The Great White Throne Revelation 20:11

An “angel” from heaven showed John the apostle many things which will occur in the tribulation time on the earth, and John wrote about commercial Babylon's destruction and the people who were affected by it. John wrote about great worship which occurred in heaven afterward and then shared about the birds being gathered together to eat the flesh of the bodies of the opponents of Jesus. He wrote, “And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. And I saw an angel come down from heaven,

having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.” John continued, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. John continued, “And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.” John continued, “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshiped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection: on such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 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.” In Revelation chapter twenty and verse eleven John sees, “a great white throne” where we read:

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.

The verse reads, “And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, ...” John began with the words, “and I saw” which means “and John perceived, noticed, discovered and discerned” “a great white throne” or “a massive, large, abundant, dazzling bright and splendorous white chair of state having a footstool which is assigned to kingly power or royalty”, “and him” which means “the the One” “that sat on it” or “who was seated, occupied, fixed and dwelled upon the throne”. John saw God exalted upon His “Great White Throne”.

The verse goes on to say, “... from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.” John continued the words, “from whose face” which means “from God's countenance, appearance and look” “the earth” which means “the arable land, country, territory and region” “and the heaven” and “the region above the sidereal heavens and the seat of order of things eternal and consummately perfect where God dwells and other heavenly beings” “fled away” or “sought safety by flight, escaped and vanished”; “and there was found” or “and by searching, inquiry, examination, scrutiny, observation and experience” “no place” which means “not one portion, space, inhabited city, village, district or location” “for them” which refers to “for the heaven and the earth”. John saw how “heaven and earth” “took flight” from the face of Almighty God who was seated upon His “Great White Throne”.

When we think through John's words in this verse, we remember that “heaven and earth” were created by Almighty God, and it is no wonder all of His creation would “flee” when they are confronted with His Holiness. Nothing is more powerful than God, and this judgment will be the most daunting event the world has ever seen. No wonder the created “earth and heaven” are set to flight, and anyone who does not know Jesus Christ as their personal “Savior and Lord” will be in the same mode. Although the “heaven and earth” attempt to fly away and hide, no location will be without God's knowing where they are. In other words, nothing, and no one, shall be able to hide because all things are exposed to Him. Those who are wise shall receive Jesus Christ and accept God's amazing grace well before they ever face His “Great White Throne”, but woe be to those who without Jesus shall stand before the countenance of Almighty God.

Next time John shares how he, “saw the dead, small and great, stand before God”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.