At the end of the Age
the revival of physical bodies and their reunification with the soul at the end of time.
General resurrection or universal resurrection is the belief in a resurrection of the dead, or resurrection from the dead.
(Koine: ἀνάστασις [τῶν] νεκρῶν, anastasis [ton] nekron; literally: "standing up again of the dead”
by which most or all people who have died would be resurrected (brought back to life). Various forms of this concept can be found in Christian, Islamic, Jewish, Samaritan and Zoroastrian eschatology.
Resurrection of the dead
“There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both the of the just and unjust.”—Acts 24:15
Resurrection, from the Latin noun resurrectio -onis, from the verb rego, "to make straight, rule" + preposition sub, "under", altered to subrigo and contracted to surgo, surrexi, surrectum ("to rise", "get up", "stand up"[7]) + preposition re-, "again",[8] thus literally "a straightening from under again".
The Gospel of Matthew has Jesus famously teach/preach for the first time in 4:17, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 6:19–21. It introduces the expression ἀναστάσεως τῶν νεκρῶν (lit. 'standing up of the dead'), which is used in a monologue by Jesus who speaks to the crowds about "the resurrection" called simply ῇ ἀναστάσει (Matthew 22:29–33). This type of resurrection refers to the raising up of the dead, all mankind, at the end of this present age,[28] the general or universal resurrection.[29]
In the confrontation with the Sadducees (Mark 12:18–27 and parallels in Matthew 22 and Luke 20), Jesus affirms the reality of resurrection. When they pose a hypothetical about levirate marriage and seven brothers, he replies that they “know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.” In the resurrection, people “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.” He then cites Exodus 3:6 (“I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”) to argue that God “is not God of the dead, but of the living,” implying the patriarchs live in relation to God and will be raised.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus makes even more explicit statements about a future, universal resurrection:
“Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:28–29)
To Martha, regarding Lazarus, he declares: “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26). Martha herself references “the resurrection on the last day” (John 11:24), showing the idea was already current in Jewish thought.
Jesus also repeatedly predicts his own death and resurrection, presenting it as the paradigm and guarantee for the future resurrection of others.
"No doctrine of the Christian Faith is so vehemently and so obstinately opposed as the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh.” - St. Augustine
Roots in Jewish Tradition
Belief in resurrection emerged relatively late within the Hebrew Scriptures and developed further in the Second Temple period (roughly 516 BCE–70 CE). Earlier Israelite thought typically envisioned the dead descending to Sheol, a shadowy underworld where existence was diminished and praise of God was impossible (e.g., Psalm 115:17).
The clearest explicit reference appears in the Book of Daniel, composed or finalized in the second century BCE amid persecution under Antiochus IV Epiphanes:
“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” (Daniel 12:2)
Other texts offer supporting imagery or hints. Isaiah 26:19 proclaims: “Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!” Ezekiel 37 (the valley of dry bones) uses resurrection-like language primarily for national restoration but influenced later eschatological interpretations. Job 19:25–27 is sometimes read in this light, though its meaning is debated. During the Second Temple era, resurrection became a point of division: the Pharisees affirmed it, while the Sadducees denied it (as noted in the New Testament and Josephus). Texts such as 2 Maccabees express hope for bodily restoration of martyrs. Rabbinic literature later treated resurrection as a core doctrine—listed by Maimonides among his Thirteen Principles of Faith—and associated it with the Messianic Age, the ingathering of exiles, and the rebuilding of the Temple. The hope arose particularly from the problem of theodicy: how a just God would ultimately vindicate those who suffered or died for faithfulness when historical circumstances seemed to contradict divine justice.
Anastasis
Resurrection or anastasis (Greek: ἀνάστασις, romanized: anástasis) is the concept of coming back to life after death.
The universal resurrection of the dead at the end of the world is a standard eschatological belief in the Abrahamic religions. As a religious concept, resurrection is used in two distinct respects:
- a belief in the individual resurrections of individual souls that is current and ongoing (e.g., Christian idealism, realized eschatology),
- a general bodily universal resurrection of all of the dead at the end of the world. Some believe the soul is the actual vehicle by which people are resurrected.
The Christian doctrine of resurrection is based on Christ's resurrection. There was no ancient Greek belief in a general resurrection of the dead. Indeed, the Greeks held that once a body had been destroyed, there was no possibility of returning to life as not even the gods could recreate the flesh.
"the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." - 1 Corinthians 15: 52
Known in Hebrew as Techiyat Ha-Metim, this is a cardinal principle of Jewish faith, famously codified by the philosopher Maimonides as the 13th article of faith. It holds that during the Messianic Age, the dead will be brought back to life to dwell on Earth in a perfected world.
There are three explicit examples in the Hebrew Bible of people being resurrected from the dead: - The prophet Elijah prays and God raises a young boy from death (1 Kings 17:17–24). - Elisha raises the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:32–37); this was the very same child whose birth he previously foretold (2 Kings 4:8–16). - A dead man's body that was thrown into the dead Elisha's tomb is resurrected when the body touches Elisha's bones (2 Kings 13:21).
While there was no belief in personal afterlife with reward or punishment in Judaism before 200 BCE,[2] in later Judaism and Samaritanism it is believed that the God of Israel will one day give teḥiyyat ha-metim ("life to the dead") to the righteous during the Messianic Age, and they will live forever in the world to come (Olam Ha-Ba).[3] Jews today base this belief on the Book of Isaiah (Yeshayahu), Book of Ezekiel (Yeḥez'qel), and Book of Daniel (Dani'el). Samaritans base it solely on a verse in the Song of Moses in the Samaritan Pentateuch, since they accept only the Torah and reject the rest of the Hebrew Bible.
Resurrection (Al-Ba'th) is one of the six fundamental articles of Islamic belief. Muslims believe that on Yawm al-Qiyamah (the Day of Resurrection and Judgment), an angel will blow a trumpet, causing all the dead to rise from their graves.
New Testament Development and Early Christianity
The apostles, especially Paul, present Christ’s resurrection as the “firstfruits” of a general harvest (1 Corinthians 15:20–23). In the same chapter, Paul argues that if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised and Christian hope is vain. He describes a transformed “spiritual body” (not a mere resuscitation) at the sound of the last trumpet, when “the dead will be raised imperishable” (1 Corinthians 15:42–53).
In Acts, Paul repeatedly invokes “the resurrection of the dead” or “of both the just and unjust” as central to his message (Acts 23:6; 24:15, 21; 26:6–8). The early creeds (Apostles’ Creed and Nicene Creed) include affirmation of “the resurrection of the body” or “of the dead,” demonstrating its foundational status from the beginning.
While later theologians refined questions—such as the precise nature of the glorified body, its age or appearance, or the relationship between the soul’s intermediate state and the final resurrection—the core conviction of a general resurrection at the consummation of history was already scriptural and apostolic.
Why a Resurrection of All the Dead at the End?
Several interlocking biblical and theological reasons explain why Christian doctrine holds that all the dead—righteous and wicked—will be raised bodily at the end of the age:
- Judgment of the whole person. Human beings are embodied creatures. Final judgment concerns deeds done “in the body” (2 Corinthians 5:10). A disembodied soul cannot fully answer for or be held accountable in the same way; resurrection reunites body and soul so that the complete person stands before God (Daniel 12:2; John 5:29; Revelation 20:11–15; Acts 24:15).
- Holistic redemption. Salvation in Scripture is not merely the escape of an immortal soul but the redemption of the whole person, including the body. Paul speaks of “the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23) and the transformation of mortal bodies to be like Christ’s glorious body (Philippians 3:20–21). Death, as an enemy affecting both body and soul, must be fully defeated (1 Corinthians 15:26, 54–55).
- Vindication and justice. The resurrection provides ultimate justice. The righteous who suffered unjustly (especially martyrs) are publicly vindicated and rewarded with eternal life. The wicked receive due recompense. This theme is prominent from Daniel onward and is taken up in Jesus’ teaching and the Apocalypse.
- Eschatological consummation. The resurrection occurs at the “last day,” coinciding with Christ’s return (parousia), the final judgment, and the inauguration of the new creation (new heavens and new earth). It marks the end of the present age and the full manifestation of God’s kingdom. Believers may enjoy an intermediate fellowship with Christ after death (Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8), but the fullness of salvation awaits bodily resurrection.
- Christological foundation. Because Christ has been raised bodily as the firstfruits, the same power that raised him will raise all (1 Corinthians 15; 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18). His victory over death is not complete until death itself is swallowed up and every person participates in the resurrection.
In short, the doctrine preserves the Jewish conviction that God’s justice and faithfulness extend to the body and to history’s end, now centered on the person and work of Jesus Christ. While specific eschatological timetables (e.g., premillennial sequences of multiple resurrections) vary among Christian traditions, the expectation of a general resurrection of all the dead for judgment and eternal destiny at the consummation remains a consistent and early element of Christian teaching.
This framework continues to shape Christian hope, ethics, and understanding of human dignity as embodied beings destined for renewal rather than mere disembodied survival.
In Christian theology, it was once widely believed that to rise on Judgment Day the body had to be whole and preferably buried with the feet to the east so that the person would rise facing God.
The Zoroastrian belief in an end times renovation of the earth is known as frashokereti, which includes some form of revival of the dead that can be attested from no earlier than the 4th century BCE.[105] As distinct from Judaism this is the resurrection of all the dead to universal purification and renewal of the world.[106] In the frashokereti doctrine, the final renovation of the universe is when evil will be destroyed, and everything else will be then in perfect unity with God (Ahura Mazda). The term probably means "making wonderful, excellent". The doctrinal premises are (1) good will eventually prevail over evil; (2) creation was initially perfectly good, but was subsequently corrupted by evil; (3) the world will ultimately be restored to the perfection it had at the time of creation; (4) the "salvation for the individual depended on the sum of (that person's) thoughts, words and deeds, and there could be no intervention, whether compassionate or capricious, by any divine being to alter this." Thus, each human bears the responsibility for the fate of his own soul, and simultaneously shares in the responsibility for the fate of the world