Conclusion about resurrection

It is important to notice that in Jewish and pagan worlds resurrection was thought through a wide range of speculations but in early christianity, whatever the movement (a united first church is a myth), resurrection was a quite clear doctrine (which could have been considered as a modified pharisaic doctrine). It is important because in Read More …

Teachings from Paul about resurrection

Because the Cross/Resurrection couple is so important for Paul, he speaks about it very often, directly or indirectly. To try to get an overview of Paul’s teaching about resurrection
, we will focus on one1 major biblical reference: 1Thessalonians 4,13-18 and I will mention others when necessary to assist us in understanding the difficulties of this Read More …

Teaching from Jesus about resurrection

Jesus (like the pharisees, but unlike the Sadducees) preaches the resurrection from the dead. But, unlike pharisees, his teaching splits resurrection in two steps: his own resurrection (we already talked about it) as a first step and the eschatological résurrection as a second step. In the synoptic gospels (Matthew/Mark/Luke) Jesus’ teaching about the resurrection is Read More …

Paradise

The word Paradise comes from the greek paradeisos (παράδεισος) which itself comes from the hebrew Paredès (פַּרְדֵּס) found in Song of songs 4,13 or Ecclesiastes 2,5. It means orchard or grove. Let’s have a look at a few passages of the NT from different literary genres using this word paradise: Luke 23,39-43 is very often Read More …

Gehenna

Gehenna is often translated Hell, which transmits centuries of misunderstanding. The word comes from the hebrew גֵּיא בֶן-הִנֹּם (géy vèn-hinnom — valley of the son of hinnom) which was a real physical place where human sacrifices were performed by burning children, according to Jeremiah 7,31-331 31They [the Judeans] have built the high places of Topheth Read More …

When Sheol became Hades

After Alexander the Great, Greek became the common language in the occidental world. Even in countries of Semitic culture, most people stoped to speak Hebrew and began to speak greek, at least in intellectual, political and even religious circles. Less privileged people spoke a language derived from the Hebrew: Aramaic. Only educated religious people of Read More …

שְׁאֹל (she’ol)

The word שְׁאֹל (She’ol) is found 66 times in the Massoretic Text1. It is a dark (Job 17,13) and silent (Psalm 115,17) place with gates (Job 38,17; Isiah 38,10) where all humans go (Psalm 49,10-11). Being there is like being in a deep water under a mountain (Jonah 2,2-7): it is a world under the Read More …

Death

In greek the adjective dead is nekros (νεκρός) and the noun is thanatos (θάνατος). This is a natural event of life. It must be said clearly: biological death is not the result of sin. Biological life without death could not exist. Philosophically, death it is part of our finitude, it is a boundary, but it Read More …

Life is spiritual

What are the characteristics of this life we receive and that we share with the Son of God, born of a woman (Galatians 4,4)? We have been brought into existence through a fantastic process called “birth”. So fantastic that we celebrate it every year as our birth-day. Being born involves parents who decided (sometimes not Read More …