“And we shouldn’t need to keep teaching about baptisms or about the laying on of hands or about people being raised from death and the future judgment” (Hebrews 6:2 CEV).
The Scriptures identify two future judgments that will impact every human being. One has come to be known as the “Great White Throne Judgment” of the unrighteous dead, as described in Revelation 20:11-15…
“Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.”
One commentator reaches a difficult conclusion regarding this judgment, but one that is worthy of careful consideration…
“It is sobering to realize that Scripture represents the state of unbelievers after death as a fixed state. There is no second chance (Ecclesiastes 11:3; Luke 16:19-31; John 8:21,24; 2 Peter 2:4,9; Jude 7,13). The Scriptures also reveal that the condemnation of unbelievers is determined by actions done during mortal life (especially the action of rejecting Christ), and that no good deed(s) done during the intermediate state can alter or soften this condemnation in any way.
Once a person has passed through the doorway of death, there are no further opportunities to repent and turn to Christ for salvation (Matthew 7:22-23; 10:32-33; 25:34-46). Woe unto those who reject Christ in this life.” (1)
However, the New Testament book of 2 Corinthians identifies a different type of judgment for the people of God: “…Christ will judge each of us for the good or the bad that we do while living in these bodies” (2 Corinthians 5:10 CEV). In the words of another commentator, “The judgment seat of Christ will reveal our lives of service for Christ exactly as they have been. Not only the amount of our service, but also its quality, and even the very motives that prompted it will be brought into review.” (2)
This should prompt us to prayerfully examine our choices and motives now, lest we suffer regret when we are called to account for them later.
(1) Ron Rhodes, Heaven: The Undiscovered Country: Exploring the Wonder of the Afterlife pg.47
(2) William Macdonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary Edited by Arthur Farstad Thomas Nelson Publishers (2 Corinthians 5:10) p.1839