{
  "id": "dict_002280",
  "term": "Great White Throne",
  "slug": "great-white-throne",
  "letter": "G",
  "entry_type": "theological_term",
  "entry_family": "theological_term",
  "depth_profile": "standard",
  "short_definition": "The Great White Throne is the scene of final judgment described in Revelation 20:11–15. It refers to God’s decisive judgment of the dead before the final state.",
  "simple_one_line": "",
  "tooltip_text": "",
  "aliases": [],
  "scripture_references": [],
  "original_language_terms": [],
  "related_entries": [],
  "see_also": [],
  "lede_intro": "",
  "at_a_glance_definition": "",
  "at_a_glance_key_points": [],
  "description_academic_short": "The Great White Throne comes from Revelation 20:11–15, where John sees the dead standing before God for judgment. Scripture presents this as a final, universal, and righteous judgment, with the book of life distinguishing those who belong to Christ. Christians differ on some details of how this relates to other end-times judgments, but the passage clearly teaches God’s final justice.",
  "description_academic_full": "The Great White Throne is the name commonly given to the judgment scene in Revelation 20:11–15, where John sees a great white throne, the dead standing before it, books opened, and the dead judged according to their works, with anyone not found written in the book of life thrown into the lake of fire. In conservative evangelical understanding, this passage teaches the certainty, righteousness, and finality of God’s judgment at the close of history. The term itself comes from this apocalyptic vision, so interpreters should be careful not to claim more detail than the text clearly gives. Orthodox Christians generally agree that this is a final judgment of the wicked and a public display of God’s justice, though they differ on how it relates to other judgments mentioned in Scripture and on the sequencing within broader eschatological systems. The safest conclusion is that the Great White Throne refers to God’s final judicial judgment as revealed in Revelation.",
  "background_biblical_context": "",
  "background_historical_context": "",
  "background_jewish_ancient_context": "",
  "key_texts_primary": [],
  "key_texts_secondary": [],
  "original_language_note": "",
  "theological_significance": "",
  "philosophical_explanation": "",
  "interpretive_cautions": "",
  "major_views_note": "",
  "doctrinal_boundaries": "",
  "practical_significance": "",
  "meta_description": "The Great White Throne is the scene of final judgment described in Revelation 20:11–15. It refers to God’s decisive judgment of the dead before the final state.",
  "public_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/great-white-throne/",
  "json_url": "/companion-bible-dictionary/data/dictionary/great-white-throne.json",
  "final_disposition": "PUBLISH_CANONICAL"
}