Immediately upon the second advent of Christ and the resurrection of the dead there will follow the final Judgment (Matt. 26, 31. 32: “When the Son of Man shall come in His glory, . . . then shall He sit upon the throne of His glory, and before Him shall be gathered all nations”). This immediate connection of the second coming of Christ with the general resurrection and the final Judgment excludes every possibility of a millennium; for when Scripture speaks of the last things ex professo (sedes doctrinae), it leaves no room for a chiliastic earthly kingdom of Christ.
Those who will be judged are all men without exception, the pious as well as the impious, 2 Cor. 5,10; Rom. 14,10, the living as well as the dead, Acts 10, 42, as also the evil angels, 2 Pet. 2,4; Jude 6. The basis of Christ’s judgment will be His revealed truth, the Word of God, as Scripture clearly attests, Kom. 2, 16; John 12,48; Rev. 20,12. The norm of judgment (norma iudicii) will be the works of men, 2 Cor. 5, 10; Matt. 25, 35—45. But the righteous will be judged only according to their good works, Matt. 25, 34—40; Rev. 12,11, since their evil works, or sins, have been cast into the depths of the sea, Micah 7,19, or forgiven.
When, on the one hand, Holy Scripture declares that all men will be judged (2 Cor. 5,10; Rom. 14,10: “we,” that is, believers), and, on the other, that the believer in Christ will not come into condemnation (John 5, 24: εἰς κρίσιν οὐκ ἔρχεται), this seeming contradiction is the old contradiction between the Law and the Gospel. According to the Law all men must appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. According to the Gospel the believers shall not come into condemnation. The appearance of the believers before God’s judgment-seat will therefore not have the nature of a condemnatory judgment since their sins are forgiven through faith in Christ, Matt. 25, 34.
Gerhard rightly remarks that also the eschatological teachings of Christ are both Law and Gospel and that also in this case the Law admonishes and warns all Christians so far as they are flesh, 2 Cor. 5,10; Rom. 14,10, while the Gospel comforts them in their fears and doubts, Luke 21, 28. Luther declares (St. L., VII, 1794 f.): “The Judgment pertains to the believers as little as it does to the holy angels. All believers enter out of this life into the kingdom of heaven without judgment and are even the judges of others.” This statement is true; for Christ expressly declares that the righteous will be separated from the unrighteous before the Judgment begins, Matt. 25, 32. 33.
According to Scripture the Judgment is not a long-drawn-out process (indicium, discussionis)j but a momentary event (actio momentanea), Matt. 24, 27; Luke 17, 24. It takes place ἐν ἀτόμῳ, in an instant, ἐν ῥιπῇ ὀφϑαλμοῦ, in the twinkling of an eye, 1 Cor. 15, 51. 52.
That the righteous shall judge the world with Christ is a clear doctrine of Scripture, 1 Cor. 6, 2—4. They will judge the world and the evil angels, inasmuch as they cooperate in Christ’s decisions and support His verdict (assessores). This great dignity, which Christ confers upon them out of pure grace, should prompt them to judge rightly between their brethren already in this life, 1 Cor. 6, 5.