Introduction

The Old Testament does not reveal much regarding the eschaton and the world to come. The poetic seams (Gen 49; Num 24; Deut 32) in the mega structure of Pentateuch (Narrative – Poetry – Epilogue) focus on the eschatological Messiah (Messiah ben Joseph, Messiah ben Levi, and Messiah ben David),¹ a theological theme also emphasized in the canonical seam-structure of the TaNaKh.² However, this kingdom is described as an earthly kingdom (e.g.., Isa 24-27, 65-66; Dan 2:44-45; 7:27), where death is still a reality, Gentile nations still exist, and Jerusalem with its temple functions as its capital. This seems to contrast the Second Temple period Paradise, the heavenly kingdom of the New Testament (e.g., Matt 6:19-21; 7:21; John 14:2-3; 1 Thess 4:15-18) or the world-to-come (הבא עולם) in Rabbinic Judaism. Abba Arikha (175-247 CE), better known as Rav in Talmudic literature, describes this place in the following way (b. Ber. 17a:12):

This echoes Jesus assertion that following the resurrection, the righteous will be like the angels in heaven, who neither marry nor are given in marriage (Matt 22:30; Luke 20:34-36).

Although the Old Testament certainly shows an awareness of the Heavenly realm and the possibility for an individual to enter this realm (e.g., Gen 5:24; 2 Kgs 2:1, 11; Job 1-2; Dan 7:9-14), the biblical writers do not show it much interest as their major emphasis is the promised land. The covenant with the nation of Israel, which was ratified at Mt. Sinai (Exod 24), was conditional upon their obedience to God’s covenant as expressed in Moses’ exhortation to Israel to choose blessings and life, as opposed to curses and death (Deut 30:11-20). This Deuteronomic retribution principle and the so-called “Noachide Laws”³ became the foundation for the Prophet’s judgment message. Richard Fuhr and Gary Yates write:

The primary role of the prophets was to proclaim the word of God as “covenant reinforcement mediators,” preaching to the people a message of blessing for obedience and cursing for disobedience, reinforced through fresh and sometimes shocking rhetoric . . . In fulfilling this primary role, the prophets did fill a secondary role as a foreteller of future things—but this prognostications were always set within the context of covenant obligation and fulfillment. They foretold the historical details of what would later take place as a result of Yahweh’s covenant faithfulness and Israel’s covenant unfaithfulness.⁴

Fuhr and Yates note the indictment brought against Israel by the prophets, God’s prosecuting attorneys, “revolved around five primary areas of violation: (1) idolatry, (2) social injustice, (3) violence, (4) hypocritical ritualism, and (5) spiritual apathy.”⁵ Three of these primary areas of violation, idolatry, social injustice, and violence were also brought against the surrounding nations as they, together with sexual immorality, would fall under the so-called Noachide laws. It is important to keep in mind that the judgment message of the Old Testament was primarily addressed to the collective and not the individual. Even though the judgment, grace, and salvation hope would certainly affect the individual member of a nation, it was the destiny of the nation as a whole that was the main focus. This being the case, the death and resurrection language, remnant motive, judgment, and eschatological language used in the Old Testament relates mainly to the nations—a nation’s destruction, revival, survival, and/or glorious eschatological future.

At the end of the First Temple Period and during the Second Temple Period, however, a shift in focus from the collective to the individual took place⁶ and the problem of theodicy became more apparent.⁷ Questions about the validity of the retribution principle, that God would reward the righteous Torah observant Jews with a long and prosperous life while cutting short the life of the wicked, were undoubtedly raised by some Old Testament writers (e.g. Book of Job; Jer 12:1-3; Mal 3:14-18) and was perhaps most succinctly expressed by the author of Ecclesiastes 8:14:

The Jews during the Second Temple period experienced “foreign occupation and oppression; oppression of the righteous poor, religious persecution, and martyrdom. For the Torah observant Jews, justice had been perverted: the righteous were receiving the curses of the wicked, while the wicked enjoyed the blessings promised the righteous. Only a belief in an afterlife could solve this acute problem. If there was an afterlife, it was argued, God could set things straight and give the righteous and the wicked their proper due.”⁸ However, the increased interest in an afterlife belief, although providing a satisfactory solution to the problem of theodicy for the individual, introduced a complexity that resulted in a plethora of afterlife views.⁹ In the apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha, eighteen complete and distinct death-to-eternity views appear. Even the partial views appearing in these writings seem to provide additional afterlife/eschatological scenarios. Sigvartsen concludes that “each literary work containing a ‘life-after-death’ view seems to present a unique perspective.”¹⁰ The remaining part of this paper will compare and contrast the composite eschatological belief held by the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the belief appearing in the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah—the most similar of the eighteen distinct and complete afterlife views in the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha.

Seventh-day Adventist Eschatological View

The Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view (Beliefs 24-28)¹¹ is a harmonized and composite belief founded on the reformation principles of Sola Scriptura, Tota Scriptura, Prima Scriptura, and the Analogy of Scripture. The members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church hold a high view of Scripture, believing “all scripture,” both the Old and the New Testament, is inspired by God (2 Tim 3:16-17)¹² and its writers were “moved” by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:20-21). This is a part of the foundational belief of the Seventh-day Adventist Church (Belief 1 – The Holy Scripture) and forms the hermeneutical foundation on which all the other official beliefs rest (Beliefs 2-28). The implication of this belief is that although there were many biblical writers, there was, in effect, only one author—the Holy Spirit (Belief 5). Consequently, this allows the reader to consider the Bible as a unit which contains a consistent and harmonious message. While only the Holy Spirit has the complete picture, the individual writer presents a part or aspect of this picture, and by combining these individual parts or aspects it may be possible to recreate this larger picture.¹³ The following figure provides the composite Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view (see Fig. 1).

Belief 19 – The Law of God, Belief 22 – Christian Behavior, and Belief 24 – Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary note that this current life determines the future destiny of each person – either their reward and eternal life or their punishment and eternal death (see also Matt 25:31-46; John 5:28-29; 1 John 2:3-6). Belief 7 – The Nature of Humanity and Belief 26 – Death and Resurrection state that death (Death 1 in Fig. 1) is “an unconscious state for all people” and each person “is an indivisible unity of body, mind, and spirit, dependent upon God for life and breath and all else.” This view is based on Gen 2:7 that suggests a living being consists of a body and God’s breath. Death is the reversal of God’s creation act – when the body returns to dust while the breath returns to God who gave it (Gen 3:19; Eccl 3:19-21; 12:7). Seventh-day Adventist believers believe his breath of life should not be confused with a “soul,” something that lives on independently from the body upon death (Belief 7 – The Nature of Humanity).

Belief 24 – Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary states that before the second coming, commencing in 1844 at the conclusion of the 2300 day-year prophecy in Dan 8:13-14, there will be an investigative judgment (Judgment 1 in Fig. 1). This judgment will determine who will be a part of the resurrection of the righteous (Resurrection 1 in Fig. 1) and who are numbered among the righteous living – those who Jesus will bring to Heaven for the Millennium.¹⁴

The first general resurrection (Resurrection 1 in Fig. 1) takes place at the second coming and includes all the righteous dead (Belief 25 – The Second Coming of Christ and Belief 26 – Death and Resurrection). Following the resurrection, all the righteous will be transformed and be “clothed in immortality” and become like the angels before they are brought to Heaven to be with God during the Millennium (Belief 27 – The Millennium and the End of Sin; Luke 20:36; 1 Cor 15:42-45; Phil 3:21; Rev 20:4-6). There is some New Testament evidence that there will also be a “special” and limited resurrection of those who killed Jesus (and the most wicked) which will take place before the second coming and the resurrection of the righteous (Matt 26:64; Rev 1:7). Then following the second coming they will die a second time and await their final annihilation at the end of the Millennium. Ellen G. White expands on this special resurrection in the Great Controversy.¹⁵ White also seems to suggest that there will be a second “special” and limited resurrection of some righteous who will be counted among the 144,000 which will also take place before the second coming.¹⁶ The wicked, however, will be destroyed (Matt 24:37-39; Luke 17:28-30; Rev 19:18-21) and be dead until the resurrection of the wicked (Resurrection 2 in Fig. 2) at the end of the Millennium (Belief 26 – Death and Resurrection and Belief 27 – The Millennium and the End of Sin).

Belief 27 – The Millennium and the End of Sin states that during the Millennium, the earth will be desolate (Jer 4:23-25 || Gen 1:2), and only Satan will be roaming the earth (Rev 20:2-3), while the righteous are in Heaven reigning with God (Dan 7:27; Rev 2:26; 20:4) and “judging the wicked” (Judgment 2 in Fig. 1; 1 Cor 6:2-3; 2 Pet 2:4; Jud 6; Rev 20:4) before the resurrection and sentencing of the wicked. Apart from Revelation 20-22, there is only one other late Second Temple Period text which separates the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked by a Messianic kingdom, the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah, a literary work which will be considered in the following section.

Fig. 1. The Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view. Sourced from Sigvartsen, “The Afterlife Views and the Use of the TaNaKh,” 418.

The resurrection of the wicked (Resurrection 2 in Fig. 1) takes place at the end of the Millennium when the righteous have returned to the earth with God and the New Jerusalem (Belief 26 – Death and Resurrection and Belief 27 – Millennium and the End of Sin). Following the sentencing of the wicked (Judgment 3 in Fig. 1),¹⁷ the wicked will be cast into the lake of fire (Rev 20:7-15; 21:1-8; Death 2 in Fig. 1). The righteous will live on a recreated earth with God for all eternity while the wicked are completely annihilated (Belief 28 – The New Earth; Rev 21-22).

The View Presented in Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah

The Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah is a composite work consisting of two distinct literary works—the Martyrdom of Isaiah (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 1-5) and the Ascension of Isaiah (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 6-11). The oldest work, the Martyrdom of Isaiah, is also a composite work, a Jewish part (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 1:1-3:12; 5:1-16) and a Christian part (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 3:13-4:22) the latter which is also known by the title Testament of Hezekiah. M. Knibb dates the Jewish section to the second century BCE, and the embedded Christian section to the end of the first century CE.¹⁸ The most relevant passage for this study is the climax of the Christian section (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:14-22, see below), and follows the reign of Beliar (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:1-13). This vision summarizes the key events that will take place following the second coming of Christ (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:14-18).

Figure 2 illustrates the death and resurrection view presented in Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah. According to this view, this current life determines the future destiny of each person. Assumedly, a judgment of the soul takes place at death because the righteous soul leaves the “robes of flesh” behind, is brought to the seventh heaven to be with the saints, and given “robes of above” (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:16; 8:14-15; 9:7-9).¹⁹ While not specifically stated, it could be assumed the wicked are brought to Sheol (or Gehenna), where they will be kept until the resurrection of the wicked.

Fig. 2. The death and resurrection view presented in Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah. Sourced from Sigvartsen, “The Afterlife Views and the Use of the TaNaKh,” 280.

The second coming of the Lord and the establishment of his temporary Messianic kingdom follows the “three years and seven months and twenty-seven days” long reign of Beliar (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:12) or 1332 days according to v. 14,²⁰ based on an interpretation of Dan 12:12. The hosts of saints who accompany God and his angels (alluding to Zech 14:15),²¹ when descending from the seventh heaven, is the resurrection of the righteous, as they will once more be clothed in the “robes of flesh” and become a part of the earthly messianic kingdom. As a part of the second coming, Beliar and his hosts²² will be dragged to Gehenna²³ where, it could be assumed, they will remain until the day of resurrection and judgment of the wicked. The messianic kingdom will be a temporary earthly kingdom²⁴ bookended by the resurrection of the righteous and the resurrection and judgment of the wicked. As Beliar and his hosts reside in Gehenna, this unspecified time period will be without wickedness (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:14-15). The period of the earthly messianic kingdom concludes with the resurrection and the judgment of the wicked. The wicked will be destroyed by fire while the righteous will return to the seventh heaven, leaving their “robes of flesh” behind and receiving their “robes of above” (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:18-19). The whole of creation will return to the state of pre-creation (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:18) while the seventh heaven will become the eternal home for the righteous (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:17). The wicked are destroyed permanently by fire (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:18).²⁵

The final section of this paper will consider several similarities and differences between the Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view and the view presented in the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah.

Similarities and Differences

The first, and perhaps the most important point of comparison between the Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view and that of the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah is the time interval between the resurrection of the righteous and that of the wicked. It seems the author of the Testament of Hezekiah (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 3:13-4:22) has expanded upon the resurrection view appearing in Dan 12:2. Daniel 12 suggests there will be a resurrection of the righteous and a resurrection of the wicked, although the reader is left with the impression that these two resurrections will take place at the same time. However, both eschatological views discussed above have these two resurrections bookend the Messianic kingdom, a unique eschatological scenario shared by these two literary works. All other biblical texts and resurrection texts in the Apocrypha and the Pseudepigrapha that mention a dual resurrection, have the righteous and the wicked resurrection at the same time. The Testament of Hezekiah does not mention the length of the time interval while the book of Revelation (and the Seventh-day Adventist view) adds a time interval of 1,000 years between these two resurrections events.

A second major point of comparison is the location of the Messianic Kingdom. While the apocalypse in Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah seems to suggest that the Messianic kingdom will be an earthly kingdom as supposed to a heavenly one (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:16), Revelation 20:4-6 does not provide the specific location of the millennium kingdom. Joel Badina makes a case for the millennium kingdom being located in heaven based on a word-study of the word θρόνος, throne, used in Revelation 20:4. This word appears 47 times throughout the apocalypse and the throne’s location is always in heaven when associated with God or Jesus (three of the 47 cases refer to the throne of Satan [Rev 2:13], dragon [Rev 13:2] or the beast [Rev 16:10], all of which are located on earth as opposed to heaven). Thus, he states: “it is reasonable to conclude that the thrones of 20:4 are in heaven, too, since they are thrones of people who will ‘[reign]’ with Christ a thousand years’ (20:4, 6).” Badina also finds support for his conclusion by linking the “conquerors” in Revelation 20:4 with the “conquerors” seen in Revelation 15:2 and 3:21, who are located in heaven²⁶ These two arguments assume the location of God’s/Jesus’ throne is fixed and does not move from heaven to earth at the second coming event. A case could be made that, if the messianic kingdom was established on earth, his throne would also be based on earth. Willliam Shea adds a third argument for locating the millennium kingdom in heaven based on the parallel literary structure of Revelation 12 and 20. Based on his analysis, he sees a similar shift “earth-heaven-earth,” in both chapters, thus, considering Revelation 20:1-3 and 20:7-15 as describing events taking place on earth while the middle section (Rev 20:4-6) takes place in heaven, thereby viewing the millennium kingdom as a heavenly kingdom.²⁷ Thus, the Seventh-day Adventist Church believes the Messianic Kingdom to be in heaven, in contrast to the Testament of Hezekiah which considers it an earthly kingdom – this would be in line with Dan 2:35, 44-45; 7:27.

A third point of comparison is the neutralization of Satan or Beliar at the beginning of the Messianic kingdom, following the resurrection of the righteous. As a part of the second coming, Beliar and his hosts are dragged to Gehenna which will bring “rest” to the righteous who were persecuted by Beliar and his hosts. In doing so, this would effectively bring an end to evil, thus establishing the supreme authority of the Lord (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:15). The Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches that the binding of the Satan in the abyss for 1,000 years (Rev 20:1-3) refers to the period when the righteous are in the Millennium Kingdom in heaven, while the wicked are all dead awaiting the resurrection of the wicked at the end of the 1,000 years. Thus Satan is alone on earth, effectively neutralizing him. The Greek word for abyss, ἄβυσσος, is the same word used in Gen 1:2, when describing earth prior to the creation week, suggesting the earth, during the millennium, is unfit for life (see Belief – The Millennium and the New Earth).

A fourth point of comparison is the righteous dead. According to the Mar. Acent. Isa. 4:14-16; 8:14-15; 9:7-9, following their death, the righteous ascend to the seventh heaven where they will receive “robes of above” while leaving their “robes of flesh” behind on earth. They will dwell in heaven until the second coming, when they will descend to the earth together with the Lord and take on their “robes of flesh,” which is the resurrection of the righteous, and dwell with Him on earth and be a part of His Messianic kingdom. In the book of Revelation scenario, upon death, the righteous dwell in the ground until the resurrection of the righteous at the beginning of the millennium kingdom which the Seventh-day Adventist Church teaches will be located in heaven. Thus, there is a major structural difference between these two second coming accounts. The book of Revelation does not mention the saints ascending from heaven at the second coming.²⁸ Instead, the righteous dead will be resurrected from the earth (Rev 20:4, 6).²⁹

A fifth point of comparison is human anthropology. Although the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah does not specifically mention the soul, it does mention that something of the righteous dead survives as the righteous have their robes of flesh removed to have them replaced with the robes of above. The Seventh-day Adventist Church does not believe in a soul which can exist independently from the body, and as such, all dead will sleep in the ground until the day of the resurrection of the righteous or the wicked. However, Belief 25 – The Second Coming of Christ states the righteous will be glorified before taken to heaven (1 Cor. 15:51-54). This transformation could also be supported by the glorification of Moses when receiving God’s law on the mountain (Exod 34:29-35), Daniel describing the resurrected saints as shining stars (Dan 12:3), or by Jesus’ transfiguration—when “His face shone like the sun. Even His clothes became as white as the light” (Matt 17:2). Sigvartsen comments that: “Some ancient Jewish traditions claim that the first couple were clothed in light, as humans were created in God’s likeness (Gen 1:26), and received a tunic of skin (ancient traditions makes a wordplay on the two Hebrew words אור [“light”] and עור [“skin”]) after the fall to cover their nakedness (Gen 3:21).”³⁰ White seems to support this tradition when she writes that prior to the fall, Adam and Eve “were clothed with a covering of light and glory such as the angles wear.”³¹ Thus, the robing-disrobing-robing of heavenly garments, based on location, would not be a completely foreign idea.

A sixth point of comparison is the pre-second coming judgment. This judgment is needed in both eschatological frameworks, as it is necessary to determine who are the saints and who are the wicked, so the person can be allocated to the proper resurrection – the resurrection of the righteous at the second coming or the resurrection of the wicked following the Messianic kingdom. However, there is a major difference, in the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah, the judgment is ongoing until the day of the second coming, as it needs to be determined on a case by case basis who will be sent directly to heaven and who will remain dead until the resurrection of the wicked. Within the Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view, a judgment upon death is not necessary as long as a judgment of all dead takes place prior to the resurrection of the righteous, since the dead will remain in their graves until the day of resurrection (Belief 24 – Christ’s Ministry in the Heavenly Sanctuary). The millennium-judgment (Belief 27 – The Millennium and the End of Sin) is lacking in the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah although both views have a judgment of the wicked following their resurrection.

A seventh point of comparison is the wicked dead. Both apocalypses have the wicked resurrected, judged, and then destroyed by fire, however, the book of Revelation mentions specifically that Satan will be included in this destruction (Rev 20:9-10, 15; 21:8; Belief 27 – The Millennium and the End of Sin), this element can only be assumed in the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah.

The last point of comparison regards the final abode of the righteous. Following the millennium in heaven, John the Revelator states that God will create a new heaven and a new earth (Rev 21:1), where the New Jerusalem will be located (Rev 21:2), and all the saints will dwell in this city with God forever (Rev 21-22). This is in stark contrast to the view presented in the Martyrdom and Ascension of Isaiah, which states that at the end of the Messianic era, after the resurrection of the wicked and their complete annihilation by fire, the righteous will ascend to the seventh heaven, leaving their “robes of flesh” to receive the “robes of above.” Knight notes the end of this world “would involve a full-scale destruction in which the Beloved’s voice would angrily reprove”³² the whole creation (Mar. Ascen. Isa. 4:18), thus, returning it to the state of pre-creation. There will be no need for a recreation, a new heaven, or a new earth, since all the righteous are gathered in the seventh heaven, their eternal home.

Conclusion

The Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view separates the resurrection of the righteous and the wicked by a heavenly millennium kingdom based on Revelation 20-22. This is an almost unique eschatological view in the Second Temple Period as only one eschatological resurrection event is the norm. There is only on other apocalyptic text, also Christian and dates to the late first or early second century CE, that separates the two resurrections, however in this case, it is separated by an earthly Messianic Kingdom. A comparison of the composite eschatological belief held by the Seventh-day Adventist Church with the view presented in the pseudepigraphical text, showed some important and helpful overall similarities, although there were also several significant differences. Even though there were several important shared elements, the overall eschatological structure is reversed. In the Adventist view, the Book of Revelation suggests the righteous dead remain in the grave until the second coming, when they will then be resurrected and brought to heaven. At the end of the 1,000 years, they will be brought back to earth, the wicked will be resurrected, judged, and be annihilated. The righteous will live with God for all eternity on a newly recreated earth. Thus, the movement is: EARTH=>HEAVEN=>EARTH. The pseudepigraphical text have the righteous dead transition straight to heaven where they will be with the saints until the return to earth at the second coming and the temporary Messianic Kingdom will be established. The resurrection of the wicked will take place at the end of the temporary kingdom, when they will be judged and annihilated. At this point, the righteous will return to heaven where they will live with God for all eternity, and the earth will return to a pre-creation state. Thus, the movement is: HEAVEN=>Earth=>Heaven. Based on this study, it could be established with some confidence that the Seventh-day Adventist eschatological view is unique – as there is no literary work from the Second Temple Period which shares all its elements.