Hebrews 9:27 says that it is appointed unto men once to die but after this the judgment – does this mean once believers die, they are judged for their works? If so, the judgment occurs at a different time for each believer. For some reason, I thought it happened at the rapture. Am I correct?
Here’s Hebrews 9:27.
It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.
Notice it doesn’t say, “immediately after this”. The only judgment that occurs immediately after death is the one that separates believers from unbelievers. The various other judgments occur at different times. For the Church, it’s at the rapture/resurrection and is only for the purpose of rewarding us for things we’ve done. For unbelievers, it’s at the end of the Millennium, when they’re transferred from hell to the lake of fire. A sometimes overlooked point of Hebrews 9:27 is that once our physical life ends, our opportunity to decide our eternal destiny ends, too.