"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. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
(Revelation 20:12-14)
It is “a direct allusion to the courtroom scene in Daniel 7,” where the Ancient of Days took His seat on the throne, “and myriads upon myriads were standing before Him; the court sat, and the books were opened”.
He is not establishing a works-oriented salvation but rather the record of men’s deeds demonstrate their failure to obey the Law of God and God’s justice in judging them. The God that created the world also commanded obedience to His Law. The creature’s existence relates directly to the Creator’s purpose; that of living totally to His glory, perfectly conforming to His will. Yet we’ve all sinned and fallen short of His glory (Rom. 3:23). “The books” unpack the details of thought, word, and deed—intentional sins and sins of omission.
Nothing is more sobering than to realize that God holds us accountable for every idle thought, idle word, and careless deed. “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). Justice will be meted out according to the measure of our offence against God—a holy God who has nothing to do with sin; whose eyes are too pure to behold sin. Dare we play lightly with this reality? Who of us can stand before the searching gaze of the omniscient God?
(Phil A. Newton)
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