RESURRECTION

The Resurrection of the dead.


The resurrection of the dead is not an easy subject as I have found after years of searching for understanding. However, by persistence and the Grace of God I believe one is able to see and understand this remarkable doctrine. Of course, there are many voices out there with conflicting ideas as to what the ‘resurrection of the dead’ means. When we look at the subject of the resurrection in the Bible, we cannot help but notice that it is referred to as Christ’s resurrection or the resurrection of certain people that have died physically. The word resurrection, ‘anastasis’, “means raised to life again, resurrection, rise from the dead, that should rise, rising again.” Simply put it is a bringing back to life that which was dead. There are several issues involved in the subject of resurrection that need close attention. Let us not simply take what we have heard and read from others and call that good. Then our ideas would simply parrot those of others, repeating their errors as we go. Let us learn to take time to do our own study and delve into the Word of God ourselves that we may obtain our own understanding from the Lord. Below I have listed some issues involved in the subject of the resurrection that we must face and deal with in the Scriptures.

1. The resurrection of Jesus Christ
2. The resurrection of those individuals in the Old and New Testaments.
3. The resurrection spoken about in 1 Corinthians 15
4. The resurrection referred to in the Book of Revelation as the first resurrection.

The language used in speaking of the resurrection can be confusing if terms are not defined from the beginning. The idea of a spiritual resurrection will be discussed but what does that really mean? As stated, resurrection in the Bible always refers to the bringing to life those who have died physically and that the resurrection of the dead spoken of in first Corinthians 15 is a resurrection of the dead that come to life as spiritual bodies not flesh and blood. There are those proponents of a spiritual resurrection that claim when we are born again we are spiritually resurrected so they use the terminology of a spiritual resurrection, yet it means something different from what we describe as those raised a spiritual body.

The resurrection in first Corinthians 15 is considered, by the Christian community, as the general resurrection that will take place at the return of Jesus Christ. For the majority of believers this is yet future though for a small but growing group of Christians this is a past event. The different viewpoints portray a very different interpretation and understanding of the Corinthian text. My approach will be from the past fulfillment of the resurrection. Does that mean it has no application for us today? God forbid! Though the Bible was not written to us, it was written for us. Though it speaks to a specific people at a specific time for specific purposes, it still has application for all generations.

Apart from apocalyptic literature, analogy, parable and simile the Scriptures should be taken literally and in their plain sense unless a figurative meaning is required by the text. Exegesis is the drawing out of what is in the Scriptures. Eisexegesis is the reading into the text something that is foreign to it. This we must be aware of and avoid at all cost.
Let us begin with the resurrection spoken of in the 15th chapter of first Corinthians. Paul begins with the resurrection of Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:1-4 1 Now I want to make clear for you, brothers and sisters, the gospel that I preached to you, that you received and on which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received--that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, 4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures,

Paul establishes the resurrection of believers by the resurrection of Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:12-18 12 Now if Christ is being preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. 14 And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is futile and your faith is empty. 15 Also, we are found to be false witnesses about God, because we have testified against God that he raised Christ from the dead, when in reality he did not raise him, if indeed the dead are not raised. 16 For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised. 17 And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is useless; you are still in your sins. 18 Furthermore, the dead in Christ have also perished.

This is a logical argument by Paul to show there was no resurrection of those that died if Christ was not resurrected. If Christ was not resurrected then their faith was in vain. Paul points out that all the disciples including more than 500 brothers saw Christ. If Christ did not rise from the dead then they would be considered as false witnesses.

Some among the Corinthian church questioned the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead. Let us remember that these were Gentiles for the most part. Their pagan background was quite a bit different that the Christians. Greek philosophy had different ideas about the afterlife and these Gentiles had probably joined the church after Paul had left. Had Paul talked with them in person they would not have had the doubts. Now the issue of the resurrection had to be addressed by Paul through his letters. Let us not forget that the Christians in the church were called babies and immature by the apostle.

1 Corinthians 3:1-3 1 So, brothers and sisters, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but instead as people of the flesh, as infants in Christ. 2 I fed you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready. In fact, you are still not ready, 3 for you are still influenced by the flesh. For since there is still jealousy and dissension among you, are you not influenced by the flesh and behaving like ordinary people?

This no doubt determined what Paul was able to communicate to them. He was not able to get into deep spiritual doctrines, for that was meat that they were not able to take at the time. His speech was more plain and easy to understand and that carried through the whole letter. Therefore, as we approach chapter 15 with this in mind we should be able to take what Paul says in a plain and simple sense that would not be too deep for the Corinthians.

The chapter compares the resurrection of Christ with that of the dead believers. Christ’s death on the cross was physical so too, those mentioned as dead had physically died. There was a difference though between Christ’s death and those mentioned in the chapter. Christ was raised with the same body as He was buried with yet those Christians were to be raised with spiritual bodies quite different from their flesh and blood bodies. Why is that? Christ had to be manifested to the witnesses in the same manner as He was before His death. They could not think of Him as a ghost but as a real person that came to life again in the flesh. It was to prove He was genuine and overcame death, being the same person as they knew before. Those Christians raised from the dead were to inherit eternal life and Paul revealed that flesh and blood could not inherit the Kingdom of God. Those resurrected Christian were now spiritual, fit for living in heaven as Paul shows in comparison to animals.

1 Corinthians 15:39 39 All flesh is not the same: people have one flesh, animals have another, birds and fish another.
Each is fit for the environment they were created for and given a specific body for that purpose.

1 Corinthians 15:50 50 Now this is what I am saying, brothers and sisters: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Paul anticipated the question, how are some raised? His answer deals with the fact that different bodies are suited for their different environments. While people live on earth, their bodies are suited for existing in this world. It is a material, physical existence. In heaven, it is and will be a spiritual life. The physical is temporary while the spiritual is eternal. It is not surprising that some may receive more glory than others may. We see this in what Paul described as the sun, moon and stars, each having their own glory. We face corruption, for from dust we were made, and to dust we return. We are mortal and frail, subject to pain, illness and death. To live in heaven we must put on incorruption and immortality. The teaching that Paul as given is rather straightforward and simple to grasp in many ways and the immature Corinthians should not have had a problem understanding what Paul said.

Other things are brought out in this chapter but our focus is on the resurrection of the dead. I will not spend time to divert from the subject. The timing of this resurrection is in dispute but I approach it from the standpoint that it occurred sometime in A.D. 70 when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and the city was sacked and later destroyed.

The Resurrection of Individuals in the Old and New Testaments


The Old Testament gives us a couple stories of children being brought back to life by God’s prophets. In the third reference I have listed, a dead man simply touched the dead body of Elisha and was brought back to life.

1 Kings 17:17-22 17 After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!" 19 And he said to her, "Give me your son." And he took him from her arms and carried him up into the upper chamber where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed. 20 And he cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God, have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by killing her son?" 21 Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God, let this child's life come into him again." 22 And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life of the child came into him again, and he revived.

2 Kings 4:32-37 32 When Elisha came into the house, he saw the child lying dead on his bed. 33 So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm. 35 Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. 36 Then he summoned Gehazi and said, "Call this Shunammite." So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, "Pick up your son." 37 She came and fell at his feet, bowing to the ground. Then she picked up her son and went out.

2 Kings 13:20-21 20 So Elisha died, and they buried him. Now bands of Moabites used to invade the land in the spring of the year. 21 And as a man was being buried, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet.

The New Testament had similar stories of people being brought back to life. Here we see Christ performing the miracles and also the Apostle Peter and Paul.

Mark 5:35-43 35 While he was still speaking, there came from the ruler's house some who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" 36 But overhearing what they said, Jesus said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not fear, only believe." 37 And he allowed no one to follow him except Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 They came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and Jesus saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly. 39 And when he had entered, he said to them, "Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping." 40 And they laughed at him. But he put them all outside and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was. 41 Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi," which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." 42 And immediately the girl got up and began walking (for she was twelve years of age), and they were immediately overcome with amazement. 43 And he strictly charged them that no one should know this, and told them to give her something to eat.

Luke 7:11-15 11 Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him. 12 As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her. 13 And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 15 And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

John 11:38-44 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days." 40 Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" 41 So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me." 43 When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out." 44 The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Unbind him, and let him go."

Acts 9:36-41 36 Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. 37 In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. 38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, "Please come to us without delay." 39 So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. 40 But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, arise." And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. 41 And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive.

Acts 20:9-12 9 And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 10 But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him." 11 And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 12 And they took the youth away alive, and were not a little comforted.

Each of these stories showed a person died and was brought back to life, they were resurrected. Each one is different in the way the resurrection occurred but they all had in common tenderness about the way it was treated in the story. These were not just miracles to display the power of individuals but they were events to instill faith and show compassion toward those hurting from their loss. With each one of these people that had been resurrected, unlike Christ’s resurrection they would die again. Their resurrection did not bring them eternal life. For the resurrection in first Corinthians 15 was one that brought eternal life to the mortal soul.

Hebrews 11:32-35 32 And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets. 33 Through faith they conquered kingdoms, administered justice, gained what was promised, shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched raging fire, escaped the edge of the sword, gained strength in weakness, became mighty in battle, put foreign armies to flight, 35 and women received back their dead raised to life. But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life.

Though these people were raised from the dead, they died again. It was the ‘Hope of Israel’ that the Jewish people looked forward to, that better resurrection spoken in the book of Hebrews. This was part of the preaching of Paul as he traveled the Roman Empire preaching the gospel.

Acts 26:5-8 5 They know, because they have known me from time past, if they are willing to testify, that according to the strictest party of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee. 6 And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our ancestors, 7 a promise that our twelve tribes hope to attain as they earnestly serve God night and day. Concerning this hope the Jews are accusing me, Your Majesty! 8 Why do you people think it is unbelievable that God raises the dead?

Acts 28:17, 20 17 After three days Paul called the local Jewish leaders together. When they had assembled, he said to them, "Brothers, although I had done nothing against our people or the customs of our ancestors, from Jerusalem I was handed over as a prisoner to the Romans… 20 So for this reason I have asked to see you and speak with you, for I am bound with this chain because of the hope of Israel."

The resurrection can be traced in the Old Testament in which those New Testament Christians come to learn about it.

1 Samuel 2:6-8 6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. 8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and on them he has set the world.

Isaiah 25:8 8 He will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.

Isaiah 26:19 19 Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead.

Daniel 12:2 2 And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.

These are a few Old Testament references to give an idea of what was taught and believed back then. It was verses such as these that Paul referred to as the Hope of Israel. Not every Jew believed in the resurrection though. The Sadducees were a prominent ruling group in Israel and they did not believe in a resurrection.

Acts 23:8 8 (For the Sadducees say there is no resurrection, or angel, or spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)

The Sadducees came to Jesus and told a story to Him in order to trap Him with His answer. It is quite revealing as it relates to the resurrection and much can be learned from it.

Luke 20:27-40 27 Now some Sadducees came to him (who contend there is no resurrection). 28 They asked him a question: "Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies leaving a wife but no children, that man must marry the widow and father children for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first married a woman and died without children. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. 32 Afterward the woman died too. 33 In the resurrection therefore whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had all married her." 34 So Jesus said to them, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are regarded as worthy to share in that age and in the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage. 36 In fact, they can no longer die, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, since they are sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised--even Moses revealed this in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord 'the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.' 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living; for all live before him." 39 Then some of the experts in the law answered, "Teacher, you have spoken well!" 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

It is obvious the Sadducees were talking about the brothers who had died, each having the same wife while alive. The wife dies and they ask whose wife she will be in the resurrection. Jesus does not belittle or insult them for their ignorance but simply states the facts. The resurrection will not be as this life is. There will be no physical bodies and sexual lust or pleasure. Those that attain to the resurrection will be spiritual as the angels and have a new life unlike this world. This goes well with Corinthians. I have briefly shown the hope of Israel from the Old Testament and its application in the New. The better resurrection spoken of in Hebrews was different from the individuals raised from the dead in both testaments. We need to keep in mind that the resurrection of the dead was spiritual. That is the bodies were not flesh and blood but spiritual as the angels.


Miscellaneous References to the Resurrection


I have saved the most difficult for last. So far, an understanding of the resurrection is not that hard to see in the Scriptures. Care in putting together the Scriptures yields knowledge, faith and awe in what God can and has done. Now we look at some Scriptures that for years were a mystery to me. All of Scripture takes a revelation from God for us to truly and properly understand what is being said. There are other verses that seem to require more revelation for understanding or should I say a maturity greater than what the Corinthians had. Here we encounter the meat of the word and though I will give an interpretation, I feel inadequate to explain it. This is not something I am dogmatic in but seems to me to fit what I believe the Scriptures say. In time, I may change my mind but for now, I present this to you for examination and criticism.

Revelation 20:4-6 4 Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

My focus in the above Scripture has to do with the resurrection. Let us start with some observation and see where that leads. I see people who had been beheaded because of the testimony of Christ. This tells me they were New Testament Saints because Jesus was not named in the Old Testament. They reigned with Christ for a thousand years, which I take to be symbolic. Why, because most of this book is symbolic and the first resurrection was at the beginning of the thousand years. We cannot just concentrate on this portion of Scripture as though we can come to understand it by itself. We need to try to interpret this with other portions of Scripture that will throw light on these verses. Where do we find such verses that would relate to this? We have covered most of the New Testament verses concerning the resurrection of the dead but this is not referring to the resurrection of the dead. It simply says resurrection. There is one other reference we have not looked at yet that I believe is in relation to this section.

John 11:23-27 23 Jesus replied, "Your brother will come back to life again." 24 Martha said, "I know that he will come back to life again in the resurrection at the last day." 25 Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live even if he dies, 26 and the one who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?" 27 She replied, "Yes, Lord, I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God who comes into the world."

What did Jesus mean when He said, “I am the resurrection and the life?” Let us consider what comes immediately after that. Jesus said, “The one who believes in me will live even if he dies.” I see this as reference to the resurrection at the last lay. The last day is when Christ returned in A.D. 70. It makes sense and fits. Now he says “and the one who lives and believes in me will never die.” This is a difficult comment to understand. We know people died after that occasion who believed in Christ so how are we to understand this. These two comments seem at first to contradict each other. To try to understand what is being said here we must consider when it was said. Jesus was talking about these things before His resurrection. Before His resurrection, believers died and were buried. The resurrection of the dead would raise them to life at Christ’s return. Therefore, we can understand, ‘the one who believes in me will live even if he dies.’ After Christ’s resurrection, those who died were immediately taken to heaven, which explains, ‘and the one who lives and believes in me will never die.’ As Paul said, Therefore we are always full of courage, and we know that as long as we are alive here on earth we are absent from the Lord-- for we live by faith, not by sight. Thus we are full of courage and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:6-8 Again Paul says, 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1:21
What relation does this have to the references in the book of Revelation? Christ as the second Adam was representative for all who believed in Him. As a representative His actions were accounted toward those he represented just as the first Adam’s were to all his posterity. The first Adam sinned and because he was our representative, we were guilty of that sin along with him. The result for all was death. Therefore, it is with Christ. His righteous life, suffering and death on the cross, provided righteousness for all his people resulting in eternal life. Christ was raised from the dead and as the book of Hebrews says, 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with hands--the representation of the true sanctuary--but into heaven itself, and he appears now in God's presence for us. Hebrews 9:24 His resurrection and His ascension were from our standpoint as our representative.

Ephesians 1:20-21 20 This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms 21 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.
Here we have Christ raised from the dead and seated at the right hand of the father as Lord and Savior and as our representative.

Ephesians 2:4-7 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us, 5 even though we were dead in transgressions, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you are saved!-- 6 and he raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 to demonstrate in the coming ages the surpassing wealth of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

Here those first Christians were seated with Christ in the heavenly realm but not actually. It was through their representative for he appears now in God's presence for us. I will admit it is not an easy concept to grasp at first but we can never discount the representation or the substitutionary death of Christ for His people. If we do not find the doctrine here then where do we see it in the Bible explained like this? Now getting to the point, we can see the resurrection in the book of Revelation as Christ’s resurrection, which was the first resurrection. What is said about the first resurrection?
Revelation 20:6 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

All Christians take part in Christ’s resurrection that is why the second death has no power over them. We take part by receiving eternal life as we took part in Adam’s sin that brought death. There is no doubt much more that can be revealed about the resurrection but as a brief study I see a harmony, consistency and understanding I did not have before. Is it correct? I think so but it is not perfect and there is much room for others to build on. I see Christ’s resurrection as the first resurrection and the resurrection spoken on in first Corinthians as being the second. When Paul speaks of the resurrection, he does not mention those unbelievers that will be raised for judgment. It really does not concern the Christian in the context, what God will do with those people.

Fred Robbins Jan. ‘07