| Yes, there are beginnings of such conceptions among the Zoroastrians, for example. Interestingly, though, the idea of general resurrection of the godly to repose in the Messianic kingdom seems to have started with the scribes who evolved into the Pharisees. Against the ghostly realm of Sheol, they imagined the reformation, in a perfected state, of the whole person. That is why, even today, the Orthodox insist upon all available remains being placed in the casket before burial. Beyond that, though, the Christians conceived of a process of sanctification that was called, in Greek, rather boldly, "apotheosis", so that the believer had not only to hope for being made whole again, under the final reign of Christ, but also of becoming a brother of Christ, altered by grace to be capable of seeing God in His essence (the Beatific Vision). It is possible to trace disparate possible sources, primarily Jewish and Greek, for this, but it is interesting that it becomes something new.......... |
