And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and  books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.

Rev 20:12

This passage in the Book of Revelation describes the final judgement, the judgement of the unrepentant, people who died without having believed the gospel are held in Hades, otherwise known as Sheol, the abode of the dead.

People who are saved, that is, those who have placed their trust in Christ, don’t have to worry about this one. They will not be part of this judgement. The unsaved, the unrepentant, are brought before the throne as described in Revelation 20 and must now face judgement based on what is written in the book containing their deeds – everything they have ever done.

The books have recorded within them every violation of God’s law; every careless word spoken, every violent act, every indecency, every wicked thought. All those shameful things done in secret that we thought were hidden, it’s all there. These are the formal charges recorded in the books every time we broke God’s law. And all are guilty for all have sinned (Rom 3:23) and the penalty for breaking God’s law – sin- is death (Rom 6:23).

Are these literal books? Perhaps. I tend to take the simple approach with biblical meaning and assume it’s literal unless there is a logical reason not to. Sometimes a literal meaning is not indicated. For example, when Jesus is using hyperbole or metaphor, literal meaning is not intended. Such language devices are meant to illustrate a point that conveys meaning.

It could be (if I may speculate) that the “books” represents our conscience. Everyone was created with this amazing moral warning system – conscience. We all start with a built in capacity to know right from wrong. Unfortunately, our conscience can be reprogrammed by the wicked culture around us. Social media has become the most potent “conscience disruption device” ever known. It is powerfully effective. We are desensitized against what is right as defined by God.

The Bible speaks of those with a seared conscience (1 Tim 4:1-2). The word “seared” means desensitized. A desensitized conscience is useless for godly moral guidance. Right becomes reprogrammed as wrong and wrong becomes reprogrammed as right.

Perhaps conscience records everything we say and do, all of it laid bare at the judgement. Whatever the mechanism is, all will be visible. All will be made known. All dead, unrepentant people standing before the throne of judgement will now be confronted with their sinfulness and sentenced.

The other book is the Lamb’s book of life. Those who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ receive forgiveness and have their names recorded in this all important book. They are not at this judgement. Those who participate in this judgement will not have their names found in the Book of Life. They will stand guilty before the court of heaven and the penalty is death – the Lake of Fire.

Easter is the Christian commemoration of the resurrection of Christ bodily from the grave. The entire Christian faith has always been about this final reality of the resurrection of the righteous to inherit an awesome future in the kingdom of God. It will happen for all who have believed in Christ.

If you are counted among those who have believed and now follow Christ, then you will not ever face the book of your deeds. You will never see the Lake of Fire for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. At the moment of your genuine faith in Christ all sins are removed from you and will be remembered no more. The case against you is dismissed.