Death as Punishment for Sin
The resurrection of the dead is not an idea that is present early in the biblical narrative. In Genesis 3, death is presented as the consequence of a choice made by man. Man exercised his free will and chose to emancipate himself from what he saw as God’s dictatorship. He disobeyed God’s command not to eat fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17, 3:3), thinking that knowledge of good and evil would make him “like God” (Genesis 3:5). Since God had told him in advance that such an action would lead to death, it can be concluded that man brought upon himself the consequence of his disobedience.
From the above description of what is traditionally referred to as the fall of man, the biblical narrative proceeds to show a general increase in sinfulness in the world, and the further consequences that result from it, such as the flood in Noah’s time. The progressive decrease in human lifespan in the book of Genesis correlates with the increase in sinfulness, and there is not much said about an afterlife. The only hints about life after death appear when patriarchs are said to be “gathered with their people” when they die (see for example Genesis 25:8, 35:29, 49:33), or when the spirit of a prophet such as Samuel is said to remain accessible well after the end of his earthly life (1 Samuel 28:7-20). There are special cases such as Enoch (Genesis 5:24) and Elijah (2 Kings 2:11) who are said to have gone to heaven without experiencing physical death. But in general, there is a lack of clarity regarding man’s fate beyond death, and this is a source of great distress for a righteous man such as Job who, in his suffering, describes death as follows:
“Are not my few days almost over? Turn away from me so I can have a moment’s joy before I go to the place of no return, to the land of gloom and deep shadow, to the land of deepest night, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness.” (Job 10:20-22)
The Resurrection in the Old Testament
In Isaiah 25:6-8 the prophet Isaiah, while talking about the future restoration of Israel after the tremendous hardship God’s people are to endure as a result of their sinfulness, makes the following remarkable prediction:
“On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove the disgrace of his people from all the earth. The Lord has spoken.” (Isaiah 25:7-8)
This passage suggests that the nations have been under a delusion that has kept them from behaving in ways that are pleasing to God, and have been, as a result, unable to enjoy the full benefits of God’s favor. When God gets rid of that delusion, death itself will be eliminated. Given the context, one might assume that this is merely a figurative way of describing a revival of Israel after a painful exile. But the apostle Paul will later use this passage in his argument about an actual resurrection of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:54).
In Isaiah 26:19, again within the context of the restoration of Israel, the prophet has the following words:
“But your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy. Your dew is like the dew of the morning; the earth will give birth to her dead.”
This verse, like the previous passage, could be interpreted as a figurative depiction of Israel’s return to autonomy and prosperity, like the metaphor of dry bones coming back to life used by the prophet Ezekiel (Ezekiel 37:1-14). However, with the prophet Daniel, there is no longer any doubt that a physical resurrection of the dead is in God’s plan for his people:
“But at that time your people – everyone whose name is found written in the book – will be delivered. Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:1-2)
Stories reported in 2 Maccabees indicate that during the Greek occupation of Jewish territories, the belief in a future resurrection of the dead is already well established. Later, the New Testament writers take the resurrection of the dead for granted, but proclaim a new understanding of it within the context of the activity of Christ.
The Resurrection of the Dead in the New Testament
In Matthew 22:23-32 (see also Mark 12:18-27 and Luke 20:27-38), it is reported that the Sadducees, who do not believe there is a resurrection, come to Jesus with a question. According to the levirate law in Deuteronomy 25:5-6, a brother-in-law must marry the widow of his brother who died without a son in order to ensure continuity of his line. The Sadducees present to Jesus a complicated scenario involving seven brothers who take turns in marrying the same woman because none of them leaves a son at the time of his death. The question is whose wife the woman will be at the resurrection. Jesus responds by referring the Sadducees to Moses’ experience with the burning bush in Exodus 3, where God introduces himself to him as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. The implication is that from God’s perspective, the three patriarchs are living, not dead. Jesus therefore sides with the Pharisees who believe there is a resurrection.
But Jesus goes beyond merely agreeing with the Pharisees and declares that he actually holds the key to the resurrection. In John 5:24-27, he promises eternal life to those who believe in him:
“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself. And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.”
John’s gospel asserts that Jesus, during his earthly life, has already demonstrated his power over death by bringing Lazarus back to life (John 11:38-44). Such a powerful act, along with other miracles and healing acts, including the driving out of demons, is proof that the time “has come”, or that the kingdom of God has been ushered in (Matthew 11:4-5, 12:28). But beyond the resurrection of Lazarus, the above statement offers eternal life to humanity as a whole, an event that “is coming”. In fact, Jesus merely restates Daniel’s pronouncement about a future general resurrection when he says:
“Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out – those who have done good will rise to live, and those who have done evil will rise to be condemned.” (John 5:28-29)
Jesus’ own resurrection (Matthew 28:1-10, Mark 16:1-8, Luke 24:1-12, John 20:1-9) is a central event in the development of Christianity, as it validates the claims he made about himself. The gospel accounts insistently declare that Jesus predicted his death and resurrection (Matthew 16:21, 20:18-19, Mark 8:31, 10:33-34, Luke 18:31-33). When the apostles began to propagate the message about Jesus, they made it clear that their message was validated by an event they had witnessed, namely Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 2:32-33, 3:15-16, 13:30-39). In fact, Paul declares that without the certainty he possesses about Jesus’ resurrection, his entire mission would be a laughable fraud. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection is proof that there will be a general resurrection of the dead:
“If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.” (1 Corinthians 15:13-19)
To Paul, Jesus’ resurrection is merely the “firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20) anticipating a more general resurrection of the dead, as prophesied by Daniel.
The Resurrection Body
The accounts about Jesus’ resurrection emphasize the fact that his new body is a physical one that can be recognized by his disciples (John 20:16), and even carries the marks of his crucifixion (John 20:26-27). The resurrected Christ is described as flesh and bones rather than a ghost, and can even eat fish (Luke 24:37-43). At the same time, he is not subjected to the normal physical limitations of a human body, but can appear and disappear at will.
Paul suggests that the resurrection of the dead brings about “the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). In other words, the resurrected body is a transformed body which now hosts the transformed spirit of a saint. This transformed body is difficult to describe. As the apostle John puts it,
“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” (1 John 3:2)
Paul uses a variety of descriptions to contrast the resurrected body from the current one (1 Corinthians 15:35-54). He refers to the current body as a natural body which, at the resurrection, will rise in glory and power, and become imperishable, immortal. He refers to the new body as a spiritual one, even though one should be careful not to confuse a spiritual body with a mere ghost.
The Resurrection and the Kingdom of God
The first chapter of John’s gospel describes a world that is immersed in darkness. Jesus, the Son of God, comes to shine his light into the darkness, thereby bringing salvation to humanity. The often quoted John 3:16 declares that God actually sent his Son on a mission of mercy, to offer salvation to mankind through belief in him. Men therefore are given a choice between embracing the salvation that is offered to them through Christ and staying on their path to damnation (John 3:17-21). By rejecting this salvation, they prove that they prefer to remain in darkness and bring condemnation upon themselves. The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when, referring to God, he says:
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” (Colossians 1:13-14)
Therefore those who believe in the Son and are rescued by him from darkness enter the kingdom of God, which was ushered in by Jesus the Christ. Indeed, Jesus made it clear that the kingdom of God had already begun. When he was accused of driving out demons by the power of Satan, he responded to his accusers with the following words:
“But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.” (Matthew 12:28, Luke 11:20)
In other words, Jesus’ miracles are proof that the kingdom of God has begun. In this kingdom, the rules of conduct are given by his teaching. In Luke 18:29-30, Jesus makes the following statement:
“I tell you the truth, no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”
The language related to leaving family members is a reference to the great sacrifices that inevitably come with the pursuit of the kingdom of God. But citizens of this kingdom are promised rewards both in this age and in the age to come. In the present age, they are expected to live according to Jesus’ teaching, as he indicates in Matthew 7:24-25, following the Sermon on the Mount:
“Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house; yet it did not fall, because it has its foundation on the rock.”
In the age to come, those who follow Christ have eternal life and are to receive their immortal bodies when Christ, the Son of man, returns. Jesus himself talks about his future return on various occasions. For example, in Matthew 16:27, he says:
“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.”
This idea reappears in Matthew 24:30-31, expressed in terms that make evident its connection to Daniel 7:13, as Jesus states the following:
“At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”
Paul also refers to the return of Christ in 1 Thessalonians 4:16, where he states:
“For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”
The return of Christ corresponds to the Day of the Lord, a day of judgment often announced by the Old Testament prophets. It coincides with the resurrection of the dead as announced by Daniel. It also marks the beginning of the age to come mentioned in Luke 18:29. In Revelation 21, following the resurrection of the dead, this new age is presented, in fulfillment of Isaiah 65:17-18, as the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, and a New Jerusalem coming down from heaven. Life in this New Jerusalem is reminiscent of life in the Garden of Eden. There is no need for a temple, as God himself is present with the saints, providing light, sustenance and safety to all. This is the full realization of the kingdom of God. This is the fulfillment of the vision presented by the Old Testament Prophets, as discussed in another article on this website.
