"The King's on His Throne"
We have trouble believing in God's authority and power, but the evil of war and division in our time reveals why only God deserves to sit on the throne of judgment just as John envisioned.
Revelation 20 emphasizes the doctrine of the final judgment and hell. John’s vision speaks specifically, “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev. 20:10). This verse confirms the reality of hell and the need for it as the devil and two of the most evil persons of the future are sent there: the beast and the false prophet. As the evil rulers of this world continue to show us just how evil mankind can be, we should accept that God is righteous in judging all men according to His own standard.
Evil men and seducers must be judged, and God’s right to execute judgment is something we must recognize. In John’s vision, he keeps seeing Christ exalted with God the Father sharing the oneness of ruling over the universe, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away.” (Rev. 20:11). It is easy to lose track in revelation concerning whether it is God the Father or Christ who reigns in different places. John assumes we understand their oneness. Christ’s shining face is seen in Rev. 19, “His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns..” (Rev. 19:12), and he is said to be the one who treads out the grapes of God’s wrath.
The authority of God is proclaimed as his being the one who sits on the throne. He is also celebrated as the judge, “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.” (Rev. 20:12). This is a judgment that every Christian should realize is not where he wants to stand. To be judged by our own works will never result in our forgiveness or entrance into heaven. As men are judged according to their own works, all of them will be declared unfit. By our own works we will never be justified before God. Thank God for the presentation of the second book.
“And another book was opened, which is the book of life…” (Rev. 20:12). We discover that the book of life reveals the names of the redeemed. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” (Rev. 20:15). This means that having our name in the Book of Life is the only way to get into heaven. How do we get our name in God’s Book of Life? We have to look at several passages to get to the answer.
First, the Gospel of Luke says, “…Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20). In Revelation 3, those names that remained in the Book of Life had been watchful, clothed in white raiment, and had overcome the evil they faced (by the power of God). This pictures repentance from sin, faith in Christ’s death and resurrection, and allowing the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to shape us. As I have examined this pattern, it reveals the pattern that Jesus explained to Nicodemus in John 3, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.” (John 3:16-17). Accepting our condemnation as sinners, that all of us would perish, is another way of repenting. Faith in Christ is seen as the “whosoever believeth in Him” phrase in John 3:16. The embracing of everlasting life pictures the work of the Holy Spirit as new life flows into us.
We can’t get into heaven by good works; we can only get into heaven by confessing our sins and repenting of them… followed by placing our faith in Jesus Christ as the one who died for our sins and rose again from the dead. This process acknowledges God’s right to bestow eternal life and write our names in the Book of Life (or simply not blotting them out of His book) based on our faith in God’s work to supply salvation by means of the sending of His Son into the world to die for us. God is on the throne, and He controls the gifting of eternal life and the punishment of eternal condemnation in hell. We need to accept the reality of God’s power and right to rule. He sits on the throne, and we must submit to Him.
I’ve written a song celebrating God’s salvation and His judgment. I hope you will take a listen to its truth.