What does the New Testament say about the Final Judgment?

First: The wicked will receive retribution and the faithful will be honored. In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord says, “Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” (Matt. 7:22–23). And elsewhere: “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Matt. 12:36); “For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works” (Matt. 16:27); and “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. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me’ …” (Matt. 25:32–36).

Second: Heaven and earth shall flee away. St. John the Beloved says, “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” (Rev. 20:11). Here, our Lord appears sitting on a white throne as a sign of peace, for He will no longer fight or defend, because the Church is now secure and Satan her enemy is bound and soon to be cast into the fire. The material earth and heaven have fled away from before the Lord. For this reason, the Lord no longer appears with a sword in his mouth (Rev. 1:16, 19:15, 21); nor as a horseman emerging from the tribe of Judah ready for war (Zech. 1:8); nor as a lion to comfort despondent souls (Rev. 5:5) — but enthroned and offering the triumphant a portion in the glories of heaven. He describes Him saying, “from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them,” to reassure us that we have no need of the earth or anything in it: neither oceans nor material resources; nor planets, nor stars. Thus does He drive away from before us all our old memories of a life that was filled with trials and toil, and with battles between us and the devil. The eternal glories shall swallow up our old impressions and expel them from our memory.

Third: Each person shall be judged according to his deeds. “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. 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” (Rev. 20:12–13). In an instant, all the righteous are judged according to their deeds, the young with the old, whose names are written in the Book of Life. And the wicked are judged according to their deeds, those who inhabited Hades and were dead spiritually, for with the Lord there is no partiality. And here, we note the following:

• a. The books will be opened: St. Augustine considers this to be a symbol of the unlocking of the secrets of all humanity, all that is in their hearts and consciences, so that all may know that the Lord is just.¹²⁵⁰

• b. The Book of Life will be opened: That is, the person of our Lord Jesus and His role as the Tree of Life will be disclosed: whoever eats from it during the time of his striving on earth will live forever. He is the open book in which the faithful can read their righteousness that is found in the person of Christ. Then, they shall rejoice saying, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death” (Rom. 8:1–2).

• c. The sea will give up the dead who were in it: St. Augustine considers this to be a symbol of the wicked upon whom the day of the Lord has come, but who have not yet died or gone to Hades. Here, the sea with its pleasures in which they have drowned is their evil lives that shall deliver them up to eternal judgment.¹²⁵¹

Fourth: Hades shall deliver up the dead who are in it. These too were justly judged according to their evil deeds. Thus we read: “and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:13–15). This is the end of those who live according to the flesh, and whose souls are dead. Their portion after the death of the body is Hades, from whence the second death will befall them, which is the eternal fire. For St. Augustine , this refers to the devil, the ruler of those whose souls are dead and leader of the inhabitants of hell, for he is thrown into the lake of fire. By this, the very image of evil is entirely eliminated, such that the apostle John paints a joyous picture of our heavenly bridal-home in the two chapters that follow, a home of complete safety and tranquility; for the evil one has been cast far away forever.¹²⁵²

1250 See St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God 20.14 (NPNF I/2:434).

1251 See St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God 20.15 (NPNF I/2:434–435).

1252 See St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God 20.15 (NPNF I/2:435).