Sunday of The Last Judgment

Yesterday in the Byzantine Rite of the Church was the second preparatory Sunday before the beginning of Great Lent. It’s theme is the Last Judgment, which is also found in the funeral and memorial hymnody of the Eastern Church.

The signs of the end of the world and last judgment are recorded in the Gospels and in the Apocalypse of the holy Apostle John the Theologian (Revelations). These events are primarily conveyed to us in the language of metaphor and image; however, theologians and mystics have provided exegesis to help us understand the meaning of these scriptural passages.

Tradition tells us that before the world’s end, there will be a proliferation of agitation, civil wars, international wars, hunger, earthquakes, and other natural disasters. People will live in general fear and horror. Humanity will become proud and ungrateful, and there will be a great apostasy from the true faith. Evil will increase; good will diminish.

The Antichrist will then appear. Fascinating, intelligent, and kind, Antichrist will initially act with mercy and goodness; but not sincerely for the sake of mercy and goodness, but for the strengthening of his own authority. Having attained the pinnacle of power, he will choose Jerusalem for his capital and will demand the worship of himself as a god.

Tradition teaches that two Old Testament Prophets, Elijah and Enoch, who did not taste of death, will appear and confess Christ as the true Lord and King. Antichrist will slay the two prophets, and their deaths will cause great rejoicing. After three days, the prophets will rise and plunge the followers of Antichrist into great confusion and terror. The Lord will appear in glory on the clouds with the sound of trumpets, and truth will be clearly revealed and all of humanity will be judged. After the Last Judgment the universe will be renewed with a new heaven and a new earth. The “end of the world” therefore signifies not its annihilation, but its transformation.

Many of the early Christians believed in apocatastasis, meaning the ultimate restoration of all things to their original state. St. Gregory of Nyssa hoped that all creatures would be saved. St. Maximus the Confessor outlined God’s plan for “universal” salvation alongside warnings of everlasting punishment for the wicked. The The vast majority of contemporary Eastern Orthodox theologians teach 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. However, the deeds done by each person are believed to affect how one will be judged.

Traditionally, an Eastern Orthodox church will have a fresco 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 this earthly life. How forgiveness is to be balanced against behavior is not well-defined in scripture, judgment in the matter being solely Christ’s.

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