WAITING

WAITING FOR THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODIES
According to Josephus, the Sadducees believed that:
• There is no fate
• God does not commit evil
• Man has free will; “man has the free choice of good or evil”
• The soul is not immortal; there is no afterlife, and
• There are no rewards or penalties after death
The Sadducees rejected the belief in resurrection of the dead, which was a central tenet
believed by Pharisees and by Early Christians. As a result of their rejection of life after death,
the Sadducees believed that God's blessing and judgement would occur during one's life on
earth. Unlike the Essenes, who were fatalistic, the Sadducees believed in free will. The
Sadducees supposedly believed in the traditional Jewish concept of Sheol for those who had
died.
THE PHARISEES
The Pharisees began sometime after the Babylonian exile and before the uprising of 165 BC.
Most scholars link them with the Hasidism or "pious men" of the 2nd century. The Pharisee
("separatist") party emerged largely out of the group of scribes and sages. The Pharisees were
active from the middle of the second century B.C.E. until the destruction of the Temple in 70
C.E
The OT "mostly denies or at least ignores the possibility of a future life. Only a few texts come
out strongly for a different view. The resurrection concept burst into Judaism only during the
Babylonian exile of Judah with Daniel.
Daniel 12:1-4 says: " 1 “At that time Michael, the great prince who protects your people, will
arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations
until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—
will be delivered. 2 Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to
everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3 Those who are wise [a] will
shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the
41