Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

RESURRECTION

Concept of a person being brought back from a mortal death to a state of immortality, usually involving the reunification of the spirit or the soul with an immortal body. In the OT there is no single word for resurrection; in the NT the most common Greek term is anástasis, “rise up.”

Old Testament

Evidence for belief in resurrection in the OT is scarce and often ambiguous. As God formed man’s body from the dust of the earth and gave him life by breathing the breath of life into him (Gen. 2:7), so upon death the breath leaves the body and the body returns to the dust (Ps. 104:29). The realm of the dead in the OT is Sheol. On the one hand, Sheol is described as a dark and gloomy place, a place where the dead are separated from the living and God (Ps. 6:5[MT 6]; 30:9[10]; 88:1-12[2-13]; 115:17), where they are forgotten (Ps. 88:14[15]; Eccl. 3:19-21; 9:5-10), and as a final destination and a place “of no return” (Job 7:9-10; 16:22; Isa. 38:10). On the other hand, several texts describe the power of God over Sheol (Job 12:22; 26:6; Ps. 139:8; Prov. 15:11; Amos 9:2), and that the Lord will deliver from Sheol (Ps. 49:15[16]). Several passages specifically allude to Yahweh’s power over death (Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6; Isa. 25:7). Likewise, three passages directly allude to resurrection in the context of national restoration (Isa. 26:19; Ezek. 37:13-14; Hos. 6:1-2).

The first clear and uneqivocal statement of belief in the resurrection of the dead in the OT is found in Daniel (Dan. 12:2). The fact that the first explicit statement of resurrection occurs in such a late book has led many scholars to suppose that the concept of resurrection gradually developed through the OT period and reached its complete form only in the apocalyptic circles of the intertestamental period. These scholars dismiss as figurative the earlier passages in the OT referring to God’s power over Sheol and death, and the passages referring to resurrection in the context of national restoration. Other scholars believe these allusions presuppose an early belief in resurrection.

Intertestamental Literature

The ambiguity of the OT evidence is reflected in the beliefs of the sects of Judaism in the intertestamental period. According to Josephus the Pharisees believed in a bodily resurrection, the Sadducees and the Samaritans did not, and the Essenes believed in the immortality of the soul but not the body (BJ 2.8.11, 14, 154, 163, 165; Ant. 19.1.3-5, 14, 16, 18). Ancient evidence bears out Josephus in regard to the Pharisees and Sadducees, but the evidence concerning the Samaritans and the Essenes is not decisive. Recently published texts from Qumran suggest that there was a belief in resurrection at Qumran. 4Q521 1:12 reads: “he will heal the wounded, give life to the dead, and proclaim good tidings to the poor” — a passage considered by many scholars to be a clear statement of belief in resurrection at Qumran.

In texts from this period the concept of resurrection is fully expressed. Sirach echoes OT passages about the finality of death, that those in Sheol are cut off from God (Sir. 17:27-28), and all that remains of an individual after death is honor and a good name (37:26), but he says about the judges and prophets, “may their bones send forth new life from where they lie” (46:12; 49:10). Wis. 1–6 includes a long discussion of immortality. Resurrection is usually mentioned in the context of rewards and punishments, as in Dan. 12, , and is reserved for the righteous and not the wicked. 1 Enoch describes the division of the righteous from the wicked in the afterlife as they await judgment (1 En. 22) and alludes to a resurrection of the righteous only (91:10). In 2 Maccabees the martyrs express their belief in the resurrection of the righteous (2 Macc. 7:9, 11, 14); allusion is made for the offering of prayers and sin offerings to the dead in hope of resurrection (12:43-45); and physical restoration of a mutilated body is described (14:46). However, a passage in 2 Esdras suggests a resurrection for all (2 Esdr. 7:32, 37).

New Testament

Resurrection is a pivotal doctrine in the NT. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is presented as the central event of history. It is the fulfillment of OT prophecy and teaching and the most important sign that Jesus was the Messiah (Acts 2:32-36; 13:33; Rom. 1:3-4; 1 Cor. 15:12). It represents a reversal of the consequences of the fall brought about by Adam and Eve (1 Cor. 15:22).

In the Gospel accounts the Resurrection is prominent in the discussions between Jesus and the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Jesus clearly sides with the Pharisees citing OT passages as evidence of resurrection (Matt. 22:23-33; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-40). Throughout his ministry Jesus prophesied his rising on the third day (Matt. 16:21; Mark 8:31; Luke 9:22) as a fulfillment of OT prophecy (Hos. 6:1-2). Jesus raised three people from the dead, Jairus’ daughter, the widow’s son, and Lazarus — on which occasion he said, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live” (John 11:25). These episodes demonstrate Jesus’ power over death and foreshadow his ability to raise himself from the dead. The resurrection of Jesus Christ signaled his power over death which he gave to all mankind: the righteous to a resurrection of life and the wicked to a resurrection of condemnation (John 5:25, 29). Matthew says others rose from the dead after the resurrection of Jesus “and appeared to many” (Matt. 27:53).

The symbol of the resurrection of Jesus in the NT is the empty tomb, but the evidence of his resurrection is his several appearances before and after his ascension. On one occasion he clarified the nature of his resurrected body: “Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).

Paul gives the most extensive theological exposition of resurrection in the NT in 1 Cor. 15. Paul cited as evidence of the Resurrection the Scriptures and Jesus’ appearances to Cephas, to the Twelve, to 500, to James, and to himself (1 Cor. 15:1-11), and taught that the resurrection of Jesus had universal significance: “for as all die in Adam, so all will be made alive in Christ” (vv. 20-22). Paul explains that resurrection necessitates transformation, since “flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God” (1 Cor. 15:50). Thus resurrection involves transformation from the perishable to the imperishable, from dishonor to glory, from weakness to power, from physical to spiritual (1 Cor. 15:42-46).

The Resurrection symbolizes the power of Jesus Christ to give new life to his followers, both in a spiritual as well as in a literal sense. Belief in resurrection offers Christians a distinctive perspective on the significance of mortal life as a temporary state of probation to be followed by death, judgment, and resurrection.

Bibliography. J. J. Collins, “Excursus: On Resurrection,” Daniel. Herm (Minneapolis, 1993), 394-98; R. Martin-Achard, From Death to Life: A Study of the Development of the Doctrine of the Resurrection in the Old Testament (1960); G. W. E. Nickelsburg, Jr., Resurrection, Immortality, and Eternal Life in Intertestamental Judaism. HTS 26 (Cambridge, Mass., 1972); P. Perkins, Resurrection: New Testament Witness and Contemporary Reflection (Garden City, 1984); N. J. Tromp, Primitive Conceptions of Death and the Nether World in the Old Testament. BibOr 21 (Rome, 1969).

David Rolph Seely

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

RESURRECTION

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)