It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment

[Alfred Persson]

"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" -(Heb. 9:27 NKJ)

"The judgment" isn't literal translation, the definite article is not in the Greek. Therefore, this does not refer to THE final judgment, it refers to a judgment that occurs immediately after physical death.

As Christians have already passed from death into life, and do not come under additional judgment after they die physically. The Bible teaches they immediately enter into the presence of Christ (Lk. 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:6):


"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

The author of Hebrews is speaking about those who died unsaved. The unsaved are judged immediately upon physical death to determine how they will wait in Hades for Judgment day.

Those who did not commit eternal sin can repent, and eagerly wait for Christ's second coming for the rapture/resurrection in Hades, or reject Christ and wait for Judgment Day when it is confirmed they are not in the Book of life and cast into the Lake of Fire:

All who repent pass the judgment, and eagerly wait for Christ's Second coming to be raised from the dead;

27 And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment,
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. (Heb. 9:27-28 NKJ)

For this reason, to save the billions who would repent if they knew the gospel, it is preached to the dead in Hades. All who repent and choose to live according to God's righteousness are protected from the torments of Hades living "in the Spirit" until their resurrection:

5 They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.
6 For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Pet. 4:5-6 NKJ)

They will rise with the church at Christ's second coming:

13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope.
14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (1 Thess. 4:13-18 NKJ)

Those who committed eternal sins, or wouldn't repent in Hades, will rise on Judgment Day and be cast into the Lake of Fire, that is "die the second death" from which there is no resurrection:

13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:13-15 NKJ)

Does the Bible teach there is a Second Chance to be saved by Jesus? | End Time News

Scriptural Proof Universal Opportunity for Salvation in Jesus Spans this life and the After-life God is to us a God of deliverances; And to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes from death. (Ps. 68:20) As Christ alone is the Door to Salvation, what is the fate of those born before His time, or in...

endtimenews.net

 

[Free]

"And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment" -(Heb. 9:27 NKJ)

"The judgment" isn't literal translation, the definite article is not in the Greek. Therefore, this does not refer to THE final judgment, it refers to a judgment that occurs immediately after physical death.

I don’t think that lack of the article helps your case. Jesus used judgement at least twice with the article when speaking in present tense.

As Christians have already passed from death into life, and do not come under additional judgment after they die physically. The Bible teaches they immediately enter into the presence of Christ when they die physically (Lk. 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:6):


"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

Yes, we do come under judgment again, just not regarding salvation. Our works are judged:

1Co 3:12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
1Co 3:13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
1Co 3:14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (ESV)

2Co 5:9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (ESV)

The author of Hebrews is speaking about those who died unsaved. The unsaved are judged immediately upon physical death to determine how they will wait in Hades for Judgment day.

He is speaking of everyone.

Heb 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Heb 9:28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (ESV)

There is nothing to suggest only unbelievers are in mind here.

Those who did not commit eternal sin can repent, and eagerly wait for Christ's second coming for the rapture/resurrection in Hades,

There is nothing in all of Scripture to suggest that there is a second chance. If there is, we cannot know it.

 

[Alfred Persson]

I don’t think that lack of the article helps your case. Jesus used judgement at least twice with the article when speaking in present tense.

Yes, we do come under judgment again, just not regarding salvation. Our works are judged:

1Co 3:12 Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw—
1Co 3:13 each one's work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.
1Co 3:14 If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
1Co 3:15 If anyone's work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire. (ESV)

2Co 5:9 So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him.
2Co 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil. (ESV)



He is speaking of everyone.

Heb 9:26 for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
Heb 9:27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
Heb 9:28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (ESV)

There is nothing to suggest only unbelievers are in mind here.


There is nothing in all of Scripture to suggest that there is a second chance. If there is, we cannot know it.

QUESTION—What is the significance of the lack of the definite article with κρίσις ‘judgment’?
1. The noun is qualitative, emphasizing what it is [ICC, Lns, Mil, My, NIC, WBC, Wst; NASB, NIV, NJB]: it is judgment.-Greenlee, J. H. (2008). An Exegetical Summary of Hebrews (2nd ed., p. 343). SIL International.

While some interpret it as the final judgment (KJV), many do not (ASV, CEB, CSBO, ERV, NASB, NIV, NLT, MIT, RPTE, etc.).

Lenski says:

"To say that this pronouncement of judgment comes only at the time of the final judgment at the end of the world contradicts Scripture. No one needs to wait until the last day to know God’s verdict; he receives it at the instant of death. -Lenski, R. C. H. (1938). The interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James (p. 319). Lutheran Book Concern."

The context puts the application of Christ's sacrifice BEFORE the Final Judgment, those who died receive its benefits BEFORE HIS SECOND COMING, for they "eagerly wait for Him".

Scripture cannot be broken. The writer is speaking about Judgment after physical death: "INASMUCH as its appointed for men to die and after this comes judgment:

26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. (Heb. 9:26-28 NAU)

Our LORD was explicit, He said those who believe have eternal life before they physically die. Its not something they "win" after dying.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

As for your last claim, I have found many scriptures, both OT and NT, that suggest repentance is possible after death:

Various Scriptures where Postmortem Opportunity is explicit or implicit:

Dt. 32:39 [#A]; 1Sam. 2:6 [#B]; 2Sam. 22:5-7 [#C]; Ps. 16:10-11 [#D]; Ps. 30:3-6 [#E]; Ps. 40:1-3 [#F]; Ps. 49:12-15 [#G]; Ps. 56:13 [#H]; Ps. 68:18-20 [#I]; Ps. 69:13-18 [#J]; Ps. 71:19-23 [#K]; Ps. 86:13 [#L]; Ps. 102:18-22 [#M]; Ps. 116:1-9 [#N]; Hos. 13:14 [#O]; Jon. 2:1-10 [#P]; Zec. 9:9-11 [#Q]; Mt. 12:30-32[#R]; John 5:28-29[#S]; Rm. 11:25-36[#T]; 1 Pt. 3:18-22[#U]; 1 Pt. 4:6[#V]; 1 Cor. 5:5[#W]; Eph. 4:8-10[#I]; Heb. 9:27-28[#X]; Rev. 20:11-15[#Y];[#Z]

Go to my site to read the commentary on them, just click the foot note reference in brackets.

Does the Bible teach there is a Second Chance to be saved by Jesus? | End Time News

Scriptural Proof Universal Opportunity for Salvation in Jesus Spans this life and the After-life God is to us a God of deliverances; And to Yahweh the Lord belong escapes from death. (Ps. 68:20) As Christ alone is the Door to Salvation, what is the fate of those born before His time, or in...

endtimenews.net

 

[YeshuaGlory]

This concept of THE Judgement is not bibilical. Judgements face us throughout our life. and there is no idea given by Yeshua and paul of THE Final/Last Judgement as being the Be all End all.
The simple fact that gifts do not operate among protestants is clear evidence that God has indeed rendered Holy Judgements against that sectSSSS = Countless. and this Holy Judgement has led to their blindness, caught up in all sorts of unbiblical ideas as THE Judgement.
as in THE Antichrist,, WHEN HE COMES = Future, as if what Eve and Cain did has nothing whatsoeever to do w antichrist,
a huge costly and FATAL error one can unforgivingly commit when studying the bible is to make little boxes of concepts and call them doctrines and dogmas. and skip considering the greek text/context/usage and the correct exegesis.
Doctrines and dogmas of THE judgement only leads to more and more IgnoranceSS.
Which is a big no=no in Yeshua's Kingdom of Truth.

 

[LovethroughDove]

Romans 9:18 Therefore God has mercy on whom he wants to have mercy, and he hardens whom he wants to harden.

Hebrews 10:26-31 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth(gospel), no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood covenant that sanctified him and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," and again, "The Lord will judge his people." It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hand of the living God.

Matthew 7:21-23 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord', will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Man will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord', did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly,'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"

John 15:22-25 "If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my Father as well. If I had not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: They hated me without reason.'"

God has more mercy on those who haven't heard the gospel, than those who have heard......have benefited from it......and who blatantly reject. I think you are trying to make sense those who haven't heard the gospel and reconciling that with judgment? God is completely JUST, so do not worry about that.

 

[Alfred Persson]

This concept of THE Judgement is not bibilical. Judgements face us throughout our life. and there is no idea given by Yeshua and paul of THE Final/Last Judgement as being the Be all End all.
The simple fact that gifts do not operate among protestants is clear evidence that God has indeed rendered Holy Judgements against that sectSSSS = Countless. and this Holy Judgement has led to their blindness, caught up in all sorts of unbiblical ideas as THE Judgement.
as in THE Antichrist,, WHEN HE COMES = Future, as if what Eve and Cain did has nothing whatsoeever to do w antichrist,
a huge costly and FATAL error one can unforgivingly commit when studying the bible is to make little boxes of concepts and call them doctrines and dogmas. and skip considering the greek text/context/usage and the correct exegesis.
Doctrines and dogmas of THE judgement only leads to more and more IgnoranceSS.
Which is a big no=no in Yeshua's Kingdom of Truth.

Or, THE Judgment is scriptural:

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books.
13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-15 NKJ)

 

[Free]

QUESTION—What is the significance of the lack of the definite article with κρίσις ‘judgment’?
1. The noun is qualitative, emphasizing what it is [ICC, Lns, Mil, My, NIC, WBC, Wst; NASB, NIV, NJB]: it is judgment.-Greenlee, J. H. (2008). An Exegetical Summary of Hebrews (2nd ed., p. 343). SIL International.

While some interpret it as the final judgment (KJV), many do not (ASV, CEB, CSBO, ERV, NASB, NIV, NLT, MIT, RPTE, etc.).

Lenski says:

"To say that this pronouncement of judgment comes only at the time of the final judgment at the end of the world contradicts Scripture. No one needs to wait until the last day to know God’s verdict; he receives it at the instant of death. -Lenski, R. C. H. (1938). The interpretation of the Epistle to the Hebrews and of the Epistle of James (p. 319). Lutheran Book Concern."

In a sense this is true. What happens at the final judgement is determined by whether or not a person put their faith and trust in Christ while they were alive. Those who die without Christ go to Hades since they do not and will not have their names written in the book of life. And those who die in Christ go to him, because while they were alive, they believed in his name and their names were written in the book of life.. The final judgement will reaffirm those who died with and without their names written in the book of life.

The context puts the application of Christ's sacrifice BEFORE the Final Judgment, those who died receive its benefits BEFORE HIS SECOND COMING, for they "eagerly wait for Him".

Yes, that goes without saying. Only those who believe in Christ prior to their death and the final judgement will be saved.

Scripture cannot be broken. The writer is speaking about Judgment after physical death: "INASMUCH as its appointed for men to die and after this comes judgment:

26 Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. (Heb. 9:26-28 NAU)

The writer also doesn't say when that judgement will take place. Notice that everything is "once"--men die once, then comes judgement (singular); Christ died once for sin, and though he will come again, it is for a different purpose, to receive believers into eternal salvation.

Our LORD was explicit, He said those who believe have eternal life before they physically die. Its not something they "win" after dying.

Yes, exactly. One is either saved before they physically die, or they never will be.

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

As for your last claim, I have found many scriptures, both OT and NT, that suggest repentance is possible after death:

Various Scriptures where Postmortem Opportunity is explicit or implicit:

Dt. 32:39 [#A]; 1Sam. 2:6 [#B]; 2Sam. 22:5-7 [#C]; Ps. 16:10-11 [#D]; Ps. 30:3-6 [#E]; Ps. 40:1-3 [#F]; Ps. 49:12-15 [#G]; Ps. 56:13 [#H]; Ps. 68:18-20 [#I]; Ps. 69:13-18 [#J]; Ps. 71:19-23 [#K]; Ps. 86:13 [#L]; Ps. 102:18-22 [#M]; Ps. 116:1-9 [#N]; Hos. 13:14 [#O]; Jon. 2:1-10 [#P]; Zec. 9:9-11 [#Q]; Mt. 12:30-32[#R]; John 5:28-29[#S]; Rm. 11:25-36[#T]; 1 Pt. 3:18-22[#U]; 1 Pt. 4:6[#V]; 1 Cor. 5:5[#W]; Eph. 4:8-10[#I]; Heb. 9:27-28[#X]; Rev. 20:11-15[#Y];[#Z]

But your previous statement was: "Our LORD was explicit, He said those who believe have eternal life before they physically die. Its not something they "win" after dying."

Both that statement and the above quote cannot be true. There is no passage where it is implicitly or explicitly stated that there is a second chance after death, and certainly not in Heb 9:27-28 nor Rev 20:11-15. Indeed, none of your NT passages support such a position.

 

[Alfred Persson]

...

The writer also doesn't say when that judgement will take place. Notice that everything is "once"--men die once, then comes judgement (singular); Christ died once for sin, and though he will come again, it is for a different purpose, to receive believers into eternal salvation.

...
But your previous statement was: "Our LORD was explicit, He said those who believe have eternal life before they physically die. Its not something they "win" after dying."

Both that statement and the above quote cannot be true. There is no passage where it is implicitly or explicitly stated that there is a second chance after death, and certainly not in Heb 9:27-28 nor Rev 20:11-15. Indeed, none of your NT passages support such a position.

The timing is obvious, appointed for all to die, then a judgment. In other words, to "read into" the text "its appointed for men to die once, and then after thousands of years, after Christ's millennial kingdom, he will be judged"....is "eisegesis."

Our LORD was explicit, the "spiritually dead" living who heard Him speak, would be made alive (born again), and receive eternal life. When does this begin, "now is":

24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.
25 "Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live. (Jn. 5:24-25 NKJ)

I provided dozens of OT and NT scriptures showing repentance is possible in Hades, yet you claim no passage supports repentance after death!

Hebrews 9:27 certainly does that, after the death and judgment some "eagerly wait for Christ's second appearance". Clearly they repented and now were saved, although dead in Hades.

The "spirits in prison" gave the answer of a good conscience towards God, just as does the Church to Christ's preaching. AND that is why Peter was reminded of Baptism, our dying with Christ and rising with Him:

18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit,
19 by whom also He went and preached to the spirits in prison,
20 who formerly were disobedient, when once the Divine longsuffering waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
21 There is also an antitype which now saves us-- baptism (not the removal of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God), through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,
(1 Pet. 3:18-21 NKJ)

Then Peter refers to this repentance after the dead ALSO hear the Gospel preached:

For this reason the gospel was preached also to those who are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. (1 Pet. 4:6 NKJ)

And then there is the sinning church goer, whom Paul is not sure is saved or not, but his spirit could be saved after his flesh was destroyed, "dead":

5 deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus. (1 Cor. 5:5 NKJ)

AND there are the OT texts you ignored, like this one:

For great is Your mercy toward me, And You have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol. (Ps. 86:13 NKJ)

Some commentators acknowledge David speaks so emphatically he must have had a Near Death Experience, where he was certain he died, and was in Hades.

 

[Alfred Persson]

After discussing physical death of the brain the video discusses “Recalled Experience of Dead” (RED), not Near Death Experiences because these subjects were dead.

Christians should recall Christ’s promise, unlike unbelievers they do are not judged whether they will receive eternal life because by believing they already have passed from death into life:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life. (Jn. 5:24 NKJ)

The judgment unbelievers go through occurs immediately at death (Hebrews 9:27) but those who came back (Fr. 25:04 on) before their “life review” was completed, so never heard the gospel of Christ preached at the end of their review.

A comment:

At Frame 15:05 a study of decapitated heads of slaughter house pigs was made, and although the brains were revived they didn’t act or behave correctly. Because of that they concluded something somewhat “contrary” (not contradictory): “it is still unclear whether the technology we describe is capable of restoring global ECoG activity in the isolated brain.”

Animals have souls (05315 נֶפֶשׁ nephesh Genesis 1:24) which wouldn't return when the pig brains were revived, leaving them like “crewless ships” or “computers with no software.”


Rethinking Death: Exploring What Happens When We Die