Answer
The first thing to understand about the final judgment is that it cannot be avoided. Regardless of how we may choose to interpret prophecy on the end times, “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). We all have a divine appointment with our Creator. The apostle John recorded some details of the final judgment:
Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 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. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:11–15).
This remarkable passage describes the final judgment—the end of history and the beginning of the eternal state. We can be sure of this: no mistakes will be made in our hearings, as judgment is meted out by the perfect and all-knowing God (Matthew 5:48; 1 John 1:5). God will be perfectly just and fair (Acts 10:34; Galatians 3:28). God cannot be deceived or misled (Galatians 6:7). God is incorruptible and cannot be swayed by any prejudices, excuses, or lies (Luke 14:16–24).As God the Son, Jesus Christ will be the judge at the final judgment (John 5:22). All unbelievers will stand before Christ at the great white throne, and they will be punished according to the works they have done. The Bible says that unbelievers are currently storing up wrath against themselves (Romans 2:5) and that “God will repay each person according to what they have done” (Romans 2:6). (Believers will be judged separately at the judgment seat of Christ, a judgment of examination and reward.) At the great white throne, the fate of the unsaved will be in the hands of the omniscient God who will judge everyone according to his or her soul’s condition and the works done in the body.
For now, our fate is in our own hands. The end of our soul’s journey will either be in an eternal heaven or in an eternal hell (Matthew 25:46). We must choose our destination by either accepting or rejecting the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf. Further, we must make that choice before our physical lives come to an end. After we die, we no longer have a choice.
Everyone who has ever lived will face God someday. “Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13).
