How are the unbelieving dead judged at the Great White Throne?
At the Great White Throne, the unbelieving dead are judged from the books recording their deeds. Because their names are absent from the Book of Life, they face their sins according to their works. They cannot claim the blood of the cross, since they never believed the Gospel to appropriate the work of the cross.
Les explains that at the Great White Throne the books are opened, and the singular Book of Life is opened. When it is evident that a lost person's name is not in the Book of Life, Christ turns to the record books of their life on earth, and the dead are judged out of those things written in the books according to their works. They can no longer claim that their sins were paid for by the blood of the cross; it is too late. Les clarifies that although all the sins of the world are forgiven, if a person does not cash in by believing the Gospel, those sins will plague them at the judgment. He illustrates this with Congress appropriating billions for a program, setting it aside in the Treasury, but until someone takes the money and puts it to work, it sits there and must be re-appropriated. Similarly, the work of the cross is totally paid for and ready for anyone to draw on by believing, but if they refuse to believe, they must face their sins as an unbeliever at the Great White Throne.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.