THE RESURRECTIONS
From a study paper of Ambassador College (1973/74)
NOTICE now how many Old Testament prophets spoke of man's
resurrection back to life.
David wrote of the resurrection: "My flesh also shall rest
in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell [sheol, the
grave; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One [Christ] to see
corruption" (Ps.16:9,10).
The Apostle Peter, commenting on this very scripture, said:
"Let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is
both dead and buried.... He seeing this before spake of the
resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell,
neither his flesh did see corruption" (Acts 2:29,31).
Christ's "soul was not left in hell [Greek, hades - the
grave]," and His body did not decompose. It was buried in a
rock-hewn tomb at a cool time of the year; and it was resurrected
before decomposition set in. before it began to decay or putrefy.
Christ's Resurrection - a Type.
Christ's resurrection was, in fact, a type of the
resurrection which God promises to all those who faithfully obey
Him.
The Apostle Paul was inspired to write: "But if the Spirit
of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that
raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [enliven] your
mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom.8:11).
Resurrection Taught In Old Testament.
We have already examined the scripture in Psalm 16:9,10,
which clearly shows that David believed in a coming resurrection
for the Messiah and also for himself. David said: "My flesh also
shall rest [in the grave] in hope [of the coming resurrection].
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell...."
But long before the time of David, God's servant Job clearly
revealed his faith in a coming resurrection. He asked: "If a man
die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will
wait, till my change come. Thou [God] shalt call, and I will
answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands"
(Job 14:14,15).
Yes, Job knew the time was coming when his Creator would
call him from the grave and clothe him with eternal life. "For I
know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the
latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy
this body, yet in my flesh (Hebrew, without or apart from my
flesh] shall I see God" (Job 19:25,26).
He knew he would some day be resurrected to see his
Redeemer.
(And we have seen in the study called "What will you be like in
the Resurrection?" that we shall be able to be "flesh and bones"
[as Jesus did when appearing to His disciples] IF we want to. It
will still be "fun" to do many physical things during that 1,000
year reign of the Kingdom of God on earth. I'm a horseman, and in
the resurrection it will still be fun to be flesh and bones and
mount a fast running horse through the beautiful valleys of the
earth. We will still be able to be flesh in the resurrection and
enjoy a wonderful meal of delicious foods IF we so desire - Keith
Hunt)
The Prophet Isaiah believed in the resurrection: "Thy dead
men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the
herbs, and the earth shall cast our the dead" (Isa.26:19).
Ezekiel also prophesied of a coming resurrection when the
"whole house of Israel" will be restored to life. His vision of a
"valley which was full of bones" is well known: "O ye dry bones,
hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God unto these
bones; Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye
shall live: and I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up
flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you,
and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord" (Ezek.
37:4-6).
Furthermore, God says through Ezekiel: "Behold, O my people,
I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your
graves, and bring you into the land of Israel" (verse 12).
The Prophet Daniel also foretold a coming resurrection when
"Many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt" (Dan.12:2).
An angel appeared unto Daniel and told him: "But go thy way
till the end be: for thou shalt rest (in the grave], and stand
[stand up in a resurrection] in thy lot at the end of the days"
(verse 13).
The primary definition of the word "resurrect" itself is "to
raise from the dead: restore to life."
In the Arndt-Gingrich Greek Lexicon, the Greek word
translated "resurrection" is "anastasis" which means to "rise" or
to be "resurrected" from the dead. In Hebrews 11:35 it is
translated, "Women received their dead raised to life again...."
This translation tends to clarify the meaning of the original
Greek term, to be "raised to life again" after having once
experienced death is to be resurrected. Raised has to do with
being elevated out of the grave.
Hosea also believed in the resurrection: "I will ransom them
from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O
death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction
..." (Hosea 13:14).
The eleventh chapter of Hebrews gives a long list of
faithful servants of God who, during Old Testament times, obeyed
God and often would not accept deliverance from a horrible death
"that they might [through their martyrdom] obtain a better
resurrection" (Heb.11:35).
Abraham had such faith that he accounted "that God was able
to raise him [his son, Isaac] up, even from the dead" (verse 19).
Abraham knew that God had promised the Holy Land to him and
his children as an everlasting possession. The only way Abraham
could receive the fulfilment of this promise was by a
resurrection from the dead. "For he looked for a city [in which
he and other faithful ones would dwell - after their
resurrection] which bath foundations, whose builder and maker is
God" (verse 10).
Abraham knew he would be raised from his grave and would
someday dwell with God and with other glorified humans in New
Jerusalem, in the new earth, where there would be no more sin,
sorrow or death to mar eternal happiness.
Many have failed to realize that even Moses prophesied of
the saints being glorified in a resurrection at the second coming
of Christ when they will be united with Him. "The Lord came from
Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; he shined forth from
mount Paran, and he came with ten thousands of saints; from his
right hand went a fiery law for them. Yea, he loved the people;
all his saints are in thy hand: and they sit down at thy feet;
every one shall [in the future] receive of thy words"
(Dent.33:2,3).
There were not "ten thousands of saints" with Moses at the
time when God gave Israel the Ten Commandments at Sinai. Only
Joshua and Caleb were permitted to enter the Promised Land.
Moses, Aaron and Miriam were also saints, but the vast majority
of the Israelites were carnal, faithless, and totally rebellious.
They were anything but saints.
The afore-quoted prophecy refers to the time of the second
coming of Jesus Christ, when many thousands of saints will be
resurrected from their graves (Israelites and Gentiles) and will
be joined unto Christ, as His Bride. Then Christ will give them
His law to teach all nations in the wonderful, utopian World
Tomorrow, in the Kingdom of God (see I Thes.4:13-18).
Man's Only Hope.
The Encyclopaedia Britannica, commenting on Daniel 12:2,
says: "It should be noted that it is not the immortality of the
soul that is spoken of but the resurrection of the dead, who have
remained dead ('sleep in the dust') until the end-time (when
'your people shall be delivered'). This remains the hope and
expectation normative in Judaism and Christianity
("Eschatology," 14th edition, 1973, VIII, p.696).
You will search the Bible in vain to find any other
teaching. The Bible teaches the resurrection - not the
immortality of the soul.
.................
NOTE:
Oh, the truths of the Bible, they are wondrous, they remain true.
It matters not what organizations fall prey to. It matters not if
men fall from the straight and narrow, fall into the ditch of
corruptions and falsehoods. It matters not if men are blinded by
their vanity and ego. It matters not if men, for whatever reason,
get dragged into false teachings. The apostle Paul in Acts 20,
was inspired to tell us that such indeed WOULD HAPPEN at times
right from within the very Church of God.
What does matter brethren, what IS IMPORTANT, is that God's WORD
of LIFE, is EVER TRUE! It is ever CORRECT! Truth is TRUTH and
shall ALWAYS BE TRUTH!
GOD IS TRUE, and what you have read about the RESURRECTION from
the Old Testament WILL ONE DAY BE A REALITY - IT WILL TAKE PLACE!
All your loved ones, your friends, everyone that you want to see
again, YOU WILL SEE AGAIN.
The ETERNAL HOLY ONE wants everyone to come to REPENTANCE and to
be SAVED into His Kingdom Family. I can tell you that when all is
accomplished in the plan of Salvation for this earth and the
people on it (all in the past - all in the future) MOST, the HUGE
MAJORITY will accept Jesus as their personal Savior. It will only
be the relative few who will not desire to live with the heavenly
Father.
The RESURRECTIONS are one of the most WONDERFUL doctrines of the
Bible. The PROMISE of God, that in time, in His plan, everyone in
the graves of the earth, SHALL LIVE AGAIN! (John 5:25-29). This
is the PROMISE of Christ Jesus! Rich or poor, young or old, all
that are asleep in death, will come FORTH AND LIVE AGAIN!
As you continue to read these studies on the Resurrections, be
lifted up, to joyous, and praise the Holy One in heaven that it
will be as He has spoken.
Keith Hunt
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