Resurrection in the Old Testament
The resurrection of the dead by Michelangelo Buonarroti (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) “ Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead.” ( Isaiah 26:19 ) Some have argued that the doctrine of a bodily resurrection was unknown to the Israelites of the Old Testament . In fact, this denial was a cardinal doctrine of the sect of the Sadducees at the time of Christ ( Matthew 22:23 ). Our text, however, makes it clear that this promise has always been known to the people of God. Long before Isaiah’s time, Job had said: “I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And . . . in my flesh shall I see God” ( Job 19:25-26 ). After the time of Isaiah, the promise was still known. “Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (