After the Second Coming, will the unrighteous incarnate live separated from God forever on earth?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

No, the unrighteous will not live on this earth as we know it, nor will they live in a physical "incarnate" state similar to our current earthly existence. The Coptic Orthodox Church teaches that after the Second Coming and the General Resurrection, there will be a complete transformation of the created order.

1. The Transformation of the Earth

The current earth will not remain as it is. St. Peter writes that "the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up" (2 Peter 3:10). We look for "a new heaven and a new earth in which righteousness dwells." The unrighteous will have no place in this renewed creation.

2. The Nature of the Resurrected Body

At the Second Coming, every person—righteous and unrighteous—will be resurrected. However, their bodies will be different:

• The Righteous: Will be raised in a "spiritual body", glorified and shining like the sun.
• The Unrighteous: Will also be raised with incorruptible bodies (so they may endure eternity), but their bodies will reflect the darkness and corruption of their souls. They will be bodies of shame and dishonor.

3. Gehenna: The Place of Separation

The unrighteous will not be left to wander a physical earth. They will be cast into Gehenna, also called the "Outer Darkness". This is a state and "place" entirely separated from the presence and glory of God. It is not an earthly kingdom or a physical location on a map, but an eternal spiritual prison.

As the Lord says in the Gospel: "Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41).

4. Direct Rejection of Millenarianism

The idea that there will be a physical kingdom on this current earth where people live for a long time (often called "Chiliasm" or "Millenarianism") is a Protestant error that the Coptic Church firmly rejects. There is no "second chance" or "earthly rule" for the unrighteous after Christ returns. The judgment is final, and the separation is eternal.

5. The Experience of the Unrighteous

The unrighteous will not be "living" in the sense of enjoying life. Because God is the only source of Life, Light, and Joy, to be separated from Him is to exist in a state of eternal "second death."

• They will not have the pleasures of the world, for the world will have passed away.
• They will not have the company of the righteous, for a "great gulf" is fixed between them.
• They will exist in a state of eternal regret, described by the Lord as the place where there is "weeping and gnashing of teeth."

The unrighteous will not live on earth. They will be cast into eternal fire and darkness, separated from God and His saints forever, while the righteous inherit the New Jerusalem and the Kingdom of Heaven.