Once to Die, Then the Spin

Some interpreters, most notably the hyper-preterists, claim that Hebrews 9:27 teaches an immediate final judgment upon physical death. For instance, Gary DeMar and Kim Burgess write:

Hebrews 9:27 stated that it is appointed for men once to die and after this, with the personal event of physical/biological death, comes this eternal judgment. This judgment is not delayed until the end of time. No, this judgment comes at the moment of physical death. This means... all of us are quite literally but one final breath and one final heartbeat away from “the end of the age” as far as everyone is concerned, and then comes the judgment.¹

This interpretation neglects the broader context of Hebrews 9:26–28 and the unified teaching of Scripture. These verses do not support the notion of final judgment occurring immediately after death but instead place it at Christ's second coming.

Importantly, men like Burgess and DeMar press this interpretation because of their broader eschatological commitments. Both advocate a hyper-preterist or full preterist framework, wherein all prophecy is fulfilled by AD 70, and they also deny the future resurrection of the body. If there is a final day of judgment in which all have been bodily resurrected and made to stand before Christ, their entire system collapses. They must therefore force Hebrews 9:27 to support an immediate judgment at death, because acknowledging a final, public judgment contradicts their theological narrative. But this is not exegesis—it is eisegesis. The grammar of Hebrews 9 simply does not necessitate their view, and in context, it strongly favors a future judgment connected to Christ’s return.

There is a certain irony in how figures like DeMar and Burgess accuse confessional Reformed Christians of interpreting Scripture through the lens of creeds, while they themselves read Hebrews 9 through the tight filter of their own creedal commitment to hyper-preterism. What they deride in others, they themselves do—but worse, because their “creed” is not drawn from the catholic and historic consensus of the church, but from a narrow, novel, and theologically unstable system. Rather than letting the text speak naturally, they are compelled to force an interpretation that props up a false gospel.

The Text

Hebrews 9:26–28 is the climax of the author’s argument contrasting the repetitive sacrifices of the Old Covenant with the once-for-all sacrifice of Christ. The passage declares that Christ’s single offering put away sin (v.26), that it is appointed for man to die once and afterward face judgment (v.27), and that Christ, having been offered once, will appear a second time to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him (v.28).

What’s crucial is that these verses are syntactically and theologically connected. Verse 27 begins with “just as,” and verse 28 responds with “so.” The author is drawing a parallel: just as it is appointed for humans to die once and afterward face judgment, so also Christ died once and afterward will appear again. This structure makes clear that the “judgment” in view is not immediate after death but tied to Christ’s return—His second appearing.

Hebrews 9:26 describes Christ appearing “once for all at the end of the ages” (νυνὶ δὲ ἅπαξ ἐπὶ συντελείᾳ τῶν αἰώνων), signaling the beginning of the final phase in God’s redemptive plan. It is eschatological in nature. His sacrifice marks the decisive break with the old system.

Verse 27 uses the verb ἀπόκειται, “it is appointed” or “laid up,” to speak of the inevitability of death for each person. The phrase μετὰ δὲ τοῦτο κρίσις simply says “after this, judgment.” It’s a general sequence, not a timestamp. There is no indication of when the judgment occurs—only that it follows death.

Then verse 28 gives the matching reality: just as people die once and judgment follows, so Christ was offered once to bear sin, and He will appear a second time. The author deliberately draws a parallel between human death followed by judgment and Christ’s death followed by His return. In both cases, there is a divinely appointed gap between the two events. Just as judgment does not follow death instantaneously, so too Christ’s second appearing does not follow immediately after His sacrificial death. This reinforces the structure of the analogy. An immediate post-mortem judgment would actually disrupt the parallel, since Christ’s second coming is clearly still future and not an immediate follow-up to His death.

But the central point of verse 27 is not about timing—it is about certainty. It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. There are no second chances, no reincarnation, no cycles of return. Each person has one life, one death, and then faces God’s verdict. The fact that Christ’s return is still future shows that judgment may involve a waiting period—but it will come. The outcome is fixed. Judgment is inevitable and irreversible. Just as surely as Christ came once to bear sin, He will come again to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him. That certainty—not immediacy—is what the text stresses.

Other Texts

Acts 17:31 is one of the clearest teachings on the timing and nature of final judgment. Paul proclaims to the Athenians that God “has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed.” That man is Jesus Christ, and God confirmed it by raising Him from the dead. This isn’t a rolling schedule of private, final judgments for individuals;² it is a fixed, collective Day. The emphasis is on one event, not many scattered across the deaths of individuals. The assurance of this judgment comes through the resurrection—a public event anchoring a public future judgment.

And significantly, Paul says this judgment will be carried out “by a man.” This underscores the continued humanity of Christ. If Jesus had shed His human nature after the resurrection—as many hyper-preterists have claimed—He could not fulfill this role. The final judgment will be executed by the glorified God-man, Jesus Christ, still truly human and truly divine. This alone rules out the “spiritualized” eschatology of hyper-preterism and affirms the bodily return of Christ.

John 5:28–29 offers the words of Jesus Himself: “An hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” Here we have a bodily resurrection followed by judgment. It is not “spiritualized” or invisible. Jesus places the judgment after the resurrection—at an appointed hour—showing again that final judgment is future and universal.

Revelation 20 confirms the future nature of this judgment. The dead are raised and judged at the great white throne. Death and Hades give up their dead for that event. The intermediate state ends, and the final judgment begins—not at the moment of death, but at the appointed time when Christ returns in glory.

Confessional Support from the Westminster Standards

Though the ultimate authority is Scripture, the Westminster Standards faithfully echo the biblical witness on this point.

The Westminster Confession of Faith 32.1 affirms that the souls of the righteous are made perfect and go to be with the Lord at death, while the wicked are cast into torment—yet both are “reserved to the judgment of the great day.” The key word is “reserved.” Final judgment is still ahead.

The Westminster Larger Catechism, in Questions 87–90, teaches that all people will appear before Christ to be judged at the last day, following the resurrection. The righteous will be openly acquitted and the wicked condemned.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Q&A 38 says that at the resurrection, believers will be “openly acknowledged and acquitted in the day of judgment.” That event is still to come.

The confessions do not invent this doctrine; they simply preserve the scriptural teaching that there is one appointed day when Christ will judge the living and the dead. Hebrews 9:27–28 fits within that biblical pattern.

Conclusion

Hebrews 9:26–28 presents a clear sequence: just as humans die once and then face judgment, so Christ died once and will appear again to bring salvation to His people. The judgment in view is not an invisible event that happens at death but a future public reality tied to Christ’s second coming.

Scripture confirms this pattern—Acts 17 speaks of a fixed Day, John 5 places it after resurrection, and Revelation 20 shows it as a unified event for all. The Reformed confessions rightly echo this truth.

Let us therefore reject any distortion that relocates final judgment to the moment of death. It is a theological sleight of hand for Kim Burgess, Gary DeMar, and other hyper-preterists to deny a future bodily resurrection and final judgment of all humanity by the incarnate Christ—simply because they have over-read a few 'time texts.' Their system demands they flatten the biblical timeline, “spiritualize” the resurrection, and discard the global final judgment plainly taught in Hebrews 9, Acts 17, John 5, and Revelation 20. This is not biblical fidelity; it is a theological revision driven by an agenda. The Day of Judgment is not past—it is coming, and it will be public, physical, and inescapable. Our hope and accountability are bound to Christ’s return. That is the Day we await. That is the Day we proclaim.

1. Kim Burgess and Gary DeMar, The Hope of Israel and the Nations: New Testament Eschatology Accomplished and Applied, Vol. 1 (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2024), p. 267

2. In one sense, death is a kind of judgment—it ends all opportunity for repentance and seals one's eternal destiny. But Scripture does not teach that this is the final judgment in its fullest, public, and eschatological form.