11 *I saw a great white throne with someone sitting on it. Earth and heaven tried to run away, but there was no place for them to go. 12 *I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life* was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done.

13 The sea gave up the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done. 14 Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death.*15 Anyone whose name wasn’t written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

12 *Then I was told:

I am coming soon! And when I come, I will reward everyone for what they have done.

12 *Then I was told:

I am coming soon! And when I come, I will reward everyone for what they have done. 13 *I am Alpha and Omega,* the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

9 *Thrones were set up

while I was watching,

and the Eternal God*

took his place.

His clothing and his hair

were white as snow.

His throne was a blazing fire

with fiery wheels,

9 *Thrones were set up

while I was watching,

and the Eternal God*

took his place.

His clothing and his hair

were white as snow.

His throne was a blazing fire

with fiery wheels,

10 *and flames were dashing out

from all around him.

Countless thousands

were standing there

to serve him.

The time of judgment began,

and the books* were opened.

2 *Many of those who lie dead in the ground will rise from death. Some of them will be given eternal life, and others will receive nothing but eternal shame and disgrace. 3 *Everyone who has been wise will shine as bright as the sky above, and everyone who has led others to please God will shine forever like the stars.

31 He has set a day when he will judge the world’s people with fairness. And he has chosen the man Jesus to do the judging for him. God has given proof of this to all of us by raising Jesus from death.

36 I promise you on the day of judgment, everyone will have to account for every careless word they have spoken. 37 On that day they will be told they are either innocent or guilty because of the things they have said.

31 *When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. 32 The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.

33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left.

31 *When the Son of Man comes in his glory with all his angels, he will sit on his royal throne. 32 The people of all nations will be brought before him, and he will separate them, as shepherds separate their sheep from their goats.

33 He will place the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. 34 Then the king will say to those on his right, "My father has blessed you! Come and receive the kingdom that was prepared for you before the world was created. 35 *When I was hungry, you gave me something to eat, and when I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you welcomed me, 36 and when I was naked, you gave me clothes to wear. When I was sick, you took care of me, and when I was in jail, you visited me."

37 Then the ones who pleased the Lord will ask, "When did we give you something to eat or drink? 38 When did we welcome you as a stranger or give you clothes to wear 39 or visit you while you were sick or in jail?"

40 The king will answer, "Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me."

41 Then the king will say to those on his left, "Get away from me! You are under God’s curse. Go into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels! 42 I was hungry, but you did not give me anything to eat, and I was thirsty, but you did not give me anything to drink. 43 I was a stranger, but you did not welcome me, and I was naked, but you did not give me any clothes to wear. I was sick and in jail, but you did not take care of me."

44 Then the people will ask, "Lord, when did we fail to help you when you were hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in jail?"

45 The king will say to them, "Whenever you failed to help any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you failed to do it for me."

46 *Then Jesus said, "Those people will be punished forever. But the ones who pleased God will have eternal life."

14 God will judge

everything we do,

even what is done in secret,

whether good or bad.

17 So I told myself that God has set a time and a place for everything. He will judge everyone, both the wicked and the good.

30 I will judge each of you for what you’ve done. So stop sinning, or else you will certainly be punished. 31 Give up your evil ways and start thinking pure thoughts. And be faithful to me! Do you really want to be put to death for your sins? 32 *I, the Lord God, don’t want to see that happen to anyone. So stop sinning and live!

16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die.

16 God loved the people of this world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who has faith in him will have eternal life and never really die. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn its people. He sent him to save them! 18 No one who has faith in God’s Son will be condemned. But everyone who doesn’t have faith in him has already been condemned for not having faith in God’s only Son.

19 The light has come into the world, and people who do evil things are judged guilty because they love the dark more than the light.

7 But I tell you I am going to do what is best for you. This is why I am going away. The Holy Spirit cannot come to help* you until I leave. But after I am gone, I will send the Spirit to you.

8 The Spirit will come and show the people of this world the truth about sin and God’s justice and the judgment. 9 The Spirit will show them that they are wrong about sin, because they didn’t have faith in me. 10 They are wrong about God’s justice, because I am going to the Father, and you won’t see me again. 11 And they are wrong about the judgment, because God has already judged the ruler of this world.

16 and are sure God loves us.

God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God, and he will stay one with us. 17 If we truly love others and live as Christ did in this world, we won’t be worried about the day of judgment. 18 A real love for others will chase those worries away. The thought of being punished is what makes us afraid. It shows we have not really learned to love.

10 *After all, Christ will judge each of us for the good or the bad that we do while living in these bodies.

16 when God appoints Jesus Christ to judge everyone’s secret thoughts, just as my message says.

27 We die only once, and then we are judged. 28 *So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people. But when he comes again, it will not be to take away sin. He will come to save everyone who is waiting for him.

37 *As the Scriptures say,

"God is coming soon!

It won’t be very long.

38 The people God accepts

will live because

of their faith.*

But he isn’t pleased

with anyone

who turns back."

39 We are not like those people who turn back and get destroyed. We will keep on having faith until we are saved.

6 Others may sleep, but we should stay awake and be alert. 7 People sleep during the night, and some even get drunk. 8 *But we belong to the day. So we must stay sober and let our faith and love be like a suit of armor. Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet.

9 God doesn’t intend to punish us, but wants us to be saved by our Lord Jesus Christ.

13 to the Lord.

He is coming to judge

all people on earth

with fairness and truth.