Ecclesiastes ends with an epilogue in 12:13-14 which states, “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil” (ESV). The judgment given is individual, but it is also a message for all mankind. These two verses would seem to conclude that Qohelet (aka Ecclesiastes) did believe in an afterlife and postmortem judgment. Some would even find this of judgment and deeds in the epilogue perplexing as it would appear, to some, that God will judge for not indulging all earthly pleasures.
Ecclesiastes And Obedience
The two-fold maxim given in the epilogue points us to some great truths of biblical wisdom literature. For one to experience true joy one must fear the Lord and do what he says. It is the pathway of obedience to the Lord that is the correct path to follow. Though Qohelet questions, in a skeptical style, traditional understanding o wisdom he come back to the foundation. The fear of the Lord is a primary principle that is also found in Proverbs 1:7 and Job 28:28. Of course the fear of God means to respect, worship, and honor and is something done from the heart and out of love.
What we see depicted in the epilogue is actually two judgments. There is one for all mankind and also an individual judgment. There is the universal nature, and the other is individual as each man will be judged according to his deeds. So in a strange twist, after Qohelet laments how the wicked are not judged, God brings them to justice. God sets things right through his divine postmortem judgment.
Relationship And Dependence
The idea of a postmortem judgment in the epilogue is carried further as it sums up the book and concludes that humanity rests on dependence on God. It becomes a little clearer when the words of Qohelet are looked at through the fall of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2-3. They fell to temptation and disobeyed God, and what followed next was hebel, or vanity. It was that relationship, that dependence on God, that made man the greatest creation. In the fall chaos ensues and every man does what is right in his own eyes. Through much introspection and discussion, Qohelet helps us realize that. We were made to depend on and have a relationship with God, and to disobey will bring judgment.
Ecclesiastes And The Final Say
At the judgment man will be judged by either keeping with his obligation or not. Throughout Qohelet small hints about postmortem judgment have been revealed, but the epilogue brings it to the forefront. Qohelet has shown how retribution on Earth is lacking and can break down based on politics and power, but the ultimate remedy is in the divine. The all loving and ever powerful God will have the final say in a postmortem judgment.
Saint Quotes For Reflection
As often I consider the day of judgement, I tremble. Whenever I eat or drink, or whatever else I do, that terrible trumpet appears to sound in my ears, “Arise, ye dead, and come to judgement.”-St. Jerome
Sinners shall weep at the sign of the cross; for, as St. John Chrysostom says, the nails will complain of them; the wounds and the cross of Jesus Christ will speak against them.-St. Alphonsus Maria de Liguori
Great is already the punishment of sin when the fear of the future divine judgment is lost.-St. Augustine
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