He Reigns
Bible reading
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
– Revelation 20:11-15 (NIVUK)
Devotional
I heard my name over the intercom, “Connie Main please come to the principal’s office”. I was seven years old, and I had never been called to the principal’s office before. I was terrified! What had I done? I tried to think; actually, I tried to choose which of my naughty behaviours had been found out. I walked down the long hallway leading to the principal’s office. The secretary made me wait before I could enter, it gave me more time to think over what I had done. She called me to go in and meet the principal – face to face! I swallowed and slowly walked into that big office. He glared at me, and I knew it was judgment day, and I was about to be punished for what I had thought I had hidden so well!
We’ve been in the throne room several times in Revelations, but this time is different. The only thing present is the throne and the one sitting on the throne. No angels, no creatures, no worshipers or even rainbows. Just the throne and judge. This is a somber moment!
Revelation 20:11-15 is very clear, we will ALL face the judgment throne. We will all have to give an account of what we’ve done. Jesus will open the books on our lives and as he reads over the deeds we’ve done, there will be good parts – the things we did well, the people we loved and cared for, and those we helped. But some of it will be bad – we haven’t always done what we knew to be right; we’ve sinned both deliberately and unknowingly, and it’s all written down. We can be comforted by 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”. And so, when God is reading over our stories, he’s going to see a lot of messy pages, but with huge parts covered over by the blood of the Lamb. All those things that we have confessed and repented of have not been removed… but they’ve been covered over, and they won’t be held against us!
There is a warning though, for those who will not confess, and who refuse to follow and serve Jesus. Their deeds are also written down and they too will be judged. The pages that are read are not covered by the blood of the Lamb, which means when their book is closed and judgement is passed, they will be cast out of the throne room and into the lake of fire.
On Judgment Day, God will look at all of us and open the books and he will ask us why he should let us in. How will we answer? What will be our argument? We can try and justify ourselves by who we are and what we’ve done. Or we can look to Jesus and say that Jesus covered our sins and died so that we might live. Our right to enter is only because of the Lamb.
– Connie Main Duarte
This devotional is part of a series that helps us navigate the texts of the book of Revelation with fresh eyes. A new devotional every Saturday.
These devotionals are available in Portuguese and in English.