ARTICLE
VII
"
From Thence He Shall Come To Judge The Living And The Dead "
Meaning
Of This Article
For the glory and adornment of His Church Jesus
Christ is invested with three eminent offices and functions: those of Redeemer,
Mediator, and Judge. Since in the
preceding Articles it was shown that the human race was redeemed by His Passion
and death, and since by His Ascension into heaven it is manifest that He has
undertaken by the perpetual advocacy and patronage of our cause, it remains
that in this Article we set forth His character as Judge. {a} The
scope and intent of the Article is to declare that on the last day Christ the
Lord will judge the whole human race.
" FROM THENCE HE
SHALL COME "
The
Sacred Scriptures informed us that there are two comings of the Son of
God: The one when He assumed human
flesh for our salvation in the womb of a Virgin; the other when He shall come
at the end of the world to judge all mankind.
This latter coming is called in Scripture the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord, says the
Apostle, shall come, as a thief in the night; 1 and our Lord Himself says: of that day
and hour no one knoweth. 2
" TO JUDGE THE
LIVING AND THE DEAD "
In
proof of the (last) judgement it is enough
to adduce the authority of the Apostle:
We must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ, that
everyone may receive the proper things of the body, according as he hath done,
whether it be good or evil. 3 There are numerous passages of Sacred
Scripture which the pastor will find in various places and which not only
establish the truth of the dogma, but also place it in vivid colors before the
eyes of the faithful. And if, from the
beginning of the world that day of the Lord, on which He was clothed with our
flesh, was sighed for by all as the foundation of their hope of deliverance; so
also, after the death and Ascension of the Son of God, we should make that
other day of the Lord of the object of our most earnest desires, looking for
the blessed hope and coming of the glory of the great God. 4
Two Judgments
In
explaining this subject the pastor should distinguish two different occasions
on which everyone must appear in the presence of the Lord to render an account
of all his thoughts, words and actions, and to receive immediate sentence from
his Judge.
The
first takes place when each one of us departs this life; for then he is
instantly placed before the judgment-seat of God, were all that he has ever
done or spoken or thought during the life shall be subjected to the most rigid
scrutiny. This is called the particular
judgment. The second occurs when on the
same day and in the same place all men shall stand together before the tribunal
of their Judge, that in the presence and hearing of all human beings of all
times each may know his final doom and sentence. The announcement of this judgment will constitute no small part
of the pain and punishment of the wicked;
whereas the good and just will derive great reward and consolation from
the fact that it will then appear what each one was in life. This is called the general judgment. {b}
Reasons For General
Judgement
It
is necessary to show why, besides the particular judgment of each individual, a
general one should also be passed upon all men.
Those who depart this life sometimes leave
behind them children who imitate their conduct, dependents, followers and
others who admire and advocate their example, language and actions. Now by all these circumstances the rewards
or punishments of the dead must needs be increased, since the good or bad
influence of example, affecting as it does the conduct of many, is to terminate
only with the end of the world. Justice
demands that in order to form a proper estimate of all these good or bad
actions and words a thorough investigation should be made. This however, could not be without a general
judgment of all men.
Moreover, as the character of the virtuous
frequently suffers from misrepresentation, while that of the wicked obtains the
commendation of virtue, the Justice of God demands that the former recover, in
the public assembly and judgment of all men, the good name of which they had
been unjustly deprived before men.
Again,
as the just and the wicked performed their good and evil actions in this life
not without the cooperation of the body, it necessarily follows that these
actions belong also to the body as to their instrument. It was, therefore, altogether suitable that
the body should share with the soul the due rewards of eternal glory or
punishment. But this can only be
accomplished by means of a general resurrection and of a general judgment.
Next,
it is important to prove that in prosperity and adversity which are sometimes
the promiscuous lot of the good and of the bad, everything is done and ordered
by an all-wise and all-just Providence.
It was, therefore, necessary not only that rewards should await the just
and punishments the wicked, in the life to come, but that they should be
awarded by a public and general judgment.
Thus they will become better known and will be rendered more conspicuous
to all; and in atonement for the unwarranted murmurings, to which on seeing the
wicked abound in wealth and flourish in honors even the Saints themselves, as
men, have sometimes given expression, a tribute of praise will be offered by
all to the Justice and Providence of God.
My feet, says the Prophet, were almost moved, my steps had
well nigh slipped, because I had a zeal on occasion of the wicked, seeing the
prosperity of sinners; and a little after: Behold! these are sinners, and yet abounding in the
world, they have obtained riches; and I said,
Then have I in vain justified my heart, and washed my hands among the
innocent; and I have been scourged all the day, and my chastisement hath been
in the morning. 5 This has been the frequent complaint of many, and a general
judgment is therefore necessary, less perhaps men may be tempted to say that
God walketh about the polls of heaven, 6 and regards not the earth.
Wisely,
therefore, has this truth been made one of the twelve Articles of the Christian
Creed, so that should any begin to waver in mind concerning the Providence and
Justice of God they might be reassured by this doctrine.
Besides,
it was right that the just should be encouraged by the hope, the wicked
appalled by the terror, of the 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
vise. 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. 7 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 taking up
from you into heaven, shall so come, as you have seen him going into heaven. 8
Circumstances of
the Judgement:
The Judge
That
the judgment of the world has been assigned to Christ the Lord, not only as
God, but also as man, is declared in Scripture. Although the power of judging is common to all the persons of the
Blessed Trinity, yet it is specially attributed to the Son, because to Him also
in a special manner is ascribed wisdom.
But that as man, He will judge the world, is taught by our Lord Himself
when He says: As the Father hath
life in himself, so he hath given to the Son also, to have life in himself; and
he hath given him power to do judgment, because he is the son of man. 9
There
is a peculiar propriety in Christ the Lord sitting in judgment; for sentence is to be pronounced on mankind,
and they are thus enabled to see their Judge with their eyes and hear Him with
their ears, and so learn their judgment through the medium of the senses.
Most
just is it also that He who was most iniquitously condemned by the judgment of
men should Himself be afterwards seen by all men sitting in judgment on
all. Hence when the Prince of the
Apostles had expounded in the house of Cornelius the chief dogmas of
Christianity, and had taught that Christ was suspended from a cross and put to
death by the Jews and rose the third day to life, he added: And he commanded us to preach to the
people, and to testify that this is he, who was appointed of God, to be the
judge of the living and the dead. 10
Signs
Of The General Judgment
The Sacred Scriptures inform us that the general
judgment will be preceded by these three principal signs: the preaching of the Gospel throughout the
world, a falling away from the faith, and the coming of Anti Christ. This gospel of the kingdom, says our
Lord, shall be preached in the whole world, for a testimony to all nations,
and then shall the consummation come. 11 The Apostle also admonishes us that we be
not seduced by anyone, as if the day of the Lord were at hand; for unless
there come a revolt first, and the man of sin be revealed, 12 the
judgment will not come.
The Sentence Of The
Just
The
form and procedure of this judgment the pastor will easily learn from the
prophecies of Daniel, 13 the writings of the Evangelist
and the doctrine of the Apostle. The
sentence to be pronounced by the judge is here deserving of more than ordinary
attention.
Looking
with joyful countenance on the just standing on His right, Christ our Redeemer
will pronounce sentence on them with the greatest benignity, in these
words: Come ye blessed of my
Father, possess the kingdom prepared for you from the beginning of the world. 14 That
nothing can be conceived more delightful to the ear than these words, we shall
understand if we only compare them with the condemnation of the wicked; and
call to mind, that by them the just are invited from labor to rest, from the
vale of tears to supreme joy, from misery to eternal happiness, the reward of
their works of charity.
The Sentence Of The
Wicked
Turning
next to those who shall stand on his left, He will pour out His justice upon
them in these words: Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire,
prepared for the devil and his angels. 15
The
first words, depart from me, express the heaviest punishment with which
the wicked shall be visited, their eternal banishment from the sight of God,
unrelieved by one consolatory hope of ever recovering so great a good. This punishment is called by theologians the
pain of loss, because in hell the wicked shall be deprived forever of the
light of the vision of God.
The
words ye cursed, which follow, increase unutterably their wretched and
calamitous condition. If when banished from
the divine presence they were deemed worthy to receive some benediction, this
would be to them a great source of consolation. But since they can expect nothing of this kind as an alleviation
of their misery, the divine justice deservedly pursues them with every species
of malediction, once they have been banished.
The
next words, into everlasting fire, express another sort of punishment,
which is called by theologians the pain of sense, because, like flashes,
stripes or other more severe chastisements, among which fire, no doubt,
produces the most intense pain, it is felt throughout the organs of sense.
When, moreover, we reflect that this torment is to be eternal, we can see at
once that the punishment of the damned includes every kind of suffering.
The
concluding words, which was prepared for the devil and his angels, make
this still more clear. For since nature
has so provided that we feel miseries less when we have companions and sharers
in them who can, at least in some measure, assist us by their advice and
kindness, what must be the horrible state of the damned who in such calamities
can never separate themselves from the companionship of most wicked demons? And
yet most justly shall this very sentence be pronounced by our Lord and Savior on
those sinners who neglected all the works of true mercy, who gave neither food
to the hungry, nor drink to this thirsty, who refused shelter to the stranger
and clothing to the naked, and who would not visit the sick and the imprisoned.
{c}
Importance of Instruction on this Article
These
are thoughts which the pastor should very often bring to the attention of his
people; for the truth which is contained in this article will, if accepted with
faithful dispositions, be most powerful in bridling the evil inclinations of
the heart and in withdrawing men from sin.
Hence we read in Ecclesiasticus:
In all thy works remember thy last end, and thou shalt never sin.
16 And
indeed there is scarcely anyone so given over to vice as not to be recalled to
virtue by the thought that he must one day render an account before and all
just Judge, not only of all his words and actions, but even of his most secret
thoughts, and must suffer punishment according to his desserts.
On
the other hand, the just man will be more and more encouraged to lead a good
life. Even though his days be passed in
poverty, ignominy and suffering, he must be gladdened exceedingly when he looks
forward to that day when, the conflicts of this wretched life being over, he
shall be declared victorious in the hearing of all men, and shall be admitted
into his heavenly country to be crowned with divine honors that shall never
fade.
It
only remains, then, for the pastor to exhort the faithful to lead holy lives
and practice every virtue, that thus they may be enabled to look forward with
confidence to the coming of that great day of the Lord---nay, as becomes
children, even to desire it most fervently.
Endnotes
Article XII
1.> Thess. v. 2.
2.> Matt. xxiv. 36; Mark xiii. 32.
3.> 2 Cor. v. 10.
4.> Tit. ii. 13.
5.> Ps. lxxii. 2, 3, 12.
6.> Job xxii. 14
7.> Matt. xxiv. 29.
8.> Acts i. 11.
9.> John v. 26, 27.
10.> Acts x. 42.
11.> Matt. xxiv. 14.
12.> 2 Thess. ii. 2, 3.
13.> Dan. vii. 9; Matt. xxiv ; xxv ; Mark
xiii ; Rom. ii.
14.> Matt. xxv. 34.
15.> Matt. xxv. 41.
16.> Ecclus. vii. 40.
{a} On the three offices of Christ see Summa
Theol. 3a. xlviii. 4; xxvi; lix.
{b}
On the two judgments see Summa
Theol. Suppl. lxix. 2; lxxxviii. 1.
{c} On the circumstances and signs of the last
judgment see Summa Theol. Suppl. lxxv
and following; lxxxvii.