The Final Judgment is when Christ will return in glory to judge the living and the dead. All the dead will be raised up for judgment, both the just and the unjust (Acts 24:15), their souls will be reunited with their bodies. The Final Judgment will be “the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear the voice of the Son of Man and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation” (John 5:28-29). At the Final Judgment, “all the nations will be assembled before the Son of Man and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32).

A question that is commonly asked is: Why is it necessary for those who already had a Particular Judgment to go through the Final Judgment?

  1. The Final Judgment is much more than the judgment of each individual. At the Final Judgment, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil. (CCC 681)
  2. The Final Judgment doesn’t change the outcome of the Particular Judgment. At the Final Judgment, the sentence passed on each person in the particular judgment will be confirmed. It is necessary that not only should rewards await the just and punishments await the wicked in the life to come, but that they should be rewarded or punished in a public judgment, so that the justice and glory of God can be revealed for all to see.  
  3. At the Final Judgment, 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 God’s providence led everything towards its final end. (CCC 1040)
  4. The Final Judgment will also reveal to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life. The glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works, and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace. (CCC 682)

According to St. Augustine: when our God comes, He does not keep silence. He will turn towards those at His left and say, “I placed my poor little ones on earth for you. I as their head was seated in heaven at the right hand of my Father – but on earth my members were suffering, my members on earth were in need. If you gave anything to my members, what you gave would reach their Head. Would that you had known that my little ones were in need when I placed them on earth for you and appointed them your stewards to bring your good works into my treasury. But you have placed nothing in their hands; therefore, you have found nothing in my presence” (CCC 1039).

Jesus emphasizes that every Christian needs to be vigilant. To be vigilant means trying to do God’s will at all times; it means making a constant effort not to be attached to the things of this world: “Do not love the world or the things of the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, sensual lust, enticement for the eyes, and a pretentious life, is not from the Father but is from the world” (1John 2:15-16).

“Concupiscence of the flesh” is an inordinate desire for sensual pleasure through food, drink or sex. “Concupiscence of the eyes” is an inordinate desire for the world’s goods, and an unwholesome curiosity to see, hear, know or try out what is harmful to one’s virtue. It includes the desire to discover other people’s faults, curiosity of harmful drugs and substances, secret cults, the occult, witchcraft and new-age practices. The opposite of “concupiscence of the eyes” is the “custody of the eyes,” which is controlling what we allow ourselves to see, hear, know and try out. “The pride of life” is rebellion and disobedience against God as expressed in egotism, self-worship, boasting, arrogance and the desire to do one’s own will even when it contradicts the will of God. The opposite of “the pride of life” is humility. To be vigilant means to be assiduous in prayer, which keeps us close to God.