Heaven

=== Rabbinical Judaism ===
{{Main|Heaven in Judaism|Olam Haba}}

While the concept of Heaven (''malkuth hashamaim'' מלכות השמים, the [[Kingdom of God|Kingdom of Heaven]]) is much discussed in [[Christianity|Christian]] thought, the [[Jewish eschatology|Jewish concept of the afterlife]], sometimes known as ''olam haba'', the World-to-come, is not discussed as often. The [[Torah]] has little to say on the subject of survival after death, but by the time of the rabbis two ideas had made inroads among the Jews: one, which is probably derived from Greek thought,<ref name=deLange/> is that of the [[immortal soul]] which returns to its creator after death; the other, which is thought to be of Persian origin,<ref name=deLange/> is that of [[resurrection of the dead]].

Jewish writings{{Which|date=June 2010}} refer to a "new earth" as the abode of mankind following the resurrection of the dead. Originally, the two ideas of [[immortality]] and resurrection were different but in rabbinic thought they are combined: the soul departs from the body at death but is returned to it at the [[Resurrection of the Dead|resurrection]]. This idea is linked to another rabbinic teaching, that men's good and bad actions are rewarded and punished not in this life but after death, whether immediately or at the subsequent resurrection.<ref name=deLange/> Around 1 CE, the [[Pharisees]] believed in an afterlife but the [[Sadducees]] did not.<ref>{{cite book |first=David S. |last=Ariel |title=What Do Jews Believe? |location=New York |publisher=Shocken Books |year=1995 |page=74 |isbn=9780805210590}} "The Sadducees... did not believe in an afterlife. The Pharisees... subscribed to the theory of the afterlife."</ref>

The [[Mishnah]] has many sayings about the [[World to Come]], for example, "Rabbi Yaakov said: This world is like a lobby before the World to Come; prepare yourself in the lobby so that you may enter the banquet hall."<ref>Pirkei Avot, 4:21.</ref>

Judaism holds that the [[Noachide|righteous of all nations]] have a share in the World-to-come.<ref>{{cite book |first=David S. |last=Ariel |title=What Do Jews Believe? |location=New York |publisher=Shocken Books |year=1995 |page=75 |isbn=9780805210590}} "According to the rabbis, the righteous receive their reward in the afterlife in the celestial Garden of Eden... This applies equally to Jews and non-Jews."</ref>

According to [[Nicholas de Lange]], [[Judaism]] offers no clear teaching about the destiny which lies in wait for the individual after death and its attitude to life after death has been expressed as follows: "For the future is inscrutable, and the accepted sources of knowledge, whether experience, or reason, or revelation, offer no clear guidance about what is to come. The only certainty is that each man must die – beyond that we can only guess."<ref name="deLange">Nicholas de Lange, ''Judaism'', Oxford University Press, 1986.</ref>