Judgment Day

By Justin Edwards

As we near the end of the When Christ Returns series, Loran Livingston delivers a sobering message on Judgment Day where people who have rejected Jesus Christ through the ages will face the Great White Throne Judgment of God. If you have not been following this series, I implore you to watch Judgment Day as there is no greater message than the one delivered here. Scripture is clear - you MUST be born again! Please don't dismiss this phrase as a cliche or something to be taken for granted - the Lord Jesus Christ commanded this Himself so we must understand what it means. The consequence of failing to comprehend this declaration is eternally fatal. The description from Revelation 20:11-15 should strike the fear of the Lord in any of its readers,

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. ¹³ The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. ¹⁴ Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

Just prior in verse 10 we see how long this torment is,

The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

John the Baptist describes hell as an unquenchable fire (Matthew 3:12) and Jesus describes it as outer darkness and a furnace of fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42; Matthew 25:30).

For those who disobey the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Paul declares 2 Thessalonians 1:9,

These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

My dear friend, the hour is late. Jesus is coming not just soon, but at any moment. Just as imminent, you could breath your last breath and your heart could take its last beat. Tomorrow is promised to no one. We are all one heartbeat away from eternity. Please do not continue in your rebellion against the Sovereign God over all creation. The King of Glory is coming and He is coming to spill blood. 2,000 years ago He came as a sacrificial Lamb, but now He is coming as a Judge to condemn those who have rejected Him.

Those of us who have been guaranteed the inheritance of eternal life have submitted to the work of God in our lives, which is to believe in His only Son (John 6:29). But this is not mere intellectual belief - this is a belief realized in the submission to the authority of Christ Jesus. You must deny yourself, deny your own will, deny your wants and desires, and be willing to give up everything God asks of you. There can be nothing or no one over the the Lord Jesus in your life. He is not an accessory to add to your material possessions, your lifestyle, or your habits - He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords and demands your allegiance to Him.

The mercy this King offers you is conditional and it has an expiration. His forgiveness is conditional upon your repentance. Until you are ready to forsake it all for Jesus Christ, until you are ready to meet His terms of peace, you cannot be His disciple. The rich young ruler in Luke 18:18-23 wanted eternal life desperately. He even thought He might be good enough because of his good works. But as much as he wanted eternal life, Jesus denied it to Him because the young man was not willing to give up all of his material possessions. He chose to hold on to the things of this world and refused to submit to the authority of Jesus Christ as His Master. Others, many disciples in fact, found in John 6:66 walked away from Jesus after they counted the cost of the One who demands complete surrender.

Jesus makes it clear, if you do not deny yourself, pick up your cross, and forsake everything for Him then you cannot be His disciple (Luke 9:23-26; Luke 14:25-33). Rejecting Christ will ensure you the sentence of eternal death at the Great White Throne Judgment. But you will not be unconscious, in fact, hell will be more real than any day you have ever lived on earth. The rich man in Luke 16:24 could find no water to cool his tongue, not even a drop. Jude describes it as the "blackness of darkness" and it is forever. You will have a resurrected body, and you will remember all the days you rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Before the Throne of God, you will be given a chance to speak for yourself but you will have no defense and there will be no one to defend you because you rejected the One who could. Then you will hear Him say, "Depart from Me, sinner, I never knew you!"

The signs are all around us, time is running out. Today is the day of salvation! The moment you stop breathing will be the moment God's extended grace expires. Do not wait any longer. Do not try to fix yourself. Do not try to "get it right" before you get right with God. Only He can fix your sinful condition and only He can save you from your sins.

Jesus Christ the Son of God laid His life down for you so that you might receive eternal life. This is the greatest love of all. He loved us before we ever thought of loving Him. If you realize you have offended God in your sins, if you seek forgiveness and realize only Jesus Christ can save you, and you are ready for Him to take control of your life, don't wait any longer. If you need further help in understanding what this means, please don't hesitate to contact me. Eternity is forever. Trillions times 10 trillion times 100 trillions of years. You need to make sure you understand.

The following message by Pastor Livingston is of utmost importance for you to watch, and I pray that it challenges you to examine yourself to make sure you are indeed born again. Your eternity depends on it.

If you know that you are born again by careful examination of the Word of God, then please look forward to the final message in this series titled, Eagerly Await His Return. You don't want to miss it!