Death and the afterlife
- Created by: abbeymcanulty
- Created on: 18-01-17 12:29
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- New Testament foundations
- A) Jesus' resurrection and its implications
- There is no systematic explanation of resurrection and the afterlife. Nevertheless, there is a broad agreement that for those early writers:
- Jesus' death and resurrection did not mark the end of the world but the beginning of the Jesus movement and the foundation of Christianity
- Jesus' death was a moment of hope over despair
- Jesus' resurrection was a moment in which God acted in a mysterious and spectacular way
- There is no systematic explanation of resurrection and the afterlife. Nevertheless, there is a broad agreement that for those early writers:
- B) The ambiguities of Jesus ressurection
- Jesus' teaching on life after death and the coming of the Kingdom of God is deeply rooted in Jewish eschatology, especially in the teachings of the Pharisees.He taught that:
- His life was a sacrifice for sin
- His death would prompt God to establish a new world order/kingdom.
- He would be raised up with the saints and martyrs who had died before him and his followers would have a place in the new kingdom.
- "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near" - Mark 1:14
- The restored world is described a lot in the Book of revelation.
- Jesus' teaching on life after death and the coming of the Kingdom of God is deeply rooted in Jewish eschatology, especially in the teachings of the Pharisees.He taught that:
- C) The kingdom of God
- Kingdom of God: Describes God's reign whether in this world or in the next world or in Heaven
- Can be described as an actual, spiritual state or a symbol of the moral life
- (I) Jesus' teachings on the Kingdom of God as presented in the gospels calls for both moral and spiritual reform
- Jesus' healing miracles are the signs of the age to come as promised by the Old Testaments prophets such as Isaiah
- "Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped" - Isaiah 35:5
- Jesus' healing miracles are the signs of the age to come as promised by the Old Testaments prophets such as Isaiah
- (II) Jesus preaches that the future Kingdom is a state where the righteous live in perfect harmony with God in a redeemed world.
- (III) When questioned by Jeremiah why the wicked prosper and the good suffer, Jesus says that the wicked have enjoyed their 'reward' and so as a matter of justice the wicked will be excluded from the future Kingdom
- D) Four problems
- (I) One of the earliest prayers ever recorded says maran atha meaning O Lord, come!
- (II) Another problem is where would the new Kingdom be located and would it be the same as Heaven? The book of revelation covers this saying Heaven is a continuation of the conditions of this world.
- Describes this in two ways; The saints rule in some form of Heavenly way on this world. In the second, after the final vanquishing of Satan, the world is replaced by 'the new Earth and new Heaven'
- Although the exact time of Judgement day is uncertain, The New Testament suggests that 'final judgement' may be less important than personal judgement.Each soul is rewarded by the blessed state (Heaven), purification (Purgatory) or everlasting Damnation (Hell).
- (IV) Although the New Testament doesn't use the term Purgatory, there is a widespread view that after death, those who have died in a state of grace may continue to seek forgiveness for their sins and recieve due punishment until final judgement. Later Christian teachings suggests this state has evolved as a matter of fairness
- A) Jesus' resurrection and its implications
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