The Wisdom of Solomon from the Apocrypha...
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The Wisdom of Solomon from the Apocrypha, those writings that illuminate the period between the Old and New Testaments, has the following words: "But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them" (3:1).
N.T. Wright, in his book Surprised by Hope, helps us to understand Jewish thought during this particular period and writes: "What then about the ancient Jewish world? Some Jews agreed with those pagans who denied any kind of future life, especially a re-embodied one. The Sadducees are famous for taking this position. Others agreed with those pagans who thought in terms of a glorious though disembodied future for the soul. Here the obvious example is the philosopher Philo. But most Jews of the day believed in an eventual resurrection -- that God would look after the soul after death until, at the last day, God would give his people new bodies when he judged and remade the whole world. That is what Martha assumed Jesus was talking about in their conversation beside the tomb of Lazarus: 'I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.' "
N.T. Wright, in his book Surprised by Hope, helps us to understand Jewish thought during this particular period and writes: "What then about the ancient Jewish world? Some Jews agreed with those pagans who denied any kind of future life, especially a re-embodied one. The Sadducees are famous for taking this position. Others agreed with those pagans who thought in terms of a glorious though disembodied future for the soul. Here the obvious example is the philosopher Philo. But most Jews of the day believed in an eventual resurrection -- that God would look after the soul after death until, at the last day, God would give his people new bodies when he judged and remade the whole world. That is what Martha assumed Jesus was talking about in their conversation beside the tomb of Lazarus: 'I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.' "
