Posted on 06/04/2008 9:56:30 PM PDT by Salvation
"This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven" (Acts 1, 11).
At the last day Jesus Christ shall come again with great power and glory to judge all mankind: "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on the throne of his glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another...And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life" (St. Matt. 25, 31- 46).
As to when the Day of Judgment will be we do not know. Many have attempted to specify a date, even the precise hour. Such people pour over the Scriptures looking for clues or hidden codes, especially the Book of Daniel and St. John's Revelation. However, Sacred Scripture itself makes it clear that "about that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (St. Matt. 24, 36). Nevertheless, there will be many signs preceding this momentous event:
(i) Wars and chastisements plaguing the nations to a degree unheralded in recorded history: "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places" (St. Matt. 24, 7);
(ii) The Church, formally the mustard seed, has by this time spread out its limbs throughout the world enabling all the birds the opportunity to nest in its branches (St. Matt. 13, 31): "And this good news of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the world, as a testimony to all the nations; and then the end will come" (St. Matt. 24, 14);
(iii) Heresy, schism and apostasy will be rampant in a world which has heard the Gospel but prefers the seductions of other sirens: "For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and produce great signs and omens, to lead astray, if possible, even the elect" (St. Matt. 24, 24);
(iv) As a punishment for its apostasy, the world will be allowed to be seduced by the greatest of all deceivers, the Antichrist: "Let no one deceive you in any way; for that day will not come unless the rebellion comes first and the lawless one is revealed, the one destined for destruction" (2 Thes. 2, 3);
(v) Confusion, fear and a sense of doom will grip the nations: "And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity at the roaring of the sea and the waves, men fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world; for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of man coming in a cloud with power and great glory" (St. Luke 21, 25-27).
When the Day of Judgment comes the Lord "will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart" (1 Cor. 4, 5); "I tell you, on the day of judgment you will have to give an account for every careless word you utter" (St. Matt. 12, 36); "and all were judged according to what they had done" (Rev. 20, 13). St. Paul exhorts all Christians to be on guard, leading just lives for the coming of this great day: "establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before our God and Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus with all his saints" (1 Thes. 3, 13).
The dealings of God with each individual shall also be made manifest and be acknowledged by all men; all souls in heaven, purgatory and hell will be united with their glorious or darkened bodies; the complete reward or punishment of each individual will be revealed to all others: "The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge" (Ps. 50 [49], 6).
All those who have lived and died on earth from the creation of Adam to the Day of Judgment shall attend the Judgment. Christ shall sit as Judge in the Valley of Jehoshaphat: "I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat, and I will enter into judgment with them there" (Joel 3, 2); "And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other" (St. Matt. 24, 31). He, who on earth was despised, calumnied, rejected and given a criminal’s execution on a cross, shall be glorified before humanity as the Lord of all. The Fathers The So-Called Second Letter of Clement of Rome to the Corinthians 1, 1 (C. 150 AD):
"Brethren, we think of Jesus Christ as God and as the Judge of the living and the dead." St. Justin Martyr, First Apology 53 (Inter 148-155 AD):
"Why should we believe a crucified man, that He is the Firstborn of the unbegotten God, and that He will pass judgment on the whole human race, if we had not found testimonies published about Him before He came and was made Man, and if we had not seen these predictions fulfilled?" St. Hippolytus of Rome, Against the Greeks 3 (Ante 225 AD):
"Standing before (Christ’s) judgment, all of them, men, angels, and demons, crying out in one voice, shall say: ‘Just is your judgment!’ And the justice of that cry will be apparent in the recompense made to each. To those who have done well, everlasting enjoyment shall be given; while to the lovers of evil shall be given eternal punishment." St. Cyprian of Carthage, The Lapsed 17 (251 AD):
"The Lord alone is able to have mercy. He alone, who bore our sins, who grieved for us, and whom God delivered up for our sins, is able to grant pardon for the sins which have been committed against Him...Certainly we believe that the merits of the martyrs and the works of the just will be of great avail with the Judge - but that will be when the day of judgment comes, when, after the end of this age and of the world, His people shall stand before the tribunal of Christ." St. Cyril of Alexandria, Against the Anthropomorphites 16 (Post 441 AD):
"The Divine Scripture says that the judgment is to take place after the resurrection of the dead. But the resurrection is not to take place until Christ returns to us from heaven in the glory of the Father with the holy angels...Since, therefore, Christ the Savior of all has not yet come down from heaven, neither has the resurrection taken place, nor has compensatory action been visited upon any...so that those who possess the wealth of this world might know that if they do not wish to be liberal and generous and social, and choose to come to assist the needs of the poor, they will be overtaken by a terrible and inevitable punishment." Catechism of the Council of Trent (1566)
Besides, it was right that the just should be encouraged by the hope, the wicked appalled by the terror, of a future judgment; so that knowing the justice of God the former should not be disheartened, while the latter through fear and expectation of eternal punishment might be recalled from the paths of vice. Hence, speaking of the last day, our Lord and Savior declares that a general judgment will one day take place, and He describes the signs of its approach, that seeing them, we may know that the end of the world is at hand. At His Ascension also, to console His Apostles, overwhelmed with grief at His departure, He sent angels, who said to them: This Jesus who is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven. Catechism of the Catholic Church (1992)
No. 673: Since the Ascension Christ’s coming in glory has been imminent, even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority." This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are "delayed."
No. 675: Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers. The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. The supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.
No. 678: Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgment of the Last day in his preaching. Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light. Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God’s grace as nothing be condemned. Our attitude about our neighbor will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love. On the last day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."
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Thank you for posting this. I enjoy reading about others beliefs.
Thanks. I just wonder what happened to all the other Ecumenical posters. Oh, well.
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