It was believed that at the end of time, angels would awaken the dead from their graves to be judged by God - at this point, Purgatory would be closed forever and the souls there would be transferred to heaven or hell for eternity.
After the Judgment, the Righteous will go to their eternal reward in heaven and the Accursed will depart to hell (see Matthew 25)." The "issue of this judgment shall be a permanent separation of the evil and the good, the righteous and the wicked" (see The Sheep and the Goats).
A Spanish theologian from the late Middle Ages once argued that the average Christian spends 1000 to 2000 years in purgatory (according to Stephen Greenblatt's Hamlet in Purgatory). But there's no official take on the average sentence.
Some Christians, typically Roman Catholics, recognize the doctrine of purgatory. The Eastern Orthodox are less likely to use the term, although they acknowledge an intermediate state after death and before final judgment, and consequentially offer prayers for the dead.
There is but one judgment day (Revelation 11:18). Both the saved and lost will be judged (Romans 14:10 and 2 Corinthians 5:10). Our works both good and bad will be judged (Ecclesiastes 12:14, 2 Corinthians 5:10).
There is an impression that all the groups of figures are circling the central figure of Christ in a huge rotary movement. At the centre of the work is Christ, shown as the individual verdicts of the Last Judgment are pronounced; he looks down towards the damned.
Visitations from Purgatory
Such apparitions have been recorded for thousands of years. It is a mystery why God allows certain souls to seek spiritual aid, and why some people among the living—though very few—are able to communicate with them.
During the Protestant Reformation, certain Protestant theologians developed a view of salvation (soteriology) that excluded purgatory. This was in part a result from a doctrinal change concerning justification and sanctification on the part of the reformers.
In its traditional form, however, it has not been understood as a second chance for salvation after death, but rather, only as chance for postmortem transformation and purging for persons who die in grace. Nevertheless, it is often popularly understood as a second chance to obtain salvation.
It was clear that there was some sort of punishment; and that the souls in Purgatory had been saved from eternal damnation; and after that punishment had been completed, they would be able to enter Paradise.
Purgatory is the process, after death, of burning out the last of our attachments so that we can enter Heaven 100% freed of everything to do with sin. If, for example, we still have a bad habit of being rude, or sarcastic, even those tendencies and habits must be purged.
Time is warped in Purgatory; a minute in the real world corresponds to a year in Purgatory. It is basically a universe separated from the mortal plane.
The scales will be piled up like mountains, weighted with good and evil deeds. That day will last for 50,000 years.
The Scripture tells us that whatsoever you sow, that shall you reap. The Bible tells us everyone is going to stand before God one day and give an account of their life on Earth.
God is the creator, ruler, and judge of all people. One day we will be called upon to give an account for our actions in this life. And God will be the arbitrator of justice. We are, however, called to help one another when someone falls into sin by gracefully using the word of God to point people to the truth.
For half a millennium, followers of Jesus have argued, excommunicated and occasionally killed each other--at least in part--over the concept of an intermediate state between Heaven and Hell. First Eastern Orthodox, then Protestants rejected the doctrine. Lately, even a lot of Catholics seem skeptical.
What happens in Purgatory? The Holy Souls in Purgatory undergo purification suffering of love. The purifying suffering of love is called “satispassion.” Since the Holy Souls can't be purified by their own efforts, they atone for their sins by undergoing purifying suffering which re-establishes holiness and justice.
We can avoid Purgatory living a holy life, staying away from sin, confessing our sins regularly, having the Holy Eucharist in a state of grace and practicing works of Mercy, especially having a devotion to the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
Purgatory was a scary place. It was exactly like hell, except it wasn't forever. Eventually, the purgatory fire would burn away the debt owed for past sins, although no one was saying exactly how long it would take.
One of the chief sources of the pain is the fact that salvation has been obtained, and yet one cannot immediately enjoy its consolations. This delay of the enjoyment of heaven leads to a spiritual agony of sorts.
Nonetheless, the Church has always encouraged fervent prayer for those suffering in purgatory because our prayers help to alleviate their suffering.
Thereupon he said: The Last Hour would not come until the ten signs dppear: land-sliding in the east, and land-sliding in the west, and land-sliding in the peninsula of Arabia, the smoke, the Dajjal, the beast of the earth, Gog and Magog, the rising of the sun from the west and the fire which would emit from the lower ...
Judgment Day, or the Last Judgment, is the judgment of people by God. Religions such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam believe in the idea of Judgement Day. Christians believe that those who are saved will go to heaven, while those who are damned will go to hell.
Signs of the End Times
Unnatural phenomenons would occur. The rise of frequent sudden deaths, excessive lightning, destructive rainfall, terrible drought, a huge cloud of smoke, the opening up of huge cracks in the earth, the sun rising in the west, the breeze that take the souls of the faithful.