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Beginning with Adam and Eve and extending throughout the covenant history recorded in Scripture, God has formed for himself a people, Israel, who are called out ekklesia from the world into a community that is then sent back out to be a light to the nations Is The fullness of this community is found in Christ the Word Incarnate, Israel reduced to One, who came to earth to redeem his people by saving them from their sins through his suffering, death on the cross, and his resurrection to life.

God made known to the world this plan of salvation in his Son Jn 3: He tells us that he himself will build this Church and that the gates of hell will not prevail against it Mt Christ tells us later how he provides for his Church in Matthew He has given the gift of ministers to his Church 1 Cor The primary task to which Christ has called the Church, its ministers, and people is to go and make disciples, baptizing and teaching all that Christ has commanded us Mt As such, the Church is evangelized by God, but it also evangelizes for God.

The disciples who are created by this work of God the Holy Spirit are then cultivated and grow in their faith as a community of believers Acts 2: The Spirit flourishes in this community, which Christ has called his Church, enlivening it with his gifts Acts 2: The Apostle Paul provides two primary metaphors there are others which describe this community.

Apart from the head, there is no body, just as there are no branches without a vine Jn Salvation comes by being grafted on to the body of Christ through the work of the Spirit since no one can say "Jesus is Lord" except by the Holy Spirit 1 Cor As Jesus said, apart from him we can do nothing Jn The body cannot exist apart from the Spirit, nor can it exist apart from the head which is Christ.

But with the head and the Spirit there is indeed a body, a communion of forgiven saints who, animated by the Spirit, produce works which God prepared in advance for us to do, not to merit salvation but to give glory to him Eph 2: A second metaphor for the Church related to that of the body is what Paul presents in Ephesians 5. There he presents the imagery of the Church as the bride of Christ, with Christ, again "as the head of the Church, his body, of which he is the Savior Through his sacrifice of himself, Christ has cleansed his bride, presenting her pure and undefiled, so that he also may take her to be his own to live with him in holiness and righteousness.

The Church is not the one who sacrificed, nor is it the one who cleanses. Rather it is the Bridegroom who sacrifices himself for his bride and cleanses her, he is the one who feeds and cares for her, i. The bride, the Church, is in this sense joined to and submits to her Beloved; as such, she does what he himself has given her to do, promising that he will be with her until the very end of the age Mt The Church, then, is God's gift to the world.

While not all Evangelicals agree that the Creeds are authoritative, Catholics and Evangelicals can affirm that in the Creeds we found an expression of core Biblical teaching in many areas of doctrine, including the Church. After professing the Christian faith in God the Father and his work, in our Lord Jesus Christ and his life, and in the Holy Spirit and his sanctification of believers, we say that we believe "in one, holy, catholic and apostolic church".

Christians profess faith in the Church which exhibits the marks of unity, holiness, catholicity [19] and adherence to the apostolic faith and teaching. But we do not believe in the Church in the same way that we believe in the divine persons of the Trinity confessed earlier in the Creed. We put our confidence and faith in our triune God. We trust him and commit ourselves totally to him, our rock and our salvation. Our faith is in God alone, our salvation comes from him Ps The Church and its ministers are in service to this salvation wherever the marks of the true Church are found.

The Church is in service to the Gospel, as Paul says, because when Christ has reconciled us to himself he has also given to us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation" 2 Cor 5: The world will not hear this message of reconciliation apart from the Church, her ministers, and her people, who are to proclaim this message so that people may hear it Rom And how are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard?

And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? The Church, as the body of Christ, is the usual place where the offer of salvation is heard and extended. By the power of the Holy Spirit, she proclaims Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, with a view to persuading people to repent and come to him personally and so be reconciled to God and become part of his community of faith Mt 4: For many if not most Evangelicals, baptism is the primary means by which God incorporates people into his Church Mt As foregrounding for our questions, we as Evangelicals would like to, first of all, make the following observation.

We have noted and appreciated the Catholic emphasis in our discussions on the love and mercy of God when dealing with the question of the assurance of salvation. We can see that Catholics are convinced of both the love of God and the mercy of God, as well as the fact that God takes sin seriously. Therefore, when Catholics are asked about whether they can be sure of salvation, they will respond in hope and trust but also with what appears to Evangelicals as uncertainty.

The uncertainty stems from the fact, they tell us, of being confronted by almighty God who is transcendent and holy but also all merciful, and yet still before whom we are unworthy because of our sin; this is the cause for the Catholic reticence about language of assurance of salvation, whereas Evangelicals speak of their confidence in being saved.

But Evangelicals have come to realize that when Catholics speak of hope, they do so in the context of Romans 5: We also understand that Catholics are also concerned that the doctrine of the assurance of salvation of which Evangelicals speak can be misused to imply that those who do not express such assurance do not have faith, which is indeed what some Evangelicals often mean to say.

As Evangelicals, we appreciate the insight into the mercy of God and the humility that Catholics express in the face of the holiness of God. We understand that they do not feel it is their place to speak for God in saying that they can be sure of their own personal salvation: When Catholics are asked whether they are saved, they often will say "I hope," or "I trust. This love is revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And they hope for salvation, then, because they have experienced the mercy of God through the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and trust in his promise.

To say, however, that they are saved as an accomplished fact, we understand, would be perceived as presumption on their part and is not in line with Catholic teaching. Can Catholics live with the hope of the promise without the assurance of the fulfillment? What makes Catholics hesitate or doubt when we have the clear promises in Scripture that forgiveness is ours in Christ Jesus and that Christ himself wills our salvation see Gen 3: We Evangelicals have come to appreciate through our discussions the fact that you want to emphasize the mercy and love of God and that this view is grounded in the confidence you have that God loves all and wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth 1 Tim 2: The fact that Scripture does say that God is love 1 Jn 4: And yet we still wonder if saying something on which Scripture has not spoken, i.

There is no further need for cleansing after death because that cleansing has occurred by Christ on the cross which we appropriate by faith. While we understand that you do not see this purging as meritorious, we still would like to ask on the one hand where this can be found in Scripture, but also why purgatory is still needed if Christ has redeemed us completely in both soul and body?

In this connection, we would also like to ask: If you truly believe in an all merciful and loving God who redeems us in Christ and that it is not by your merits that you are saved and salvation is given why do you continue to use the language of the treasury of merit, satisfaction, and indulgences?

We Evangelicals understand that Catholics too require preparation for baptism and spiritual formation for the parents of the children, which is very important. But we also understand that the family many times does not appear in church after the Baptism which seems to make Baptism simply into a work that is performed. We would like to ask what follow-up occurs when an infant is baptized?

Is the impression given that Baptism is just simply a work that needs to be performed? We were glad to hear that there is an emphasis on catechesis which needs to occur with the baptismal family, but what is the role of discipleship in relation to Baptism?

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Is the Church doing enough after the child is baptized to ensure disciples are being made? What is the role of the clergy in this as well as the larger Church community? We also have discerned that the efficacy of the sacraments in the Catholic Church is largely bound and tied together with the sacraments of ordination and more specifically episcopal ordination.

On the one hand, we are grateful to hear you saying that our sacramental acts do accomplish something, although you are unclear what that something is. We also want to reaffirm that we know you do recognize our baptisms as valid and do not require a rebaptism. Nonetheless, because you tie the efficacy and benefit of the sacraments to the episcopal orders we still need to ask: Does not the way that your church restricts the full benefit of church acts to the ordained clergy of the Catholic Church still end up devaluing and ultimately calling into question what, if any, benefit occurs for the salvation of members in Evangelical churches?

In other words, if the sacraments are central to the life of the church, but the sacraments of Evangelical churches at least those which have them do not accomplish as much in our churches as they do in Catholic churches, does not that end up saying that our ministry is less effective than the ministry which occurs in the Catholic Church?

This also becomes a key issue with regard to absolution. Can Evangelicals who confess their sins and receives forgiveness from their pastor - or from a fellow Christian in those without ordained clergy - know for sure that their sins are forgiven? As foregrounding to our questions, we as Catholics would note that our conversations have brought us much clarity into the Evangelical understanding of the assurance of salvation.

We have now come to understand that this moment of assurance of salvation is a decisive point to be followed by turning back to Christ day by day, trusting in him only and referring daily to what God has done for you by his grace. We have been grateful to learn that you stress the need to be diligent in daily living your faithfulness to Christ through repentance and faith.

We have also learned that Evangelicals distinguish between certainty and security. In terms of a morally rational self-awareness of Christians, there may never be a certainty of salvation in the formal sense, but a certainty which gives peace with God to the conscience burdened with temptations. We had heard in your claim of assurance or certainty a presumption, perhaps even an arrogance, in the self-referential claim that "you have decided" to follow Jesus and were thus saved.

The Gospel is the Good News of the promise of salvation, and you trust God and his promises, and thus have assurance and certainty. There is not as big a gap between Catholic language of trust and hope and Evangelical language of assurance as we had thought. We too believe that God wants to forgive and redeem us, that God the Son died to forgive us and to reveal a boundless mercy to us.

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We too have heard this promise in the Scriptures, have felt it stirring in our inmost being, and hear in the Gospel an invitation to live in joy because God is doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves, in all of this, we have found more common ground than we had anticipated. Catholics nonetheless would like to ask Evangelicals the following questions:. The subsequent question to others "are you saved? In practice, how does this language move past a self-referential focus to place the emphasis on the great mercy and faithfulness of God?

How do you deal with sin committed after giving your life to the Lord? And how do you interpret Heb 6: We also understand that Evangelicals wish to affirm the efficacy of the saving action of Jesus' death on the cross. For Catholics, purgatory is the state of those who die in God's friendship, assured of their eternal salvation, but who still have need of purification to enter into the happiness of heaven. We believe that because of the communion of saints, the faithful who are still pilgrims on earth are able to help the souls in purgatory by offering prayers in suffrage for them, especially the Eucharist.

While the explicit scriptural warrant for purgatory is in the book of Maccabees in the Septuagint 2 Macc While affirming the once for all saving power of the cross, which Catholics also affirm, might there be an openness from Evangelicals to the possibility of recognizing such an intermediate state of purification as compatible with Scripture? Could you understand the communion of saints as having a role to play in this period of purification? We also appreciate and agree that the Gospel is to be proclaimed to all creatures, and share a sense of obligation and privilege to preach Jesus Christ to those who have never heard the Gospel message.

The Second Vatican Council noted that a sharing in the paschal mystery is made possible "not only to Christians but to all people of good will in whose hearts grace is secretly at work. Since Christ died for everyone, and since the ultimate calling of each of us comes from God and is, therefore, a universal one, we are obliged to hold that the holy Spirit offers everyone the possibility of sharing in this paschal mystery in a manner known to God" Gaudium et Spes 22; cf.

Lumen Gentium 16, Ad Gentes 7. This affirmation, however, does not exempt Christians from proclaiming the Gospel unto the ends of the earth; this mission remains of utmost importance. We would ask Evangelicals if the same paschal mystery which allows you to speak of an assurance of salvation for believers would not allow you to have a more hope-filled view of the possibility of God offering salvation to non-believers in a way that is known only to God?

Tim Staples - What happens when we die?

And yet in our conversations, we often heard an emphasis on salvation in the next life without much consideration for the human condition in this life. Perhaps this was due to the limited number of topics discussed. Still, we would want to ask: Could there be some benefit to balancing your concern for the next life with Jesus' teaching on the Kingdom of God for this life with its concerns for social justice and the welfare of humanity?

Might we look for transformation in the present world as well as the world to come? We understand that there are differences among Evangelicals regarding the role of the sacraments in the life of the Church. There does seem to be at least some agreement that Baptism and the Lord's Supper play an important part in our Lord's teaching about the Church and the benefits they bring to the believer Mt Why have the sacraments lost their primary role, and what might you be missing by not celebrating the sacraments?

How can they be recovered as gifts of God to his people as expressed in the New Testament? Do all forms of worship and sacred actions have the same value in your tradition? Is it contrary to the New Testament to define sacred actions as signs and instruments of salvation?

Could Evangelicals begin to study how these gifts of God might be put to a deeper and more prominent use in the life of the Church? Catholics and Evangelicals rejoice in the gifts of salvation and the Church which God has given to the world he loves so much. They are gifts freely given, and freely received. Christ has told us how he provides for his Church ensuring that the forgiveness of sins he won for us and for our salvation will always remain central to the purpose and message of the Church. Both Evangelicals and Catholics rejoice in the gift of the ministry of reconciliation which is given to the Church by Jesus Christ.

Having received this gift from the crucified and risen Lord, the Church is then entrusted and empowered by the Holy Spirit to deliver that message of hope and forgiveness to our world in desperate need of reconciliation with its creator. In the words of the Samuel J. Stone hymn sung by many Catholics and Evangelicals:. We come from places where there are very good relations and places where the relations are marred by tension and mistrust.

But we were entrusted to represent our own ecclesial traditions faithfully and to reflect the realities of Catholic and Evangelical relations around the globe. It became clear early on that Evangelicals represent a wide diversity of Christian communities. Each community had its own perspective to offer which, while challenging at times, also offered the opportunity to discover the rich and legitimate diversity of the people of God, as well as the bonds of communion.

One purpose of this consultation was to learn from one another and also to challenge one another in what we believe, teach and confess. A second purpose was to clarify the current state of relations between us and to provide a way forward that would help us to improve those relations where there are difficulties and to support and encourage those places where the situation is more positive.

During the consultation, we also had the opportunity to see the deep and committed faith of our partner even as we also were able to share our own faith experiences in an open and candid way. We also sought to address issues of doctrine and practice, always attentive to the perspective of the local communities.

Over the past six years, we have built up trust with our dialogue partners, allowing us to address difficult issues in a frank but gracious way. We invite our churches to take time to engage in a process of study and reflection on the issues, challenges, and questions they will encounter in this document. Our consultation has learned that it is when we respect and treat one another in a Christian manner that our communities are able to make progress in our relationships with one another in Christ. In humility, we have learned that we must put aside our own self-assurances and focus on Jesus Christ, "the way, the truth, and the life" Jn We have also learned that we need to understand the words of the other as they are intended.

We each came with preconceptions of the other, but we have opened up to listen to and discover how the other views the doctrines chosen for discussion in this consultation: Scripture and Tradition, and the Church and salvation. We entered into new experiences and insights that we might not have had otherwise. Through these experiences, we have come to know one another and ourselves better.

Our consultation has confirmed that real differences remain between Evangelicals and Catholics about certain aspects of the life of faith, but also that we share convictions about Jesus that ground our call to mission. As well, our communities share similar convictions about the Christian life: Christ is forming us by the Holy Spirit into a faithful people called together and sent into the world to obey and serve Him by participating in his life and mission.

The Lord calls us not only to enter into conversation but to live out the implications of that conversation. The unity he desires for his disciples is not a theoretical unity but a lived one, "so that the world may believe" Jn In this concluding section, it is our intent to address local communities of Evangelicals and Catholics worldwide, mindful of very diverse contexts and states of relations. We would invite them to consider both the convergences noted in the text above and the areas of divergence and mutual questioning. Where there have points of agreement or convergence, we would invite local communities to ask: What can we appropriately and responsibly undertake together, without compromising our convictions, without overstating our current level of agreement?

How is the Lord asking us to grow together at this moment in time? There are limits to what can be said in response to each of these questions. Furthermore, there will be differences from place to place. What is possible in Canada may not be possible in Guatemala; what is possible in Germany may not be possible in Spain.

If at first glance in your local situation, significant steps forward do not seem possible, or the convergences named seem problematic, we would encourage you to ask each other the questions you have and to discuss them; and we would nevertheless encourage you to ask what small steps are possible here and now. In all of this, we are mindful that reconciliation is always the work of God, not us; but the Lord has invited us to play our part in our reconciliation towards one another.

In those areas where our conversation has noted convergences, we would invite you to ask the following questions:. Are there things that are critical for our communities to do together now? Should we take the opportunity of the th anniversary of the Reformation to reflect together afresh on what the Gospel means for us and how it brings good news to our needy world?

Are there any times and places where it would be appropriate for us to pray together?


  1. Can Catholics and Evangelicals Agree about Purgatory and the Last Judg….
  2. Reward Yourself.
  3. The Common Law.

If yes, what ought to shape our common prayer? We would also invite you to ponder the divergences and questions which our document has noted. As we have stated, divergences and remaining questions need not signify the end of our relations, but can fruitfully set the agenda for future discussions. While convergences may appropriately lead us to common action and growth in our relations, further clarity about convergences and divergences alike can lead us to study, especially at a local level, so that what we hold in common and what separates us might be better understood.

A key feature of this document was the mutual questioning in a spirit of striving to understand. Some of these questions we asked could be fruitfully discussed on a congregational level; others might be better discussed in ministerial associations or in seminaries and theology faculties. The questions that we have asked each other are not exhaustive. We have asked them in part to stimulate discussion, self-understanding, and learning, about the other, and about ourselves.

Perhaps your local experience suggests more convergences than we have named; perhaps less. We encourage you to ask further questions in your own context, using the methodology which we used. We invite you to consider gathering together a group of interested Evangelicals and Catholics in your area to hold a series of discussions on matters of importance in your own contexts.

Choose a subject that you would like to address, of mutual interest, and invite participants to offer presentations or share on what is being discussed. Enter into the process with your convictions, but also with humility and an open heart. Ask each other questions, and listen deeply to the responses of your conversation partner. Look for areas where you can encourage each other, where you can learn from the other.

Pray that the Holy Spirit guide your conversations. Finally, we invite you to view dialogue and consultation as a way of engaging your faith, and as a standing together before Christ. Christ is the truth and the fullness of truth can only be found in him. We invite you to consider joining us in pledging ourselves to mutual conversation, consolation, and continuation in admonishing and encouraging one another to remain faithful to the Word who gave us his word that he would be with us to the end of the age Mt Rev Prof Dr Joel C.

Elowsky, Concordia Seminary, St. Rev Prof Dr Timoteo D. Insights and Perspectives from Africa". A Catholic Experience" communication. Fairbanks, "Scriptures in the Life and Mission of the Church: Study tour to some important historical sites of the Lutheran Reformation Erfurt, Wittemberg, and Eisleben. Local contacts with members of the "Saskatoon Evangelical-Catholic Dialogue".

Drafting Committee mandated with finalizing the text after consultation with all participants. What is the breakdown percentage of Evangelical and Catholic populations in your area? Any further statistical information about Evangelicals in your area would be helpful. What contacts do you have with them? Identify three common concerns jointly facing Evangelicals and Catholics in your region that could provide opportunities for common public witness.

Have you engaged in common witness on those questions? Are there occasions where Evangelicals and Catholics gather together in common prayer in your region, whether as the two communities, at broader ecumenical celebrations, or alongside other faith communities? Do you have occasions to engage together in initiatives aimed at advocating the common good, or promoting justice and peace? Are there any instances where Evangelicals and Catholics are engaging in common study e. Are you aware of the international consultations between Evangelicals and Catholics or national discussions which have taken place in some countries in recent decades?

Do you do anything within your churches to deepen our understanding of the other, in order to move past misunderstandings and misconceptions? Are there opportunities for Evangelical and Catholic leadership to regularly meet in your region? If so, do you take part? Are Evangelicals and Catholics fellow participants in ecumenical organizations in your area? Have you had any other interaction with Evangelicals? How has your relationship been in the past both positive and negative , and have those relations changed in recent years?

Has there been any noticeable change within Evangelical churches in recent decades? What are the implications of those changes for relations in your region? What are the main challenges that you see in your context for Evangelical-Catholic relations and dialogue? What hinders our working together? To what extent are Evangelical efforts at proclaiming the Gospel - evangelizing, looking to deepen the personal faith of the hearer - perceived on the Catholic side as proselytism? Do you feel proselytism complicates Evangelical-Catholic relations in your region, and is there anything you are doing to address this?

How do you regard Evangelical communities - as ecclesial communities are as sects? How do you regard individual Evangelicals? Do you see them as fellow Christians, as brothers and sisters in Christ? To the best of your knowledge, what would you say is the approximate number of Evangelicals in your country? What has been the tension between Evangelicals and Catholics in the past? What are the tensions today, if any? Have you seen any improvement in relations between the two? Has your community church had contact with Catholics in the past? Is there contact with Catholics in the present? Would your community church see Catholics as brothers and sisters in insert term for geographical area in Christ?

Why or why not? If you can, list three common concerns jointly facing Evangelicals and Roman Catholics in your region, which provide opportunities for common public witness e. Have you or your national alliance engaged in common witness on those questions? What are the implications of those changes for relations with Catholics in your region, if any? Are there any instances where Evangelicals and Catholics are engaging in common study i. Are Evangelicals and Catholics fellow participants in ecumenical or inter-Christian organizations in your area? What are the main challenges that you see in your context for Evangelicals-Catholic relations and dialogue?

How can we of the WEA help national and regional alliances in facilitating dialogue with the Catholics on a national or regional level? Recommendations far Conduct, Preamble, Geneva, 28 June Student of the Church Fathers New York: Continuum International Publishing, Crossroad, , Walter Kasper, Harvesting the Fruits: Continuum, , The doctrine and iconographic depiction of the "Last Judgment" are drawn from many passages from the apocalyptic sections of the Bible, but most notably from Jesus' teaching of the strait gate in the Gospel of Matthew and also found in the Gospel of Luke:.

Enter ye in at the strait gate: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it. Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore, by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me: Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of Heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in Heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name?

And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: Then said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them, Strive to enter in at the strait gate: When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets.

But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. It also appears in the Sheep and the Goats section of Matthew where the judgment seems entirely based on help given or refused to "one of the least of these my brethren" [2] who are identified in Matthew 12 as "whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven".

All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats, and he will put the sheep at his right hand and the goats at the left. The doctrine is further supported by passages in the Books of Daniel , Isaiah and the Revelation:. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it.

From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers, and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

Let anyone with ears listen! I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: Yes, I tell you, fear him! I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

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. As such, Anglican and Methodist theology holds that "there is an intermediate state between death and the resurrection of the dead , 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.

Anglican and Methodist theology holds that at the time of the Last Day , "Jesus will return and that He will 'judge both the quick and the dead'," [16] [17] and "all [will] 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 Belief in the Last Judgment often linked with the General judgment is held firmly in Catholicism. Immediately upon death each soul undergoes the particular judgment , and depending upon the state of the person's soul, goes to Heaven , Purgatory , or Hell.

Last Judgment

A soul in Purgatory will always reach Heaven, but those in Hell will be there eternally. The Last Judgment will occur after the resurrection of the dead and the reuniting of a person's soul with its own physical body. A decisive factor in the Last Judgement will be the question, if the corporal works of mercy were practiced or not during lifetime.

They rate as important acts of charity. Therefore, and according to the biblical sources Mt 5: During 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.

These differences may only be apparent and not actual due to differing theological terminology and tradition. The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that there are two judgments: This judgment is generally believed to occur on the fortieth day after death. Although in modern times some have attempted to introduce the concept of soul sleep into Orthodox thought about life after death, it has never been a part of traditional Orthodox teaching, and it even contradicts the Orthodox understanding of the intercession of the Saints.

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 salvation is obtained only through Christ and his Church, the fate of those outside the Church at the Last Judgment is left to the mercy of God and is not declared.

The theme of the Last Judgment is extremely important in Orthodoxy. Traditionally, an Orthodox church will have a fresco or mosaic of the Last Judgment on the back western wall see the 12th-century mosaic pictured at the top of this page so that the faithful, as they leave the services, are reminded that they will be judged by what they do during this earthly life.

The icon of the Last Judgment traditionally depicts Christ Pantokrator , enthroned in glory on a white throne, surrounded by the Theotokos Virgin Mary , John the Baptist , Apostles , saints and angels. Beneath the throne the scene is divided in half with the "mansions of the righteous" John Separating the two is the River of fire which proceeds from Jesus' left foot.

For more detail, see below. The theme of the Last Judgment is found in the funeral and memorial hymnody of the Church, and is a major theme in the services during Great Lent. It is also found in the hymns of the Octoechos used on Saturdays throughout the year. Lutherans do not believe in any sort of earthly millennial kingdom of Christ either before or after his second coming on the last day.

Particularly among those Protestant groups who adhere to a millennialist eschatology, the Last Judgment is said to be carried out before the Great White Throne by Jesus Christ to either eternal life or eternal consciousness in the lake of fire at the end of time. Salvation is granted by grace based on the individual's surrender and commitment to Jesus Christ. A second particular judgment they refer to as the Bema Seat judgement occurs after or as salvation is discerned when awards are granted based on works toward heavenly treasures.

Nevertheless, the body is not fully redeemed until after Death is destroyed after the Great Tribulation. Protestant Millennialism falls into roughly two categories: Premillennialist Christ's second coming precedes the millennium and Postmillennialist which sees Christ's second coming as occurring after the millennium. Dispensational premillennialism generally holds that Israel and the Church are separate.

It also widely holds to the pretribulational return of Christ, which believes that Jesus will return before a seven-year Tribulation followed by an additional return of Christ with his saints. Although the Last Judgment is preached by a great part of Christian mainstream churches; the Esoteric Christian traditions like the Essenes and Rosicrucians , the Spiritualist movement , Christian Science , and some liberal theologies reject the traditional conception of the Last Judgment, as inconsistent with an all-just and loving God , in favor of some form of universal salvation.

Max Heindel taught that when the Day of Christ comes, marking the end of the current fifth or Aryan epoch, the human race will have to pass a final examination or last judgment, where, as in the Days of Noah , [44] the chosen ones or pioneers, the sheep , will be separated from the goats or stragglers, [45] by being carried forward into the next evolutionary period, inheriting the ethereal conditions of the New Galilee in the making.

Nevertheless, it is emphasized that all beings of the human evolution will ultimately be saved in a distant future as they acquire a superior grade of consciousness and altruism. At the present period, the process of human evolution is conducted by means of successive rebirths in the physical world [46] and the salvation is seen as being mentioned in Revelation 3: However, this western esoteric tradition states—like those who have had a near-death experience —that after the death of the physical body, at the end of each physical lifetime and after the life review period which occurs before the silver cord is broken , it occurs a judgment , more akin to a Final Review or End Report over one's life , where the life of the subject is fully evaluated and scrutinized.

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 much less common subject than in the West during the Middle Ages. In the 15th century it also appeared as the central section of a triptych on altarpieces , with the side panels showing heaven and hell, as in the Beaune Altarpiece or a triptych by Hans Memling. The usual composition has Christ seated high in the centre, flanked by angels and the Virgin Mary and John the Evangelist who are supplicating on behalf of the souls being judged in what is called a Deesis group in Orthodoxy.

Saint Michael is often shown, either weighing souls on scales or directing matters, and there might be a large crowd of saints, angels, and the saved around the central group. At the bottom of the composition a crowd of souls 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 heaven , often shown as a fortified gateway , while the damned are handed over to devils who herd them down into hell on the right; the composition therefore has a circular pattern of movement.

Often the damned disappear into a Hellmouth , the mouth of a huge monster, an image of Anglo-Saxon origin. The damned often include figures of high rank, wearing crowns, mitres and often the Papal tiara during the lengthy periods when there were antipopes , or in Protestant depictions. There may be detailed depictions of the torments of the damned.

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Included in this fresco is his self-portrait, as St. Bartholomew 's flayed skin. As a variable cluster of 96 painted portraits of people found on the World Wide Web, the protagonists can interchange their status within the composition. The image in Eastern Orthodox icons has a similar composition, but usually less space is devoted to Hell, and there are often a larger number of scenes; the Orthodox readiness to label figures with inscriptions often allows more complex compositions.

There is more often a large group of saints around Christ which may include animals , and the hetoimasia or "empty throne", containing a cross, is usually shown below Christ, often guarded by archangels; figures representing Adam and Eve may kneel below it or below Christ. A distinctive feature of the Orthodox composition, especially in Russian icons, is a large band leading like a chute from the feet of Christ down to Hell; this may resemble a striped snake or be a "river of Fire" coloured flame red.

If it is shown as a snake, it attempts to bite Adam on the heel, but as he is protected by Christ is unsuccessful. The sequence of events according to the most commonly held belief is the annihilation of all creatures, resurrection of the body, and the judgment of all sentient creatures. It is a time where everyone would be shown his or her deeds and actions with justice.

The exact time when these events will occur is unknown, however there are said to be major [50] and minor signs [51] which are to occur near the time of Qiyammah End time. It is believed that prior to the time of Qiyammah , two dangerous, evil tribes called Yajooj and Majooj are released from a dam-resembling wall that Allah makes stronger everyday.

Other signs being the coming of Isa bin Maryam Jesus appearance of Antichrist masih Dajjal ,the sun rising from the west and the animal who will warn the mankind Beast of the Earth. Also other signs like the blowing of the first trumpet by an archangel israfil , the coming of rain of mercy that will cause human to grow from the last remain of a back bone.


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  • Belief in Judgment Day is considered a fundamental tenet of faith by all Muslims. It is one of the six articles of faith. The trials and tribulations associated with it are detailed in both the Quran and the hadith , sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Hence they were added in the commentaries of the Islamic expositors and scholarly authorities such as al-Ghazali , Ibn Kathir , Ibn Majah , Muhammad al-Bukhari , and Ibn Khuzaimah who explain them in detail.

    Every human, Muslim and non-Muslim alike, is believed to be held accountable for their deeds and are believed to be judged by God accordingly. In Judaism , beliefs vary about a last day of judgment for all mankind. Some rabbis hold that there will be such a day following the resurrection of the dead. Others hold that this accounting and judgment happens when one dies.