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Interesting Holy Bible Facts

The Resurrection of the Flesh (A Basic Belief From Before Christ)

The Resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ lies at the center of Christian doctrine. But before we can fully understand the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, we must first understand the doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh. Why? Because St. Paul says it in this order, "But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen" (1 Corinthians 15:13) AND "For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen" (1 Corinthians 15:16). (By the way, this is one of the most important chapters, not just about the resurrection, but may be in the entire Holy Bible because of how it speaks about the resurrection of Christ and of the dead in the last day.) This doctrine is so basic and necessary that it is said and even chanted at the end of the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed - "We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the coming age. Amen." At the time of baptism, the person being baptized states his/her faith in an abbreviated Christian creed that includes a statement about the resurrection of the flesh. It was so basic and necessary that one of the Apostolic Fathers, St. Polycarpos, the bishop of Smyrna mentioned in the book of Revelation, has a famous saying about it: "Whoever denies the resurrection and the judgment is the firstborn of Satan".

This doctrine is not only clear from the New Testament, but also the Old Testament and is a part of Jewish doctrine. So it was not invented in Christianity, but rather understood and revealed by God from the very beginning and continued throughout the ages. That is why there are several clues in the New Testament that it was already understood and believed in among Jews:

• Martha, in the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead in John 11:23-24: "Jesus said to her, 'Your brother will rise again.' Martha said to Him, 'I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.'"
  
  
• It is mentioned more than once that the Pharisees believed in spirits and the resurrection of the dead, but the Sadducees amongst whom were the chief priests, did not. It is written in the book of Acts about when St. Paul was in front of the Jewish council composed of both Pharisees and Sadducees, "But when Paul perceived that one part were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, he cried out in the council, 'Men and brethren, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee; concerning the hope and resurrection of the dead I am being judged" (Acts 23:6) which created a division. Later, when St. Paul came before Felix the governor, he said: "But this I confess to you, that according to the Way which they call a sect, so I worship the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the Law and in the Prophets. I have hope in God, which they themselves also accept, that there will be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust" (Acts 24:14-15).
  
  
• That is why in Matthew 22, when Christ was replying to the Sadducees' story of the woman with seven brothers as successive husbands, He said, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels of God in heaven. But concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living" (Matthew 22:29-32; compare Mark 12:24-27 and Luke 20:35-38).

There are some clear prophecies in the Old Testament and indications that there is a resurrection of the flesh. For example:

• + Job 19:25-27 - "For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!" It is known that Job lived at the time of the patriarchs.
  
  
• Isaiah 25:8 - "He will swallow up death forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken."
  
  
• Isaiah 26:19-21 - "Your dead shall live; together with my dead body they shall arise. Awake and sing, you who dwell in dust; for your dew is like the dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter your chambers, and shut your doors behind you; hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; the earth will also disclose her blood, and will no more cover her slain."
  
  
• Daniel 12:2,13 - "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt... But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days."
  
  
• Also, the vision of Ezekiel in chapter 37 speaks about the resurrection of the flesh.
  
  
• Also see multiple verses in 2 Maccabees that speak about the faith in the resurrection of the flesh and those who were willing to suffer and die as martyrs in the hope of that resurrection on the last day (2 Maccabees 7:9,11,14,23; 12:38-46; 14:46).

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