Many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised? MAT 27:50-54

[kennymac]

Hello,

Having a difficult time understanding what happened here. Any insight will be greatly appreciated.

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom, and the earth shook; and the rocks were split, 52 and the tombs were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. 54 Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!"

Matthew is the only Gospel writer who mentions this event. There are few details given, and so we are left with many unanswered questions. First, the way it is recorded, it is hard to say if this occurred at the time of His crucifixion or later at the time of his resurrection. Matthew seems at first to place this resurrection at the time of Jesus' death when the veil was rent in two. Then next he seems to say they arose "after His resurrection."

As for the earthquakes, Matthew 27:54 makes it quite clear that a quake struck at the time of Jesus' death on the cross, but in Matthew 28:2 we are told that another quake (or aftershock) occurred at His resurrection. The other Gospel writers say nothing at all about earthquakes.

It is difficult to believe that the dead would be raised at the time of Jesus' death. One would think that, if anything, they would be raised with Christ on the third day. And if they were indeed raised from the dead, we must ask if ALL the overcomers were resurrected, or just "many," (Greek: polus) as the text indicates. Why did Matthew not tell us that "all" (Greek: pas) of the Old Testament saints were raised? He certainly could have used this word, since he used it a few verses earlier in Matthew 27:45, saying that "all the land" was covered in darkness."

Matthew says that "many" saints were raised and appeared to "many" in Jerusalem. The Greek word is the same in both cases. It is certain that these saints did not appear to "all" in Jerusalem, and so it is apparent that neither were "all" the saints raised. This was no doubt a limited resurrection of saints that had been buried near the vicinity of Jerusalem, rather than a general resurrection of all the saints of the Old Testament who had died around the world.

My second question is if they were raised to immortality, or were raised for a short period of time for only that day. It is certainly a fairly common view, even in the early Church that all the Old Testament saints were raised from the dead when Jesus was raised from the tomb, and that these saints went to heaven with Jesus when He ascended. Along with this, it is generally taught that the "cloud" that received Jesus at His ascension was the "cloud of witnesses" (Heb. 12:1).

On the other hand, Peter said in his Pentecostal sermon in Acts 2:29,

29 Brethren, I may confidently say to you regarding the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

Peter seems to know nothing about David being raised from the dead. Though he cites David's own prophecy of his ultimate resurrection, Peter applies the Scripture only to Christ and His resurrection. It seems strange that if David himself had just been raised from the dead and had ascended with Christ 40 days later that Peter would have missed so great an opportunity to tell the people of this great witness to the Messiahship of Jesus. Why did not Peter and the other New Testament writers give more attention to this very important miraculous sign?

Were the Old Testament saints perfected before the New Testament saints, contrary to what Hebrews 11:40 seems to tell us--"that apart from us they [Old Testament saints] should not be made perfect?" Would the writer of the book of Hebrews have failed even to mention this resurrection of Old Testament saints? It hardly seems plausible.

Revelation 6:9-11 likewise raises questions about this resurrection.

9 And when He broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; 10 and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, wilt Thou refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?" 11 And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, should be completed also.

Why are these souls "underneath the altar," rather than enjoying the benefits of heaven? We know that the priest was to pour the blood of the sacrifice under the altar and that the soul (Heb. nephesh) is in the blood (Lev. 17:11-14). In Isaiah 53:12 the prophet foretells of Jesus' sacrifice of Himself on the Cross, saying (KJV), " he hath poured out his soul [Heb. nephesh] unto death." Here the soul is said to be poured out, but it is through the agency of the blood. Hence, the souls under the altar are portrayed as being martyrs sacrificed as the body of Christ. Their souls are under the altar, even as the blood was poured upon the ground under the altar in the temple. But the real question pertinent to our discussion is this: Why are these souls not enjoying heaven? Why are the white robes given only a consolation to them until a future time of redemption? Is it because regardless of whether or not these saints are in heaven having the white robes (of immortality and righteousness), they still have not received their final reward, which is the Feast of Tabernacles?


Thanks,

Mary Ann

[Beloved]

Wow Mary Ann this thread is a mouthful (spiritually speaking a lot of meat to chew on ). I can appreciate the difficulty of understanding all of these.

Although they All deal with death.... there are at least three heavy topics.  Perhaps this will help those who wish to comment on one aspect versus those who wish to try and comment on all.

Topic A   The dead raised at the Crucifixition
Topic B    The dead Patriarchs
Topic C    The souls under the altar

I have some ideas on how to answer some but I need to go do some research and search the scriptures.

Beloved

[Kat]

Hi Mary Ann,

This is an excerpt from Ray's Lake of Fire series, no. 4.
You can read the article in full at this link

http://bible-truths.com/lake4.html


THEN COMES THE END

I Cor. 15:24 says, "Then comes the END..." "The end" of what? Just what is it that "ends" in "the end?" Does the earth end? Does the universe end? Do we end? What ends in the end? "Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming [Gk: His presence]. Then comes THE END..." (II Cor. 15:24). Let's look at a few verses before we come to "the end" in verse 24:

Verse 20:

"But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept."

Comment: Contrary to popular teaching, there was no heavenly welcoming committee of men and women who became firstfruits BEFORE Christ became the FIRSTFRUIT. No, there were no saints welcoming Christ back to heaven. Christ taught:

"And NO MAN has ascended into heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13).

Jesus Christ was the FIRST. Ask your pastor if this verse really is true, that "NO MAN" has ascended into heaven. This would then mean that Lazarus and Abraham in the Rich man parable also were NOT IN HEAVEN as most teach that they were, wouldn't it?

Among the very last few words that Christ uttered on this earth were these:

"I am Alpha and Omega, the BEGINNING and the END, the FIRST and the LAST" (Rev. 22:13).

So yes, Christ is the first of the firstfruits. He is the first of EVERYTHING, He is the very Creator; and He is the last, the end, the CONSUMMATION of God's plan of universal salvation.

Ver. 21-22: "For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For AS in Adam ALL die, EVEN SO in Christ shall ALL be made alive."

Comment: First I want to show you that the word "alive" in this verse is a word that is used with reference to imparting immortality, and not just mortal life. The Greek word is zoopoieo, and it means to give life beyond the grasp of any future death. Notice how it is used in Rom. 8:11, "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead [Christ was raised to immortality, not back to a mortal life] dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [zoopoieo] your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwells in you." So clearly God does not give "mortal" life to our "mortal" bodies, seeing that we already have mortal life. No, He imparts IMMORTALITY to us. And this is exactly what Paul tells us in I Cor. 15, "For this corruptible [body] must put on incorruption [spiritual], and this mortal [dying or dead body] must put on IMMORTALITY [Gk: DEATH-LESS-NESS]" (Verse 53). And to whom does Christ grant immortal "zoopoieo" life? Answer: "ALL." The very same "all" who die in Adam are the very same "all" who are given life IN CHRIST.

It is also noteworthy that it is "...IN Christ ALL..." and is not restricted to only, "...ALL IN CHRIST..." as many have tried to twist this verse to mean. They say it is only all those who are "in" Christ. But that is not what this verse says. It says "in Christ ALL." That is the order of words. This verse is not speaking of those just the "all believers" who are said to be "IN Christ." No, this verse is speaking about the very same "in Adam ALL" who die become the very same "in Christ ALL" who are made alive. And although this particular verse does not say that "all" are now "IN Christ," it does most definitely say that "in Christ," the "ALL" shall be shall be "made alive." "Made alive" does not prove they are "in" Christ or that they are "saved," only that they have been given immortal life. Then comes JUDGMENT. But don't think that therefore there is no Scripture that says they will eventually "ALL" be "IN" Christ, because there is:

"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one ALL ['things' is not in original] IN Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even IN HIM" (Eph. 1:10).

Christ first raises ALL to immortal life. At a later date He gathers this same ALL into Himself. The "in Christ ALL" (I Cor. 15:22) then becomes the "ALL IN CHRIST" (Eph. 1:10). Every creature in heaven and earth will be ONE IN Christ! I hope you can believe that.

Ver. 23-24: "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end..."

The King James starts a new sentence and a new verse with the words, "Then cometh the end..." It should, however, be a continuation of the previous sentence. There are three items in view here, not just two. The Concordant Version has a better rendering of this:

"Yet each in his own class: the Firstfruit, Christ; thereupon those who are Christ's in His presence; thereafter the consummation..."

One, two, three. So there are three orders or classes that synchronize with the three festivals of harvest, and not just two classes that synchronize with Prophet Benny's first "month" of the year only theory. Notice them:

"The Firstfruit, Christ" (The Passover, The Wave Sheaf).
 
"Thereupon those who are Christ's" (Pentecost, the Firstfruits)
 
"Thereafter the consummation [the end]" (the final Fall Harvest of Ingathering in the end of the year).
These three match perfectly with the three types of harvest in the Old Testament. So yes indeed, there will be a fall harvest at the end, at the CONSUMMATION. Now the rest of verse 24:

"...thereafter the consummation when He [Christ] shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power."

Notice that Christ does not rule "for ever and ever" as is popularly taught, but rather delivers up the kingdom to GOD His Father. But He does this after He puts down ALL RULE AND ALL AUTHORITY, AND ALL POWER. Who/Where? EVERYONE/EVERYWHERE! "That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together [just like the fall "ingathering of the harvest"] in one ALL ['things' is not in the Greek] in Christ, both which are IN HEAVEN, and which are ON EARTH, IN HIM" (Eph. 1:10). And so here is our Scripture which clearly states that "ALL" in both heaven and earth will become "ONE IN Christ." Now they are no longer just given life in Christ, but now they are SAVED, they are "one in Christ!"

Notice that there is coming a "GATHERING TOGETHER OF ALL IN ONE [Christ]." And that this gathering together of all in one consists of ALL IN THE HEAVENS AND ALL IN THE EARTH! Who then is left out? NO ONE! These ALL in heaven and earth are not gathered "under" Christ, but "IN Christ!"

Let's read it again. A verse this important and all encompassing cannot be over emphasized:

"That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together IN ONE [just as in harvest time] ALL I-N Christ, BOTH WHICH ARE IN HEAVEN, AND WHICH ARE ON EARTH; IN HIM."

Now then, when "ALL" in both heaven and earth are gathered into one "IN Christ," absolutely no one is left out. This is also in perfect harmony with other Scriptures regarding the salvation of everyone in both the heavens and the earth, and even those dead and six feet UNDER the earth? Next book, Phil. 3:9-11:

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE should bow, of [those] in heaven, and those in earth, and those under [all who have died] the earth: And that EVERY TONGUE should confess that Jesus Christ IS LORD to the glory of God the Father."

Sometimes when something is important God gives us a SECOND WITNESS:

"I HAVE SWORN BY myself, the word is gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto Me EVERY KNEE shall bow, EVERY TONGUE shall swear" (Isaiah 45:23).

And when something is really important God even gives us a THIRD WITNESS:

"For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, EVERY KNEE shall bow to me, and EVERY TONGUE shall confess to God" (Rom. 14:11).

It is futile to say that I Cor. 15: 22 means only the all who are "in" Christ will be saved, even though the order of words is clear in all translations. It is not "all IN Christ" that is spoken of in this verse, but rather "in Christ ALL" that is spoken of. But later, after resurrection, after judgment, "in the dispensation of the fullness of times," we learn that, indeed, it is "ALL in Christ" and now the "ALL" is EVERYONE IN HEAVENS AND ON THE EARTH—ALL OF GOD'S CREATURES!

By the way, for all those ultra-stubborn ones who say that, yes, all will bow their knees, and if they don't God will break their knees and force them to confess that "Jesus is LORD," let me present this Scripture:

"...no man CAN SAY that Jesus is the Lord BUT BY THE HOLY SPIRIT" (I Cor. 12:3b).

Oh that Christians would learn to stop fighting and contradicting the Scriptures.

So then, "in Christ ALL" shall be made alive with immortal and incorruptible life; ALL both in the heavens and in the earth shall be judged (set right), and then all in the heavens and all in the earth will bow and confess that Christ is LORD of their lives; and ALL in both heaven and earth will be gathered together in ONE "IN Christ." This is the great fall harvest. This is the meaning of Tabernacles. This is the grand and glorious note on which the ENDS OF EONS climax!
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Mat 27:52  And the resting-places of the dead came open; and the bodies of a number of sleeping saints came to life;
Mat 27:53  And coming out of their resting-places, after he had come again from the dead, they went into the holy town and were seen by a number of people.

These people were saints of that day, brought back to mortal life and their families. 
They were raised at Jesus' death as a miracle, as this was such an great event.
But they did die again, to wait for their resurrection to life.

Hope this helps.

mercy, peace, and love
Kat

[chuckusa]

Hey Mary Ann,

Thanks for giving me a new topic to look in to. Interesting subject.

I'm glad to see you posting! Wanted to say HI too.

Love,
Chuck

[buddyjc]

Hello Mary Ann,

This passage concerning Topic A can be confusing because it does not say what happened to these people after they were raised.  The first thing we need to see is that it is the sum of God's Word that is truth. 

Psa 119:160 The sum of Your word is truth, And all of Your righteous ordinances are eonian."  (Concordant Literal Version)

You have to look elsewhere in order to find your answer.  The Word of God teaches only two resurrections of the dead.

Joh 5:28  Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,

Joh 5:29  And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.

Clearly there are two resurrections here.

Rev 20:5  But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
[/b]
These 'saints' in the Matthew passage clearly died again, and were merely awakened from death and not changed because 1 Timothy 6:10 tells us that God alone has immortality.  The dead saints will not be given immortality until the FIRST resurrection of the dead.

1Co 15:51  Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,

1Co 15:52  In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

1Co 15:53  For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

1Co 15:54  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

1Co 15:55  O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Nobody but Christ has been raised incorruptible as of yet.  He is the 'firstfruits' of them that sleep [dead]. 

1Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

One can only conclude that these saints that were awakened at Christ's crucifixion/resurrection were raised and then died again at some point. 

I hope this helps.

Brian

[Andy_MI]

Good post Brian!

As I was meditating on this and reading the passage in Mat 27 in my companion bible my attention was drawn to the margin where it refers to these verses in Romans.

Rom 1:3-4 CLV
(3)  concerning His Son (Who comes of the seed of David according to the flesh,
(4)  Who is designated Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead),

And also translates well with Rotherham

Rom 1:3-4 Rotherham
(3)  Concerning his Son,—who came to be of the seed of David, according to flesh,
(4)  Who was distinguished as the Son of God—by power, according to a Holy Spirit, through means of a resurrection of the dead,—Jesus Christ our Lord;


And a third translation as well

Rom 1:3-4 Complete Apostles' Bible
(3)  concerning His Son, who came of the seed of David according to the flesh,
(4)  who was declared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection of the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

I didn't see it at first. It became crystal clear to me after meditation on these verses and comparing with these translations.

Notice that it says "resurrection of the dead."  I'm seeing this as "of the dead saints" in the event described in Mat 27:52 rather than talking about Jesus being raised "from" the dead.

I'm seeing the meaning is greatly dependant upon the use of the word "of" rather than "from". In other words if the verse read:
"who was delcared Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ."
than the meaning is totally different than the correct translation of how these verses read. 

Am I making any sense? I'm seeing some light here but having a hard time articulating it.

I see the event of the dead saints raised from the dead after Christ was resurrected as a declaration of Him being the Son of God.

Peace,

Andy