The Son of Man’s Apocalyptic Role
in Resurrection
A further indication of the
apocalyptic nature of the Johannine Son of Man in John 5 is found in the
resurrection of the righteous and the wicked. John 5.28-29 speaks of the hour
that is still to come in which those who are in the grave will hear his voice
and will come out of the grave. Those who do good will be raised to a
resurrection of life (αναστασις ζωης), and those practice evil to a
resurrection of judgment (αναστασις κρισεως). Daniel 12.2 provides a close parallel to John 5.28-29. OG Dan 12.2 states: και πολλοι των καθευδοντων εν τω πλατει της γης
αναστησονται, οι μεν εις ζωην αιωνιον, οι δε εις ονειδισμον, οι δε εις
διασποραν και αισχυνην αιωνιον. There are no noteworthy verbal
similarities between the Greek versions of Daniel and John 5.28-29, but there
are some conceptual similarities that are of interest. (1) Both passages refer
to people who have been buried. (2) Two groups of people, the righteous and the
wicked, are raised. 93) Both groups receive judgment that has eternal consequences,
and (4) the righteous are listed first in both texts (cf. 3.20-21). (5) A fifth
conceptual similarity is perceptible in the theme of judgment. Dan 12.2
contains no explicit mention of judgment as in John 5, but the entire context
is suggestive of judgment. Some of the description in Dan 12.1-2 is similar to
Daniel’s vision and its interpretation in Daniel 7, particularly regarding the
book mentioned in 12.2 (cf. Dan. 7.10). the reference to Michael the archangel
in 12.1 is also suggestive of judgment.
There are numerous references in
non-biblical literature which describe the resurrection of the dead as the
earth’s act of giving back to the dead, but not many of these speak
specifically of a double resurrection of the righteous and of the wicked. Of
the texts that do mention a resurrection of the righteous and the wicked, the
resurrection takes place in the context of judgment, and in the Similitudes of
Enoch 46-48; 4 Ezra 7.32-36; 2 Bar. 50.2-51.3; Matt 25.31-46; and
Rev 14.14, this judgment takes place following the appearance of the son of man
figure. Likewise, the Gospel of John links the eschatological judgment, a
double resurrection, and the appearance of the Son of Man. In 5.28, the Son of
Man’s voice is heard by the dead in the grave and they are raised to a
resurrection of life or a resurrection of judgment. This connection between the
Son of Man and the eschatological judgment is also found in John 12, where the
judgment of the world and the ruler of the world takes place at the glorification
of the Son of Man. Thus, the Gospel’s portrayal of the son of Man is not only
similar to Daniel, but it also shares similarities with the Jewish apocalyptic
interpretations of the Danielic son of man.
John 5.27 has verbal similarities
with Dan 7.13-14, the theme of judgment is present in both John 5 and Daniel
7, and John 5 shares the similar concept of the double resurrection of the
righteous and wicked with Daniel 12. Those Jewish apocalyptic works that
interpret the Danielic son of man depict this double resurrection as taking
place in conjunction with the appearance of the son of man figure. Thus with
each of these three aspects, the Gospel of John portrays the Son of Man with
similar themes and contexts as Daniel 7 and the Jewish apocalyptic and early
Christian interpretations of the Danielic son of man . . . (Benjamin E.
Reynolds, The Apocalyptic Son of Man in the Gospel of John [Wissenschaftliche
Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2. Reihe 249; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007],
140-42)
