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The Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Hell, Heaven
The Catholic Church has always reminded her spiritual children to reflect often, even daily, on "The Four Last Things": Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. For there is nothing better conceived than this powerful meditation to bring forcefully before our minds the essential purpose of life, namely, to save our souls and avoid Hell. The saints have recommended it most highly, especially the great Doctor of the Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori (1689-1787).
113 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 1987
166 people are currently reading
271 people want to read
About the author
Martin von Cochem
20 books5 followersThe Rev. Father Martin of Cochem, O.S.F.C., was a German Capuchin born in 1630 at Mosel. He entered the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin as a novitiate while still young, subsequently received Holy Orders, and was ultimately assigned as a professor of theology. He also cared for the plague victims of 1666, and thereupon began composing popular religious writings and treatises. Father Cochem authored such works as The Last Four Things and The Incredible Catholic Mass. He died on the tenth of September, 1712, at Waghausel.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
April 4, 2008
Best read slowly and thoughtfully.
December 30, 2019
the worst and best book I've ever read.
January 27, 2021
This is a fantastic work. It I might be permitted a bit of levity regarding its contents, it might be called "The Three Last Things, with a few words on Heaven." But that levity is meant to point to something helpful about the text. The joys of Heaven cannot be imagined, as so few of us in life have experienced sustained joys. But many of us have experienced prolonged suffering of some kind or another: there are so many people who today will not have eaten a meal, will not have sufficient clothing, or do not know where they will sleep. Hence, as Fr. Martin deals with death, judgment, and hell, he is dealing with matters much closer to the human experience. Heaven? Well, eternity will be long enough to understand and comprehend it. It's only my second time through the text but I will read it many more times before it is my time to go, I hope. I suspect I will learn and remember more each time I peruse its pages.
"Unfortunately the number of the wicked is far, far larger than that of the good." (p. 55)
"Unfortunately the number of the wicked is far, far larger than that of the good." (p. 55)
September 9, 2021
Great book! Best read in a quiet place in short sections to really take in what is written. A little scary and depressing, but very thought provoking to make better life choices. "Many are called, but few are chosen." If only everyone believed and practiced the teachings in this book, the world would be a better place... I highly recommend it to everyone.
December 11, 2015
Excellent book. Best to read in a quite place were you can really take it in. And a excellent book to re-read. A book to help keep you guided forward Heaven. Highly recommend.
May 28, 2024
Outstanding. This has to be as moving, terrifying, and also encouraging as when I read "Pilgrims Progress" by John Bunyan when I was 8.
Contra a negative review, there actually is a Nihil Obstat by Thomas L. Kinkead and an Imprimatur by Archbishop Michael Augustine of New York, from when this was translated into English in 1899.
https://archive.org/details/thefourla...
Contra a negative review, there actually is a Nihil Obstat by Thomas L. Kinkead and an Imprimatur by Archbishop Michael Augustine of New York, from when this was translated into English in 1899.
https://archive.org/details/thefourla...
May 13, 2020
Very good. The descriptions of death and judgement are especially good, but for Heaven and Hell, it was hard to imagine. Other books such as "Saints that Saw Hell" and St Alphonso's "Preparation for Death" are far superior.
March 16, 2018
Puritanical, pulpit thumping, doom and gloom! I’m a cradle catholic who often contemplates these four last things but this book is far from spiritually hopeful. For starters, there is no Imprimatur or Nihil obstat anywhere. That’s a red flag in general. Then, indeed, we know “not the day nor hour” but yet this book expresses in vivid and frightening detail the manner and order of events at the final judgement? To read this book and to know one has to experience the future unimaginable horrors of the Second Coming so vividly, frighteningly, and intricately detailed in this book is to wish one had never been born.
I am not one to meditate on the last four things as being nothing but flowers, rainbows and unicorns. Our God is a Just God, sin will be punished terribly. Hell is real. And it’s hell. Heaven is real. And hard to attain. But there is not, in this book, clear and concise information on where all the tremendous amount of details of the Final Judgment that Christ will conduct have stemmed from. Many traditional scripture passages are used as examples of doom and gloom in this book. The book of Apocalypse is indeed rather foreboding but such scripture passages do not give insight to the amount of intense detail in the book. Certainly meditation on these subjects is important but there are more profound books to read and more appropriate ways to meditate on the Second Coming in a wholesome and God-fearing way. I asked my spiritual director about this book. He told me to close it and never open it again. It is closed.
I am not one to meditate on the last four things as being nothing but flowers, rainbows and unicorns. Our God is a Just God, sin will be punished terribly. Hell is real. And it’s hell. Heaven is real. And hard to attain. But there is not, in this book, clear and concise information on where all the tremendous amount of details of the Final Judgment that Christ will conduct have stemmed from. Many traditional scripture passages are used as examples of doom and gloom in this book. The book of Apocalypse is indeed rather foreboding but such scripture passages do not give insight to the amount of intense detail in the book. Certainly meditation on these subjects is important but there are more profound books to read and more appropriate ways to meditate on the Second Coming in a wholesome and God-fearing way. I asked my spiritual director about this book. He told me to close it and never open it again. It is closed.
January 20, 2020
A YouTube video recommended this book. I bought it on a Saturday, my mother-in-law had a stroke on the following Monday and died that next Saturday. There's nothing in me that believes it coincidence that I was beginning a book on Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell scant days before I watched someone die.
This was a powerful book. So powerful, in fact, that I had to put it aside for about three weeks before I could finish it.
There is no sugar coating here: hell is indescribably awful... pieced together in the book as effectively as human words are going to get. Far from the "reasonable hope" nonsense of modern times, this book echoes the sentiments of Scripture and tradition: that the majority of people go to hell. Both Our Lord and the holiest of men and women attest to this. Heaven is hard work... but the rewards are described in similarly exacting detail.
The effect of the entire book is a sort of spiritual boxing of the ears. It doesn't stop there, though. If it did, it would be a dismal book full of nothing but despair. There is hope in this tiny book. There is encouragement. And there is help always available from Heaven. It's made me want to work harder.
After all, I was supposed to read it.
This was a powerful book. So powerful, in fact, that I had to put it aside for about three weeks before I could finish it.
There is no sugar coating here: hell is indescribably awful... pieced together in the book as effectively as human words are going to get. Far from the "reasonable hope" nonsense of modern times, this book echoes the sentiments of Scripture and tradition: that the majority of people go to hell. Both Our Lord and the holiest of men and women attest to this. Heaven is hard work... but the rewards are described in similarly exacting detail.
The effect of the entire book is a sort of spiritual boxing of the ears. It doesn't stop there, though. If it did, it would be a dismal book full of nothing but despair. There is hope in this tiny book. There is encouragement. And there is help always available from Heaven. It's made me want to work harder.
After all, I was supposed to read it.
December 31, 2024
I would recommend this but only to someone who has read the Bible and the Catechism first. It could be easy to get scrupulous or hard to determine while reading for a beginner which things the author is using imagination to articulate and embellish versus what is taught directly by the Church and Holy Scripture.
But this was a very helpful book - some meditations were unforgettable and vivid. I never thought deeply at how the soul is assaulted at the moment of death in the final hour... Also questions like how long the actual Judgement Day will last, and how much we will all witness and hear about what each person has done? Vivid imagery of what the burning of hell would actually be like, or how torturous the company and presence of others in hell will be. Mostly Biblically based, and some helpful references to visions, stories, and anecdotes that saints have had.
I was skipping around the book as I was interested and finished it with this quote which I thought was quite apropos:
"Away, then, with all tepidity, all indifference in the great business of our salvation. Whosoever thou art who readest this, resolve to fulfil thy duties as a Christian with all earnestness. Approach the sacraments more frequently than thou hast done hitherto; hear Mass more frequently than hitherto, be more instant and fervent in prayer than hitherto. Think more often of God and of the last things. Thus thou wilt surmount the indifference, the coldness that has crept over thee, thou wilt make God thy friend, the hope of eternal felicity will rise up within thee and become a blessed certainty. God grant that by His grace it may be so with thee and with me!" (p. 65)
But this was a very helpful book - some meditations were unforgettable and vivid. I never thought deeply at how the soul is assaulted at the moment of death in the final hour... Also questions like how long the actual Judgement Day will last, and how much we will all witness and hear about what each person has done? Vivid imagery of what the burning of hell would actually be like, or how torturous the company and presence of others in hell will be. Mostly Biblically based, and some helpful references to visions, stories, and anecdotes that saints have had.
I was skipping around the book as I was interested and finished it with this quote which I thought was quite apropos:
"Away, then, with all tepidity, all indifference in the great business of our salvation. Whosoever thou art who readest this, resolve to fulfil thy duties as a Christian with all earnestness. Approach the sacraments more frequently than thou hast done hitherto; hear Mass more frequently than hitherto, be more instant and fervent in prayer than hitherto. Think more often of God and of the last things. Thus thou wilt surmount the indifference, the coldness that has crept over thee, thou wilt make God thy friend, the hope of eternal felicity will rise up within thee and become a blessed certainty. God grant that by His grace it may be so with thee and with me!" (p. 65)
February 7, 2018
This a must read for everyone - those who consider themselves well-versed in Church teaching, those who know little of their Faith, and most especially those who have rejected and ignored these Truths. If you care about the salvation of your souls and the souls of those you love, get and share a copy of this book.
August 16, 2017
Not sure how many people really contemplate the prospect of eternal separation from God and what that would be like. Inspired me to make an examination of conscience, frequent the confessional and perform the works of mercy because God is deserving of everything I am and have.
September 17, 2017
Powerful, Informative. A must read!
Every Catholic should be knowledgeable about the four last things, and live each day of their lives with this knowledge at the forefront of every thought and action.
Every Catholic should be knowledgeable about the four last things, and live each day of their lives with this knowledge at the forefront of every thought and action.
October 21, 2017
This is a hard hitting book of truth! Something that so lacking in this world. A must read for all Catholics. Content is based on Saints and on biblical truths.
Good book to meditate with our Lord.
Good book to meditate with our Lord.
March 2, 2019
Memento mori!
I recommend this book to all Christians to meditate upon their own eternal salvation. Although the writing may seem dated, it is very easy to ready and is accessible. Do not pass this great book up.
I recommend this book to all Christians to meditate upon their own eternal salvation. Although the writing may seem dated, it is very easy to ready and is accessible. Do not pass this great book up.
February 15, 2021
Truth as it is rarely being told in the modern times.
Every modern day person, especially every person who claims to be a follower of Christ, and most especially every modern day Catholic Christian, owes it to themself to read this book.
Every modern day person, especially every person who claims to be a follower of Christ, and most especially every modern day Catholic Christian, owes it to themself to read this book.
January 9, 2022
Over the top long, but worth it
I wish this book could be presented in an edited fashion. Too many details for me, but I would still recommend it to someone who wanted to make a detailed study of the four last things.
I wish this book could be presented in an edited fashion. Too many details for me, but I would still recommend it to someone who wanted to make a detailed study of the four last things.
January 23, 2023
Longing for God
This book should be read by everyone. It gives a very vivid picture of what our sins do and how easy it is to get to hell
It also describes in detail what hell is like.
This book should be read by everyone. It gives a very vivid picture of what our sins do and how easy it is to get to hell
It also describes in detail what hell is like.
July 7, 2017
The Four Last Things
An eye opener. The wording is difficult to read but with help of the Holy Spirit, the message IU S understood. All should heed the message. Many will not.
An eye opener. The wording is difficult to read but with help of the Holy Spirit, the message IU S understood. All should heed the message. Many will not.
February 28, 2019
Essential meditation for any Christian.
May 31, 2020
Dnf. Not what I wanted nor expected. I think I got the wrong title.
Read
November 24, 2020If you have the slightest inclination to convince yourself Hell or anything associated with it is edgy and cool, please read a thorough explanation of it.
September 4, 2023
Good book and informative writing.
November 29, 2023
A must read for Christians. Memento Mori.
July 7, 2016
An Older (but still relevant) Meditation on the Last Four Things
I liked this simple book on the Last Four Things. It is serves as a meditation from an older point of view (and as a note a Catholic Christian point of view). It may not be what is commonly taught in religion classes today, but I feel this is a worthwhile way to build one's piety - Fear (which in today's language - Respect) of God.
Even for the non-Catholic Christian, the author does use the Bible as he makes as his points throughout, mentioning the passage and the reference. This adds to the meditation to show the author's comments has a basis - even if you disagree with the conclusion. This is not meant as a scholarly discussion which everything referenced back to something in the Bible or elsewhere. Again, it's a meditation on the Last Four Things - something that needs more meditation these days.
I liked this simple book on the Last Four Things. It is serves as a meditation from an older point of view (and as a note a Catholic Christian point of view). It may not be what is commonly taught in religion classes today, but I feel this is a worthwhile way to build one's piety - Fear (which in today's language - Respect) of God.
Even for the non-Catholic Christian, the author does use the Bible as he makes as his points throughout, mentioning the passage and the reference. This adds to the meditation to show the author's comments has a basis - even if you disagree with the conclusion. This is not meant as a scholarly discussion which everything referenced back to something in the Bible or elsewhere. Again, it's a meditation on the Last Four Things - something that needs more meditation these days.
January 29, 2014
Very good
March 11, 2018
EVERYONE should read this book. It really makes you think about where your soul will go and were you want it to go. I want to see EVERYONE make it to heaven. Great book. It is straight forward in telling us what to expect when we die. There is no beating around the bush and no sugar coating it. Great read.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews