Why are there only 4 last things: death, judgement, heaven, hell

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atassina

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Why are there only 4 last things? Traditionally we say they are death then judgement then heaven or hell. In actuality there are more than four last things
  1. Death
  2. Judgement- particular
    3.1- Heaven
    3.2- Purgatory then Heaven
    3.3- Hell
  3. Second Coming
  4. Resurrection of the Body
  5. General Judgement
It looks like there are 8 last things

How did we as the Church come to understand this process as 4 last things?:banghead:
 
atassina said:
Why are there only 4 last things? Traditionally we say they are death then judgement then heaven or hell. In actuality there are more than four last things
  1. Death
  2. Judgement- particular
    3.1- Heaven
    3.2- Purgatory then Heaven
    3.3- Hell
  3. Second Coming
  4. Resurrection of the Body
  5. General Judgement
It looks like there are 8 last things

How did we as the Church come to understand this process as 4 last things?:banghead:
Click to expand...
Here to give you a complicated reply (not an answer). 😉 At the Second Coming, the dead will be raised, and everyone will be judged whether they will go to Heaven or Hell (there will no longer be any Purgatory by then AFAIK since its purpose is fulfilled).
 
atassina said:
Why are there only 4 last things? Traditionally we say they are death then judgement then heaven or hell. In actuality there are more than four last things
  1. Death
  2. Judgement- particular
    3.1- Heaven
    3.2- Purgatory then Heaven
    3.3- Hell
  3. Second Coming
  4. Resurrection of the Body
  5. General Judgement
It looks like there are 8 last things

How did we as the Church come to understand this process as 4 last things?:banghead:
Click to expand...
I don’t think they meant as only the last four things, but as some of the more important parts of the last things.

If you think about it, the four last things are the same things that come up in most world religions, Christian and non-Christian alike.

I also like patrick457’s explanation.
 
Patrick:
Seems to me that the particular judgement is irreversible- heaven or hell. The general judgement we get to see the entire economy of salvation. For example, why certain evil people lived long while certain virtuous men died early deaths. All acts of virtue and vice will be known not just in themselves but in how they were integrated into the lives of all humans and into the movements of the physical universe. The general judgement is much more extensive that the particular judgement.

Perhaps the 4 last things is a metaphor for describing a more extensive process.:hmmm:
 
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