WCF 33: Of the Last Judgment

Studies on the end times can be an exercise in speculation. The prospect of looking into a crystal ball is alluring. But eschatology driven by mere curiosity is a sure sign of spiritual immaturity. Serious Christians understand that end-times theology is vital to the eternal state of our souls and our flourishing here and now. “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” (2 Cor. 5:10).

Studying the end times can be helpful if we ask the right questions and listen to Scripture’s answers with a firm resolve to obey. Not all Christians agree about the details of the last judgment. But Scripture’s basic testimony is plain.  

The Reality of the Last Judgment

The final judgment is one of the Bible’s more obvious doctrines. It might be unpopular today—even embarrassing to people who imagine that God is only love or that Jesus doesn’t judge. But no one in the Bible warned about the Day of Judgment more than Jesus the judge. His disciples fervently continued his practice. “Eternal judgment” is an “elementary doctrine” (Heb. 6:1, 2). Here is how Paul summed it up to his Gentile audience in Athens: God “has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:31). What does this judgment mean?

We Will All Appear before the Tribunal of Christ

God’s moral creatures are stewards, fully accountable to him. For this reason, after we are tested in this life all of us will be judged (Heb. 9:27). Fallen angels too God will bring to judgment from their present place of gloomy darkness (2 Peter 2:4). The apostle John saw in advance the scene of that great day. He saw “the dead, great and small, standing before the throne (Rev. 20:12). “We will all stand before the judgment seat of God” (Rom. 14:10).

We Will All Give Account of Our Lives

Jesus could not be clearer: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak” (Matt. 12:36). When John saw the dead surrounding the throne he also saw books opened. The books symbolize the record of every thought, word, and action, even “every secret thing” (Eccl. 12:14; cf. Rom. 2:16). We cannot hide from God. “All are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13).

We Will All Be Judged by Our Actions

The coming Lord “will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then each one will receive his commendation from God” (1 Cor. 4:5) or, if need be, his condemnation. The wicked “will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Matt. 25:46).

            The final judgment is coming. It is a law that cannot be changed. But why has God planned this judgment?

The Reason for the Last Judgment

The final judgment will showcase undeniably God’s mercy and justice. Prior to that day people malign God as being unjust. How can he condemn ignorant people? Is sin really so bad? But when every act is revealed God will be fully justified for his judgment against his creatures. This is true in two ways.

God Will Manifest the Glory of His Mercy

God’s children will hear him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. … Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21). But we will know that we have not done nearly as well as God’s welcome warrants. The reward will be obviously far too much for the work performed. No one will say on their way into heaven on the last day, “My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth” (Deut. 8:17). Instead we will struggle to make sense of God’s congratulations (Matt. 25:37–39). The Lord will publicly acquit justified sinners as a grand demonstration of his grace and mercy (Rom. 9:23).

God Will Manifest the Glory of His Justice

Christ will publicly condemn unrepentant sinners in order to “show his wrath and to make known his power” (Rom. 9:22). “God considers it just to repay” sinners with affliction (2 Thess. 1:6). On the Day of Judgment the Lord will honor the warning he gave to the human race at the beginning: if you reject my holy will “you shall surely die” (Gen. 2:17).

God made his people “that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us” (Acts 17:27). Still, despite abundant evidence of his power and goodness unbelievers respond like hard-hearted Pharaoh: “Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voice? … I do not know the Lord” (Ex. 5:2). The judgment of the “wicked and disobedient” is well deserved.

God calls to the ends of the earth, “Turn to me and be saved.” But even when people refuse, his word will not return to him void. “To me every knee shall bow” (Is. 45:22, 23). This is the ultimate purpose of the final judgment: to manifest his glory to every moral creature. The implications of this reality are significant.

The Relevance of the Last Judgment

Revelation pictures an angle flying over the earth preaching the gospel and interpreting the importance of pending judgment: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come.” (Rev. 14:7). If we believe in a day of reckoning how we live now will change.

The Certainty of Judgment Should Deter Sin

People who “go on sinning deliberately” especially after “receiving the knowledge of the truth” should have a “fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries” (Heb. 10:26, 27). Peter asks this question, if you know that God will judge you, “what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness”? (2 Peter 3:11). Here’s his answer: “Be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and be at peace” (14). We must resist moral complacency. We may not simply strive for acceptability among our peers. We must renounce sinful actions, words, and even thoughts.

The Mercy in Judgment Should Console the Elect

For the Christian the final judgment doesn’t have to be scary. “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment”—meaning condemnation (KJV; NIV)—“but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24). For believers the final judgment is the open door to “that fullness of joy and refreshing, which shall come from the presence of the Lord.” If you have come to know God’s love you can actually “have confidence for the day of judgment” (1 John 4:17).

The Unknown Moment of Judgment Should Make Us Watchful

And watchfulness requires more than keeping an open-eye for the Lord’s return. We must “be ever prepared to say, Come Lord Jesus, come quickly.” Jesus says to us, “Stay dressed for action and keep your lamps burning” (Luke 12:35). Like the Israelites waiting for the call to march out of Egypt on their way to the Promised Land, be prepared through honorable living to hear the shout of the angels and go to meet your God.