World to Come
Encyclopedia
The World to Come is an eschatological phrase reflecting the belief that the "current world"
is flawed or cursed
and will be replaced in the future by a better world or a paradise
. The concept is similar to the concepts of Heaven
and the afterlife
, but Heaven is another place generally seen as above the world and the afterlife is specifically life after death. Also related is the concept of Heaven on Earth
.
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
through ordeal. 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 mankind – 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.
concentrates on the importance of the Earthly world (Olam Ha'zeh — "this world"), all of classical Judaism posits an afterlife. The Hereafter is known as Olam Haba (the "world to come"), Gan Eden (the Heavenly "Garden of Eden") and Gehinom
("Purgatory
"). According to religious Judaism, 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.
the phrase is found in English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use
: "We look for the resurrection of the dead
, and the life of the world to come" and also in the King James Version of the New Testament
at , , , , . Other related expressions are "Age to Come" (as found in the NIV), Kingdom of God
, Messianic Age
, Millennial Age, The New Earth
and New Jerusalem
, and Dispensation of the fulness of times
and possibly also eternal life
. According to Christian theology
, the current world is flawed by Original Sin
.
World (theology)
-Christian views on the World:In Christianity, the concept connotes the fallen and corrupt world order of human society. The world is frequently cited alongside the flesh and the Devil as a source of temptation that Christians should flee...
is flawed or cursed
Cursed
Cursed may refer to:*Curse, adversity thought to be inflicted by supernatural power*Cursed , a 2000–2001 sitcom*"Cursed" , a 2005 episode of the TV series House*Cursed , by Yoshihiro Hoshino...
and will be replaced in the future by a better world or a paradise
Paradise
Paradise is a place in which existence is positive, harmonious and timeless. It is conceptually a counter-image of the miseries of human civilization, and in paradise there is only peace, prosperity, and happiness. Paradise is a place of contentment, but it is not necessarily a land of luxury and...
. The concept is similar to the concepts of Heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
and the afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
, but Heaven is another place generally seen as above the world and the afterlife is specifically life after death. Also related is the concept of Heaven on Earth
Heaven on Earth
Heaven on Earth are a husband and wife duo formed in England in 1983 by members Joe Ortiz and Pauly Ortiz ....
.
Zoroastrian eschatology
In ZoroastrianZoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism is a religion and philosophy based on the teachings of prophet Zoroaster and was formerly among the world's largest religions. It was probably founded some time before the 6th century BCE in Greater Iran.In Zoroastrianism, the Creator Ahura Mazda is all good, and no evil...
eschatology, the World to Come is the Frashokereti
Frashokereti
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...
, where the Saoshyant
Saoshyant
Saoshyant is a figure of Zoroastrian eschatology who brings about the final renovation of the world, the Frashokereti. The Avestan language name literally means "one who brings benefit," and is also used as common noun.-In scripture:...
will bring about a resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
in the bodies they had before they died. This is followed by a last judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
through ordeal. The yazatas Airyaman
Airyaman
In the Avesta, ' is both an Avestan language common noun as well as the proper name of a Zoroastrian divinity.The common noun is a theological and social term literally meaning "member of community or tribe." In a secondary development, the common noun became the proper name of a divinity...
and Atar
Atar
Atar is the Zoroastrian concept of holy fire, sometimes described in abstract terms as "burning and unburning fire" or "visible and invisible fire" ....
will melt the metal in the hills and mountains, and the molten metal will then flow across the earth like a river. All mankind – both the living and the resurrected dead – will be required to wade through that river, but for the righteous (ashavan
Ashavan
Avestan ashavan is a Zoroastrian theological term. It literally means "possessing aša", hence "possessing truth" or "possessing righteousness", but has further implications:...
) it will seem to be a river of warm milk, while the wicked will be burned. The river will then flow down to hell
Hell
In many religious traditions, a hell is a place of suffering and punishment in the afterlife. Religions with a linear divine history often depict hells as endless. Religions with a cyclic history often depict a hell as an intermediary period between incarnations...
, where it will annihilate Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu
Angra Mainyu is the Avestan-language name of Zoroastrianism's hypostasis of the "destructive spirit". The Middle Persian equivalent is Ahriman.-In Zoroaster's revelation:...
and the last vestiges of wickedness in the universe.
Jewish eschatology
The World to Come, or more properly the Hebrew transliteration Olam Haba, is an important part of Jewish eschatology. Although JudaismJudaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
concentrates on the importance of the Earthly world (Olam Ha'zeh — "this world"), all of classical Judaism posits an afterlife. The Hereafter is known as Olam Haba (the "world to come"), Gan Eden (the Heavenly "Garden of Eden") and Gehinom
Gehenna
Gehenna , Gehinnom and Yiddish Gehinnam, are terms derived from a place outside ancient Jerusalem known in the Hebrew Bible as the Valley of the Son of Hinnom ; one of the two principal valleys surrounding the Old City.In the Hebrew Bible, the site was initially where apostate Israelites and...
("Purgatory
Purgatory
Purgatory is the condition or process of purification or temporary punishment in which, it is believed, the souls of those who die in a state of grace are made ready for Heaven...
"). According to religious Judaism, any non-Jew who lives according to the Seven Laws of Noah is regarded as a Righteous Gentile
Ger toshav
Ger toshav , is a term used in Judaism to refer to a gentile who is a "resident alien", that is, one who lives in a Jewish state and has certain protections under Jewish law, and is considered a righteous gentile .-Definition:...
, and is assured of a place in the world to come, the final reward of the righteous.
Christian eschatology
In Christian eschatologyChristian eschatology
Christian eschatology is a major branch of study within Christian theology. Eschatology, from two Greek words meaning last and study , is the study of the end of things, whether the end of an individual life, the end of the age, or the end of the world...
the phrase is found in English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use
English versions of the Nicene Creed in current use
The Nicene Creed, composed in part and adopted at the First Council of Nicaea and revised with additions by the First Council of Constantinople , is a creed that summarises the orthodox faith of the Christian Church and is used in the liturgy of most Christian Churches...
: "We look for the resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the dead
Resurrection of the Dead is a belief found in a number of eschatologies, most commonly in Christian, Islamic, Jewish and Zoroastrian. In general, the phrase refers to a specific event in the future; multiple prophesies in the histories of these religions assert that the dead will be brought back to...
, and the life of the world to come" and also in the King James Version of the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
at , , , , . Other related expressions are "Age to Come" (as found in the NIV), Kingdom of God
Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven is a foundational concept in the Abrahamic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.The term "Kingdom of God" is found in all four canonical gospels and in the Pauline epistles...
, Messianic Age
Messianic Age
Messianic Age is a theological term referring to a future time of universal peace and brotherhood on the earth, without crime, war and poverty. Many religions believe that there will be such an age; some refer to it as the "Kingdom of God" or the "World to Come".- Terminology: "messianic" and...
, Millennial Age, The New Earth
The New Earth
The New Earth is an expression used in the Book of Isaiah , 2 Peter , and Book of Revelation in the Bible to describe the final state of redeemed humanity...
and New Jerusalem
New Jerusalem
In the book of Ezekiel, the Prophecy of New Jerusalem is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city to be established to the south of the Temple Mount that will be inhabited by the twelve tribes of Israel in the...
, and Dispensation of the fulness of times
Dispensation of the fulness of times
In Christianity, the dispensation of the fulness of times is thought to be a world order or administration in which the heavens and the earth are under the political and/or spiritual government of Jesus...
and possibly also eternal life
Eternal life (Christianity)
In Christianity the term eternal life traditionally refers to continued life after death, rather than immortality. While scholars such as John H. Leith assert that...
. According to Christian theology
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
, the current world is flawed by Original Sin
Original sin
Original sin is, according to a Christian theological doctrine, humanity's state of sin resulting from the Fall of Man. This condition has been characterized in many ways, ranging from something as insignificant as a slight deficiency, or a tendency toward sin yet without collective guilt, referred...
.
See also
- DispensationalismDispensationalismDispensationalism is a nineteenth-century evangelical development based on a futurist biblical hermeneutic that sees a series of chronologically successive "dispensations" or periods in history in which God relates to human beings in different ways under different Biblical covenants.As a system,...
- Dispensation of the fulness of timesDispensation of the fulness of timesIn Christianity, the dispensation of the fulness of times is thought to be a world order or administration in which the heavens and the earth are under the political and/or spiritual government of Jesus...
- Maharishi Heaven on Earth DevelopmentMaharishi Heaven on Earth DevelopmentMaharishi Heaven on Earth Development Corp. is a for-profit real estate developer associated with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and his Transcendental Meditation movement...
- Republic of Heaven