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The Jurisprudence of the Great White Throne, part 4

The White Throne judgment will resolve many cases that had been deferred from earlier ages. There are many cases where, for one reason or another, injustice was not corrected by the earthly courts. Sometimes judges were bribed; sometimes judges judged according to unjust laws of men; sometimes the lack of evidence prevented justice from being done; sometimes cases of injustice were never even filed. All such cases of unresolved injustice must be heard by the great Judge at the White Throne in order to restore the lawful order to creation and reconcile all things.

Appeals to the Divine Court

Any time a victim believes that justice was not done—for whatever reason—he has the right to appeal his case to the divine court, which functions as a Court of Appeals. This is done through prayer, of course, because the divine court is a heavenly court that has always been available to believers.

A prime example of this is found in the law of jealousy in Numbers 5:11–31. This is one of the most misunderstood laws in Scripture. Read in the context of biblical jurisprudence, however, it is an extraordinary example of due process when human evidence is lacking. It is not primarily a law about adultery. It is a law about how to administer justice when there are no witnesses.

The case begins with a husband who suspects his wife of adultery: “...if a spirit of jealousy comes over him...” (Numbers 5:14). The text repeatedly states the legal dilemma: there is no witness, she was not caught in the act, and the facts cannot be proved legally.

This is crucial because the Torah requires two or three witnesses to convict someone of a capital offense (Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15). Since adultery ordinarily carried the death penalty (Leviticus 20:10; Deuteronomy 22:22), no earthly court could lawfully convict on mere suspicion. The law of jealousy therefore protects the accused woman from arbitrary punishment.

The husband is not permitted to divorce her merely because of suspicion, punish her, or take vengeance. In fact, a husband does not have the right to take matters into his own hands, nor does he have the right of life and death over her. Instead, he must bring the matter to the priest. The case is transferred from a human court to God’s court.

That alone is remarkable. Where human evidence ends, divine judgment begins. The priest does not investigate. He does not examine witnesses. He administers a divine oath. The woman is placed under oath before God because only God knows the truth. Thus the priest functions less as a judge than as the administrator of the divine court.

Hence, human suspicion must never replace legal proof.

The husband's jealousy is not presented as inherently righteous. Rather, it is submitted to God’s judgment. Only God possesses perfect knowledge. This reflects one of the great themes of biblical law: “Vengeance is Mine…” (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19; Hebrews 10:30). The same law applies to rebellious children (Deuteronomy 21:19). Parents do not have the right to put their children to death but must bring them to court where the case may be heard impartially.

So “Vengeance is Mine” is not merely an ethical command against retaliation; it is a declaration of jurisdiction. God is saying, in effect, “This case belongs in My court.” Cases that exceed the competence or knowledge of earthly courts are reserved for the final tribunal, where the One to whom vengeance belongs renders perfect justice according to His law.

Deuteronomy 32:35 literally reads, “To Me belong vengeance and recompense.” The emphasis is on ownership. Vengeance belongs to God as Judge. It is not delegated to private individuals.

When the priest administered the oath to the woman accused of adultery, he essentially admitted that he was incapable of administering justice in an earthly court. So he appealed the case to the divine court, leaving it to God to judge. He then took some dust from the floor of the tent, mixed it in water, and gave it to her to drink. If she were innocent, nothing would happen to her; if guilty, and if she swore falsely, God would judge her.

A similar case is seen in Exodus 22:10, 11,

¹⁰ If a man gives his neighbor a donkey, an ox, a sheep, or any animal to keep for him, and it dies or is hurt or is driven away while no one is looking [not witnesses], ¹¹ an oath before the Lord shall be made by the two of them, that he has not laid hands on his neighbor’s property; and its owner shall accept it, and he shall not make restitution.

In most cases, the owner would probably take his neighbor’s word for it; but if he remained suspicious, he had the right to demand an oath in the divine court. So Hebrews 6:16 tells us,

¹⁶ For men swear by one greater than themselves, and with them an oath given as confirmation is an end of every dispute.

In other words, an oath legally confirms a matter and brings every dispute to its conclusion insofar as an earthly court is concerned. An oath is not merely a solemn promise; it is a judicial instrument. When human investigation reaches its limit, an oath invokes God as the ultimate Witness and Judge. It brings litigation to an end because the matter has been transferred to the highest court.

Access to the Throne of Grace

One does not have to wait until the final judgment at the end of the age. Believers have direct access to the throne of God even now. In times past, only the high priest had such access, and even he could approach God only once a year on the Day of Atonement when he brought the blood of the goat into the Most Holy Place.

But when Christ ascended to heaven as our great High Priest, He brought His own blood with Him to sprinkle on the mercy seat in the temple in heaven (Hebrews 9:10-12). This marked the end of the earthly practice in the types and shadows.

Hebrews 4:16 says,

¹⁶ Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

A throne is a symbol of law. When a king is “seated” on a throne, or when a judge is “seated” on the bench, he is authorized to judge impartially according to the law and not by his own views. For this reason, the great White Throne is described as “His throne was ablaze with flames, its wheels were a burning fire. A river of fire was flowing and coming out from before Him” (Daniel 7:9, 10). The fiery throne is the source of the “river of fire,” which is the judgment of the fiery law being meted out upon the people who were summoned.

So Hebrews 4:16 says that believers have access to this “throne of grace” when needed. It correlates with the mercy seat on the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place. When Christ died on the cross, the veil separating the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place was torn, giving us direct access to His throne.

This suggests an important progression. Today, sinners are invited to approach the throne voluntarily to receive mercy (Hebrews 4:16); At the Great White Throne all humanity appears before the Judge by summons (Revelation 20:11–12). The Judge is the same, but the manner of approach differs. In the present age, the invitation is gracious and voluntary through Christ our High Priest. At the final judgment, appearance is universal and compulsory. This contrast beautifully illustrates the present ministry of mercy before the final administration of justice.

Strangely enough, after the Israelites were found worshiping the golden calf, God told Moses to place the ark outside the camp. Exodus 33:7 says,

⁷ Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, a good distance from the camp, and he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the Lord would go out to the tent of meeting which was outside the camp.

The tabernacle itself was not yet constructed (See Exodus 36, 37), but the ark had been placed in a small tent in the midst of the camp (church). But after the golden calf incident, anyone wanting to approach God had to do so “outside the camp.” So also Christ was crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem near the place where the ashes of the red heifer were being stored.

So Hebrews 13:13, 14 urges believers to leave the camp of Jerusalem in order to seek Christ and His sacrifice outside the camp:

¹³ So, let us go to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach. ¹⁴ For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

I have learned over the years that there is a distinction between the throne of grace and the divine court. In Jesus’ day, the throne of grace was in the temple, but the divine court was outside the city in the priestly community of Bethesda. These priests were responsible to oversee the sprinkling of water and ash over those who were being ritually cleansed before entering the city. For instance, this was where Jesus sent the lepers (who were healed), when they were to show themselves to the priest to confirm their healing (Luke 17:14).

Again, when Jesus was condemned by the Sanhedrin, they sent Him to Bethesda where the priests could ratify their death sentence in the divine court outside the camp. This suggests that anyone who has been accused and judged falsely by the Sanhedrin (or the church leaders) can appeal to the divine court for justice.

In my opinion, even non-believers have access to the divine court, but they are handicapped by lack of knowledge. Some might know that there is such a court, but most have no instruction in protocol or jurisprudence in the divine court and would need assistance.