. To receive His forgiveness. To be born again. Because the words of Jesus still stand:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” — John 3:3
Friend, don’t gamble with eternity. Don’t assume tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation. Run to Christ while the door of grace still stands open.