"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 from the dead.  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, who was raised (i.e. resuscitated) by Jesus, are but two examples.  These individuals were given new life but they eventually died again.  One who is resurrected never again experiences death.  

The chief historical verification for the resurrection is its effect upon the disciples.  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 after his resurrection they boldly confronted and defied the authorities who had crucified him and continued to preach his resurrection 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 argue that they had a vested interest in their proclamation and allegiance.  But their was no benefit or reward for their efforts.  They were ridiculed, 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 ever 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 and 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" the Jesus that remains is hardly worth mentioning much less following.  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 Testimony of Others

The resurrection is a fact.  It is as much a fact of history as Julius Caesar's crossing the Rubicon.  While some have tried to negate the fact of the resurrection, many have found the historical 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)

"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).

The Testimony of Jesus

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.

1. The resurrection of Christ, the first of the "the firstfruits" (Ps. 16.10; 1 Cor. 15.20-23a)
2. The resurrection of additional "firstfruits", i.e. Jewish saints buried around Jerusalem (Mt. 27.51-53)
3. The resurrection of the Church (1 Cor. 15.23b, 52-53; 1 Thes. 4.14-17), a.k.a. the Rapture
4. The resurrection of Old Testament believers (Job 19.25-26; Dan. 12.1-2; Is. 26.19-21)
5. The resurrection of Tribulation believers (Rev. 20.4-5)
6. The resurrection of the Millennial saints (Is. 65.20)
7. The resurrection of unbelievers, i.e. rejectors of Christ (Jn. 5.28-29a; Rev. 20.11-15)

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 the fact that we were created in the image of God and the promise of 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, what we call the 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 present himself as the King and Messiah of Israel.  Gentiles were not included (cf. Mt. 10.5-7; 15.21-28) with exceptions, e.g. the Canaanite woman, the Roman centurion, etc.  Following the nation's rejection of their Messiah, however, God acted in grace rather than judgment. He 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 has been 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".  The result of this judgment will be that Israel 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 refused to 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 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 profound 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); 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.

tw~| a)gapw~nti h(ma~j kai\ lu/santi h(ma~j e)k tw~n a(martiw~n h(mw~n e)n tw|~ a(i/mati au)tou~.

©1999 Don Samdahl.  Anyone is free to reproduce this material and distribute it, but it may not be sold.

Updated November 04, 2002