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Chapter 34 ESCHATOLOGY DEATH AND THE LAST JUDGMENT In his own life as well as in all his dieology, die idea of death and die last judgment was Ludier's constant companion. In his biography die question as to how he might stand before God in die judgment played a decisive role. The Reformation under­ standing of die righteousness of God and die justification of die sinner is unintelligi­ ble apart from its eschatological context.1 In Ludier's doctrine deadi and die last judgment have fundamental significance: justification is of course received in die here and now, but it will be fully realized only in the hour of judgment before die eternal God. From this perspective, even for Ludier's andiropology, but naturally also for his view of history, deadi and die last judgment must always be kept in view. That humans are creatures and must see diemselves in diis creaturely conditioned state if diey are not to fall prey to hubris implies that diey know of die end diat awaits diem.Thus, for bodi his biography and his dieology, Ludier's attitude toward deadi and judgment is die touchstone for die trudi and audienticity of everydiing said or written. A dieology diat does not reflect on diis horizon of die end time misses bodi die truth of die gospel and die reality of human existence. Certainly, Ludier's view owed much to die waning medieval period, when die universal power and presence of deadi was experienced and reflected on widi great intensity.2 No doubt, Ludier appropriated somediing from views dien dominant ' See above, pp. 257-6S. 2 See Hans Preuss, Die Vorstellungen vom Antichrist im spateren Mittelaker, bei Luther und in der konfessionellen Polemik: Ein Beitrag zurTheologie Lathers und zur Geschichte der Frijmmigkeit (Leipzig: J. Hinrichs, 1906). 325 326 LUTHER'S THEOLOGY IN ITS SYSTEMATIC CONTEXT about death and judgment, about the antichrist and end-time expectation. Particu­ larly in his early period influences from the later Middle Ages are detectable. Still, from the perspective of his Reformation theology, he reflected on the various prob­ lems and aspects in a new way and made contributions extending far beyond the ideas circulating then. Characteristic of Luther is his view of the intimate connection between the death of the individual and the last judgment. He could also express dif­ ferent ideas, just as die Bible and especially Paul are not strictly uniform in their ideas of death and the beyond. One peculiarity, however, attaches to Luther's eschatology , and it lies chiefly in its close link to the Reformation view of law and gospel. Luther shared widi the tradition die dualistic view diat at deadi the soul is sep­ arated from the body, though on diis point he entertained some doubt. In die Pro­ motion Disputation of Petrus Hegemon of 1S4S he said: "[In death] die spirit returns to die Lord. This is what die entire church teaches, as well as diat in death die soul is separated from die body. But it is anodier question whedier die body and soul are separate diings."3 Ludier's view was diat die soul of die deceased sleeps "between heaven and eardi,"and is dien reawakened on die last day.4 What he meant is diat diose who one day waken will have no idea at all as to how long diey slept or where diey were: "So also deadi is called sleep in Scripture. For just as one who does not know how it is diat he sleeps and comes to morning unawares when he wakes, so we who suddenly arise in die Last Day will not know how we died and came dirough death."5 This leaves no doubt that Luther held to the immortality of the soul.6 Naturally, he established it differendy dian scholasticism widi its pursuit of die ancient worldview . Ludier's argument was strictly theological. For example, he wrote: "those who believe in him, and acknowledge him from whom diey have dieir being never die. Their natural life will be stretched out into life eternal, so diat diey never taste deadi, as he says in John 8 [v. SI]: 'If any one keeps my word, he will never see deadi.'"7 Or, he could argue as follows: "When we are dead, we are not dead to [God]. For he is not a God of die dead but die God of Abraham etc., who live; as it is said in Matdiew 22 [v. 32], 'diey are...

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