For after this Last Judgment everything will remain immutable and unchangeable: the endless blessed life of the righteous, and the miserable tormenting life of sinners. After that, there will be no other supreme judge, no other court. Nor will there be a respite for the repentance of sinners. Then there will be no way for the guilty to escape the eternal punishment they deserve. If this is so, how should we behave in order to escape the threatened punishment and stand at the right hand of the Son of God? For there the righteous stand. Sinners will have to take the unfortunate place - the Son of God. After this, the Lord leads the righteous, blessed by the Father, into the eternal kingdom. And with wrath and curse, He casts sinners away from His meek countenance, and sends them to the most severe, eternal punishment."

Then Joasaph said to Barlaam: "You, O man, say something great, wonderful, terrifying and trembling, if all this is so, if death and turning into dust and ashes are followed by restoration and resurrection, rewards and punishments for the past life. But what is the proof of all this? And how did you so unconditionally and firmly believe in something that has never been seen before? For you could hear about what was done and confirmed by facts from the testimony of eyewitnesses, even if you did not see it yourself. But how can you so confidently preach such a great and extraordinary future?

The Teaching of the Future Terrible Coming of Christ

To this Barlaam answered him: "From the deeds that have already been done, I have gained confidence in future deeds. For those who proclaimed this did not sin in any way against the truth, but strengthened their words with various signs and wonders, and they also explained future deeds. As they did not teach anything absurd or imaginary about the present, but shone everything brighter than the sun, whatever they said or did, so they taught about the future truly. In addition, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself confirmed this by deed and word. He says: "Do not be amazed at this, for the time is coming in which all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who have done good will come out to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation" (John 5:28,29). And further: Verily, verily, I say to you, the time is coming, and it has already come, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and when they hear it, they will live" (v. 25). In another He says again: And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what God said to you: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living (Matt. 22:31-32). And again: Therefore as tares are gathered and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of this world. The Son of man shall send His angels, and shall gather out of His kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those who do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear (Matt. 13:40-43).

With these and many other words, the Lord testified to the resurrection of the bodies.

Thus, towards the end of His earthly activity, He summoned from the tomb and revived Lazarus, His friend, who had been dead for four days, and who had begun to decay and stink.

In addition, the Lord Himself was the first example of a perfect resurrection. He rose again on the third day after His death, rising first from the dead. Though the other dead were resurrected, they died again and prevented the true resurrection to come. Christ was the only representative of the true resurrection, being the first to be resurrected immortal. Thus proclaimed both the eyewitnesses and the first ministers of the Word of God. Blessed Paul, whose calling was not from men, but from heaven, says: I remind you, brethren, of the Gospel which I have preached to you. For I taught you from the beginning what I myself received, that is, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures. But if it is preached of Christ that He rose from the dead, how do some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not risen either. And if Christ is not risen, then your faith is in vain: you are still in your sins. And if we hope in Christ only in this life, then we are the most miserable of all men. But Christ rose from the dead, the firstfruits of them that slept. For as death is through man, so is the resurrection of the dead through man. As in Adam all die, so in Christ all are made alive (1 Corinthians 15:1.3.4.12.13.17.19-22).

And a little further: For this perishable must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable thing shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality, then shall be fulfilled the word which is written: Death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is your sting? hell! Where is your victory? (53-55). Then the power of death will be completely destroyed, will disappear, and henceforth people will have immortality and eternal incorruption. There will undoubtedly be a resurrection of the dead, and we infallibly believe this. We also know that there will be punishments and rewards for earthly life on the day of the terrible coming of Christ, on which the flaming heavens will be destroyed and the elements will melt away. However, according to His promise, we look for a new heaven and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:12-13).

As for the fact that there will be a reward or punishment for the deeds of this world, and that not only good or bad deeds will be taken into account, but also retribution for both word and thoughts, the Lord says: "And whosoever shall give one of these little ones to drink only a cup of cold water, in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, shall not lose his reward" (Matt. 10:42). And in another place: "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory; and all nations shall be gathered before him; and separate one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; And He shall set the sheep on His right hand, and the goats on His left. Then the King will say to those who are on His right hand, Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink, I was a stranger, and you received me, I was naked, and you clothed me; was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to Me (Matt. 25:31-36). By this He expressed that by doing good deeds to the poor, we do Him good. Whosoever shall confess Me before men, him will I also confess before My Father which is in heaven (Matt. 10:32).

With all these and many other words, the Savior expressed how strong and true are the rewards for good works. But, at the same time, the Lord foretold through His miracles and parables, which were spoken very wisely by the Source of wisdom, that there would be punishment for evil deeds.

For example, He said this in the parable of the rich man and the poor: "A certain man was rich, clothed in purple and fine linen, and every day he feasted magnificently. There was also a certain beggar, Lazarus by name, who was lying at his gate in scabs, and wanted to eat the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table; and the dogs, coming, licked his scabs. The beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died, and he was buried. And in hell, being in torments, he lifted up his eyes, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried out, and said, Father Abraham! have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, "Child! remember that thou hast already received thy good things in thy life, and Lazarus evil; but now he is comforted here, and you suffer (Luke 16:19-25).

In another place, depicting the kingdom of heaven, He said: "The kingdom of heaven is like a king man, who made a wedding feast for his son" (Matt. 22:2). Speaking thus about future joy and light, Christ spoke to insignificant people, immersed in earthly cares, so in His parables He adapted Himself to objects that were close and understandable to them. Of course, in the kingdom of heaven there are neither marriages nor feasts, but the Lord condescended to their gross ignorance and, wishing to clarify the future life, used these names:

And he sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, and they would not come. Again he sent other servants, saying, Say to those who are invited, Behold, I have prepared my supper, my calves, and what is fattened is slaughtered, and all is ready. Come to the wedding feast. But they, despising it, went away, some to their field, and some to their trade. And the rest, seizing his servants, insulted and killed them. When the king heard of this, he was angry, and sent his armies, and destroyed their murderers, and burned their city. Then he said to his servants, "The wedding tier is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy." Therefore, go to the highways, and invite all whom you find to the wedding feast. And those servants went out into the roads, and gathered together all that they could find, both the evil and the good, and the wedding feast was filled with those who sat at table. And the king went in to see those who were at table, and saw there a man not clothed in a wedding garment, and he said to him, "Friend, how did you come here not in a wedding garment?" He was silent. Then the king said to his servants, "Bind his hands and feet, and take him, and cast him into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matt. 22:3-13).

Those who were called, but did not obey, are those who did not believe in Christ and either remained in idolatry or in some other faith. But he who did not have a wedding garment is one who believes, but has stained his spiritual garment with evil deeds; he was justly expelled from the wedding feast.