I was reading Ezekiel 37 and Isiaiah 26 and it struck me that they do indeed mention dead rising to life again, though Bart proves that These two authors are not talking about individual resurrection, but the restoration of the nation. I want to mention each one separately
Ezekiel 37
The proof that Bart emphasizes in Ezekiel 37 is the following:
Author is writing at the time of Israelites exiled into Babylon and writing about the nation’s fate. Ezekiel 36:8-11 proves that author is really talking about this. Then, comes valley of the dry bones and Bart Ehrman thinks that this is not talking about individual resurrection because there’s two important verses mentioned there:
> These bones are the whole house of Israel, who say ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is lost`.
> I am going to open your graves and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
Bart thinks that these two exact verses are what proves that this is not about individual resurrection. Read for more here – ** you do not have permission to see this link **
Question 1: I kind of agree with Bart, but somehow, still can not decide if my mind is 100% with him. After googling, most scholars do agree that this is not about resurrection of individuals, but my question is the following: Considering the Ezekiel 36, we can definitely say that Ezekiel 37(when it mentions “open your graves”) might be talking about nation, but how sure are we of this ? are you like 100% sure that it’s about nation, not individual resurrection ? Also, is `graves` also mentioned in the original manuscript in the same sense that we think of it today ? is the translation really solid ?
Isaiah 26:
Well, here things are much harder and complicated. While I can decide to agree that Ezekiel 37 might be talking about the nation, I can not do the same with Isaiah 26.
The way Bart proves this is by saying:
“Isaiah says explicitly that salvation will come to Jerusalem itself after being destroyed (Isaiah 26:4–6). God will bring them peace (Isaiah 26:12) because people have prayed to God in the midst of their affliction (Isaiah 26:16–17). God will therefore bring them, the nation, back to life (“Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise” [Isaiah 26:19]). Just as Adam came to life from the dust, so too will the nation of Judah in its “life after death.””
These are Bart’s words.
Question 2: How do you like this proof ? By looking at Isaiah 26:4-6, I don’t see that it mentions “salvation will come to Jerusalem itself after being destroyed”.
Do you think the book of Daniel mentions “dead rising to life again”?
This sounds to me like a resurrection of a portion of the dead:
Isaiah 26 (NABRE)
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14 Dead they are, they cannot live,
shades that cannot rise;
Indeed, you have punished and destroyed them,
and wiped out all memory of them.
15 You have increased the nation, Lord,
you have increased the nation, have added to your glory,
you have extended far all the boundaries of the land.
16 Lord, oppressed by your punishment,
we cried out in anguish under your discipline.
17 As a woman about to give birth
writhes and cries out in pain,
so were we before you, Lord.
18 We conceived and writhed in pain,
giving birth only to wind;
Salvation we have not achieved for the earth,
no inhabitants for the world were born.
19 But your dead shall live,
their corpses shall rise!
Awake and sing, you who lie in the dust!
For your dew is a dew of light,
and you cause the land of shades to give birth.
Daniel 12 (Young’s Literal)
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1 ‘And at that time stand up doth Michael, the great head,
who is standing up for the sons of thy people,
and there hath been a time of distress,
such as hath not been since there hath been a nation till that time,
and at that time do thy people escape,
every one who is found written in the book.
2 ‘And the multitude of those sleeping in the dust of the ground do awake,
some to life age-during,
and some to reproaches — to abhorrence age-during.
3 And those teaching do shine as the brightness of the expanse,
and those justifying the multitude as stars to the age and for ever.
4 And thou, O Daniel, hide the things, and seal the book till the time of the end,
many do go to and fro, and knowledge is multiplied.’
I think ‘dead rising’ is metaphorical. It’s supposed to be poetry isn’t it? Illustrative language. It’s not really a technical description. Is this before apocalyptic thought took a hold? At this time of these two prophets, I think if there was a belief in an afterlife, it didn’t come in a anthropomorphic physical form. ??
“I think ‘dead rising’ is metaphorical”
Is this Daniel metaphorical?:
Daniel 12 (Young’s Literal)
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2 ‘And the multitude of those sleeping in the dust of the ground do awake,
some to life age-during,
and some to reproaches — to abhorrence age-during.
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And we ask for your complete forgiveness, beloved Daniel, and take it upon ourselves from this day forward to “believe” in the resurrection of the dead that you mentioned at the end of your book,[30] even though this goes against our materialistic beliefs, because we saw that all your visions and calculations are absolutely accurate and faultless.
Resurrection of the dead must occur so that the Messiah wars have enough soldiers to defeat the Roman Empire. This event must occur before the Pharisees agree to wage war against the Roman Empire. All previous attempts at the time of Jesus have failed.
They, the Jews are in fact greatly outnumbered. Not a good military strategy to fight a war when greatly outnumbered. A war of attrition at the time requires it because bombs and other long distance and airplane forms of war don’t exist yet. The war must be won on the ground.
The Sadducees, those in the Sanhedrin who do not believe in the resurrection of the dead, are greatly against any kind of revolt against the Roman Empire for common sense reasons. Both the Sadducees and Pharisees agree that Jesus is not the messiah because of the resurrection of the dead beliefs. The Pharisees however, anticipate the event to occur soon as part of the messiah prophecy where they will once again have a kingdom like in the days of King David.
That’s my assumption on what’s really happening 2000 years ago in context of the New Testament.
BDEhrman
FreedomBen
evgendob
Robert
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