Beliefs about the afterlife: judgement
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Christian beliefs about judgement and how these beliefs can influence Christians.
Key learning points
- Most Christians agree that there is life after death. This belief is known as the afterlife.
- Judgement is the belief that God decides whether a person is eternally rewarded with heaven, or punished with hell.
- There are two types of judgement: individual/particular; and final judgement (the Day of Judgement).
- Parables can be used to support Christian belief in both types of judgement.
- The belief in judgement may influence Christians to follow the teachings of Jesus, and to have faith in God.
Keywords
Afterlife - what follows the physical life on earth; life after death
Day of Judgement - at the end of time, each person will be judged by God and rewarded or punished
Judgement - the belief that God will decide whether each person should receive eternal life or eternal punishment based on their earthly life
Common misconception
Christians only follow Jesus' teachings because of their belief in judgement.
Although the Bible makes it clear that there are consequences in the afterlife for actions in this life, for many Christians, the desire to live a good life is rooted in love for God and faith in Jesus as the saviour, not a fear of judgement.
Teacher tip
You may wish to print Luke 16:19-31 (The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus) and read the full story with students.
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
5 Questions
Q1.Which nature of God means that God judges everyone fairly?
Q2.What is the term used for the evil that is done by humans?
Q3.Which member of the trinity does the Nicene Creed say will judge the living and the dead?
Q4.What did Adam and Eve’s disobedience of God bring into the world?
Q5.What do you call a Christian who believes everything in the creation story happens exactly as it says?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to the correct definition.
what follows the physical life on earth; life after death
at the end of time, each person will be judged by God
the belief that God will decide what happens to someone for eternity
Q2.Which of the following statements is true?
Q3.Which of the following statements is true?
Q4.What is the day called where God decides who is going to heaven or hell? The Day of .
Q5.What type of judgement does the story of the Rich Man and Lazarus suggest?
Q6.What does the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats teach us about who gets to heaven?
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Beliefs about the afterlife: judgement, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Beliefs about the afterlife: judgement, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Christianity: Beliefs unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.