World to come

Last updated

The world to come, age to come, heaven on Earth, and the Kingdom of God are eschatological phrases reflecting the belief that the current world or current age is flawed or cursed and will be replaced in the future by a better world, age, or paradise.

Contents

The concept is related to but differs from the concepts of heaven or the afterlife in that heaven is another place or state of existence generally seen as above the world, and the afterlife is generally an individual's continued existence after death.[ citation needed ]

The following section reviews religions chronologically by date of the composition of various religious texts, from oldest to most recent, although the chronology of ancient religions is not known with certainty. Later dates are more certain than earlier dates.

Zoroastrian eschatology

In Zoroastrian eschatology, the world to come is the frashokereti , where the saoshyant will bring about a resurrection of the dead in the bodies they had before they died. This is followed by a last judgment. The yazatas Airyaman and Atar will melt the metal in the hills and mountains, and the molten metal will then flow across the earth like a river. All humankind—both the living and the resurrected dead—will be required to wade through that river, but for the righteous ( ashavan ) it will seem to be a river of warm milk, while the wicked will be burned. The river will then flow down to hell, where it will annihilate Angra Mainyu and the last vestiges of wickedness in the universe. The saoshyant is first mentioned as a savior in the Yashts written around 625 and 225 BCE, according to some interpretations. [1]

Jewish eschatology

Resurrection of the dead, fresco from the Dura-Europos synagogue Resurrection of the Dead vision.jpg
Resurrection of the dead, fresco from the Dura-Europos synagogue

There is no evidence of Jewish belief in a personal afterlife, with reward or punishment, until after 200 BCE. [2]

Although modern Judaism still concentrates on the importance of HaOlam HaZeh ("this world"), HaOlam HaBa (העולם הבא) or the world to come is an important part of Jewish eschatology, the afterlife, also known as Olam haBa, Gan Eden (the Heavenly Garden of Eden) and Gehinom . [3]

According to the Talmud, any non-Jew who lives according to the Seven Laws of Noah is regarded as a "righteous gentile", and is assured of a place in the world to come, the final reward of the righteous. [4] [5]

There is much Aggadic material relating to this topic. Much of this has been collected in popular form in Legends of the Jews , by Louis Ginzberg; see particularly its first chapter [6] discussing esoteric and mystical concepts such as Paradise, and the "higher" Gan Eden.

Christian eschatology

Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, an 1887 painting by Victor Vasnetsov. The Lamb of God is visible at the top. Apocalypse vasnetsov.jpg
Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse , an 1887 painting by Victor Vasnetsov. The Lamb of God is visible at the top.

In Christianity, the phrase is found in the Nicene Creed (current Ecumenical version): "We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come." [7] It is also found in the King James Version of the New Testament at Matthew 12:32, Mark 10:30, Luke 18:30, Hebrews 2:5, Hebrews 6:5. Other related expressions are "age to come" which is typically found in more recent translations, Kingdom of God, Messianic Age, Millennial Age, Golden Age, The New Earth and New Jerusalem, and dispensation of the fulness of times and possibly also eternal life.

Hindu eschatology

Kalki with his white horse Kalki.jpg
Kalki with his white horse

In Hindu eschatology the current age is the Kali Yuga, a period of decline. Kalki will appear to purge all evil, beginning a golden age of Satya Yuga.

There have been a range of dates predicted, purportedly from different methods of calculation. [8] Pothuluru Veerabrahmendra, for example, wrote 400 years ago in his Divya Maha Kala Gnana, or Divine Knowledge of the Time, that Kalki would arrive when the moon, sun, Venus and Jupiter entered the same sign. This is not a rare occurrence and last happened in early 2012, passing without event. [9] The time of arrival of Kalki has not been consistently asserted by astrologers. [8]

The earliest copies of the Mahabharata that exist dates from 200 CE and is the first text to mention Kalki but was likely written in its final form around 400 CE. Kalki is also mentioned in the Vishnu Purana which has a contested date of composition ranging from 400 BCE to 1000 CE.

Islamic eschatology

Both Sunni Islam and Shia Twelve Imams beliefs hold that before the Last Judgment, the Mahdi and Jesus appears and defeats the Antichrist False Messiah (Al-Masih ad-Dajjal). His rule will be paradise on Earth, which will last for seventy years until his death, though other traditions state 7, 19, or 309 years. [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afterlife</span> Purported continued existence after death

The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's stream of consciousness or identity continues to exist after the death of their physical body. The surviving essential aspect varies between belief systems; it may be some partial element, or the entire soul or spirit, which carries with it one's personal identity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eschatology</span> Part of theology concerned with the final events of history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity

Eschatology concerns expectations of the end of the present age, human history, or the world itself. The end of the world or end times is predicted by several world religions, which teach that negative world events will reach a climax. Belief that the end of the world is imminent is known as apocalypticism, and over time has been held both by members of mainstream religions and by doomsday cults. In the context of mysticism, the term refers metaphorically to the end of ordinary reality and to reunion with the divine. Various religions treat eschatology as a future event prophesied in sacred texts or in folklore. While other religions may have concepts of renewal or transformation after significant events, the explicit description of a new earth is primarily found in Christian teachings within the context of eschatology, this description can be found in the book of Revelation, Chapter 21.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Garden of Eden</span> Biblical garden of God

In Abrahamic religions, the Garden of Eden or Garden of God, also called the Terrestrial Paradise, is the biblical paradise described in Genesis 2–3 and Ezekiel 28 and 31.

Islamic eschatology is a field of study in Islam concerning future events that would happen in the end times. It is primarily based on sources from the Quran and Sunnah. Aspects from this field of study include the signs of the final age, the destruction of the universe and Judgement Day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish eschatology</span> Area of Jewish theology

Jewish eschatology is the area of Jewish theology concerned with events that will happen in the end of days and related concepts. This includes the ingathering of the exiled diaspora, the coming of the Jewish Messiah, the afterlife, and the resurrection of the dead. In Judaism, the end times are usually called the "end of days", a phrase that appears several times in the Tanakh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paradise</span> Place of exceptional happiness and delight

In religion, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared with the miseries of human civilization: in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, a land of luxury and fulfillment containing ever-lasting bliss. Paradise is often described as a "higher place", the holiest place, in contrast to this world, or underworlds such as Hell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kalki</span> Tenth and final avatar of Hindu deity Vishnu

Kalki, also called Kalkin, is the prophesied tenth and final incarnation of the god Vishnu. He is described to appear in order to end the Kali Yuga, one of the four periods in the endless cycle of existence (Krita) in Vaishnava cosmology. The end of the Kali Yuga states this will usher in the new epoch of Satya Yuga in the cycle of existence, until the Mahapralaya.

Kali Yuga, in Hinduism, is the fourth and worst of the four yugas in a Yuga Cycle, preceded by Dvapara Yuga and followed by the next cycle's Krita (Satya) Yuga. It is believed to be the present age, which is full of conflict and sin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messiah in Judaism</span> Savior and liberator of the Jewish people

The Messiah in Judaism is a savior and liberator figure in Jewish eschatology who is believed to be the future redeemer of the Jews. The concept of messianism originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible a messiah is a king or High Priest of Israel traditionally anointed with holy anointing oil. However, messiahs were not exclusively Jewish, as the Hebrew Bible refers to Cyrus the Great, Achaemenid Emperor, as a messiah for his decree to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple.

The 32nd century BC was a century that lasted from the year 3200 BC to 3101 BC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Biblical cosmology</span> Account of the universe and its laws in the Bible

Biblical cosmology is the account of the universe and its laws in the Bible. The Bible was formed over many centuries, involving many authors, and reflects shifting patterns of religious belief; consequently, its cosmology is not always consistent. Nor do the biblical texts necessarily represent the beliefs of all Jews or Christians at the time they were put into writing: the majority of the texts making up the Hebrew Bible or Old Testament in particular represent the beliefs of only a small segment of the ancient Israelite community, the members of a late Judean religious tradition centered in Jerusalem and devoted to the exclusive worship of Yahweh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jannah</span> Concept of paradise in Islam

In Islam, Jannah is the final abode of the righteous. According to one count, the word appears 147 times in the Qur'an. Belief in the afterlife is one of the six articles of faith in Sunni and Twelver Shi'ism and is a place in which "believers" (Mumin) will enjoy pleasure, while the unbelievers (Kafir) will suffer in Jahannam. Both Jannah and Jahannam are believed to have several levels. In the case of Jannah, the higher levels are more desirable, and in the case of Jahannam, the lower levels have a higher level of punishments. — in Jannah the higher the prestige and pleasure, in Jahannam the severity of the suffering. The afterlife experiences are described as physical, psychic and spiritual.

Messianism is the belief in the advent of a messiah who acts as the savior of a group of people. Messianism originated as a Zoroastrianism religious belief and followed to Abrahamic religions, but other religions have messianism-related concepts. Religions with a messiah concept include Judaism (Mashiach), Christianity (Christ), Islam, Druze faith, Zoroastrianism (Saoshyant), Buddhism (Maitreya), Taoism, and Bábism.

Hindu eschatology is linked in the Hindu tradition to the figure of Kalki, or the tenth and last avatar of Vishnu names of the Supreme Being in Hinduism and before the age draws to a close, and Harihara simultaneously dissolves and regenerates the universe.

In Abrahamic religions, the Messianic Age is the future period of time on Earth in which the messiah will reign and bring universal peace and brotherhood, without any evil. Many believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the consummate "kingdom of God" or the "world to come". Jews believe that such a figure is yet to come, while Christians believe that this figure is Jesus Christ.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam</span> First man according to the Abrahamic creation and religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam

Adam is a mythological being conceptualized as the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems. He serves as a pattern of his descendants, influenced by everything he went through in associated stories, similar to how children are expected to resemble their parents. Unlike other religions featuring Adam, Christianity derived the concept of original sin from that idea.

Shamayim is the dwelling place of God and other heavenly beings according to the Bible. It is one of three components of the biblical cosmology. There are two other ones. Eretz (Earth), home of the living, and sheol, the realm of the dead—including, according to post Hebrew-Bible literature, the abode of the righteous dead.

<i>Frashokereti</i> Zoroastrian doctrine of a final renovation of the universe

Frashokereti is the Avestan language term for the Zoroastrian doctrine of a final renovation of the universe, when evil will be destroyed, and everything else will be then in perfect unity with God.

A Yuga Cycle is a cyclic age (epoch) in Hindu cosmology. Each cycle lasts for 4,320,000 years and repeats four yugas : Krita (Satya) Yuga, Treta Yuga, Dvapara Yuga, and Kali Yuga.

References

  1. Livius
  2. Gowan, Donald E. (2003-01-01). The Westminster Theological Wordbook of the Bible. Westminster John Knox Press. p. 188. ISBN   978-0-664-22394-6.
  3. Jews are told to live their lives on earth to the full, as their bodies will stay there but their souls live on. Jewish Afterlife Beliefs at SimpleToRemember.com
  4. Mishneh Torah, Hilkhot M'lakhim 8:11
  5. Encyclopedia Talmudit (Hebrew edition, Israel, 5741/1981, entry Ben Noah, end of article); note the variant reading of Maimonides and the references in the footnote
  6. Ginzberg, Louis (1909). "Chapter I: The Creation of the World". The Sacred Texts: Legends of the Jews.
  7. "The Nicene Creed". Christian-bible.com. Retrieved 2012-01-08.
  8. 1 2 Chandra, Suresh (Aug 15, 2012). Encyclopaedia of Hindu Gods and Goddesses. Kindle Edition.
  9. Santanu Acharya. "Hindu Prophecies: Translations from the Kalki Purana". Ww-iii.tripod.com. Retrieved 2013-01-20.
  10. "How long will the Imam of Time, Imam Mahdi (AS), will this world rule after he reappears?".