In conclusion we can now note that beliefs about afterlife in ancient Israel were much more similar to Mesopotamian beliefs than to modern Christian theology. In the ancient world people were much more interested in the continuation of community and personhood than in theological issues involving being in the divine presence and living forever. In Christian theology afterlife is seen as the apotheosis of religious experience, the epitome of theological reality. In contrast, in the ancient world afterlife had the least connection with theology.
