Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away… I. THIS RETRIBUTIVE PERIOD WILL DAWN WITH OVERPOWERING SPLENDOUR UPON THE WORLD. 1. The character of this manifestation. A "throne" is an emblem of glory. This is a "white throne." There is not a single stain upon it. It is a "great white throne." Great in its occupant: He filleth all in all. Great in its influence: toward it the eyes of all intelligences are directed; to it all beings are amenable; from it all laws that determine the character and regulate the destiny of all creatures, proceed. 2. The effect of this manifestation. Before its refulgence this material universe could not stand: it melted — vanished away. It will pass away, perhaps, as the orbs of night pass away in the high noontide of the sun: they are still in being, still in their orbits, and still move on as ever; but they are lost to us by reason of a "glory that excelleth." II. THIS RETRIBUTIVE PERIOD WILL WITNESS THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD AND THE CONSEQUENT DESTRUCTION OF HADES AND THE GRAVE. 1. In the resurrection there will be a connection between man's raised and man's mortal body. (1) The one rises out of the other. (2) The one retains the same plan, or outline, as the other. (3) The one fulfils the same functions as the other. 2. The resurrection will be co-extensive with the mortality of mankind. Not an infant too young, nor a patriarch too old. Tyrants and their slaves, sages and their pupils, ministers and their people — all will appear. III. THIS RETRIBUTIVE PERIOD WILL BRING HUMANITY INTO CONSCIOUS CONTACT WITH GOD. 1. There will be no atheism after this. 2. No deism. 3. No indifferentism. IV. THIS RETRIBUTIVE PERIOD WILL SETTLE FOR EVER THE QUESTION OF EVERY MAN'S CHARACTER AND DESTINY. 1. The worth of a man's character will be determined by his works. 2. A man's works will be determined by recognised authorities. God's moral and remedial laws are "books," and they will now be opened — to memory, to conscience, and to the universe. 3. According to the correspondence, or non-correspondence, of man's works with these recognised authorities will be his final destiny. (D. Thomas, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: 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. |
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