Editing Christian eschatology (section)

==Death and the afterlife==

===Jewish beliefs at the time of Jesus===
{{see also|Second Temple Judaism}}
There were different schools of thought on the afterlife in [[Judea (Roman province)|Judea]] during the first century AD. The [[Sadducees]], who recognized only the [[Torah]] (the first five books of the Old Testament) as authoritative, did not believe in an afterlife or any resurrection of the dead. The [[Pharisees]], who accepted the Torah as well as [[Development of the Hebrew Bible canon|additional scriptures]], believed in the [[Resurrection of the Dead#Judaism|resurrection of the dead]]; it is known to have been a major point of contention between the two groups.<ref>see {{bibleverse||Acts|23:8}}</ref> The [[Pharisees]] based their belief on Biblical passages such as Daniel 12:2<ref>{{bibleverse||Daniel|12:2}}</ref> which says: "Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt."

===The intermediate state===
{{main|Intermediate state (Christianity)}}
Some traditions (notably, the [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]]) teach that the [[soul sleep]]s after death and will not awaken until the [[resurrection of the dead]]. Others believe the soul goes to an intermediate place where it will live consciously until the resurrection of the dead.

By "soul", Seventh-day Adventist theologians mean the physical person ([[monism]]), and that no component of human nature survives death. Therefore, each human will be "recreated" at resurrection. One scripture frequently used to substantiate the assertion that souls experience mortality is found in the [[Book of Ezekiel]]: "Behold, all souls are Mine; The soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is Mine. The soul who sins shall die." (Ezekiel 18:4)<ref>{{cite web|title=Ezekiel 18:4|url=https://biblia.com/books/nkjv/Eze18.4|website=Biblia.com|publisher=Faithlife.com|access-date=8 August 2017}}</ref>

===Purgatory===
{{main|Purgatory}}
This alludes to the Catholic belief in a spiritual state known as Purgatory during which souls not condemned to Hell but not completely pure go through a final process of purification before their full acceptance into Heaven.

The ''[[Catechism of the Catholic Church]] (CCC)'' says:
:Each man receives his eternal retribution in his [[immortal soul]] at the very moment of his death, in a [[particular judgment]] that refers his life to Christ: either entrance into the blessedness of [[Heaven (Christianity)|heaven]]—through a [[Purgatory|purification]] or immediately—or immediate and everlasting [[damnation]]. (Sect. 1022)

Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism do not believe in [[Purgatory]] as such, but the Orthodox Church posits a period of continued [[Sanctification in Christianity|sanctification]] after death. While the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]] rejects the term ''purgatory'', it acknowledges an intermediate state after death and before final judgment, and offers [[prayer for the dead]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7076|title=Death, the Threshold to Eternal Life – Liturgy & Worship|publisher=Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America|website=www.goarch.org|access-date=2011-01-20|archive-date=2010-06-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612232046/http://goarch.org/ourfaith/ourfaith7076|url-status=live}}</ref> In general, [[Protestantism|Protestant]] churches reject the Catholic doctrine of purgatory (although some teach the existence of an intermediate state). The general Protestant view is that the Bible, from which Protestants exclude [[deuterocanonical books]] such as [[2 Maccabees]], contains no overt, explicit discussion of purgatory.<ref>Robert L. Millet, ''By what Authority?: The Vital Question of Religious Authority in Christianity'' (Mercer University, 2010), p. 66.</ref>