Appendix O
The Great White Throne Judgment
By Lambert Dolphin

God is the Judge of All

Information about life after death and eternal judgment is sparse in the Old Testament.
However, Daniel clearly describes a final resurrection of the dead divided into two classes:
“At that time [the end-time] shall arise Michael, the great prince [archangel] who has charge of
your people [Israel]. And there shall be a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a
nation till that time; but at that time your people shall be delivered, every one whose name shall
be found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. And those who are wise
shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like
the stars for ever and ever.” – Daniel 12:1-3
Judgments in the Bible are of various types and kinds. Often they are temporal—we all
suffer lost opportunities in life due to inappropriate choices that have displeased God. Discerning
the will of God (for believers) is described in Romans 12:1, 2 as being three-tiered. We are to
prove in experience what is the will of God,”…what is good, acceptable and perfect.” Excessively
carnal behavior after one becomes a Christian can result in what is called a “sin unto death”. This
is essentially a foreshortening of one’s lifespan on this earth due to sin. Other temporal
judgments of God in history can include the destruction of a city or a nation due to sin. For
instance, God ordained the total destruction of the Canaanite peoples who inhabited the promised
land in the time of Abraham, though God granted them a stay of execution amounting to some
400 years (Deuteronomy 10:16-18).
The entire Old Testament records temporal judgments on Israel and the surrounding
nations as well as judgments upon individuals or cities. Temporal judgments differ from eternal
judgments in that the death of an individual because of such a judgment may be unrelated to
whether or not a person is eternally saved or lost. First Corinthians 10 describes the death of an
entire generation of Israelites in the wilderness of Sinai after the Exodus from Egypt. Even
Moses was denied entrance into the land because of disobedience. Yet great numbers of these
covenant people knew the Lord in their hearts and so will enter the eternal kingdom of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Lot’s life in Sodom was hardly exemplary, yet he is described as a believer in the
New Testament. Much more can be said on the general subject of judgment, but to end this
introduction on a positive note, it can be said that repentance and a whole-hearted turning to God
delays judgment pushing it further into the future.

Seven Special Judgments of God

Seven judgments described in Scripture have special significance. These are,
(1) The judgment of the cross, which includes the judgment of the believer’s sins,
(2) The self-judgment of the believer whereby we avoid God’s judgment for sins (1 Corinthians
11:31);
(3) The judgment seat of Christ immediately after the believer’s death where the quality of a
Christian’s life is evaluated and rewarded (2 Corinthians 5:10);
(4) The “sheep and goat” judgment at the start of the Millennium determining which Gentiles
may enter the kingdom;
(5) The judgment of Israel at the beginning of the Millennium. This is described in Ezekiel
20:33-44;
(6) The judgment of fallen angels (Jude 6, 1 Corinthians 6:3), and,
(7) The great white throne judgment (or “last judgment”) of unbelievers at the end of the
Millennium.