What happens after we die?

[sheebabobo]

Hello,

I’m wondering if there is an official Catholic stance on what exactly happens after we die?

Do we immediately go to Heaven for judgement and then go to Heaven, Purgatory or Hell?

Or, are we in a sleep like state until Jesus returns to awaken everyone at once?

or… ?

 

[Pug]

Immediately after death we are judged in what is called the particular judgment. Our soul goes right away to Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory. So we are not in a sleep-like state until the second coming. Those in Heaven, for example, will be happy, not asleep. There is a Last Judgment, too, and right before that happens we all get our bodies back. But that all does not happen until it is time for Christ to come again.

To read about this topic, read the Catechism at this link, paragraphs 1021-1041. Below I have pasted some parts of the abbreviated catechism, called the compendium:207. What is life everlasting?

Eternal life is that life which begins immediately after death. It will have no end. It will be preceded for each person by a particular judgment at the hands of Christ who is the Judge of the living and the dead. This particular judgement will be confirmed in the final judgment.

208. What is the particular judgment?

It is the judgment of immediate retribution which each one after death will receive from God in his immortal soul in accord with his faith and his works. This retribution consists in entrance into the happiness of heaven, immediately or after an appropriate purification, or entry into the eternal damnation of hell.

214. In what does the final judgment consist?

The final or universal judgment consists in a sentence of happiness or eternal condemnation, which the Lord Jesus will issue in regard to the “just and the unjust” (Acts 24:15) when he returns as the Judge of the living and the dead. After the last judgment, the resurrected body will share in the retribution which the soul received at the particular judgment.

215. When will this judgment occur?

This judgment will come at the end of the world and only God knows the day and the hour.

216. What is the hope of the new heavens and the new earth?

After the final judgment the universe itself, freed from its bondage to decay, will share in the glory of Christ with the beginning of “the new heavens” and a “new earth” (*2 Peter *3:13). Thus, the fullness of the Kingdom of God will come about, that is to say, the definitive realization of the salvific plan of God to “unite all things in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth” (Ephesians 1:10). God will then be “all in all” (*1 Corinthians *15:28) in eternal life.

 

[A_G]

The Catholic Church teaches that when a person dies, they face the **particular judgment **. God judges our souls. The soul goes to one of three places after death:

#1 Heaven

#2 **Purgatory **(for purification, or to purge away our sins because we must be 100% clean in order to enter Heaven - remember, there is no sin in Heaven!). Purgatory and hell are not the same. Those in Purgatory, will eventually make it to Heaven. Purgatory is temporary, while Heaven and hell are not temporary. Some people go straight to Heaven, while others need to be “cleansed” or “purified” of sins committed because in order for us to enter Heaven, we must be “clean” or “purified.” In Heaven we must be perfect to be in the presence of God - and that is why some must go through Purgatory in order to have their sins “purged” away first. Purgatory is for sins that don’t deserve absolute punishment. Those in hell, however, suffer and are eternally separated from God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
1030 - *All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. *

#3 Hell for eternity.

Here is a visual:

http://www.davidmacd.com/images/purgatory.jpg

At the end of time, there will be a general judgment, at which time our bodies will be resurrected to join our souls in our eternal life, whether that be in Heaven or hell. This will happen at the Second Coming.

 

[Zeno11]

The Catholic Church teaches that when a person dies, they face the **particular judgment **. God judges our souls. The soul goes to one of three places after death:

#1 Heaven

#2 **Purgatory **(for purification, or to purge away our sins because we must be 100% clean in order to enter Heaven - remember, there is no sin in Heaven!). Purgatory and hell are not the same. Those in Purgatory, will eventually make it to Heaven. Purgatory is temporary, while Heaven and hell are not temporary. Some people go straight to Heaven, while others need to be “cleansed” or “purified” of sins committed because in order for us to enter Heaven, we must be “clean” or “purified.” In Heaven we must be perfect to be in the presence of God - and that is why some must go through Purgatory in order to have their sins “purged” away first. Purgatory is for sins that don’t deserve absolute punishment. Those in hell, however, suffer and are eternally separated from God.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says:
1030 - *All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. *

#3 Hell for eternity.

Here is a visual:

http://www.davidmacd.com/images/purgatory.jpg

At the end of time, there will be a general judgment, at which time our bodies will be resurrected to join our souls in our eternal life, whether that be in Heaven or hell. This will happen at the Second Coming.

I know this is the teaching of the CC, but it does puzzle me and throughout the Bible this view seems hard to justify.

For example, iIf we are given an immediate judgement after death, why does Revelation say:

’The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended’. **Rev 20:5 **
In other words, they don’t have a part in the first resurrection. To me, this doesn’t read like they are in heaven or hell or purgatory but ‘asleep’ or ‘dead’.

Why do we pray for the faithful departed to ‘rest in peace’ if they are not resting?

1 Corinthians 15:50-53
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.

Jesus refers to Lazarus’ death as a sleep: “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up.” John 11

Also in 1Corinthians 15-20 it says
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have*** fallen asleep.***

In the Psalms they don’t seem to think we are anywhere either good or bad but completely insensible:

Psalms 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Psalms 146:4 His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish
Ecclesiastes 9:5,6 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Psalms 13:3 Consider and hear me, O LORD my God: lighten mine eyes, lest*** I sleep the sleep of death;***

The Bible tells us that we are dead or ‘asleep’ until the end of time, when we will be judged.
John 5:28-29, “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which*** all that are in the graves*** shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
John 11:23,24 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Job 14:12 So man lieth down, and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their*** sleep.***

Matthew 25:31-33, “When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.”
This is the Day of Judgement. Why would someone who has already been consigned to hell be brought back to be consigned to hell again?

What verses in the Bible back up the teachings about an immediate judgement?

 

[Pug]

What verses in the Bible back up the teachings about an immediate judgement?

It is a teaching of the Church, so there is no concern about whether it is true or not. Some doctrines are easier and some are harder to trace solely from scripture. Also, it can be easy to think a passage of scripture talks of one thing, when instead it talks of a different doctrine or time.

Since you want a scripture, I point out Philippians 1:21 For to me, living is Christ and dying is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which I prefer. 23 I am hard pressed between the two: my desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better; 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary for you

Departing (dying) has Paul being with Christ, not lying around insensible. This is why he sees death as a gain, because one is then immediately with Christ in a happy way compared to here while we are alive.

Concerning “rest in peace”, this is a reference to the type of prayer we make for the dead, like this indulgenced prayer that applies itself to those souls still in Purgatory:**Eternal Rest **grant to then, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.

This is a prayer for those souls in Purgatory to finish undergoing Purgation and go to Heaven, which is restful because there is no suffering and we no longer labor and there is no purgation there. Purgatory is not restful. It is not a prayer about being insensate. It is a prayer about not being as happy as one would want in Purgatory and then getting to be happy and in Light in Heaven. We make this prayer because we are concerned for them to be happier and fully with the Lord.

People are resurrected and brought back for the Last Judgment so that all our sins will be brought to light, so that everyone may see the glory of God. All is revealed then. All is not revealed right when we die. It is revealed at the Last Judgment. Our fates don’t change between the two judgments.