(Originally written as a term paper for Tyndale Theological Seminary) By Joseph M. Willmouth Trinity Bible Church, Biloxi Mississippi INTRODUCTION Definition: When it comes to the subject of the resurrection there seems to be a variety of definitions. For example the New Standard Encyclopedia says the resurrection is, "the return of life to a dead body."3 While this definition is not really close to the biblical definition of the resurrection, it does reveal what the world views are on this subject. A belief or hope or wish for life beyond the physical death has been held with most peoples from both ancient and modern cultures.6 However just because people believe in something does not necessarily mean that their belief is correct as the following story illustrates. "In a cemetery in Hanover, Germany, is a grave on which were placed huge slabs of granite and marble cemented together and fastened with heavy steel clasps. It belongs to a woman who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. Yet strangely, she directed in her will that her grave be made so secure that if there were a resurrection, it could not reach her. On the marker were inscribed these words: "This burial place must never be opened." In time, a seed, covered over by the stones, began to grow. Slowly it pushed its way through the soil and out from beneath them. As the trunk enlarged, the great slabs were gradually shifted so that the steel clasps were wrenched from their sockets. A tiny seed had become a tree that had pushed aside the stones.     The dynamic life force contained in that little seed is a faint reflection of the tremendous power of God's creative word that someday will call to life the bodies of all who are in their graves. He will also bring back every person drowned at sea, cremated, or destroyed in some other way. This is no problem to the One who made something out of nothing when He spoke the universe into existence. Unbelief cannot deter the resurrection. But faith in the risen Christ opens the door to blessings that His resurrection guarantees -- a glorious new spiritual body and a home in heaven. In new bodies we will be reunited with saved loved ones to live with Jesus throughout all eternity."12 The truth that this story is, that it summarizes what the resurrection is and will be. Holman Bible Dictionary defines the resurrection as "the doctrine, event, and act of persons being brought from death to unending life at the close of the age."1The roots of the doctrine of the resurrection are found in the Old Testament, it is fulfilled in the New Testament by Jesus Christ, and will ultimately be fulfilled at some point in the future.   THE RESURRECTION & THE OLD TESTAMENT Jewish Tradition: According to the book "The Messiah Texts," the idea of the resurrection goes back to Ezekiel's grand vision of the dry bones, which the prophecy of resurrection is contemporary with the destruction of the first temple of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. They say that the resurrection becomes a Messianic miracle, the counterpart of the synchronic ingathering of the from the whole world, whether they lived in the past or will live at the time of the Messiah's coming. They tell us that the question of who will and who will not be resurrected in that day when the Messiah comes have occupied the minds of the rabbis for whom these issues were of much importance. There is a large collection of opinions on this subject in the Mishna as the following examples show: "And it shall come to pass after these things, when the time of the advent of the Messiah is fulfilled, that he shall return in glory. Then all who have fallen asleep in hope of him shall rise again. And it shall come to pass at that time that the treasuries will be opened in which is preserved the number of the souls of the righteous, and they shall come forth, and a multitude of souls shall be seen together in one assemblage of one thought, and the first shall rejoice and the last shall not be grieved..." (2 [Syriac] Baruch 30:1-5)8 "Each saintly person will come back to life as he was when he passed from the world. He who was blind, will come back blind in his resurrection; and he who was lame, comes back lame; and thus all the afflicted, so that each of them should recognize his fellow man, and that they should not say, 'These are different creatures.' And thereafter, the Holy One, blessed be He, will heal them..." (Milhamot Melekh haMashiah, BhM 6:119)8 "In the future to come, the Holy One, blessed be He, will bring dust of the earth and dust of the dead, and mixes them together, and puts into it skin and flesh and sinews and bones. And the angel in charge of the souls comes and infuses souls into them. And then they enter the House of Study where Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob sit before Him, the kings of Israel and Judah behind Him, and David at the head..." (Pes. Hadta, BhM 6:47)8 As you can see that the belief in the resurrection is steeped in Jewish tradition. It was also very interesting to see the different views on how and when the resurrection will take place. Old Testament References: According to many the idea of the resurrection did not come into the Old Testament until late in its development.5 There also seems to be a disagreement on what Old Testament passages speak of the resurrection. Morris Ashcraft claims that there is only one clear reference in the Old Testament to the resurrection, and that is found in Daniel 12:2, "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt" (KJV).6 Dwight Pentecost says that Isaiah spoke of the resurrection in his reference to "the indignation,"10 "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 dew of herbs, and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain." Isaiah 26:19-21 (KJV) Holman's Bible Dictionary says the preexilic portions of the Old Testament contain no statements which point certainly to a hope of resurrection from the dead even though some of Israel's neighbors had such a belief. In isolated instances in the Old Testament a person was revived, being brought back to life from death, but it was only as a temporary escape from final death such as found in the following passages:1 "And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived." 1 Kings 17:17-22 (KJV) "And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers. And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother. And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died. And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out. And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee. So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite: Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well. And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me. Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child. And the mother of the child said, As the LORD liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose, and followed her. And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked. And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm. Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes. And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son. Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out." 2 Kings 4:18-37 (KJV) The scarcity of these statements and the lack of reflection on their meanings, however, point to the absence of any consistent doctrinal conception of resurrection from the dead. Similarly, in the book of Psalms there are no clear thoughts on the resurrection. Many of the Psalms, however, express a hope that our fellowship with God, begun on earth, will have no end as show in the following passages:1 "Thou wilt show me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore...But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave: for he shall receive me. Selah....Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterward receive me to glory." Psalms 16:11; 49:15; 73:24 (KJV) The Song of Moses (Deut. 32) and the Song of Hannah (1 Sam. 2) also assert that Yahweh takes lives and makes alive. These various expressions of hope in God do not suggest a doctrine of resurrection from the dead, but they do confess a conviction that the living God is able to intervene in life's darkest hours. As the Jewish people groped for a firm hope in justice and help beyond the grave, their views may reflect the beginnings of a doctrine of resurrection. The Old Testament statements about resurrection are scant and do not reveal clear theological reflection. The emphasis upon Yahweh as the God of present life tended to make Judaism a "this-world" religion, while their future was generally interpreted as a national future under the sovereign rule of Yahweh. The belief, however, in God as sovereign Lord over all, even death, probably grew into a belief of the resurrection as witnessed in the Books of Isaiah and Daniel and possibly in the Psalms.1 While many other scholars say that references to the resurrection in the book of Job, Lewis Sperry Chafer includes them in his references to the resurrection of the body:4 "O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave, that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath be past, that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! If a man die, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee: thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands." Job 14:13-15 (KJV) "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 shall I see God:" Job 19:25-26 (KJV) Old Testament Prophecies: The prophets proclaimed hope for the future in terms of national renewal , which pointed to the prophetic expression of Israel's hope that the New Testament writers sometimes used the language of the prophets to expound the doctrine of resurrection:1 "The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones, And caused me to pass by them round about: and, behold, there were very many in the open valley; and, lo, they were very dry. And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest. Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, 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. So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but there was no breath in them. Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army. Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; 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. And ye shall know that I am the LORD, when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. The word of the LORD came again unto me, saying, Moreover, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions: then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his companions: And join them one to another into one stick; and they shall become one in thine hand. And when the children of thy people shall speak unto thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest by these? Say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on every side, and bring them into their own land: And I will make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into two kingdoms any more at all: Neither shall they defile themselves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save them out of all their dwelling places, wherein they have sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people, and I will be their God. And David my servant shall be king over them; and they all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judgments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my servant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell therein, even they, and their children, and their children's children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for ever more. My tabernacle also shall be with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And the heathen shall know that I the LORD do sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them for ever more." Ezek 37:1-28 (KJV) "Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for he hath torn, and he will heal us; he hath smitten, and he will bind us up. After two days will he revive us: in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live in his sight. Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the LORD: his going forth is prepared as the morning; and he shall come unto us as the rain, as the latter and former rain unto the earth." Hosea 6:1-3 (KJV) These prophetic statements can be argued that they do not necessarily attest to the hope of individual resurrection from the dead but that they profess the sovereignty of God over all His subjects, even death. The Old Testament emphasis is on the sovereignty of God in all matters which can easily led to prophetic statements.1 Lewis Sperry Chafer states that there are three direct predictions in the Old Testament of Christ's resurrection:4 "Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption." Psalm 16:9-10 (KJV) "I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the LORD that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the LORD: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee. For the kingdom is the LORD'S: and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul. A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this." Psalm 22:22-31 (KJV) "The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the LORD'S doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:22-24 (KJV) In Psalm 16, Chafer states that it is clear that David is anticipating his own resurrection (although this passage was used by Paul as a reference to Christ's resurrection). In Psalm 22, he quotes from Erling C. Olsen who states this psalm speaks of the resurrection because these where the first words of Christ after His resurrection (John 17). And Psalm 118 is a reference to Christ as the chief corner stone (Acts 4:10-11). Chafer himself points out that these passages are assigned on specific meaning to the resurrection of Christ as an act related to Israel. He states that the resurrection of Christ in its doctrinal significance belongs to the Church alone.4 Norman Geisler argues that there are two lines in the Old Testament for the resurrection. The first is passages such as Psalm 2 and 6, that are cited by the New Testament as applying to the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2:27; Heb.1:5). The Second line is the resurrection of Christ as taught by logical deduction from two Old Testament teachings (Isa.53 & Psa.22) that state the Messiah will come and die and the Messiah will have an enduring political reign from Jerusalem (Isa.9:6; Dan.2:44; Zech.13:1). Geisler says that the only way one and the same Messiah can accomplish the actual fulfillment of the prophecies is through the resurrection. Since Jesus died before he could ever begin to rule, the only way that the prophecies came become real is by a resurrection2   THE RESURRECTION & THE NEW TESTAMENT Jesus' Teaching on the Resurrection: It is clear that Jesus' preaching was presupposed to a doctrine of resurrection. On several occasions opposition by the Sadducees, who denied the resurrection, allowed Jesus the opportunity to assert His own thought on the matter:1 "The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him, Saying, Master, Moses said, If a man die, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his brother. Now there were with us seven brethren: and the first, when he had married a wife, deceased, and, having no issue, left his wife unto his brother: Likewise the second also, and the third, unto the seventh. And last of all the woman died also. Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. And when the multitude heard this, they were astonished at his doctrine." Matthew 22:23-33 (KJV) (also see Mark 12:18-27) Not only did Christ make it clear with the Sadducees that He believed in the resurrection, but He also made predictions about His resurrection to his own disciples on numerous occasions: "And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again." Matthew 20:17-19 (KJV) "And they departed thence, and passed through Galilee; and he would not that any man should know it. For he taught his disciples, and said unto them, The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they shall kill him; and after that he is killed, he shall rise the third day. But they understood not that saying, and were afraid to ask him." Mark 9:30-32 (KJV) "Saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day....Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men. But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying." Luke 9:22, 44-45 (KJV) "Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body.When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said." John 2:19-22 (KJV) (also see: Matthew 16:21; 17:23; 26:12, 28, 31; Mark 14:8, 24, 27; Luke 18:31-34; 22:20; John 10:17-18; 12:7) Although His disciples did not understand what Christ was talking about (since in the Jewish mind the resurrection would come WITH THE Messiah, to the people, at the end of the age and not TO THE Messiah), they did remember and understand after Christ's resurrection (John 2:22; Luke 18:34). It was and still is very clear that the Son of God did believe in the resurrection, and proved it with His own death, burial, and resurrection. New Testament References: Morris Ashcraft states that the cross and the resurrection receive more attention in the New Testament than any other specific subject.6 The apostle John in his gospel presents Jesus as the mediator of resurrection who gives to believers the life given Him by His Father, and that He is the resurrection and the life: "Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever." John 6:53-58 (KJV) "Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?" John 11:24-26 (KJV) The greatest, and possibly the earliest, biblical exponent of resurrection was Paul, because to him the resurrection came to occupy a place in the very center of the Christian truth.5 For him, resurrection was the final event which would usher Christians out of the bodily struggle of the present age into the bodily glory which will accompany Jesus' second coming, and through which God's new creation will reach completion:1 "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself." Philippians 3:20-21 (KJV) "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 (KJV) Paul also taught that the bedrock of hope for the Christian resurrection is the resurrection of Christ, which is the foundation of gospel preaching:1 "Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept." 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 (KJV) Paul believed and taught that those who follow Christ are organically related to Christ in His resurrection from the dead, because Christ was the first fruits of an upcoming harvest:1 "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept. 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. But every man in his own order: Christ the first fruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming." 1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (KJV) Paul also taught that destruction awaits those who do not follow Christ in Philippians 3:19, "Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things." (KJV). Paul's teachings on the nature of the resurrected body widens the Old Testament idea of a restored Israel to include the redemption of persons complete with bodies. Paul also viewed the human person as a psychosomatic unity (although he recognizes no truth in the Greek idea of a separation of body and soul) that lives beyond time not because of any inherent immortality, but because God gives them life:1 "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:) We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Corinthians 5:1-10 (KJV) The New Testament is permeated by the resurrection of Jesus Christ11, and it unquestionably affirms a doctrine of resurrection of all persons from the dead. Mankind has a corporate destiny to encounter a just and divine response to faithfulness and unfaithfulness according to Paul in Acts 24:15, "And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that there shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust." (KJV). A resurrected body and life in the consummated kingdom of God will characterize the resurrection of those who follow Christ.1 Proofs of Christ's Resurrection: The gospel writers and other New Testament writers stress the crucifixion, the death, the burial, the guard at the tomb, the empty tomb, and the appearances of the risen Lord Jesus. These writers have given adequate details to certify that Jesus arose from the dead. Morris Ashcraft says that the case for Jesus' resurrection rests on four things: 1) the certainty of Christ's death, 2) the empty tomb, 3) the appearances after the burial, and 4) the changed lives of Christ's followers. He further states that of things, that the appearances are the strongest case for belief in Jesus' resurrection.6 The earliest written report of the resurrection is found in Paul's first letter to the Corinthians. It is here in chapter 15 that Paul gives us an impressive list of all those who saw the resurrected Christ: Peter, the twelve disciples, five hundred brethren at one time (most who were still alive), James, all the apostles, and Paul himself.7 Many have tied to argue that the resurrection did not take place as the gospel accounts are recorded, or they have even tried to explain it away with theories that would require more faith to believe them than the resurrection itself. Some of these include Jesus faking His death to everyone who thought that they saw Him were hallucinating. But when you examine all these "theories," it becomes evident that they can never explain away what really took place and the testimonies of those who where there. Their changed lives and willingness to die for what they knew to be true, cannot be denied. The historical evidence is massive enough when compared to other historical events, to convince the open-minded inquirer of the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ:9 "And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And he took it, and did eat before them." Luke 24:38-43 (KJV) Reasons for the Resurrection: I'll close this section with seven reasons given by Lewis Sperry Chafer for the resurrection of Christ: 1) Jesus arose from the grave because of who He is (The Son of God, Messiah, Creator, etc); 2) Jesus arose from the dead so that He would fulfill the Davidic covenant (2 Sam.7:18-29; Psa.16:10; 89:20-37; Isa.9:6-7; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 2:25-31; 15:16-18); 3) Jesus arose from the grave that He could become the source of resurrection life (John 2:22; 10:10-11; Col.1:27; 3:1-4; Eph.2:6; Col.1:27); 4) Jesus arose from the grave so that He could become the source of resurrection power (Matt.28:18; Eph.1:19-21; Rom.6:4); 5) Jesus arose from the grave to be Head over all things to the Church (Eph.1:20-23; 2:6; 2 Cor.5:17); 6) Christ arose from the grave on account of justification (Rom.3:24; 4:25; 5:9); and 7) Jesus arose from the grave to be the First-Fruits (Jer.2:3; Rom.8:23; 16:5; 1 Cor.15:20-23;16:15; Col.2:9-10; Phil.3:21; James 1:18; Rev.14:4).4 TYPES OF RESURRECTIONS According to J. Dwight Pentecost, the Scriptures teach of two different kinds or types of resurrection that are anticipated in God's resurrection program:10 The Resurrection to Life: There are several passages of Scriptures that teach that there is a part of God's resurrection program called the resurrection unto life found in John 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." (KJV). This is the resurrection in which individual believers of all ages will be raised to eternal life. The destiny, not the time, determines to which part of the resurrection program that an individual will be assigned. Dr. Pentecost sets this order of events to: 1) the resurrection of Christ as the beginning (1 Cor.15:23); 2) the resurrection of the Church age saints at the time of the rapture (1 Thess.4:16); 3) the resurrection of the tribulation period saints (Rev.20:3-5); 4) and at the same time those Old Testament Saints (Dan. 12:2; Isa.26:19) during the second coming of Christ to the earth.10 The Resurrection to Death: The second type of resurrection that the Scriptures anticipate, deals with the unsaved. This is called the second resurrection, or the resurrection to damnation:10 "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." John 5:29 (KJV) "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." Revelation 20:5, 11-13 (KJV) The resurrection of the damnation includes all those who are raised to eternal condemnation because of their rejection of Christ and God. The timing of this resurrection will be at the great white throne judgment at the end of the millennial age (Rev.20). This resurrection is not for eternal destruction but to eternal punishment.10   CONCLUSION Although this paper made no attempts to claim that I covered all areas when it comes to the doctrine of the resurrection, I have given a good overview of what the Scriptures teach on this subject. I also found that very few books contained anything about the doctrine of the resurrection except for Lewis Sperry Chafer's, "Systematic Theology," which gave great detail in this area. Everyone else just touched on the different aspects of this doctrine.4 This is surprising considering the importance of the resurrection to the Christian faith. Morris Ashcraft said, "This resurrection hope is a vital part of our lives today in that it gives daily life purpose, meaning, and direction...the hope of the resurrection is a 'power' in daily life and a goal or expectation which inspires the best from life."6 As it has been said by many others, Christianity stands or falls upon the truth of the resurrection. It is a sad truth that most Christians today are doing good to know what the resurrection is, let along any details about it (most don't even care to know). As a pastor of a Church, I think that we must return to the fundamental truths, like the doctrine of the resurrection, if we can ever hope to bring about any Christian maturity and life in our congregations today.   REFERENCES 1. Holman Bible Dictionary for Windows, Version 1.0g, 1994 Parsons Technology, Hiawatha, Iowa 2. Christian Apologetics, by Norman Geisler, Baker Book House, Grand Rapids MI, 1976, pp.346-351 3. New Standard Encyclopedia, Vol. 2, Standard Education Society, Chicago IL, 1967, p.185 4. Systematic Theology, Vol. 5 - Christology, by Lewis Sperry Chafer, Dallas Seminary Press, Dallas TX, 1974, pp.231-260 5. A New Standard Bible Dictionary, Funk & Wagnell's Company NY, 1926, pp.769-770 6. Christian Faith and Beliefs, by Morris Ashcraft, Broadman Press, Nashville TN, 1984, pp.333-338 7. Reasonable Faith, basic Christian Apologetics, by Winfried Coruan, Broadman & Holman Publishers, Nashville TN, 1993, pp.220-227 8. The Messiah Texts, Jewish Legands of Three Thousand Years, by Raphael Patai, Wayne State University Press, Detroit MI, 1979, pp.197-210 9. Handbook of Christian Apologetics, by Peter Kreeft & Ronald K. Tacell, Inter Varsity Press, Downers Grove IL, 1994, pp.176-197 10. Things To Come, by J. Dwight Pentecost, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids MI, 1981, pp. 395-411, 532-533 11. Intellectuals Don't Need God, & Other Modern Myths, by Alister E. McGrath, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids MI, 1992, pp.119-123 12. The Bible Illustrator for Windows, version 1.0c, 1990-1994 Parsons Technology, Hiawatha, Iowa