“The Church is... where the Lord is acknowledged, and where the Word is.” - The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine §242
Kempton New Church
 

Week 4
Introduction

    Listen:

The Judgment, Part Two

They make excuses not to come to the wedding feast for the king’s son. (Matthew 22, Luke 14)

Introduction

The last judgment with an individual

AC 2119. That the last state of each person’s life when he dies is his last judgment is not hidden from some. But still few believe it; when yet it is a constant truth that every man after death rises again into the other life, and is brought to judgment.

But this judgment takes place as follows. As soon as man’s bodily parts grow cold, which takes place after a few days, he is resuscitated by the Lord by means of the celestial angels, who at first are with him. But if the man is such that he cannot remain with those angels, he is received by the spiritual angels, and afterwards in succession by good spirits, for all who come into the other life are without exception welcome and accepted guests.

But as everyone’s desires follow with him, he who had led an evil life cannot stay long with angels and good spirits, but separates himself from them in succession, until at last he comes to spirits of a life similar in nature to that which he had had in the world. It then appears to him as if he were in the life of his body, and in fact it is in itself a continuation of that life. With this life his judgment begins. After periods of delay, those who have lived an evil life go down into hell, while those who have lived a good life are by degrees lifted up by the Lord into heaven. Such is the last judgment of each person.

previous next