Death, Resurrection, and Last Judgment
Trace what the Standards teach about the soul after death, the resurrection of the body, and the great judgment at the last day.
The Standards do not end with the believer's present comfort but carry the eye forward to the last things. They speak soberly of death, confidently of resurrection, and solemnly of the judgment in which all things are set right under Christ.
The state of men after death
At death the bodies of men return to dust and see corruption, but their souls, which neither die nor sleep, return at once to God who gave them. The souls of the righteous are made perfect in holiness and received into the highest heavens, where they behold the face of God in light and glory, awaiting the redemption of their bodies. The souls of the wicked are cast into hell, reserved in torment to the judgment of the great day. Scripture knows no third place besides these two.
The resurrection of the body
At the last day all the dead shall be raised with the selfsame bodies, and none other, though with different qualities, to be united again to their souls forever. The bodies of the just, by the Spirit of Christ and in virtue of his resurrection, shall be raised in honour and made conformable to his own glorious body. The bodies of the unjust shall be raised in dishonour by his power. So the believer's hope reaches not merely to a deathless soul but to a renewed and glorified body.
The last judgment
God has appointed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by Jesus Christ, to whom all power and judgment is given. All persons that have lived shall appear to give account, and to receive according to what they have done, whether good or evil. The righteous shall be acquitted, received into the fulness of joy, and made perfectly blessed in the presence of the Lord; the wicked shall be cast into eternal torments. Christ would have us certainly persuaded of this day, to deter us from sin and to comfort his people in adversity, watching, since we know neither the day nor the hour.
Study the full text, Scripture proofs, and commentary on each:
- Read WSC 37–38 with WLC 82–90 and note how the larger answers expand the communion in glory.
- Compare WCF 32 on the resurrection with the proofs for the selfsame body raised.
- In WCF 33 ask why Christ would have us certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment.
See how this doctrine is stated across the Reformed confessions side by side.
Death, Resurrection, and Last Judgment →