Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Reckoning, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, Doomsday, Day of Resurrection or The Day of the Lord (
The Last Judgment has inspired numerous artistic depictions, including painting, sculpture and evangelical work.
In Judaism
In
In Christianity
Biblical sources
The
Anglicanism and Methodism
Article IV – Of the Resurrection of Christ in Anglicanism's
Christ did truly rise again from death, and took again his body, with flesh, bones, and all things appertaining to the perfection of Man's nature; wherewith he ascended into Heaven, and there sitteth, until he return to judge all Men at the last day.[5][6]
Anglican and Methodist theology holds that at the time of the
Catholicism
Belief in the Last Judgment (often linked with the general judgment) is held firmly in Catholicism. Immediately upon death each person undergoes the particular judgment, and depending upon one's behavior on earth, goes to heaven, purgatory, or hell. Those in purgatory will always reach heaven, but those in hell will be there eternally.
The Last Judgment will occur after the
A decisive factor in the Last Judgment will be the question, were the corporal works of mercy practiced or not during one's lifetime. They rate as important acts of charity. Therefore, and according to the biblical sources (Mt 25:31–46), the conjunction of the Last Judgment and the works of mercy is frequent in the pictorial tradition of Christian art.[19]
Before the Last Judgment, all will be resurrected. Those who were in purgatory will have already been purged, meaning they would have already been released into heaven, and so like those in heaven and hell will resurrect with their bodies, followed by the Last Judgment.[20]
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:
1038 The resurrection of all the dead, "of both the just and the unjust" (Acts 24:15), will precede the Last Judgment. This will be "the hour when all who are in the tombs will hear [the Son of man's] voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment" (Jn 5:28–29) Then Christ will come "in his glory, and all the angels with him... . Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate them one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will place the sheep at his right hand, but the goats at the left... . And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (Mt 25:31, 32, 46).
1039 In the presence of Christ, who is Truth itself, the truth of each man's relationship with God will be laid bare (Cf. Jn 12:49). The Last Judgment will reveal even to its furthest consequences the good each person has done or failed to do during his earthly life.
1040 The Last Judgment will come when Christ returns in glory. Only the Father knows the day and the hour; only he determines the moment of its coming. Then through his Son Jesus Christ he will pronounce the final word on all history. We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvelous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end. The Last Judgment will reveal that God's justice triumphs over all the injustices committed by his creatures and that God's love is stronger than death. (Cf. Song 8:6)[21]
— Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Eastern Orthodox and Catholic teachings of the Last Judgment differ only on the exact nature of the in-between state of
Eastern Orthodoxy
The
Although in modern times some have attempted to introduce the concept of
Eastern Orthodoxy teaches that salvation is bestowed by God as a free gift of divine grace, which cannot be earned, and by which forgiveness of sins is available to all. However, the deeds done by each person are believed to affect how he will be judged, following the Parable of the Sheep and the Goats. How forgiveness is to be balanced against behavior is not well-defined in scripture, judgment in the matter being solely Christ's.
Similarly, although Orthodoxy teaches that sole salvation is obtained only through Christ and his Church, the fate of those outside the Church at the Last Judgment is left to the
Icons
The theme of the Last Judgment is important in Orthodoxy. Traditionally, an Orthodox church will have a fresco or mosaic of the Last Judgment on the back (western) wall so that the faithful, as they leave the services, are reminded that they will be judged by what they do during earthly life.
The
Hymnography
The theme of the Last Judgment is found in the
Cretan School
There were many renditions of the Last Judgment completed by Greek painters living in Crete which was held by the Venetian Empire. Most of the works of art were influenced by Venetian painting but were considered to be painted in the Maniera Greca.
Georgios Klontzas painted many triptychs featuring the Last Judgment some include The Last Judgment, The Last Judgement Triptych, and The Triptych of the Last Judgement. Klontzas was the forerunner of a new painting style.[23][24]
Other Greek painters followed the precedent set by Klontzas. Theodore Poulakis added the last judgment to his rendition of Klontzas' In Thee Rejoiceth. The painter incorporated the Last Judgement into one of Klontzas' earlier works entitled In Thee Rejoiceth. Poulakis payed hommage to the father of the Last Judgement style.[25] Leos Moskos and Francheskos Kavertzas also followed the outline for the stylistic representation of the Last Judgement set by Klontzas. Their works were The Last Judgment (Kavertzas) and The Last Judgment (Moskos). Both paintings resemble Klontas' Last Judgement painting.[26][27]
Lutheranism
Lutherans do not believe in any sort of earthly millennial kingdom of Christ either before or after his second coming on the last day.[28] On the last day,[29] all the dead will be resurrected.[30] Their souls will then be reunited with the same bodies they had before dying.[31] The bodies will then be changed, those of the wicked to a state of everlasting shame and torment,[32] those of the righteous to an everlasting state of celestial glory.[33] After the resurrection of all the dead,[34] and the change of those still living,[35] all nations shall be gathered before Christ,[36] and he will separate the righteous from the wicked.[37] Christ will publicly judge[38] all people by the testimony of their faith[39] – the good works[40] of the righteous in evidence of their faith,[41] and the evil works of the wicked in evidence of their unbelief.[42] He will judge in righteousness[43] in the presence of all and men and angels,[44] and his final judgment will be just damnation to everlasting punishment for the wicked and a gracious gift of life everlasting to the righteous.[45][46][47]
Esoteric Christian traditions
Although the Last Judgment is believed by a great part of Christian mainstream churches; some members of
Swedenborgian
Emanuel Swedenborg (1688–1772) had a revelation that the church has gone through a series of Last Judgments. First, during Noah's Flood, then Moses on Mount Sinai, Jesus' crucifixion, and finally in 1757, which is the final Last Judgment. These occur in a realm outside earth and heaven, and are spiritual in nature.[52][53][54]
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that people will be judged by their words, their works, their thoughts, and the intents of their hearts.[55] Records that have been kept in heaven and on earth will also be used to judge people.[55] Jesus Christ will act as the advocate for people who had faith in him and such people will enter God's presence based on Jesus' merits as opposed to their own.[56]
After the final judgment, an individual is assigned to one of the
Artistic representations
In art, the Last Judgment is a common theme in medieval and renaissance religious iconography. Like most early iconographic innovations, its origins stem from Byzantine art, although it was a less common subject than in the West during the Middle Ages.[57] In Western Christianity, it is often the subject depicted in medieval cathedrals and churches, either outside on the central tympanum of the entrance or inside on the (rear) west wall, so that the congregation attending church saw the image on either entering or leaving.
In the 15th century it also appeared as the central section of a
At the bottom of the composition a crowd of the deceased are shown, often with some rising from their graves. These are being sorted and directed by angels into the saved and the damned. Almost always the saved are on the viewer's left (so on the right hand of Christ), and the damned on the right. The saved are led up to
The image in
In Islam
Belief in Judgment Day (
- Similarities to the Judgement Day of Christianity
Like Christianity,
- Salvation and damnation
In this process, the souls will traverse over hellfire[64] via the bridge of sirat. For sinners, the bridge will be thinner than hair and sharper than the sharpest sword, impossible to walk on without falling below to arrive at their fiery destination,[65] while the righteous will proceed across the bridge to paradise (Jannah).
Not everyone consigned to hell will remain there. Somewhat like the Catholic concept of purgatory, sinful Muslims will stay in hell until purified of their sins. According to the scholar Al-Subki (and others), "God will take out of the Fire everyone who has said the testimony" (i.e. the shāhada testimony made by all Muslims, "There is no deity but The God") "and none will remain to save those who rejected or worshipped other than God."[66]
- Literal or figurative interpretation
While early Muslims debated whether scripture on Judgement day should be interpreted literally or figuratively, the school of thought that prevailed (
In Jainism
In
In Zoroastrianism
Frashokereti is the
The doctrinal premises are (1) good will eventually prevail over evil; (2) creation was initially perfectly good, but was subsequently corrupted by evil; (3) the world will ultimately be restored to the perfection it had at the time of creation; (4) the "salvation for the individual depended on the sum of [that person's] thoughts, words and deeds, and there could be no intervention, whether compassionate or capricious, by any divine being to alter this." Thus, each human bears responsibility for their own fate, and simultaneously shares in the responsibility for the fate of the world.[68]
Crack of doom
In English, crack of doom is an old term used for the Day of Judgment, referring in particular to the blast of trumpets signalling the end of the world in Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation. A "crack" had the sense of any loud noise, preserved in the phrase "crack of thunder",[69] and "doom" was a term for the Last Judgment, as Eschatology still is.
The phrase is famously used by William Shakespeare in Macbeth, where on the heath the Three Witches show Macbeth the line of kings that will issue from Banquo:
- "Why do you show me this? A fourth! Start, eyes!
- What, will the line stretch out to the crack of doom?
- Another yet! A seventh! I'll see no more." (Act 4, scene 1, 112–117)
The meaning was that Banquo's line will endure until the Judgment Day, flattery for King
Music
- Marc-Antoine Charpentier, Extremum Dei Judicium H.401, Oratorio for soloists, chorus, 2 treble instruments, and bc. (1680)
- Giacomo Carissimi, Extremum Dei Judicium, for 3 chorus, 2 violins and organ.
- Tomoya Ohtani, Last Judgment from Sonic Forces Original Soundtrack: A Hero Will Rise.
See also
- Apocatastasis
- Atonement in Christianity
- Immanent evaluation, a concept Gilles Deleuze contrasts with transcendent judgment
- Kingdom of God (Christianity)
- List of dates predicted for apocalyptic events
- New Jerusalem
- New World Order (conspiracy)
- Plan of salvation (Latter Day Saints)Mormon view
- Problem of evil
- Ragnarök
- Yom Kippur
References
Notes
Citations
- Parousia, or coming of Christ as Judge of the world, is an oft-repeated doctrine. The Saviour Himself not only foretells the event but graphically portrays its circumstances (Matthew 24:27 sqq.; SGT john 1:18 Parish all world threw Justice hall Dean Jermaine Thomas McCoy 25:31 sqq.). The Apostles Malachi peter phophet labour give a most prominent place to this doctrine in their preaching (Acts 10:42; 17:31) and writings (Romans 2:5–16; 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1; 2 Thessalonians 1:5; James 5:7). Besides the name Parusia (parousia), or Advent (1 Corinthians 15:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:19), the Second Coming is also called Epiphany, epiphaneia, or Appearance (2 Thessalonians 2:8; 1 Timothy 6:14; 2 Timothy 4:1; Titus 2:13), and Apocalypse (apokalypsis), or Revelation (2 Thessalonians 2:7; 1 Peter 4:13). The time of the Second Coming is spoken of as "that Day" (2 Timothy 4:8), "the day of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 5:2), "the day of Christ" (Philemon 1:6), "the day of the Son of Man" (Luke 17:30), "the last day" (John 6:39–40). Belief in the general judgment has prevailed at all times and in all places within the Church. It is contained as an article of faith in all the ancient creeds: "He ascended into heaven. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead" (Apostles' Creed). "The two shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead" (Nicene Creed). "From thence they shall come to judge the living and the dead, at whose coming all men must rise with their bodies and are to render an account of their deeds" (Athanasian Creed). Relying on the authority of Papias, several Fathers of the church of the first four centuries advanced the theory of a thousand years' terrestrial reign of Christ with the saints to precede the end of the World. Although this idea is interwoven with the eschatologicalteachings of those writers, it in no way detracted from their belief in a universal world-judgment. Patristic testimony to this dogma is clear and unanimous."
- ^ "Will there be trial and judgment after the Resurrection?". Askmoses.com. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
- ^ Brand, Ezra. "Rome and the Final Judgment: The Messianic-Era Judgement Day in the Talmud and Rome's Role in Avodah Zarah 2a-2b".
- ^ "Het laatste oordeel". lib.ugent.be. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
- ^ Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. 1801. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ The United Methodist Church. 1784. Archived from the originalon 28 September 2015. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
- ^ Holden, George (1855). The Anglican Catechist: Manual of Instruction Preparatory to Confirmation. London: Joseph Masters. p. 40.
We are further taught by it that there is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection, in which the soul does not sleep in unconsciousness, but exists in happiness or misery till the resurrection, when it shall be reunited to the body and receive its final reward.
- ^ Swartz, Alan (20 April 2009). United Methodists and the Last Days. Hermeneutic.
Wesley believed that when we die we will go to an Intermediate State (Paradise for the Righteous and Hades for the Accursed). We will remain there until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see Matthew 25).
- ^ Cook, Joseph (1883). Advanced thought in Europe, Asia, Australia, &c. London, England: Richard D. Dickinson. p. 41.
Anglican orthodoxy, without protest, has allowed high authorities to teach that there is an intermediate state, Hades, including both Gehenna and Paradise, but with an impassable gulf between the two.
- ^ Withington, John Swann (1878). The United Methodist Free Churches' Magazine. London: Thomas Newton. p. 685.
The country is called Hades. That portion of it which is occupied by the good is called Paradise, and that province which is occupied by the wicked is called Gehenna.
- ISBN 9781429019644.
Some Anglican divines, from like premises, have surmised that Christians may also improve in holiness after death during the middle state before the final judgment.
- ^ Crowther, Jonathan (1813). A True and Complete Portraiture of Methodism. Daniel Hitt and Thomas Ware. p. 195.
The Methodists believe in a state of separate spirits after death, a general resurrection, a day of judgment, and a state of eternal happiness and eternal misery. They believe in a state of separate spirits. The bodies of men, after death, return to dust and see corruption; but their souls neither die nor sleep, but have an immortal subsistence, and immediately 'return to God who gave them'. The souls of the righteous, being made perfect, are received into paradise, where they are with Christ in unspeakable felicity, waiting for the full redemption of their bodies.
- ^ ISBN 9781426713644.
The third Article of Religion affirms that Christ 'ascended into heaven, and there sitteth until he return to judge all men at the last day.' This statement is consistent with the Apostles' Creed ('from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead') and the Nicene Creed ('He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead'). In the end, Christ will be our judge. Wesley's Sermons maintain that at the final judgment every one of our thoughts, words, and deeds will be known and judged. Our justification on 'the last day' will again be by faith in Christ but our works will not escape God's examination.
- ^ Swartz, Alan (20 April 2009). United Methodists and the Last Days. Hermeneutic. Archived from the original on 11 April 2012.
Wesley believed that when we die we will go to an Intermediate State (Paradise for the Righteous and Hades for the Accursed). We will remain there until the Day of Judgment when we will all be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge. After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in Heaven and the Accursed will depart to Hell (see Matthew 25).
- ^ Ritchie, Arthur (1888). "Six Sermons to Men Preached in St. Ignatius' Church New York City During Lent, 1888". American Bank Note Co. Retrieved 29 September 2015.
The teaching of the Bible concerning the General Judgment at the end of the world presupposes a particular judgment of each soul at the hour of death, for the king at that last judgment shall separate the righteous from the wicked 'as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats.'
- ^ Stuart, George Rutledge; Chappell, Edwin Barfield (1922). What Every Methodist Should Know. Publishing house of the M. E. church, South, Lamar & Barton, agents. p. 77.
The issue of this judgment shall be a permanent separation of the evil and the good, the righteous and the wicked.
- ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church – IntraText". www.vatican.va. 990. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ "Lumen gentium". www.vatican.va. 16. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- S2CID 194755813.
- ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church – PART 1 SECTION 2 CHAPTER 3 ARTICLE 12". www.scborromeo.org. 1035. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
- ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church #1038–1041. Retrieved 15 January 2021.
- ^ The Orthodox do not have an understanding of "Purgatory." Rather, they believe that the souls of the departed will await the Final Judgment either in heaven or hell – but that there are different levels of heaven and different levels of hell – and they believe that the prayers of the Church can help to ease the sufferings of the souls, but do not dogmatize as to how exactly this is accomplished.
- ISBN 9781135942069.
- ^ Hatzidakis & Drakopoulou 1997, pp. 89–91.
- ^ Hatzidakis & Drakopoulou 1997, pp. 304–317.
- ^ Hatzidakis & Drakopoulou 1997, pp. 46–48, 205–208.
- ^ Siopis 2016, pp. 38.
- ^ "Joh 18:36; ESV – Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of – Bible Gateway". Bible Gateway.
- ^ John 6:40, John 6:54
- ^ John 5:21, John 5:28–29, Matthew 25:32, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Acts 24:15
- ^ Romans 8:11, Philippians 3:21, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Job 19:26, 1 Corinthians 15:44, 1 Corinthians 15:53, John 5:28, Revelation 20:12
- ^ Daniel 12:2, Matthew 25:41–46, John 5:29
- ^ Daniel 12:1–2, John 5:29, 1 Corinthians 15:52, 1 Corinthians 15:42–44, 1 Corinthians 15:49–53, Philippians 3:21, Matthew 13:43, Revelation 7:16
- ^ John 6:40, John 6:44, John 11:24
- ^ 1 Corinthians 15:51–52, 1 Thessalonians 4:15–17
- ^ Matthew 25:32, Romans 14:10, John 5:22, Acts 17:31, Revelation 1:7
- ^ Matthew 25:32, Mark 16:16
- ^ 2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 4:5, Romans 2:5, Romans 2:16
- ^ Ephesians 2:8–10, 2 Corinthians 5:10, Matthew 25:35–36, Matthew 25:42–43
- ^ Isaiah 43:25, Ezekiel 18:22, 1 John 2:28
- ^ Matthew 25:34–35, John 3:16–18, John 3:36, Revelation 14:13, Galatians 5:6, John 13:35
- ^ Matthew 25:42, Matthew 7:17–18, John 3:18, John 3:36
- ^ Romans 2:5, Acts 17:31, Romans 2:16
- ^ Luke 9:26, Matthew 25:31–32
- ^ Matthew 25:41, Matthew 25:34, Matthew 25:46, Graebner, Augustus Lawrence (1910). Outlines Of Doctrinal Theology. Saint Louis, Missouri: Concordia Publishing House. pp. 233–238. Archived from the original on 12 July 2006.
- ^ Comments, The LCMS / 2 (1 November 2009). "A Second Judgment?". The Lutheran Witness. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Death and judgement day". WELS. 14 September 2015. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Teachings of an Initiate, by Max Heindel, Chapters I through IX". www.rosicrucian.com. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Cf. Matthew 25:31–35
- ^ "The Rosicrucian Christianity Lectures, Lectures 1–3". www.rosicrucian.com. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ Max Heindel, Death and Life in Purgatory – Life and Activity in Heaven
- ^ "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Swedenborgians". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Beliefs". The Swedenborgian Church of North America. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ "Emanuel Swedenborg – His theology | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 15 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d "Chapter 46: The Final Judgment". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Doctrine and Covenants 45". www.churchofjesuschrist.org. pp. 3–5. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
- St Catherine's Monastery. Daly, 252
- ISBN 978-0-13-389296-3.
- ^ Smith & Haddad, Islamic Understanding, 1981: p. vii.
- ISBN 978-0-88402-235-0.
- ISSN 1875-9823.
- ^ Amini, Ibrahim (13 January 2015). "Signs of Judgement Day, Blowing of the Trumpet". Resurrection in the Quran. Al-Islam.org. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Ahmed, Jafor. "Similarities and Dissimilarities between Islam and Christianity". Academia. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
- ^ Al-Ghazali (1989). The Remembrance of Death and the Afterlife. pp. 205–210.
- ISBN 9781491741290. Retrieved 2 January 2014.
- ^ al-Subki, Taqi al-Din. Shifāʿ al-saqamft ziyara khayr al-anam. Cairo, A. H. 1315, p. 163; quoted in Smith, Jane I.; Haddad, Yvonne Y. (1981). The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection. Albany, New York: SUNY Press. p. 81.
- ^ Smith & Haddad, Islamic Understanding, 1981: p. 65.
- ISBN 978-0-415-23902-8.
- OED, "Crack"
Bibliography
- Hatzidakis, Manolis; Drakopoulou, Evgenia (1997). Έλληνες Ζωγράφοι μετά την Άλωση (1450-1830). Τόμος 2: Καβαλλάρος - Ψαθόπουλος [Greek Painters after the Fall of Constantinople (1450-1830). Volume 2: Kavallaros - Psathopoulos]. Athens: Center for Modern Greek Studies, National Research Foundation. ISBN 960-7916-00-X.
- Siopis, Ioannis (2016). Το θέμα της Δευτέρας Παρουσίας στις Εικόνες [A Detailed History of the Second Coming (Last Judgment) in Greek Paintings (Greek)] (PDF). Thessaloniki, Greece: Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Philosophy Division of Archaeology and History.
Further reading
- Cochem, Martin of (1899). . The four last things: death, judgment, hell, heaven. Benziger Brothers.
- Deharbe, Joseph (1912). . A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion. Translated by Rev. John Fander. Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss.
- Knecht, Friedrich Justus (1910). . A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture. B. Herder.
- McHugh, John Ambrose (1910). Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 8. New York: Robert Appleton Company. . In Herbermann, Charles (ed.).
- Vianney, Jean-Marie-Baptiste (1951). . The Blessed Curé of Ars in His Catechetical Instructions. St. Meinrad, Indiana.
External links
- Swedenborg, E. The Last Judgment and Babylon Destroyed. All the Predictions in the Apocalypse are at This Day Fulfilled (Swedenborg Foundation 1951)