Page 67

[Alexandr Korol]

Egyptians, the afterlife was an above-ground world. The most important tenet of ancient Egyptian religion was the belief in the subsequent bodily resurrection of a person: eternal life was intended not only for human souls but also for their bodies, which would be restored.” That’s how it is.

“In the 2nd–1st millennia BCE, during the Vedic period, the idea of blissful eternity after death was an integral part of Hinduism. Vedic texts and the burial rites of ancient Indians indicate that a person hoped to attain after death a dwelling in the divine world, in a resurrected, newly reborn body, purified from sin. However, later, the idea of two paths became more widespread: in addition to the blissful eternity awaiting righteous individuals who honored the gods, there existed a place of punishment – a dark abyss that irreversibly consumed the wicked. At the beginning of the 1st millennium BCE, Brahmanism replaced the Vedas. A new doctrine emerged – one of karma, samsara, and the transmigration of souls. In the religion of the ancient Greeks, only in the human body could life be carefree, and only earthly goods were considered genuine. Nevertheless, the posthumous existence of the human soul was acknowledged, but it was a bleak and tormenting existence, on the brink of non-being. Eternal bliss was reserved only for the gods (Olympus). However, it seems that the original beliefs of the ancient Greeks regarding the afterlife were different and more optimistic. This is evidenced, in particular, by Homer’s mention of the Elysian Fields, ‘where days pass bright and carefree for humans.’”

“However, in the books of the Prophets, the coming of the Messiah is associated with the universal resurrection of the dead and judgment: ‘Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise!’ (Isaiah 26:19), “Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.” According to the Book of Wisdom of Solomon: ‘God created man for incorruption and made him in the image of His own eternity.’ In Christianity, eternal life is a blessed existence in the Kingdom of God in incorruptible, spiritually transformed bodies, which is the highest goal of a Christian’s earthly existence. The attainment of eternal life by humanity was the purpose of Jesus Christ’s coming into the world (John 3:15). According to the New Testament, with the death of the body, the souls of the deceased are neither destroyed nor lose self-awareness (Acts 2:27–31, 1 Peter 3:19, Ephesians 4:9). Eternal life is a gift from God, received by people already