The Last Judgement

I would like to write this letter concerning what the Orthodox Church teaches about the Last Judgment. This is the time at the end of the world when Christ will return and judge all people, both the living and the dead. It is both a warning and a great source of hope.

Christ Himself will be the Judge. Jesus said: “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Before Him will be gathered all the nations” (Matthew 25:31–32). The judgment belongs to Him, for He is both God and the One who became man for our salvation.

All will rise from the dead. Jesus said: “The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear His 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” (John 5:28–29). This means that every person who has ever lived will stand before Christ.

We will be judged by our faith and our deeds. Saint Paul teaches: “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive good or evil, according to what he has done in the body” (2 Corinthians 5:10). Jesus also said that at the judgment, He will separate people as a shepherd separates sheep from goats, based on whether they showed love and mercy to others (Matthew 25:35–36).

The standard is love. Christ makes it clear that what we do for others, we do for Him: “Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40). Love is the true measure of a Christian life.

The righteous will enter eternal life. Jesus promised: “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father” (Matthew 13:43). For those who belong to Christ, the judgment is not a terror, but the doorway into eternal joy with Him.

The wicked will be separated from God. At the same time, those who reject Christ and His love will face eternal separation. Jesus calls this “outer darkness” (Matthew 22:13). The Orthodox Church understands this not as God desiring anyone’s destruction, but as the natural result of rejecting Him who is Life itself.

Judgment is also a hope for justice. In a world where evil often seems to go unpunished, the Last Judgment is a promise that God will set all things right. Paul says that God “will render to every man according to his works” (Romans 2:6). For the faithful, this brings comfort and peace.

The Last Judgment is certain and universal. It calls us to live now with faith, love, and mercy, so that we may hear the blessed words of Christ: “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world” (Matthew 25:34).

With love in Christ,
Fr. Charles

Next Letter: Repentance.