WHICH “BOOK” WILL YOU BE JUDGED BY?

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. 12 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.”

OBSERVATION: Which “book” will you be judged by? The close of Revelation 20 takes us to the final judgment of the Lord. No one will be able to escape standing before the Lord. Hebrews 9:27 proclaims – “It is appointed unto man once to die, and after that the judgment.” There is no reincarnation. There is no purgatory. There is only the final judgment. This is sobering to think of.

There are two sets of books that we see at the Great White Throne of Judgment. There are “books” that are opened, and there is the “Book of Life”. The one is a set of books that will record all of our actions, all of our sins, how we responded to God’s Word and the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. The second is a singular book that lists only those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ, who have been washed clean by the blood of His sacrifice. Revelation 3:5 says – “He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.”

Which “book” will you be judged by? Will your name be found in the Book of Life, or will you stand on your own merits and worthiness before a Holy and Righteous God? Those whose names are found in the Book of Life will not stand before the Lord in Judgment. The “books” that the Lord will use in judgment will be purged of their names and their sins. Their record will be wiped clean through faith in Jesus Christ. They will be ushered into everlasting life forever with the Lord. Those whose names are not found n the Book of Life will be sentenced to judgment based solely on their works. Some might say – I’ll take my chances! Yet Revelation 21:8 shows us that you do not have to be a hardened criminal to miss eternity in heaven – simply unbelieving – “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Which “book” will you be judged by? I pray it is the “Book of Life”! In Jesus Name!