Category:Last Judgment (subject)

@2016 Gabriele Boccaccini, University of Michigan

The idea of the Last Judgment was not shared by all Jews in the Second Temple period. Sadducees and Hellenistic Jews denied the idea of a new creation. God is the Judge but judges all individuals in their lifetime, punishing or awarding them according to their good or evil deeds. There can be some apparent delays in God's punishment or reward, but by the end of their life everybody will receive what they deserve.

For it is easy with the Lord on the day of death to repay people according to their deeds. A moment's affliction bring forgetfulness of past delights; when a person dies, their life is revealed. Call no one happy, before death, for [by how one ends,] a person is truly known. (Sirach 11:26-28)

Those Jewish groups (Pharisees and Essenes) who expected a new creation, believed that a Last Judgment would occur at the End of Times and would result in the punishment (and destruction) of the sinners and the reward (and salvation) of the righteous.

It was also generally understood that the Last Judgment would be "according to each one's deeds", even though there were discussions and disagreements about which deeds would be considered.

The ancient world did not know the modern principle that "the Law is equal for everyone". The practice and experience of ancient societies was that different laws apply to different people. Therefore, it was commonly accepted the fact that different people would be judged differently even in the Last Judgment. Everything depended on what different people were expected to do. Males and females, free people and slaves, Jews and Gentiles were subjected to different laws.

God was viewed as the supreme Judge, but in some Jewish apocalyptic circles there was a widespread belief that the Last Judgment would be the work of God's Messiah, the Son of Man. Christians claimed that Jesus was the Messiah Son of Man who would return at the end of times as the Final Judge.

The Judgment was understood to be done with Justice and Mercy. Those Jewish groups that stressed the freewill of humans insisted that the Last Judgment was a test of human responsibility. God however would take mercifully into account the good deeds also, and would not limit the judgment to the punishment of transgressions.

Apocalyptic groups, who put much more emphasis on the superhuman origin of evil, would rather stress the divine attitude to forgiveness. In the Parables of Enoch (ch.50) it is stated that at the end God would forgive those sinners who repent. Christians believed that God had sent his Messiah Son of Man as the Forgiver.

Judgment in the Testament of Abraham

11. So Michael turned the chariot and brought Abraham to the east, to the first gate of heaven; and Abraham saw two ways, the one narrow and contracted, the other broad and spacious, and there he saw two gates, the one broad on the broad way, and the other narrow on the narrow way. And outside the two gates there he saw a man sitting upon a gilded throne, and the appearance of that man was terrible, as of the Lord. And they saw many souls driven by angels and led in through the broad gate, and other souls, few in number, that were taken by the angels through the narrow gate. And when the wonderful one who sat upon the golden throne saw few entering through the narrow gate, and many entering through the broad one, straightway that wonderful one tore the hairs of his head and the sides of his beard, and threw himself on the ground from his throne, weeping and lamenting. But when he saw many souls entering through the narrow gate, then he arose from the ground and sat upon his throne in great joy, rejoicing and exulting. And Abraham asked the chief-captain, My Lord chief-captain, who is this most marvelous man, adorned with such glory, and sometimes he weeps and laments, and sometimes he rejoices and exults? The incorporeal one said: This is the first-created Adam who is in such glory, and he looks upon the world because all are born from him, and when he sees many souls going through the narrow gate, then he arises and sits upon his throne rejoicing and exulting in joy, because this narrow gate is that of the just, that leads to life, and they that enter through it go into Paradise. For this, then, the first-created Adam rejoices, because he sees the souls being saved. But when he sees many souls entering through the broad gate, then he pulls out the hairs of his head, and casts himself on the ground weeping and lamenting bitterly, for the broad gate is that of sinners, which leads to destruction and eternal punishment. And for this the first-formed Adam falls from his throne weeping and lamenting for the destruction of sinners, for they are many that are lost, and they are few that are saved, for in seven thousand there is scarcely found one soul saved, being righteous and undefiled.

12. While he was yet saying these things to me, behold two angels, fiery in aspect, and pitiless in mind, and severe in look, and they drove on thousands of souls, pitilessly lashing them with fiery thongs. The angel laid hold of one soul, and they drove all the souls in at the broad gate to destruction. So we also went along with the angels, and came within that broad gate, and between the two gates stood a throne terrible of aspect, of terrible crystal, gleaming as fire, and upon it sat a wondrous man bright as the sun, like to the Son of God. Before him stood a table like crystal, all of gold and fine linen, and upon the table there was lying a book, the thickness of it six cubits, and the breadth of it ten cubits, and on the right and left of it stood two angels holding paper and ink and pen. Before the table sat an angel of light, holding in his hand a balance, and on his left sat an angel all fiery, pitiless, and severe, holding in his hand a trumpet, having within it all-consuming fire with which to try the sinners. The wondrous man who sat upon the throne himself judged and sentenced the souls, and the two angels on the right and on the left wrote down, the one on the right the righteousness and the one on the left the wickedness. The one before the table, who held the balance, weighed the souls, and the fiery angel, who held the fire, tried the souls. And Abraham asked the chief-captain Michael, What is this that we behold? And the chief-captain said, These things that you see, holy Abraham, are the judgment and recompense. And behold the angel holding the soul in his hand, and he brought it before the judge, and the judge said to one of the angels that served him, Open me this book, and find me the sins of this soul. And opening the book he found its sins and its righteousness equally balanced, and he neither gave it to the tormentors, nor to those that were saved, but set it in the midst.

13. And Abraham said, My Lord chief-captain, who is this most wondrous judge? And who are the angels that write down? And who is the angel like the sun, holding the balance? And who is the fiery angel holding the fire? The chief-captain said, Do you see, most holy Abraham, the terrible man sitting upon the throne? This is the son of the first created Adam, who is called Abel, whom the wicked Cain killed, and he sits thus to judge all creation, and examines righteous men and sinners. For God has said, I shall not judge you, but every man born of man shall be judged. Therefore he has given to him judgment, to judge the world until his great and glorious coming, and then, O righteous Abraham, is the perfect judgment and recompense, eternal and unchangeable, which no one can alter. For every man has come from the first-created, and therefore they are first judged here by his son, and at the second coming they shall be judged by the twelve tribes of Israel, every breath and every creature. But the third time they shall be judged by the Lord God of all, and then, indeed, the end of that judgment is near, and the sentence terrible, and there is none to deliver. And now by three tribunals the judgment of the world and the recompense is made, and for this reason a matter is not finally confirmed by one or two witnesses, but by three witnesses shall everything be established. The two angels on the right hand and on the left, these are they that write down the sins and the righteousness, the one on the right hand writes down the righteousness, and the one on the left the sins. The angel like the sun, holding the balance in his hand, is the archangel, Dokiel the just weigher, and he weighs the righteousnesses and sins with the righteousness of God. The fiery and pitiless angel, holding the fire in his hand, is the archangel Puruel, who has power over fire, and tries the works of men through fire, and if the fire consume the work of any man, the angel of judgment immediately seizes him, and carries him away to the place of sinners, a most bitter place of punishment. But if the fire approves the work of anyone, and does not seize upon it, that man is justified, and the angel of righteousness takes him and carries him up to be saved in the lot of the just. And thus, most righteous Abraham, all things in all men are tried by fire and the balance.

14. And Abraham said to the chief-captain, My Lord the chief-captain, the soul which the angel held in his hand, why was it adjudged to be set in the midst? The chief-captain said, Listen, righteous Abraham. Because the judge found its sins. and its righteousnesses equal, he neither committed it to judgment nor to be saved, until the judge of all shall come. Abraham said to the chief-captain, And what yet is wanting for the soul to be saved? The chief-captain said, If it obtains one righteousness above its sins, it enters into salvation. Abraham said to the chief-captain, Come hither, chief-captain Michael, let us make prayer for this soul, and see whether God will hear us. The chief-captain said, Amen, be it so; and they made prayer and entreaty for the soul, and God heard them, and when they rose up from their prayer they did not see the soul standing there. And Abraham said to the angel, Where is the soul that you held in the midst? And the angel answered, It has been saved by your righteous prayer, and behold an angel of light has taken it and carried it up into Paradise. Abraham said, I glorify the name of God, the Most High, and his immeasurable mercy. And Abraham said to the chief-captain, I beseech you, archangel, hearken to my prayer, and let us yet call upon the Lord, and supplicate his compassion, and entreat his mercy for the souls of the sinners whom I formerly, in my anger, cursed and destroyed, whom the earth devoured, and the wild beasts tore in pieces, and the fire consumed through my words. Now I know that I have sinned before the Lord our God. Come then, O Michael, chief-captain of the hosts above, come, let us call upon God with tears that he may forgive me my sin, and grant them to me. And the chief-captain heard him, and they made entreaty before the Lord, and when they had called upon him for a long space, there came a voice from heaven saying, Abraham, Abraham, I have hearkened to your voice and your prayer, and forgive you your sin, and those whom you think that I destroyed I have called up and brought them into life by my exceeding kindness, because for a season I have requited them in judgment, and those whom I destroy living upon earth, I will not requite in death.

Salvation in Rabbinic Judaism and Christianity

Salvation is by grace in both religions.

No one is without sins, or at least without some minor transgressions. Therefore if God acted only according to Justice, nobody will be saved in the judgment. But God judges with Mercy.

The righteous is not a person who is without sin but a person whose life is oriented to good.

The rabbis: saved by works

For the rabbis, God is the Judge. God sits on the throne with Mercy and Justice.

The rabbis had a more optimistic view of the capability of humans to overcome the yetzer hara and live a righteous life.

In the Last Judgment all humans will be judged by God's Mercy and Justice, the Jews according to the Mosaic Torah, the gentiles according to the Noahide Laws

The Christians; Justified by faith, saved by works

For Christians, Jesus is the Final Judge. He sits on the the throne of God at the right of the Father.

The Christians had a more pessimistic view of the power of evil. They thought that the universe was disrupted by a cosmic rebellion of evil forces and that in order to restore the right balance between good and evil God had to sacrifice his own Son (the Messiah) to counterbalance the power of evil. "Justification" (=forgiveness of sin) is a gracious act of God's Mercy, independent from God's Justice. A person who

Even those who are justified are not without sin, but they will be saved if they do not commit any "mortal" sin (idolatry, murder, porneia). Venial sins will be forgiven.

The Last Judgment is "according to deeds" and -- like in Rabbinic Judaism - all humans will judged by Justice and Mercy according to their deeds.

(Explicit) faith in Jesus will be counted to the faithful but it is not required to everybody. At the center of the Last judgment is the love that each individual has demonstrated to his/her neighbors.

Last judgement in Matthew (see Judgment of the Son of Man)

Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard in Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism

Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 20:1-16 (NRSV) -- [1] "For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. [2] After agreeing with the laborers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. [3] When he went out about nine o'clock, he saw others standing idle in the marketplace; [4] and he said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.' So they went. [5] When he went out again about noon and about three o'clock, he did the same. [6] And about five o'clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why are you standing here idle all day?' [7] They said to him, 'Because no one has hired us.' He said to them, 'You also go into the vineyard.' [8] When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, 'Call the laborers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.' [9] When those hired about five o'clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. [10] Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. [11] And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, [12] saying, 'These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.' [13] But he replied to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? [14] Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. [15] Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?' [16] So the last will be first, and the first will be last."

Cf. J Ber 2:5 (Rabbinic version)

To whom can Rabbi Bun bar Rabbi Hiyya be compared? To a king who hired many workers. But there was one worker more efficient in his work than others. What did the king do? . . . Evening arrived and the workers came to collect their pay. The king gave the more efficient worker the same wage as he gave them. The other workers became boisterous and said, “We worked all day long, but this one worked only two hours, but you gave him the same wage!” The king said to them, “This one did more work in two hours than the rest of you did working all day long.” Thus, Rabbu Bun, who labored as a student of the Torah only twenty-eight years became as remarkable as a sage who had studied for a hundred years. (Jerusalem Talmud, Berakhot 2:8, c. 400 C.E.)

The Last Judgment according to Paul

Among the early Christian authors, Paul is the one who more strongly emphasized the "power of evil" and "justification by faith." However, Paul also accepted the fact that the Judgment would be based “on each one’s deeds” (Rom 2:6). The Jews would be judged according to the Mosaic Torah. Gentiles would be judged according to their own conscience (they also know the difference between good and evil and therefore are equally accountable, even thought they are not subjected to the same law as the Jews).

"There will be anguish and distress for everyone who does evil, the Jews first and also the Greeks, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jews first and also the Greeks. For God shows no partiality" (Rom 2:9-10).

"All of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil" (2 Cor 5:10).

But there is a problem. As an apocalyptic Jew Paul had a dramatic understanding of the power of evil. "All, both Jews and Gentiles, are under the power of sin” (3:9-10). There is an advantage of being raised a Jew, and yet both Jews and Gentile are subjected to the power of evil. “Sin came into the world through one man [i.e. Adam]” (5:12). Paul is very pessimistic. Humankind lost their battle with the Devil and are now "slaves of sin." Does it men that no one would be saved in the Last Judgment; not at all, but the condition of slavery makes it very hard for people to be saved, as the slave is at the mercy of an evil master.

Paul, however, is a Christian; he also believes that in order to counterbalance the power of evil God sent his Son as a sacrifice of atonement for forgiveness of sins. "18 Just as one man's trespass led to condemnation for all, so one man's act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all. 19 For just as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous" (5:18-19).

Through baptism "sinners" (Jews and Gentiles alike) can receive justification (i.e. forgiveness of sins). “We have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the death by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life… For whoever had died is freed from sin” (6:3-11).

Justification does not mean "salvation" in the Last Judgment. “Should we continue in sin in order that grace may abound? By no means!” (6:1-2). Justification is a second chance, acquired by faith; Baptized people are expected to live a blameless life. “Should we sin because we are not under the Torah but under grace? By no means!” (6:15). We were “slaves of sin” (6:17), now “we have become “slaves of righteousness” (6:18).

In Paul there are three paths to salvation. Righteous Jews are saved if they follow the commandment of the Torah; righteous gentiles are saved if they follow the voice of their conscience; sinners (Jews and Gentiles alike) are saved if they repent and accept by faith the gift of justification that Jesus offered to everybody through his death.