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Christianity
is quite literally, dead. The resurrection of Christ is vigorously
proclaimed throughout the New Testament especially in the teachings of
Paul. It is
primarily because of Paul's teachings that the resurrection has such a substantial
place in Christianity. Indeed, there is no gospel without the resurrection for the gospel is the following: Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I
preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which
also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you,
unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first
importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve (1 Cor. 15.1-5). Christianity does not exist apart from the physical, literal resurrection of Christ. It is
important to understand what is meant by resurrection. Jesus was the
first person who was ever resurrected. What is meant by resurrection is
the raising
of a person into a new kind of body, in the pattern of Christ's. While
the body appears like our present bodies, it has distinctly different
properties. These
properties include eternal life and the ability the transcend normal space
and time. Several persons have been resuscitated in the
Scriptures. The widow of Zarephath's son was resuscitated by Elijah and Lazarus, the
brother of Mary and Martha, was raised by Jesus, are but two examples.
These individuals
were given new life but they eventually died. But one who is
resurrected never again suffers death. The chief
historical verification for the resurrection is its effect upon the disciples
themselves. Christ's crucifixion left the disciples in utter
defeat. Their world
collapsed. Even though Jesus had told them that he was going to die, it
never registered with them (Lk. 18.34).
The fact that following the resurrection
they boldly confronted and defied the authorities who had crucified Jesus and
continued to preach the resurrection of Jesus verifies the resurrection
of Christ as a fact of history (cf. Acts 4.1-22).
Had they benefited from their efforts--prestige, wealth, increased social
status or material benefits--we
might logically attempt to account for their actions, for their whole-hearted
and total allegiance to this "risen Christ." But as a reward
for their
efforts they were beaten, stoned to death, thrown to the lions, tortured and
crucified. Every conceivable method was used to stop them from talking. Yet, they
laid down their lives as the ultimate proof of their complete confidence in
the truth of their message. The fact
that the Sanhedrin could not produce a body from the empty tomb--a tomb
heavily guarded by the Romans and sealed with a giant stone--further attests
to the historicity of the resurrection. Who does not believe that the
Sanhedrin, who orchestrated the murder of Christ, did not exercise all of its
power to
produce the body? Had they been successful, the claims of Christ to be
the Messiah would have died instantly. Does anyone seriously assert that the
disciples risked their lives for a corpse? They wouldn't even risk
their lives for Jesus when he was alive! They all ran away when he was
arrested! Many
bible critics of the 19th and 20th centuries have labored to remove the
supernatural from the Scriptures. Vigorous attacks and naturalistic explanations
have been advanced against the events of Jesus' miraculous feeding of the
5000, his walking on water, his healing of disease and demon possession,
etc. Attempts have been made to demythologize the Scriptures, that is,
to remove the supernatural and miraculous from them. Critics
claim that the
witnesses and writers of that day were superstitious and naive. Yet it
is clear from reading the New Testament that the disciples and the people who
witnessed the reported events knew that they were extraordinary. They
knew that that the events they witnessed violated the ordinary laws of
nature. When
Peter walked upon the water to meet Jesus, he knew he was doing
something extraordinary. He knew one had to have a boat to cross water.
He was a
fisherman. When Jesus gave sight back to the blind and raised Lazarus
from death, the people knew that the ordinary laws of nature had been suspended
and overcome. Indeed, they knew that no one had restored sight to
the blind (Jn. 9.31-32).
But all of those miracles, great as they were, pale in
comparison to the resurrection. It was the big event. The resurrection of Jesus is the
premier miraculous, metaphysical event of the universe. It violated the most
obvious natural law--death, decay, entropy. Against his resurrection,
all other miraculous events are but tots. If one can believe in the
resurrection of
Christ, (and to be a Christian one must) then accepting all the other
miraculous events is mere child's play. The resurrection of Jesus is
the big door. Through
it all other supernatural and miraculous acts enter easily. It is further
clear that when investigators attempt to remove the miraculous and
metaphysical from Jesus, there is little of Jesus left. The so-called
"quest for the
historical Jesus", which rejects or eviscerates the biblical accounts of
Jesus' life, has done this very thing. At the end of the
"quest" little remains of his
identity and personality. But the metaphysical and miraculous acts of
Jesus are indivisible from his natural acts. They are as much a part of
Jesus as his
eating and drinking. The resurrection
is a fact. It is as much a fact of history as Julius Caesar's crossing
the Rubicon. While many have tried to negate the fact of the resurrection,
many have found the historicial record sufficient
and compelling. Professor Thomas Arnold, fourteen years a headmaster of
Rugby, authored the
famous History of Rome and held the Chair of Modern History at
Oxford. He said, "The evidence for our Lord's
life and death and resurrection may be, and often has been shown to be
satisfactory; it is good according to the common rules for distinguishing
good evidence from bad. Thousands and tens of thousands of persons have
gone through it piece by piece, as carefully as every judge summing
up on a most important cause. I have myself done it many times over,
not to persuade others but to satisfy myself. I have been used
for many years to study the histories of other times, and to examine and
weight the evidence of those who have written about them, and I know of no one
fact in the history of mankind which is proved by better and fuller evidence
of every sort, to the understanding of a fair inquirer, then the great
sign which God hath given us that Christ died and rose again from the
dead." (Josh McDowell,
Evidence That Demands A Verdict, p.191) Brooke Foss Westcott, Regius Professor at Cambridge University, said, "Indeed, taking all the
evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no historic
incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ.
Nothing but the antecedent assumption that it must be false could have
suggested the idea of deficiency in the proof of it." (Josh McDowell, Evidence That Demands A Verdict,
p.192-3) Dr. Simon
Greenleaf, the Royal Professor of Law at Harvard University, was one of the
greatest legal minds who ever lived. He wrote the famous legal volume
entitled, A Treatise on the Law of Evidence, considered by many the
greatest legal volume ever written. Dr. Greenleaf believed that the resurrection
of Jesus Christ was a hoax. He determined, once and for all, to expose
it. After thoroughly examining the evidence for the resurrection Dr. Greenleaf
came to the opposite conclusion. He concluded that according to the
jurisdiction of legal evidence, the resurrection of Jesus Christ was the best
supported event in all of history. He stated, "It was therefore impossible
that the apostles could have persisted in affirming the truths they had
narrated, had not Jesus Christ actually risen from the dead, and had they not
known the fact as certainly as the knew any other fact." (Josh
McDowell, Evidence That Demands A Verdict,
p.192). Jesus taught the resurrection. When the Sadducees set forth a situation to confound him, he chided them, "You are mistaken, not
understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the
resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in
heaven. But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read
what was spoken to you by God: 'I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC,
AND THE GOD OF JACOB'? He is not the God of the dead but of the
living'' (Mt. 22.29-32). Thus,
Jesus proclaimed that our God is not the God of dead people but of
living. So Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and all those who had put their
trust in him were
alive. Jesus also declared his own resurrection. Mark recorded, Jesus went out, along with His
disciples, to the villages of Caesarea Philippi; and on the way He questioned
His disciples, saying to them, "Who do people say that I am?''
They told Him, saying, "John the Baptist; and others say Elijah; but
others, one of the prophets.'' And He continued by questioning them, "But
who do you say that I am?'' Peter answered and said to Him, "You are the
Christ.'' And He warned them to tell no one about Him. And He began to
teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the
elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after
three days rise again (Mk. 8.27-31). Jesus taught several times that he would rise from the dead (Mk. 9.31; 10.34; Lk. 18.33). His disciples, however, failed to grasp these things (Lk. 18.34). In addition to teaching his own resurrection, Jesus taught that those who believed in him would be resurrected also. Jesus said to them, "I am
the bread of life; he who comes to Me will not hunger, and he who believes in
Me will never thirst. But I said to you that you have seen Me, and yet do not
believe. All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who
comes to Me I will certainly not cast out. For I have come down from heaven,
not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me. This is the
will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but
raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone
who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I
Myself will raise him up on the last day.'' (Jn.
6.35-40). In his
teaching of the resurrection of those who believed in him, the timetable was
that they would be raised up on "the last day". Later
revelation by God to the
apostle Paul has further explained the meaning and timetable of resurrection.
The Order of Resurrection There are
two kinds of resurrections. One is to life and one is to
judgment. Jesus declared that he both gave life and that he was the
judge. Regarding these two
resurrections, he said, "For just as the Father
raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom
He wishes. For not even the Father judges anyone, but He has given all
judgment to the Son, so that all will honor the Son even as they honor the
Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent
Him. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him
who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed
out of death into life. Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming
and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who
hear will live. For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He
gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to
execute judgment, because He is the Son of Man. Do not marvel at this;
for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and
will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life,
those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment (Jn. 5.20-29). There is
a definite order of resurrection and the picture is that of a harvest.
Paul describes Jesus' resurrection as being "the firstfruits".
The book of Leviticus
discusses various harvests which are pictures of the resurrections (cf. Lev. 23.9-10; 19.9-10b).
Part of the Christian doctrine of the resurrection is the
Rapture. Some do not believe in this event and they are like the
Sadducees, who in Jesus' day denied the resurrection. They erred, not
knowing the Scriptures.
The Bible clearly teaches the Rapture. This teaching was a revelation
God gave to Paul and was an elaboration on the Lord's teaching of resurrection.
Exactly how these resurrections will work out is not definitively
clear. Below is a possible order.
The Bible
teaches that all human beings live forever. Some will live in
unimaginable splendor and love and some will live in terrifying pain and
distress. Our ability
to live forever is based upon our immortal souls (being created in the image
of God) and the resurrection of our bodies. Jesus declared that there are two
resurrections: one to life (the first resurrection) and one to judgment (the
second resurrection). Further revelation tells us that the first
resurrection, the
resurrection unto life, comes in phases. Christ was the first to be
raised and some saints buried around Jerusalem were raised shortly after
that. The next
resurrection will be the resurrection of Church age believers, those "in
Christ". First those who have died will be resurrected and then
those who are alive
when Christ appears will be raised. Thus, a great number of people will
never experience physical death1. We
know this event as the Rapture. Following
it will begin the Tribulation as Jesus called it (Mt. 24.21) or the
"time of Jacob's trouble" as Jeremiah referred to it. The
Church is gone, having been raptured. The age of Israel is reprised.
Sixty-nine weeks of years from Daniel's prophecy (Dan. 9.25-27)
have already been fulfilled for the nation of
Israel. Following the Rapture, the 70th week (7 years) will begin and
finish. During this time God will again focus on the nation of
Israel. The AntiChrist will
appear and God will judge the earth. The
"rapture" of the Church is as sure as the return of Christ
itself. The prophets of Israel did not understand that their prophecies
described two advents of the
Messiah. Just as God revealed two advents to the Old Testament
prophets, he revealed two advents to the apostle Paul. The second
coming is broken
into two phases. In the first phase Jesus comes to remove his Church
from the coming wrath, i.e "the time of Jacob's trouble".
In the second, he comes to
rescue repentant Israel and to establish his kingdom (cf. Acts 1.6-7).
To understand the Rapture one must see the distinction between the Church
and Israel, law and grace, God's heavenly people and God's earthly people,
and the "gospel of the kingdom" and the "gospel of the grace
of God". Without
these understandings one cannot understand the Rapture. Furthermore,
without understanding the distinctions between these two programs, the whole New
Testament is pretty much a muddle. The theological systems that have
been developed to interpret the New Testament that do not recognize these
distinctions ultimately fail because they depart from the clear meaning of
the text and violate the fundamental principles of hermeneutics. The
result is that eisegesis replaces exegesis. The Church and Israel are distinct entities. Jesus,
in his earthly ministry, came expressly to save Israel. Gentiles were
not included (cf. Mt. 10.5-7; 15.21-28).
Following the nation's rejection of their Messiah, however, God raised up
Paul to be the "apostle to the Gentiles". God revealed to
Paul a new, "mystery"
entity we know as the Church. Jesus did not teach it nor did the
Twelve. It was completely unforeseen until God chose to reveal it to
Paul (cf. Eph. 2.11-22; 3.3-9; Col. 1.26-27).
Since Israel would not repent and accept Jesus as their Messiah-King the
nation was temporarily set aside. Paul explains
this in Romans 9-11. In order
for God to complete his work for Israel and fulfill his promises to the
nation which he had made in covenants Israel has to repent.
This was the message
John the Baptizer, Jesus, and the Twelve proclaimed to Israel. Judgment
finally came to the nation in 70 A. D. Since that time, God has been dealing
with the "mystery", i.e. the body of Christ. In order for
Israel to achieve its destiny (all the covenantal promises) it must
repent. God will remove the
Church so he can judge Israel. This judgment is called "the time
of Jacob's trouble". In the end the nation will repent and accept
Jesus as their Messiah-King
and Savior. He will return to rescue them and all mankind from
annihilation (Rev. 19 cf. Mt. 24.22).
From Job 19.25-26, Dan. 12.1-2, and Is. 26.19-21 it
would appear that Old Testament saints are not raised at the Rapture but
later, following the Tribulation,
at the time of the establishment of the Messianic Kingdom. At any rate,
all Old Testament believers as well as all Church believers are resurrected
before the Millennium. Also raised before the Messianic Kingdom are
those who were martyred in the Tribulation. These are those who would not
worship the AntiChrist as God (Rev. 20.4-5).
While
life will be greatly extended in the Messianic Kingdom, death will occur (Is. 65.20).
Also, death from other non-natural means is highly likely. No passage
of Scripture clearly indicates the resurrection of Millennial saints but they
may be resurrected at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. The final
resurrection will be the resurrection of those who have rejected Christ (Rev. 20.11-15).
See the discussion on Hell for a fuller
treatment of this
event. The Myths of Resurrection Many
ancient civilizations and cultures had myths of resurrection. Their
myths of the dying god returning to life expressed this belief. The
Egyptians had Osiris, the Phoenicians had Baal, the Babylonians had Tammuz,
and the Greeks had Dionysius. The myths of the dying and resurrected
god were associated
with fertility cults and with the celebration of rebirth, regeneration, and
the renewal of springtime. These celebrations revolved around the natural
order of extinction and germination in the earth. In Christianity, we
find these myths become real.
But the Christian reality is much deeper and greater
than anything the pagan myths expressed or could have anticipated. In
Christ's resurrection we find all the pagan pictures of the dying and
resurrecting god gathered up and coming to pass in history. But more
remarkable is that
we also have the astounding reversal of the natural order. While seeds
die and geminate and all manner of plant life returns to life in the spring, dead
humans do not. Dead, buried humans stay in the ground. But Christ
by his resurrection has broken the natural order of death. He is of a
higher, supernatural
order. Christ, the one who created heaven and earth and all that is,
overcame the natural order. The dead Christ rose from the dead. It
is through
his resurrection that all who believe in him and who are united in him
through faith in his death and resurrection have hope of their own
resurrection. By
Christ's conquering death all who have trusted in him have hope of
resurrection and eternal life. This is the good news! It is our
hope as Christians. The
apostle Paul witnessed to the pagan culture of his day regarding Christ's
resurrection. The Greeks had no belief in bodily resurrection.
They believed in the
immortality of the soul but not of the body. This is evident from their
own writings and also from the testimony of the Scriptures. Plato
discussed the immortality
of the soul but never the body. When Paul went up to the Aeropagus in
Athens, he preached to the philosophers about the true God and the resurrection.
The Scripture records their response: Now when they heard of the
resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We
shall hear you again concerning this." So Paul went out of their midst.
But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris
and other with them. (Acts
17.32-34). The
preaching of the gospel always evokes a response. Either it is accepted
or rejected. When a person accepts it, the result is eternal life; when
a person
rejects it, the result is eternal death. The resurrection of the body was believed in by the Hebrews. Job's testimony was, "As for me, I know that my
Redeemer lives, And at the last He will take His stand on the earth.
"Even after my skin is destroyed, Yet from my flesh I shall see God; (Job
19.25-26) Jesus
taught the resurrection of the body. It is clear from his conversation
with Martha that the common people knew about it and believed it. John recorded
this conversation in his gospel, Jesus said to her, "Your
brother will rise again." Martha said to Him, "I know that he
will rise again in the resurrection on the last day." Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,
and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe
this?" (John 11.23-26) In Jesus'
day, the Jewish leadership of the Sadducees and the Pharisees was divided on
the matter of the resurrection. The Pharisees believed in it; the
Sadducees did not. Paul cleverly used this controversy to his advantage
before the Sanhedrin when he was being accused and persecuted by the Jews.
Luke recorded the event thus, But perceiving that one group
were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, Paul began crying out in the Council,
"Brethren, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for
the hope and resurrection of the dead!" As he said this, there
occurred a dissension between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was
divided. For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an
angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all (Acts
23.6-8). Conclusion Christ's
resurrection secured, sealed and consummated his redemptive power.
Because of our vital union with Christ--Paul's teaching of our being "in
Christ"--and
because the Holy Spirit indwells us, i.e "we
in Him and He in us", "By this we know that we abide in him and he
in us, because he has given us his
Spirit" (1 John 4.13, cf. Eph. 1.4; 1 Cor.
8.6) we are certain that we will share in the benefits of Christ's
resurrection and victory with our own resurrection.
This fact is clearly taught throughout the Scriptures and is the great hope
of Christians. Christ's appearing is our "blessed hope" (Tit. 2.13) and we
know that when he appears we shall be like him (1 John 3.2) and
be resurrected to be with the Lord forever. 1Prior to this time only two persons had never experienced
physical death: Enoch and Elijah. It may well be that these will be the
"two witnesses" (Rev. 11.3-13)
described by John. ©1999 Don Samdahl. Anyone is free to reproduce this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold. Updated |