Comparative eschatologies: between Judaism and Islam-Christianity

I would like to know what is the Jewish belief concerning the Afterlife and it's comparison with Islam and Christianity. I am motivated to make this thread partly because I've read that in Judaism the concept is a bit more lenient.

My understanding is Jewish Sadducees affirmed belief in afterlife including heaven and Hell - They took literal interpretation from Tankh, but were quite liberal in some areas. They were more interested in the religious rites at the Tempel.

Jewish Pharisees claimed hell was more akin to counselling as opposed to any punishment, they claimed to have received oral revelation giving them the unique ability to interpret the Written Laws that Moses was given.

Jewish Essenes condemed the other two main sects, claiming them to be corrupt - John the Baptist belonged to this group and he baptised Jesus.

The Pharisees won out and rewrote history from their perspective and today many Jews do not accept the heaven hell afterlife of Christianity or Islam.

Peace be upon the prophets mentioned above

Al-Indunisiy said:

I would like to know what is the Jewish belief concerning the Afterlife and it's comparison with Islam and Christianity. I am motivated to make this thread partly because I've read that in Judaism the concept is a bit more lenient.

Click to expand...

Greek philosophy with its doctrine of the immortality of the soul had great influence over religious thought in ancient times. These ideas undoubtedly influenced Jewish thinking as well. And most Jews that I have spoken to believe that the soul or spirit of man lives on after the body has died.

But the Hebrew scriptures do not teach that. Ecclesiates 9:5 states that the dead are conscious of nothing. And Psalms 146:4 says that their thoughts have perished. But Daniel 12:2 says that there will come a time when the dead will return to life.