The Great White Throne Judgement was expected in that generation

In the last two articles in this series,

Why it’s important that Jesus already returned

Why it’s important that the Resurrection of the Dead happened

we demonstrated how Jesus indeed promised to return in that generation, resurrect and judge the living and the dead (Matthew 16:27-28, 2 Timothy 4:1, 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 1 Corinthians 15:23). We showed that Jesus was not lying, making a guess, or misunderstood by the disciples, and promised to return soon without delay. This means if Christianity is a valid religion, then Jesus would return and judge the living and the dead within that generation. Revelation 20, Matthew 25, and Matthew 16 all describe just such a judgement:

Revelation 20:11-15 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.

Matthew 25:31-33 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. 32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left…

… 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

… 41 Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

Matthew 16:27-28 For the Son of Man is about to come in the glory His Father, with His angels, and then He will give to each according to his deeds. Truly I say to you, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste of death until they have seen the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

We might assume that each of these judgements are describing the same event, however Matthew 16 promises this judgement would occur before all of the disciples had died. If all these passages are describing the same event then that means Revelation 20 concerning the Great White Throne Judgement would also occur within the disciples’ lifetimes. But this is problematic. The Great White Throne Judgement in Revelation 20 occurs at the end of the thousand year reign and after the demise of Satan. How can the ending of the thousand year reign occur within the disciples’ lifetimes? For that matter, are we willing to believe that Satan was also destroyed in their lifetimes?

The partial preterist perspective

In struggling to understand this, honest and reputable bible readers identifying as partial preterists have come to the conclusion that the judgement Jesus promises would occur in their lifetimes (Matthew 16) must be talking about a different judgement than the one described in Revelation 20. There is a place earlier in Revelation 20 where the saints are resurrected before the thousand years and before the general resurrection. Partial preterists consider that this resurrection of the faithful saints before the thousand years may be considered a judgement and may be the event Matthew 16 describes.

Revelation 20:1-6 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

According to partial preterists, the saints who were beheaded for their testimony were “judged” worthy of the first resurrection. Since this event occurs before the thousand year reign it seems acceptable that this event could occur within the disciples’ lifetimes and since it describes a resurrection and perhaps an implied judgement it would fit the prophesies of Matthew 16. Thus, they conclude we today are living sometime within the thousand year reign, Satan is bound but not destroyed, and the Great White Throne Judgement of Revelation 20 is still in our future.

It is duly noted in such a viewpoint that the first resurrection at the beginning of the thousand years was only of the righteous dead. The wicked people living in Jerusalem at the time could also be described as being judged in the siege, but certainly the wicked dead were not judged until the Great White Throne Judgement at the end of the thousand years. The Great White Throne Judgement at the end of the thousand years will be a judgement and resurrection of all the wicked dead. They use the lack of details provided in Matthew 16 as an opportunity to argue that Matthew 16 is only describing a judgement of the righteous dead and wicked living. Many will admit that Matthew 25 (sheep and goats) and Revelation 20 are describing the same judgement but say both will happen at least a thousand years or more in the disciples’ future.

However, a closer inspection of these three passages shows that they cannot be describing separate events. Matthew 16, 25, and Revelation 20-21 each describe the arrival of the kingdom of heaven. This was an event that was promised to occur at only one point in history (Daniel 2:44) and was an event promised to occur within their lifetimes (Luke 21:31, Matthew 16:28, Matthew 3:2, Mark 1:15). In addition, the disciples have stated elsewhere that they expected the wicked dead to be resurrected and judged soon proving that the judgement of the wicked dead could not occur thousands of years in their future. Daniel 12 prophesies the resurrection of the wicked dead would occur around the time Jersualem was destroyed. Finally, when comparing these three passages carefully, it is quite difficult to dismiss the similarities between them.

Comparing the similarities in the 3 passages

Matthew 16 tells us Jesus is about to come in his glory. Matthew 25 says when he comes in his glory he will sit on his throne as judge, it does not distinguish between a first and second returning in glory. Revelation 20 describes a judge sitting on a glorious throne. Matthew 16 and Matthew 25 both describe the angels accompanying Jesus’s return. Revelation also describes the angels being with him but in chapter 19. Matthew 16 & 25 each describe the presentation/arrival of the kingdom. Revelation 20 is immediately followed by a metaphore that describes the arrival of the kingdom in Revelation 21. All three passages describe a judgement of “each” based on what they have done. While Matthew 16 is unclear about what happens to the wicked, Matthew 25 and Revelation 20 clarify the wicked will be thrown in the lake of eternal fire where the devil was thrown. Finally Matthew 16 promises this will occur in the disciples’ lifetimes while Matthew 25 warns the disciples to keep watch because it could come at any moment. Revelation 20 occurs after the thousand years and fall of Satan.

The simliarities between these passages are remarkable. Because Matthew 25 says when Jesus comes in glory he would judge the righteous and wicked and because it does not distinguish between a first and second return, we know it is describing the same event that Jesus promised would occur in the disciples’ lifetimes. Thus we must assume Matthew 16, like Matthew 25, is describing a judgement of the righteous and wicked, not just the righteous. Partial preterists may point out that both Matthew 16 and 25 are unclear if they include a judgement of the dead and may just be describing a judgement of the living, whereas Revelation 20 clearly describes a judgement of the dead.

However, if it’s true that only a judgement of the wicked living was promised to occur within the disciples’ lifetimes but the judgement of the dead would occur centuries later, why do the disciples expect the judgement of the wicked dead to occur soon?

The disciples expected a soon resurrection of the wicked

While several verses point to the idea that the wicked in general were soon to be judged (Matthew 21:40-41,43,45, Luke 3:7,17, Acts 17:30-31, 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10, James 5:5-8, Hebrews 10:36-39), Paul is explicit that the wicked dead were about to be resurrected.

Acts 24:15 having a hope in God, which they themselves also await, that there is about to be a resurrection, both of the just and of the unjust.

Most translations attempt to hide the word “about to” but it is present in the greek. Critics will point out that this greek word can also mean “inevitable” as in:

Acts 24:15 “There will certainly be a resurrection of both the righteous and the wicked.”

However, whenever mello (the greek word for about) in the present active indicative is combined with an infinitive, it should consistently be translated “about to.”

Paul said God was about (mello) to judge the world. This word ‘mello,’ where found in the present active, indicative tense signifies, not only intention of purpose but also nearness of action, meaning at the point of, or ready to do what had been stated. Had Paul meant to teach judgment of 2000 or more years’ future he certainly would not have used ‘mello’ in any tense, especially in the present sense. Therefore the judgement of the habitable world (oikoumene) was about to take place in Paul’s day, and in view of other related Scriptures we have every reason to believe Paul’s choice of words conveyed the meaning intended by the Holy Spirit. (Max King, The Spirit Of Prophecy, 157)

Paul also states:

2 Timothy 4:1 I fully testify, then, before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who is about to judge [the] living and dead at His appearing and His Kingdom

As soon as Jesus returned in his kingdom, he would judge the living and dead. Since he does not specify that only the righteous dead would be judged and since in Acts 24:15 he explains that both the righteous and wicked were about to be raised from the dead, it can be assumed that here he includes the wicked dead.

Peter says the wicked were about to be resurrected and judged

According to Peter, Jesus was ready to judge the living and the dead. This readiness is included in the “end of all things” which was “at hand.” In describing the dead, Peter uses examples of wicked men who are about to give account.

1 Peter 4:4-7 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you; 5 but they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is why the gospel was preached even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does. 7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers.

Thus, it seems Peter expected the wicked dead were about to be judged.

In many other passages, the disciples promise that the wicked were soon to be judged and while we might want to pounce on the lack of information provided to prove it’s only the living, Paul and Peter’s statements prove the wicked dead were about to be resurrected along with the righteous.

Daniel 12 prophesies the wicked dead would be resurrected at the time of unequaled distress

Daniel 12:1-4 “At that time shall arise Michael, the great prince who has charge of your people. 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, everyone 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 sky above; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words and seal the book, until the time of the end.

Notice that Daniel prophesies a time when the wicked shall awake from the dead and fall into judgement. This is must be referring to the same Great White Throne Judgement in Revelation 20 since it refers to a judgement of the wicked dead. Daniel says this will happen at “a time of trouble, such as never has been since there was a nation till that time.” Jesus describes a time in which there shall be trouble unlike there has ever been or ever will be:

Matthew 24:15-21 15 “So when you see standing in the holy place ‘the abomination that causes desolation,’ spoken of through the prophet Daniel—let the reader understand— 16 then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17 Let no one on the housetop go down to take anything out of the house. 18 Let no one in the field go back to get their cloak. 19 How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20 Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath. 21 For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now—and never to be equaled again.

In Luke’s parallel passage, he clarifies what Jesus means by the abomination that causes desolation spoken of through Daniel:

Luke 21:20-24 “When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city. For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written. How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! There will be great distress in the land and wrath against this people. They will fall by the sword and will be taken as prisoners to all the nations. Jerusalem will be trampled on by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

Jesus said that when Jerusalem was “surrounded by armies” and would be “trampled on by the Gentiles” this would be the time of unequaled distress since the beginning unto the end of the world as spoken by the prophet Daniel. And this is all within the time frame of “about to happen” (Luke 21:36) and “this generation” (Matthew 24:34).

In Daniel’s prophecy, an angel asks concerning the resurrection of the wicked, “How long shall it be till the end of these wonders” (Daniel 12:6)? To which he was answered, “when the shattering of the power of the holy people comes to an end all these things would be finished” (Daniel 12:7).

If the holy people describe Jews and if Jesus prophesies that their power would be shattered and trampled upon by the Gentiles (Roman armies) then we must conclude that the resurrection of the wicked dead occured at this time as well.

Before the seige of Jerusalem in 66AD, Eusebius tells us the Christians were reminded by these words from Jesus and fleed the city to the desertous mountains of Pella. Not one Christian was harmed in this seige (“But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone whose name shall be found written in the book”).

All three judgement passages describe the arrival of the kingdom

Matthew 16 describes Jesus coming in his kingdom. Matthew 25 describes opening the kingdom to the sheep after the judgement. When Revelation 21 describes the arrival of the new heavens and new earth, it is describing the arrival of the kingdom of heaven. Notice how the Bible often paints the terms “new heaven and earth” synonymously with the kingdom of heaven.

Luke 21:31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

In this passage, we can interpret Jesus to be saying that when they see these signs, the kingdom of heaven will be near and that heaven and earth will be passing away. This interpretation would imply at the least, that these two events are closely related timewise.

Hebrews 12:25-28 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.

28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

The writer of Hebrews is summarizing his previous statement concerning heaven and earth shaking by describing it as “receiving the kingdom that cannot be shaken.” The new heavens and earth would remain forever and could not shake again. In the mind of this author, the shaking of heaven and earth was synonymous with the arrival of the kingdom of heaven.

Haggai 2:6-9 “This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘In a little while I will once more shake the heavens and the earth, the sea and the dry land. 7 I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the Lord Almighty. 8 ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty. 9 ‘The glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house,’ says the Lord Almighty. ‘And in this place I will grant peace,’ declares the Lord Almighty…”

20-23 20 The word of the Lord came to Haggai a second time on the twenty-fourth day of the month: 21 “Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. 23 “‘On that day,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘I will take you, my servant Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel,’ declares the Lord, ‘and I will make you like my signet ring, for I have chosen you,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”

Notice the usage of the shaking of the heavens and earth in this passage. It is used to describe the fall of foreign kingdoms. I would conclude from these listed passages, that in Biblical terms the shaking of the heavens and earth were used to describe an old kingdom falling and a new kingdom arriving. In the case of Zerubbabel, the foreign kingdoms would fall and Zerubbabel would rise. In the case of the kingdom of heaven, the kingdoms of this world would fall (Old Covenant) and the kingdom owned by God would rise (New Covenant).

The kingdom would only arrive once and stay forever

According to Daniel’s prophecy, the kingdom of heaven will only be established once. After that, it continues to grow and conquerer forever (Daniel 2:44).

Daniel 2:44 “In the time of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed, nor will it be left to another people. It will crush all those kingdoms and bring them to an end, but it will itself endure forever.

This means the kingdom of heaven will not be taken away and then given again at a later date. It will arrive once and will stay forever starting in one particular moment of time.

The kingdom was promised to arrive in their generation

Jesus promised to come “in his kingdom” within that generation.

Luke 21:31 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. 32 “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 33 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

Matthew 16:27-28 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done. 28 “Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

Matthew 3:2 “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

Mark 1:15 “The time has come,” he said. “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!”

If Matthew 16, Matthew 25, and Revelation 21 speak of the arrival of God’s kingdom and since such an event can only happen once, the only logical conclusion is these passages are all speaking of the same event.

Therefore the kingdom described in Revelation 21 was promised to occur in their lifetimes

1. The kingdom of heaven would arrive at only one point in time and remain forever
2. Revelation 21 uses Biblical synonyms to describe the arrival of this kingdom of heaven
3. The arrival of this kingdom of heaven was promised to occur in the disciples’ generation
4. Therefore, Revelation 21 was promised to occur within the disciples’ generation

Revelation 21 logically follows the Great White Throne Judgement. If Revelation 21 was fulfilled in that generation and it comes chronologically after the Great White Throne Judgement, then that means the Great White Throne Judgement must have occured in their generation as well.

Further study confirms this theory. Many scholars believe Revelation is a cyclical book. It’s repeating storyline events from different perspectives. The events though written in multiple places are describing the same event time-wise. It’s telling the whole story over multiple times from different angles. In this perspective, Revelation 11:18 is the same thing as the Great White Throne Judgement in Revelation 21 just told in cyclical fashion.

If we consider Revelation to be cyclical, as I will assume in my argument, the Great White Throne Judgment is the only place in Revelation’s timeline that includes the resurrection and judgement of the wicked dead. The disciples promised that the wicked dead would be judged soon.

In conclusion:

1. If Revelation is cyclical, the Great White Throne Judgement in Revelation 20 is the only place that describes the resurrection and judgement of the wicked dead in the book of Revelation.
2. The resurrection and judgement of the wicked dead was an event that the disciples promised would happen soon.
3. If we trust the disciples were inspired prophets and if Revelation is cyclical then we would believe that the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20 occured in that generation.

In conclusion

We have considered the partial preterist position that Matthew 16, 25, and Revelation 20 are describing different judgements. We considered that the judgement of Matthew 16 is describing a judgement at the beginning of the thousand years and that Matthew 25 and Revelation 20 are describing the judgement at the end of the thousand years. We noted that the judgement at the beginning of the millennium was only of the righteous and the judgement at the end of the millennium included the wicked dead.

However, given that each of these passages describe the arrival of the kingdom and given that this kingdom could only come once and was expected in their lifetimes, we concluded that each passage is describing the same event. In addition, because the partial preterist viewpoint requires the judgement of the wicked dead to occur a thousand or more years in the future and given that the apostles expected the wicked dead to be resurrected and judged soon, it’s untenable that Revelation 20 is describing a judgement outside of their lifetimes. Daniel and Jesus prophesy the resurrection of the wicked dead would occur at the time that Jerusalem was surrounded and destroyed by Gentile armies. Finally, we note that the similarities between these three passages are too remarkable to dismiss.

In conclusion, all three of these passages speak of the same event, a judgement of the wicked and righteous dead and living. It was promised to occur within the disciples’s lifetimes. If we take Jesus to be the Messiah, then we must believe he was a reliable prophet. And if he was a reliable prophet, then we must believe his prophesies both fufilled their timing and content. As Christians then, we should believe the Great White Throne Judgment occured in the disciples’ generation.

This means we must now set out to discover how the thousand year reign and fall of Satan could have occured within their lifetimes. For that, check out the fourth article in this series.

Additional Note:

My friend, Dan Dery, the president of the Institute of Fulfilled Eschatology, has created some PDFs showing distinct parallels between Daniel 7, Revelation 19-20, and Matthew 16:27-28, all showing that these were speaking of the same event. He also compares Matthew 16, Romans 2, and 2 Peter 3. Check out the PDFs for futher proof that the Great White Throne Judgment was the same as Christ’s coming to reward each according to their works:

REVELATION 20 – THE GREAT WHITE THRONE JUDGMENT

ROMANS 2 & THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT OF GOD

MATTHEW 16:27-28 = MATTHEW 24:30-31 & MATTHEW 25:31-34

MATTHEW 16:27-28 = THE RESURRECTION OF 1 THESSALONIANS 4 & 1 CORINTHIANS 15

MATTHEW 16:27-28 = ISAIAH 59:17-21 & ROMANS 11:25-27

Worked Cited

King, Max R. The Spirit of Prophecy. Warren: Max R. King, 1971.