When will the Judgment Day happen? Who will be saved on Last Judgment?

The Last Judgment (Judgment day) is that day awaited by all Christians in which Jesus will manifest himself in all his glory. The Last Judgment is when God will judge all mankind, living and dead, and according to the works of each one they will either go to enjoy the wonders of Heaven or be thrown into eternal suffering.

Many interpretations say that, with the Final Judgment, God´s purpose is to restore the purity of His creation. God will use the Last Judgment to separate those who despised Him and despised His works and never repented of it from those who followed Him and practiced their works with love.

The Last Judgment and the particular judgment.

As Catholics, we believe that when a person dies, the soul is separated from the body. The soul then stands before God for personal or particular judgment. The Catechism teaches us:

"Every man receives his eternal reward in his immortal soul at the very moment of his death, in a particular judgment which refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessing of Heaven, through purification or immediately, or immediate and eternal condemnation." (CCC 1022)

This means that when we die, our soul is immediately judged. We will have to give an account of our lives, the good we have done and the sins we have committed. We call this the particular judgment or personal judgment, because it is particular to each person.

3 verdicts when our personal life is judged.

Next, we will have 3 verdicts when we are personally judged

1. Heaven.

If we are free from all sin and all wounds caused by sin, we will immediately be welcomed into Heaven, where we will enjoy the eternal joys of the Kingdom of Heaven, seeing God face to face.

2. Purgatory.

If we have died with venial sins, or have not repaired the damage caused by our bad attitudes but were forgiven in confession, then, our Lord Jesus Christ, in His love and mercy will first purge and heal the soul in the place called Purgatory. After this purification and healing of our souls, we will be welcome to share in the Glories of Heaven. The time we spend in Purgatory will be decided by the weight of our sins.

3. Hell.

If, in life, we have rejected God, with mortal sins and no remorse for our attitudes of contempt, selfishness and vanities, then we will have deserved hell.

That absolute rejection, disgust and contempt for God that you have in this life will continue in the next. This teaching on the particular judgment is based on the declaration of our Lord to the repentant thief, St. Dismas:

"This day you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43)

What is the judgment day? - Last judgment .

The Last Judgment is that day at the end of time, when our Lord Jesus Christ will come again in all His power and glory to judge the living and the dead. Our Lord taught in the Gospel of St. John:

"The Father has given Jesus power to judge because He is the Son of Man; you need not be surprised at this, for an hour is coming when all those in their graves will hear His voice and come out. Those who did right will rise; the wicked will rise to be condemned. (John 5:27-29)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church leaves us with a clear teaching on Judgment Day that is important to know:

"In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man´s relationship with God will be revealed. The Last Judgment will reveal even in its most distant consequences the good that each person has done or not done during his or her earthly life" (CCC 1039).

After the final judgment, there will only be Heaven and Hell. In one of his statements, St. Augustine indicated that "all the purification of the soul, for those who are already in Purgatory and who await judgment in this final judgment, will be completed.

We must be prepared to face the particular judgment and the final judgment. The Venerable Fulton Sheen stated

"For when the curtain falls on the last day and we answer the curtain call for judgment, we will not be asked what role we play, but how well we play the role assigned to us." (Moods and Truths, 75)

When and how will the Last Judgment happen?

According to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, immediately after the resurrection of the dead, the Last Judgment, Universal Judgment or General Judgment will take place. The Last Judgment is a very well defined dogma of faith by the Catholic Church

In St. Luke´s Gospel, Jesus Christ speaks to us about the precursory signs of the Last Judgment:

"When you hear of wars and revolutions, do not be alarmed; it must happen sooner, but the end will not come so soon." Then he told them: "Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes; pestilence and famine in many places; there will also be terrifying phenomena and great signs in the sky. (Luke 21:9-11)

The Last Judgment will be held globally, before all of humanity present, living and/or dead. Those who have already died and have been judged will remain in Heaven or Hell depending on their deeds; those who have not died, will be judged and will enter Heaven or Hell, there will be no more purgatory.

In our profession of faith, the Creed, we recite the words: 

"Jesus Christ will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end."

Bible Verses on the Last Judgment.

In both the Old and New Testaments, we are left with clear signals about the announcement of a Final Judgment on the day of the end of time:

 "For he hath appointed a day, in the which he shall judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath appointed, and hath given faith unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." (Acts 17:31)

"For the Lord enters into judgment with all the living by fire and by his sword, and the victims of the Lord will be many. (Isaiah 66, 16)

"Let the nations awake and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat. For there I will sit in judgment on all the nations round about. Put your hand to the sickle: the harvest is ripe; come and tread it: the winepress is full; the vats overflow: so great is their wickedness! innumerable multitudes in the valley of Decision! For the day of the Lord is coming in the valley of decision. (Joel 4,12-14)

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, surrounded by all the angels, he shall sit upon his glorious throne. All nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them from one another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and will place them on his right hand and the goats on his left" (Matthew 25:31-33).

"For it is time for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it first begins at us, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?" (1 Peter 4:17)

"Verily I say unto you, in the day of judgment, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, than for that city. (Matthew 10:15)

"Then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven. All the races of the earth shall beat their breasts and see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven, full of power and glory. And he shall send his angels, that they may gather together his elect from the four corners of the earth, from one end of the earth to the other, at the sound of the trumpet. (Matthew 24,30-31)

The Last Judgment and St. John the Evangelist.

St. John the Evangelist tells us in the Apocalypse the vision he had about the end times, the day of the Judgement Day:

"Then I saw a great white throne and the one who sat on it In his presence, heaven and earth disappeared without a trace. And I saw those who had died, great and small, standing before the throne. The books were opened, and the Book of Life was also opened; and those who had died were judged according to the contents of the books, each according to his works. And the sea gave up the dead which it had laid up; death and the deep did likewise, and every man was judged according to his works. Then Death and the Abyss were thrown into the pool of fire, which is the second death". (Revelation 20,11-14)

According to these biblical quotes we know that:

• Christ will come with great power and glory, in all the splendor of his divinity.Christ in glory will be preceded by a cross in heaven (the sign of the Son of Man).
• He will come accompanied by the Angels.
• With his omnipresence, all the risen ones from all nations will stand before Christ the Judge. All human beings, without exception, will appear before the Court of God to receive the reward or punishment that each one deserves. At the Last Judgment, the work of each one will be known, both the good and the bad, and even the hidden.
• Once everyone is resurrected, Christ will separate the saved from the condemned.

Who will be saved at the Last Judgment?

He will be saved who has faith in Jesus Christ, the Gospel tells us. But having faith in Jesus Christ does not mean only believing in Him, but it is indispensable to live according to that faith; that is, following Christ in doing the Will of the Father.

For those who have done so, there will be no condemnation.

"Only those who have rejected the salvation offered by God in His unlimited mercy will find themselves condemned, because they have condemned themselves. (St. John Paul II, July 7, 1999)

Reflection on the Last Judgment.

On Judgment Day, it will be known why God allowed evil to happen and how He made the most of it. The frequent questions will be definitively answered: Why does God allow so much injustice? Why do the bad ones seem to do well and the good ones fail?

Much of what is now considered foolish, negative, incomprehensible in this world will be seen in the light of Divine Wisdom.

The Final Judgment (Last Judgment) will make known the Wisdom and Justice of God. It will be known how the different evils and sufferings of people and mankind have been made by God for His glory and for our eternal good. On that day all mankind will know how God arranged the history of mankind´s salvation and the history of each of us for our greatest good, which is the ultimate, perfect and eternal happiness in God´s presence in Heaven.