5. The final judgment.
(De indicio extremo)
The visible appearance of Christ and the raising of the dead are directly linked to the Last Judgment. The description of the glorious visible appearance of Christ in Matt. 25:31 is immediately followed by the words: "Then (τότε) shall he sit upon the throne (ϑρόνος) of his glory, and before him shall be gathered all nations (πάντα τά εϑνη): and he shall separate them one from another (άφοριεΐ), even as a shepherd divideth the sheep from the goats, and shall set the sheep on his right hand, and the goats on his left." That according to the divine economy Christ, in His human nature irradiated by the divine glory, will be the judge of the world, has already been stated under the preceding section.
As objects of judgment the Scriptures name all men, pious and impious,1830) dead and living,1831) besides men also the evil angels.1832)
1828) Revelation 20:12: "I saw the dead, both great and small (μικρούς κα μεγάλους), standing before God." Cf. on this whole passage the detailed dogma-historical and exegetical treatise in Gerhard, L. de resurr. under the section De materia resurr., § 67-90.
1829) Gerhard presents it this way, 1. c., § 52: Quodsi in hac vita malefici ac facinorosi tetrico vultu de occulta cordium suorum impietate testantur, "der Mord und Diebstahl stehet ihnen aus den Augen", quanto magis in damnatorum corporibus ac faciebus maculae ineluibiles peccatorum apparebunt. [Google]
1830) 2 Cor. 5:10: "We must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive" (κομίσηται, carry away) "after he has acted in bodily life, whether good or evil." Rom. 14:10: "We shall all be presented before the judgment seat of Christ."
1831) Acts 10:42: "He [Jesus of Nazareth] is ordained (ώρισμένος) of God a judge of the living and the dead."
1832) 2 Pet. 2:4: "God did not spare the angels who sinned, but cast them out to hell with chains of darkness and delivered them up to be kept for judgment" (παρέδωκεν εις κρίσιν τετηρημένους).
607 > The Last Things. [English ed. ~ 540]
As that by which is judged (norma indicii), the Scripture calls the works of men, 2 Cor. 6:10: προς a επραξεν [έκαστος], είτε άγαϑόν είτε κακόν.1833) But the pious are judged only according to their good works, because these works are testimonies of their faith in Christ; the evil works of believers, because they are cast into the depths of the sea by justification (Micah 7:19), thus forgiven, will not be drawn to light again even on the Last Day. This is also expressed in Matt. 25:31-40, where only good works are mentioned in the judgment of the rightly placed, no evil works are mentioned. The view expressed by some Lutheran theologians (albeit with all kinds of limitations) that the evil works of believers will also be brought to light in the final judgment can only be called a whimsical one. If we reject this whimsical view, which is contrary to Scripture, two series of Scripture statements, which seem to contradict each other, are thus harmonized according to Scripture. The Scriptures, however, state two things in the most certain way: 1. that all men, including believers, will be judged;1834 ) 2. that believers will not be included in the
As is well known, it has been disputed whether 1 Cor. 6:3: "Do you not know that we will judge the angels" (αγγέλους, angels) means bad or good angels. Cf. Calov and Meyer on this passage. Meyer understands good angels here and claims for himself the stricter exegesis, because "angels" without further definition always denotes good angels. But Meyer forgets the generally accepted exegetical rule that the predicate determines both the subject and the object in more detail. The predicate "to judge" determines the object "angel" more closely as one to which sin is attached, that is, as evil angels. Meyer himself looks for a more detailed definition for his "good angels" and finds it in Hebr. 1:14, where it is said that the good angels have to do service to the Christians, for which they have to be "responsible". But the general term "responsible" is not sufficient for Meyer's train of thought. He must convert the general term into the certain term that the good angels sin in their service. Thus, in order to gain a suitable object for the predicate "to judge," he himself returns to the interpretation which he rejects of the "most" as unexegetical. In vain Meyer appeals to Gal. 1:8, where "in a set case" the good angels would meet the άνάϑεμα. We are not dealing here with a set case, but with reality: αγγέλους κρινοϋμεν, we will judge angels. Christians judge insofar as they participate in all that Christ does.
1833) Specialization of good and evil works Matt. 25:35-40. 42-45: 12:36: παν ρήμα άργόν.
1834) The passages mentioned above, Rom. 14:10: "We" — the apostle speaks in the name of all Christians — "will all be presented before the judgment seat of Christ" etc.
608 > The Last Things. [English ed. ~ 540-541]
judgment at all.1835) Holtzmann gives up the possibility of harmonizing these two series of scriptural statements. He also assumes here, as in the case of justification and sanctification, that the apostle Paul has two "unharmonized" series of thoughts and speaks of a "gaping contradiction".1836) Meyer harmonizes in such a way that he first lets the believers themselves come into judgment and then become fellow-judges of Christ.1837) But of this "first" and "then" the Scripture knows nothing. Scripturally, the harmonization happens in this way: Because in the judgment of the pious only their good, but not their evil works come into consideration, as we clearly see from Matt. 25:35-40, this is identical to the statement of Christ that everyone who believes in Him does not come into judgment at all (Joh. 3:18; 5:24). A procedure in which evil works are not considered, but only good works done are praised, has lost the character of judgment. In still other words, the harmonization of those two sets of scriptural passages occurs through the distinction of law and gospel. Gerhard remarks: "The legal sayings must be distinguished from the actually Evangelical ones. To the law belongs: 'Men must give account in that day of every useless word'; to the gospel belongs: 'He who believes does not come into judgment.' To the law belongs: 'You heap wrath upon yourself in the day of God's righteousness'; to the gospel belongs: 'Lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.'" 1838) Because believers are forgiven of their sins, the law is not norma iudicii for them, but the gospel, that is, they are not judged at all. — It has been objected why believers in this life would still be held up to words of the law such as these: "We shall all be presented before the judgment seat of Christ"? The answer to this is: Just as the law is necessary and useful to believers in general because of the flesh still clinging to them, so in particular are the words of the law concerning the judgment of the Last Day. Through these words of the law they are to be warned against carnal security and kept in the knowledge of their sins.
1835) Joh. 3:18: "he who believes in the Son [of God] will not be judged", ον χρίνεται; Joh. 5:24: "he does not come into judgment", εις χρίοιν ονκ ερχεται.
1836) Neutestamentl. Theol. II, 223.<w:t>1837) To 1 Cor. 6:2.
1838) L. de extremo iudicio, § 65.
609 > The Last Things. [English ed. ~ 541-542]
When this purpose has been achieved, that is, when they recognize their sin in daily repentance and flee in faith to Christ as their redeemer from sin, they will be judged according to the words: "Christ is the end of the law," that is, also of judgment; "he who believes in him will not be judged. Luther: "Judgment is abolished; it concerns the believer as little as it concerns the angels. … All believers pass from this life without judgment into the kingdom of heaven, and become judges of others still."1839) — It has been rightly pointed out that the judgment of the Last Day is not to be imagined as a long discussion (iudicium discussionis) with a subsequent separation of the pious and the ungodly. According to Matt. 25:32, the separation of the pious and the ungodly precedes all discussion or explanation.