Revelation 20:11-15

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

Revelation 20:11 (ESV)¶

This is the Great White Throne judgment — reserved for those who did not believe in Jesus, who did not put their faith in God. The believer "does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24). This happens at the second resurrection.¶

Judged by works¶

And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

Revelation 20:12 (ESV)¶

All the dead, from the flood to the war a few verses above, have been reserved for this moment — those who trusted in their own works, in themselves for justification. And that is exactly what they are judged by: their works. It's easy to point at those who blatantly deny Christ, but this connects to something Jesus taught: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord'... On that day many will say, 'Lord, did we not prophesy in your name...?' And then will I declare to them, 'I never knew you'" (Matthew 7:21-23). Many think their good deeds will justify them. This is why we must never stop reminding believers where their salvation lies: in the finished, perfect work of Jesus alone. If you stand on your work, you will stand before the white throne judgment. If you stand on Christ's work alone, you will sit on the throne with Jesus.¶

Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:14 (ESV)¶

Death (thanatos), sin, and Hades (the grave) are spiritual realities, not just ideas — and like Satan, they are thrown into the lake of fire forever. No more death, no more grave, no more sin. Up until this moment, death and sin reigned through Adam — but no longer (Romans 5:12-21).¶

The Book of Life — a trust document¶

And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:15 (ESV)¶

The Book of Life is another controversial topic — are names written in it from the foundation of the world? Can a name be removed? We cannot base our entire understanding of salvation on the Book-of-Life verses, because we are not told certain things. One thing we can say: nowhere does Scripture say names are added to the book. We base our soteriology on what the Bible is clear about: salvation is by believing in Jesus alone.¶

Here is a theory. Jennifer and I have a living trust — a legal entity that holds everything we have and passes it to whoever we choose, with rules. This is how the Bible describes our inheritance in Christ (1 Peter 1:3-4; Ephesians 1:11). So I think the Book of Life is the document stating who is to inherit eternal life in Christ; all those who are in Christ are in it. But when were the names written? Our trust has a line covering children born after we ratified it: "the provisions of this instrument shall apply not only to my child named above, but also to all children who may hereafter be born to or adopted by me." Likewise, "to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God" (John 1:12; John 17:20).¶

And nowhere does Scripture show names being added — only blotted out: "Let them be blotted out of the book of the living" (Psalm 69:28); "Whoever has sinned against me, I will blot out of my book" (Exodus 32:33); "I will never blot his name out of the book of life" (Revelation 3:5). These books were written from the foundation of the world — God's plan of inheritance has always been written, like my trust set up before my daughter was born; she is a part of it nonetheless. But there are rules: the way anyone is part of God's inheritance is to believe in Jesus, whose name is in the book — that is how you are adopted into the family. God blots out all who do not believe. This is why I can confidently say babies and children are a part of it (Jesus says the little ones "believe in me," and warns against causing them to sin — Matthew 18:6). Ultimately, as believers, we should be less concerned about how the Book of Life works and just continue to abide in Christ, who provided the way for us to share in his inheritance.¶