A term found mainly in the NT referring to the time when God or the Messiah (or the Son of Man) will punish the wicked and redeem the righteous. In the OT, God is regarded as the Judge of all the earth (Gen 18:25; Ps 9:7-8). God’s judgment is often invoked on individuals (Gen 16:5) or nations (Judg 11:27). Psalm writers, particularly, looked for God to reward the righteous, whether individuals (Ps 1:5-6), nations (Ps 110:6), the needy and oppressed (Ps 72:2-4; Ps 103:6), or the whole world (Ps 96:13). Many prophets spoke of the Day of the Lord, when, because of their wickedness, God would punish other nations (Obad 1), Israel (Amos 5:18-20), Judah (Joel 1:15), or all the inhabitants of the earth (Zeph 1:14-18). (Joel 2:30-32) and (Mal 4:5-6) suggest that those who repent beforehand may be spared. According to the first three Gospels, Jesus spoke frequently of the coming judgment. The term “day of judgment” appears in (Matt 10:15; Matt 11:22, Matt 11:24; Matt 12:36, Matt 7:22; Matt 12:41; Matt 12:42; Mark 13:17; Mark 13:19; Mark 13:24; Luke 10:14; Luke 17:31; Luke 21:34-35). Many of Jesus’s parables (Matt 18:23-35) and other sayings (Matt 25:31-46; Mark 10:17-25) called his hearers to repentance so that, at the judgment, they might be found fit to enter the kingdom of God. The term “day of judgment” also appears in (2Pet 2:9; 2Pet 3:7; and 1John 4:1; (Acts 17:31; Rom 2:16; 1Cor 1:8; 2Cor 1:14; Phil 1:6; Phil 1:10; Phil 2:16; 1Thess 5:2-4; 2Thess 2:2; 2Tim 1:18; 2Tim 4:1-8; 2Pet 3:10-12; Jude 1:6, Rev 14:7). Exactly how Paul’s ideas about the coming judgment are to be reconciled with his doctrine of “justification through faith” (Gal 2:15-16; Gal 3:1-14; Rom 3:21-4:25) is not completely clear (but cf. 1Cor 3:10-15), but he insists that only those who lived rightly could hope for a favorable decision at the judgment (Rom 2:1-8; 2Cor 5:6-10; Gal 5:16-21; so also Rev 20:12-13).
