According to the Anglican Church, did the prophets in Old Testament have a concept of life after death? I'm a non-denominational Christian who visits whatever Church happens to be close when I'm travelling. I was visiting an Anglican church today, and the reverend gave a sermon from Old testament.

She mentioned that:


God has been slowly revealing his plans, and there are several things we know that folks in OT times didn't.
They didn't have any concept of after death life, making their sacrifices for faith of even greater value than ours who know they'll go to heaven. There are OT verses that suggest no life after death.


I was taken by surprise at this as I always thought that the the prophets of Old Testament always had full revelation and understanding perhaps even greater than ours, since they had direct contact with God and had information from extra books that we no longer have (the Book of Jasher, etc.).

My questions:


Is this the official theology of the Anglican Church, or just that reverend's own view?
If it is official Anglican theology, what is their Scriptural basis for it?
The thirty-nine articles are an Anglican doctrinal standard. 

The Old Testament is dealt with in Article Seven. It specifically  denounces the view that .the old Fathers (i.e. the Old Testament folks) looked only for transitory promises. It asserts  that in both the Old and New Testaments everlasting life is offered to mankind.    


  The Old Testament is not contrary to the New: for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to Mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and Man, being both God and Man. Wherefore they are not to be heard, which feign that the old Fathers did look only for transitory promises.


Anglican doctrine then appears to run counter to your understanding of yesterday's sermon. 

However it is very widely understood in Christianity  that God  revealed His plans through the prophets and, since they lived at different times, this happened gradually. Those in earlier times had a lesser picture than those of later times.

So, while it is  true that in some ways the people in  Old Testament times knew more than we do: their knowledge of the Book of Jasher being an example; it is also true that in some ways we know more than they did. Our knowledge of Jesus Christ is an example.   

As the start of the Epistle to the Hebrews begins:


  God, who at sundry times and in diverse manners spoke in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his Son


Thus, having less knowledge, they arguably needed more faith.