Early Christian Belief in Resurrection Hope

Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh Direct teaching

... the details of their church discipline, had summed up the substance of his own gospel and of their belief in an explanation of the Lord's death and resurrection. He did this in order to draw from it the rule of our hope and its foundation. So he adds this statement: "Now if Christ is preached that He rose from the dead, how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen. And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is vain, and your faith is also vain. Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up, if it is true that the dead do not rise. For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not raised. And if Christ is not raised, your faith is vain, because you are still in your sins, and those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished." 1 Corinthians 15:12-18 Now what is the point that he is plainly working hard to make us believe throughout this passage? The resurrection of the dead, you say, which was denied. He certainly wanted it to be believed on the strength of the example he brought forward, the Lord's res

Archelaus, Disputation with Manes Direct teaching

... of the cross is done away with. And if the cross was not endured, then Jesus did not rise from the dead. And if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then no other person will rise again. And if no one will rise again, then there will be no judgment. For it is certain that, if I am not to rise again, I cannot be judged. But if there is to be no judgment, then keeping God's commandments will be to no purpose, and there will be no occasion for abstinence. No, we may say, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we shall die." For all these consequences follow when you deny that He was born of Mary. But if you acknowledge that He was born of Mary, then His passion will necessarily follow, and His resurrection will follow from His passion, and the judgment from His resurrection. And so the commands of Scripture will have their proper value for us. This, therefore, is not an idle question, but the greatest issues are involved in this one word. For just as all the law and the prophets are summed up in two words, so also all our hope is made to depend on the birth by the blessed Mary. Therefore give me an answer to these several questions that I will ask you. How shall we get rid of these many

Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions Direct teaching

...wed this in the examples of Enoch and Elijah, while He did not allow them to have any experience of death. Or if it had pleased Him in every generation to raise those who died, He has made clear, both by Himself and by others, that He was able to do this also. This was so when He raised the widow's son by Elijah, 1 Kings 17, and the Shunammite's son by Elisha, 2 Kings 4. But we are persuaded that death is not a retribution of punishment, because even the saints have undergone it; yes, even the Lord of the saints, Jesus Christ, the life of those who believe, and the resurrection of the dead. Therefore, according to the ancient practice, for those who live in the great city, after the combats He brings a dissolution for a while, so that, when He raises up every one, He may either reject him or crown him. For He who made the body of Adam out of the earth will raise up the bodies of the rest, and that of the first man, after their dissolution, to pay what is owing to the rational nature of man; we mean the continuance in being through all ages. He, therefore, who brings on the dissolution, will Himself procure the resurrection. And He who said, "The Lord took dust from the ground, a

Methodius, From the Discourse on the Resurrection Supporting witness

...is no longer the first begotten of the dead, since souls appeared before Him having this form after death; or He is truly the first begotten, and then it is completely impossible that anyone should have been considered worthy of a resurrection before Him, so as not to die again. But if no one rose before Him, and Moses and Elijah appeared to the apostles not having flesh, but only its appearance, then the resurrection in the flesh is clearly shown. For it is utterly absurd that the resurrection should be presented as only a form, since souls, after departing from the flesh, never seem to lay aside the form which he says rises again. But if that form remains with them, so that it cannot be taken away, as with the soul of Moses and Elijah, and if it neither perishes, as you think, nor is destroyed, but is always present with them, then surely that form, which never fell, cannot be said to rise again."

Origen, De Principiis (On First Principles) Direct teaching

...hey should be answered in the following way. If they also admit that there is a resurrection of the dead, let them answer us this: What was it that died? Was it not a body? Then it is the body that will be raised. Next, let them tell us whether they think we are to make use of bodies or not. I think that when the Apostle Paul says that it is sown a natural body, it will arise a spiritual body, they cannot deny that it is a body that rises, or that in the resurrection we are to make use of bodies. What then? If it is certain that we are to make use of bodies, and if the bodies that have fallen are declared to rise again—for only what has first fallen can properly be said to rise again—then no one can doubt that they rise again so that we may be clothed with them a second time in the resurrection. One point is closely joined to the other. For if bodies rise again, they certainly rise to be coverings for us. And if it is necessary for us to be clothed with bodies, as it certainly is, we ought to be clothed with no bodies except our own. But if it is true that these rise again, and that they rise as spiritual bodies, then there can be no doubt that they are said to rise from the dea

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

Our Lord and Master, in His response to the Sadducees, who claim there is no resurrection and therefore dishonor God and diminish the law, indicated a resurrection and revealed God by saying to them, "You err, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God." Regarding the resurrection of the dead, He says, "Have you not read what God spoke, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’?" He added, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for all live to Him." Through these arguments, He clearly showed that He who spoke to Moses from the bush, declaring Himself as the God of the fathers, is indeed the God of the living. For who is the God of the living except He who is God, with no one above Him? This is the same God whom Daniel the prophet proclaimed when King Cyrus of Persia asked him, "Why don't you worship Bel?" Daniel answered, "Because I do not worship idols made with hands, but the living God, who established heaven and earth and has dominion over all flesh." He also said, "I will adore the Lord my God, because He is the living God." Hence, the One whom the prophets adored as the living God is indeed the God of the living; and His Word

Justin Martyr, On the Resurrection, Fragments Supporting witness

..., why did He heal it? Most importantly, He raised the dead. Why? Was it not to demonstrate what the resurrection would be like? How then did He raise the dead? Their souls or their bodies? Clearly, both. If the resurrection were only spiritual, it would have been necessary for Him, in raising the dead, to show the body lying apart by itself and the soul living separately. But He did not do so; instead, He raised the body, confirming the promise of life within it. Why did He rise in the flesh in which He suffered, if not to demonstrate the resurrection of the flesh? Wishing to confirm this, when His disciples were unsure whether to believe He had truly risen in the flesh, and were looking at Him in doubt, He said to them, “You still have no faith; see that it is I.” He allowed them to touch Him and showed them the marks of the nails in His hands. When they were persuaded by every kind of proof that it was indeed Himself and in the body, they asked Him to eat with them to further verify that He had genuinely risen bodily; and He ate honeycomb and fish. By doing this, He showed them that there truly is a resurrection of the flesh, and wished to demonstrate that it is not impossible

Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead Supporting witness

...warm or cold, elements. Even then, our opponents gain nothing from that concession. The bodies that rise again are rebuilt from the parts that properly belong to them. But none of the things just mentioned is such a part, nor does any of them have the form or place of a part. More than that, it does not always remain with the parts of the body that are nourished, or rise again with the parts that rise, since blood, phlegm, bile, and breath no longer contribute anything to life. And the bodies that are nourished now will not then need the things they once needed, because when the need and corruption of the nourished bodies are taken away, the need for the things by which they were nourished is also taken away. To this we must add that even if we suppose that the change produced by such nourishment goes as far as the flesh, even then there is no necessity that flesh recently changed by food of that kind, if it becomes joined to the body of another man, must again contribute as a part to the forming of that body. For the flesh that takes it in does not always keep what it receives, and the flesh added in this way does not stay and remain with that to which it was added. Instead, it

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Supporting witness

..., having been made by God for the righteous to enjoy. Just as God truly raises up man, so man truly rises from the dead, not allegorically, as I have repeatedly shown. As he rises truly, he shall also truly be prepared for incorruption and progress in the times of the kingdom, to receive the glory of the Father. Then, when all things are made new, he shall truly dwell in the city of God. For it is said, “He who sits on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And the Lord says, Write this, for these words are faithful and true. And He said to me, They are done.” And this is the truth of the matter.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Supporting witness

Yet, reluctant as they may be, these men shall one day rise again in the flesh, to confess the power of Him who raises them from the dead;

Acts 24:15 Direct teaching

I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust.

Romans 6:9 Supporting witness

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

...he Philippians: "Being conformed to His death, if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." In what other mortal flesh can life be shown if not in the same flesh that is put to death because of the confession of God? As he himself says, "If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for human reasons, what benefit is it to me if the dead are not raised? If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is in vain, and your faith is in vain. We are also false witnesses about God, because we've testified that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise if the dead are not raised. If the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. But if Christ has not been raised, your faith is in vain, and you are still in your sins. Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are to be pitied more than all people. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep; for as death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man."

Athenagoras, The Resurrection of the Dead Direct teaching

and, being again united with one another, they occupy the same place for the exact construction and formation of the same body, and for the resurrection and life of that which was dead, or even entirely dissolved.

Justin Martyr, On the Resurrection, Fragments Supporting witness

but also to induce the belief that in the resurrection the flesh shall rise entire.

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Direct teaching

... their own salvation—inform us on this point: The deceased daughter of the high priest; the widow’s dead son, who was being carried out to burial near the city gate; and Lazarus, who had been in the tomb for four days—in what bodies did they rise again? Certainly, in the same ones in which they had died. For if it were not in the very same bodies, then those same individuals who had died did not rise again. The Scripture says, “The Lord took the hand of the dead man and said to him, Young man, I say to you, Arise. And the dead man sat up, and He commanded that something should be given him to eat; and He delivered him to his mother.” Again, He called Lazarus with a loud voice, saying, “Lazarus, come forth;” and the one who was dead came forth, bound with bandages, feet and hands.” This symbolized a man who had been bound in sins. And therefore, the Lord said, “Loose him, and let him go.” Just as those who were healed were made whole in the very parts that had previously been afflicted, and the dead rose in the same bodies, their limbs and bodies receiving health and life granted by the Lord—who demonstrates eternal things through temporary ones, and shows that He alone can exten

Hippolytus, Refutation of All Heresies Supporting witness

And again he exclaims, The dead shall start forth from the graves, Matthew 27:52-53 that is, from the earthly bodies, being born again spiritual, not carnal.

Polycarp, Connection to John 11:25 Supporting witness

He who raised Him up from the dead will raise us up also, if we do His will, and walk in His commandments.

Romans 6:5 Direct teaching

For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

1 Corinthians 15:21 Direct teaching

For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

Isaiah 26:19 Supporting witness

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.

Matthew 27:52 Supporting witness

and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;

Daniel 12:2 Supporting witness

And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

Ezekiel 37:13 Supporting witness

And you shall know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves, and raise you from your graves, O my people.

Hippolytus, Treatise on Christ and Antichrist Direct teaching

66. Concerning the resurrection of the righteous, Paul also speaks thus in writing to the Thessalonians: We would not have you to be ignorant concerning them which are asleep, that you sorrow not even as others which have no hope.

Tertullian, On the Resurrection of the Flesh Supporting witness

It is therefore the contemplation of our blessed hope even in this life by faith (that he speaks of)— not its presence nor its possession, but only its expectation.

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

...free,” John 8:31-32. We must endure and persevere, beloved brothers, so that, being admitted to the hope of truth and liberty, we may attain to truth and liberty itself. For the very fact that we are Christians is the substance of faith and hope. But for that hope and faith to attain their result, there is need of patience. For we are not following after present glory, but future glory, according to what Paul the apostle also warns us and says: “We are saved by hope; but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man sees, why does he hope for? But if we hope for that which we do not see, then by patience we wait for it,” Romans 8:24-25. Therefore, waiting and patience are needful, so that we may fulfill what we have begun to be, and may receive what we believe and hope for, according to God's own showing. Moreover, in another place, the same apostle instructs the righteous and the doers of good works, and those who lay up for themselves treasures in heaven with the increase of the divine usury, that they also should be patient. He teaches them, saying, “Therefore, while we have time, let us labor in that which is good to all men, but especially to them who are of the household o

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

... sake. And if you want to be a martyr for the reward of benefits, listen again. For we are saved by hope. But hope that is seen is not hope. For if a man sees something, why does he still hope for it? But if we hope for what we do not see, then we wait for it patiently. Romans 7:24-25 But even if we suffer for righteousness’ sake, Peter says, we are blessed. Do not be afraid of their fear, and do not be troubled. But set apart the Lord God in your hearts. Always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, but do it with meekness and fear, having a good conscience. Then, in the matter for which you are spoken against, those who slander your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if it is the will of God, than for doing evil. But if someone should argue contentiously and say, “How is it possible for weak flesh to resist the forces and spirits of the Powers?” let him know this: by trusting in the Almighty and the Lord, we fight against the principalities of darkness, and against death. “While you are still speaking,” He says, “Look, here I am.” See the unconquerable Helper who protects us. Th

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

...nst the wicked, he sets against this the statement, "For they live with an evil hope." Heraclitus clearly agrees with him in his writings about men: "There awaits man after death what they neither hope nor think." Therefore Paul writes plainly, "Tribulation works patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; and hope makes not ashamed." Romans 5:3-5 For patience exists because of hope in what is to come. Now hope is another name for the recompense and restoration of hope, which does not make one ashamed, because it is no longer spoken against.

Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata (Miscellanies) Supporting witness

But with the hope after death — a good hope to the good, to the bad the reverse — not only they who follow after Barbarian wisdom, but also the Pythagoreans, are acquainted.

Cyprian, Treatises Supporting witness

But we who live in hope, and believe in God, and trust that Christ suffered for us and rose again, abiding in Christ, and through Him and in Him rising again, why either are we ourselves unwilling to depart hence from this life, or do we bewail and grieve for our friends when they depart as if they were lost, when Christ Himself, our Lord and God, encourages us and says, I am the resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though he die, yet shall live;

1 Thessalonians 4:13 Direct teaching

But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.

Romans 8:24 Supporting witness

For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees?

Colossians 1:5 Supporting witness

because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel,

1 Thessalonians 4:14 Supporting witness

For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.

1 Peter 1:3 Supporting witness

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,