The great white throne

“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.” Revelation 20:12
The great white throne judgement is the very last judgement to take place, at the end of the 1,000-year reign of Christ on the earth. After the seven year Tribulation period, Jesus returns to establish His Kingdom on the earth, Satan is bound for 1,000 years, and the world enjoys a time of complete righteousness. At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan is released for one last deception, of those who were born during this period. After this is the great white throne judgement.
This is not a judgement of believers. At this point we will be alive, in our resurrection bodies, eternally secure. Rather, it is a judgement of the unrighteous dead (‘given up’ by Death and Hades, Rev. 20:13. See also Rev. 20:5 – “the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended”).
Those whose names are not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, which is called ‘the second death’. If a person is born once, they will die twice (physically and spiritually). But if a person is born twice (born physically, and born again spiritually), they will only die once.
If a person stands before the great white throne, their eternal destiny is already sealed (since if they were a believer, they would already have been resurrected: 1 Thess. 4:16, Rev. 20:4). They are judged according to what they have done, to determine the degree of punishment they will receive. Yes, believers will stand before the judgement (bema) seat of Christ. But this is not a judgement to determine whether we are righteous enough to go to heaven – His righteousness clothes us, and is completely sufficient. Rather, it is an awards ceremony.