卷一 信仰的宣認 - 第二部分 - 第二章 - 第五條 耶穌基督下降陰府，第三日從死者中復活 /CHRIST DESCENDED INTO HELL

第五條「耶穌基督下降陰府，第三日從死者中復活」

631. 耶穌曾下降到地下的陰府：「那下降的，正是上升的那一位」(弗 4:10)。宗徒信經在同一信仰條文內，宣認基督下降陰府及第三日從死者中復活，因為在祂的逾越中，祂使生命從死亡的深淵裡湧出來：

《羅馬彌撒經書》，逾越節守夜，「逾越頌」：

祢的聖子、基督，
由陰府中再升起，
向人類大放寧靜的光明，
祂永生永王。阿們。

第一節 基督下降陰府

632. 新約曾多次聲明耶穌「從死者中復活」(宗 3:15; 羅 8:11; 格前 15:20)，這假設祂在復活之前，曾逗留在死者的居所。這是宗徒的宣講給予耶穌下降陰府的首要意義：耶穌像眾人一樣認識了死亡，並以祂的靈魂抵達了死者的居所，與他們相遇。然而祂是以救主的身分下去，向那些被拘禁在陰府中的靈魂傳報喜訊。

633. 基督死後所降到的死者的居所，聖經稱之為陰府、Shéol或 Hadès，因為在那裡居住的人不能見到天主。原來在等待救贖者期間，這是所有死者的命運，無論他是壞人或義人；但這不表示他們的命運是一樣的，正如耶穌在「被送到亞巴郎懷中」的貧窮拉匝祿比喻中所闡明的。「正是這些義人靈魂，他們在亞巴郎懷中期待他們的解救者，並要由下降陰府的耶穌所解救」。耶穌下降陰府，並非為救那些下地獄的人，也非為毀滅地獄，而是為拯救那些先祂而去世的義人。

634. 「同樣也給死者宣講了這福音……」(伯前 4:6)。下降陰府使救恩的福音宣布達至圓滿境界。它是耶穌默西亞使命的最後階段，這階段在時間上是濃縮的，但其真實意義卻無限廣闊，把救贖工程伸展至所有時代和地區的人，因為所有得救的人都有分於祂的救贖。

635. 所以，基督下降到死亡的深淵，為使死者聽到天主子的聲音，凡聽從的，就必生存。身為「生命之原」(宗 3:15)的耶穌，「毀滅了那握有死亡的權勢者──魔鬼，並解救那些因死亡的恐怖，一生當奴隸的人」 (希 2:14-15)。如今，復活的基督，「持有死亡和陰府的鑰匙」(默 1:18)，「致使上天、地上和地下的一切，一聽到耶穌的名字，無不屈膝叩拜」(斐 2:10)。

《古代聖週六的講道詞》；《時辰頌禱禮》，聖週六誦讀：今日大地一片寂靜，萬籟無聲，一片荒涼。萬籟無聲，因為君王睡著了；大地寂靜顫慄，因為天主在肉軀內安眠，而喊醒了從古以來的長眠者……祂去找尋原祖亞當，好像找尋亡羊一般。祂願意去訪問那些處於黑暗中，坐於死影下的人們。天主及其聖子，去把被俘的亞當和厄娃，從痛苦中解救出來……「我是你的天主，我為了你做了你的子孫。你這睡眠者，醒來吧！因為我之所以造生你，不是要你久居陰府。從死者中復活起來吧！我是死者的生命」。

撮要

636. 信經說「耶穌下降陰府」，乃宣認耶穌確曾死亡，並且是為我們而死，祂藉此死亡戰勝了死亡和「握有死亡權勢的」魔鬼 (希 2:14)。

637. 基督死後，聯同與天主性位格結合的靈魂降到死者的居所，給那些先祂而去的義人們開啟了天門。

Article 5

"HE DESCENDED INTO HELL. ON THE THIRD DAY HE ROSE AGAIN"

631 Jesus "descended into the lower parts of the earth. He who descended is he who also ascended far above all the heavens."⁴⁷⁵ The Apostles' Creed confesses in the same article Christ's descent into hell and his Resurrection from the dead on the third day, because in his Passover it was precisely out of the depths of death that he made life spring forth:

632 The frequent New Testament affirmations that Jesus was "raised from the dead" presuppose that the crucified one sojourned in the realm of the dead prior to his resurrection.⁴⁷⁷ This was the first meaning given in the apostolic preaching to Christ's descent into hell: that Jesus, like all men, experienced death and in his soul joined the others in the realm of the dead. But he descended there as Saviour, proclaiming the Good News to the spirits imprisoned there.⁴⁷⁸

633 Scripture calls the abode of the dead, to which the dead Christ went down, "hell" - Sheol in Hebrew or Hades in Greek - because those who are there are deprived of the vision of God.⁴⁷⁹ Such is the case for all the dead, whether evil or righteous, while they await the Redeemer: which does not mean that their lot is identical, as Jesus shows through the parable of the poor man Lazarus who was received into "Abraham's bosom":⁴⁸⁰ "It is precisely these holy souls, who awaited their Saviour in Abraham's bosom, whom Christ the Lord delivered when he descended into hell."⁴⁸¹ Jesus did not descend into hell to deliver the damned, nor to destroy the hell of damnation, but to free the just who had gone before him.⁴⁸²

634 "The gospel was preached even to the dead."⁴⁸³ The descent into hell brings the Gospel message of salvation to complete fulfilment. This is the last phase of Jesus' messianic mission, a phase which is condensed in time but vast in its real significance: the spread of Christ's redemptive work to all men of all times and all places, for all who are saved have been made sharers in the redemption.

635 Christ went down into the depths of death so that "the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live."⁴⁸⁴ Jesus, "the Author of life", by dying destroyed "him who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and [delivered] all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage."⁴⁸⁵ Henceforth the risen Christ holds "the keys of Death and Hades", so that "at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth."⁴⁸⁶

Today a great silence reigns on earth, a great silence and a great stillness. A great silence because the King is asleep. the earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. . . He has gone to search for Adam, our first father, as for a lost sheep. Greatly desiring to visit those who live in darkness and in the shadow of death, he has gone to free from sorrow Adam in his bonds and Eve, captive with him - He who is both their God and the son of Eve. . . "I am your God, who for your sake have become your son. . . I order you, O sleeper, to awake. I did not create you to be a prisoner in hell. Rise from the dead, for I am the life of the dead."⁴⁸⁷

IN BRIEF

636 By the expression "He descended into hell", the Apostles' Creed confesses that Jesus did really die and through his death for us conquered death and the devil "who has the power of death" (⇒ Heb 2:14).

637 In his human soul united to his divine person, the dead Christ went down to the realm of the dead. He opened heaven's gates for the just who had gone before him.

第二節 基督第三日從死者中復活

638. 「我們現今也給你們報告喜訊：就是那向祖先所應許的恩許，天主已給我們作他們子孫的完成了，叫耶穌復活了」(宗 13:32-33)。耶穌復活是我們對基督信仰的至高真理，初期基督徒團體相信這是主要的真理，並以此而生活，聖傳視此為基本真理而傳遞下去；此真理由新約的文件予以確定，作為與十字架一起的逾越奧跡的主要部分去宣講：

一、歷史性和超越性的事件

639. 基督復活的奧跡是一件真實的事件，它有歷史可尋的跡象，如同新約所証實的。早在公元 56年期間，聖保祿已能給格林多的基督徒寫道：「我當日把我所領受而又傳授給你們的，其中首要的是：基督照經上記載的，為我們的罪死了，被埋葬了，且照經上記載的，第三天復活了，並顯現給刻法，以後顯現給那十二位」(格前 15:3-4)。這裡，聖保祿談及他在大馬士革歸化後，所聽到的有關復活的生活的傳授 (tradition)。

空墓

640. 「你們為甚麼在死人中找活人呢？祂不在這裡了，祂己復活了」(路 24:5-6)。在有關逾越事件的範圍中，所遇到的第一件事就是空墓。這事本身並非一個直接的証據，因為基督的身體不在墓中可能有其他的解釋。話雖如此，空墓為眾人卻構成了一個重要的標記。門徒們對它的發現乃邁向承認復活事跡的第一步。首先是熱心婦女們 、接著伯多祿也發現了空墓。「耶穌所愛的那個門徒」(若 20:2)肯定說：「進了空的墳墓，看見了放著的殮布」(若 20:6)，「一看見就相信了」(若 20:8)。這預設他曾証實過空墓當時的情形，認為耶穌遺體不在墓中，不可能有人從中故弄玄虛；而耶穌也不只像拉匝祿那般，只是回復了塵世生活而已。

復活基督的顯現

641. 最先遇見復活的基督的，是瑪利亞瑪達肋納和熱心的婦女們，她們在聖週五的傍晚，前去傅抹了耶穌的遺體，當時由於安息日的來臨，祂的遺體便於聖週五傍晚匆匆被埋葬。因此，婦女們是首先向宗徒們報告基督復活的使者。耶穌稍後才向他們顯現，首先向伯多祿，然後向十二宗徒。伯多祿奉召要鞏固其他弟兄的信德，故比其他宗徒先看到復活的基督，而且就是根據他的見証，團體可以喊道：「主真復活了，並顯現給西滿了」(路 24:34,36)。

642. 所有在逾越節那幾天所發生的事，要求每個宗徒，尤其是伯多祿，建立由逾越節早上所開始的新紀元。作為復活基督的見証，他們一直是建立祂教會的基石。首批信徒團體的信仰，建基於具體的、為基督徒所認識的、而且大部分仍生活在他們中間的人的見証上。基督復活的這些証人，首先是伯多祿和十二位宗徒，但不只是他們：保祿曾清楚地說過，除了顯現給雅各伯和眾宗徒外，耶穌還同一時間顯現給五百多位弟兄。

643. 面對這些見証，我們不能在物理秩序之外去解釋基督的復活，也不能否認它是一宗歷史的事件。這點可從以下的事實清楚得知，即門徒們的信仰是經過他們師傅所預告的苦難，和十字架上之死亡的徹底考驗 。苦難所引起的震驚是如此深刻，以致門徒們(至少其中幾個)不敢立刻相信復活的消息。福音並沒有向我們描述一個受了神秘意識的亢奮所攫住的團體，卻向我們講述了一群失落的、驚恐的門徒們，因為他們沒有相信那些由墳墓回來的熱心婦女，「婦女們的這些話，在他們看來，好像是無稽之談」(路 24:11)。當耶穌在逾越節晚上顯現給十一個宗徒時，曾「責斥他們的無信和心硬，因為他們不信那些在祂由死者中復活後，見了祂的人」(谷 16:14)。

644. 即使面對著耶穌復活了的事實，門徒們依然有所懷疑，此事在他們看來是如此不可能，致使他們以為是見了鬼魂。「他們由於歡喜，還是不敢信」(路 24:41)。多默受了同樣懷疑的考驗，瑪竇將此事與耶穌在加里肋亞最後的一次顯現放在一起，指出當時「有人還心中疑惑」(瑪 28:17)。因此，將復活說成是宗徒們信仰 (或輕信)的「產物」，這假設是沒有根據的。反之，他們對復活的信仰，是在天主恩寵的推動下，來自耶穌復活事實的直接經驗。

基督復活後的人性狀況

645. 復活後的耶穌透過觸摸和一起用膳，與自己的門徒們建立了直接的關係。祂請他們辨認祂不是鬼神，尤其請他們查驗祂給他們呈現的復活後的身體，就是那曾受折磨和被釘的同一身體，因為仍帶著苦難的痕跡。然而這個原有及真實的身體，卻同時擁有光榮身體的新特性：它不再置身於時空，而能按自己的方式，無論何時何地都可隨意臨現，因為祂的人性已不能再被扣留在地上，如今它只隸屬天父屬神的權下。也是為這緣故，復活的耶穌能絕對自由地照祂喜歡的去顯現：以園丁的形象或以其他為門徒們所熟悉的形象，都是為激發他們的信德。

646. 基督的復活並非恢復塵世的生活，像祂在逾越節前所行的復活奇跡那樣：如雅依洛的女兒、納因的青年，以及拉匝祿。這些都是奇妙的事跡，受惠的人因耶穌的能力，又回復「正常」的塵世生活。但到了某個時刻，他們又會重新死去。基督的復活本質上則完全不同，在祂復活的身體上，祂從死亡的狀態進入另一個超越時空的生命。耶穌的身體在復活時，充滿了聖神的德能；在祂的光榮中分享天主的生命，以致聖保祿說到基督時，能稱祂是「天上的人」。

復活是超越性的事件

647. 逾越節的「逾越頌」唱道：「啊，黑夜，只有你知道基督由陰府復活的時刻。」因為，沒有人是復活事件的目擊証人，也沒有聖史敘述此事。無人能說出具體上它是怎樣發生的。至於它最內在的要素：那通往另一生命的經歷，則更非五官所能察覺的。歷史事件可透過空墓的標記，和宗徒們與復活基督的相遇來確定；但在那些超越歷史的成分上，復活同樣地仍是信仰奧跡的核心。為此，復活的基督並不顯現給世界，而只顯現給自己的門徒們，即「顯現給同祂一起，從加里肋亞往耶路撒冷去的人；這些人就是現今在百姓前給祂作証的人」(宗 13:31)。

二、復活 ──── 聖三的工程

648. 基督復活是信仰的對象，因為它是天主親自投入創造和歷史中的一種超越的干預。在這件事上，天主聖三一起工作，同時又顯示各自的特色。此事是藉著聖父的能力而完成，祂「復活了」(宗 2:24)祂的兒子基督，這樣，祂完美地將其人性及其肉身融入在聖三中。耶穌「按至聖的神性，由於祂從死者中復活，已正式被立為具有大能的天主之子」(羅 1:3-4)。聖保祿強調藉聖神的工程而顯示的天主的德能，聖神復活了耶穌已死的人性，叫它進入上主光榮的境界。

649. 至於聖子，祂藉本身天主性的能力使自己復活。耶穌宣布人子必須受許多苦、死亡、然後復活(含有主動之意)。祂在別處清楚地聲明：「我捨掉我的性命，為再取回它來……我有權捨掉它，我也有權再取回它來」 (若 10:17-18)。「我們相信……耶穌死了，也復活了」(得前 4:14)。

教父們是從基督的天主性位格去看復活，這位格跟祂那因死亡而分離的靈魂和肉身仍結合在一起：「由於天主性體的單一性──它存在於人的兩個部分，這些部分又重新結合起來。這樣，死亡是因人組合部分的分離而產生，而復活則是因兩個分離部分的結合而完成」。

三、復活的救恩意義和重要性

651. 「假如基督沒有復活，那麼，我們的宣講便是空的，你們的信仰也是空的」(格前 15:14)。復活首先確認基督所行和所教的一切。所有的真理，甚至那人類理智最難領悟的都會找到解釋，因為基督藉復活決定性地証明祂天主性的權威，正如祂應許的。

652. 基督的復活，實現了舊約和耶穌自己生前所作的許諾。「正如聖經所載」這句話(格前 15:3-4及尼西亞‧君士坦丁堡信經)，是指基督的復活應驗了這些預言。

653. 耶穌天主性的真理，由祂的復活所証實。祂曾說過：「當你們高舉了人 子以後，你們便知道我就是那一位(自有者)」(若 8:28)。被釘者的復 活，証明了祂確實是「我就是那一位(自有者)」，是天主子及天主本身。聖保祿能向猶太人宣布說：「那向祖先所應許的恩許，天主已給我們完成了，叫耶穌復活了，就如在聖詠第二篇上所記載的『你是我的兒 子，我今日生了你』」(宗 13:32-33)。基督的復活與天主子降生的奧跡有密切的聯繫。依照天主永遠的計劃，復活是這降生奧跡的完成。 

654. 逾越奧跡有兩個層面：基督藉死亡救我們脫離罪惡，藉祂的復活使我們獲得新生。這新生首先是那使我們重新獲得天主恩寵的成義。「因為基督怎樣藉著父的光榮，從死者中復活了，我們也怎樣在新生活中度生」 (羅 6:4)。成義在乎戰勝罪惡的死亡及重新享有聖寵。其次，它完成義子的承繼，因為人成了基督的兄弟姊妹，正如耶穌在復活後親自稱呼其門徒們那樣：「你們去，報告我的弟兄」(瑪 28:10;若 20:17)。人成了基督的兄弟姊妹，不是出於本性，而是出於恩寵，因為這種義子身分使人實在分享唯一聖子的生命，而這生命在祂復活時已完全顯示出來了。

655. 最後，基督的復活──或復活的基督本身，乃是我們將來復活的本原和泉源：「基督從死者中實在復活了，做了死者的初果……就如在亞當內，眾人都死了，照樣，在基督內，眾人都要復活」(格前 15:20-22)。在期待此事的完成時，復活的基督生活在祂信徒們的心中。在祂內，基督徒嘗到「未來世代的德能」(希 6:5)，而他們的生命也被基督提昇到天主生命的懷抱：「祂替眾人死，是為使活著的人不再為自己生活，而是為替他們死而復活了的那位生活」(格後 5:15)。

撮要

656. 相信復活，是相信一個事件，這事件一方面確曾由遇見過復活的基督的門徒給予歷史的見証；另一方面就基督的人性已進入天主的光榮而論，是奧妙的超越性事件。

657. 空墓及放在那裡的殮布，本身已表示基督的肉身，因著天主的能力已擺脫了死亡和腐朽的束縛。這些都準備門徒們去與復活的主相遇。

658. 基督、「死者中的首生者」(哥 1:18)，是我們復活的本原，這復活從今日起是藉我們靈魂的成義、日後是將藉我們肉體的復甦而完成。

638 "We bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this day he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus."⁴⁸⁸ The Resurrection of Jesus is the crowning truth of our faith in Christ, a faith believed and lived as the central truth by the first Christian community; handed on as fundamental by Tradition; established by the documents of the New Testament; and preached as an essential part of the Paschal mystery along with the cross:

Christ is risen from the dead!

Dying, he conquered death;

To the dead, he has given life.⁴⁸⁹

I. THE HISTORICAL AND TRANSCENDENT EVENT

639 The mystery of Christ's resurrection is a real event, with manifestations that were historically verified, as the New Testament bears witness. In about A.D. 56 St. Paul could already write to the Corinthians: "I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, and that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the Twelve. . ."⁴⁹⁰ The Apostle speaks here of the living tradition of the Resurrection which he had learned after his conversion at the gates of Damascus.⁴⁹¹

The empty tomb

640 "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen."⁴⁹² The first element we encounter in the framework of the Easter events is the empty tomb. In itself it is not a direct proof of Resurrection; the absence of Christ's body from the tomb could be explained otherwise.⁴⁹³ Nonetheless the empty tomb was still an essential sign for all. Its discovery by the disciples was the first step toward recognizing the very fact of the Resurrection. This was the case, first with the holy women, and then with Peter.⁴⁹⁴ The disciple "whom Jesus loved" affirmed that when he entered the empty tomb and discovered "the linen cloths lying there", "he saw and believed".⁴⁹⁵ This suggests that he realized from the empty tomb's condition that the absence of Jesus' body could not have been of human doing and that Jesus had not simply returned to earthly life as had been the case with Lazarus.⁴⁹⁶

The appearances of the Risen One

641 Mary Magdalene and the holy women who came to finish anointing the body of Jesus, which had been buried in haste because the Sabbath began on the evening of Good Friday, were the first to encounter the Risen One.⁴⁹⁷ Thus the women were the first messengers of Christ's Resurrection for the apostles themselves.⁴⁹⁸ They were the next to whom Jesus appears: first Peter, then the Twelve. Peter had been called to strengthen the faith of his brothers,⁴⁹⁹ and so sees the Risen One before them; it is on the basis of his testimony that the community exclaims: "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!"⁵⁰⁰

642 Everything that happened during those Paschal days involves each of the apostles - and Peter in particular - in the building of the new era begun on Easter morning. As witnesses of the Risen One, they remain the foundation stones of his Church. the faith of the first community of believers is based on the witness of concrete men known to the Christians and for the most part still living among them. Peter and the Twelve are the primary "witnesses to his Resurrection", but they are not the only ones - Paul speaks clearly of more than five hundred persons to whom Jesus appeared on a single occasion and also of James and of all the apostles.⁵⁰¹

643 Given all these testimonies, Christ's Resurrection cannot be interpreted as something outside the physical order, and it is impossible not to acknowledge it as an historical fact. It is clear from the facts that the disciples' faith was drastically put to the test by their master's Passion and death on the cross, which he had foretold.⁵⁰² The shock provoked by the Passion was so great that at least some of the disciples did not at once believe in the news of the Resurrection. Far from showing us a community seized by a mystical exaltation, the Gospels present us with disciples demoralized ("looking sad"⁵⁰³) and frightened. For they had not believed the holy women returning from the tomb and had regarded their words as an "idle tale".⁵⁰⁴ When Jesus reveals himself to the Eleven on Easter evening, "he upbraided them for their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they had not believed those who saw him after he had risen."⁵⁰⁵

644 Even when faced with the reality of the risen Jesus the disciples are still doubtful, so impossible did the thing seem: they thought they were seeing a ghost. "In their joy they were still disbelieving and still wondering."⁵⁰⁶ Thomas will also experience the test of doubt and St. Matthew relates that during the risen Lord's last appearance in Galilee "some doubted."⁵⁰⁷ Therefore the hypothesis that the Resurrection was produced by the apostles' faith (or credulity) will not hold up. On the contrary their faith in the Resurrection was born, under the action of divine grace, from their direct experience of the reality of the risen Jesus.

The condition of Christ's risen humanity

645 By means of touch and the sharing of a meal, the risen Jesus establishes direct contact with his disciples. He invites them in this way to recognize that he is not a ghost and above all to verify that the risen body in which he appears to them is the same body that had been tortured and crucified, for it still bears the traces of his Passion.⁵⁰⁸ Yet at the same time this authentic, real body possesses the new properties of a glorious body: not limited by space and time but able to be present how and when he wills; for Christ's humanity can no longer be confined to earth, and belongs henceforth only to the Father's divine realm.⁵⁰⁹ For this reason too the risen Jesus enjoys the sovereign freedom of appearing as he wishes: in the guise of a gardener or in other forms familiar to his disciples, precisely to awaken their faith.⁵¹⁰

646 Christ's Resurrection was not a return to earthly life, as was the case with the raisings from the dead that he had performed before Easter: Jairus' daughter, the young man of Naim, Lazarus. These actions were miraculous events, but the persons miraculously raised returned by Jesus' power to ordinary earthly life. At some particular moment they would die again. Christ's Resurrection is essentially different. In his risen body he passes from the state of death to another life beyond time and space. At Jesus' Resurrection his body is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit: he shares the divine life in his glorious state, so that St. Paul can say that Christ is "the man of heaven".⁵¹¹

The Resurrection as transcendent event

647 O truly blessed Night, sings the Exsultet of the Easter Vigil, which alone deserved to know the time and the hour when Christ rose from the realm of the dead!⁵¹² But no one was an eyewitness to Christ's Resurrection and no evangelist describes it. No one can say how it came about physically. Still less was its innermost essence, his passing over to another life, perceptible to the senses. Although the Resurrection was an historical event that could be verified by the sign of the empty tomb and by the reality of the apostles' encounters with the risen Christ, still it remains at the very heart of the mystery of faith as something that transcends and surpasses history. This is why the risen Christ does not reveal himself to the world, but to his disciples, "to those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people."⁵¹³

II. THE RESURRECTION - A WORK OF THE HOLY TRINITY

648 Christ's Resurrection is an object of faith in that it is a transcendent intervention of God himself in creation and history. In it the three divine persons act together as one, and manifest their own proper characteristics. the Father's power "raised up" Christ his Son and by doing so perfectly introduced his Son's humanity, including his body, into the Trinity. Jesus is conclusively revealed as "Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his Resurrection from the dead".⁵¹⁴ St. Paul insists on the manifestation of God's power⁵¹⁵ through the working of the Spirit who gave life to Jesus' dead humanity and called it to the glorious state of Lordship.

649 As for the Son, he effects his own Resurrection by virtue of his divine power. Jesus announces that the Son of man will have to suffer much, die, and then rise.⁵¹⁶ Elsewhere he affirms explicitly: "I lay down my life, that I may take it again. . . I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again."⁵¹⁷ "We believe that Jesus died and rose again."⁵¹⁸

650 The Fathers contemplate the Resurrection from the perspective of the divine person of Christ who remained united to his soul and body, even when these were separated from each other by death: "By the unity of the divine nature, which remains present in each of the two components of man, these are reunited. For as death is produced by the separation of the human components, so Resurrection is achieved by the union of the two."⁵¹⁹

III. THE MEANING AND SAVING SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESURRECTION

651 "If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain."⁵²⁰ The Resurrection above all constitutes the confirmation of all Christ's works and teachings. All truths, even those most inaccessible to human reason, find their justification if Christ by his Resurrection has given the definitive proof of his divine authority, which he had promised.

652 Christ's Resurrection is the fulfilment of the promises both of the Old Testament and of Jesus himself during his earthly life.⁵²¹ The phrase "in accordance with the Scriptures"⁵²² indicates that Christ's Resurrection fulfilled these predictions.

653 The truth of Jesus' divinity is confirmed by his Resurrection. He had said: "When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am he."⁵²³ The Resurrection of the crucified one shows that he was truly "I AM", the Son of God and God himself. So St. Paul could declare to the Jews: "What God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus; as also it is written in the second psalm, 'You are my Son, today I have begotten you.'"⁵²⁴ Christ's Resurrection is closely linked to the Incarnation of God's Son, and is its fulfilment in accordance with God's eternal plan.

654 The Paschal mystery has two aspects: by his death, Christ liberates us from sin; by his Resurrection, he opens for us the way to a new life. This new life is above all justification that reinstates us in God's grace, "so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." Justification consists in both victory over the death caused by sin and a new participation in grace.⁵²⁶ It brings about filial adoption so that men become Christ's brethren, as Jesus himself called his disciples after his Resurrection: "Go and tell my brethren."⁵²⁷ We are brethren not by nature, but by the gift of grace, because that adoptive filiation gains us a real share in the life of the only Son, which was fully revealed in his Resurrection.

655 Finally, Christ's Resurrection - and the risen Christ himself is the principle and source of our future resurrection: "Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. . . For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive."⁵²⁸ The risen Christ lives in the hearts of his faithful while they await that fulfilment. In Christ, Christians "have tasted. . . the powers of the age to come"⁵²⁹ and their lives are swept up by Christ into the heart of divine life, so that they may "live no longer for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."⁵³⁰

IN BRIEF

656 Faith in the Resurrection has as its object an event which as historically attested to by the disciples, who really encountered the Risen One. At the same time, this event is mysteriously transcendent insofar as it is the entry of Christ's humanity into the glory of God.

657 The empty tomb and the linen cloths lying there signify in themselves that by God's power Christ's body had escaped the bonds of death and corruption. They prepared the disciples to encounter the Risen Lord.

658 Christ, "the first-born from the dead" (⇒ Col 1:18), is the principle of our own resurrection, even now by the justification of our souls (cf ⇒ Rom 6:4), and one day by the new life he will impart to our bodies (cf ⇒ Rom 8:11).

第六條 「耶穌升天，坐在全能者天主父的右邊」

659. 「主耶穌給他們說了這些話以後，就被接升天，坐在天主的右邊」 (谷 16:19)。基督的身體在祂復活的那一刻就已受到光榮，正如祂已永久享有的那些新而超性的特徵所証實的。然而在祂跟自己門徒們親切地吃喝、向他們教導天國道理的四十天中，祂的光榮仍被隱蔽在普通人性的形象下。耶穌最後一次的顯現，是以祂的人性不能回轉地進入天主的光榮來結束，這光榮以雲彩和天作為象徵，如今祂就在那裡，坐在天主的右邊。在立保祿為宗徒的最後一次顯現中，祂以完全例外和獨特的方式，顯現給那個「像流產兒」(格前 15:8)的保祿。

660. 在這段時期復活基督的光榮的隱蔽性，可從祂對瑪利亞瑪達肋納所說的那些奧秘的話中透露出來：「我還沒有升到父那裡，你到我的弟兄那裡去，告訴他們：我升到我的父和你們的父那裡去，升到我的天主和你們的天主那裡去」(若 20:17)。這表明在復活基督的光榮與被高舉至聖父右邊的光榮之間，有著不同的顯示。具有歷史兼超越性的升天事件，標誌著祂由一個境界進入了另一個境界。

661. 這最後一個階段跟第一個階段，即道成人身自天降下的階段有密切的聯繫。只有「出自父的」基督，才能「回到父」那裡去。「沒有人上過天，除了那自天降下的人子」(若 3:13)。只靠自己本性的力量，人類將不能到達「父的家裡」(若 14:2)，不能獲得生命和天主的幸福。唯有基督能給人打開這條門徑，「給予我們堅強信心，凡是首領和本原所在之處，我們作祂肢體的，也要與祂結合在同一的光榮中」。

662. 「至於我，當我從地上被舉起來時，便要吸引眾人來歸向我」(若 12:32)。被高舉在十字架上，是表明和宣示耶穌要被舉升天，也是升天的開始。耶穌基督、新而永久盟約的唯一司祭，「並非進入了一座人手所造的聖殿……而是進入了上天本境，今後出現在天主面前，為我們轉求」(希 9:24)。在天上，基督永久地執行祂的司祭職，「因為祂常活著，為那些因祂而接近天主的人轉求」(希 7:25)。作為「未來鴻恩的大司祭」(希 9:11)，祂是那光榮在天之父的禮儀的中心和主角。

663. 如今，基督已坐在父的右邊。「在父右邊是指天主性的光榮和尊位，那位在萬世之前作為天主子、與父同性同體的，如今在降生成人，及祂的肉身受到了顯揚後，帶著肉身坐在那裡」。

664. 坐在天父的右邊是指默西亞神國的揭幕，實現了達尼爾先知有關人子的神視：「那萬古常存者賜給祂統治權、尊榮和國度，各民族、各邦國及各異語人民都要事奉祂；祂的王權是永遠的王權，永存不替；祂的國度永不滅亡」 (達 7:14)。從那時起，宗徒們便成了「萬世無疆的神國」的見証。

撮要

665. 基督的升天，標誌著耶穌的人性已決定性地進入天主的神聖領域，並將從那裡再次降來，但在此期間，人的肉眼不再看得見祂。

666. 耶穌基督──教會的頭，先我們而抵達父的榮耀王國，為使我們──祂的肢體，懷著將有一日與祂永遠相處的希望而生活。

667. 耶穌基督既一次而永遠地進入了天上的聖殿，便以中保身分不斷為我們轉求，以確保聖神源源不絕地傾注在我們身上。

"HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER"

659 "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God."⁵³¹ Christ's body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys.⁵³² But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity.⁵³³ Jesus' final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God's right hand.⁵³⁴ Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way would Jesus show himself to Paul "as to one untimely born", in a last apparition that established him as an apostle.⁵³⁵

660 The veiled character of the glory of the Risen One during this time is intimated in his mysterious words to Mary Magdalene: "I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."⁵³⁶ This indicates a difference in manifestation between the glory of the risen Christ and that of the Christ exalted to the Father's right hand, a transition marked by the historical and transcendent event of the Ascension.

661 This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one who "came from the Father" can return to the Father: Christ Jesus.⁵³⁷ "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man."⁵³⁸ Left to its own natural powers humanity does not have access to the "Father's house", to God's life and happiness.⁵³⁹ Only Christ can open to man such access that we, his members, might have confidence that we too shall go where he, our Head and our Source, has preceded us.⁵⁴⁰

662 "and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."⁵⁴¹ The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and eternal Covenant, "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands. . . but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf."⁵⁴² There Christ permanently exercises his priesthood, for he "always lives to make intercession" for "those who draw near to God through him".⁵⁴³ As "high priest of the good things to come" he is the centre and the principal actor of the liturgy that honours the Father in heaven.⁵⁴⁴

663 Henceforth Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father: "By 'the Father's right hand' we understand the glory and honour of divinity, where he who exists as Son of God before all ages, indeed as God, of one being with the Father, is seated bodily after he became incarnate and his flesh was glorified."⁵⁴⁵

664 Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfilment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of man: "To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."⁵⁴⁶ After this event the apostles became witnesses of the "kingdom [that] will have no end".⁵⁴⁷

"HE ASCENDED INTO HEAVEN AND IS SEATED AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER"

659 "So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God."⁵³¹ Christ's body was glorified at the moment of his Resurrection, as proved by the new and supernatural properties it subsequently and permanently enjoys.⁵³² But during the forty days when he eats and drinks familiarly with his disciples and teaches them about the kingdom, his glory remains veiled under the appearance of ordinary humanity.⁵³³ Jesus' final apparition ends with the irreversible entry of his humanity into divine glory, symbolized by the cloud and by heaven, where he is seated from that time forward at God's right hand.⁵³⁴ Only in a wholly exceptional and unique way would Jesus show himself to Paul "as to one untimely born", in a last apparition that established him as an apostle.⁵³⁵

660 The veiled character of the glory of the Risen One during this time is intimated in his mysterious words to Mary Magdalene: "I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God."⁵³⁶ This indicates a difference in manifestation between the glory of the risen Christ and that of the Christ exalted to the Father's right hand, a transition marked by the historical and transcendent event of the Ascension.

661 This final stage stays closely linked to the first, that is, to his descent from heaven in the Incarnation. Only the one who "came from the Father" can return to the Father: Christ Jesus.⁵³⁷ "No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended from heaven, the Son of man."⁵³⁸ Left to its own natural powers humanity does not have access to the "Father's house", to God's life and happiness.⁵³⁹ Only Christ can open to man such access that we, his members, might have confidence that we too shall go where he, our Head and our Source, has preceded us.⁵⁴⁰

662 "and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself."⁵⁴¹ The lifting up of Jesus on the cross signifies and announces his lifting up by his Ascension into heaven, and indeed begins it. Jesus Christ, the one priest of the new and eternal Covenant, "entered, not into a sanctuary made by human hands. . . but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf."⁵⁴² There Christ permanently exercises his priesthood, for he "always lives to make intercession" for "those who draw near to God through him".⁵⁴³ As "high priest of the good things to come" he is the centre and the principal actor of the liturgy that honours the Father in heaven.⁵⁴⁴

663 Henceforth Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father: "By 'the Father's right hand' we understand the glory and honour of divinity, where he who exists as Son of God before all ages, indeed as God, of one being with the Father, is seated bodily after he became incarnate and his flesh was glorified."⁵⁴⁵

664 Being seated at the Father's right hand signifies the inauguration of the Messiah's kingdom, the fulfilment of the prophet Daniel's vision concerning the Son of man: "To him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed."⁵⁴⁶ After this event the apostles became witnesses of the "kingdom [that] will have no end".⁵⁴⁷

IN BRIEF

665 Christ's Ascension marks the definitive entrance of Jesus' humanity into God's heavenly domain, whence he will come again (cf ⇒ Acts 1:11); this humanity in the meantime hides him from the eyes of men (cf ⇒ Col 3:3).

666 Jesus Christ, the head of the Church, precedes us into the Father's glorious kingdom so that we, the members of his Body, may live in the hope of one day being with him for ever.

667 Jesus Christ, having entered the sanctuary of heaven once and for all, intercedes constantly for us as the mediator who assures us of the permanent outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

第七條 「耶穌要從天降來，審判生者死者」

一、祂還要光榮地再來

基督已藉教會為王

668. 「因為基督死而復生了，正是為作生者和死者的主」(羅 14:9)。基督的升天表明祂在自己人性內，分享了天主本身的能力和權威。耶穌基督是主，祂持有天上和地下的一切權柄。祂「超越一切率領者、掌權者、異能者、宰制者」，因為父「將萬有置於祂的腳下」(弗 1:20-22)。基督是宇宙和歷史的主宰。在祂內人類歷史甚至整個受造界都「總歸」於基督，達到其超越性的完美境界。

669. 作為主，基督也是教會──祂的奧體的元首。祂被舉升天及受顯揚，而圓滿地完成了祂的使命後，仍留在世上，留在祂的教會內。救贖是基督藉聖神的德能，對教會施行權力的泉源。「基督神國已經以奧妙的方式臨現於教會內」。教會「在這世上是天國的幼芽和開端」。

670. 從耶穌升天後，天主的計劃進入了完成階段。我們已經是在「最後的時期了」(若一 2:18)。「所以，世界的末期已經來到，世界的革新已無可挽回地被確定，而且在某種意義下，確已提前實現；因為教會已在今世擁有聖德，雖不完善，卻是真正的聖德」。基督的神國透過那些伴隨教會宣講的奇跡和徵兆，已顯示出它的臨在。

萬物在期待一切總歸於基督

671. 基督神國雖已臨現於祂的教會內，但仍未透過「帶著威能及莫大光榮」 (路 21:27)之君王的來臨而完成。這個神國仍然受到邪惡勢力的攻擊，即使這勢力已被基督的逾越所徹底征服。幾時萬物還未屈服於祂，「幾時還未出現充滿正義的新天新地，旅途中的教會，在其聖事和屬於今世的制度內，仍將帶有此世易逝的面目，並生活在受造物之中，這些受造物正在呻吟痛苦，期待著天主子女的顯揚」。為此，基督徒們祈禱，尤其是在感恩祭中催促基督再來，對祂說：「吾主，來吧！」(格前 16:22; 默 22:17,20)。

672. 基督在升天前，強調以色列所期待的，建立默西亞光榮神國的時間，尚未來到。這神國照先知們所說的，應帶給眾人正義、仁愛與和平的最後秩序。依上主所言，目前是聖神和見証的時刻，但也是一個標誌著「急難」(格前 7:26)和邪惡考驗的時刻，連教會也不能倖免，此時刻也開始了最後時期的戰鬥。這是一個期待和警醒的時期。

基督光榮的來臨：以色列的希望

673. 從基督升天之後，祂在榮耀中的來臨逼近了，縱使「父所決定的時候和日期」(宗 1:7)不是我們應當知道的。這種末世的來臨可在任何時間完成，縱使這種來臨及在來臨之前的最後考驗受到「延擱」。

674. 默西亞光榮的來臨懸於歷史的每一刻，直到「全以色列」承認祂(羅 11:26;瑪 23:39)，可是他們「有一部分執迷不悟」(羅 11:25)，「不信」 (羅 11:20)耶穌。聖伯多祿在聖神降臨後，對耶路撒冷的猶太人說：「你們悔改，並回心轉意吧！好消除你們的罪過，為的是使安樂的時期由上主面前來到，祂好給你們派遣已預定的默西亞耶穌，因為祂必須留在天上，直到萬物復興的時候；對此，天主藉著祂古聖先知的口早已說過了」(宗 3:19-21)。聖保祿也回應說：「如果因他們被遺棄，世界與天主和好了，那麼，如果他們蒙收納，豈不是死而復生嗎？」(羅 11:15)。繼其他民族全數進入天國後，猶太人也「全體」(羅 11:12 )分享默西亞的救恩，這將使天主子民達到「基督圓滿年齡的程度」(弗 4:13)，在祂內「天主將成為萬物之中的萬有」(格前 15:28)。

教會最後的考驗

675. 在基督來臨前，教會將要經歷一個動搖許多信徒信仰的最後考驗。那陪伴她在世旅程的迫害，將揭露在冒牌宗教的方式下的「邪惡的奧秘」，它給人提供一種表面解決問題的方法，但要付出背棄真理的代價。最大的冒牌宗教就是假基督，即是一種冒充的默西亞主義：人追求自己的榮耀而取代天主及在肉身內降世的默西亞。

676. 每當有人企圖在歷史中實現默西亞帶來的希望時，假基督的這種欺騙就在世上形成了，因為這希望只能超越歷史透過末世審判實現出來。縱使它以溫和的形式出現，教會也擯棄這種歪曲未來神國的所謂「千年主義」，尤其擯棄「本身邪惡」的，在政治形式下的俗世默西亞主義。

677. 教會除非透過這最後的逾越，追隨主的死亡和復活，將不會進入天國的光榮中。所以，天國不是因著教會逐步上進、在歷史上凱旋而獲得的，而是因著天主制伏惡者的最後放縱而確立的，這事將使祂的新娘從天降下，這一天，主對惡者叛逆的勝利，將在這暫存世界最後宇宙性的動盪之後，採取最後審判的方式。

"FROM THENCE HE WILL COME AGAlN TO JUDGE THE LIVING AND THE DEAD"

I. He Will Come Again in Glory

Christ already reigns through the Church. . .

668 "Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living."⁵⁴⁸ Christ's Ascension into heaven signifies his participation, in his humanity, in God's power and authority. Jesus Christ is Lord: he possesses all power in heaven and on earth. He is "far above all rule and authority and power and dominion", for the Father "has put all things under his feet."⁵⁴⁹ Christ is Lord of the cosmos and of history. In him human history and indeed all creation are "set forth" and transcendently fulfilled.⁵⁵⁰

669 As Lord, Christ is also head of the Church, which is his Body.⁵⁵¹ Taken up to heaven and glorified after he had thus fully accomplished his mission, Christ dwells on earth in his Church. the redemption is the source of the authority that Christ, by virtue of the Holy Spirit, exercises over the Church. "The kingdom of Christ (is) already present in mystery", "on earth, the seed and the beginning of the kingdom".⁵⁵²

670 Since the Ascension God's plan has entered into its fulfilment. We are already at "the last hour".⁵⁵³ "Already the final age of the world is with us, and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real but imperfect."⁵⁵⁴ Christ's kingdom already manifests its presence through the miraculous signs that attend its proclamation by the Church.⁵⁵⁵ 
. . . until all things are subjected to him

671 Though already present in his Church, Christ's reign is nevertheless yet to be fulfilled "with power and great glory" by the King's return to earth.⁵⁵⁶ This reign is still under attack by the evil powers, even though they have been defeated definitively by Christ's Passover.⁵⁵⁷ Until everything is subject to him, "until there be realized new heavens and a new earth in which justice dwells, the pilgrim Church, in her sacraments and institutions, which belong to this present age, carries the mark of this world which will pass, and she herself takes her place among the creatures which groan and travail yet and await the revelation of the sons of God."⁵⁵⁸ That is why Christians pray, above all in the Eucharist, to hasten Christ's return by saying to him:⁵⁵⁹ Maranatha! "Our Lord, come!"⁵⁶⁰

672 Before his Ascension Christ affirmed that the hour had not yet come for the glorious establishment of the messianic kingdom awaited by Israel⁵⁶¹ which, according to the prophets, was to bring all men the definitive order of justice, love and peace.⁵⁶² According to the Lord, the present time is the time of the Spirit and of witness, but also a time still marked by "distress" and the trial of evil which does not spare the Church⁵⁶³ and ushers in the struggles of the last days. It is a time of waiting and watching.⁵⁶⁴

The glorious advent of Christ, the hope of Israel

673 Since the Ascension Christ's coming in glory has been imminent,⁵⁶⁵ even though "it is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority."⁵⁶⁶. This eschatological coming could be accomplished at any moment, even if both it and the final trial that will precede it are "delayed".⁵⁶⁷

674 The glorious Messiah's coming is suspended at every moment of history until his recognition by "all Israel", for "a hardening has come upon part of Israel" in their "unbelief" toward Jesus.⁵⁶⁸ St. Peter says to the Jews of Jerusalem after Pentecost: "Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send the Christ appointed for you, Jesus, whom heaven must receive until the time for establishing all that God spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old."⁵⁶⁹ St. Paul echoes him: "For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead?"⁵⁷⁰ The "full inclusion" of the Jews in the Messiah's salvation, in the wake of "the full number of the Gentiles",⁵⁷¹ will enable the People of God to achieve "the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ", in which "God may be all in all".⁵⁷²

The Church's ultimate trial

675 Before Christ's second coming the Church must pass through a final trial that will shake the faith of many believers.⁵⁷³ The persecution that accompanies her pilgrimage on earth⁵⁷⁴ will unveil the "mystery of iniquity" in the form of a religious deception offering men an apparent solution to their problems at the price of apostasy from the truth. the supreme religious deception is that of the Antichrist, a pseudo-messianism by which man glorifies himself in place of God and of his Messiah come in the flesh.⁵⁷⁵

676 The Antichrist's deception already begins to take shape in the world every time the claim is made to realize within history that messianic hope which can only be realized beyond history through the eschatological judgement. the Church has rejected even modified forms of this falsification of the kingdom to come under the name of millenarianism,⁵⁷⁶ especially the "intrinsically perverse" political form of a secular messianism.⁵⁷⁷

677 The Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection.⁵⁷⁸ The kingdom will be fulfilled, then, not by a historic triumph of the Church through a progressive ascendancy, but only by God's victory over the final unleashing of evil, which will cause his Bride to come down from heaven.⁵⁷⁹ God's triumph over the revolt of evil will take the form of the Last Judgement after the final cosmic upheaval of this passing world.⁵⁸⁰

二、為審判生者死者

678. 循著先知和若翰的路線，耶穌在祂的道理中宣講了末日的審判。那時各人的行為和心中的秘密將會顯露出來。那時因輕視天主恩寵而犯的不信之罪將受懲罰。對近人的態度將披露出對天主恩寵與慈愛的接納或拒絕。耶穌將在最後一天說：「凡你們對我這些最小兄弟中的一個所做的，就是對我做的」(瑪 25:40)。

679. 基督是永生的主。由於祂是世界的救贖者，決定性地審判人類行為和心思的全權隸屬於祂。祂以自己的十字架「賺得」了這權柄。父也「把審判的全權交給了子」(若 5:22)。如今，子來到世界不是為審判，而是為拯救，並賜予在祂內的生命。凡在今世拒絕恩寵的每一個人，他已審判了自己，按照他的作為而受報應，甚至也能因拒絕愛的聖神而永遠自我判決。

撮要

680. 主基督如今已透過教會為王，但今世的一切事物尚未歸屬於祂。基督王國的勝利在邪惡的勢力作最後的攻擊前，不會來到。

681. 世界窮盡時，在審判日子中，基督將在光榮中降來，為完成善對惡的決定性勝利，但兩者就像麥子與莠子一般，將在歷史的過程中一起成長。

682. 光榮的基督於末日來審判生者死者時，將揭露各人心中的隱秘，並依照他的行為和對恩寵的接納與拒絕，予以報應。

678 Following in the steps of the prophets and John the Baptist, Jesus announced the judgement of the Last Day in his preaching.⁵⁸¹ Then will the conduct of each one and the secrets of hearts be brought to light.⁵⁸² Then will the culpable unbelief that counted the offer of God's grace as nothing be condemned.⁵⁸³ Our attitude to our neighbour will disclose acceptance or refusal of grace and divine love.⁵⁸⁴ On the Last Day Jesus will say: "Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me."⁵⁸⁵

679 Christ is Lord of eternal life. Full right to pass definitive judgement on the works and hearts of men belongs to him as redeemer of the world. He "acquired" this right by his cross. the Father has given "all judgement to the Son".⁵⁸⁶ Yet the Son did not come to judge, but to save and to give the life he has in himself.⁵⁸⁷ By rejecting grace in this life, one already judges oneself, receives according to one's works, and can even condemn oneself for all eternity by rejecting the Spirit of love.⁵⁸⁸

IN BRIEF

680 Christ the Lord already reigns through the Church, but all the things of this world are not yet subjected to him. the triumph of Christ's kingdom will not come about without one last assault by the powers of evil.

681 On Judgement Day at the end of the world, Christ will come in glory to achieve the definitive triumph of good over evil which, like the wheat and the tares, have grown up together in the course of history.

682 When he comes at the end of time to judge the living and the dead, the glorious Christ will reveal the secret disposition of hearts and will render to each man according to his works, and according to his acceptance or refusal of grace.