Who Will Be Judged At the Great White Throne Judgment?

At the great white throne judgment in Revelation 20 God judges all the unsaved of all ages. The judgment begins with “the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne” (v. 12). Two books are opened. The first is a set of books that record what each person had done in life. “The dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds” (v. 12). Sadly, this list of deeds each has committed is sufficient to condemn him or her to the lake of fire for all eternity. This place of judgment is referred to as “the second death” (vv. 14–15).

God also opens a second book, described as “the book of life” (v. 12). This book records the names of all who have been redeemed. In Psalm 69:28 David connects the “book of life” to those who have been declared “righteous.” In Philippians 4:3 Paul describes his fellow workers as those “whose names are in the book of life.” Revelation 13:8 adds one additional characteristic of this book. It is “the book of life of the Lamb who has been slaughtered.” Those whose names are in the book of life belong to Jesus because of His redemptive work.

As the deeds of each unredeemed individual are laid bare before almighty God, it becomes clear that the offenses are sufficient to condemn each one to the lake of fire. In one of the saddest verses of the Bible, John writes, “And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:15). With the exception of Jesus, everyone who has ever lived has sinned and deserves God’s judgment. The one item that will make an eternal difference is whether or not a person’s name has been recorded in the book of life.

Faith alone in Christ alone is what gets someone’s name written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Thankfully, believers don’t appear before God at the great white throne judgment. In 1 John 5:12–13 John writes, “The one who has the Son has the life; the one who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.” Faith alone in Christ alone is what gets someone’s name written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Though Christians will not appear at the great white throne judgment, Christians will appear before God’s bema seat for judgment. In 2 Corinthians 5:10 Paul says church-age believers “must all appear before the judgment seat [bema] of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for his deeds done through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad.” For believers, what’s at stake in this judgment is not a loss of salvation, but a loss of reward. There are levels of reward in eternity that believers will experience. In 1 Corinthians 3 Paul talks about the quality of the works done by believers. Some are “gold, silver, precious stones” while others are “wood, hay, or straw” (v. 12). Paul then describes the results of this judgment, when all these works will be revealed and tested. “If anyone’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet only so as through fire” (vv. 14–15, emphasis added). Both groups are in heaven, but one group is there without the eternal rewards experienced by others.

The Bible is consistent in saying that our eternal destiny is based on what Jesus did for us on the cross, not on what we do for ourselves. What we possess in the kingdom might vary, but all who have put their trust in Christ will be in the kingdom.