WLC 88

Q88. What shall immediately follow after the resurrection?

Immediately after the resurrection shall follow the general and final judgment of angels and men; the day and hour whereof no man knows, that all may watch and pray, and be ever ready for the coming of the Lord.

Proof texts

• 2 Pet. 2:4 — [4] For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment;
• Jude 1:6-7,14-15 — [6] And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day — [7] just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the surrounding cities, which likewise indulged in sexual immorality and pursued unnatural desire, serve as an example by undergoing a punishment of eternal fire. [14] It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, [15] to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
• Matt. 25:46 — [46] And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
• Matt. 24:36,42,44 — [36] “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. [42] Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming. [44] Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
• Luke 21:35-36 — [35] For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. [36] But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

For discussion

1. The Assembly cited 2 Pet. 2:4 in support of this answer. Read it in context — how does it bear on what is claimed here?
2. 5 passages are cited here. Which does the most work, and is anything claimed that the proofs do not obviously carry?
3. WSC Q37 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?
4. WCF 32.1 treats the same ground. What does it add, and why might it put things differently?

Read alongside

WSC Q37 · WCF 32.1 · BC 9.1 · BC 9.2 · 1689 31.1