The topic of the resurrection
has been one keenly debated one in recent times in the rise of the preterist
view with regards to the fulfillment of bible prophecy on endtimes.
It is not uncommon to see
scripture jabs thrown up and down without due reference to context and relevant
time statements.
One of such scripture that is
quickly thrown up as an objection to the fulfillment of the resurrection is 2 Timothy 2:17-18 saying,
“Their teaching will spread like gangrene.
Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the
truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they
destroy the faith of some.”
I
will like to draw your attention to the fact that Paul said that those in HIS
time who had preached that the resurrection had passed destroyed the faith of
some.
The
actual Greek word there is Anatrepo which to:
1.
Upturn
2.
(figuratively) to overturn
How
did that preaching overturn some people’s faith?
You
have to first realize that faith is the substance of things hoped for. Any
attempt to upturn anyone’s faith would also be attempt to subvert hope.
Paul
taught that the resurrection was the hope of Israel. It was the long earlgely
awaited and most anticipated event as per the redemptive work of the Messiah
that was to occur at the end of the age.
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 (NKJV))
"I have hope in God,
which they themselves also accept, that there will be (mello -about
to be) a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and the unjust. Acts
24:15 (NKJV)
"For this reason therefore
I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the
hope of Israel I am bound with this chain." Acts 28:20 (NKJV)
"But as for you, go your
way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted
portion at the end of the age." Daniel 12:13 (NASB)
Jesus said to her, "Your
brother will rise again." 24 Martha said to Him, "I know that he will
rise again in the resurrection at the last day." John 11:23-24
(NKJV)
The
resurrection of Jesus after the cross is never really a subject of argument in
Christian circles except when it is viewed by non believers of the Christian
faith. His resurrection speaks in so many ways as it relates our justification
and our place in the last Adam, who death can’t touch.
2 Timothy was written sometime in the autumn
58ad and Paul was writing about a group of people who were saying the
resurrection of the dead had already taken place after the resurrection of
Christ.
Why? The consummation of
salvation was in the long awaited resurrection.
The first question would be this;
How would anyone be deceived if
the resurrection of the dead that the disciples preached was to be a global
event in which graves would open and spirits came into their reassembled
bodies?
How would it be possible to miss
that?
Another point would be that to
state that the resurrection had passed AT THAT time would also be negating the
words of Jesus as it related to the events that should occur at the end of that
age that would see the end of that Mosaic age in the destruction of the Jewish
temple.
A standing temple would indicate
that the redemption of the immortal body was uncertain. A new temple being a
new residence was to indicate man’s restoration to God that even death cannot
sever.
When Paul talk about the
resurrection of the dead in Phillipians he used the word “exanastasi” which
means "the out resurrection out from the corpses.”
The
resurrection of the righteous will take them out of the total number of those
dead.
It is
very striking to note that the Bible never used the terms "resurrected
body," "resurrection of the body," or "physical
resurrection.” Instead "the out resurrection out from the corpses.”
The resurrection
was to undo the work of Adam when He died on that day. That death was spiritual
and it resulted in man being held in Hades/Sheol.
Jesus
confirmed this;
"No one has ascended to
heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man who is in
heaven. John 3:13 (NKJV)
Sheol/Hades
was a waiting area for disembodied spirits. They needed to bear the body of the
immortal to be relocated to realm of God’s eternal presence. The cross was the
place for the payment of that immortal body. It was to be offered at the end of
the age.
"I will ransom them
from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death. O Death, I will be
your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.
Hosea 13:14 (NKJV)
But God will redeem my soul from
the power of the grave, For He shall receive me. Selah Psalms 49:15
(NKJV)
Another aspect that has to do
with error of Hymenaeus and Philetus is
the TIMING of the resurrection.
According to the Bible, when was
the resurrection to take place? The Scriptures testify that the time of the
resurrection was to be at the end of the Old Covenant age. A careful and
thorough study proves this to have happened in AD 70 with the destruction of
the Jewish Temple. The
disciples knew that the fall of the temple and the destruction of the city
meant the end of the Old Covenant age and the inauguration of a new age.
"At that time Michael shall stand
up, The great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; And there
shall be a
time of trouble, Such as never was since
there was a nation, Even to that time. And at that time your people shall be
delivered, Every one who is found written in the book. 2 And many of those who
sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, Some to everlasting life, Some to
shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:1-2 (NKJV)
Daniel says that this
resurrection will come after a time of great trouble for the Jewish nation.
That sounds just like:
"For then there will be great
tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this
time, no, nor ever shall be. Matthew 24:21 (NKJV)
Here, Jesus is speaking of the
destruction of Jerusalem.
Notice also verse 3:
Those who are wise shall shine Like the
brightness of the firmament, And those who turn many to
righteousness Like the stars forever and ever. Daniel 12:3 (NKJV)
When
Paul wrote about the resurrection in I Corinthians 15, he said
"in
a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet: for the trumpet will
sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible..." v.52.
Keep
in mind that the Apostle spoke based on his Jewish background understanding of
the fulfillment of Old testament prophecies as it related to Israel. There is a
consistency in which he explained things and events even as it related to the
sound of the trump.
Paul
clearly states that the resurrection at the sounding of the last trumpet would
be the fulfillment of the prediction found in Isaiah 25:8;
8 he will swallow up death permanently.
The sovereign LORD will wipe away
the tears from every face,
and remove his people’s disgrace
from all the earth.
Indeed, the LORD has announced it!
The
same context of the sounding of the great trumpet of God for the gathering of
the elect from their "graves" separated from God. This time Paul explains
that the resurrection of which he speaks of was in connection the strength of
sin, which is "the law". The law was a veil that could not bring
people close to God and it stood as a handwriting written against and hence
they could not experience the life of God. So at the passing away of the law
and its institution there would be a resurrection.
Paul
explains further in verse 51 when he says, "WE shall not all sleep, but WE
shall ALL be changed."
This
resurrection would be an experience for all both dead and living. It simply
meant that every cause of separation was taken away and there was absolutely no
reason for the dead to be apart from the Lord.
In
chapter 8 of the book of Revelation John saw seven angels having seven
trumpets. In chapter 10 John was told, "in the days of the voice of the
seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be
finished as he hath declared to his servants the prophets." The seventh
trumpet, the LAST TRUMPET, was the time for the final fulfilling of the Old
Covenant prophetic word!
In
chapter 11:15-18 we see,
"And
the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that
they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants
the prophets, and to the saints..." v.18. The
sounding of the last trumpet was the time for the resurrection of the dead, for
judgment.
When
was all this to happen? Over and over again John writes that his vision
"must shortly come to pass" 1:1-3; and that "the time is at
hand. This was fulfilled in that generation and now based on those fulfilled prophesied,
the consummation of the new covenant has brought the believer to be place where
he cannot be afraid of separation from the Father. Now in this new heaven and
earth, the Father has descended to make His dwelling in us and as such
resurrection has occurred and is no longer a promise in the future.
"No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the
last day. John 6:44 (NKJV)
"Whoever eats My flesh and
drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day. John 6:54 (NKJV)
So when you consider all these
above you will discover that preaching a future resurrection would be to declare
inconclusive the redemptive work of the savior and place us back to that ended
Jewish age.
That would also be another Hymenaeus and Philetus error in
circulation which would also make nonsense of people’s faith in Christ
redemptive work. Christ in you is THE LIFE for there is no need for a future
resurrection. At death we all experience the putting on our immortal body.
There’s no need to be placed in a restricted location as a disembodied spirit. Redemption
is now completed! Halleluyah!