Karl Marx once said that religion was the opiate of the masses, implying that it is an escape from reality into a pseudo world. For religions that are man made this may be true enough. But Judaism and Christianity are not man made religions; they are based on divine revelation. God breaks into the awareness of mankind, separated from intimacy with Him through the spiritual blindness resulting from sin, through specific divine acts which take place historically, really. At the beginning of mankind, there is the very real creation of Adam and Eve by God Himself. By a deed that actually took place at the beginning of human history (cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church, 390), Adam and Eve committed the original sin. As a result God punished them and all their descendants with toil, suffering and death. The sin is a real event, God's punishment of the sin is a real event.

There is no 'escape from reality' in Judaism and Christianity, but in actuality, only the Judeo-Christian perspective adequately explains reality. It is God who initiates Judaism by manifesting Himself to Abram (cf. Gen. 12: 1 ff). Interesting to note is that the promise of the resurrection from the dead and the ultimate rest in which God heals all wounds and wipes every tear from our eyes is not part of the initial revelation that God gives to Abram. Thus it cannot be said that Judaism began by a desire to escape from the harshness of this world by inventing the concept of an afterlife.

Through real historical events however, God progressively reveals His plan to free man from the tyranny of death and give him hope for eternal life. As divine revelation unfolded, death was seen as a punishment for sin. The realm of the dead (Sheol) was seen a state of existence in which there is darkness (Job 10:21ff-, Ps. 88:7,13; Ps. 143:3), silence (Ps. 94:17; Ps. 115:17), no activity (Qoh. 9: 10), no joy (Sir. 14:11-17), no praise of God (Ps. 6:6; Ps. 3 0: 10), no strength (Is. 14: 10). It is known as the 'Pit' (Is. 24:22) which immerses one into the lifeless existence of a shadow. This realm carries with it a sense of guilt and punishment: "I am numbered with those who go down into the pit whom you remember no longer and who are cut off from your care. Upon me your wrath lies heavy. Your furies have swept over me; your terrors have cut me off' (Ps. 88:5,6,8,17).

These passages from Sacred Scripture, which is made up of the words of God, expressed in the words of men, truly divine revelation, show that sin has the consequence of death. Yet the revelation about death does not end here.

"The Lord says this: 'I am now going to open your graves; I mean to raise you from your graves"' (Ez. 37:12). And so my heart rejoiced, my soul is glad; even my body shall rest in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead, nor let your beloved know decay. You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, at your right hand happiness forever (Ps. 16: 10-11). This passage from Ezekiel and this Psalm are truly monumental because, for the Old Testament, they contain an unusually deep theology of the afterlife. "I will open your graves" . . . "You will not leave my soul among the dead" -- to Jewish ears this would have offered a mysterious hope, a hope that would have been new to them. Ultimately, as we shall see these passages are prefigurements to the resurrection of Jesus.

Progressively God reveals His power over death: "For thou hast power over life and death; thou dost lead men down to the gates of death and back again" (Wis. 16:13; cf. I Sam. 2:6; Tob. 11: 15; Dt. 32:39). As the Jewish perception of God's power over death deepened, it led to an understanding of the possibility of resurrection from the dead.

A further development came in the later writings of the Old Testament where we see an understanding of a separation of destinies, one fate for the just and another for the wicked. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake; some shall live forever, others shall be an everlasting horror and disgrace. But the wise shall shine brightly like the splendor of the firmament, and those who lead the many to justice shall be like the stars forever" (Daniel 12:2-3; cf. Is. 66:22-24; Wisdom 3:1-12).

In John 11, we see that Martha already had a faith in a resurrection based on the reality of God's power over death which she knew from the Old Testament, for she says "I know Lazarus will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus sees her faith and intensifies it by revealing to her even more fully the power that God has over death. "I am the resurrection and the life: whoever believes in me, though he should die, will come to life" (Jn. 11:25).

Then Jesus backs up his words with action. He heightens the expectation, increases the hope that God will not let his faithful one undergo corruption and that He will show the fullness of joy at His right hand forever (cf. Ps. 16: 10-11). Jesus brings Lazarus back from the dead, thus intensifying the teaching of God's power over death.

"Take away the stone," Jesus directed Martha responds, "Lord it has been four days now; surely there will be a stench!" Martha still doubts; she is afraid. Jesus, who is pure love, drives out all fear; He "frees those who through fear of death had been slaves their whole life long" (Heb 2:15). "Lazarus, come forth!" Lazarus comes forth, yet he will die again. The definitive manifestation of God’s power over death will come after Jesus was crucified, dead, and buried, after He descended to Sheol, after He inflicted death upon death, rising from tomb proclaiming, "Once I was dead but now I live forever and ever. I hold the keys of death and (Hades)" (Rev. 1:18).

The disciples of Jesus, if He had not been raised from the dead, would have dispersed and Christianity would never have spread over the entire world. But what actually happened, is that Jesus "presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3). The Greek word used here for proofs has the connotation of firm, infallible, irrefutable proof. Jesus showed them in many and convincing ways that He was alive! He said to those who saw Him after His Resurrection, "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth" (Acts. 1:8).

Many of the witnesses that tell us that Jesus truly rose, laid down their lives rather than deny the truth of what they proclaimed. They were men and women of great holiness. The only way to deny the validity of their witness is to say that they were liars, but liars are not known for being willing to die for their lies, or that they were crazy, and the beauty and coherence of New Testament writings are not the manifestation of lunacy. Therefore, what they tell us is true and all who approach the Sacred Scriptures with an open heart will be led to faith in the Resurrection of Jesus.

Yet, Jesus died and rose not for His own sake but for ours. How is it that we shall share in His Resurrection? St. Paul says, "For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like His" (Rom. 6:5). And also, Our Lord teaches, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day (Jn. 6:53-54).

This teaching is carried on by St. Irenaeus in the second century who defends the reality of our future bodily resurrection on the basis of the Eucharist: "How can they [the Gnostics] assert that our flesh will be corrupted and never again be revived, when it has been nourished with the Body and Blood of Christ. 

... Our bodies, having received the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible but have the hope of resurrection" (Adversus Haereses, 4, 18). Truly, really, factually, historically, Jesus rose from the dead and wants us to join Him by following Him and renouncing the works of death.