The Dead Great and Small
This article is an attempt to portray what could happen when we Christians enter into Glory.
The title of this article refers to the Scripture verses found in Revelation that the Apostle John recorded as follows:
Revelation 20:11-15
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
In these verses who the dead are should become obvious to you the reader that these are the ones that have died in their sins and have passed up the chance for eternal salvation. With that said we could ask the question, “Will we be able to see these lost ones once we arrive in the Lord’s presence?” I say yes. Note the following verses from Isaiah:
Isaiah 66:22-24
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord. 24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
The new heavens and new earth are to be established and are also recorded in Revelation 21:1. Pay particular attention to what verse 24 above is saying. We will see the dead. Another area of consideration is found in Luke 16:19-31. There is the account of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. The rich man went to Hades in torment and Lazarus went in comfort to Abraham’s side. The rich man could see both Abraham and Lazarus and we know for certain that Abraham could see the rich man in hell. More than likely, Lazarus could see him also. The rich man and Abraham conversed one with another.
Would You Like to Say Something to the Dead if Allowed?
What would you say to them if you could? Understand from verse 24 of Isaiah 66 above that they will not die (the word is worm) and will be tormented for eternity (fire not quenched). Their souls and spirits still have cognizance so that they can communicate. If you were allowed by God to speak to any of them then surely they would comprehend what you would have to say and could remember forever.
Let me propose what I would say but I do not want to take anything away from God and His judgement because He should have already told them everything and anything I say (if allowed) could be repetitious (or maybe even against His Will). Before I tell you what I want to say, I would be particularly interested to say something to one considered in the category of the great dead.
One who has already died in his sins and is one of these great dead is certainly Adolf Hitler.
The arrogance, hostility and evil this man did while alive on the earth was unspeakable. Anyone care to argue that Hitler did not deserve to go to eternal punishment? His destination is the Lake of Fire. He was one that wanted to conquer and rule the entire world (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25). Of course there have been many others throughout history similar to Hitler but let’s stay with him.
Very Brief Background on Hitler
The Führer as he was called in German means simply leader or guide. This title has a strong negative connotation because Hitler used this title for himself. He became the absolute ruler or dictator of Germany and was ruthless and murderous. He wound up nearly destroying all of Germany as well as many other countries. He was very arrogant and many would agree he was demon possessed since there are sufficient records to substantiate demon possession (Nazis and the occult: was Hitler possessed?).
If you had lived in NAZI Germany as a Bible Believing Professing Witnessing Christian, what would Hitler have thought of you? Would he have regarded you as important? What if you had been a Jew? Let us go to the future and imagine you have gone on to the Lord as a believer in Christ. Remember Isaiah 66:24 and Luke 16:19-31 above. I personally believe we believers will have a chance to see Hitler based on those two passages. Whether we are allowed to talk to him is another thing but let us imagine anyway.
Not Just Great but Small is Mentioned in Revelation 20
I feel certain a good example of great dead is Adolf Hitler, however, who are these small dead? Both the small dead and the great dead simply refer to anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life as stated in verse 15. It does not matter whether one is small or great – he or she can still end up in the Lake of Fire through unbelief. This is what we usually refer to as Non-Christians, however, a true Christian is one who simply has placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation and believes He is the Son of God, the All Powerful God-Creator (Colossians 1:15-17) who stepped down from His Throne in Heaven, came to earth, died on the cross for all our sins and was raised from the dead (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10).
My Background
I grew up and have always lived in the USA. I have never held a high position in work, church, government or anywhere else in society. I guess you could refer to me as an average citizen of the US. I am not particularly bothered with being referred to as ordinary. I know I am not ordinary to the Lord because I am bought by Christ with a Great Price and that’s why I don’t mind being called ordinary while on earth. I would rather be ordinary or dirt poor than to be the richest and most powerful man in the world and lose my soul (again Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25). If I had not accepted Christ as Savior then I feel sure I would be in the small dead group.
“OK! Enough!” You Say, “Get to Your Point! What Would You Say to Hitler?”
I think I would like to say to Hitler, “If you had simply read and studied God’s Word and listened to an ordinary Christian that liked to witness properly and had followed through with repenting of your sins and accepting Jesus Christ for salvation, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Would I have been prepared to defend my faith and to give an account for the hope I have in the Lord? I can definitely say with a resounding “YES!”
I Peter 3:15
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.
This article is an attempt to portray what could happen when we Christians enter into Glory.
The title of this article refers to the Scripture verses found in Revelation that the Apostle John recorded as follows:
Revelation 20:11-15
Judgment Before the Great White Throne
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
In these verses who the dead are should become obvious to you the reader that these are the ones that have died in their sins and have passed up the chance for eternal salvation. With that said we could ask the question, “Will we be able to see these lost ones once we arrive in the Lord’s presence?” I say yes. Note the following verses from Isaiah:
Isaiah 66:22-24
22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the Lord, so shall your offspring and your name remain. 23 From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the Lord. 24 “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”
The new heavens and new earth are to be established and are also recorded in Revelation 21:1. Pay particular attention to what verse 24 above is saying. We will see the dead. Another area of consideration is found in Luke 16:19-31. There is the account of the rich man and the beggar Lazarus. The rich man went to Hades in torment and Lazarus went in comfort to Abraham’s side. The rich man could see both Abraham and Lazarus and we know for certain that Abraham could see the rich man in hell. More than likely, Lazarus could see him also. The rich man and Abraham conversed one with another.
Would You Like to Say Something to the Dead if Allowed?
What would you say to them if you could? Understand from verse 24 of Isaiah 66 above that they will not die (the word is worm) and will be tormented for eternity (fire not quenched). Their souls and spirits still have cognizance so that they can communicate. If you were allowed by God to speak to any of them then surely they would comprehend what you would have to say and could remember forever.
Let me propose what I would say but I do not want to take anything away from God and His judgement because He should have already told them everything and anything I say (if allowed) could be repetitious (or maybe even against His Will). Before I tell you what I want to say, I would be particularly interested to say something to one considered in the category of the great dead.
One who has already died in his sins and is one of these great dead is certainly Adolf Hitler.
The arrogance, hostility and evil this man did while alive on the earth was unspeakable. Anyone care to argue that Hitler did not deserve to go to eternal punishment? His destination is the Lake of Fire. He was one that wanted to conquer and rule the entire world (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25). Of course there have been many others throughout history similar to Hitler but let’s stay with him.
Very Brief Background on Hitler
The Führer as he was called in German means simply leader or guide. This title has a strong negative connotation because Hitler used this title for himself. He became the absolute ruler or dictator of Germany and was ruthless and murderous. He wound up nearly destroying all of Germany as well as many other countries. He was very arrogant and many would agree he was demon possessed since there are sufficient records to substantiate demon possession (Nazis and the occult: was Hitler possessed?).
If you had lived in NAZI Germany as a Bible Believing Professing Witnessing Christian, what would Hitler have thought of you? Would he have regarded you as important? What if you had been a Jew? Let us go to the future and imagine you have gone on to the Lord as a believer in Christ. Remember Isaiah 66:24 and Luke 16:19-31 above. I personally believe we believers will have a chance to see Hitler based on those two passages. Whether we are allowed to talk to him is another thing but let us imagine anyway.
Not Just Great but Small is Mentioned in Revelation 20
I feel certain a good example of great dead is Adolf Hitler, however, who are these small dead? Both the small dead and the great dead simply refer to anyone whose name is not found in the Book of Life as stated in verse 15. It does not matter whether one is small or great – he or she can still end up in the Lake of Fire through unbelief. This is what we usually refer to as Non-Christians, however, a true Christian is one who simply has placed his or her faith in Jesus Christ for eternal salvation and believes He is the Son of God, the All Powerful God-Creator (Colossians 1:15-17) who stepped down from His Throne in Heaven, came to earth, died on the cross for all our sins and was raised from the dead (John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10).
My Background
I grew up and have always lived in the USA. I have never held a high position in work, church, government or anywhere else in society. I guess you could refer to me as an average citizen of the US. I am not particularly bothered with being referred to as ordinary. I know I am not ordinary to the Lord because I am bought by Christ with a Great Price and that’s why I don’t mind being called ordinary while on earth. I would rather be ordinary or dirt poor than to be the richest and most powerful man in the world and lose my soul (again Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25). If I had not accepted Christ as Savior then I feel sure I would be in the small dead group.
“OK! Enough!” You Say, “Get to Your Point! What Would You Say to Hitler?”
I think I would like to say to Hitler, “If you had simply read and studied God’s Word and listened to an ordinary Christian that liked to witness properly and had followed through with repenting of your sins and accepting Jesus Christ for salvation, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”
Would I have been prepared to defend my faith and to give an account for the hope I have in the Lord? I can definitely say with a resounding “YES!”
I Peter 3:15
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.