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. 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.
Thought for Today
The prophets called it the “great and terrible day of the Lord.” They proclaimed a day when justice would be restored on the earth. A day when God would gather all the people He so lovingly knit together in their mothers’ wombs. They will stand before Him to be judged. This is the moment most rightly fear. This is the moment for which many deny Him today. They want to be accountable to no one but themselves. They want to be lord, ruler, and judge of their lives. This is the very nature of sin within our hearts, to be a law unto ourselves. Long for it as we might, it is not true. We are accountable to our creator. We are accountable to the King of kings. We are accountable to His Law. On what basis shall we be judged? By what God has recorded about us in the stacks of books before His throne. In them He has recorded every thought, word, and action of our lives. They will be read for all the world to hear, to know that God’s judgment is right and true. However, it will not be the weighing of our good deeds verse our bad, but based on the contents of another book, a single book. Jesus declared to His gloating disciples that they should not rejoice that the demons obey them in His name, “but that your names are written in the Book of Life.” It is on the basis of this singular book that their eternity will hang. It is this book that will determine whether this is the great or terrible day of the Lord. For in this book are contained the names of all whose forgiveness was won at the cross and received in life. All those who have called on the name of Jesus will discover that all their sins have been erased from the books of bad deeds. On this basis, and this basis alone they will be welcomed into the kingdom prepared for God’s children since the foundations of the world. In this is our hope and our confidence. For Jesus declared whoever confesses with their lips that Jesus is Lord and believes in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead will be saved.” Their names are written in the Book of Life.
Prayer
My Lord and King, thank You for the gift of forgiveness from the cross and the promise that my name is written in your Book of Life so that for me the last day will be the great day of the Lord. Amen.
Devotional Quote
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. ― C.S. Lewis
Quote of the Day
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly. — R. Buckminster Fuller
The Last Day: Book of Life
Rev 20:11-12
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. 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.
Thought for Today
The prophets called it the “great and terrible day of the Lord.” They proclaimed a day when justice would be restored on the earth. A day when God would gather all the people He so lovingly knit together in their mothers’ wombs. They will stand before Him to be judged. This is the moment most rightly fear. This is the moment for which many deny Him today. They want to be accountable to no one but themselves. They want to be lord, ruler, and judge of their lives. This is the very nature of sin within our hearts, to be a law unto ourselves. Long for it as we might, it is not true. We are accountable to our creator. We are accountable to the King of kings. We are accountable to His Law. On what basis shall we be judged? By what God has recorded about us in the stacks of books before His throne. In them He has recorded every thought, word, and action of our lives. They will be read for all the world to hear, to know that God’s judgment is right and true. However, it will not be the weighing of our good deeds verse our bad, but based on the contents of another book, a single book. Jesus declared to His gloating disciples that they should not rejoice that the demons obey them in His name, “but that your names are written in the Book of Life.” It is on the basis of this singular book that their eternity will hang. It is this book that will determine whether this is the great or terrible day of the Lord. For in this book are contained the names of all whose forgiveness was won at the cross and received in life. All those who have called on the name of Jesus will discover that all their sins have been erased from the books of bad deeds. On this basis, and this basis alone they will be welcomed into the kingdom prepared for God’s children since the foundations of the world. In this is our hope and our confidence. For Jesus declared whoever confesses with their lips that Jesus is Lord and believes in their hearts that God raised Him from the dead will be saved.” Their names are written in the Book of Life.
Prayer
My Lord and King, thank You for the gift of forgiveness from the cross and the promise that my name is written in your Book of Life so that for me the last day will be the great day of the Lord. Amen.
Devotional Quote
To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you. ― C.S. Lewis
Quote of the Day
There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly. — R. Buckminster Fuller