JtrDGMENT
552
JUDGMENT
the particular judgment will occur at the place of
death (»Suarez in III, Q. lix. a. 6, disp. 52).
IV. General Judgment (Judicium Universale). — \. Existence of the General Judgment. — (1) Few truths are oftener or more clearly proclaimed in Scrip- ture 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, ii, 31; Ezech., xiii, 5; Is., ii, 12), in which the nations will be summoned to judgment. In the New Testament the second Paru- sia, 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 circum- stances (Matt., xxiv, 27sqq.;xxv,.31sqq.). The Apos- tles give a most prominent place to tliis doctrine in their preaching (Acts, x, 42; xvii, 31) and writings (Rom.,ii, 5-16; xiv, 10; I Cor., iv, 5; II Cor., v, 10; II Tim., iv, 1; II Thess., i, 5; James, v, 7). Besides the name Parusia (5rapou(ria),or Advent (ICor.,xv,23; I Thess., ii, 19), the Second Coming is also called Epiphany, iirLipapeia, or Appearance (II Thess., ii, 8; I Tim., vi, 14; II Tim.,iv, 1 ; Tit., ii, 13), and Apocalypse (diroKiXiifis), or Revela- tion (II Thess., i, 7; I Peter, iv, 13). The time of the Second Coming is spoken of as " that Day" (II Tim., iv,
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 Provi-
dence: it was, therefore, necessary not only that re-
wards and punishments should await us in the next
life but that they should be awarded by a public and
general judgment."
B. Signs that are to Precede the General Judgment. ■ — The Scriptures mention certain events which are to take place before the final judgment. These pre- dictions 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 Re- ligion. — 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 consunmiation come" (Matt., xxiv, 14). This sign was understood liy Chrysostom and Theoph-
AMTH¥iA
The Last
Stone found in the Roman Catacombs
8), "the day of the Lord" (I Thess., v, 2), "the day of
Christ" (Phil., i, 6), "theday of theSonof Man" (Luke,
xvii, 30), "the last day" (John, vi, 39-40). (2) The
belief in the general judgment has prevailed at all
times and in all places within the Church. It is con-
tained as an article of faith in all the ancient symbols:
" He ascended into heaven. PVom thence He shall
come to judge the living and the dead" (Apos-
tles' 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 liodies and are to render an account of their
deeds" (Athanasian Creed). Relying on the author-
ity 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 Ro-
man Catechism thus explains why, besides the partic-
ular judgment of each individual, a general one
should also be passed on the assembled workl: "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 ad-
here 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
of example, affecting as it does the conduct of many, is
to terminate only with this world; justice demands
t hat, in order to form a proper estimate of the good or
liad actions of all, a general jvidgnient should take
place. . . . Finally, it was important to prove, that
DGMENT
ind preserved in the Lateran Museum ilus 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) Conver- sion 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 (xi, 25, 26) : "' For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, . . . that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fulness of the Cientiles 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 Henoch and Elias. — 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 Elias see Mai., iv, 5-6; Ecclus., xlviii, 10; Matt., xvii, 11; concerning Henoch see Ecclus., xliv, 16.) (4) A Great Apostasy.- — As to this event St. Paul admonishes the Thcssalonians (II Thess., ii, 3) that they must not be terrified, as if the day of the Lord were at hand, for there must first come a revolt {v iiroa-Tacla). The Fathers and interpreters understand by this revolt a great reduction in the number of the faithful through the abandonment of the Christian religion b_v many nations. Some com- mentators 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, xviii, 8). (5) The Reign of Antichrist. — In the jiassage above mentioned (II Thess., ii, 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. .lohn (I Ep.,ii, 18), is to come in the last days. Although much obscurity and dif- ference of opinion prevails on this subject, it is geq-
