The Great Judgement — Alan Bartley

Continuing the Meetings and Establishing New Converts

So we are turning in the word of God to the book of Revelation, Revelation chapter 20. Revelation chapter 20, the meetings are continuing on into this next week. We were uncertain as to what was happening last week in the Lord.

The Lord has sung and sought the Lord for salvation. And we felt very much that the meetings should continue on into this week. And so we are just seeking the Lord to keep the meetings open until we are very clear and sure that they must close.

So do remember to pray on and ask God to continue to work by His Spirit. And those that have come to Him that they will be established. We were saying that God willing at the end of the mission, regardless of when that time is, there will be a season of meetings for the converts to help them and to establish them for a few months perhaps.

One night in the week we will arrange that, perhaps later on. But I believe it is necessary and it will be essential for all those who have sought the Lord as their Saviour that their courage and the foundations of the faith are put in around them and underneath them.

So that they will be able to go forward. And they will not be left vulnerable for those who would take them and corrupt them and destroy them. Because that already has happened. We have heard of one already.

And so the young convert is very vulnerable. And others can come in and take the convert and can do them desperate damage and harm. It can take years to get the convert back to where they ought to be.

So that is in the will of the Lord. But we are just keeping the meetings on. So continue to pray those who are praying. And the meetings for those who are meeting for prayer in the morning. I think this is Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

We are cutting back a little on the praying for health-wise and so on. It is starting to take a strain. When you go on nine weeks, it starts to have its repercussions on you physically. So the men are praying on and meeting on the Monday and the Wednesday and Friday at 6 .30.

And you can pray on in your home and encourage others to come. And tell them that the meetings are continuing. And I trust that God will work on that. And that we will come to know the Saviour in these days.

Revelation 20 and the Binding of Satan

Revelation chapter 20 and verse 1. And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil and Satan.

And bound him a thousand years 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. You see that is his business. The devil's business is deception.

He deceives people and he deceives nations. The time is coming when he will deceive the nations no more. Till a thousand years should be fulfilled. And after that he must be loose a little season. Down with me to verse 7.

And when a thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loose out of his prison. And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four borders of the earth. Gog and Magog. To gather them together to battle.

The number of whom is as the sand of the sea. The devil will have no difficulty in resurrecting an army of men as vast as the sand of the sea. He is a tremendous being. He is going to gather a great army together and the Bible says in verse 9.

And they went up, that is this army, went up on the breadth of the earth. And encompassed the camp of the saints about and the beloved city as Jerusalem. 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. For anybody who thinks that hell and torment is a thing in the mind. And that God has no judgment. That when you die you just end up in the grave and that is the end.

Well, you need to start reading from Revelation. Because it says here so clearly that the beast and the false prophet with the devil shall be tormented. A great white throne and him that sat on it. On whose face the earth and heaven.

There was final place for them. And I saw the dead stand before God. And the books which is the book of life. And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it. And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them. And they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.

Prayer for Salvation and the Work of the Spirit

This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written. Infallible and inerrant were. Let's bow in prayer together. As we come to thee. We thank thee again. We thank thee Lord that this word is given.

It is given us hope. It is given Lord as a means of finding. And so we thank thee for this infallible book. And this eternal book. We bless thee Father again for the Lord Jesus. His life. Be seated at thy right hand.

A prince and a saviour. And a soon coming. Bless thee for salvation through his blood. We pray for those in the meeting who are just with us this evening. And they are not yet saved. We pray for the judgment.

We pray that the Holy Spirit might fully hold a turn to thee now. Recognizing thyself a sinner. So Father I yield myself up to thee. I give myself totally to thee. And I claim the covering. And I take the promise.

The Great White Throne as the Climax of History

To fill me to the uttermost. In Jesus name. History. Many in the world would take note of. For us here. Twenty. And into twenty one. Preacher of a past day. John Wesley. The founder of Methodism. Called it.

The great upsides. Before God. You see. We can be the big fellow. You can do. In a sense. Whatever. You want. But this is a day that is cut up to his own level. He will be measured by God's wanting. The Bible says the judgment.

Briefly. At this great. Asides. This great. Yet to take place. Friend we are this evening. Take place. We have read. In twenty. Of an event that happens prior. Before. And never will there be a judgment like it.

Afterwards. It is the great. Asides. Of the ages. It has been described as a preacher. As the climax. Of all. The ages. I would certainly. Agree with that. Chapter twenty. Prior to this. Great. Asides.

Judgment. We have. An interesting character. Who is introduced. To us. Again. As he is. From. Genesis. Right through. We first. Find him. In Genesis. Chapter three. He comes. Under the guise. Of the saints.

Then we find. Him being exposed. In the book. Of Isaiah. And in the book. Of Ezekiel. And through. The gospels. And by our Lord. Jesus. This. Personality. That was. An angelic being. Who was called. Lucifer's.

Son of the morning. Who made. The praises. Of heaven. And was a very. Musical being. He had tablets. And pipes. Built into him. He was covered. With every. Precious stone. And the Bible says. He looked.

At himself. And he beheld. His own beauty. And he aspired. To take the throne. From God. At that point. He was cast. Out of heaven. And he became. Known. Then. As what we termed. In evangelical. Circles.

And biblical. My friend. Foundation. We call. The devil. The devil. The deceiver. In this rebellion. We read. In the book. Of Revelation. Chapter twelve. That a third. Of the stars. Went with him. And most.

Theologians. Have come to the conclusion. That when. Satan fell. From heaven. He took with him. A third. Of the angelic host. And therefore. Those great. Angelic. Beings. That worshiped. God. And obeyed. God.

Came into a great. Rebellion. With Satan. Against God. This is prior. Even to the earth's. Existence. And therefore. From that. Fall. There came. The devil. And demons. Very real. Personalities. Spirits.

Who. Seek. To. Pervade. Men. And who. Are. Come. And indwell. People. As much today. As they ever have been. Of course. If you're. Unsafe. You'll not know. Anything. About that. Because. The bible. Tells you.

Satan’s Deception and Spiritual Blindness

One of the. Principle. Aims. And objectives. And successes. Of the devil. Is being. A deceiver. He deceives. People. And the bible says. Of the poor. Unconverted. That the devil. Has blinded. The minds. Of them.

If you're in the meeting. This evening. You're not converted. You're a blinded soul. You're completely blind. To the person. Of God. You're blind. To the judgment. You're blind. To the seriousness. Of your sin.

You're blind. To the reality. Of hell. That's why you live. As you live. Because you have no fear. Of judgment. And you have no fear. Of meeting God. You see. The devil. Has blinded. The minds. Of them.

That believe not. Lest the light. Of the glorious gospel. Of Christ. Who is the image. Of God. Should shine in. And you should be. Converted. So here we have. This. Event. Coming. In revelation. When the devil.

Has been so successful. In damning so many. And bringing people. Just like you. To hell. And this angel. Is sent from heaven. In chapter twenty. And he takes hold. On this serpent. The devil. With a great chain.

And the chain is put around him. And he's cast into. The bottomless pit. And he's held there. We're told. For a thousand years. Now this is yet to happen. This is an event. Which is yet to happen. And the bible tells us.

In revelation twelve. That the devil. Has come down to the earth. With great wrath. Because he knows. That his time is short. And so the devil. Is on full capacity. He's on four cylinders. These days.

Because he knows. That there is a day coming. The devil can read the bible. The devil can quote the bible. He did when the lord jesus. He met him. You remember. At the temptation. He quoted scripture.

And he said. He's only too aware. Of what will happen. But he wants to bring. As many with him. To the judgment. And to. The lake of fire. And the angel. Laid hold on him. And bound him. For a thousand years.

The Millennial Reign of Christ

Now during that thousand years. I'm not. A prophetical preacher. I stay away from it. Generally. But other than to say. During that thousand years. That our lord jesus. Shall reign. In this world. This world.

Will have absolute power. And absolute peace. For one thousand years. When clinton. And presidents of america. Will not hold sway. When no nation. Whether it germany or london. Or whether it be in japan.

There will be no world leader. That will be controlling the sway. Of this world. It will be the lord jesus christ. And jerusalem. Will be the center. Of all my friend. That goes on in this world. For one thousand years.

You see. There are those who believe. And i tend to agree with them. The world is approximately. No matter what you hear. Mr. Attenborough saying. And other characters. The atheist. According to the bible.

And those who have. Chronologically. Went down the bible. And from genesis. Right through to the present. They reckon. That we have lived. Approximately. On the earth. Six thousand years. From Adam. Many saints.

Come to the conclusion. Six days. An evening passed. And so there has been six days. Of the devils control. Of this earth. Six days. David. The sabbath. And the early chapters. Of genesis. The lord got a day.

For rest. That there is a day coming. When our lord jesus. Will be on the throne. In jerusalem. That my friends. There will be a day. Will be the day. Of the lord. It's a theory. But. Regardless of that.

My friends. That's what will happen. The lord jesus. Will reign. In this world. And the bible tells us. That the little boys. Will play with snakes. Lions. Will go back to eating grass. As they did prior to the fall.

Wonderful. What's going to happen. The desert will bloom. It was made dormant. By sin and satan. And the curse. My friends. It will be. Mightily restrained. At the coming of the messiah. To reign on the earth.

And that's going to be. A wonderful time. Those of you. But that's not what we want to look at. It's. My friends. Whenever the thousand years. Are expired. The bible says. In verse seven. Of chapter twenty.

That satan. Shall be loose. Out of his prison. Out of the bottomless pit. And he shall go forth. To deceive the nations. Which are in the four quarters. Gog and Magog. Again the theologians. Reckon it's the region.

Of the north. Of jerusalem. The north of israel. And the east. The east. And from that area. My friends. From russia. And china. And that region. Right up. The north. And down to the east. There will be an army.

Will gather. Together to battle. It's. It has just been released. From the pit. The bible says. The number of them. Will be as the sand of the sea. Of the earth. Of saints. And the bible says. In verse nine.

That the fire of god. Will fall down. Upon them. From heaven. And devour them. And there will be. A slaughter. Such as never has been. Before. And we read them. The devil. Is loose. Of the power. People say.

The devil doesn't exist. Well then. Who inspires people. To do what they do. If the devil's not alive. Who inspires people. To murder. If the devil's not alive. Then who inspires. My friend men. To commit crimes.

On little children. If the devil's not alive. Then who's doing. All the dirty work. The devil's still alive. And his demons. Still fill men. And he still deceives men. And you could be in the meat. And you're one of them.

You're one of them. Because you could be. A religious person. And deceived. You could be irreligious. It doesn't matter. The bible says. The broad way. Lead us to destruction. And many there be. Which go in their eyes.

The Certainty of Judgment and the Lake of Fire

Before this great. Judgement comes. The devil will be damned. He'll be damned. And he'll be dealt with. The devil. I enjoy my life. I enjoy the lottery. The drinking. The socializing. I enjoy fornicating.

I enjoy adultery. I enjoy pornography. I enjoy this lifestyle. Listen. You go the devil's way. You've got to take. The devil's wages. And the bible tells us. That the devil. That deceived. The nations.

Was cast into the lake. Of fire and brimstone. But very quickly. After the devil. Is done. There is a great courtroom. That is brought into existence. Now. I have been in courts. And I have viewed courts.

And looked at courts. And they're always. Impressive buildings. Generally. But nothing. To this one. This courtroom. Is so immense. It is so large. It is so gigantic. That the bible says. That when this great.

White throne. And him that sat upon it. Was established. The earth. And the heavens. Fled away. And there was found. No place. For him. This present world. In which we are. Standing. And dwelling. And living in.

There will be no room. For this earth. It tells us. In several places. That the heavens. And the stars. And this universe. Around us. God will roll it up. Like an old scroll. Because he hates. He'll roll it up.

Like an old scroll. And he'll put it to the side. So you can imagine. The immensity. Of this courtroom. The earth. And the heavens. Fled away. And there was no place. Found for them. You see. If you've got your foundations.

And your life. Rooted in this world. Listen. This world is passing away. And all your dreams. Will pass with it. But you live on. You live on. Because inside you. And here we have. They are gone. Inside the courtroom.

There is. A grave. Quite. Greatness. Speaks of. The authority. That when he speaks. His word will be law. Is great. Quite. Speaks of. Courages. Of justice. To be able to say. I got a raw deal. For a change.

A verdict. This will be. A judgment. That is passed. Completely. I will be. The God of heaven. Who will be on the throne. Quite. Speaks of. Right. The king. And ever. See that. The courtroom. On the courtroom.

And then. The judge. The judge on the throne. And the Bible tells us. In Romans. If you have a Bible. You can turn with me. In Romans. Chapter 2. Chapter 2. It says. Through the apostle Paul. Speaking to the church of Rome.

God’s Judgment of Hidden Secrets

He says. In the day. The secrets of men. Already it will become. Crystal clear. 17. And the times. Of this ignorance. God. Winked at. All men. To change. And to. The saving center. In the meeting. He commands you.

To repent. He commands you. To forsake your sin. He commands you. He's not. He's not parleying. He's not just. Debating with you. He's commanding you. You better do it. That's from the God. God in heaven.

He commanded all men. Everywhere. To repent. Why does he command you to repent? Because. He hath appointed. A day. Now this is the day. We're looking at. In Revelation. God has appointed. A day. In which he will.

Judge. The world. In righteousness. He hath. Let's read on. Whereof he hath given assurance. Unto all men. In that he hath raised. Him. Hope you never end. It's possible. That someone. In this meeting.

Who is unconverted. That you will die. And if you die. Unsafe. Which has happened. To other people. Who sat. In gospel meetings. And heard. With you. He. And they walked out. And forgot about it. And they threw up their head.

And they said. I don't believe that. And so on. And they ended up. One day. A coronary took them. And they went into. God's hell. And now they're waiting. And they'll find themselves. Judgment. With vast numbers.

And there they'll be. In amongst. Them all. Somewhere. And the Lord Jesus. Will be on the throne. You say. Will he be? Will he be the same Jesus. That came to. The world. And came. And walked. About Judea.

And healed the sick. Yes. It's the same Jesus. The Bible says. In fact. Second Thessalonians. That the Lord Jesus. Shall be revealed. From heaven. With his mighty angels. In flaming fire. Taking vengeance.

On all them. That know not God. And obey not. That God will be punished. With everlasting. Destruction. From the presence. Of the Lord. And from the glory. Of his power. Jesus. My friend. Will be judged.

Not saved. If you find yourself. At the great white throne. You could fall on your face. And call on him. And pray to him. No mercy will be shown. At the great white throne judgment. It is not a place of mercy.

You see. You're in a position now. For mercy. You're in a position now. To repent. But not at the great white throne. There will be no repentance. There will be no conversions. There will be no restitution.

There will be no changes made. There will just be sentence passed. At the great white throne. Amen. Jesus will be the judge. There will be no need for police. To hold the people. There will be no need for protection.

For the judge. It is going to be a. We have the courtroom. We have the judge. We have the accused. Very quickly. In Revelation. Twenty-one. And verse eight. Here is the accused. Those who will be. Prey to come to God.

The Accused and the Second Death

Those who have fears of coming to God. The fearful will be there. The unbeliever. The atheists, the mockers, the ones who didn't believe that Jesus really meant what he said. Those who walked out of the meetings and said, I don't believe there's a hell, and I don't believe there'll be a judgment, and they convinced themselves, and the devil helped in his deception to convince them even more so.

And they'll be there, the fearful and the unbelieving and abominable, the immoral, the murderers, the whoremongers, again immoral, saucers, those who are into witchcraft and so on, idolaters, those who bow down to other gods.

In the lake, we'll see the devils earlier on in verse 10 of chapter 20. He was the first one lit into it. So here you have his converse following. And with brimstone, what is brimstone? Brimstone is the same as liquid lava that comes from a volcano, that's what brimstone is.

You're very entitled, my friend, all the same friend, you're very entitled to mock, you're very entitled to leave the meeting, I'll not be breaking your arm. I'll not be trying to convince you it's my duty as a minister of the gospel to tell you of what is going to happen, that's my duty.

If you reject it, that's on your own head. I'll not be guilty of your damnation, for I've warned you. Brimstone will be there, that is liquid, you know that stuff that comes out of volcanoes, liquid rock, that's brimstone.

It's a burning lake, the bible tells us, and it's full of fire. This is the second death. You're telling me that that's where I'm going, that's exactly where I'm going. Let's suppose, I hope it doesn't happen, but let's suppose you die unconverted.

Your body's closed, your soul will be in hell. You'll be kept in hell. Hold you there, it's God's promise to God, it was God who built it. For the devil and his angels, but when man rebelled, God condemned man to his well.

He provided a saviour, and all those who reject the saviour must go the same way as the devil. If you die unconverted, your soul will go to hell, your body will be buried in the grave. But you see, we read of this that in verse 13 of chapter 20, and the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them.

Resurrection and the Emptying of Hell

So you see, there's going to be an emptying of hell. One day hell's going to be emptied, and God's going to open the gates of it and take out every soul. Every unsaved man and woman from the start of creation right down to that present day, hell will be emptied.

And not only will there be a drawing out of the souls out of hell, but God will take the bodies as well, of those people. In other words, even those who have been burned, you know, they've burned their bodies and cremated themselves so that they thought there wouldn't be a judgment.

That's a foolish thing to do. What did God make Adam out of? He took a little bit of dust. And he formed man out of the dust of the ground. So just because the body's scattered, it's no problem to God.

God's well able to gather the dust together again, and God will make a man. He's going to do that, this word tells us. We read in Daniel 12 and 2, we haven't had time to look it up, but there's a judgment coming.

Even in Daniel's day, many hundreds of years ago, he foretold a judgment would come for the resurrection of the ungodly condemnation. Righteous to everlasting life. There's a resurrection of the body.

Your body will be raised again from the dead. And if you're unsaved, this soul of yours in hell will be taken out, and the body in the grave, if you're in a cemetery somewhere like Balaamina, that body will be drawn up out of that grave, and that body and soul will come together again.

God will form you together again. And then, when you're together in that form, God will stand you before the great white throne judge. That's what's going to happen. So we have chapter 2 and verse 16.

Every Secret, Word, and Deed Brought to Judgment

We read this. Romans chapter 2 and verse 16. You've read it already. In the day when God shall judge the, not your nearest nor nearest, things that you have withheld, things that you have maybe forgotten, but nobody, everything that has been done in secret and concealed and covered, God knows.

The Bible says he knows the uprising from God. Not only, my friend, will be secrets, but we read in Matthew chapter 12 and 36. We read there. Men shall speak. They shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

Every idle word. You see, whenever you hit the hammer off your thumb and you say, Oh God, you'll be held accountable for you've taken the Lord's name in vain. And the Lord says he will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Every word that slips out, everything, my friend, that's critical and cruel, God's going to judge every word you have spoken. It'll be a fearful event. Not only, my friend, that, but we read in Ezekiel 11.

The creature, Lord Jesus, was speaking. And he said in chapter 11, verse 9, to young people. We're in this condition this evening, I don't know, but this is what the great preacher and wisest man, apart from Jesus, had to say in Ezekiel, or Ecclesiastes, I beg your pardon, in chapter 11, Ecclesiastes chapter 11 and verse 9.

Rejoice, O young man. Cheer thee in the days. It's a young man who's enjoying life to the full. He's saying, you know, that's what used to happen. There's no thing new under the sun. Everybody knows that.

Let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth. And walk in the ways of thy heart. He says, you just do what your heart wants you to do. He says, that's the way you live. In the sight of thine own eyes, just do what you want to do in your own eyes.

But then he comes in and he says, in chapter 11 and verse 9,. But know thou, O young man, that for all these things, he wants to die. The evidence, God with material that is necessary. And it will be brought before him and before you.

Because the purpose of the great white throne judgment is not that you will receive mercy. It is to convince you. That's what it's for. It will be there to convince you and show you why God is going to punish you eternally.

God will show you why he's going to punish you. God wouldn't punish you without a reason. But he'll show you why. And when you see all your sin being raised up and all your thoughts and all your secrets and all the dark things and you're standing there and the Lord's on the throne.

Great preacher Robert Murray McShane, a Scottish preacher said,. For every unconverted person at the throne, it will be a relief for them to get to the lake of fire. They'll be so glad to get away from Jesus when their lives are brought before him.

You know, wouldn't it be bad enough if some of your thoughts and some of your deeds were put up on that wall? Wouldn't you feel bad? Would you run out? I'm sure you would. I would, aren't I? But thank God my sins are under the blood.

I'm forgiven. God has forgiven me. I'll not be at the great white throne. I'll be in heaven at this stage. But you see, my dear friends, if I just pull up some of your sins, listen, listen, it'll not be some of them.

All of them will come up. And listen, you'll not be able to run. You'll not be able to run. Because God will be controlling the water. And you'll stand there until every atom and item of your life has been showered upon yourself.

And then, brought forth, the verdict. And the verdict from the great white throne will be, as in Revelation 20 and 15, Whosoever was not found written, you are thrown into it. You see, if you find yourself at the great white throne judgment, what will happen is, my friend, the Lord Jesus, the lovely Lord Jesus, will take you like a rag doll.

And my friend, He will throw you into the lake. There'll be books open. We haven't time to go into the books. But one book that will be opened, among others, will be, my friend, the Lamb's Book of Life.

When it's converted to Christ, their name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. Listen, if you're not converted, your name will not be in the book because when the angels go to their names, not there, then you will be cast into it.

The Final Sentence and Call to Repentance

Finally, my friends, as we close, the sentence will be then cast. And the sentence we read in Matthew chapter 25. If you have a Bible, turn with me. Matthew chapter 25 and verse 41. Speaking of the Lord Jesus, and of the day of the judgment, the sentence passed.

Then shall He say also, Unto them on the... Depart from me, ye cursed. Into ever future, your sins... God at this moment... Come to God in simple faith, and repent and turn from that sin to become your Lord.

And He will do that. For the Bible says, shall cause worry, and die at the great white throne. Wouldn't that be sad? That you who sat and heard what would happen is someday you will actually be there.

And you will see more things than ever the preacher told you. And you will find it to be more real and painful and powerful than ever it was explained. Don't let that happen. Take the truth, and I will give them, Lord, the grace of repentance to turn from their sin and to receive Christ and be born again.

Answer prayer and continue with us in each week of meetings that we have entered upon. May the blessing of power and benediction of God be upon the meetings, and their manna be brought to Christ. In Jesus' name.