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Part IV: Dogma and Ritual Questions · 5

The Crown of Righteousness

Faith Q&A › Many Years with People's Questions › Part IV

The question

Since Adam and Eve fell while they were in Paradise, is it possible that any of us would fall in the next world?

The answer

No, of course not, for the nature in which we will rise after death, will be better in every respect than the nature which Adam and Eve had.

As far as the body is concerned, we will rise in a non-physical body, a spiritual, luminous, glorious body, a strong and indestructible one that resembles the glorious body in which Christ Himself rose (Phil. 3:21), according to St Paul, who also said: "Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the Man from heaven. " (1 Cor. 15:42-49).

This body will not sin, because sin is a kind of corruption: "It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. " (1 Cor. 15:42). There will be no sin in the next world, for we are told

about the heavenly Jerusalem that "Nothing impure will ever enter it. " (Rev. 21:27).

Here on earth we possess a will which can incline itself either to good or to evil. But in the kingdom of God, the will would only ever incline itself towards the good. This is because our wills will be sanctified when we put on the crown of righteousness.

St Paul said, concerning this crown: "Now here is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day -and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing. " (2 Tim. 4:8)

But what is this crown of righteousness?

It is the crown that gives us righteousness as a nature and makes us not sin any more.

As an example of this we have those holy angels whose wills successfully stood their tests, and who did not fall into corruption with Satan. For this they were crowned with righteousness and their wills were made sinless.

At present we can misuse the freedom granted to us by God. We can now desire with this freedom to do what is wrong, and to actually do it. But in eternity, the only desire we will have will be for God alone, and thus it will be impossible for us to sin. What is more, the very knowledge of evil will also fade from our minds entirely and we will enjoy perfect simplicity and total purity. We will be 'like God's angels in heaven'.

Now we have a knowledge of good and evil, but then we will know only the good.

We will only have knowledge of what is good, and we will love it and live it and our memories will be completely purified from all previous knowledge concerning what is evil. Thus we will be crowned with righteousness.

Thrice-Blessed Pope Shenouda III of Blessed Memory

Thrice-Blessed Pope Shenouda III of Blessed Memory, Many Years with People's Questions, Part IV: Dogma and Ritual Questions. Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate. Translated by Mrs. Glynis Younan, London. Revised by Mrs. Wedad Abbas. First edition, August 1992. Revised COEPA 1997. ISBN 977-5319-0-2-1.