Eternal life

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Eternal life is a term in Jewish and Christian theology that refers to both God and man. In the Pentateuch , the oldest canon part of the Bible , eternal life is only accepted for God and denied to man. In the Old Testament writings that were written late, however, the “righteous” are promised that God will let them live forever. The New Testament contains a number of statements about human eternal life. This is seen as a gift from God that is only granted to believers . Faith in Jesus Christ as a basic requirement for eternal life plays the most important role.

Old testament

In the Old Testament, eternal life is emphasized as a characteristic of God. According to Deuteronomy , God says : “For I lift my hand to heaven and say: As surely as I live forever!” And in Dan 4,31  EU , King Nebuchadnezzar II says : “And I praised the Most High, and so did I. praised and glorified the eternally living, whose rule is an eternal rule and whose kingdom lasts from generation to generation. ”The opposite pole to this is the life of the creatures , whose fleetingness, brevity and transience are often emphasized.

With reference to humans, the book of Genesis , one of the oldest books of the Old Testament, speaks of an eternal life. But there it is denied. The passage reads: “And the Lord God said: Behold, man has become like one of us, to know good and bad. And now that he does not stretch out his hand and also take from the tree of life and eat and live forever! ”The author of the story of the Fall addresses the theoretical possibility that man lives forever if he receives the fruit of the Tree of life in paradise eats. However, this possibility does not materialize, because it does not correspond to God's will: Adam and Eve are not given an opportunity to consume the fruit, rather they are driven out of paradise. In the book of Genesis, the transience of man is emphasized: “Then said the Lord: My spirit should not remain in man forever, since he is also flesh. Its days are said to be 120 years. "

The author of a saying in the book Kohelet (Preacher), which probably dates from the 3rd century BC , expressed himself doubtfully and skeptically . BC. He wrote:

“As far as individual people are concerned, I thought to myself that God singled them out and that they had to recognize for themselves that they were actually animals. Because every person is subject to skill and animals are also subject to skill. They have one and the same skill. As these die, so those die. Both have one and the same breath. There is no advantage of humans over animals. Both are breath of wind. Both go to the same place. Both came from dust, both are returning to the dust. Who knows whether each person's breath really rises, while the breath of animals sinks into the ground? "

"Breath" was used by the author to refer to the force that invigorated the body and thus the life of the living being and itself, following a phrase that was common at the time.

Another, optimistic point of view can be found in three Old Testament writings that were written late: the one that dates back to the 2nd century BC. Dated Book of Daniel and the Book of Wisdom and the 2nd Book of the Maccabees (both 1st century BC). The latter two writings are called deuterocanonical by Catholic theologians and apocryphal by evangelicals . It was in this late literature that Jews of the Hellenistic period expressed themselves who believed that God would not let his righteous servants perish with their death, but reward them by granting them eternal life. A resurrection of the dead is proclaimed in the book of Daniel : “Of those who sleep in the land of dust, many will awaken, some to eternal life, others to shame, to eternal loathing. The wise will shine as heaven shines; and the men who have led many to right deed will shine like the stars forever and ever. ”Similar promises are made in the Book of Wisdom:“ The souls of the righteous are in God's hand and no torment can touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they have died, their going home is considered misfortune, their departure from us is annihilation; but they are at peace. In the eyes of the people they were punished; but their hope is immortal . [...] At the final judgment they will light up like sparks spraying through a stubble field. They will judge peoples and rule over nations and the Lord will be their king forever ”and“ Yes, the hope of the wicked is like the chaff that the wind blows away, like the spray that the storm drives away, like the smoke the wind disperses; it disappears like the memory of a fleeting guest. But the righteous live forever, the Lord rewards them, the Most High cares for them. "

While the righteous are affirmed in their hope of immortality, the fate of the wicked is eternal death or hell . In the second Book of Maccabees, martyrs formulate their belief in an eternal life, which should only be given to the pious servants of God, not to their persecutors: “You take this life from us, but the King of the world will raise us to a new, eternal life because we are for His laws died. ”“ God gave us hope that he would raise us again. This is what we like to wait for when we die of human hands. But for you there is no resurrection to life. ”“ Our brothers died after a short suffering with the divine assurance of eternal life; but you will pay the just penalty for your arrogance at the judgment of God. "

What the Jewish authors, who from the 2nd century BC onwards Chr. In biblical writings express their belief in a human eternal life that this is understood as a privilege of the righteous. So it is not in front of everyone. The exclusivity of this form of existence is emphasized. In the Book of Daniel there is indeed talk of a future “awakening” (resurrection) of the wicked, but this is sharply demarcated from “eternal life”, which is reserved for the “understanding”. While an earthly resurrection and a future kingdom of God are expected in the Book of Daniel, the author of the second Book of Maccabees shifts the hoped-for eternal life to heaven, to which the righteous who have died are to be transferred. In the opinion of this author, this does not happen after a future judgment of God, but rather immediately after death. A special case is the rapture of some particularly devout people who are taken into heaven by God; be named Enoch (already in the Book of Genesis) and Elijah . In all of the cases mentioned, the resurrection to eternal life or the rapture into heaven is considered an exclusive act of God that only benefits his elect. According to the Book of Wisdom, the death of the righteous man who suffers and is killed for the sake of the Torah is only an appearance. In reality, such a righteous person is in an indestructible communion with his Creator, who made him the image of his own eternity.

New Testament

In the New Testament the term "eternal life" is very present. What is meant is an indestructible, God-given life of believers, denoted by the Greek expression zōḗ and characterized as aiṓnios (eternal). It differs from bíos , the earthly, transitory life, and from psychḗ , the physical life force of the living, threatened by death. However, zōḗ is not used exclusively in this sense in the New Testament, but sometimes also in a biological sense. Eternal life is not an aspect of human nature; rather, it presupposes faith in Jesus Christ and is linked to the believer's relationship with the Savior. In this sense, the author of First John writes : “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and that life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I wrote this to you so that you would know that you who believe in the name of the Son of God will have eternal life. ”According to the Gospel of John , Jesus said:“ Amen, amen, I say to you: whoever hears my word and to him believes who sent me has eternal life; he does not come to judgment, but has passed over from death to life. "

The otherworldly form of existence of the unbelievers, who do not attain salvation and succumb to God's judgment and damnation , is not understood as “eternal life” in this sense and is therefore not designated as such. As in the Old Testament, eternal life, insofar as it can be bestowed on man, is the reward of the righteous. It is contrasted with the "eternal punishment" of the damned, as in the Gospel according to Matthew : "And these will go to eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."

Eternal life is usually addressed eschatologically as a condition in the future kingdom of God , which one can “inherit”, that is: which one can obtain as a reward for correct behavior during the present life. In the Gospel of John and the letters of John, on the other hand, the concept of eternal life is brought closer to earthly existence; it appears as something that can already be experienced in transitory existence. From this perspective, earthly life can be understood as the beginning or anticipation of the eternal, provided that it corresponds to its conditions. This relativizes - especially from the point of view of Johannine theology - the meaning of death and the difference between life and death.

The apostle Paul states u. a. Emphasis on wages. He emphatically contrasts the righteousness of the pious, who will “inherit” eternal life, with the injustice associated with God's wrath, with death and impermanence. In spite of everything, however, the following applies: Not through works, but through faith or grace , an undeserved gift, a person comes to eternal life. See e.g. Romans 3:21-28  LUT

Late antiquity and medieval theology

In the Fathers of the Church , when discussing eternal life, it was not its duration that was emphasized, but its quality. It was associated with peace, bliss and salvation , especially freedom from the evils and dangers of earthly existence. The idea of ​​an unlimited duration in the way of the earthly passage of time was considered to be an inadequate understanding of eternity. The Church Father Augustine wrote that in a “happy life” the beginning of one day is not the end of the other. In this way of existence there is no coming and passing of days; rather, where life has no end, the totality of days is given at the same time. According to the definition of the late antique Christian philosopher Boethius , eternity is the simultaneous and complete possession of unlimited life.

In dogmatics , the doctrine of eternal life was recorded in the creeds . The Apostles' Creed contains the statement Credo in [...] vitam aeternam ("I believe in eternal life"). In the Nicano-Constantinopolitanum , the creed of the liturgy , the formula is: Et expecto […] vitam venturi saeculi (“And I expect the life of the world to come”). In the Athanasian Creed the believer confesses: “Et qui bona egerunt, ibunt in vitam aeternam; qui vero mala, in ignem aeternum ”(And those who have done good will enter eternal life, while those who have done evil [have done] will enter eternal fire). Here, too, "eternal life" is synonymous with "eternal bliss" and does not include the eternal existence of the damned.

In the theology of medieval scholasticism , the eternity of God was the starting point for understanding the eternal life promised to believers. The immutability was emphasized as the main characteristic of eternity. In this sense, the leading theologian and philosopher Thomas Aquinas expressed himself in the 13th century . He interpreted the eternal life of creatures as a participation in eternity and thus in God's immutability. However, Thomas considered this participation to be necessarily limited, because he attributed immutability in the true sense only to God.

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

The teaching of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints distinguishes between immortality and eternal life. According to her, all people are gracefully immortal through the Atonement of Jesus Christ on the cross, that is, they will exist forever as conscious individuals. Eternal life, on the other hand, means living as a family in the immediate vicinity of God in the “ celestial kingdom ” and bringing forth spirit children.

literature

Overview representations:

Detailed descriptions from a Catholic point of view:

Representation from a Protestant point of view:

Web links

Remarks

  1. Deuteronomy 32.40  EU .
  2. Horst Seebass : Life: II. Old Testament. In: Theological Real Encyclopedia. Volume 20, Berlin 1990, pp. 520-524, here p. 521.
  3. Genesis 3:22  EU .
  4. Genesis 6: 3. Compare Hermann Spieckermann: Eternal Life: I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. In: Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR). Volume 8, Berlin / Boston 2014, columns 59-61; Bernd Janowski : Eternal Life: III. Old testament. In: Religion Past and Present. 4th, revised edition. Volume 2, Tübingen 1999, column 1762/1763.
  5. Ecclesiastes 3: 18-21.
  6. Compare to the interpretation of the passage Ludger Schwienhorst-Schönberger : Kohelet. Freiburg im Breisgau 2004, pp. 282–286.
  7. Daniel 12: 2-3. Compare Hermann Spieckermann: Eternal Life: I. Ancient Near East and Hebrew Bible / Old Testament. In: Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR). Volume 8, Berlin / Boston 2014, columns 59-61, here column 60.
  8. Wisdom 3: 1-8.
  9. Wisdom 5: 14-15.
  10. See Mareike V. Blischke: "The righteous will live forever (Sap 5:15)": Limited and unlimited time in the Sapientia Salomonis. In: Reinhard G. Kratz, Hermann Spieckermann (Ed.): Time and Eternity as Space for Divine Action. Berlin 2009, pp. 187–212, here pp. 195–201.
  11. 2 Makk 7: 8.
  12. 2 Macc 7:14.
  13. 2 Makk 7.36.
  14. Genesis 5:24.
  15. Ulrich Kellermann: Risen in heaven: 2 Maccabees 7 and the resurrection of the martyrs. Stuttgart 1979, pp. 9-12, 79-85 and 90-93.
  16. Ulrich Kellermann: Risen in heaven: 2 Maccabees 7 and the resurrection of the martyrs. Stuttgart 1979, pp. 102/103.
  17. Hubert Ritt : Eternal Life: II. New Testament. In: Lexicon for Theology and Church. 3rd, revised edition. Volume 3, Freiburg 1995, column 1078/1079, here column 1078; Jan G. van der Watt: Eternal Life. II. New Testament. In: Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR). Volume 8, Berlin / Boston 2014, columns 61–64.
  18. 1 Jn 5 : 11-13  EU .
  19. Jn 5:24  EU .
  20. Mt 25.46  EU .
  21. Jan G. van der Watt: Eternal Life. II. New Testament. In: Encyclopedia of the Bible and its Reception (EBR). Volume 8, Berlin / Boston 2014, columns 61-64; Gerhard Dautzenberg : Life: IV. New Testament. In: Theological Real Encyclopedia. Volume 20, Berlin 1990, pp. 526-530, here pp. 529/530.
  22. See also François Vouga: Eternal Life. IV. New Testament. In: Religion Past and Present. 4th, revised edition. Volume 2, Tübingen 1999, column 1763-1765, here column 1764/1765.
  23. Augustine, Letter 130, 8, 15.
  24. Boethius: Consolatio philosophiae . 5.6.4.
  25. Jürgen Hübner: Life: V. Historical / Systematic. In: Theological Real Encyclopedia. Volume 20, Berlin 1990, pp. 530-561, here pp. 531/532.
  26. See on the Thomistic concept Michael J. Dodds: The Unchanging God of Love. 2nd Edition. Washington DC 2008, pp. 5-45.
  27. Jump up ↑ Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints : Basic Concepts of the Gospel. Salt Lake City 2009, pp. 309-315 ( online at churchofjesuschrist.org ).