Last Judgment

Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God of all people who have ever lived,[1] resulting in the salvation of a few and the damnation of many.

[10] Other Christians who disbelieve in universal salvation and double predestination say the number of the saved and of the damned on Judgment Day is unknown.

[19][20] Anglican and Methodist theology holds that at the time of the Last Day, "Jesus will return and that He will 'judge both the quick [the living] and the dead',"[21] and "all [will] be bodily resurrected and stand before Christ as our Judge.

"[22] The "issue of this judgment shall be a permanent separation of the evil and the good, the righteous and the wicked" (see The Sheep and the Goats).

Immediately upon death, each person undergoes the particular judgment, and depending upon one's behavior on earth, goes to heaven, purgatory, or hell.

"[25] The Catholic Church teaches that at the time of the Last Judgment Christ will come in His glory, and all the angels with him, and in his presence the truth of each one's deeds will be laid bare.

A decisive factor in the Last Judgment will be the question, were the corporal works of mercy practiced or not during one's lifetime.

Therefore, and according to the biblical sources (Mt 25:31–46), the conjunction of the Last Judgment and the works of mercy is frequent in the pictorial tradition of Christian art.

We shall know the ultimate meaning of the whole work of creation and of the entire economy of salvation and understand the marvelous ways by which his Providence led everything towards its final end.

Song 8:6)[29]The Eastern Orthodox and Catholic teachings of the Last Judgment differ only on the exact nature of the in-between state of purgatory/Abraham's Bosom.

[citation needed] 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.

Traditionally, an Orthodox church will have a fresco or mosaic of the Last Judgment on the back (western) wall so that the faithful, as they leave the services, are reminded that they will be judged by what they do during earthly life.

The 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, the Apostles, saints and angels.

There were many renditions of the Last Judgment completed by Greek painters living in Crete which was held by the Venetian Empire.

[33] Leos Moskos and Francheskos Kavertzas also followed the outline for the stylistic representation of the Last Judgement set by Klontzas.

[41] After the resurrection of all the dead,[42] and the change of those still living,[43] all nations shall be gathered before Christ,[44] and he will separate the righteous from the wicked.

[citation needed] Max Heindel, a Danish-American astrologer and mystic, 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,[56] the chosen ones or pioneers, the sheep, will be separated from the goats or stragglers,[57] by being carried forward into the next evolutionary period, inheriting the ethereal conditions of the New Galilee in the making.

At the present period, the process of human evolution is conducted by means of successive rebirths in the physical world[58] and the salvation is seen as being mentioned in Revelation 3:12 (KJV), which states "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God and he shall go no more out".

[63] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints teaches that people will be judged by their words, their works, their thoughts, and the intents of their hearts.

Like most early iconographic innovations, its origins stem from Byzantine art, although it was a less common subject than in the West during the Middle Ages.

The usual composition has Christ seated high in the centre, flanked by angels, the Virgin Mary, and John the Evangelist who are supplicating on behalf of those being judged (in what is called a Deesis group in Orthodoxy).

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.

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.

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.

Belief in Judgment Day (Arabic: یوم القيامة, romanized: Yawm al-qiyāmah, lit.

[citation needed] Like Christianity, Islamic eschatology has a time of tribulation preceding Judgement Day where strange and terrible events will serve as portents; there will be a second coming of Jesus (but in different roles); battles with an AntiChrist (Al-Masīḥ ad-Dajjāl, literally "Deceitful Messiah"[69]) and struggles with Gog and Magog; and a Rapture-like removal of all righteous believers before the end.

Depending on the verdict of the judgement, they will be sent for eternity to either the reward of paradise (Jannah) or the punishment of hell (Jahannam).

"[74] While early Muslims debated whether scripture on Judgement day should be interpreted literally or figuratively, the school of thought that prevailed (Ashʿarī) "affirmed that such things as the individual records of deeds (including the paper, pen, and ink with which they are inscribed), the bridge, the balance, and the pond are realities to be understood in a concrete and literal sense.

A deity from the heavens will descend upon the earth and gather them, and ask them to take "Anshan", or vow to fast (without any food or water) until death.

[77] In English, crack of doom is an old term used for the Day of Judgment, referring in particular to the blast of trumpets signalling the end of the world in Chapter 8 of the Book of Revelation.