Last Judgment

==In Christianity==
{{Main|Christian eschatology|Amillennialism|}}
[[File:Het Laatste Oordeel.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|Print of the Last Judgment, made by Johannes Wierix in the 16th century<ref>{{Cite web|title=Het laatste oordeel|url=https://lib.ugent.be/viewer/archive.ugent.be:3CD5D52C-A6A8-11E6-B1A4-293ED43445F2#?c=&m=&s=&cv=&xywh=-2421,-1,7710,4138|access-date=2020-10-02|website=lib.ugent.be}}</ref>]]
[[File:John Martin - The Last Judgement - Google Art Project.jpg|''[[The Last Judgment (Martin painting)|The Last Judgment]]'' by [[John Martin (painter)|John Martin]] (1854)|thumb|upright=1.7]]
[[File:Cathedrale Saint-Guy Prague facade sud mosaique Jugement dernier.jpg|thumb|upright=1.7|The Last Judgment mosaic (14th century), south facade of Saint Vitus Cathedral, Prague, Czech Republic]]

===Biblical sources===
The [[Christian doctrine|doctrine]] and [[Christian iconography|iconographic]] depiction of the Last Judgment are drawn from many passages from the [[Apocalyptic literature|apocalyptic]] sections of the Bible, but most notably from Jesus' teaching of the [[Matthew 7:13|strait gate]] in the [[Gospel of Matthew]] and in the [[Gospel of Luke]].

====Anglicanism and Methodism====
''Article IV – Of the Resurrection of Christ'' in Anglicanism's [[Thirty-Nine Articles|Articles of Religion]] and ''Article III – Of the Resurrection of Christ'' of Methodism's [[Articles of Religion (Methodist)|Articles of Religion]] state that:<ref name=AnglicanArticles>{{cite web|url=http://justus.anglican.org/resources/bcp/1928/Articles.htm|title=Articles of Religion, As established by the Bishops, the Clergy, and the Laity of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, in Convention, on the twelfth day of September, in the Year of our Lord, 1801|year=1801|publisher=[[Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America]]|access-date=29 September 2015}}</ref><ref name=MethodistArticles>{{cite web|url=http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/the-articles-of-religion-of-the-methodist-church|title=The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church|year=1784|publisher=[[The United Methodist Church]]|access-date=29 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150928045447/http://www.umc.org/what-we-believe/the-articles-of-religion-of-the-methodist-church|archive-date=28 September 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{quotation|Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of Man's nature; wherewith he ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all Men at the last day.<ref name=AnglicanArticles/><ref name=MethodistArticles/>}}

[[Anglican doctrine|Anglican]] and [[Methodist theology]] holds that "there is an [[Intermediate state (Christianity)|intermediate state]] between death and the [[resurrection of the dead]], in which the soul does not sleep in unconsciousness, but exists in happiness or misery till the resurrection, when it shall be reunited to the body and receive its final reward."<ref>{{cite book|last=Holden|first=George |title=The Anglican Catechist: Manual of Instruction Preparatory to Confirmation |year=1855|publisher=Joseph Masters|location=London |pages=40|quote=We are further taught by it that there is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection, in which the soul does not sleep in unconsciousness, but exists in happiness or misery till the resurrection, when it shall be reunited to the body and receive its final reward.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Swartz|first=Alan |title=United Methodists and the Last Days|date=20 April 2009|publisher=Hermeneutic|quote=Wesley believed that when we die we will go to an Intermediate State (Paradise for the Righteous and Hades for the Accursed). We will remain there until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see Matthew 25).}}</ref> This space, termed [[Hades in Christianity|Hades]], is divided into [[Paradise]] (the [[Bosom of Abraham]]) and [[Gehenna]] "but with an impassable gulf between the two".<ref name="Cook1883">{{cite book |last=Cook |first=Joseph |title=Advanced thought in Europe, Asia, Australia, &c |publisher=Richard D. Dickinson |year=1883 |location=London, England |page=41 |quote=Anglican orthodoxy, without protest, has allowed high authorities to teach that there is an intermediate state, Hades, including both Gehenna and Paradise, but with an impassable gulf between the two.}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|quote=The country is called Hades. That portion of it which is occupied by the good is called Paradise, and that province which is occupied by the wicked is called Gehenna.|last=Withington |first=John Swann |title=The United Methodist Free Churches' Magazine |year=1878|publisher=Thomas Newton |location=London |page=685}}</ref> [[Soul in the Bible|Souls]] remain in Hades until the Last Judgment and "Christians may also improve in holiness after death during the middle state before the final judgment".<ref name="Shields2009">{{cite book|last=Shields|first=Charles|title=Philosophia Ultima|date=2009-05-01|publisher=Applewood Books|isbn=9781429019644|page=184|quote=Some Anglican divines, from like premises, have surmised that Christians may also improve in holiness after death during the middle state before the final judgment.}}</ref><ref name="Crowther1813">{{cite book |last=Crowther |first=Jonathan |url=https://archive.org/details/atrueandcomplet00crowgoog |title=A True and Complete Portraiture of Methodism |publisher=Daniel Hitt and Thomas Ware |year=1813 |page=[https://archive.org/details/atrueandcomplet00crowgoog/page/n209 195] |quote=The Methodists believe in a state of separate spirits after death, a general resurrection, a day of judgment, and a state of eternal happiness and eternal misery. They believe in a state of separate spirits. The bodies of men, after death, return to dust and see corruption; but their souls neither die nor sleep, but have an immortal subsistence, and immediately 'return to God who gave them'. The souls of the righteous, being made perfect, are received into paradise, where they are with Christ in unspeakable felicity, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.}}</ref>

Anglican and Methodist theology holds that at the time of the [[Eschatology|Last Day]], "Jesus [[Second Coming|will return]] and that He will 'judge both the quick [the living] and the dead',"<ref name="Campbell2011">{{cite book|last=Campbell|first=Ted A.|title=Methodist Doctrine: The Essentials|date=1 December 2011|publisher=Abingdon Press|isbn=9781426713644|page=78|quote=The third Article of Religion affirms that Christ 'ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day.' This statement is consistent with the Apostles' Creed ('from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead') and the Nicene Creed ('He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead'). In the end, Christ will be our judge. Wesley's ''Sermons'' maintain that at the final judgment every one of our thoughts, words, and deeds will be known and judged. Our justification on 'the last day' will again be by faith in Christ but our works will not escape God's examination.}}</ref> and "all [will] be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in [[Heaven (Christianity)|heaven]] and the Accursed will depart to [[Christian views on hell|hell]] (see {{Bibleverse|Matthew|25|KJV}})."<ref>{{cite book|last=Swartz|first=Alan|title=United Methodists and the Last Days|url=http://hermeneutic.org/2009/04/united-methodists-and-last-days.html|date=20 April 2009|publisher=Hermeneutic|quote=Wesley believed that when we die we will go to an Intermediate State (Paradise for the Righteous and Hades for the Accursed). We will remain there until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see Matthew 25).|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120411115342/http://hermeneutic.org/2009/04/united-methodists-and-last-days.html|archive-date=11 April 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> The "issue of this judgment shall be a permanent separation of the evil and the good, the righteous and the wicked" (see [[The Sheep and the Goats]]).<ref>{{cite web |last=Ritchie |first=Arthur |year=1888 |title=Six Sermons to Men Preached in St. Ignatius' Church New York City During Lent, 1888 |url=http://anglicanhistory.org/usa/aritchie/lent18886.html |access-date=29 September 2015 |publisher=American Bank Note Co. |quote=The teaching of the Bible concerning the General Judgment at the end of the world presupposes a particular judgment of each soul at the hour of death, for the king at that last judgment shall separate the righteous from the wicked 'as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.'}}</ref><ref name="StuartChappell1922">{{cite book|last1=Stuart|first1=George Rutledge|last2=Chappell|first2=Edwin Barfield|title=What Every Methodist Should Know|url=https://archive.org/details/whateverymethod00chapgoog|year=1922|publisher=Publishing house of the M. E. church, South, Lamar & Barton, agents|page=[https://archive.org/details/whateverymethod00chapgoog/page/n81 77]|quote=The issue of this judgment shall be a permanent separation of the evil and the good, the righteous and the wicked.}}</ref> Moreover, in "the final judgment every one of our thoughts, words, and deeds will be known and judged" and individuals will be [[Justification (theology)|justified]] on the basis of their [[Born again (Christianity)#Methodism and other Evangelicals|faith in Jesus]], although "[[Sola fide#Methodist view|our works]] will not escape God's examination."<ref name="Campbell2011"/>

====Catholicism====
[[Image:Michelangelo Buonarroti - Jugement dernier.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|''[[The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)|The Last Judgment]]'', [[Sistine Chapel]] by [[Michelangelo]] (1536–1541)]]
Belief in the Last Judgment (often linked with the [[general judgment]]) is held firmly in [[Catholic Church|Catholicism]]. Immediately upon death each person undergoes the [[particular judgment]], and depending upon one's behavior on earth, goes to [[heaven]], [[purgatory]], or [[hell]]. Those in purgatory will always reach heaven, but those in hell will be there eternally.

The Last Judgment will occur after the [[resurrection of the dead]] and "our 'mortal body' will come to life again."<ref>{{Cite web|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P2G.HTM|access-date=2020-07-04|website=www.vatican.va|at=990}}</ref> The Catholic Church teaches that at the time of the Last Judgment [[Second Coming of Christ|Christ will come in His glory]], and all the [[angels]] with him, and in his presence the truth of each one's deeds will be laid bare, and each person who has ever lived will be judged with perfect justice. The believers who are judged worthy as well as those ignorant of Christ's teaching who followed the dictates of conscience<ref>{{Cite web|title=Lumen gentium|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html|access-date=2020-07-04|website=www.vatican.va|at=16}}</ref> will go to everlasting bliss, and those who are judged unworthy will go to everlasting condemnation.

A decisive factor in the Last Judgment will be the question, were the corporal [[works of mercy]] practiced or not during one's lifetime. They rate as important acts of charity. Therefore, and according to the biblical sources (Mt 25:31–46), the conjunction of the Last Judgment and the [[works of mercy]] is frequent in the pictorial tradition of Christian art.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bühren |first=Ralf Van |date=2017 |title=Caravaggio's 'Seven Works of Mercy' in Naples. The relevance of art history to cultural journalism |journal=Church, Communication and Culture |language=en |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=63–87 |doi=10.1080/23753234.2017.1287283 |s2cid=194755813 |issn=2375-3234|doi-access=free }}</ref>

Before the Last Judgment, all will be resurrected. Those who were in purgatory will have already been purged, meaning they would have already been released into heaven, and so like those in heaven and hell will resurrect with their bodies, followed by the Last Judgment.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church – PART 1 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 3 ARTICLE 12|url=http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a12.htm#IV|access-date=2020-07-04|website=www.scborromeo.org|at=1035}}</ref>

According to the [[Catechism of the Catholic Church]]:

{{blockquote|1038 The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust" (Acts 24:15), will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man's] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment" (Jn 5:28–29) Then Christ will come "in his glory, and all the angels with him... . Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left... . And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Mt 25:31, 32, 46).

1039 In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's relationship with God will be laid bare (Cf. Jn 12:49). The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life.

1040 The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming. Then through his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvelous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God's love is stronger than death. (Cf. Song 8:6)<ref>{{cite book |title=Catechism of the Catholic Church #1038–1041|url=https://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p123a12.htm |access-date=15 January 2021}}</ref>|author=|title=Catechism of the Catholic Church|source=}}

The Eastern Orthodox and Catholic teachings of the Last Judgment differ only on the exact nature of the in-between state of [[purgatory]]/[[Abraham's Bosom]]. These differences may only be apparent and not actual due to differing theological terminology and evolving tradition.

====Eastern Orthodoxy====
[[File:MHS Sad Ostateczny XVII w Lipie p.jpg|thumb|''The Last Judgment'', 17th century [[icon]] from Lipie. Historic Museum in [[Sanok]], [[Poland]].]]
[[File:Voronet last judgment.jpg|thumb|''The Last Judgment'', mural from [[Voroneț Monastery]], [[Romania]]]]
The [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] teaches that there are two judgments: the first, or particular judgment, is that experienced by each individual at the time of his or her death, at which time God will decide where<ref>The Orthodox do not have an understanding of "Purgatory." Rather, they believe that the souls of the departed will await the Final Judgment either in heaven or hell – but that there are different levels of heaven and different levels of hell –  and they believe that the prayers of the Church can help to ease the sufferings of the souls, but do not dogmatize as to how exactly this is accomplished.</ref> one is to spend the time until the [[Second Coming]] of Christ (see [[Hades in Christianity]]). This judgment is generally believed to occur on the fortieth day after death. The second, [[General judgment|General]] or Final Judgment will occur after the Second Coming.

Although in modern times some have attempted to introduce the concept of [[soul sleep]] into Orthodox thought about life after death, it has never been a part of traditional Orthodox teaching, and it contradicts the Orthodox understanding of the [[Intercession of saints|intercession of the Saints]].{{Citation needed|reason=By whom?|date=November 2021}}

Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that salvation is bestowed by God as a free gift of [[divine grace]], which cannot be earned, and by which forgiveness of sins is available to all. However, the deeds done by each person are believed to affect how he will be judged, following the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. How forgiveness is to be balanced against behavior is not well-defined in scripture, judgment in the matter being solely Christ's.

Similarly, although Orthodoxy teaches that sole salvation is obtained only through Christ and his Church, the fate of those outside the Church at the Last Judgment is left to the [[mercy of God]] and is not declared.

=====Icons=====
[[Image:Vasnetsov Last Judgment.jpg|thumb|[[Viktor Vasnetsov]]'s ''The Last Judgment'', 1904]]
The theme of the Last Judgment is important in Orthodoxy. Traditionally, an Orthodox church will have a [[fresco]] or [[mosaic]] of the Last Judgment on the back (western) wall so that the faithful, as they leave the services, are reminded that they will be judged by what they do during earthly life.

The [[icon]] of the Last Judgment traditionally depicts [[Christ Pantokrator]], enthroned in glory on a white throne, surrounded by the [[Theotokos]] (Virgin Mary), [[John the Baptist]], the [[Apostles in the New Testament|Apostles]], [[saint]]s and [[angel]]s. Beneath the throne the scene is divided in half with the "mansions of the righteous" ({{bibleverse||John|14:2|KJV}}), i.e., those who have been [[salvation|saved]], to Jesus' right (the viewer's left), and the torments of those who have been [[damnation|damned]] to his left. Separating the two is the [[Lake of fire|river of fire]] which proceeds from Jesus' left foot. For more detail, see below.

=====Hymnography=====
[[File:Poulakis Theodoros - The Hymn to the Virgin, "Eπί Σοί Xαίρει" ("In Thee Rejoiceth...") - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|200 px|right|[[Theodore Poulakis]] ''[[In Thee Rejoiceth (Poulakis)|The Hymn to the Virgin with Last Judgment]]'', 1622]]
The theme of the Last Judgment is found in the [[funeral]] and [[Pannikhida|memorial hymnody]] of the Church, and is a major theme in the services during [[Great Lent]]. The second Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent is dedicated to the Last Judgment. It is also found in the hymns of the [[Octoechos (liturgy)|Octoechos]] used on Saturdays throughout the year.

====Cretan School====
There were many renditions of the Last Judgment completed by Greek painters living in Crete which was held by the Venetian Empire.  Most of the works of art were influenced by Venetian painting but were considered to be painted in the  [[Italo-Byzantine|Maniera Greca]].[[File:Last Judgment by F.Kavertzas (1640-41).jpg|thumb|200 px|left|''[[The Last Judgment (Kavertzas)|The Last Judgment]] by [[Franghias Kavertzas|Francheskos Kavertzas]]'', 1648]] [[Georgios Klontzas]] painted many triptychs featuring the Last Judgment some include ''[[The Last Judgment (Klontzas)|The Last Judgment]]'', ''[[The Last Judgement Triptych (Klontzas)|The Last Judgement Triptych]]'', and ''[[Triptych of the Last Judgement (Klontzas)|The Triptych of the Last Judgement]]''.  Klontzas was the forerunner of a new painting style.<ref name="core">{{cite book |last= Speake |first= Graham |author-link= |date= 2021 |title= ''Georgios Klontzas'' Encyclopedia of Greece and the Hellenic Tradition |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3ockEAAAQBAJ&dq=Georgios+klontzas+painter&pg=PA894|location= London And New York |publisher=Rutledge Taylor & Francis Group |pages= 892-893 |isbn= 9781135942069}}</ref>{{sfn|Hatzidakis|Drakopoulou|1997|pp=89-91}}

Other Greek painters followed the precedent set by Klontzas.  [[Theodore Poulakis]] added the last judgment to his rendition of Klontzas' ''[[In Thee Rejoiceth (Poulakis)|In Thee Rejoiceth]]''.  The painter incorporated the Last Judgement into one of Klontzas' earlier works entitled  ''[[In Thee Rejoiceth (Klontzas)|In Thee Rejoiceth]]''.  Poulakis payed hommage to the father of the Last Judgement style.{{sfn|Hatzidakis|Drakopoulou|1997|pp=304-317}}  [[Leos Moskos]] and [[Franghias Kavertzas|Francheskos Kavertzas]] also followed the outline for the stylistic representation of the Last Judgement set by Klontzas.  Their works were ''[[The Last Judgment (Kavertzas)]]'' and ''[[The Last Judgment (Moskos)]]''.  Both paintings resemble Klontas' Last Judgement painting.{{sfn|Hatzidakis|Drakopoulou|1997|pp=46-48, 205-208}}{{sfn|Siopis|2016|pp=38}}

====Lutheranism====
[[Lutheranism|Lutherans]] do not believe in any sort of earthly millennial kingdom of Christ either before or after his second coming on the last day.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Joh%2018:36;&version=47;|title=Joh 18:36; ESV – Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of – Bible Gateway|work=Bible Gateway}}</ref> On the last day,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|6:40|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|6:54|31}}</ref> all the dead will be resurrected.<ref>{{bibleverse||John|5:21|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:28–29|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:32|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|24:15|31}}</ref> Their souls will then be reunited with the same bodies they had before dying.<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|8:11|31}}, {{bibleverse||Philippians|3:21|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||Job|19:26|9}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:44|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:53|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:28|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|20:12|31}}</ref> The bodies will then be changed, those of the wicked to a state of everlasting shame and torment,<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|12:2|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:41–46|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:29|31}}</ref> those of the righteous to an everlasting state of celestial glory.<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|12:1–2|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:29|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:52|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:42–44|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:49–53|31}}, {{bibleverse||Philippians|3:21|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|13:43|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|7:16|31}}</ref> After the resurrection of all the dead,<ref>{{bibleverse||John|6:40|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|6:44|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|11:24|31}}</ref> and the change of those still living,<ref>{{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|15:51–52|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Thessalonians|4:15–17|31}}</ref> all nations shall be gathered before Christ,<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:32|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|14:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|5:22|31}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|17:31|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|1:7|31}}</ref> and he will separate the righteous from the wicked.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:32|31}}, {{bibleverse||Mark|16:16|31}}</ref> Christ will publicly judge<ref>{{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|Corinthians|4:5|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|2:5|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|2:16|31}}</ref> all people by the testimony of their faith<ref>{{bibleverse||Ephesians|2:8–10|31}}, {{bibleverse|2|Corinthians|5:10|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:35–36|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:42–43|31}}</ref> – the [[good works]]<ref>{{bibleverse||Isaiah|43:25|31}}, {{bibleverse||Ezekiel|18:22|31}}, {{bibleverse|1|John|2:28|31}}</ref> of the righteous in evidence of their faith,<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:34–35|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:16–18|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:36|31}}, {{bibleverse||Revelation|14:13|31}}, {{bibleverse||Galatians|5:6|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|13:35|31}}</ref> and the [[sin|evil works]] of the wicked in evidence of their unbelief.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:42|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|7:17–18|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:18|31}}, {{bibleverse||John|3:36|31}}</ref> He will judge in righteousness<ref>{{bibleverse||Romans|2:5|31}}, {{bibleverse||Acts|17:31|31}}, {{bibleverse||Romans|2:16|31}}</ref> in the presence of all and men and angels,<ref>{{bibleverse||Luke|9:26|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:31–32|31}}</ref> and his final judgment will be just [[damnation]] to everlasting punishment for the wicked and a gracious gift of [[Eternal life (Christianity)|life everlasting]] to the righteous.<ref>{{bibleverse||Matthew|25:41|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:34|31}}, {{bibleverse||Matthew|25:46|31}}, {{cite book |last=Graebner |first=Augustus Lawrence |url=http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/eschatology.txt |title=Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology |publisher=Concordia Publishing House |year=1910 |location=Saint Louis, Missouri |pages=233–238 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060712194241/http://showcase.netins.net/web/bilarson/eschatology.txt |archive-date=2006-07-12 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Comments |first=The LCMS / 2 |date=2009-11-01 |title=A Second Judgment? |url=https://witness.lcms.org/2009/a-second-judgment-11-2009/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=The Lutheran Witness |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Death and judgement day |url=https://wels.net/faq/death-and-judgement-day/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=WELS |date=14 September 2015 |language=en-US}}</ref>

[[File:Illustrations to Robert Blair's The Grave , object 12 The Day of Judgment.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.6|[[William Blake]]'s ''The Day of Judgment'', printed in 1808 to illustrate [[Robert Blair (poet)|Robert Blair]]'s poem "[[The Grave (poem)|The Grave]]"]]

===Esoteric Christian traditions===
<!-- This section is linked from [[Afterlife]] -->
{{see also|Second Coming#Esoteric Christian teachings|Esoteric Christianity}}
Although the Last Judgment is believed by a great part of Christian mainstream churches; some members of [[Esoteric Christianity|Esoteric Christian]] traditions like the [[Essenes]], [[Rosicrucian]]s, the [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Spiritualist movement]], and some [[Liberal theism|liberals]] instead believe in a form of [[universalism|universal]] [[salvation]].{{citation needed|date=August 2020}}

[[Max Heindel]], a Danish-American astrologer and mystic, taught that when the [[Second Coming of Christ|Day of Christ]] comes, marking the end of the current fifth or Aryan epoch, the human race will have to pass a final examination or last judgment, where, as in the ''Days of Noah'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Teachings of an Initiate, by Max Heindel, Chapters I through IX |url=https://www.rosicrucian.com/tin/tineng01.htm |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=www.rosicrucian.com}}</ref> the chosen ones or pioneers, the ''sheep'', will be separated from the ''goats'' or stragglers,<ref>Cf. {{Bibleref2|Matthew|25:31–35}}</ref> by being carried forward into the next evolutionary period, inheriting the [[etheric plane|ethereal]] conditions of the [[New Galilee (Sixth Epoch)|New Galilee]] in the making. Nevertheless, it is emphasized that all beings of the human [[spiritual evolution|evolution]] will ultimately be saved in a distant future as they acquire a superior grade of [[consciousness]] and [[altruism]]. At the present period, the process of human evolution is conducted by means of successive [[reincarnation|rebirths]] in the physical world<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures, Lectures 1–3 |url=https://www.rosicrucian.com/rcl/rcleng01.htm |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=www.rosicrucian.com}}</ref> and the salvation is seen as being mentioned in [[Book of Revelation|Revelation]] 3:12 ([[KJV]]), which states "Him that overcometh will I make a ''pillar'' in the temple of my God and ''he shall go no more out''". However, this western esoteric tradition states – like those who have had a [[near-death experience]] – that after the [[death]] of the physical body, at the end of each physical lifetime and after the [[life review]] period (which occurs before the [[silver cord]] is broken), a judgment occurs, more akin to a Final Review or End Report over one's [[life]], where the life of the subject is fully evaluated and scrutinized.<ref>Max Heindel, [http://www.rosicrucian.com/zineen/death5.htm Death and Life in Purgatory] –  [http://www.rosicrucian.com/zineen/death6.htm Life and Activity in Heaven]</ref> This judgment is seen as being mentioned in [[Epistle to the Hebrews|Hebrews]] 9:27, which states that "it is appointed unto men once to die, but ''after this the judgment''".

===Swedenborgian===
[[Emanuel Swedenborg]] (1688–1772) had a revelation that the church has gone through a series of Last Judgments. First, during Noah's Flood, then Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus' crucifixion, and finally in 1757, which is the final Last Judgment. These occur in a realm outside earth and heaven, and are spiritual in nature.<ref>{{Cite web |title=CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Swedenborgians |url=https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14355a.htm |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=www.newadvent.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Beliefs |url=https://swedenborg.org/explore/beliefs/ |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=The Swedenborgian Church of North America |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Emanuel Swedenborg – His theology {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emanuel-Swedenborg/His-theology |access-date=2023-04-15 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}</ref>

===The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints===
[[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church) teaches that the last judgment for each individual occurs after that individual has been resurrected.{{citation needed|date=April 2021}} People will be judged by Jesus Christ.<ref name="gp">{{Cite web |title=Chapter 46: The Final Judgment |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/eng/manual/gospel-principles/chapter-46-the-final-judgment |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org |language=en}}</ref> Jesus' [[twelve apostles]] will help judge the [[twelve tribes of Israel]] and the twelve [[Nephite]] disciples from the [[Book of Mormon]] will help to judge the Nephite and [[Lamanite]] people.<ref name = gp/>

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that people will be judged by their words, their works, their thoughts, and the intents of their hearts.<ref name = gp/> Records that have been kept in heaven and on earth will also be used to judge people.<ref name = gp/> Jesus Christ will act as the advocate for people who had faith in him and such people will enter God's presence based on Jesus' merits as opposed to their own.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doctrine and Covenants 45 |url=https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/eng/scriptures/dc-testament/dc/45 |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=www.churchofjesuschrist.org |pages=3–5 |language=en}}</ref>

After the final judgment, an individual is assigned to one of the [[three degrees of glory]].

===Artistic representations===
[[Image:NorthLeigh Doom1.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|[[Doom painting]], [[St Mary's Church, North Leigh|St Mary's Church]], [[North Leigh]], [[Oxfordshire]], 15th century]]
{{main|Doom paintings}}
[[Image:Armenian icon 27, Last Judgment, 1679.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Armenian manuscript depicts the Last Judgment, 1679.]]
In art, the Last Judgment is a common theme in medieval and renaissance religious iconography. Like most early iconographic innovations, its origins stem from [[Byzantine art]], although it was a less common subject than in the West during the Middle Ages.<ref>Remarkably, only three Byzantine icons of the subject survive, all at [[St Catherine's Monastery]]. Daly, 252</ref> In Western Christianity, it is often the subject depicted in medieval cathedrals and churches, either outside on the central [[Pediment|tympanum]] of the entrance or inside on the (rear) west wall, so that the congregation attending church saw the image on either entering or leaving.

In the 15th century it also appeared as the central section of a [[triptych]] on [[altarpiece]]s, with the side panels showing heaven and hell, as in the [[Beaune Altarpiece]] or a [[The Last Judgment (Memling)|triptych by Hans Memling]]. The usual composition has Christ seated high in the centre, flanked by angels, the [[Virgin Mary]], and [[John the Evangelist]] who are supplicating on behalf of those being judged (in what is called a [[Deesis]] group in Orthodoxy). [[Saint Michael]] is often shown, either weighing the deceased on scales or directing matters, and there might be a large crowd of saints, angels, and the saved around the central group.

[[File:Second Coming by G.Klontzas (16th c.).jpg |thumb|300 px|left|''[[The Last Judgment (Klontzas)|The Last Judgment]]'' by [[Georgios Klontzas]] late 1500s]]
At the bottom of the composition a crowd of the deceased are shown, often with some rising from their graves. These are being sorted and directed by angels into the saved and the damned. Almost always the saved are on the viewer's left (so on the right hand of Christ), and the damned on the right. The saved are led up to [[heaven]], often shown as a [[fortified gateway]], while the damned are handed over to devils who herd them down into [[hell]] on the right; the composition therefore has a circular pattern of movement. Often the damned disappear into a [[Hellmouth]], the mouth of a huge monster, an image of [[Anglo-Saxon art|Anglo-Saxon]] origin. The damned often include figures of high rank, wearing crowns, mitres, and often the [[Papal tiara]] during the lengthy periods when there were [[antipopes]], or in Protestant depictions. There may be detailed depictions of the torments of the damned.

[[Image:Last Judgment (Povolzhie).jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4|Last Judgment (Russia, 18th century)]]The most famous Renaissance depiction is [[Michelangelo Buonarroti]]'s [[The Last Judgment (Michelangelo)|''The Last Judgment'']] in the [[Sistine Chapel]]. Included in this fresco is his self-portrait, as [[Bartholomew|St. Bartholomew]]'s [[flaying|flayed]] skin.<ref>{{cite book |last=Janson |first=H. W. |author-link=H. W. Janson |title=History of Art |edition=Second |author2-first=Dora Jane |author2-last=Janson |author2-link=Dora Jane Janson |publisher=Prentis-Hall & Harry N. Abrams |location=Englewood and New York |year=1977 |pages=428 |isbn=978-0-13-389296-3}}</ref>

The image in [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[icon]]s has a similar composition, but usually less space is devoted to hell, and there are often a larger number of scenes; the Orthodox readiness to label figures with inscriptions often allows more complex compositions. There is more often a large group of saints around Christ (which may include animals), and the [[hetoimasia]] or "empty throne", containing a cross, is usually shown below Christ, often guarded by archangels; figures representing [[Adam and Eve]] may kneel below it or below Christ. A distinctive feature of the Orthodox composition, especially in Russian icons, is a large band leading like a chute from the feet of Christ down to hell; this may resemble a striped snake or be a "river of Fire" coloured flame red. If it is shown as a snake, it attempts to bite Adam on the heel but, as he is protected by Christ, is unsuccessful.