“And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it… and I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works… and they were judged every man according to their works.”
Rev. 20:11-13
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Subsections
Particular Judgment at Death
Justification of Believers at Judgment Day
Degrees of Reward in Heaven
Degrees of Punishment in Hell
Reformed vs. Aquinas
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Order of Contents
Articles 6+
How Far Nature Reveals the Judgment 1
Latin 2
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Articles
See also ‘Commentaries on the Apostles’ Creed’ on ‘From thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead’.
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1500’s
Melanchthon, Philip – Article 17, Of Christ’s Return to Judgment in The Apology of the Augsburg Confession tr: F. Bente & W. H. T. Dau (1531)
Calvin, John – 12. ‘Necessity of Contemplating the Judgment-seat of God, in order to be seriously convinced of the Doctrine of Gratuitous Justification’ in Institutes of the Christian Religion tr. Henry Beveridge (1559; Edinburgh: Calvin Translation Society, 1845), vol. 2, bk. 3, pp. 333-44
Beza, Theodore
A Brief & Pithy Sum of the Christian Faith made in Form of a Confession (London, 1565)
Ch. 5, 6. Of the Last Judgment
1. What it is that we do believe and hope of the Last Judgment
pp.54-55 in A Book of Christian Questions & Answers… (London, 1574)
Olevian, Caspar – An Exposition of the Apostle’s Creed (London, 1581), pt. 2
’From thence he shall come to judge both the quick and the dead’
Testimonies out of the prophets and apostles
Why this article is added unto the former
That the general and last judgement must of necessity be, that we may be armed against those scorners whom the Holy Ghost has foreshowed should be by Peter the apostle in these last times
Of the meaning of this article
Why the coming of Christ is not so fearful unto the faithful
How we ought to make ourselves ready to judgment
Olevian (1536–1587) was a significant German reformed theologian, and has been said to be a co-author of the Heidelberg Catechism along with Zacharias Ursinus (though this has been questioned).
Zanchi, Girolamo – ch. 29, ’Of the Glorious Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ to Judge the Quick & the Dead’ in Confession of the Christian Religion… (1586; Cambridge, 1599), pp. 264-69
Vermigli, Peter Martyr – The Common Places… (d. 1562; London: Henrie Denham et al., 1583), pt. 3
ch. 17, ‘Of the End of the World’ 385
. ‘Of the Last Judgment’ 386-89
Ursinus, Zachary – The Sum of Christian Religion: Delivered… in his Lectures upon the Catechism… tr. Henrie Parrie (Oxford, 1587), Apostles’ Creed
From then shall He come to judge the quick and the dead
1. Whether there shall be any Judgment
2. What is the Last Judgment
3. Who shall be Judge
4. Whence and whither Christ shall come
5. How Christ shall come to Judgment
6. Whom Christ shall Judge
7. What shall be the Sentence and execution of Judgment
8. For what causes that Judgement shall be
9. When this Judgment shall be
10. Wherefore God would have us certain of the Last Judgment
11. For what cause God would not have us certain of the time of Judgment
12. For what cause God differs that Judgment
13. Whether the Last Judgment be to be wished for
Beza, Theodore, Anthony Faius & Students – 48. ‘Of his Coming Again to Judge the Quick & the Dead’ in Propositions & Principles of Divinity Propounded & Disputed in the University of Geneva by Certain Students of Divinity there, under Mr. Theodore Beza & Mr. Anthony Faius… (Edinburgh: Waldegrave, 1591), pp. 131-36
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1600’s
Perkins, William
‘The Last Judgment’ in An Exposition of the Symbol, or Apostles’ Creed… (Cambridge, 1595), p. 372
Perkins (d. 1602) was an influential, puritan, Anglican clergyman and Cambridge theologian.
A Golden Chain (Cambridge: Legat, 1600)
49. Of the Estate of the Elect at the Last Day of Judgment
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55. Of the State & Condition of the Reprobates when they are Dead
56. Of the Condemnation of the Reprobates at the Last Judgment
Bucanus, William – 38. ‘Of the Last Judgment’ in Institutions of Christian Religion... (London: Snowdon, 1606), pp. 466
What is signified in the Scriptures by the word ‘judgment’?
How manifold is the Lord’s judgment?
By what arguments is it declared that the judgment shall be universal and extreme?
What is the Last Judgment?
What are the efficient causes of the Judgment to come?
Shall then the Son, without the Father and the Holy Spirit be the Judge, and execute that judgment?
Does the power of judging accord in Christ, as He is man, and not as He is God only?
Who shall sit in company with Christ the Judge?
Who are they which shall be judged?
For what things shall judgement be given?
What shall the form of this Judgment be?
After what law will Christ give sentence?
What are the notes or properties and epithets of the Last Judgment?
What are the forewarnings of the Judgment to come?
What are the signs and tokens thereof?
When shall the Judgement be?
Seeing 1 Pet. 4:7, it is expressly said, ‘the end of all things is at hand,’ and James 5:8, ‘The coming of the Lord draws near,’ does not Paul make a proposition contradictory unto these, when 2 Thess. 2:3, he denies the Lord’s day to be at hand?
How is the Son, Mk. 13:32, said not to know of the Day of Judgment?
Why has God hidden that Last Day?
Why does the Lord defer the Last Judgment?
Which shall be the place of the Judgment to come?
What is the end of the Last Judgment?
What is the use of this doctrine?
What is contrary hereunto?
The fathers saw no other, neither shall posterity behold any other.
Rivet, Andrew – 51. ‘On the Resurrection of the Body & the Last Judgment’ in Synopsis of a Purer Theology: Latin Text & English Translation Buy (1625; Brill, 2016), vol. 3, pp. 508-82
Wolleb, Johannes – 35. ‘The Last Judgment’ in Abridgment of Christian Divinity (1626) in ed. John Beardslee, Reformed Dogmatics: J. Wollebius, G. Voetius & F. Turretin (Oxford Univ. Press, 1965), bk. 1, pp. 183-85
Wolleb (1589–1629) was a Swiss reformed theologian. He was a student of Amandus Polanus.
Leigh, Edward – ch. 2. Of the Last Judgment in A System or Body of Divinity… (London, A.M., 1654), bk. 10, pp. 859-64
Turretin, Francis – 6. ‘Is there a final judgment to be expected and what will it be like?’ in Institutes of Elenctic Theology, tr. George M. Giger, ed. James Dennison Jr. (1679–1685; P&R, 1994), vol. 3, 20th Topic, p. 597
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1700’s
à Brakel, Wilhelmus – ch. 102, ‘Concerning the Last Judgment & the End of the World’ in The Christian’s Reasonable Service, vol. 4 ed. Joel Beeke, tr. Bartel Elshout Buy (1700; RHB, 1992/1999), pp. 339-57
a Brakel (1635-1711) was a contemporary of Voet and Witsius and a major representative of the Dutch Further Reformation.
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1800’s
Alexander, Archibald – ‘The Day of Judgment’ no date or source info, 21 paragraphs
Bavinck, Herman – ‘On the Judgment’, entitled ‘The Covenant of Grace,’ from Our Reasonable Faith (1956), ch. 14, 5 paragraphs
Dabney, Robert – ‘Vindicatory Justice Essential to God’ (1881) 17 pp.
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How Far the Light of Nature Reveals the Judgment
Quote
1600’s
Richard Baxter
Aphorisms of Justification… (Hague, 1655), thesis 3, pp. 9-10
“There are some general obscure threatenings annexed to the prohibitions in the Law of Nature; that is, Nature may discern that God will punish the breakers of his Law, but how, or with what degree of punishment it cannot discern: Also it may collect that God will be favorable and gracious to the obedient: but it neither knows truly the conditions, nor the nature or greatness of the reward, nor God’s engagement thereto. Therefore as it is in Nature, it is a mere Law; and not properly a Covenant. Yea to Adam in his perfection, the form of the Covenant [of Works] was known by superadded revelation, and not written naturally in his heart.”
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Latin
1600’s
Alsted, Henry – ch. 31, ‘On the Last Judgment’ in Distinctions through Universal Theology, taken out of the Canon of the Sacred Letters & Classical Theologians (Frankfurt: 1626), pp. 137-38
Voet, Gisbert
3. Of the Last Judgment (Of the Judge, those Judged, the Place, Time, Way & Form) in Syllabus of Theological Problems (Utrecht, 1643), pt. 1, section 2, tract 6 Abbr.
88. ‘Idle Words & Deeds’ in Select Theological Disputations (Utrecht, 1659), vol. 3, pp. 1215-19 [Irregular Numbering]
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Related Pages
Bible Verses: Degrees of Reward in Heaven
Bible Verses on Degrees of Punishment in Hell
On the Renovation, New Heavens & Earth & Believers’ Eternal Home