SPELLING EDITED G-22. WAS JESUS RESURRECTED as a SPIRIT? Many of my readers write to me asking questions. Most of the time the questions are very sincere and they are truly seeking the truth. At other times the questions seem sincere and I answer them as being sincere questions wanting to know the truth, but then they write back calling me a false teacher. Kind of like bait and switch, they throw out a little “bait” so to speak so I will be sure to write back and then they switch over to their true motive which is to try and prove what I teach as being false teaching. Here is the first letter I received from a dear brother in our Lord Jesus Christ asking me what SEEMS to be a very sincere question seeking the truth and wanting to know more of my thoughts as to whether or not the verses he quoted truly teach us that Jesus was raised as a “spirit”. You read what he wrote and see if you see it as a sincere question wanting to know the truth. The emphasis is mine. Hello Mark, You mentioned on your website that Jesus was resurrected with his body or something of that nature. Doesn't the scriptures state he was resurrected as a spirit. 1 Pet 3:18 and 1 Cor 15:44-45. Also, it would seem that he was able to materialize a body as did many of God's angels did in times past. This would also make sense with his very last appearance before returning to Heaven. At acts 1:6- 9 they saw and spoke to him before he was taken up. Then in verse 10, they were talking to two angels who again materialized into flesh as they conversed. According to Paul at 1 Cor 15:50 flesh and blood can't reside in the presence of God or in other words Heaven. Your thoughts, please. Thank you, So I wrote back explaining how to correctly interpret Scripture and verses in the Bible keeping them in context. I gave him some points to consider which I will do shortly in this study of God's word and toward the end, I showed him that the INTERPRETATION of Jesus being raised as a “SPIRIT” contradicts other parts of God's word. Here is a brief portion of what I wrote back to him. “I pray that this explanation has given you a clear understanding that Jesus was raised BODILY and NOT as a spirit that cannot be seen unless that spirit manifests himself to be seen. The interpretation of Jesus being raised as a spirit not only contradicts Luke 24:39 but also leaves the QUESTION of where did the BODY of Jesus go?” His answer back to me was that God took the BODY of Jesus like he took the body of Moses as his reason of why there was NO dead BODY in the tomb. I thought to myself WHY does he keep trying to explain AWAY the obvious, that Jesus was raised with his OWN BODY and NOT as a “spirit”. I mean what is the point of trying to prove that Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT” and did NOT have a BODILY resurrect? What purpose does it serve to dogmatically demand that Jesus was raised as a “spirit” and therefore did NOT have a BODILY resurrection? Anyway, his explanation was that the ONLY possible way to explain WHY no one RECOGNIZED Jesus after his resurrection was that Jesus was a SPIRIT who could MATERIALIZE in a form to appear as a man like the angels in the Old Testament and like he did to Paul on the road to Damascus. Now in many of my other studies, I teach my readers to watch out when they read words like “This is the ONLY way to interpret this verse”, or “There is NO OTHER way to interpret this verse”. This is a tactic or strategy used by the enemy so Christian’s will not search the Bible themselves to see if what they are being taught is the truth of the WHOLE word of God. They wrongly reason why would the preacher lie? He said it is the ONLY way so it must be the ONLY way. But the truth of the matter is that the Bible itself gives us MANY reasonable explanations of WHY many did not recognize Jesus right after he arose from the dead. But before we cover those passages of Scripture let me DEFINE what I myself mean by the BODILY resurrection of Jesus as opposed to Jesus being raised as a “SPIRIT”. Below is a numbered list of TERMS used by various groups of Christians... #1. Jesus was given a new glorified body. #2. Jesus was given a new immortal body of flesh and bones. #3. Jesus was raised in his own physical body. #4. Jesus had a bodily resurrection. #5. Jesus was raised with a spiritual body. And a few Christians dogmatically demand: #6. Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT”. Now the first five terms are interchangeable and have the SAME overall meaning, which differs or oppose the meaning of Jesus being raised as a “SPIRIT” being. I will explain in more detail of what being raised with a spiritual BODY means and WHY it is NOT the same as being raised as a “SPIRIT” further on in this study, but first let us closely examine the many reasons of WHY the disciples and followers of Jesus did not RECOGNIZE Jesus right away after he arose from the dead. Please notice that nowhere in the scriptures either before or after his disciples Jesus was recognized, does the Bible itself describe Jesus as being DIFFERENT. Words, like my, you have changed Lord, you look different, I didn't recognize you at first, or Lord you look different now after you have risen from the dead. There is NO mention of any such CHANGE in appearance as to how Jesus looked after his resurrection. Let the Scriptures speak for themselves. Observe CLOSELY what the Bible ITSELF teaches us and you will see that the OTHER FORM that Jesus appeared in was his IMMORTAL form. John 20:1-18. “The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene EARLY, when it was YET DARK, unto the sepulcher, and sees the stone taken away from the sepulcher. (Notice that it was still yet DARK and people do not always see as good when it is dark, as they do in the light. This is one possible reason for WHY some did not recognize Jesus. So to dogmatically demand that the ONLY reason of why they did not recognize Jesus is because he was raised as a “SPIRIT” so he could MATERIALIZE in any form he chose is NOT sound Biblical teaching) 2. Then she runs, and comes to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, They have TAKEN AWAY the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him. (Here we see that Mary Magdalene was NOT EXPECTING the BODY of Jesus to be missing so clearly she did not truly believe the words of Jesus saying that he would raise up the temple of his BODY after three days. Please read John 2:18-22, “Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What SIGN show you unto us, seeing that you do these things? 19. Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? 21. But he spoke of the temple of his BODY. 22. When therefore he was raised 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.” But at first, his disciples did NOT truly believe that Jesus was RAISED from the dead. Even when Jesus appeared to them in the upper room they believed not with joy but WONDERED. They were still trying to process seeing Jesus again after they had seen him crucified only three days ago, which is yet another REASON of WHY his disciples did not recognize Jesus at FIRST. They did NOT believe that Jesus had risen at first and it took a while to sink in to answer the question in their minds, how can this be?) 3. Peter, therefore, went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulcher. (To see for themselves that the BODY of Jesus was not in the tomb.) 4. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulcher. 5. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. 6. Then comes Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulcher, and sees the linen clothes lie, 7. And the napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen cloths, but wrapped together in a place by itself. 8. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulcher, and he saw and believed. (Believed what Mary Magdalene had told them that someone had taken the BODY of Jesus and the tomb was empty. Keep reading and you will see that they had not yet, at this point, completely understood and believed fully the Scriptures and the words of Jesus.) 9. For as YET they knew NOT the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. 10. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home. 11. But Mary stood without at the sepulcher WEEPING: and as she WEPT, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, (Yet another reason of why Mary Magdalene may not have immediately recognized Jesus is that she was weeping and crying and people do not see as clearly with tears in their eyes. So again to dogmatically demand that the ONLY way to explain why the followers of Jesus did not recognize him is that he MUST without fail have been raised as a SPIRIT who then materialized in a different form is NOT sound Biblical teaching.) 12. And sees two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the BODY of Jesus had lain. (But now the body of Jesus was no longer there and she was still thinking that someone had TAKEN the BODY of Jesus and laid it somewhere else.) 13. And they say unto her, Woman, WHY WEEP you? She said unto them, BECAUSE they have TAKEN AWAY my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him. 14. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. (She was looking into the tomb and then turns around and sees a person standing, who she did not recognize as being Jesus. Now, this is NOT an uncommon thing because it happens to people all the time. It happened to me not too long ago. I had a friend come up to me and started talking with me and I thought it was a stranger. Then when I did not acknowledge him as a FRIEND, he called my name and said who he was and I paid attention and looked him in the face. He did not need to TELL me who he was. I recognized him immediately as soon as I gave my UNDIVIDED ATTENTION to him. I had other things on my mind; I was not expecting a friend to come up to me. I was in a conversation with someone else. So you see dear child of God, we can LOOK at people at times and not truly see them. Mary was NOT EXPECTING to see Jesus. Her eyes were filled with tears, it was yet dark, and her mind was FOCUSED on WHERE did they take my Lord's dead BODY.) 15. Jesus said unto her, Woman, why WEEP you? Whom SEEK you? She, supposing him to be the gardener, said unto him, Sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. (Mary is saying that she is NOT seeking anyone who is alive but rather she is seeking the DEAD BODY that is now missing from the tomb. Her mind is FOCUSED only on that dead body of Jesus and WHO took it and WHERE did they take it?) 16. Jesus said unto her, Mary. She TURNED herself, and said unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. (Here we see that when Jesus spoke her NAME that it got her ATTENTION and she TURNED to see WHO spoke her name. So this teaches us that Mary had not yet TRULY looked at Jesus directly in order to see WHO he was and only supposed or assumed that he was just a gardener. If you are not EXPECTING to see someone you KNOW and someone walks up to you when your mind is PREOCCUPIED all you truly see is a person SUPPOSING that they are a stranger when THEY do not greet you by your NAME. Now if you are looking at someone right in the face, eye to eye, then you may recognized them, but the Bible itself says that Mary turned around after being bent over, looking into the tomb and then saw a man standing who was Jesus and she SUPPOSED it was a gardener who asked her WHO she was seeking. Now if you are at a cemetery looking for a certain grave and a friend walks up who you do indeed know and says who are you seeking? You would SUPPOSE that person was someone who could help you find the gravesite you are seeking. You see the person, but you are not truly LOOKING at the person to SEE WHO they are. Now add to this that it was the DEAD person whose BODY you are looking for that you sincerely believe that someone has stolen and moved it to another place. So this friend perceives that you are NOT recognizing him and then he calls your NAME to get your FULL UNDIVIDED ATTENTION. In other words, to dogmatically demand that the ONLY WAY to explain WHY Mary Magdalene did not recognize Jesus right away is because Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT” so he could materialize in a different form, so that he would NOT be recognized and then materialized again into the form he had before he died so that Mary WOULD recognize him only seconds later is NOT a SOUND BIBLICAL teaching. Sorry, but it sounds to me like you are trying to explain away the CLEAR, PLAIN and SIMPLE word of God that teaches us in SIMPLICITY what needs absolutely NO interpretation the KNOW as FACT that Jesus was NOT raised as a “SPIRIT”. There is some other AGENDA that you NEED Jesus to be raised as a “SPIRIT” in order to try and prove another false doctrine. Let us continue.) 17. Jesus said unto her, Touch me NOT (WHY? Why did Jesus tell Mary Magdalene to NOT TOUCH him?); FOR (or BECAUSE) I am NOT YET ASCENDED to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ASCEND unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. (Now some Christians just read right over this verse and just ASSUME that Jesus is speaking of his ascension up into the clouds to sit at the right hand of the Father where Jesus is now. But a little later that same evening Jesus appears to his disciples and tells them to TOUCH him when he just got through telling Mary NOT to TOUCH him BECAUSE he had NOT YET ASCEND to his God and Father. Then we read in John 5:26.27 where Jesus is GIVEN IMMORTALITY by his God and Father even as the Father has always had life or immortality in himself, which NO one gave to him. So this teaches us that Jesus, the Son of MAN ASCENDED UP into heaven, was GIVEN a new glorified immortal BODY of FLESH and BONES never more to die and then Jesus came back down to earth to show himself ALIVE for forty days. Now, if you read these accounts together you will see that Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene EARLY in the morning while it was yet DARK and told her NOT to touch him and then later, that SAME day toward evening, Jesus appeared to his disciples and told them to TOUCH him saying that he was NOT a SPIRIT for as spirit has NOT FLESH and BONES as you see ME HAVE. We will get to that passage of scripture shortly.) 18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things unto her.” (She did NOT say something like, I did not recognize him at first, he has changed so much you won't recognize him or when I first saw him he was in a different form and then he changed forms so I could recognize him. This verse simply lets us know that when the Lord got her full undivided attention by calling her name that she did indeed recognize the Lord and came rejoicing that she had SEEN the Lord. None of the disciples of Jesus were truly EXPECTING Jesus to be resurrected. They thought that the Messiah would be a warrior king to restore the kingdom to Israel. They were sad and down so they did not look people in the face) Let us now see what the gospel of Mark teaches us. Mark 16:1-14. “And when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. (Meaning they came to anoint the DEAD BODY of Jesus EXPECTING Jesus to be DEAD and IN the tomb.) 2. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. (Just at the break of day when it was dark, but not as dark as night.) 3. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll away the stone from the door of the sepulcher for us? (They obviously forgot about the heavy stone and were wondering WHO would roll it away expecting it to still be covering the tomb preventing anyone from entering the tomb.) 4. And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. 5. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were frightened.. (They were expecting to see a DEAD BODY of Jesus and NOT someone sitting at the end of the stone slab where Jesus was laid.) 6. And he said unto them, Be not frightened: You seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he has risen; HE is not here: (And NOT that God took his body, but rather HE is no longer dead and has left this tomb. This was an angel of God who was sent to tell those who came to the tomb seeking the body of Jesus that he has RISEN from the dead and that HE is no longer in the tomb. If the body of Jesus was taken by God as the body of Moses then surely this angel of God would have known.) behold the place where they laid him. 7. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that HE goes before you into Galilee: there shall you see him, as he said unto you. 8. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they anything to any man; for they were afraid. (This is the shortened paraphrased version and then the writer starts over giving more detail, but still not as much detail as John gave us.) 9. Now when Jesus was raised early the first day of the week, he appeared FIRST to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. 10. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed NOT. 12. AFTER THAT he appeared in ANOTHER FORM unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. (Now some may INTERPRET this verse to dogmatically demand that it means that Jesus was resurrected as a “SPIRIT” so he could materialize in ANOTHER FORM. But in truth when this verse is correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God we can clearly see that the words “AFTER THAT” mean after Jesus appeared to Mary and told her NOT to touch him BECAUSE he had NOT YET ASCENDED to his God and Father. Then comparing Scripture with Scripture seeing that Jesus was GIVEN IMMORTALITY by his God and Father we can SAFELY assume WITHOUT having any contradiction that in the RECEIVING of this SPIRITUAL IMMORTAL BODY from the Father that Jesus was made to become a partaker of the DIVINE NATURE of his God and Father and thus Jesus appeared to these two having come BACK DOWN out of heaven in ANOTHER FORM having a FLESH and BONES BODY without BLOOD that was now IMMORTAL. This verse does not dogmatically demand that Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT” because ONLY spirit beings like the angels can manifest themselves into other forms. Jesus said that we would be like the angels and NOT BE an angel. We do NOT become angels in the world to come, but rather we are highly exalted to be able to do whatever the angel can do. And not only that we shall also JUDGE the angels. We will cover that verse further on in this study of God's word.) 13. And they went and told it unto the residue: NEITHER believed they them. (So now the disciples have been told by Mary Magdalene AND these two that Jesus had risen from the dead and the disciples still do NOT believe that Jesus has risen from the dead. So when Jesus does appear to them they are NOT EXPECTING Jesus to have risen from the dead. They are still yet FOCUSED on WHERE is our Lord's DEAD BODY?) 14. Afterward, he appeared unto the eleven (Remember Judas betrayed Jesus and hanged himself) as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed NOT them which had seen him after he was raised.” One thing that I have not figured out is WHY some Christian’s are so dogmatic in their quest to try and prove that Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT”. And as their proof as being the ONLY WAY to explain why the disciples did not recognize Jesus is that he must without fail have been raised as a SPIRIT because ONLY a SPIRIT being like the angels can materialize in ANOTHER FORM. Well the Bible does not say that Jesus MATERIALIZED into another form, as in, by his OWN power, but rather simply states that after appearing to Mary he appeared in ANOTHER FORM to these two WALKING down the road talking to each other about the DEATH of Jesus and being ASTONISHED having heard he has risen from the dead. First of all, this THEORY that Jesus materialized into another form for the very purpose that his disciples would NOT recognize him and then materializes again so that they WOULD recognize him and then re-materialize back into a form that he would not be recognized so he could appear to others not being recognized and then changing back yet again into a form so that he could be recognized really makes no sense. And then on what Biblical grounds is there to dogmatically demand that ONLY a “SPIRIT” being can change forms? I mean Jesus is the FIRST human to ever be given a SPIRITUAL DIVINE NATURE IMMORTAL BODY to be the first MORTAL to partake of the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY. So who is to say that this new glorified BODY of FLESH and BONES that Jesus now has CANNOT change into ANOTHER FORM, walk through walls or vanish out of sight? How do you KNOW ONLY an angel can do these things? What SCRIPTURES prove beyond any shadow of a doubt that Jesus being made a partaker of the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY being given a new immortal spiritual BODY of flesh and bones is BOUND by natural physical laws that our human bodies now have? In the next gospel account in Luke, we see that it APPEARS as if Jesus walked through a closed door and in the same CONTEXT he point-blank ASSURES us that he is NOT a “SPIRIT”. Let us move on and see what the word of TRUTH itself teaches us. Please read Luke 24:1-48. “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. 2. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. 3. And they entered in and found NOT the BODY of the Lord Jesus. 4. And it came to pass, as they were MUCH PERPLEXED thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: 5. And as they were afraid, and bowed DOWN their FACES to the EARTH, they said unto them, Why seek you the living among the dead? (This teaches us that they did NOT look directly at the angels to see WHO they were. They were NOT thinking in their minds may be one of these who are sitting here is Jesus. NO, many thousands of times NO. They were NOT looking for a LIVING person but rather they came to anoint the DEAD BODY of Jesus. And they are told by the angels,) 6. HE is not here, but is risen: (And NOT that God took his BODY and he was resurrected as a “SPIRIT”) remember how he spoke unto you when he was yet in Galilee, (Jesus said that he would raise up the TEMPLE of HIS BODY speaking of the BELIEVERS in the body of Jesus Christ) 7. Saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again. 8. And they remembered his words, 9. And returned from the sepulcher, and told all these things unto the eleven, and to all the rest. 10. It was Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, and Mary the mother of James, and other women that were with them, which told these things unto the apostles. 11. And their words seemed to them as idle tales, and they believed them NOT. 12. Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulcher; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass. 13. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. 15. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16. But their eyes were HOLDEN that they should not know him. (Or held, as in, their eyes of UNDERSTANDING was retrained. Now WHY God or his SON Jesus kept their eyes closed to recognizing their Lord is not told straight forward to us, but we can safely assume that it was BECAUSE Jesus wanted to expound on the Scriptures that spoke of his death and resurrection BECAUSE you see right after Jesus finished expounding on the Scripture that spoke of him their eyes were OPENED and they UNDERSTOOD the Scriptures. Now IF SO BE that the reason of why the eyes were miraculously HELD so that they should not know Jesus was so that Jesus could prove to them that he was like the angels now and could MATERIALIZE into different forms back and forth at will, then WHY expound and explain the Scriptures? Besides this arrogant nature does not fit our Lord and Savior to SHOW OFF by changing back and forth into different forms.) 17. And he said unto them, What manner of communications are these that you have one to another, as you WALK, and are SAD? 18. And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answering said unto him, Are you only a stranger in Jerusalem, and have not known the things which are come to pass there in these days? (Now nowhere thus far are we told that these two LOOKED at Jesus in the face, eye to eye so that they could see WHO came up and started walking with them. Again they were NOT EXPECTING to see a risen Jesus even though they had been told that Jesus had risen. They were still yet FOCUSED on why was the DEAD BODY of Jesus missing from the tomb. They knew that the tomb was secured with a stone, that it was sealed and that it was guarded, so HOW could it be that the DEAD BODY of Jesus was missing. So when Jesus asked them what they were talking about and why they were SAD, then they said are you from around here and have not heard the things that have taken place over the past few days?) 19. And he said unto them, What things? (Letting them continue to believe that he was a stranger so that their MINDS would be on the SCRIPTURES that Jesus is about to explain to them.) And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20. And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21. But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since these things were done. 22. Yea and certain women also of our company made us ASTONISHED, which were early at the sepulcher; 23. And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24. And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulcher, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not. (They were saying we do not know what to believe anymore.) 25. Then he said unto them, O fools, and SLOW of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27. And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 28. And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further. 29. But they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry with them. 30. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them, he took the bread and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31. And their eyes were OPENED, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight. 32. And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures? 33. And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34. Saying, The Lord is risen indeed and has appeared to Simon. 35. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 36. And as they thus spoke, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. 37. But they were terrified and frightened and SUPPOSED that they had seen a spirit. 38. And he said unto them, Why are you troubled? and why do THOUGHTS arise in your hearts? (Now some of those thoughts where that they were seeing the GHOST of Jesus that looked like Jesus. It appears that they did recognize this figure standing in their midst as looking like Jesus, but they were troubled, wondering how could this be, so they supposed Jesus was a SPIRIT or a GHOST. But Jesus said to them) 39. Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I MYSELF: handle me, and see (Or prove to yourself that I am NOT a SPIRIT and that it is I MYSELF by TOUCHING me); for (Or BECAUSE) a SPIRIT has NOT FLESH and BONES as you SEE ME HAVE. 40. And when he had thus spoken, he showed them his hands and his feet. 41. And while they YET believed not for joy, and WONDERED, he said unto them, Have you here any meat? (So even after touching Jesus they were still yet not truly convinced to the point o REJOICING like the others and they were still WONDERING. So Jesus said you need more proof that I am NOT a SPIRIT? Do you have any meat to give me to eat?) 42. And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honeycomb. 43. And he took it and did eat BEFORE them. 44. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spoke unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. 45. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46. And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48. And you are witnesses of these things.” Now let us go back to the gospel of John and begin reading where Mary Magdalene recognizes Jesus and he told her to NOT TOUCH him BECAUSE he has not yet ascended to his God and Father. Please read 29:15-31. “Jesus said unto her, Woman, why weep you? whom seek you? She, supposing him to be the gardener, said unto him, Sir, if you have borne him hence, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away. 16. Jesus said unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and said unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master. 17. Jesus said unto her, TOUCH me NOT; for (or BECAUSE) I am NOT YET ASCENDED to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God. 18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord and that he had spoken these things unto her. 19. Then the SAME DAY at EVENING, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and said unto them, Peace be unto you. (Please notice that it was the SAME DAY that Jesus told Mary Magdalene NOT to TOUCH him BECAUSE he had NOT YET ASCENDED to the Father, that he also told his disciples to TOUCH and HANDLE him saying it is I MYSELF and NOT a “SPIRIT”. TOUCH me for a “SPIRIT” has NOT FLESH and BONES as you SEE me HAVE. You are EYEWITNESSES that I MYSELF have risen from the dead and alive forevermore.) 20. And when he had so said, he SHOWED unto them his HANDS and his SIDE. Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord. 21. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father has sent (Or COMMISSIONED) me, even so, send (Or COMMISSION, the word sent here means commission which means to EMPOWER a person to accomplish a task they are given to do.) I you. 22. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive you the Holy Ghost: (They were not actually endued with power from on high until the day of Pentecost when they were FILLED with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Holy Spirit gave them utterance. So this was likened to a prophecy that would come to pass on the day of Pentecost.) 23. Whose soever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins you retain, they are retained. 24. But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. 25. The other disciples, therefore, said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe. (So Thomas is saying UNTIL I get to see and TOUCH Jesus as well I will NOT believe that you are telling me the truth.) 26. And after EIGHT DAYS again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being SHUT, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. (So on the ninth day after Jesus was risen from the dead he appeared again and this time the door was shut and it appears that Jesus either walked through the closed door or just appeared in the room standing in the midst of his disciples.) 27. Then said he to Thomas, Reach hither your finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither your hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. (In other words, TOUCH me, HANDLE me prove to yourself that I am NOT a SPIRIT for a SPIRIT has NOT FLESH and BONES as you SEE me HAVE. It is I MYSELF with a FLESH and BONES BODY.) 28. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 29. Jesus said unto him, Thomas because you have SEEN ME, you have believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed. (MY words and your words that I have spoken to you.) 30. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31. But these are written, that YOU might believe that Jesus is THE CHRIST, the SON OF God; and that believing you might have life through his name.” Please notice WHAT we are called to BELIEVE that we might have ETERNAL LIFE in the world to come. There is absolutely NOTHING in the entire Bible where we are taught, commanded or even suggested to us that we MUST, without fail, believe that Jesus was raised from the dead as a “SPIRIT”. However we are indeed CLEARLY, and PLAINLY taught in SIMPLICITY with absolutely NO interpretation needed to understand that Jesus was NOT raised as a “SPIRIT”, but rather was raised with his OWN PHYSICAL BODY that he took to heaven with him as he ascended up into heaven to his God and Father to be GIVEN ETERNAL LIFE. So like OUR PHYSICAL BODIES will be CHANGED in a MOMENT and in a twinkling of an eye at the second coming of Jesus when we are GIVEN eternal life, so ALSO was the PHYSICAL BODY of Jesus CHANGED to become a NEW GLORIFIED SPIRITUAL BODY of FLESH and BONES with NO BLOOD. Jesus was made a partaker of the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY be GIVEN TO him by his God and Father. And then descended BACK down to the earth in this OTHER FORM of IMMORTALITY to show himself alive forevermore. The Bible says that for forty days Jesus showed many proofs of his being alive from the dead. Let us take a close look at 1 Corinthians 15, which is used by those who wrongly teach that Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT” to try and prove “PRETERISM”, which requires that the first resurrection be a SPIRITUAL resurrection as opposed to a BODILY resurrection in order to keep their man-made doctrine from falling apart. So this is the reason WHY Preterists dogmatically demand that Jesus must be raised as a “SPIRIT”. Please read “WHY PRETERISM IS A FALSE TEACHING!”, but for now.
Please read 1 Corinthians 15:35-58. “But some man will say, HOW are the dead raised up? and with WHAT BODY do they come? (Please notice that the word of truth says what BODY do they come or what BODY will they have when resurrected and NOT what SPIRIT will the come.) 36. You fool, that which you sow is not quickened, except it DIE: 37. And that which you sow, you sow not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: 38. But God gives it a BODY as it has pleased him, and to every seed his own BODY. 39. All flesh is NOT the SAME flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. (Meaning that more than just one kind of FLESH shall be raised to go into the kingdom of God. Paul could be using this as an analogy leading up to the DIFFERENCE between the TWO resurrections and distinguishing between the resurrection of the RIGHTEOUS and the resurrection of the WICKED meaning that the RIGHTEOUS will be resurrected with a spiritual IMMORTAL BODY and the wicked will be raised with their MORTAL body to be destroyed in the lake of fire.) 40. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the GLORY of the celestial is one, and the GLORY of the terrestrial is another. 41. There is one GLORY of the sun, and another GLORY of the moon, and another GLORY of the stars: for one star differs from another star in glory. (Here Paul definitely seems to be teaching us DIFFERENT GLORY or honor that shall be given to different people raised from the dead. Jesus said that to sit on his right or left hand was NOT his to give, but was the Father's power to give that glory of honor or position.) 42. So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: 43. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: 44. It is sown a NATURAL BODY; it is raised a SPIRITUAL BODY. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (Please understand that being raised a SPIRITUAL BODY does NOT mean being raised as a “SPIRIT”. Jesus had a BODY that had the SAME identifying marks in his hands and his feet that his own NATURAL body had. The difference between a NATURAL BODY and a SPIRITUAL BODY is that a NATURAL BODY DIES and a SPIRITUAL BODY is IMMORTAL having the DIVINE NATURE of immortality. BOTH natural and spiritual are called BODIES. Jesus had a BODILY resurrection. Yes there is a difference between a natural body that is MORTAL and a spiritual BODY that have been CHANGED and given the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY. But this does NOT make a spiritual BODY to be a “SPIRIT”. Jesus specifically stated as a FACT that he was NOT a “SPIRIT”.) 45. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. (The literal meaning of this verse says that the last Adam or Jesus was INTO spirit made LIVING and that the first Adam was made INTO soul living. Neither means to being made a living SPIRIT. The WHOLE context of 1 Corinthians here is speaking about the MORTAL and the IMMORTAL, where ONLY the RIGHTEOUS shall be made partakers of the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY. When one considers that the WHOLE word of God teaches us that Jesus was GIVEN all power and authority to QUICKEN or make alive or raise the dead and give eternal life to whom soever he chooses, then it becomes clear that Jesus was QUICKEN BY the Spirit to be made INTO Spirit living or having made into having the SAME eternal life as the Eternal Spirit Yahweh. Now WE will not be made a quickening spirit, in that, we will be given authority and power to give eternal life to others. We will take on the divine nature of IMMORTALITY but not have the same GLORY as Jesus.) 46. Howbeit that was NOT FIRST which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and AFTERWARD that which is spiritual. (This means that Jesus was NOT spiritual first, but rather Jesus was HUMAN first and then AFTERWARD was made or given the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY. Now, this does NOT mean that ALL humans will be given the divine nature of immortality as some dogmatically demand as you will see further on in the study when they argue that all humans will be made to become like the angels who cannot DIE. More on this later.) 47. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. (Now some Christians use this verse to try and prove that Jesus preexisted up in heaven because this verse says that Jesus is FROM heaven. In truth, the Greek word here literally means OUT of heaven meaning that the ORIGIN of Jesus came OUT FROM the mouth of Yahweh and that the first Adam was made OUT of the SOIL or the earth.) 48. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. (Meaning that humans are MORTAL and heavenly beings are IMMORTAL.) 49. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, WE shall ALSO bear the image of the heavenly. (WE, as in, ALL humans have borne the HUMAN NATURE of MORTALITY and WE, as in, ONLY we who believe on Jesus shall be made partakers of the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY.) 50. Now, this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood (or MORTAL humans) cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither does corruption inherit incorruption. (The meaning of FLESH and BLOOD here does NOT mean that human beings cannot inherit the kingdom of God EVER, but rather flesh and blood can ONLY inherit the kingdom of God AFTER mortality has put on the DIVINE NATURE or the SPIRITUAL BODY of IMMORTALITY. In other words, our MORTAL PHYSICAL BODIES that DIE must be CHANGED into SPIRITUAL IMMORTAL BODIES before we inherit the kingdom of God.) 51. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall ALL be CHANGED, (Again the ALL here does NOT mean all HUMANS, but rather all who are IN Jesus Christ found to be faithful unto the end.) 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 (WHY? Why must our physical bodies be CHANGED?). 53. FOR (Or BECAUSE) this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this MORTAL(flesh and blood body) must put on IMMORTALITY..(BECAUSE MORTAL bodies of flesh and BLOOD cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and must be CHANGED into immortal bodies of FLESH and BONES with no blood like Jesus has now.) 54. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on IMMORTALITY (the DIVINE NATURE), then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory. (Now WE as Christians who are found faithful will put on immortality AT the second coming of Jesus and we will rule and reign with Jesus over the MORTAL humans during the 1000 year reign of Jesus.) 55. O death, where is your sting? O grave, where is your victory? 56. The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57. But thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be you steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” Let us take a closer look at another argument that I am aware of that is used to try and prove that Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT” so he could materialize into different forms, walk through walls and vanish into thin air. Please read 1 John 3:2,3. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it does NOT YET APPEAR what we SHALL BE: but we KNOW, when he shall APPEAR, we shall be LIKE him; for we shall see him as he IS. 3. And every man that has this HOPE in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.” Now those who dogmatically demand that Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT” interpret this verse to mean that it is not yet APPARENT what we shall be as opposed to the correct interpretation of it has not yet been MANIFESTED what we shall be, which agrees with Hebrews 11:39,40, where we are clearly taught that the Old Testament saints up in heaven have NOT YET been given eternal life and that we ALL shall be given eternal life TOGETHER AT the second coming of Jesus. “ And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received NOT the promise:
You see dear child of God the Greek word translated as “APPEAR” has more than just the ONE meaning of “APPARENT” and it is the SAME Greek word used of our Lord ...but we KNOW when he shall APPEAR we shall be LIKE him for we shall SEE him as he IS. BOTH words “APPEAR” in this verse are from the same Greek word “EK”, which can mean apparent, but ALSO mean manifest, as in, come to pass, be fulfilled. So then, the true meaning of this verse is: “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it has NOT YET BEEN MANIFESTED or COME TO PASS what we SHALL BE: but we KNOW, when he shall APPEAR, we shall be LIKE him; for we shall see him as he IS. 3. And every man that has this HOPE in him purifies himself, even as he is pure.” The dear brother in our Lord who wrote to me as I said in the beginning of this study sarcastically said to me that he supposed that I knew more than John an eyewitness of Jesus who says in 1 John 3:2 that he did NOT KNOW what the risen Lord looked like. And that I did know by saying that Jesus was risen with a BODY of FLESH and BONES and NOT as a SPIRIT. At first he said that this verse says that we shall only see Jesus as he is and not that we shall be LIKE HIM, which is to have the same kind of Spiritual body that Jesus has now, but then he retracted that statement in his next email to me. I am sorry that some Christians do not have their spiritual eyes OPENED to understand the CLEAR, PLAIN, and SIMPLE word of God to see the Jesus was NOT raised as a “SPIRIT”. The Bible itself teaches us that Yahweh the Father is “SPIRIT” who is INVISIBLE whom no man has SEEN nor can SEE. Now men have indeed SEEN Jesus before and after his resurrection and will again see him at his coming. The Bible itself teaches us that a “SPIRIT” has NOT FLESH and BONES as the disciples SAW that Jesus himself had before his resurrection and has now after his resurrection. After his resurrection Jesus HIMSELF plainly states with no interpretation needed that he was NOT a “SPIRIT”. The Bible itself teaches us that our HOPE is the resurrection and CHANGE to be glorified with an IMMORTAL BODY as Jesus has now. This IMMORTALITY is called a SPIRITUAL BODY in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 and being a partaker of the DIVINE NATURE in 2 Peter 3:14. “Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these YOU (All who believe on Jesus as the CHRIST, the SON OF the living God who are found to be that good and faithful servant to endure unto the end) might be PARTAKERS of the DIVINE NATURE, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” But despite all this SOUND BIBLICAL evidence some still deny Jesus was raised in HIS PHYSICAL BODY that was CHANGED to an IMMORTAL BODY of FLESH and BONES when he ascended into heaven right after his resurrection to be GIVEN life in himself even as his Father has always had life in himself. How do they deny this sound Biblical truth? By dogmatically demanding that Jesus was resurrected as a “SPIRIT”. And they also DENY the very words of Jesus saying that he would raise the temple of his BODY after three days by falsely teaching that Jesus was raised as a “SPIRIT”. Please read John 2:18-22. “Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What SIGN show you unto us, seeing that you do these things? 19. Jesus answered (You want a SIGN, I will show you a SIGN) and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20. Then said the Jews (MISUNDERSTANDING the words of Jesus), Forty and six years was this temple in building, and will you rear it up in three days? 21. But he spoke of the temple of HIS BODY. (The BODY of Jesus was NOT found in the tomb NOT because God took it like he did the body of Moses, but because Jesus was raised in HIS OWN PHYSICAL BODY of FLESH and BONES. Jesus SHED his BLOOD for our sins. 1 Corinthians say that flesh and BLOOD cannot inherit the kingdom of God, but the flesh and bones BODY of Jesus had NO BLOOD because Jesus SHED his BLOOD for our sins.) 22. When therefore he was raised 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.” The truth of the WHOLE matter is that INITIALLY Jesus was resurrection in or with his OWN PHYSICAL BODY that was crucified and DIED on the cross being QUICKEN BY the eternal Spirit Yahweh and then AFTER Jesus ASCENDED up into heaven to his God and Father then his PHYSICAL BODY was CHANGED and made to become a Spiritual BODY of FLESH and BONES having the DIVINE NATURE of IMMORTALITY. Now some still yet argue that in the resurrection ALL humans become like the ANGELS who cannot die. They reason, that since Jesus had a human nature, then he became like the ANGELS, which could MATERIALIZE into different FORMS because they are SPIRIT beings who do NOT have a BODY. Let us now take a close look at what these verses are truly teaching us when it is correctly interpreted in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God. Matthew 22:29,30. “Jesus answered and said unto them, You do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. First of all the Bible itself does NOT teach us that in the resurrection we BECOME ANGELS, but rather that we shall be AS or LIKE or similar to the angels. Let us read from the other gospels. Mark 12:24,25. “And Jesus answering said unto them, Do you not therefore err, because you know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? Luke 20:34-36. “And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: All of these verses clearly teach us that we do NOT BECOME angels, who are ministering SPIRITS of fire as some teach, but rather we become LIKE or EQUAL to the angels. In the resurrection of the RIGHTEOUS in Jesus Christ, we shall become AS, like unto and EQUAL to the ANGELS who cannot die meaning that our heavenly BODY will be IMMORTAL, no more, no less, that is all these verses mean. In other words, the interpretation or meaning that in the resurrection Jesus became a ministering SPIRIT like the angels is READING that meaning INTO these verses. The angels ARE ministering SPIRITS, but we do NOT BECOME ANGELS, but rather we become LIKE AS or EQUAL to the angels. Here is what the word of God teaches us. We are made LOWER than the angels and if we are found faithful unto the end we shall be exalted to be BETTER than the angels in that we shall JUDGE the angels. Please read 1 Corinthians 6:2,3. “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Hebrews 2:9 teaches us that Jesus was made to be a little LOWER than the angels and Hebrews 1:4-7 teaches us that because Jesus loved RIGHTEOUSNESS that he OBTAINED a BETTER name and was made BETTER than the angels. Hebrews 2:9. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little LOWER than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” Hebrews 1:4-7. “Being made so much BETTER than the angels, as he has by inheritance OBTAINED a more excellent name than they. Now seeing that Jesus was made BETTER than the ANGELS who are ministering spirits it would seem that Jesus could do ANYTHING that the ANGELS do, without dogmatically demanding that Jesus was made a “SPIRIT” when he was resurrected. Also, remember that Jesus was GIVEN all power and authority by his God and Father AFTER his resurrection, which would easily make it possible for Jesus to materialize in another form, walk through walls and vanish out of sight WITHOUT being resurrected as a “SPIRIT” as being the ONLY WAY to explain all these things. Also, just as a side note. Yahweh is the CREATOR of ALL things and what he created he can DESTROY if so be he chooses to destroy any of his creation for whatever reason he so chooses. Meaning that just because God created his angels as immortal beings does NOT mean that God himself can never be DESTROYED by the beings whom he CREATED in the first place. The Bible says that they cannot DIE, but it does NOT say that they cannot be DESTROYED by the creator himself. For further study on WHY preterism is NOT SOUND Biblical teaching please read all the studies under the heading >>>PRETERISM!<<< Thanks for reading and may God bless you richly as you seek HIS truth by interpreting Scripture in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of God. Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ, Brother Mark. RETURN TO HOMEPAGE AT |
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