Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
Last Judgment

Last Judgment

2 9.3
A final day when God decides each person's fate, rewarding good and punishing bad
  • noun
  • /læst ˈdʒʌdʒmənt/
  • Literature
translation icon : Último Juicio
  • In Christian belief, the bodily resurrection of believers does not occur until the last judgment.
  • Last Judgment scenes
  • image of the Last Judgment

There will be bodies after the last judgement in heaven and in hell.

Examples

  • Fundamentalists, finally, are committed to an apocalyptic vision of the end of the world and the Last Judgment.

    Academic text (2006)

  • In the Christian imagination, the moment of death was an exact reflection, in miniature, of the terror of the Last Judgment.

    Academic text (2008)

  • So, even now they desire nothing else for themselves, and after the last judgment, they will desire nothing more at all.

    Academic text (2008)

  • This one had a before and an after, the Last Judgement here above and The Plains of Heaven below.

  • Brown sees the moment of death in early Christian belief as a reflection of the Last Judgment.

    Academic text (2008)

  • Significantly, the scene depicted within the frame is The Last Judgment.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Only the saints and the damned are up there between the stone windows in the grand Last Judgment.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Rogier van der Weyden's Last Judgment Altarpiece is often cited as the source for the Gdansk Triptych.

    Academic text (1991)

  • According to Christian teachings, the Last Judgment will determine the eternal fate of every human being.

  • Many believers hope for mercy on the Last Judgment, trusting in God's forgiveness for their sins.

Synonyms

end of the world
vsLast Judgment
  • Formal
50 7.9

The final event when God judges all people and decides their eternal fate

is mainly the term for the judgment moment rather than all final events
doomsday
vsLast Judgment
  • Literature
23 7.5

The last day when the world ends or everything is destroyed

is more specifically about God judging every person rather than disaster alone
Judgment Day
vsLast Judgment
19 8.8

In Christian belief, a future day when God judges everyone's life and decides their final place after death

is the standard formal term for that final deciding day
Last Day
vsLast Judgment
  • Literature
16 8.7

A day at the end of time when God judges everyone for their actions

is an alternate simple label for the same end time event
Second Coming
vsLast Judgment
9 7.4

The return of Jesus Christ to earth to judge people at the end of the world

focuses on the general final judgment event, not on that returning figure
Day of Judgment
vsLast Judgment
7 8.6

A future day when God judges people and decides if they go to heaven or hell

is the broader label used for that end time judging event
Second Coming of Christ
vsLast Judgment
1 6.8

Christians believe Jesus will return to earth to judge people

covers the same final outcome but not only the returning person
eschaton
vsLast Judgment
  • Specialized
1 9.9

A final event in Christian belief when God ends the world

is narrower, focusing on the specific final act of divine judgment
day of reckoning
vsLast Judgment
  • Literature
1 8.7

A future day when God judges everyone for their actions

is used especially for the religious end time rather than private consequences
Second Advent
vsLast Judgment
1 9.9

The return of Jesus Christ to earth to judge all people

names the overall final judging event without stressing a return action
final reckoning
vsLast Judgment
  • Literature
1 9.0

A time when someone must face the results of their past actions

is the literal religious day of divine judgment rather than a metaphor
crack of doom
vsLast Judgment
  • Archaic
9.9

The day when God judges everyone and the world ends

is the neutral modern phrase for the same final judgment

How Final

Last Judgment
  • Literature
2 9.3
final reckoning
  • Literature
1 9.0
reckoning
  • Literature
42 7.0
consequence
874 4.1
warning
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

Last Judgment singular
Last Judgments plural

Morphology

last + Judgment

The meaning 'the final day when God judges humans' is directly inferable from 'last' (final) combined with 'judgment' (an act of judging or decision). This compositional reading is cross-linguistically common (e.g. ‘Final Judgment’/‘Day of Judgment’) and follows normal English noun-noun semantics, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would very likely deduce the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase Last Judgment comes from Christian stories of the end of the world, where God sits and decides who is saved or punished. The word last shows it is the final day and judgment shows the deciding of right and wrong, so the phrase means 'the final day when God judges all people'.