Biblical Evidence for Immortality.
6 Old testament Affirmations of Immortality
As opposed to Greek thought, the Old Testament hope of life after death was definitely bodily. The Old Testament references to an immortal state are largely resurrection passages.
-
The Jews looked toward resurrection as restoration to life on earth of the physical corpse that had been placed in the tomb. Jews not only believed that man was created “from the dust” (Gen. 2:7) and would return to dust (Eccles. 12:7), but that at the resurrection the dead would be reconstituted from the dust. This power to bring the dead back to life is expressed in many passages (see Deut. 32:39; 1 Sam. 2:6; Job 19:25-27; Ps. 49:14-15).
-
David spoke of the resurrection (in Psalm 16) by claiming that “the Holy One will not see decay” (vs. 10). According to the New Testament (Acts 2:25-27; 13),
-
Peter said of Davids prophecy that “seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body (sarx) see decay” (Acts 2:31). Such a resurrection involved a physical body of “flesh” (sarx)
-
Jesus believed the Old Testament taught resurrection and cited it to support his position against the Sadducees who rejected it. He declared, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God” (Matt. 22:29). Then he cited Exodus 3:6, 15: “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Matt. 22:32), adding, “He [God] is not the God of the dead but of the living.”
-
Isaiah spoke of the resurrection of the dead body when he wrote, “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. You who dwell in the dust, wake up and shout for joy” (26:19). That bodies would arise from the dust makes evident the identification with physical resurrection.
-
Daniel foretold that “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan. 12:2). The reference to “dust of the earth” again supports the idea of a physical resurrection.
Adapted from Baker Encyclopedia of Christian Apologetics.