The Judgment

After the initial passage into the afterlife, there is another, less comfortable event.

Each individual undergoes a judgment where he must review his life with unsparing honesty.

There is a ledger recording every deed, and its consequences on the people it affected. Now that the book is open and read. The movie that records the person’s life is projected onto the screen of his mind. Everything comes to light. The main criterion of judgment seems to be the deeds.

Did the person live more to benefit others, or did he use others to benefit himself?

Scriptures describe a trial scene, with God as judge, Jesus or Muhammad as defense attorney, and sometimes the devil as prosecutor. God is bound to pass sentence based on the evidence.

On this point, Father Moon offers a unique insight: to overcome Satan’s accusation at the judgment, we should win over the person or persons who most hate and accuse us on earth.

He calls it loving ‘Cain.’ Scriptures describe a gate that only the righteous may enter, a “bridge of the separator” that only the righteous may cross, and a fire that burns up all falsehood and leaves only what is genuine.

The spirit world has various abodes, heavens and hells, welcoming the soul according to its condition. Spirits are sorted out, and each goes to its appropriate place.

No guards are required to keep out the unworthy; no policemen to direct traffic, for each person naturally goes to the place most fitting to his or her character and past life.

1. The Life Review

For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil. Ecclesiastes 12.14

For nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Matthew 10.26

Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it; from His presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Also another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, by what they had done. Revelation 20.11-12

When the earth is shaken with her earthquake And the earth yields up her burdens, And man says, “What ails her?” That day she will relate her chronicles Because your Lord inspires her. That day mankind will issue forth in scattered groups to be shown their deeds.

And whoever has done good, an atom’s weight will see it then, And whoever has done ill, an atom’s weight will see it then. Qur’an 99

And every man’s augury have We fastened to his own neck, and We shall bring forth for him on the Day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open. “Read your book! Your soul suffices as a reckoner against you this day.” Qur’an 17.13-14

After you depart this life, God shall demand a reckoning of your deeds That in His ledger are recorded. Those that are rebellious, shall be summoned. Azrael, the angel of death, will hover over them, And trapped in a blind alley they will know not any escape. Saith Nanak, Falsehood must be destroyed; Truth in the end shall prevail. Adi Granth, Ramkali-ki-Var 13, M.1, p. 953 (Sikhism)

On the day when man’s time arrives to depart from the world, when the body is broken and the soul seeks to leave it, on that day man is privileged to see things that he was not permit- ted to see before, when the body was in full vigor. Three messengers stand over him and take an account of his life and of all that he has done in this world, and he admits all with his mouth and signs the account with his hand… as it is written, “that every man should acknowledge his works.” (Job 37:7) Zohar 1.79a (Judaism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
At the fateful moment of death, all the facts of a person’s past life will pass through his mind as images. No one needs to explain to him what kind of person he is; he will know it by himself.

The life he inherited from his ancestors, the circumstances he faced, the situation he leaves behind, and all his past will appear as images in his mind at the last moment of his life. A person who left behind a valuable moment during his earthly life will recognize it: “

There was truth. I left behind something more precious than my life.” However, another person will admit, “I spent my whole life course from birth to death as merely a passerby.”

Reflecting on all his past actions and feeling no desire to remember them, he feels miserable. For the person whose face is filled with joy as he reflects on his past, death is not to be feared; it is a moment of comfort. His past will not die and his reality will not die…

If a person gave his life while struggling to save his brother, a kinsman or a stranger, at the moment of death that fact will appear as an unforgettable image. But times of self-centered happiness, even moments of basking in the glory and acclaim of many people, will not bring any effect.

What does it mean to be good, to be persons of truth who can stand on their own before God?

Truth and goodness do not begin from us or end in us. Truth and goodness are established when something begins in us and brings results for others, or begins in others and brings results in us.

It is the same with all existences in heaven and earth; they have to establish reciprocal relationships of give and take according to the Principle. If one’s past life was entirely a life of giving, there will be no fear on the path of death.

A shining past is a life of giving everything to others, sacrificing for others, shedding tears for others, investing life for others, desiring for others, concentrating all one’s vitality and investing it for others…

For ordinary people facing the vicissitudes of the fallen world, their path of life is sometimes up and sometimes down.

They make plans from one year to the next, or maybe plan their future for ten or twenty years, but always centered on themselves.

However, when they meet their final destiny, all their records of sacrificing others for their own benefit will bind them. (31:308-10, June 7, 1970)

2. The Sorting, for Heaven or Hell

The hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. John 5.28-29

Towards the wicked man and the righteous one And him in whom right and wrong meet Shall the Judge act in upright manner, According to the laws of the present existence. Avesta, Yasna 33.1 (Zoroastrianism)

He, having effected an activity of body that is harmful, effected an activity of speech that is harmful, effected an activity of mind that is harmful, arises in a world that is harmful. Because he has uprisen in a world that is harmful, harmful sensory impingements assail him. He, being assailed by harmful sensory impingements, experiences a harmful feeling, without exception painful, even as do creatures in Niraya Hell. In this way, there is the uprising of a being from what he has come to be; he uprises accord- ing to what he does; when he has uprisen sensory impingements assail him. So I speak thus: Creatures are heir to deeds. Majjhima Nikaya 1.389-90, Kukkuravatikasutta (Buddhism)

For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done. Matthew 16.27

Naturally, every Hopi wants to join the spirits of his loved ones who have passed beyond. To that end he keeps his heart pure and is kind and generous to other people. When a bad person, one who is known as “not-Hopi,” dies, his fate is very different. Witches called the “Two Hearts” take him by the hand as soon as the breath is out of his body, and they lead him away to their own country. The country of the Two Hearts is as bad as they are themselves. Hopi Tradition (Native American Religions)

The Trumpet will be sounded, and whoever is in heaven and whoever is on earth will be stunned, except for someone God may wish. Then another [blast] will be blown and behold, they will stand there watching! The Earth will shine through its Lord’s light and the Book will be laid open. Prophets and witnesses will be brought in, and judgment will be pronounced among them formally, and they will not be harmed. Every soul will be repaid for whatever it has done; He is quite aware of what they are doing.

The ones who disbelieve will be driven along to hell in throngs until, just as they come up to it, its gates will swing open and its keepers will say to them, “Did not messengers come to you from among yourselves reciting your Lord’s verses to you and warning you about meeting [Him] on this day of yours?” They will say, “Of course!”

But the Sentence about torment has still come due for disbelievers. Someone else will say, “Enter hell’s gates to remain there. What an awful lodging will it be for the overbearing!” The ones who have heeded their Lord will be driven along to the Garden in throngs until just as they come up to it, its gates will swing open and its keepers will tell them, “Peace be upon you! You have been good, so enter it to remain there.” They will say, “Praise be to God who has held true to His promise for us and let us inherit the earth! We shall settle down anywhere we wish to in the Garden. How favored are such workers’ wages!” Qur’an 39.68-74

At the gates of the land of the dead You will pass before a searching Judge. His justice is true and He will examine your feet, He will know how to find every stain, Whether visible or hidden under the skin; If you have fallen on the way He will know. If the Judge finds no stains on your feet Open your belly to joy, for you have overcome And your belly is clean. Fon Song (African Traditional Religions)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
How is it determined whether we shall go to heaven or hell? It doesn’t matter how religious we are. The answer is simple: if we lived mainly for ourselves, we shall go to hell.

On the other hand, if on the balance, even by just one percent, our life was mainly dedicated for a public purpose, we shall overcome hell and arrive in heaven. (75:330, January 16, 1975)

Is the standard of a person’s conscience able to receive the heart of Heaven one hundred percent? No, it is not that way at all. In fact, the conscience of a fallen person is oppressed by so many restrictions.

Nevertheless, at the entrance to heaven, our hoped-for destination, stands a gate of judgment. (4:269, August 8, 1958)

It is a gate that only those who lived for the sake of others can pass through. There are guards at the gate. Please understand well that whatever I ask of you is to enable you to pass through that gate. (203:193, June 24, 1990)

Heaven is a vast world, and it consists of three levels. Who will go to the highest level? It is those who most lived for others. It is the law there. If you lived for others, then wherever you go, people will welcome you.

However, for those who lived for themselves, the opposite scene will unfold. No matter where a self-centered person goes, the people will drive him out, saying “Huh! We don’t like your kind of people.”

Everyone will reject a person who lived for himself, and everyone will welcome someone who lived for others. That is for sure. You should know clearly whether you are on the path to heaven or to hell.

This is not my casual viewpoint. I know the spirit world. People lead all manner of lives on earth, but no one can avoid death.

Those who lived for themselves will go to hell, and those who lived for others will go to heaven. At death people are sorted into these two worlds. (203:100-01, June 17, 1990)

3. The Court of Judgment

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies; who is to condemn? Is it Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Romans 8.33-35

When I die my death will be a mercy and a blessing for you: After death, your deeds will be sent to me and I will look at them: If you worked righteousness, I will praise God for this. If you worked evil, I will ask God that you be forgiven. Hadith of Ibn Sa’d (Islam)

They that are born are destined to die; and the dead to be brought to life again; and the living to be judged, to know, to make known, and to be made conscious that He is God, He the Maker, He the Creator, He the Discerner, He the Judge, He the Witness, He the Complainant; He it is that will in future judge, blessed be He, with whom there is no unrighteousness, nor forgetfulness, nor respect of persons, nor taking of bribes.

Know also that everything is according to reckoning, and let not your imagination give you hope that the grave will be a place of refuge for you. For perforce you were formed, and perforce you were born, and perforce you live, and perforce you will die, and perforce you will in the future have to give account and reckoning before the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He. Mishnah, Avot 4.29 (Judaism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
Jesus is working as an attorney in the spirit world. He would say to God, “This person did such and such good deeds with faith in my name.

Isn’t it true, based upon the agreement fixed between you and the Devil, that the Devil cannot take a person who strived to be good and who observed public righteousness?” Then, God has to agree with him. (149:98, November 17, 1986)

God brings each individual into judgment based on the degree to which he or she lived centered on the mind or centered on the body. An individual is completely restored when he or she becomes the very incarnation of the scriptures, established in truth and guiltless of every law in the book of judgment.

Now, on the foundation of individual perfection, it is time to establish a family that can pass through the judgment. All the family’s records will be presented as evidence…

God takes position of the judge, Satan will be the prosecutor, and Jesus will be our defense attorney. Therefore, we should establish a pure family that Satan cannot accuse of any wrong. (13:211, March 15, 1964)

Do you love Cain? Cain is in the position of Satan’s son. Satan, who is spiritual, challenges us through people who take the role of Cain. They are grinding their teeth, hating us even though we never did them any wrong.

If Satan is not to hook you, you should subjugate Cain; that is, win him over. This will require you to love Cain all the way to the end; otherwise, you cannot save him. For this reason, in order to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, you need to obtain a certificate from Satan.

What is Satan’s certificate?

For a convicted criminal to be released he should first go through an attorney, then a prosecutor, and finally he can be released by the judge. Satan is in the position of the prosecutor, God is the judge, and Jesus is the attorney.

If Satan accuses a defendant with convincing evidence, God cannot do anything about it.

Then Jesus, the attorney, says, “Heavenly Father, since this person is accused of such and such counts, let him be given an indemnity condition proportionate to his offenses, and then liberate him.”

For this reason [proving he has fulfilled the indemnity condition], he needs to procure a certificate from Satan. (48:316-17, September 26, 1971)

4. You Are Your Own Judge

The self is the maker and non-maker, and itself makes happiness and misery, is its own friend and its own foe, decides its own condition good or evil, and is its own river Veyarana [the river in which hell-beings are tormented]. Madaghishloka (Jainism)

The sacrificers and the sorcerer princes Have subdued mankind to the yoke of their dominion, To destroy existence through evil deeds: They shall be tortured by their own soul and their own conscience, When they come to the Bridge of the Separator, Forever to be inmates of the House of Evil.
Avesta, Yasna 46.11 (Zoroastrianism)

The Good Spirit, who was born simultaneously with you, will come now and count out your good deeds with white pebbles, and the Evil Spirit, who was born simultaneously with you, will come and count out your evil deeds with black pebbles. Thereupon, you will be greatly frightened, awed, and terrified, and will tremble; and you will attempt to tell lies, saying, “I have not committed any evil deed.”

Then the Lord of Death will say, “I will consult the Mirror of karma.” He will look in the Mirror, wherein every good and evil act is vividly reflected. Lying will be of no avail.

Then one of the executive furies of the Lord of Death will place a rope around your neck and drag you along; he will cut off your head, extract your heart, pull out your intestines, lick up your brain, drink your blood, eat your flesh, and gnaw your bones; but you will be incapable of dying.

Although your body be hacked to pieces, it will revive again. The repeated hacking [symbolizing the pangs of the deceased’s conscience] will cause intense pain and torture.

Even at the time that the pebbles are being counted out, be not frightened; tell no lies; and fear not the Lord of Death. Your body being a mental body is incapable of dying even though beheaded and quartered. In reality, your body is of the nature of voidness; you need not be afraid.

The Lords of Death are your own hallucinations. Your desire-body is a body of propensities, and void. Voidness cannot injure voidness; the qualityless cannot injure the qualityless. Apart from one’s own hallucinations, in reality there are no such things existing outside oneself as Lord of Death, or god, or demon. Act so as to recognize this. Tibetan Book of the Dead (Buddhism)

Teachings of Sun Myung Moon
God does not decide whether a person’s spirit enters heaven or hell upon his death; the spirit himself decides it. Humans are created so that once they reach perfection, they will fully breathe the love of God.

Those who committed sinful deeds while on earth become crippled spirits who are incapable of fully breathing in the love of God. They find it agonizing to stand before God, the center of true love.

Of their own will, they choose to dwell in hell, far removed from the love of God. (Exposition of the Divine Principle, Creation 6.3.2)

Running through each of you is the boundary line dividing heaven and hell. One step to the right and you go to heaven, one step to the left is hell. Heaven is not so far away, and neither is hell. You are the deciding factor. In spirit world there is no policeman directing traffic.

We each find our own place. Since you go there of your own free will, you cannot complain. In hell, you cannot protest, “God, why did you send me here?” because you decided your own dwelling place.

Even at this moment, each of you knows whether you should go to heaven or hell. (201:225-26, April 22, 1990)

How is it decided whether my journey will end in heaven or hell? I decided it. If I feel guilt-stricken in my conscience for having lived only to enjoy the pleasures of the senses, I will be in hell.

However, if I lived according to my conscience, preferring a life of integrity of heart, I will dwell in the heavenly spheres. For this reason, people should abandon the aspiration for material things and deny their evil desires. The correct way is to live by one’s conscience and strive to uphold the ethics of heaven. (7:238, September 20, 1959)

People bound for heaven do not need to be taught the way. Having lived according to their conscience, they will arrive there automatically. When the sun rises, don’t all the buds of the trees turn to face the sun?

Even plants know instinctively what direction to take. Then, as the lord of all creation, how could you not know where to go? You will experience this after you enter the spirit world. (75:42, January 1, 1975)