Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
The last judgment is the final, public, and universal assize at the end of the world, when Christ shall return in glory, all the dead shall be raised, and every man shall be judged according to his works, receiving his eternal sentence of life or condemnation. God hath appointed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He hath ordained, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom all judgment is committed. Before His throne shall be gathered all nations, and He shall separate them as a shepherd divides the sheep from the goats, setting the sheep on His right hand and the goats on His left. The books shall be opened, and the dead judged out of the things written therein, according to their works; the secrets of all hearts shall be disclosed, every idle word brought into account, and the hidden things of darkness brought to light. The works by which men are judged are not the ground of any man’s salvation—that rests on Christ alone, received by faith—but the evidence and manifestation of the state of the heart, so that the judgment vindicates the righteousness of God before all creation. To the righteous the Judge will say, Come, ye blessed; to the wicked, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire. The doctrine of the last judgment establishes that history is morally accountable, that no injustice escapes God’s notice, and that the believer may commit his cause to a righteous Judge.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Webster 1828 defines JUDGMENT in its theological sense as the final trial of the human race, when God will decide the fate of every individual and award the sentence of eternal happiness or misery.
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JUDGMENT, n. — ...7. The right or power of passing sentence. 8. In a theological or scriptural sense, the final trial of the human race, when God will decide the fate of every individual, and award sentence according to justice; called the general or last judgment, or the day of judgment.
JUDGE, n. — ...In a peculiar sense, Christ, who is to judge the world at the last day.
📖 Key Scripture
Matthew 25:31-32 — "When the Son of man shall come in his glory... before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats."
Revelation 20:12 — "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened... and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works."
2 Corinthians 5:10 — "For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad."
Acts 17:31 — "Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition, but the doctrine is widely suppressed—a sentimental culture refuses the thought of a final reckoning, and even churches fall silent on the judgment seat of Christ.
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The last judgment is corrupted chiefly by silence and suppression. A sentimental age that has embraced an unspoken universalism finds the very idea of a final reckoning intolerable, and so the doctrine is quietly dropped from preaching, hymns, and catechesis. Where it survives, it is often softened into a kindly review of one’s good intentions rather than the solemn assize Scripture describes, with books opened, secrets disclosed, and an eternal sentence pronounced. A church that will not name the judgment to come robs the gospel of its rescue, for there is no good news of deliverance where there is no peril to be delivered from.
Yet the doctrine, soberly held, is among the most morally bracing in all Scripture. It declares that history is accountable, that no tyrant’s cruelty and no hidden wickedness escapes the eye of the Judge, and that every wrong will be set right at the last. For the oppressed and the faithful it is a comfort: they may commit their cause to Him who judges righteously and refrain from vengeance, knowing the books will be opened. For the impenitent it is a warning to flee to Christ while mercy may be found. And for the believer it holds no terror of condemnation—for there is none to them that are in Christ Jesus—but it summons him to live in the light of that day, doing all as unto the Judge who sees in secret.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
The doctrine rests on the bēma (judgment seat) of Christ and on the appointed hēmera (day) in which God will judge the world by the Man He raised.
Usage
"At the last judgment every man is judged according to his works—not as the ground of salvation, but as the evidence of the heart."
"A sentimental age suppresses the last judgment, but Scripture makes history accountable to a righteous Judge."
"The believer faces the judgment seat of Christ without condemnation, yet lives soberly in light of that day."