Good morning, Bereans. In Churchianity today it is called Easter. Biblically, today is the Feast of First Fruits which pictures resurrection. This day is not about bunnies and candy and colored eggs; it is about the resurrection from the dead.
The single most significant event in the history of the human race took place on the first Sunday after Passover in about the year AD 30. It was the resurrection of Yeshua. He overcame the grave, He defeated death, and He promised resurrection life to all who trust in Him.
We are all familiar with the term resurrection but probably not so familiar with its biblical meaning. The traditional view that is held by most of the Church is this: When a believer dies, his body goes into the grave and his spirit goes to heaven to be with the Lord where it is in a disembodied state until the resurrection at the end of time and the return of the Lord. At the Lord's second coming, He resurrects all the decayed bodies of the dead saints and puts them back together. He then changes the physically resurrected bodies into spiritual, immortal bodies like His own. Does that sound like what you have been taught? That is basically what the Church teaches about the resurrection. But is it what the Bible teaches?
The first thing we need to understand here is that the Bible never speaks of "the end of time." The expression "the end time" or the "time of the end" is found in Scripture, but nowhere in the Bible can we find the expression "the end of time." The expressions "the end time" or the "time of the end" speak of the end of an age and not the end of time. Scripture does not indicate that God has any plan to destroy this created world that we enjoy.
Most Christians would put the resurrection in our future, but the Bible puts it in our past. Let me show you this.
But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust. Acts 24:14-15 ESV
Do you see the "when" of the resurrection in this verse? No, you don't because the ESV obscures the text. Notice how Young's Literal Translation renders this:
having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, that there is about to be a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous; Acts 24:15 YLT
The words "there will be" in the ESV are from the Greek word mello. Whenever mello in the present active indicative is combined with an infinitive, it is consistently translated "about to." Paul told his first-century audience, "there is about to be a resurrection." The Greek word "mello" means "is about to," but it is never translated in the literal fashion by major translations. I wonder why?
In Vines Expository Dictionary of Greek Words, on page 1038, Vine shows that mello's primary meaning is "to be about (to be or do). It is used of purpose, certainty, compulsion, or necessity."
Thayer's Greek Lexicon, on page 396, defines "mello" as "to be about to do anything," and "to be on the point of doing or suffering something." The Arndt, Gingrich, Bauer Greek-English Lexicon defines "mello" as "be on the point of, be about to."
There are 110 places where "mello" is used in the Greek New Testament. In many places, by context, it can be seen to mean something about to take place.
Biblically, the resurrection is to take place at the Parousia of Christ. So, if the resurrection was "about to" take place, then so was the Parousia.
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Matthew 16:27 ESV
Vine translates mello here as "The Son of Man is about to come." This verse is talking about the Second Coming and the judgment. At His coming, He will "repay each person" —that's judgment. And it says He is "about to come." How soon is about to? Look at the next verse.
Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." Matthew 16:28 ESV
The "you" here are His disciples. He says that his coming will be before they all die. Later in Matthew he says that his coming will be in that generation (about 40 years).
If we are going to understand what Paul is saying about the resurrection, we must understand "audience relevance." Paul is not talking to us; he is talking to Felix, Ananias, Tertullus, and the elders of Israel in the first century. Paul told them that there was about to be a resurrection.
So, if the timing of the resurrection was "soon," what does this tell us about the nature of the resurrection? It must be spiritual! Time defines nature. If the resurrection happened in the first century, then it should be clear that the nature of the resurrection was spiritual. Paul said in the first century that the resurrection was about to happen.
One very important thing that we 21st-century Christians need to understand is that Paul clearly taught that the resurrection was the hope of Israel.
And now I stand here on trial because of my hope in the promise made by God to our fathers, to which our twelve tribes hope to attain, as they earnestly worship night and day. And for this hope I am accused by Jews, O king! Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead? Acts 26:6-8 ESV
The hope of Israel was the resurrection from the dead. The word "resurrection" does not appear in the Hebrew Scriptures, but the concept does.
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. Daniel 12:2 ESV
But go your way till the end. And you shall rest and shall stand in your allotted place at the end of the days." Daniel 12:13 ESV
According to this verse, when is the Resurrection to take place? It is to take place at, "the end of the days." The New Covenant has no last days, no end time, therefore, the end of the days must refer to the end of the Old Covenant. There is no newer covenant to end the New Covenant. This is what the Jews believed, as is seen in Martha's response to Yeshua in John 11.
Yeshua 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." John 11:23-24 ESV
How did she know that? It was taught throughout the Hebrew Scriptures.
As a general rule, believers didn't go to heaven prior to the completion of Yeshua's messianic work, but I believe that Yahweh made a few exceptions. Prior to the completion of Yeshua's messianic work, people who died went to a holding place of the dead and waited for the atoning work of Christ and the resurrection from the dead.
In the Tanakh, the Hebrew word for where they were prior to the resurrection is Sheol. In the New Testament, the Greek word is Hades. What this place amounted to was a waiting area for the dead.
"Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. Acts 2:29 ESV
For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself says, "'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand, Acts 2:34 ESV
David was dead, but he did not go to Heaven. But he had a promise that he someday would. God had promised to redeem His people from the grave:
I shall ransom them from the power of Sheol; I shall redeem them from Death. O Death, where are your plagues? O Sheol, where is your sting? Compassion is hidden from my eyes. Hosea 13:14 ESV
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will receive me. Selah Psalms 49:15 ESV
These verses express hope that God will provide salvation beyond the grave. They are part of only a few references in the Tanakh to life after death. Theses verses anticipate the clear New Testament teaching of life after death, eternal life, and salvation by God.
All people were believed to go to Sheol when they die.
What man can live and never see death? Who can deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah Psalms 89:48 ESV
Prior to Christ's second coming, all who died went to Sheol. To be taken out of Sheol and brought into the presence of the Lord is what the Bible calls resurrection. Resurrection has nothing to do with physical bodies coming out of graves.
Since we know that the resurrection is past, we know that it was spiritual and not physical. The resurrection of the dead that took place at the end of the Old Covenant in AD 70 was not a biological resurrection of dead decayed bodies but was a release from Sheol of all who had been waiting through the centuries to be reunited with God in the heavenly kingdom.
In 2 Timothy 2, we can see several things from the teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus about the resurrection beliefs of the early Christians.
and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. 2 Timothy 2:17-18 ESV
The early Christians must have believed that the resurrection would be spiritual in nature, and, therefore, not subject to confirmation by any physical evidence. If the early Christians had believed that the resurrection would involve physical bodies coming out of the graves, as is taught today, Hymenaeus and Philetus could never have convinced anyone that the resurrection had already happened.
They also must have believed that life on earth would go on with no material change after the resurrection. They didn't believe that they would be on a renovated earth as a consequence of the resurrection. Otherwise, the teaching of Hymenaeus and Philetus would have been impossible. No one would have paid any attention to them.
The reason that their teaching that the resurrection had already happened was overthrowing the faith of some was that it postulated a consummation of the spiritual kingdom while the earthly Temple in Jerusalem still stood. This was a mixture of Law and grace. This destroyed the faith of some by making the works of the Law a part of the New Covenant.
So, the resurrection that Paul said was "about to happen" in Acts 24:15 was a spiritual re-gathering of God's covenant people. The resurrection of the dead that took place at the end of the Old Covenant in AD 70 was not a biological resurrection of dead decayed bodies but rather a release from Sheol of all who had been waiting through the centuries to be reunited with God in the heavenly kingdom. They were no longer separated from God (dead), they were now in His presence (alive).
THE BIBLICAL VIEW OF RESURRECTION
It is interesting to note that the Bible never uses the terms "resurrected body," "resurrection of the body," or "physical resurrection." Does that surprise you? The Church uses those terms quite often, but the Bible never does. To try to prove a physical resurrection, many will turn to Job 19. Let's look at it.
And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. My heart faints within me! Job 19:26-27 ESV
The ESV says, "Yet in my flesh I shall see God." So, there you have it, that proves a physical resurrection. But wait a minute. What does the original text say? A study of the Hebrew reveals that this verse isn't translated correctly. As a matter of fact, it says the exact opposite. Keil and Delitzsch translate verse 26 this way: "And after my skin, thus torn to pieces, and without my flesh shall I behold Eloah" (Job 19:26-27). In their commentary on verse 26, Keil and Delitzsch write, "We cannot in this speech find that the hope of a bodily recovery is expressed."
So, the Bible doesn't teach a physical resurrection. But some may ask: What about Christ? Wasn't he physically raised from the dead? YES! Absolutely, without a doubt. Because Christ's resurrection was physical, won't ours be also? NO! Christ's physical resurrection was a SIGN to the apostles that he had done what He had promised. The resurrection of Yeshua's body demonstrated for His disciples the resurrection of His soul. David had prophesied about this.
For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. Psalms 16:10 ESV
Peter preached that David looked ahead and spoke of the resurrection of Christ.
he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. Acts 2:31 ESV
These verses speak of both spiritual death (the soul in Hades) and physical death (decay of the flesh). Yeshua was resurrected from both. Unless Yeshua's body had been resurrected, His disciples would have had no assurance that His soul had been to Hades and had been resurrected. The physical resurrection of Christ was essential to verify the spiritual to which it was tied. On the contrary, the physical resurrection of our bodies would have no point because after death, we will not continue living on this earth, breathing earth's oxygen and eating earth's food.
The Bible doesn't teach a physical resurrection. The phrases that the Bible does use are "the resurrection of the dead" and "the resurrection from the dead." In order to understand "resurrection," we must understand death. Resurrection is "resurrection from the dead."
To understand death, we need to go back to the book of beginnings, Genesis. In the book of Genesis, we see God creating man.
then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. Genesis 2:7-8 ESV
After creating man, God placed him in the garden of Eden and gave him a command.
The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:15-17 ESV
God warned Adam regarding the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil: "for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Adam disobeyed God and ate of the tree.
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. Genesis 3:6 ESV
What was the "death" that Adam would die when God said to him: "You shall surely die"? Is he speaking here about physical death or spiritual death? Most commentators say he is talking about physical death. Some say it is physical and spiritual death. Most say that man dies physically because of sin. Is that true?
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:17 ESV
Did Adam die that day? Not physically! Adam lived at least 900 years beyond the day he ate the fruit. But God said he would die the day he ate, and we know that God cannot lie. Adam did not die physically that day, but he did die spiritually. He died spiritually the moment he disobeyed. Spiritual death is separation from God, Who is life.
The literal Hebrew here is: "…for in the day that you eat of it you shall die die," this is mot tamoot. Doubling the word puts emphasis on the idea. Putting the word in first or last position in the sentence does the same. In this case it is doubled and in last place.
That phrase, "you shall surely die," is a combination of two forms of the same verb. The word mot is the infinitive absolute of the verb "to die" and refers to their spiritual death. From the moment they ate of the tree, they were separated from Yahweh. The second word is the imperfect tense of the same verb. The word tamut refers to the eventual and inevitable death that would come to each member of the race as a result of the fall. If man is immortal, this becomes just an empty threat.
but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." Genesis 2:17 ESV
Some say this means that they began to die when they sinned. But they didn't physically die for almost a thousand years. I think that the physical death view violates a biblical principle.
Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil. Ecclesiastes 8:11 ESV
If God said they would die the day they ate, but they didn't die for almost a thousand years, wouldn't that be a sentence against an evil deed that was not executed speedily? Wouldn't that affect Adam's offspring? Can you imagine Adam telling his children or grandchildren that God said we would die the day we ate, but we didn't. How would that affect them?
Adam did die spiritually, and the day he ate he was put out of the garden of God, separated from God's presence. This is spiritual death and this is man's greatest problem. Adam's sin turns delight into destitution. He is not only separated from Yahweh. He is put out of the luscious garden into a barren land. To disobey is to experience emptiness and struggle.
In Romans 5 Paul makes it clear that Genesis is talking about spiritual death. The death introduced by Adam is conjoined with "condemnation" in verses 16 and 18:
And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification… Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. Romans 5:16; 18 ESV
We see here that Adam's sin resulted in judgment (from the Greek word krima). This Greek term denotes a sentence or a decision on the part of a judge. This sentence from the judge led to condemnation. The Greek word that Paul uses for condemnation is katakrima. This particular word is only used three times in Scripture, all of them by Paul in Romans. Paul uses katakrima twice in our text in Romans 5:16 and 18 and once in Romans 8:1.
Katakrima is defined by Suttor in his Lexicon as the punishment following the sentence. It is in a passive form in the Greek, and it is not likely to refer to the sentence as an edict from the judge but rather to the punishment. And what was the punishment? Death.
Now watch Romans 8:1.
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Yeshua. Romans 8:1 ESV
There is no katakrima, no punishment for those in Christ. What was the punishment? Death. This must be spiritual death because Christians still die physically. The death is also contrasted with "eternal life" in verse 21.
so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Yeshua the Christ our Lord. Romans 5:21 ESV
This makes it clear that it can hardly be talking about physical death. Also, the comparison in this passage in Romans 5 is between Adam and Christ. What we lost in Adam is restored in Yeshua the Christ. If the death referred to is physical, then having gained in Christ what we lost in Adam, Christians should never die physically.
THINK ABOUT THIS: Is physical death a result of the fall, or is it just part of being human? Scientists tell us that every human being begins to die physically from the moment of birth. Even while we are growing and developing, cells begin to die and the evidence begins to show: teeth decay, hair begins to fall out, eyes go bad, and joints ache. And I believe that all that lived in God's original world would decay and perish, but "death" carried no sting until sin entered the world.
Did Yeshua age? Absolutely! Was he sinless? Yes! So, his aging was part of being human. If he had not died for us on the cross, would he have died of old age? I believe he would have. I believe that physical death is part of being human and not a result of Adam's sin.
Because of his sin, man was separated from God. He was dead in trespasses and sins. The focus of God's plan of redemption is to restore through Yeshua what man had lost in Adam.
Therefore, as one trespass [Adam's] led to condemnation [spiritual death] for all men, so one act of righteousness [Yeshua's] leads to justification and life [spiritual life] for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:18-19 ESV
Because of Adam's sin, we are all born dead ("for as"—separated from God). But through Yeshua, "so" we receive eternal life. The great truth that we see here is that all we are and have comes out of the obedience of the last Adam—the Lord Yeshua the Christ. Our salvation is based entirely on Him and from Him and in Him. As my being a sinner came entirely from Adam, all my righteousness comes entirely from the Lord Yeshua the Christ.
Believer, your assurance of salvation comes not from your feelings but from understanding your identity. Look at yourself in Adam. Though you had done nothing, you were declared a sinner. Look at yourself in Christ, and you see that though you have done nothing, you are declared to be righteous. That is the parallel. We must get rid of all thoughts of our actions as far as gaining or keeping salvation. We are made righteous because of the obedience of Yeshua and Yeshua alone! Yeshua lived a sinless life in total obedience to the law of God and then died a substitutionary death on our behalf.
The text says that the free gift came to all men. The "all" must be limited to their representative heads. The free gift came to all men whom Christ represents. The "all" must be defined by its context. This is not "all" without exception but "all" without distinction—Jews and Greeks. All without exception would be universalism.
We see this same comparison in Romans 6.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Yeshua our Lord. Romans 6:23 ESV
The life that is a gift is spiritual life, so the death must also be spiritual.
Spiritual death came as a result of Adam's sin. Prior to Adam's sin, he lived in fellowship with God. Adam and Eve were removed from the garden, the presence of God. Their sin brought spiritual death which is separation from God.
Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear. Isaiah 59:1-2 ESV
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—Ephesians 2:1-5 ESV
Paul uses an adversative coordinating conjunction "de" (but) to introduce God's actions toward us in contrast to our plight in verse one. "You were dead." They were not physically dead, of course, but like all men, they were separated from God, which is spiritual death. Now watch what Paul said next: "But God." Our salvation hangs entirely on those two words. We were dead, but God! We were enslaved to sin, but God! We were trapped, but God! We were self-destructing, but God! We were lost in sin, but God!
Because of his sin, man was separated from God. He was dead in trespasses and sins. The focus of God's plan of redemption is to restore through Christ what man had lost in Adam.
Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. Romans 5:18-19 ESV
For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:21 ESV
Because of Adam's sin, we are all born dead, separated from God. But through Christ came the resurrection from the dead to all who trust in Him. Yeshua came to destroy the works of the devil.
The one who commits sin is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil's works. 1 John 3:8 CSB
"The Son of God was revealed for this purpose: to destroy the devil's works." What are the works of the devil that Yeshua came to destroy? It is my understanding that the works of the devil included separating man from Yahweh.
Yeshua came to redeem man from spiritual death, to resurrect man back into the presence of God. The Bible is God's book about His plan to restore the spiritual union of His creation. Resurrection is not about bringing physical bodies out of the graves; it is about restoring man into the presence of God.
So, the resurrection that Paul said was "about to happen" in Acts 24:15 was a spiritual re-gathering of God's covenant people. The resurrection of the dead that took place at the end of the Old Covenant in AD 70 was not a biological resurrection of dead decayed bodies but rather the release from Sheol of all who had been waiting through the centuries to be reunited with God in the heavenly kingdom. They were no longer separated from God (dead); they were now in His presence (alive).
For believers who have lived since AD 70, we are resurrected when we trust in Christ. Yeshua gives us spiritual life—a resurrection from our state of spiritual death. We have eternal life and can never die spiritually. Therefore, we don't need a resurrection. At death, our bodies go to dust, and we go immediately to heaven.
Yeshua said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?" John 11:25-26 ESV
Yeshua is saying, "He who believes in me shall live (spiritually), even if he dies (physically), and everyone who lives (physically), and believes in Me, shall never die (spiritually)."
Two categories of believers are discussed: those who would die before the resurrection and those who would not. For those who died under the Old Covenant, He was the Resurrection, but for those who lived into the days of the New Covenant, He is the Life.
Under the New Covenant, there is no death, spiritually speaking.
When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Yeshua the Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:54-57 ESV
Where there is no death, there is no need of a resurrection. We have eternal life and can never die spiritually. Therefore, we don't need a resurrection. At death, we go immediately to heaven.
The resurrection of the dead was a one-time event in which the Old Covenant saints were brought out of Hades and finally overcame death to be with the Lord. We have put on immortality. As believers, we live in the presence of God, and in physical death, we simply drop the flesh and dwell only in the spiritual realm.