“God’s judgement takes place immediately after death” Assess this view.
Introduction
Define: Particular judgement- Judgement for each person at the point of death. Final judgement-
Judgement for each person at the end of time.
Importance: Interesting to contemplate whether when people die, they will enter an afterlife in
unison at the end of time, or immediately after death (assuming there is an afterlife).
Scholars: Iraneus, Calvin
Conclusion: God’s judgement takes place immediately after death.
Paragraph 1
Point: God’s judgement takes place immediately after death.
Argument: People go straight to heaven or hell when they die. Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man-
Lazarus (in heaven) outside rich man’s gate- rich man (hell) never helps. Rich man asks to warn his
family to Abraham, he says no- “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five
brothers.”
Christian prayers often consider the deceased to be in heaven. Modern Christians tend to view
judgement as a particular judgement after death, which then leads to a final judgement for all of
creation.
Counterargument: The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is a story and so may not be
representative of the literal truth.
Paragraph 2
Point: God’s judgement doesn’t take place immediately after death, it takes place at the end of time-
both.
Argument: Iraneus- Christians do not enter heaven until the final Day of Judgement, when God’s
plan concludes, and time comes to end. In between death and the Day of Judgement, they live in
peaceful happiness and wait for their final award. Exceptional people may ‘fast-track’ to heaven e.g.
prophets, saints, martyrs. Calvin: The dead do not sleep whilst they wait for the Last Judgement but
are conscious in either peaceful bliss or pain depending on God’s choice.
Earliest Christians viewed judgement as a future event, a ‘Day of Judgement’ (POSAG). While
waiting, people were believed to exist in a neutral but positive state, like a sleep.
Paragraph 3
Point: It is impossible to know whether God’s judgement takes place immediately after death.
Argument: Jesus’ words on the cross in Luke’s gospel have added to the puzzle of whether or not
people go straight to heaven after death. When Jesus was crucified, according to Luke’s gospel one
of the criminals crucified, according to Luke’s gospel one of the criminals crucified alongside him
, recognised Jesus’ innocence and then spoke to Jesus: “Then he said, ‘Jesus remember me when you
come into your Kind’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’
(Luke 23:42-43). This passage seems to show that Jesus was promising the criminal that he would be
going to heaven right away, as soon as he had died. However, although this English translation
introduces a comma into Jesus’ words, in the Greek language of the original gospel text, there is no
punctuation and Jesus is recorded as saying ‘I tell you today you will be with me in paradise’. Was
Jesus saying, ‘You will be in paradise with me today’ or ‘Today I tell you, you will be with me in
paradise?’
Introduction
Define: Particular judgement- Judgement for each person at the point of death. Final judgement-
Judgement for each person at the end of time.
Importance: Interesting to contemplate whether when people die, they will enter an afterlife in
unison at the end of time, or immediately after death (assuming there is an afterlife).
Scholars: Iraneus, Calvin
Conclusion: God’s judgement takes place immediately after death.
Paragraph 1
Point: God’s judgement takes place immediately after death.
Argument: People go straight to heaven or hell when they die. Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man-
Lazarus (in heaven) outside rich man’s gate- rich man (hell) never helps. Rich man asks to warn his
family to Abraham, he says no- “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five
brothers.”
Christian prayers often consider the deceased to be in heaven. Modern Christians tend to view
judgement as a particular judgement after death, which then leads to a final judgement for all of
creation.
Counterargument: The Parable of Lazarus and the Rich Man is a story and so may not be
representative of the literal truth.
Paragraph 2
Point: God’s judgement doesn’t take place immediately after death, it takes place at the end of time-
both.
Argument: Iraneus- Christians do not enter heaven until the final Day of Judgement, when God’s
plan concludes, and time comes to end. In between death and the Day of Judgement, they live in
peaceful happiness and wait for their final award. Exceptional people may ‘fast-track’ to heaven e.g.
prophets, saints, martyrs. Calvin: The dead do not sleep whilst they wait for the Last Judgement but
are conscious in either peaceful bliss or pain depending on God’s choice.
Earliest Christians viewed judgement as a future event, a ‘Day of Judgement’ (POSAG). While
waiting, people were believed to exist in a neutral but positive state, like a sleep.
Paragraph 3
Point: It is impossible to know whether God’s judgement takes place immediately after death.
Argument: Jesus’ words on the cross in Luke’s gospel have added to the puzzle of whether or not
people go straight to heaven after death. When Jesus was crucified, according to Luke’s gospel one
of the criminals crucified, according to Luke’s gospel one of the criminals crucified alongside him
, recognised Jesus’ innocence and then spoke to Jesus: “Then he said, ‘Jesus remember me when you
come into your Kind’ Jesus answered him, ‘Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise’
(Luke 23:42-43). This passage seems to show that Jesus was promising the criminal that he would be
going to heaven right away, as soon as he had died. However, although this English translation
introduces a comma into Jesus’ words, in the Greek language of the original gospel text, there is no
punctuation and Jesus is recorded as saying ‘I tell you today you will be with me in paradise’. Was
Jesus saying, ‘You will be in paradise with me today’ or ‘Today I tell you, you will be with me in
paradise?’
