Daniel E Harden

The Resurrection of the Dead Daniel E Harden

Christians today go directly to Heaven once they are finished with their earthly existence. This is a great comfort to all believers. But that wasn't the belief of the Old Testament people of God. How is it that Christians today see it differently? What changed? When did it change? Understanding the general resurrection of the dead from the Preterist standpoint - and the fact that it has already been fulfilled - actually serves to shed light on the mindset of the modern Christian. Eternal life in Heaven, surrounded by the overwhelming love of God, is distinctly and intensely preferable to any existence on earth. This book looks at the general resurrection of the dead as the culmination of the work of Christ in the first century and provides great comfort for what it means in our understanding of the afterlife, while at the same time countering the idea that the resurrection of the dead, in Preterist thought, is relegated merely to a concept of passing from the Old Covenant to the New Covenant. The resurrection of the dead also results in a great promise for us today, since we don't have to face any intermediate state to await some future resurrection, but instead go directly to be in our eternal home with our Creator, in a new body provided for us in Heaven - a body, unlike the physical body, which is suitable for existence in Heaven. Beginning in Genesis and working clear through to Revelation, relevant passages that have been attributed to the idea of the resurrection of the dead are examined, with a critical eye on what such passages meant to the original audience in their cosmic mindset, and how we should understand them today.