He Will Come to Judge the Living and the Dead

That he will come to judge the living and the dead we are taught by many testimonies of the divine Scriptures. But before we cite what the prophets say on this point, we think it necessary to remind you that this teaching of the faith would have us concerned every day about the coming of the Judge, so that we may order our conduct as men who must give account to a Judge who is near. For this is what the prophet said of the man who is blessed: “He orders his words with judgment.” When, however, he is said to judge the living and the dead, this does not mean that some who come to judgment will still be alive and others already dead. It means that he will judge both souls and bodies: by “the living” are meant souls, and by “the dead,” bodies. As the Lord himself says in the Gospel, “Do not fear those who are able to kill the body but are not able to harm the soul; rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.” [a]