Judgment, Last
JUDGMENT, LAST
The sentence that will be passed on our actions at the last day. I. The proofs of a general judgment are these:
1. The justice of God requires it; for it is evident that this attribute is not clearly displayed in the dispensation of things in the present state, 2Th 1:6-7. Luk 14:26.
2. The accusations of natural conscience are testimonies in favour of this belief, Rom 2:1-29. Dan 5:5-6. Act 24:25.
3. It may be concluded from the relation men stand in to God, as creatures to a Creator. He has a right to give them a law, and to make them accountable for the breach of it, Rom 14:12.
4. The resurrection of Christ is a certain proof of it.
See Act 17:31. Rom 14:9.
5. The Scripture, in a variety of places, sets it beyond all doubt, Jud 1:14-15. 2Co 5:10. Mat 25:1-46 : Rom 14:10-11, 2Th 1:7; 2Th 1:10. 1Th 4:16-17. II. As to the Judge: the Bible declares that God will judge the world by Jesus Christ, Act 17:31. The triune God will be the Judge, as to original authority, power, and right of judgment; but, according to the economy settled between the three divine persons, the work is assigned to the Son, Rom 14:9-10, who will appear in his human nature, Joh 5:27. Act 17:31. with great power and glory, 1Th 4:16-17, visible to every eye, Rev 1:7. penetrating every heart, 1Co 4:5. Rom 2:16. with full authority over all, Mat 28:18. and acting with strict justice, 2Ti 4:8. As for the concern of others in the judgment; angels will be no otherwise concerned than as attendants, gathering the elect, raising the dead, &c. but not as advising of judging.
Saints are said to judge the world; not as co-judgers with Christ, but as approvers of his sentence, and as their holy lives and conversations will rise up in judgment against their wicked neighbours. III. As to the persons that will be judged; these will be men and devils. The righteous, probably, will be tried first, as represented in Mat 25:1-46 : They will be raised first, though perhaps not a thousand years before the rest, as Dr. Gill supposes; since the resurrection of all the bodies of the saints is spoken of as in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump, in order to their meeting the Lord in the air, and being with him not on earth, but for ever in heaven, 1Co 15:52. 1Th 4:16-17. Here we may take notice of a difficult question which is proposed by some namely, Whether the sins of God’s people shall be published in the great day, though it is certain they shall not be alleged against them to their condemnation? “This, ” says Dr. Ridgley, “is one of the secret things which belong to God, which he has not so fully or clearly revealed to us in his word; and therefore we can say little more than what is matter of conjecture about it. Some have thought that the sins of the godly, though forgiven, shall be made manifest, that so the glory of that grace which has pardoned them may appear more illustrious, and their obligation to God for this farther enhanced.
They also think, that the justice of the proceedings of that day requires it, since it is presumed and known by the whole world that they were prone to sin, as well as others; and, before conversion, as great sinners as any, and after it their sins had a peculiar aggravation. Therefore, why should not they be made public, as a glory due to the justice and holiness of God, whose nature is opposite to all sin? And this they farther suppose to be necessary, that so the impartiality of divine justice may appear. Moreover, since God, by recording the sins of his saints in Scripture, has perpetuated the knowledge thereof; and if it is to their honour that the sins there mentioned were repented of, as well as forgiven, why may it not be supposed that the sins of the believers shall be made known in the great day? And, besides, this seems agreeable to those expressions of every word, and every action, as being to be brought into judgment, whether it be good, or whether it be bad. “But it is supposed by others, that though the making known of sin that is subdued and forgiven, tends to the advancement of divine grace, yet it is sufficient to answer this end, as far as God designs it shall be answered, that the sins which have been subdued and forgiven, should be known to themselves, and thus forgiveness afford matter of praise to God.
Again; the expressions of Scripture, whereby forgiveness of sin is set forth, are such as seem to argue that those sins which were forgiven shall not be made manifest: thus they are said to be blotted out, Isa 43:25. covered, Psa 32:1. subdued and cast into the depths of the sea, Mic 7:19. and remembered no more, &c. Jer 31:34. Besides, Christ’s being a judge, doth not divest him of the character of an advocate, whose part is rather to conceal the crimes of those whose cause he pleads, than to divulge them; and to this we may add, that the law which requires duty, and forbids the contrary sins, is not the rule by which they who are in Christ are to be proceeded against, for then they could not stand in judgment; but they are dealt with according to the tenor of the Gospel, which forgives and covers all sin. And, farther, it is argued that the public declaring of all their sins before the whole world, notwithstanding their interest in forgiving grace, would fill them with such shame as is hardly consistent with a state of perfect blessedness. And, lastly, the principal argument insisted on is, that our Saviour, in Mat 25:1-46 : in which he gives a particular account of the proceedings of that day, makes no mention of the sins, but only commends the graces of his saints.” As to the wicked, they shall be judged, and all their thoughts, words, and deeds, be brought into judgment, Ecc 12:14. The fallen angels, also, are said to be reserved unto the judgment of the great day, Jud 1:6. They shall receive their final sentence, and be shut up in the prison of hell, Rev 20:10. Mat 8:29. IV. As to the rule of judgment; we are informed the books will be opened. Rev 20:12.
1. The book of divine omniscience, Mal 3:5. or remembrance, Mal 3:16.
2. The book of conscience, Rom 1:1-32
3. The book of providence, Rom 2:4; Rom 5:1-21 :
4. The book of the Scriptures, Law, and Gospel, Joh 12:1-50. Rom 2:16; Rom 2:12.
5. The book of life, Luk 10:20. Rev 3:5; Rev 20:12; Rev 20:15. V. As to the time of judgment: the soul will either be happy or miserable immediately after death, but the general judgment will not be till after the resurrection, Heb 9:27. There is a day appointed, Act 17:31. but it is unknown to men. VI. As to the place: this also is uncertain. Some suppose it will be in the air, because the Judge will come in the clouds of heaven, and the living saints will then be changed, and the dead saints raised, and both be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, 1Th 4:16-17. Others think it will be on the earth, on the new earth, on which they will descend from the air with Christ. The place where, however, is of no consequence, when compared with the state in which we shall appear. And as the Scriptures represent it as certain, Ecc 11:9. universal, 2Co 5:11. righteous, Rom 2:5. decisive, 1Co 15:52. and eternal as to its consequences, Heb 6:2. let us be concerned for the welfare of our immortal interests, flee to the refuge set before us, improve our precious time, depend on the merits of the Redeemer, and adhere to the dictates of the divine word, that we may be found of him in peace. Bates’s Works, p. 449; Bishop Hopkins and Stoddard on the Last Judgment; Gill’s Body of Divinity, 467, vol. 2: 8vo. Boston’s Fourfold State; Hervey’s Works, new edition, p. 72, 75, vol. 1: 155, vol. 4: 82, 233, vol. 3:
Fuente: Theological Dictionary
Judgment, Last
That Divine judgment following the general Resurrection, wherein all men, good and bad, will be judged according to their works, in such a manner that the justic of the sentence of each will be manifested to all (Matthew 25; 2 Corinthians 5; Athanasian Creed). The General Judgment is clearly and repeatedly foretold in Holy Scripture. That there will be a General Judgment is an article of faith. The judge will be Christ (Matthew 24). It is almost the universal teaching of theologians that every sin and good deed of every human being will be manifested to all. In this way the justice, goodness, and wisdom of God will be manifested and will be recognized by all men. Although this Judgment is distinct from the Particular Judgment, the sentence pronounced at the Particular is in nowise changed at the General Judgment.
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Judgment, Last
(Judicium Universale, Last Judgment).
I. EXISTENCE OF THE GENERAL JUDGMENT
1. Few truths are more often or more clearly proclaimed in Scripture than that of the general judgment. To it the prophets of the Old Testament refer when they speak of the “Day of the Lord” (Joel 2:31; Ezekiel 13:5; Isaiah 2:12), in which the nations will be summoned to judgment. In the New Testament the second Parusia, 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.; 25:31 sqq.). The Apostles 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).
2. The 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). He shall come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead” (Nicene Creed). “From thence he 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 first four centuries advanced the theory of a thousand years’ terrestrial reign of Christ with the saints to precede the end of the World (see article on MILLENNIUM). Though this idea is interwoven with the eschatological teachings 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.
3. The Roman Catechism thus explains why, besides the particular judgment of each individual, a general one should also be passed on the assembled world: “The first reason is founded on the circumstances that most augment the rewards or aggravate the punishments of the dead. Those who depart this life sometimes leave behind them children who imitate the conduct of their parents, descendants, followers; and others who adhere to and advocate the example, the language, the conduct of those on whom they depend, and whose example they follow; and as the good or bad influence or example, affecting as it does the conduct of many, is to terminate only with this world; justice demands that, in order to form a proper estimate of the good or bad actions of all, a general judgment should take place. . . . Finally, it was important to prove, that in prosperity and adversity, which are sometimes the promiscuous lot of the good and of the bad, everything is ordered by an all-wise, all-just, and all-ruling Providence: it was therefore necessary not only that rewards and punishments should await us in the next life but that they should be awarded by a public and general judgment.”
II. SIGNS THAT ARE TO PRECEDE THE GENERAL JUDGMENT
The Scriptures mention certain events which are to take place before the final judgment. These predictions were not intended to serve as indications of the exact time of the judgment, for that day and hour are known only to the Father, and will come when least expected. They were meant to foreshadow the last judgment and to keep the end of the world present to the minds of Christians, without, however, exciting useless curiosity and vain fears. Theologians usually enumerate the following nine events as signs of the last judgment:
1. General Preaching of the Christian Religion. Concerning this sign the Saviour says: “And this gospel of the kingdom, shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations, and then shall the consummation come” (Matthew 24:14). This sign was understood by Chrysostom and Theophilus as referring to the destruction of Jerusalem, but, according to the majority of interpreters, Christ is here speaking of the end of the world.
2. Conversion of the Jews. According to the interpretation of the Fathers, the conversion of the Jews towards the end of the world is foretold by St. Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (11:25-26): “For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, . . . that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should come in. And so all Israel should be saved as it is written: There shall come out of Sion, he that shall deliver, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob”.
3. Return of Enoch and Elijah. The belief that these two men, who have never tasted death, are reserved for the last times to be precursors of the Second Advent was practically unanimous among the Fathers, which belief they base on several texts of Scripture. (Concerning Elijah see Malachi 4:5-6; Sirach 48:10; Matthew 17:11; concerning Enoch see Sirach 44:16)
4. A Great Apostasy. As to this event St. Paul admonishes the Thessalonians (2 Thessalonians 2:3) that they must not be terrified, as if the day of the Lord were at hand, for there must first come a revolt (he apostasia).The Fathers and interpreters understand by this revolt a great reduction in the number of the faithful through the abandonment of the Christian religion by many nations. Some commentators cite as confirmatory of this belief the words of Christ: “But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?” (Luke 18:8).
5. The Reign of Antichrist. In the passage above mentioned (2 Thessalonians 2:3 sqq.) St. Paul indicates as another sign of the day of the Lord, the revelation of the man of sin, the son of perdition. “The man of sin” here described is generally identified with the Antichrist, who, says St. John (1 John 2:18), is to come in the last days. Although much obscurity and difference of opinion prevails on this subject, it is generally admitted from the foregoing and other texts that before the Second Coming there will arise a powerful adversary of Christ, who will seduce the nations by his wonders, and persecute the Church.
6. Extraordinary Perturbations of Nature. The Scriptures clearly indicate that the judgment will be preceded by unwonted and terrifying disturbances of the physical universe (Matthew 24:29; Luke 21:25-26). The wars, pestilences, famines, and earthquakes foretold in Matthew 24:6 sq., are also understood by some writers as among the calamities of the last times.
7. The Universal Conflagration. In the Apostolic writings we are told that the end of the world will be brought about through a general conflagration, which, however, will not annihilate the present creation, but will change its form and appearance (2 Peter 3:10-13; cf. 1 Thessalonians 5:2; Apocalypse 3:3, and 16:15). Natural science shows the possibility of such a catastrophe being produced in the ordinary course of events, but theologians generally tend to believe that its origin will be entirely miraculous.
8. The Trumpet of Resurrection. Several texts in the New Testament make mention of a voice or trumpet which will awaken the dead to resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:52; 1 Thessalonians 4:15; John 5:28). According to St. Thomas (Supplement 86:2) there is reference in these passages either to the voice or to the apparition of Christ, which will cause the resurrection of the dead.
9. “The Sign of the Son of Man Appearing in the Heavens.” In Matthew 24:30, this is indicated as the sign immediately preceding the appearance of Christ to judge the world. By this sign the Fathers of the Church generally understand the appearance in the sky of the Cross on which the Saviour died or else of a wonderful cross of light.
III. CIRCUMSTANCES ACCOMPANYING THE GENERAL JUDGMENT
1. Time. As was stated above, the signs that are to precede the judgment give no accurate indication of the time when it will occur (Mark 13:32). When the Disciples asked the Saviour: “Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?” He answered: “It is not for you to know the times or moments, which the Father hath put in his own power” (Acts 1:6-7). The uncertainty of the day of judgment is continually urged by Christ and the Apostles as an incentive to vigilance. The day of the Lord will come “as a thief” (Matthew 24:42-43), like lightning suddenly appearing (Matthew 24:27), like a snare (Luke 21:34), as the Deluge (Matthew 24:37).
2. Place of the Judgment. All the texts in which mention is made of the Parusia, or Second Coming, seem to imply clearly enough that the general judgment will take place on the earth. Some commentators infer from 1 Thessalonians 4:16, that the judgment will be held in the air, the newly risen being carried into the clouds to meet Christ; according to others the prophecy of Joel (3:1 sq.) places the last judgment in the Valley of Josaphat.
3. The Coming of the Judge. That this judgment is ascribed to Christ, not only as God, but also as Man, is expressly declared in Scripture; for although the power of judging is common to all the Persons of the Trinity, yet it is specially attributed to the Son, because to Him also in a special manner is ascribed wisdom. But that as Man He will judge the world is confirmed by Christ Himself (John 5:26-27). At the Second Coming Christ will appear in the heavens, seated on a cloud and surrounded by the angelic hosts (Matthew 16:27; 24:30; 25:31). The angels will minister to the Judge by bringing all before Him (Matthew 24:31). The elect will aid Christ in a judicial capacity (1 Corinthians 6:2). The lives of the just will in themselves be a condemnation of the wicked (Matthew 21:41), whose punishment they will publicly approve. But the Apostles will be judges of the world in a sense yet more exact, for the promise that they shall sit upon twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Matthew 19:28) seems to imply a real participation in judicial authority. According to a very probable opinion, this prerogative is extended to all who have faithfully fulfilled the counsels of the Gospel (Matthew 19:27-28). Nothing certain is known as to the manner in which this delegated authority will be exercised. St. Thomas conjectures that the greater saints will make known the sentence of Christ to others (Supplement 88:2).
4. Those to be Judged. All men, both good and bad, according to the Athanasian Creed, will appear in the judgment to give an account of their deeds. As to children that have personally done neither good nor evil, the baptized must be distinguished from the unbaptized. The former appear in the judgment, not to be judged, but only to hold the glory of Christ (Supplement 80:5), while the latter, ranked with the wicked, although not judged, will be enabled to realize the justice of their eternal loss (Suarez). The angels and the demons will not be judged directly, since their eternal destiny has already been fixed; yet, because they have exercised a certain influence over the fortunes of men, the sentence pronounced on the latter will have a corresponding effect on them also (Supplement 89:8).
5. Object of the Judgment. The judgment will embrace all works, good or bad, forgiven as well as forgiven sins, every idle word (Matthew 12:36), every secret thought (1 Corinthians 4:5). With the exception of Peter Lombard, theologians teach that even the secret sins of the just will be made manifest, in order that judgment may be made complete and that the justice and mercy of God may be glorified. This will not pain or embarrass the saints, but add to their glory, just as the repentance of St. Peter and St. Mary Magdalen is to these saints a source of joy and honour.
6. Form of the Judgment. The procedure of the judgment is described in Matthew 25:31-46, and in the Apocalypse 20:12. Commentators see in those passages allegorical descriptions intended to convey in a vivid manner the fact that in the last judgment the conduct and deserts of each individual will be made plain not only to his own conscience but to the knowledge of the assembled world. It is probable that no words will be spoken in the judgment, but that in one instant, through a Divine illumination, each creature will thoroughly understand his own moral condition and that of every fellow creature (Romans 2:15). Many believe, however, that the words of the sentence: “Come, ye blessed”, etc. and “Depart from me”, etc. will be really addressed by Christ to the multitude of the saved and the lost.
IV. RESULTS OF THE GENERAL JUDGMENT
With the fulfilment of the sentence pronounced in the last judgment the relations and the dealings of the Creator with the creature find their culmination, are explained and justified. The Divine purpose being accomplished, the human race will, as a consequence, attain its final destiny. The reign of Christ over mankind will be the sequel of the General Judgment.
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J.A. MCHUGH Transcribed by Donald J. Boon
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume VIIICopyright © 1910 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, October 1, 1910. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Judgment, Last
1. A Transcendental Doctrine:
In Christian theology the Last Judgment is an act in which God interposes directly into human history, brings the course of this world to a final close, determines the eternal fate of human beings, and places them in surroundings spiritually adapted to their final condition. The concept is purely transcendental, and is to be distinguished from the hope that God will interfere in the history of this world to determine it undeviatingly toward good. The transcendental doctrine is possible only when an exalted idea of God has been attained, although it may afterward be united with crasser theories, as in certain naive conceptions of Christianity at the present day.
2. The Doctrine in the Religion of Israel:
In the religion of Israel, the doctrine of the Last Judgment arose from transcendentalizing the concept of the Day of the Lord. Just as hope of immortality replaced desire for length of days on earth, just the as for the rejuvenation of Palestine was substituted an eternal abode in a new earth, so the ideal of a military victory over Israel’s enemies expanded into God’s solemn condemnation of evil. The concept thus strictly defined is hardly to be sought in the Old Testament, but Dan 12:1-3 may contain it. The first unequivocal assertion would appear to be in Enoch 91:17, where the final state is contrasted with a preceding reign of earthly happiness. (If there has been no redaction in the latter part of this section, its date is prior to 165 BC.) Hereafter the idea is so prevalent in the Jewish writings that detailed reference is needless. But it is by no means universal. Writings touched with Greek thought (En 108; 4 Macc; Philo) are content with an individual judgment at death. A unique theory is that of the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs (Levi 18:8-14, e.g.), where the world grows into final blessedness without catastrophe. But much more common is the persistence of the non-transcendental ideas, ingrained as they were in the thought of the people (even in Philo; compare his prophecy of national earthly glory in Excr 9). This type of thought was so tenacious that it held its own alongside of the transcendental, and both points of view were accepted by more than one writer. Then the earthly happiness precedes the heavenly (as in Enoch 91), and there are two judgments, one by the Messiah and the other by God (2 Esdras 7; Syriac Baruch 30). So in Revelation 19 where Christ overcomes the enemies in battle-symbolism and establishes the Millennium, while the Last Judgment is held by God (Rev 20:11 ff). Otherwise the Messiah is never the judge except in the Parables of Enoch, where He appears as God’s vicar uniformly (in 47:3 God fixes the time of judgment only). Possibly in The Wisdom of Solomon 4:16; 5:1 men share in the judgment-act but otherwise they (and angels) appear only as assessors or as executors of the sentence. In The Wisdom of Solomon 3:8, judging is used in the Old Testament sense of rule (Jdg 3:10, etc.), as is the case in Mat 19:28 parallel Luk 22:30; 1Co 6:2, 1Co 6:3 (in the last case with the word in two senses). Further studies in the variation of the (rather conventionally fixed) details of the judgment will interest the special student only.
For discussions of the relevant Biblical passages, see DAY OF THE LORD; ESCHATOLOGY; PAROUSIA. The doctrine has real religious value, for it insists on a culmination in the evolution (or degeneration!) of the race as well as of the individual. So it is contrasted with the pessimism of natural science, which points only toward the gradual extinction of humanity through the cooling of the sun.
Literature.
The variations of the concept are treated, fully only in Volz, Judische Eschatologie. For general literature see ESCHATOLOGY; PAROUSIA.