Resurrection of the dead

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This article concerns itself with the belief in the final resurrection at the end of time, commonly found in the Abrahamic religions. For other meanings, see Resurrection (disambiguation). For the concept of bringing the dead back to life, see undead, life extension, and cryonics.

Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all variously describe a resurrection of the dead, usually a resurrection of all people to face God on Judgment Day.

Classical view in Greek philosophy

One of the main themes in the Phaedo is the idea that the soul is immortal. Socrates offers four arguments for the soul's immortality. Pythagoras taught the doctrine of reincarnation.

Resurrection of the dead in Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism includes a prophecy that the dead will be raised and judged at the end of time. The world will be purified and all creation will be reconciled to Ahura Mazda.

Resurrection of the dead in Judaism

Orthodox Judaism holds that belief in the Resurrection of the Dead is one of the cardinal principles of the Jewish faith. The Pharisees believed in a literal resurrection of the body. A famous Jewish halakhic-legal authority, Maimonides, set down thirteen main principles of the Jewish faith according to Orthodox Judaism which have ever since been printed in all Rabbinic prayer books. Resurrection is the thirteenth principle:

"I believe with complete (perfect) faith, that there will be techiat hameitim - revival of the dead, whenever it will be God's, blessed be He, will (desire) to arise and do so. May (God's) Name be blessed, and may His remembrance arise, forever and ever."

Resurrections of literally dead people are found in prophetic public ministry such as by Elijah for the widow's son of Zarephath: "Behold your son lives". ראי חי בנך ; Elisha for the Shunammite woman: "Take up your son". שאי בנך ; Elisha's bones reviving a man: "as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet". בעצמות אלישע ויחי ויקם על רגליו ; Jonah on his reluctant journey to Nineveh: "and it vomited out Jonah on the dry land.". ויקא את יונה אל היבשה ; Daniel and his friends out of the King Nebuchadnezzar's furnace: "Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego came forth out of the midst of the fire". נפקין שדרך מישך ועבד נגו--מן גוא נורא . A detailed prophesy of Ezekiel's Vision in the Valley of Dry Bones: "Thus says the Lord Yahweh to these bones: Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live." כה אמר אדני יהוה לעצמות האלה הנה אני מביא בכם רוח--וחייתם .

According to the Jewish Encyclopedia article on Resurrection, the topic may be discussed in , , , and is argued in more detail in extra-canonical books like Enoch, Jubilees, Apocalypse of Baruch, 2 Esdras, and the Maccabees.

Resurrection of the dead in Christianity

Most denominations of Christian theology teach the concept of eternal life after death, provided through the atonement of Christ, thus it is generally believed that when a person's body dies, the soul is separated from the body and continues to exist forever. The term resurrection of the dead is generally used to refer to the idea that the dead bodies of all or some of humanity will be reformed and reanimated at the end of the world. This phrase is included at the end of the Nicene Creed. The Apostles' Creed explicitly ends with an affirmation of belief in "the resurrection of the body".

Those who hold it applies to all mankind also call it the General Resurrection, on the grounds that it involves mankind in general.

Various Christian sects disagree on the exact nature of the resurrection.

Since Christianity was born out of Jewish praxis and worldview, it is worthwhile to point out that Christianity's doctrine of resurrection appears to be an extension of the classical Jewish belief associated with the party of the Pharisees.

While the Christian doctrine of resurrection conforms to Jewish belief, there is, however, a minority point of view, held by certain Jewish mystics and others, which asserts that those Jewish beliefs are, in and of themselves, in contradiction of the Revelation and Doctrine of the resurrection as taught by Isaiah (Isaiah 8:16 and 26:19) and Daniel (12:1 and 13) in which the resurrection was understood as being a Doctrine of physical 'Rebirth'. This however may be only a reflection of the anti-belief in resurrection held by some.

Jesus himself, in this matter, appears to have been in general agreement with the biblical doctrinal position held by the Pharisees, as illustrated by his response to a question regarding marriage at the resurrection (and ).

If the minority viewpoint on the doctrine of the resurrection is correct, the fundamental conflict between Jesus and the Pharisees may have been over the interpretation of the resurrection as a Doctrine of physical 'Rebirth'. According to this viewpoint, the Pharisees understood it as the doctrine of a physical raising of a dead body from the grave, while the Sadducees denied the resurrection altogether.

Most Christian churches continue to uphold this belief: that there will be a general resurrection of the dead at "the end of time", as prophesied by Paul when he said, "...he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world..." (Acts 17:31 KJV) and "...there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." (Acts 24:15 KJV). Most also teach that it is only as a result of the atoning work of Christ, by grace through faith, that people are spared eternal punishment as judgment for their sins.

Early Christianity reflects the Pharisaic view of the resurrection of flesh, rather than that of the Sadducees who believed in no afterlife.

There is also a minority point of view, held by the Gnostic writers of the Nag Hammadi Codices, that Jesus taught the resurrection as a Doctrine of 'Rebirth'; in which case Paul, the Pharisee, is understood as having contradicted the Teaching of Jesus on the resurrection. Paul's doctrine then established the basis of orthodox Christian theology.

Many of the early Church Fathers cited the Old Testament examples listed in the Judaism section above as either foreshadowing Jesus's resurrection, or foreshadowing or prophesying a future resurrection of all the dead. The Nicene Creed concludes that Christians "look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come."

New Testament teachings

The Bible teaches that there will be a physical resurrection from the dead as opposed to the popular belief that living persons have an immortal soul that lives on after the death of the person. The Bible does not support the belief in the immortal soul. The belief in the resurrection from the dead is a contradiction to the belief in the immortality of the soul. One can not truly believe in both.

According to the New Testament, Jesus argued with the Sadducees over the doctrine of the resurrection (Strong's G386). These passages are , , . See also Mark 12. The Gospel of John also contains teachings about the resurrection of the dead ().

The Sign of Jonah (, , cf. ) may be about the resurrection of the dead at the Last judgement. For example, from the Scholars Version translation of Matthew 12:38-42: "...At judgment time, the citizens of Ninevah will come back to life along with this generation ... At judgment time, the queen of the south will be brought back to life along with this generation ..."

The resurrection of the righteous is mentioned at .

The resurrection at the last day is mentioned at .

In Acts of the Apostles, the Apostles and Paul of Tarsus argued in support of the doctrine: , , , , .

In Paul argues: "If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised." warns of some: "who have wandered away from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some."

Additional cites are ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; .

When a person dies and awaits resurrection, conscious thinking and ability to do anything can not occur.

The dead goes to the grave and not a part lives until resurrected in the future. Gen. 3:19: “In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”

Eccl. 9:10: “All that your hand finds to do, do with your very power, for there is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [“the grave,” King James, Holy Bible Ronald Knox; “the world of the dead,” Today's English Version], the place to which you are going.”

Eccl. 9:5: “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.”

Ps. 146:4: “His spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts [“thoughts,” King James, 145:4 in Catholic Challoner-Douay; “all his thinking,” New English Bible; “plans,” Revised Standard, New American Bible] do perish.”

John 11:11-14: “‘Lazarus our friend has gone to rest, but I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep.’ . . . Jesus said to them outspokenly: ‘Lazarus has died.’” (Also Psalm 13:3)

Ezek. 18:4: “The soul [“soul,” Revised Standard, New English, King James, Catholic Challoner Douay, Holy Bible, Knox; “man,” Jerusalem Bible; “person,” Today's English Version] that is sinning—it itself will die.”

Isa. 53:12: “He poured out his soul [“soul,” Revised Standard, King James, Cahtolic Challoner Douay; “life,” Today's English Version; “himself,” Jerusalme Bible, Holy Bible, Knox, New American Bible] to the very death.” (Compare Matthew 26:38.)

Eccl. 9:6: “Their love and their hate and their jealousy have already perished, and they have no portion anymore to time indefinite in anything that has to be done under the sun.”

Isa. 26:14: “They are dead; they will not live. Impotent in death, they will not rise up.”

Different beliefs concerning the timing

Simultaneous both of the just and the unjust
The just are resurrected before the unjust
Only the just are resurrected
Timed with the Rapture

Different beliefs on the method

the qualities of the resurrected body will be different from those of the body laid in the grave
but its identity will nevertheless be preserved; it will still be the same body which rises again

Different beliefs on the end state of resurrected person

only spiritual, a body adapted to the use of the soul in its glorified state, and to all the conditions of the heavenly state
physical and spiritual resurrection
glorious, incorruptible, and powerful
like unto the glorified body of Jesus, based on the power and gift of His atonement

According to the Summa Theologica, spiritual beings that have been restored to glorified bodies will have the following basic qualities:

Impassibility (immortal / painless) – immunity from death and pain
Subtility (permeability) – freedom from restraint by matter
Agility – obedience to spirit with relation to movement and space (the ability to move through space and time with the speed of thought)
Clarity – resplendent beauty of the soul manifested in the body (as when Jesus was transfigured on Mount Tabor)

Resurrection of the dead as the sole afterlife

Several churches, such as the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Christadelphians, Jehovah's Witnesses, and theologians of different traditions such as N. T. Wright or L. Ray Smith, dismiss the idea of the immortality of a non-physical soul as a vestige of Neoplatonism, and other pagan traditions of spirit/body dualism. In this school of thought, the dead remain dead (and do not immediately progress to a Heaven, Hell, or Purgatory) until a physical resurrection of the dead occurs at the end of time. Some groups, Christadelphians in particular consider that it is at this time of resurrection that the judgment will take place.

Modern de-emphasis in Christianity

Early church fathers defended the resurrection of the dead against the pagan belief that the immortal soul went to heaven immediately after death. Currently, however, it is a popular Christian belief that the souls of the righteous do go straight to heaven.

At the close of the medieval period, the modern era brought a shift in Christian thinking from an emphasis on the resurrection of the body back to the immortality of the soul. This theological and philosophical shift was a result of zeitgeist, or the historical reaction, particularly to the renaissance and later to the enlightenment. Dartigues has observed that especially “from the 17th to the 19th century, the language of popular piety no longer evoked the resurrection of the soul but everlasting life. Although theological textbooks still mentioned resurrection, they dealt with it as a speculative question more than as an existential problem.”

This theological shift was supported not by any scripture, but largely by the popular religion of the age of enlightenment, deism. Deism was known as the religion of nature. It allowed for a superior being, such as the philosophical first cause, but denied any significant personal or relational interaction with this god figure. There were many types of deism “ranging from Christian deism to militant anti-Christian deism.” Deism, which was largely lead by rationality and reason, could allow a belief in the immortality of the soul, but not necessarily in the resurrection of the dead. The significant American deist Ethan Allen demonstrates the fashionable thinking in his work, Reason the Only Oracle of Man (1784). In the preface, he argues that nearly every philosophical problem is beyond humanity’s understanding including the miracles of Christianity although he does allow for the immortality of an immaterial soul. In Christianity the reaction of many churches tended to become friendly with the more popular deist thinking and subsequently Christian preachers spoke less of the resurrection of the dead, and more of eternal life in heaven.

This is not to say that a belief in eternal life in heaven is contradictory to belief in the resurrection of the body. Most evangelicals believe that those who die in Christ go to be with Christ in heaven (as disembodied souls). But then at the second coming of Christ, there will be a rapture of all believers, including those in Christ who have already died. ("For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17) It is at the point of "rapture" that the souls of dead believers become reunited with their bodies. Then all believers will continue to live with Christ in their glorified, yet physical bodies. They will be both body and soul, as humans were originally created.

But in modern Christianity, resurrection is in many places not mentioned much. Sometimes only heaven is spoken of as the goal of the believer. For example, the famous early 20th century American preacher Billy Sunday epitomizes the sentiment in his sermon “Heaven: A Wonderful Place; Where There is No More Death; Blessed Hope of the Christian.” In the message Sunday characteristically explained the feelings of his audience by saying “Everybody wants to go to Heaven. We are all curious. We want to know, where Heaven is, how it looks, who are there, what they wear, and how to get there!” Sunday speaks of many aspects of the afterlife such as the nice weather and eternal health, although there is no mention of the resurrection of the dead. He ends with an illustration about a man who dies and goes to heaven exclaiming “Home, home at last!” as if he had arrived at the end of his eschatological journey.

The emphasis on the immortality of the soul in heaven instead of the resurrection of the dead continues largely in the 21st century through popular charismatic and evangelical preaching. For example, The popular website www.believeinjesus.org begin a presentation of the Christian gospel with the statement “There is no inquiry that can rival the importance of the question, ‘How do I get to heaven?’” Jesus is often spoken of as “the way to heaven” and personal eschatology is generally seen in terms of whether or not a person gets into heaven when they die, rather than how they will fare at the eschatological resurrection of the dead. However, there are a good number of theologians, such as Thomas Oden, popular Christian writers, such as Randy Alcorn and Christian scholars, such as N.T. Wright who have defended the primacy of the resurrection in Christian faith.

Resurrection of the Dead in Islam

Scientific theory as to how the resurrection of the dead could occur

In his 1994 book The Physics of Immortality, physicist Frank J. Tipler presented the Omega Point Theory which outlines an explanation of how the resurrection of the dead could take place at the end of the cosmos. He posits that eventually humans will evolve into robots which will then turn the entire cosmos into a supercomputer which will then, shortly before the big crunch, perform the resurrection within its cyberspace, reconstructing formerly dead humans (from information captured from by the supercomputer from the past light cone of the cosmos) as avatars within its metaverse.

References

External links

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