Isaiah and the Resurrection from the Dead

Home

Chapter 8b

Isaiah and the
Resurrection from the Dead
(Isaiah 25:6-8; 26:19)

We take certain doctrines for granted today. But some of these teachings at one time were only taught in types and shadows or at least not emphasized greatly until more clearly revealed later. The sacrificial death of the Messiah on the cross was something that the Jewish people didn't expect. Even the resurrection from the dead itself and a home in Heaven with God forever wasn't an idea clearly seen and taught for much of the Old Testament period. By the time that we finally get to the Babylonian and Persian periods, we do have the prophet Daniel speaking clearly:

"At that time Michael, the great prince who stands watch over your people, will rise up. There will be a time of distress, the likes of which will not have occurred from the beginning of nations until that time. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.

And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt. Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.
(Daniel 12:1-3 [BSB])

But prior to Daniel, you would be hard pressed to find clear statements about the resurrection and eternal life. There are statements in the Old Testament that refer to it (I Samuel 2:6; Job 19:25-27; Psalms 16:9-11; 49:15; Isaiah 53:10-12; Hosea 6:1-2; 13:14), but many of these could also be understood differently if you didn't already know about the resurrection. There are other places that you might be able to pick and choose and gather information about it. For example, both Elijah and Elisha brought people back to life, but there is no indication that this was anything other than a temporary reprieve. Those who had been brought back to life would die again.

During the time of Jesus, one of the primary differences between the Pharisees and the Sadducees was regarding the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees believed in it. The Sadducees did not.

Prior to the time of Daniel, some of the clearest references in the Old Testament to the resurrection are found in the book of Isaiah.

He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
(Isaiah 25:8)

Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise.
O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For thy dew is a dew of light,
and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.
(Isaiah 26:19 [RSV])

Let's look at the first of these and at some of the preceding verses:

On this mountain the LORD of hosts will make for all peoples
a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,
of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.
And he will swallow up on this mountain
the covering that is cast over all peoples,
the veil that is spread over all nations.
He will swallow up death forever;
and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from all faces,
and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,
for the LORD has spoken.
(Isaiah 25:6-8)

It speaks of a magnificently blessed event, which is compared to the most fantastic banquet imaginable.

"On this mountain..."

Mount Zion. The city of the living God. Jerusalem...but more than Jerusalem. It is a type, a dim shadow, of the true city of God--the kingdom of God.

But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the first-born who are enrolled in heaven, and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks more graciously than the blood of Abel.
(Hebrews 12:22-24 [RSV])

There is something in Isaiah 25, verse 7 that the New International Version (along with the Berean Standard Bible and a very few others) translates differently from most other versions:

On this mountain he will destroy
the shroud that unfolds all peoples,
the sheet that covers all nations;
he will swallow up death forever.
(Isaiah 25:7-8a [NIV])

This isn't so much translation here in the NIV as it is commentary. And these aren't comments that are often seen in commentaries on this passage, but the NIV may have gotten it right in this case. Instead of "the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations", we see the terms "shroud that enfolds" and "sheet that covers". What they are trying to convey is the image of a dead body wrapped in burial cloths. Instead of the current situation, with death being rampant among all peoples and all nations, God will "swallow up death forever". He "will wipe away the tears from all faces...".

In the second passage that we will look at, we also see resurrection imagery:

Thy dead shall live, their bodies shall rise.
O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
(Isaiah 26:19a [RSV])

For those who are bereaved, for those who have lost loved ones, God through Isaiah tells them that this isn't the end. It's not over yet. The dead ones--those who dwell in the dust--will yet wake up and joyfully sing.

For thy dew is a dew of light,
and on the land of the shades thou wilt let it fall.
(Isaiah 26:19b [RSV])

This part of the passage is translated in various ways in various versions. We'll start with this one. In the early morning, the dew covers the ground. In some versions this is translated "dew of the morning" or "dew of the dawn". With the dawn comes light. After a night of darkness, as the sun begins to rise, you can see the dew shimmering and glistening across the fields. But the dew spoken of here is not an ordinary dew. To those covered in the ground, to those covered in darkness, it will bring a remarkable light. The "land of the shades", the land of the shadows, is the unseen world of the dead. In that world of darkness, light will fall, and the dead will rise.

Some translations, such as the English Standard Version, translate the last portion of the verse something like "...the earth will give birth to her dead."

Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise.
You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a dew of light,
and the earth will give birth to the dead.
(Isaiah 26:19)

In other words, those who lie dead in the earth will come forth. They will rise again. The prophet Isaiah proclaims that death isn't the final answer. It doesn't have the last word. Death will be swallowed up forever.