Although the OT generally portrays this as a vague and shadowy existence, often associated with judgment, there are hints of the idea of resurrection to a fuller life which are developed in the NT. The NT points to judgment beyond death and to the believers' hope in resurrection, to a more complete enjoyment of God's presence and his blessings and to the promise of a new heaven and earth. Passages gathered in the Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin H. Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
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"What gain is there in my bloodshed, in my descent to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your faithfulness?
Do You work wonders for the dead? Do departed spirits rise up to praise You? Selah Can Your loving devotion be proclaimed in the grave, Your faithfulness in Abaddon ?
For Sheol cannot thank You; Death cannot praise You. Those who descend to the Pit cannot hope for Your faithfulness.
before I go—never to return— to a land of darkness and gloom, to a land of utter darkness, of deep shadow and disorder, where even the light is like darkness."
He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
Will Your wonders be known in the darkness, or Your righteousness in the land of oblivion?
The eye that beholds me will no longer see me. You will look for me, but I will be no more. As a cloud vanishes and is gone, so he who goes down to Sheol does not come back up. He never returns to his house; his place remembers him no more.
When his spirit departs, he returns to the ground; on that very day his plans perish.
For her house sinks down to death, and her tracks to the departed spirits. None who go to her return or negotiate the paths of life.
before the dust returns to the ground from which it came and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
I am forsaken among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom You remember no more, who are cut off from Your care.
O LORD, let me not be ashamed, for I have called on You. Let the wicked be put to shame; let them lie silent in Sheol.
But they do not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of Sheol.
Sheol beneath is eager to meet you upon your arrival. It stirs the spirits of the dead to greet you— all the rulers of the earth. It makes all the kings of the nations rise from their thrones. They will all respond to you, saying, "You too have become weak, as we are; you have become like us!" Your pomp has been brought down to Sheol, along with the music of your harps. Maggots are your bed and worms your blanket.
The dead will not live; the departed spirits will not rise. Therefore You have punished and destroyed them; You have wiped out all memory of them.
This happened so that no other trees by the waters would become great in height and set their tops among the clouds, and no other well-watered trees would reach them in height. For they have all been consigned to death, to the depths of the earth, among the mortals who descend to the Pit.'
In the twelfth year, on the fifteenth day of the month, the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Son of man, wail for the multitudes of Egypt, and consign her and the daughters of the mighty nations to the depths of the earth with those who descend to the Pit: Whom do you surpass in beauty? Go down and be placed with the uncircumcised! They will fall among those slain by the sword. The sword is appointed! Let them drag her away along with all her multitudes. Mighty chiefs will speak from the midst of Sheol about Egypt and her allies: 'They have come down and lie with the uncircumcised, with those slain by the sword.' Assyria is there with her whole company; her graves are all around her. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword. Her graves are set in the depths of the Pit, and her company is all around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword— those who once spread terror in the land of the living. Elam is there with all her multitudes around her grave. All of them are slain, fallen by the sword— those who went down uncircumcised to the earth below, who once spread their terror in the land of the living. They bear their disgrace with those who descend to the Pit.
So I admired the dead, who had already died, above the living, who are still alive.
The righteous perish, and no one takes it to heart; devout men are swept away, while no one considers that the righteous are guided from the presence of evil. Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest, lying down in death.
And many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake, some to everlasting life, but others to shame and everlasting contempt.
For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.
But God will redeem my life from Sheol, for He will surely take me to Himself. Selah
On this mountain He will swallow up the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken.
Your dead will live; their bodies will rise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in the dust! For your dew is like the dew of the morning, and the earth will bring forth her dead.
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And there were open books, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.
After a long time the master of those servants returned to settle accounts with them. The servant who had received the five talents came and presented five more. 'Master,' he said, 'you entrusted me with five talents. See, I have gained five more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!' The servant who had received the two talents also came and said, 'Master, you entrusted me with two talents. See, I have gained two more.' His master replied, 'Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the joy of your master!'
so also Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him.
The nations were enraged, and Your wrath has come. The time has come to judge the dead and to reward Your servants the prophets, as well as the saints and those who fear Your name, both small and great— and to destroy those who destroy the earth."
And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
But nothing unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone who practices an abomination or a lie, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.
But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the king told the servants, 'Tie him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
And throw that worthless servant into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.'
The master of that servant will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not anticipate. Then he will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.
But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, we also believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in Him. By the word of the Lord, we declare to you that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a loud command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will be the first to rise. After that, we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will always be with the Lord.
If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, My servant will be as well. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.
And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and welcome you into My presence, so that you also may be where I am.
We are confident, then, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
I am torn between the two. I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better indeed.
in joyful assembly, to the congregation of the firstborn, enrolled in heaven. You have come to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect,
And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. And they cried out in a loud voice, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?" Then each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they had been killed.
Look at My hands and My feet. It is I Myself. Touch Me and see—for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have." And when He had said this, He showed them His hands and feet. While they were still in disbelief because of their joy and amazement, He asked them, "Do you have anything here to eat?" So they gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and He took it and ate it in front of them.
After He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. The disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
Eight days later, His disciples were once again inside with the doors locked, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then Jesus said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe."
After His suffering, He presented Himself to them with many convincing proofs that He was alive. He appeared to them over a span of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
And if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, who lives in you.
But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.
knowing that the One who raised the Lord Jesus will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in His presence.
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables Him to subject all things to Himself, will transform our lowly bodies to be like His glorious body.
But each in his own turn: Christ the firstfruits; then at His coming, those who belong to Him.
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead: What is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being;" the last Adam a life-giving spirit. The spiritual, however, was not first, but the natural, and then the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so also are those who are of the earth; and as is the heavenly man, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so also shall we bear the likeness of the heavenly man.
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is dismantled, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. So while we are in this tent, we groan under our burdens, because we do not wish to be unclothed but clothed, so that our mortality may be swallowed up by life.
I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us. The creation waits in eager expectation for the revelation of the sons of God.
For our light and momentary affliction is producing for us an eternal glory that is far beyond comparison. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is.
But in keeping with God's promise, we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. 'He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,' and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away." And the One seated on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." Then He said, "Write this down, for these words are faithful and true." And He told me, "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give freely from the spring of the water of life. The one who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son.
Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter the city by its gates.
Then the angel showed me a river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the main street of the city. On either side of the river stood a tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit and yielding a fresh crop for each month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be within the city, and His servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night in the city, and they will have no need for the light of a lamp or of the sun. For the Lord God will shine on them, and they will reign forever and ever.
placed His seal on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a pledge of what is to come.
And God has prepared us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a pledge of what is to come.
And in Him, having heard and believed the word of truth—the gospel of your salvation—you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the pledge of our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession, to the praise of His glory.