I would like to make a few observations about the Great White Throne Judgment that escaped me before. One of the things that caught my attention is the fact that Rev 20:11 says, "from whose face* the earth and the heaven fled away**; and there was found no place for them."* So this is telling me that at this point the old earth and old heaven has already been done away with. However, the New heaven and the New Earth hasn’t been created quite yet. In other words, this Great White Throne Judgement occurs in transistion between the Old and the New Heavens and Earth. But I will come back to this point later.
Why is this significant? Because it’s telling me that a process is occurring in which God is beginning to bring the culmination of his plan of reconcilation of the world. But in this evaluation, we must re-examine the forces that are involved here. Who is it that are involved in this transistion?
My contention, then, is that those that are being judged at the Great White Thone consist of BOTH saved and unsaved individuals. I will attempt to explain:
Verse 11 is occurring at the end of the millenium after Satan is loosed to deceive the nations. He and his armies, namely the nations from the four corners of the earth that surround Jerusalem and the camp of the saints in that final battle in which God scorches them. Then the Devil is cast into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone…tormented night and day for an age…and an age to come. (BTW, it is curious that the Devil is tormented ‘night and day’ when later we find that there is no night in the city since the Glory of God lights about, also for and age…and an age to come.)
We have basically three groups involved with this battle:
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Satan - deceiving the nations of the world and bringing them to battle against the city.
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The Nations - who come against the camp of the saints.
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The Saints of the Beloved City - who are camped around.
Caveat: It is important to distinguish just who these saints are. But we also need to recognize who they aren’t In the Millenium, Christ will rule with Saints from the First Resurrection. These firstfruits consist of all Old Testament Saints, Church Age Saints, both of whom have been Raptured either at the beginning, middle, or the end of the Great Tribulation, depending of your view (unless you believe in a post-millenium Rapture, which I don’t find too that many do). AND it will also include those Saints that were beheded during the Tribulation period. So in our Resurrected bodies, we shall be as Jesus is in our glorified bodies during the Millenium reign, reigning with Him for a thousand years.
But these Resurrected Saints still do not account for those who are *still alive *at the end of the Tribulation period. We will still have a remaining population that have survived the beheadings and endured all the plagues that were poured out thus. These are those who will live in unglorified bodies during the Millenial reign of Christ. I say unglorified because it seems obvious to me at that the battle after the Millennium there are still saints camp around that are in danger of being harmed by Satan and his armies. Why else would God have to intervene if they are in resurrected bodies? Do you follow me?
These saints are not in the first resurrection, which occured at the beginning of the Millenium. They consist of survivors of the Great Trib and those born (and died, BTW) during the Millenial Kingdom.
Now back to the Great White Throne Judgment. The Heavens and the Earth are in a state of flux. Then in verse 12,
*“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.” *
I can’t see this as a physical death, since real dead people do not stand (unless we go that zombie route). Who are these people? It can’t be anyone from the First Resurrection (OT saints, Church-age saints, and Trib saints). A majority view is that these are all those who are unsaved since the beginning of Man.
Except that in death and hades don’t give up their dead that were in them until verse 13!
*“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.” * (yes, I do use the KJV out of habit. Hell in this verse is hades, the abode of the dead).
So we have two group here. Those dead that were already standing before God after the heaven and the earth fled away. And then those dead that the sea gave up. Both are judged according to their works.
Except that the Standing Dead, were judged before the Sea Dead. And in the first case, all the books were opened, and another book was opened which is the Book of Life.
Now why would they be a need for the Book of Life to be present if all those that are judged are condemned to Hell, as traditionally taught?
What if the first group, those of the Standing Dead, consisted of those at the end of the Millenium and subsequent end battle. THAT group would consist of both the armies (and possible neutral inhabitants) of the nations that attacked and the Camping Saints, assuming they haven’t been resurrected or given new bodies yet. This group consists of saved and unsaved alike.
Then when the sea gave up the Sea Dead, who were in Hades, those consisted of all those who were unsaved since the beginning of Man.
Then in verse 14,
*“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.” * These are Sea Dead who are unsaved, cast in the lake of fire.
And in verse 15,
*“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” * This "whosoever’ are those from the first group who are not found in the Book of Life.
But the verse also suggests that there are some whose names ARE written in the book of life, namely the Camping Saints AND perhaps some of the neutral people of the nations that attacked.
Do you follow? Does any of that make sense?
Adn I would further appeal to the next chapter, when the New Heavens and New Earth are finally created. The Transistion is complete. And it is also implicitly stated the Camping Saints will have their tears wiped away and the Alpha and Omega will be their God, contrasting again of those fearful and unbelieving who will have their part in the lake of fire. The Camping Saints are the only ones at this point who NEED their tears dried, since the OT, Church, and Trib saints have already been taken care of in the Millenium.
Mind you, I haven’t even touched on whether or not UR plays a factor in this. One could take this view and still be an ECTer.