The Final Judgment
Since the following chapter is dedicated to the Last Judgment, I will spare my longer thoughts for there, and give a brief case that the Final Judgment happens at the Parousia of Christ after the resurrection.
The Lord Jesus spoke of “the day of judgment” (Matt. 10:15; 11:22, 24; 12:36) and said that on it “people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matt. 12:36). It is a day on which we will give an account for our words, thoughts, and actions. We will stand before the throne of God to give an account. To be sure, at this time our eternal destiny is not at stake, neither the destiny of the righteous nor the wicked. Our destiny is fixed at our physical death, because then a judgment directly comes to determine our destiny (Heb. 9:27). What the “the day of judgment” does is determine after the resurrection of the body and the reunion between the soul and the body, the condition of eternity for us. Believers will go to the New Heavens and New Earth, while unbelievers will be thrown into the lake of fire. It is not possible that a believer be thrown into the lake of fire at the Final Judgment (e.g., Rom. 8:1), neither that an unbeliever will enter into the joy of his Master. Rather, the Final Judgment determines, for the believer, based on their works and faithfulness, the rewards in the World to Come (the New Heavens and New Earth).
For example, the Parable of the Ten Minas is on point in this. There is a “nobleman”, Christ, who “went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom”, Heaven, where He was seated at the right hand of God and to rule in the midst of His enemies (Ps. 110:1-2), and finally, He was to return (Luke 19:12). Before going, He gave His citizens a commission; He told them, “Engage in business until I come” (Luke 19:13). His citizens rebel against Him, these are the wicked who have not bowed the knee to Christ (Luke 19:14). But then this Nobleman returns and He calls on His servants to give an account of what they’ve done with what He has given them (Luke 19:15). There came a good servant who had made ten more minas than what his Master had given him. There came another who had made five minas. According to the number of minas that they had made, they received cities to rule over (Luke 19:16-19). This is the rewarding of the righteous. These people knew what the Nobleman and the King commanded them, and they wanted His favor and His glory. They worked for Him, for His glory, not so that they may get into heaven. In contrast, the third servant is an unbeliever. I cannot see how such a person can be described as a fallen believer or a weak believer. He clearly has a wrong view of his Master. He describes the Lord Jesus as, “a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow” (Luke 19:21). But the Lord Jesus says, “I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant!” (Luke 19:22). He is a wicked servant because He knew that the Master was a severe man, or thought so, but still didn’t act upon that knowledge. This is not the nat...