The word resurrection appears in the
New Testament 41 times. If we read all the passages and the context
in which they appear, we realize that there are two types of
resurrections. One is a resurrection in which the life of the person is
restored.
Resurrection of Lazarus
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In this type of
resurrection the risen people have a material body the same as they had
before. Their life is restored, but their body is still the same body
-- a
material body that ages, gets sick and finally dies. One example is the
resurrection of Lazarus. |
John 11:43-44
...'Lazarus, come on out!' The man that had been dead came
out with his feet and hands bound with wrappings, and his countenance was bound
about with a cloth. Jesus said to them:' Loose him and let him go.'
Acts 36-42 ..Peter
sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning
toward the dead woman, he said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her
eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her
to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows and presented her to
them alive.
Matthew 27:53
and coming out of the tombs after His
resurrection they
entered the holy city and appeared to many.
Hebrews 11:35
Women received back their dead by
resurrection
The other type of resurrection is a resurrection to an incorruptible spiritual body that does not get sick or dies
(a better resurrection). It will occur after the battle of Armageddon, at
the second coming of Christ, and is called the first resurrection.
Reading the rest of the passages we arrive at the
following conclusions:
1. Jesus preached the resurrection from the
dead.
John 11:24
Martha *said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the
resurrection
on the last day."
John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and
the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone
that is living that believes in me will not die into the age [forever]. Do
you believe this?
2. It is the hope of the faithful.
Luke 20:37
"But that the dead are raised, even
Moses showed, in the passage about the burning bush, where he calls the Lord
THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, AND THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB.
Luke 20:38
"Now He is not the God of the dead but of the
living; for all live to Him."
Acts 24:15
having a hope in God, which these men cherish themselves, that there shall
certainly be a resurrection
of both the righteous
and the wicked.
Philippians 3:11
in order that I may attain to the resurrection
from
the dead.
1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to
His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through
the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the
dead,
1 Peter 3:21
Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you--not the removal of dirt from
the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience--through the
resurrection
of Jesus Christ,
3. Jesus' apostles were witnesses of His resurrection.
Acts 1:22
beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from
us--one of these must become a witness with us of His
resurrection.
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4. Those that attain the first resurrection will be like the angels in
heaven which: |
a. They do not marry.
Matthew 22:30
For in the resurrection
they neither marry
nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
Luke 20:35
but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the
resurrection
from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;
b. They never die.
Luke 20:36
for they cannot even die anymore, because they are like angels, and are sons of
God, being sons of the
resurrection.
c. The body does not
perish.
1 Corinthians 15:42
So also is the
resurrection
of the dead. It is sown
a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body
Romans 6:5
For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death,
certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection
d. The second death has no power over them.
Revelation 20:6
Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first
resurrection;
over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of
Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
5 There will be two resurrections
a. A resurrection of life (the first
resurrection, the resurrection of the righteous)
Revelation 20:4
...and they
came to life and ruled as kings with the Christ for a thousand years.
Hebrews 11:35 ...and others were tortured, not accepting their release, so that they
might obtain a better resurrection
b. A resurrection of judgment (the second resurrection which
occurs after the millennium)
John 5:29
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.
6 The resurrection was the most important testimony/teaching
proclaimed by Jesus' followers.
Acts 4:33
And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the
resurrection
of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.
Hebrews 6:2
of instruction about washings and laying on of hands, and the
resurrection
of the dead and eternal judgment.
7. Christians were mocked and persecuted because of their
belief in the resurrection. |
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Acts 4:2
being annoyed because they were teaching the people and
proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from
the dead.
Acts 17:18
And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with
him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to
say?" Others, "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange
deities,"--because he was preaching Jesus and the
resurrection.
Acts 17:32
Now when they heard of the resurrection
of
the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear
you again concerning this."
Acts 23:6
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!"
Acts 24:21
other than for this one statement which I shouted out while standing among
them, 'For the resurrection
of the dead I am
on trial before you today.'
Acts 26:23
that the Christ was to suffer, and that by reason of His
resurrection
from the dead He would be the first to proclaim light both to the Jewish
people and to the Gentiles."
8. Even since the time of Jesus there were differences of
creed regarding the resurrection.
Matthew 22:23
On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no
resurrection)
came to Jesus and questioned Him,
Luke 20:27
Now there came to Him some of the Sadducees (who say that there is no
resurrection)
1 Corinthians 15:12
Now if Christ is preached, that He has been raised from the dead, how do some
among you say that there is no
resurrection
of the
dead?
1 Corinthians 15:13
But if there is no resurrection
of the dead, not
even Christ has been raised.
Acts 23:8
For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,
nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.
1 Corinthians 15:21
For since by a man came death, by a man also came the
resurrection
of the dead.
9 Jesus followers obtain their reward at the time of the
resurrection.
Luke 14:14
and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you;
for you will be repaid at the
resurrection of the
righteous."
10 The resurrection of Christ was prophesied by King David. |
King David
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Acts 2:31, Psalms
16:9-11
he looked ahead and spoke of the
resurrection of
the Christ, that HE WAS NEITHER ABANDONED TO HADES, NOR DID His flesh SUFFER
DECAY.
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11 Jesus was empowered after His
resurrection.
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Romans 1:4
who was declared the Son of God with power by the
resurrection
from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
Therefore, the hope of the
followers of Jesus is not going to heaven, it is being resurrected from the dead
into a spirit body which cannot die.
The belief that we already
have an eternal soul that never dies is a fallacy started in the Garden of Eden
by Satan himself. That is the way he deceived Eve into eating the
forbidden fruit Genesis
3:4-5...'You will not surely
die,' the serpent said to the woman. ' For
God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like
God'
Humans die, just as animals
die. Death means a state of not being, similar to the way we were before we were
born. The idea that we continue living with a different body in another place
is not scriptural! Jesus never promised anybody that! In contrast,
Jesus preached over and over about the hope of living again at the end of the
age, by a resurrection to life.
When Lazarus was resurrected
to life by Jesus, Lazarus was not brought down from heaven back into this earth
to live in a mortal body. There is no account of such a thing. Why
would Jesus bring Lazarus ....or anybody else...back to life, if that individual
was already "in heaven with God"? There is no teaching by
Jesus that we should be happy when somebody dies because that person is already
in heaven with God. The "dearly departed" are not with God in
heaven. They are dead, and will stay dead until God resurrects them.
The truth of the matter is
that death is death. And people cry and mourn their dead relatives and
friends. Because we know that death means that that person is gone.
Even Jesus wept when Lazarus died. John
11:35 "Jesus
gave way to tears."
Our hope is in the resurrection, just as Jesus was resurrected so can we.
Once we believe this, then there is no fear of what anybody would do to
us. We know we are conquerors, just as Jesus was.
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