Includes bibliographical references and index.

Guided tours of heaven and hell -- The fear of death -- Life after death before there was life after death -- Will justice be done? : the rise of postmortem rewards and punishments -- Death after death in the Hebrew Bible -- Dead bodies that return to life : the resurrection in ancient Israel -- Why wait for the resurrection? : life after death right after death -- Jesus and the afterlife -- The afterlife after Jesus' life : Paul the Apostle -- Altering the views of Jesus : the later gospels -- The afterlife mysteries of the book of revelation -- Eternal life in the flesh -- Tactile ecstasy and torment in the Christian hereafter -- Who will inherit the blessings? : purgatory, reincarnation, and salvation for all.