The Great White Throne
And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened.Revelation 20:12
Recommended Reading
Revelation 20:11-15
Anyone who has sat in a courtroom awaiting a verdict knows the stress of the moment. Innocent or guilty? Life or death? Tension fills the courtroom like electrical voltage as the jury renders its decision and the judge pronounces the sentence.
What, then, will it be like at the Great White Throne? God will have a complete record of every moment of everyone's life, everything done publicly and privately. This will be the ultimate test for those who believe their good works will get them into heaven. No one has lived a perfect or sinless life; no one's works will be sufficient. Whether we view our lives as good or bad, without Christ there is only condemnation.
That's why Christ came to save us. His blood shields us, for "there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1). Becoming a Christian means we no longer gain salvation by our works but by grace. The only way to pass from death to life -- to bypass the Great White Throne Judgment -- is through faith in Christ.
How much better to know Him as Savior than to meet Him as Judge!
A great white throne: Great, because of the causes that will be decided there ... white, because of its immaculate purity ... a throne, because a King will sit there.