1. What doctrine were the Sadducees known for? Why did they hold that doctrine?

It seems like the main thing that the Sadducees were known for is that they denied the resurrection. “The Sadducees, a priestly faction in Judaism during the time of Jesus, were known for their limited acceptance of scripture and their rejection of the prophets, including their teachings. They adhered primarily to the Torah (the first five books of the Old Testament) and rejected the prophetic writings and other historical texts, including the writings of the prophets. This rejection extended to doctrines derived from the prophets, such as resurrection and the afterlife, which they denied.” (AI) Daniel 12:2 predicted a resurrection of the dead. If the Sadducees did not believe in the prophets, you can see why they rejected a resurrection of the dead. More on Daniel 12:2 later.

2. What did the Pharisees believe? How did Paul use the different resurrection beliefs of the two groups to his advantage?

In contrast, the Pharisees believed in the resurrection of the dead. “The Pharisees believed that the Prophets, along with the Writings and the Five Books of Moses (Torah), were divinely inspired and authoritative. They held the scriptures as sacred texts containing God’s word.” Paul used the resurrection of the dead to get the Pharisees and Sadducees arguing among themselves, turning their attention away from their common hatred of Paul. Acts 23:⁶ But Paul, perceiving that one group were Sadducees and the other Pharisees, began crying out in the Council, “Brothers, I am a Pharisee, a son of Pharisees; I am on trial for the hope and resurrection of the dead!” ⁷ When he said this, a dissension occurred between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. ⁸ For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, nor an angel, nor a spirit, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all. ⁹ And a great uproar occurred; and some of the scribes of the Pharisaic party stood up and started arguing heatedly, saying, “We find nothing wrong with this man; suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?”  NASB

3. What did Paul say about the resurrection of the dead in his trial before Felix?

Later in a trial before the governor Felix, Paul said: Acts 24:¹⁴ `And I confess this to thee, that, according to the way that they call a sect, so serve I the God of the fathers, believing all things that in the law and the prophets have been written, ¹⁵ having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, [that] there is about to be a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous.” Young’s Literal Translation. Notice the words “about to be”. The Greek word is mello which in the NT always measn “about to be”. Is Paul mistaken when he predicts this? I think not. A resurrection of the dead must have been taught by the prophets for Paul to say this.

4. But where did any of the prophets predict a resurrection of the dead?

There is a prediction of a resurrection in Ezekiel 37 in the valley of dry bones. The dry dead bones are the nation of Israel after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC and. the captivity in Babylon. But God predicts that in the future He will put HIs Spirit in the bones and they will come out of their graves and live, thus a resurrection. Ezekiel 37:¹² Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says: “Behold, I am going to open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, My people; and I will bring you into the land of Israel. ¹³ Then you will know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves and caused you to come up out of your graves, My people. ¹⁴ And I will put My Spirit within you and you will come to life.” Anytime the prophets predicted a pouring out of the Spirit it always refers to the Acts 2 pouring out of the miraculous indwelling of the Spirit on the remnant believing Jews during the last days of the Jewish Age (i.e. 30 AD to 70 AD). So this is a Messianic prediction of a a spiritual resurrection from the spiritual dead state of the Jews, but would only be fulfilled in the raising from spiritual death of Jews who believed in Jesus as the Messiah.

5. Where in the OT is the main, clear prediction of a resurrection of the dead?

We have another prediction of a resurrection of the dead in Daniel 12:1 “Now at that time (i.e. the “end time” Daniel 11:27, 35, 40) Michael, the great prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise. And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time; and at that time your people, everyone who is found written in the book, will be rescued. ² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life, but the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt.” Daniel says that this resurrection would occur at the “end time” (12:4, 9, 12) at the “end of the age” (12:13, i.e. the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD). He said this would occur at the “abomination of desolation” (12:11; also predicted by Daniel in Daniel 9:27).

6. How do we know what the abomination of desolation refers to?

Jesus said that the abomination of desolation as predicted by Daniel had to occur within the generation of those whom he was talking to. Matthew 24:¹⁵ “Therefore when you see the abomination of desolation which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place—let the reader understand— ¹⁶ then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” The word for “generations” is genea and in the NT it always means a period of about 40 years or the people living in a 40 years period, just as we use the word when we speak of the “baby boomers’ generation, or x generation”. Thus Jesus is saying that Daniel’s abomination of desolation had to happen within the next 40 years of when he made that statement, and that could only be the destruction of the temple and the city by the Romans in 70 AD. Tie all this together, and Daniel was predicting a resurrection of the dead that would happen at the end of the Jewish age and at the abomination of desolation of the temple in 70 AD. It is noteworthy that Paul said in Acts 24:15 that there “is about to be” a resurrection of the dead” just as the prophets predicted. The Greek word for “about to be” is mello which in the NT always means something “about to happen”. I quoted from YLT b/c it is about the only one that translates the word mello correctly. Most translation translate it as “certainly will be”, but that is incorrect. So, unless Paul is mistaken, the resurrection of the dead was “about to happen” at the time he spoke. That would have to be the Daniel 12:2 prediction of the resurrection of the dead.

7. Why have Christians taught for 2,000 years that the resurrection has not happened yet?

Let that sink in! Paul said the resurrection was “about to happen” as he spoke. This could only be the Daniel 12:2 resurrection at the end of the Jewish Age in 70 AD. There was only one future resurrection and that was it in 70 AD. So why has Christian tradition taught for 2,000 years that the resurrection of the dead has not happened yet? Probably b/c Christians expected a resurrection of physical bodies from the graves, which indeed did not happen in 70 AD. There was a spiritual resurrection of the OT dead who were in hades, but not a bodily resurrection visible to the naked eye. They had been held in hades waiting their resurrection and final eternal sentence and fate. No one would have actually seen them rising from their graves in 70 AD. Another factor is that most Bible scholars believe that the 2nd coming hasn’t happened yet. They believe that the resurrection will happen at the 2nd coming, so the two doctrines become tied together.

8. The resurrection of the dead and the 2nd coming were to happen at the same time that the abomination of desolation happened, all of which happened in 70 AD.

Full preterism teaches that the 2nd coming was in 70 AD so that fits with the resurrection of the dead in 70 AD, both happening in 70 AD. Concerning the timing of the 2nd coming, Jesus only made in the synoptics 4 predictions of a 2nd coming or coming back: 1) Matthew 10:²³ “But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes.; 2) 16: 27-28. Matthew 16:27 even uses the word mello which always in the NT means “about to happen”: ²⁷ “For, the Son of Man is about to come in the glory of his Father, with his messengers, and then he will reward each, according to his work.” He then adds: ²⁸ Verily I say to you, there are certain of those standing here who shall not taste of death till they may see the Son of Man coming in his reign.’ He is saying that some of those he is speaking to will be alive at his 2nd coming. This prediction is not a prediction of the transfiguration as some say. The passage is a judgment passage, and there was no judgment at the transfiguration. 3) Matthew 24:²⁹ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet blast, and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other. ³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. ” The context is the abomination of desolation (24:15) of the temple in 70 AD. 4) Matthew 26:⁶⁴ Jesus *said to him, “You have said it yourself. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.”. All 4 times he says that his 2nd coming would be within the lifetime of those he was speaking to. There are no predictions made by Jesus in the gospels of a “coming back” that was to happen in the distant future (going on 2,000 years now). If so, where are they?

9. The 2nd coming was to take place immediately after the tribulation on the Jews and within that generation (the next 40 years)?

The “tribulation” (24:21,29) is the tribulation predicted by Daniel to fall on the Jews as the Romans sieged Jerusalem, killing a million Jews. Daniel 12:1 And there will be a time of distress such as never occurred since there was a nation until that time.” Then “immediately after that tribulation surrounding 70 AD, Jesus predicts his 2nd coming. Matthew 24:²⁹ “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory.” Then he adds in Matthew 24:³⁴ Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” Again, the word generation always in the NT means a period of about 40 years or the people living in a 40 year period. So a clear prediction that his 2nd coming would be in the next 40 years after he said this. It is described with some figurative language, such as the stars falling. That is typical of figurative language used of the fall of Babylon (Isaiah 13) and other nations in the OT. It is not predicting that the stars would literally fall. These predictions by Jesus of an imminent 2nd coming within the lifetime of those he was speaking to could only be fulfilled by his coming in judgement on the Jews in 70 AD (using the Romans). There are no other predictions of a “coming back” of Jesus that were not to be fulfilled in the lifetime of those he was speaking to. Check it out. Find the verses that teaches another coming of Jesus (thus a 3rd coming) that was not imminent. There are none. That also fits the teaching of the apostles who taught an imminent 2nd coming of Jesus.

10. The book of Revelation is about the fall of Jerusalem and the 2nd coming in 70 AD.

Revelation was written about 63-65 AD and is predicting the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and is also a prediction of the imminent 2nd coming in 70 AD. Revelation is about things that were going to “shortly” take place, things that were “near”. Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, ² who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. ³ Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” Some say that “soon” or “shortly take place” or “near” can mean soon in God’s time frame, which could be thousands of years (citing 2 Peter 3:8 that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.) But the context is warning the 7 churches to repent b/c of the things that were going to happen soon in their lifetime. There would be no relevance to them if was predicting things to happen thousands of years later. The book was written during the days of the 6th emperor of Rome, which was Nero. Revelation 17:9 The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the woman sits, ¹⁰ and they are seven kings; five have fallen (the first 5 emperors of Rome had already died at the time of writing), one is (Nero, trhe 6th emperor was reigning at the time of writing), “ Nero died in 68 AD so the book had to be written while he was living, before he died in 68 AD. In Revelation 17 the sea beast (figurative language taken from Daniel 7 and 8) is Rome, and Rome destroys the harlot which is the same as the “great city”, which is Jerusalem (11:8 the great city is where the “Lord was crucified”). The harlot Jerusalem had killed the prophets, the Jewish Christian saints, and the apostles. The theme of the book is the “avenging of the blood of the apostles, prophets, and saints”. Revelation 18: ²⁰ Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, because God has pronounced judgment for you against her. ²⁴ And in her (Babylon, the name on the forehead of the harlot in chapter 17) was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slaughtered on the earth.”

But Revelation is also about the imminent 2nd coming. Revelation 1:⁷ Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him.” But then it says that he is coming soon or quickly: Revelation 22:⁶ And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place. ⁷ “And behold, I am coming quickly. ¹⁰ And he *said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. ¹¹ Let the one who does wrong still do wrong, and the one who is filthy still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous still practice righteousness, and the one who is holy still keep himself holy.” ¹² “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to reward each one as his work deserves. ²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Some want to say that “quickly” just means rapidly, but the context shows that means a coming that is “soon”, to happen in the lifetime of those 7 churches John was writing to.

11. Did Jesus and the apostles predict an imminent 2nd coming but then it was delayed?

Some say, “Yes Jesus and the apostles predicted his 2nd coming to be imminent but then Jesus delayed his 2nd coming (now a 2,000 year delay!) b/c the Jews rejected Him.” The Hebrew letter predicts a “2nd time” that Jesus would come: Hebrews 9:²⁸ so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him. But Hebrews then adds: Hebrews 10:37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay.” That refutes the “delay” theory. James taught an imminent 2nd coming: The apostles and NT writers predicted an imminent 2nd coming. James 5:⁸ You too be patient; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near.” Was he a false prophet? Peter said in 1 Peter 4:⁷ The end of all things is near“. He is predicting the end of the Jewish system in 70 AD and not the end of the world. He follows that up with 2 Peter 3 a prediction of the removal of the old heavens and earth (the old covenantJewish system) and replacing them with the new heavens and earth (the new covenant system) that occured at 70 AD. If 2 Peter 3 was not fulfilled in 70 AD, then his prediction in 1 Peter 4:7 is false and the end of all things was not near. 2 Peter 3 uses figurative language to describe the destruction of the old heavens and earth, which is the old Jewish system. The “elements” would be burned up, but the Greek word for “elements” is only used 7 times in the NT and it always refers to the elementary principles of the Law and not the 100 plus physical elements on earth such as hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. 2 Thessalonians 2 Paul says that the 2nd coming would happen during the lifetime of the Thessalonian believers. Thus full preterism fulfills both the 2nd coming and the resurrection occurring in 70 AD. The 2nd coming was not delayed as many claim today.

12. Was the resurrection of the dead something visible to the naked eye?

Back to the discussion of the resurrection of the dead in 70 AD, Paul made it very clear that the resurrected bodies would be spiritual, not physical, in 1 Corinthians 15:⁴² So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown a perishable body, it is raised an imperishable body; 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. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.” He then. says that resurrection would occur while some of those he was writing to were still alive. ⁵¹ Behold, I am telling you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, ⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. ⁵³ For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. ⁵⁴ But when this perishable puts on the imperishable, and this mortal puts on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written: “Death has been swallowed up in victory. ⁵⁵ Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?” ⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the Law; ⁵⁷ but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul is saying that immortal spiritual bodies will be given at the resurrection of the dead and that will happen while some of those he is writing to are still alive. Immortality is the same as eternal life. The final phase of destroying spiritual death came in 70 AD when the Law, the source of spiritual death, disappeared (Hebrews 8:13).
That is consistent with what he predicted in Acts 24:15, and can only refer to a resurrection of the dead in 70 AD just as Daniel 12:2 predicted. It is noteworthy that Paul adds that, whether dead of alive, all the believers will receive immortality at that resurrection in 70 AD. The last enemy, spiritual death, was officially defeated when the temple was destroyed in 70 AD and the law “disappeared” (Hebrews 8:13). There have been no more animal sacrifices or priesthood or temple since 70 AD.

13. So if the resurrection of the dead happened in 70 AD, what do believers get after 70 AD?

Spiritual death has been defeated for believers. After 70 AD, believers get an immortal spiritual body when they are saved and that immortal body will live on eternally even after they die physically. John 11:²³ Jesus *said to her, “Your brother will rise from the dead.” ²⁴ Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise in the resurrection on the last day.” ²⁵ Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.” Martha’s comment about a resurrection on the last day (of the age at the end time) reflects most Jewish expectations of a resurrection, but Jesus is teaching that the resurrection of the dead will give a believer a spiritual body that will continue to live even after physical death. Today when one is converted, he is given an immortal spiritual body that will live on eternally even after he dies physically. He is a “new creature” spiritually. He has eternal life, although he can lose that eternal life if he falls from grace (Galatians 5:4; 2 Peter 2:20-22). When we die physically, we immediately go to be with the Lord eternally. Perhaps the best picture of what that will be like is Revelation 7:¹³ Then one of the elders responded, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” ¹⁴ I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. ¹⁵ For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. ¹⁶ They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat; ¹⁷ for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” As the song says, “Won’t it be wonderful there”.

14. But is there a future resurrection where there will be no marrying and giving in marriage?

In Matthew 22:23-33 the Sadducees were trying to trap Jesus on his teaching of a resurrection of the dead (the which they denied). They posed the Levirate marriage law of a brother marrying his deceased brother’s wife if the deceased brother had no children. Matthew 22:²³ On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, ²⁴ saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ ²⁵ Now there were seven brothers among us; and the first married and died, and having no children, he left his wife to his brother. ²⁶ It was the same also with the second brother, and the third, down to the seventh. ²⁷ Last of all, the woman died. ²⁸ In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her in marriage.” Jesus’ answer is interesting. ²⁹ But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, since you do not understand the Scriptures nor the power of God. ³⁰ For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. ³¹ But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ³² ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” ³³ When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching”. This silenced the Sadducees (22:34) but I doubt they understood what Jesus said. But do we understand what he said? Most Bible scholars would say that the “resurrection of the dead” Jesus spoke of hasn’t happened yet, but that contradicts Daniel 12:2, Acts 24:15, and 1 Corinthians 15:51. The resurrection of the dead that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 22 was the same as in those verses and occurred in 70 AD. It would be a spiritual event, and thus no “marrying or giving in marriage”. Receiving immortality in 70 AD was not something physical like marriage. That is similar language as that used by Paul in Galatians 3:²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Of course there are male and female Christians, but he is speaking of a spiritual reality where believers have spiritual immortal bodies that have nothing to do with one’s gender of male or female. It is not about our marital state either, which is what Jesus was talking about. So the. resurrection Jesus is telling the Sadducees about is no doubt the Daniel 12:2 resurrection of the dead in 70 AD and not some future resurrection.

15. A summary of full preterism, the resurrection of the dead, and the 2nd coming..

So my conclusion is that the Daniel 12:2, Acts 24:15, and 1 Corinthians 15:51 resurrection of the dead occurred in 70 AD when the OT dead in hades were raised to receive their eternal sentencing and when the believers still living in 70 AD received immortality. From 70 AD on, all believers at their conversion fo Christ receive a resurrected spiritual body that will live eternally even after physical death. Paul spoke of this resurrected spiritual body in Ephesians 2, that we are raised from the dead spiritually to sit with Christ in the heavenly places. When we die, our spiritual immortal body goes directly to be with Jesus forever. There is no need for us to come back for some judgement day and some physical body to be raised from our graves. We already have all the immortal body that we need without that. Most preachers say that a deceased believer goest directly to be with Jesus, but then they still say that believer needs to come back some day, be judged, and his/her physical body be raised from the dirt. That is so inconsistent.

16. But isn’t it heresy to say that the resurrection “has already taken place”?

But isn’t it heresy to say that the resurrection of the dead happened in 70 AD and “has already taken place and is not in the future”? Did Paul not call that heresy? 2 Timothy 2: “17 Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, ¹⁸ men who have gone astray from the truth, claiming that the resurrection has already taken place; and they are jeopardizing the faith of some.” That was written by Paul in about 65 AD. The resurrection that would happen in 70 AD would not have happened yet when Paul wrote 2 Timothy. These two false teachers were saying in 65 AD that the resurrection had already happened, which it had not. Their teaching could really confuse believers about the fulfillment of prophecies as made by Paul and the other NT writers. So Paul calls it “going astray from the truth”. But we are living beyond 70 AD and the resurrection of the dead has indeed already happened some 2,000 years go. So it is not heresy to say today that the resurrection had already happened. The passages discussed in this article show that it has already happened. It could be considered straying from the truth to say that it has not already happened since the Bible says that it has.

17. Is preterism a heaven/hell issue? Is it an important issue?

I don’t believe that one’s view of the resurrection of the dead or 2nd coming is a heaven/hell issue. The only thing that matters is belief that Jesus is the Son of God, the only propitiation and atonement for our sins by his death on the cross, belief that he was raised from the dead, and following Christ through love, obedience to the moral commands of the New Testament. It is comforting to know that we already have our resurrected bodies and will go directly to be with Jesus when we die. It is edifying to know that all the predictions of Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles came true just as they were predicted. That gives us confidence in the Bible as the word of God, not men. 1 Thessalonians 2:¹³ For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of mere men, but as what it really is, the word of God, which also is at work in you who believe.” Atheists, Muslims, and unbelieving Jews have constantly attacked Jesus as a false prophet, saying this his predictions of an imminent 2nd coming turned out to be false. He indeed would be a false prophet if that happened, but he did indeed do just what he predicted and returned in 70 AD to judge the Jews.

We just observed another Easter in memory of the resurrection of Jesus. Paul told us that the resurrection of Jesus is the ultimate proof of Christianity. 1 Corinthians 15:¹⁴ … if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain, your faith also is in vain. ¹⁵ Moreover, we are even found to be false witnesses of God, because we testified against God that He raised Christ, whom He did not raise, if in fact the dead are not raised. ¹⁶ For if the dead are not raised, then not even Christ has been raised; ¹⁷ and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins. ¹⁸ Then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹ If we have hoped in Christ only in this life, we are of all people most to be pitied.” (NASB) Jesus had said that the last and final proof or sign of eternal life through Jesus would be the resurrection of Jesus. Matthew 12:³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves a sign; and so no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” (NASB)  Paul told the heathen idol worshippers in Athens: Acts 17:³¹ … He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.” In other words, the greatest sign to confirm Jesus as God’s Son and the Savior of the world was his resurrection from the dead. If you can’t believe that really happened, then none of the miracles Jesus did will convince you.

But how do we really know that Jesus was raised from the dead after 3 days in the tomb? Well how do we know than any event really happened in the past? We rely on “credible eyewitness testimony”. How do we know that we actually walked on the moon? Many do not believe that we did. You can understand their skepticism b/c of all the government lies in the past and conspiracy theories that probably are true a lot of the time. So we examine all the evidence, the hundreds of NASA employees who took part in that moon landing. We watch the footage on TV. Yes, the footage could be fake, but it appears to be true. We hear the eyewitness testimony of the 2 men who walked on the moon. We come to the conclusion that we did indeed walk on the moon.

So we examine the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. Are there a sufficient number of eyewitnesses? The Law required at least 2 or 3 witnesses to confirm an event, but the resurrection of Jesus has many more than that. Paul says that there was a sufficient number. 1 Corinthians 15:³ For I handed down to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, ⁴ and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, ⁵ and that He appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. ⁶ After that He appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; ⁷ then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles; ⁸ and last of all, as to one untimely born, He appeared to me also.” That is a more than sufficient number of eyewitnesses of the resurrection. Paul even says that most of the 500 that He appeared to were still alive at the time of writing 1 Corinthians. People living at the time that Paul wrote that could actually go talk to those people to decide if they really saw the resurrected Jesus. Some say that those who saw the resurrected Jesus were hallucinating, but 500 people don’t get the same hallucination.

But are those eyewitnesses “credible’, i.e. believable? In a court case, the credibility of the eyewitnesses will be checked out and challenged. What about the eyewitnesses of the resurrection? Were they credible? To determine that, we examine their motives for making up a lie about a resurrection of Jesus if it really didn’t happen. Did the apostles who were the main eyewitnesses of the resurrection gain power or money by lying about seeing Jesus raised? No, they suffered for the rest of their lives b/c they preached the resurrection. They all died martyr’s deaths b/c of their testimony, including John the apostle whom the church father Papias said died at the hands of the Jews just as Jesus predicted would happen to the brothers James and John. No one would die for a lie if they knew it was a lie. Muslim terrorists who kill themselves when they kill others die for a lie, but they believe the lie to be true. Not so with the apostles. Surely one of them would have recanted their testimony of the resurrection if they had just made up the resurrection story, but none did.

What’s even more impressive is the testimony of Paul and James the Lord’s brother. Saul, who later was named Paul, was killing Christians, thinking he was doing God a service. He was rising in power and prestige among the Jewish authorities. What could have changed him to become a believer in Jesus? He saw the resurrected Jesus on the road to Damascus, and that convinced him that Jesus really was the Son of God. He gained no power or money from converting to Christianity. Instead he lost all power and money. He suffered greatly for the rest of his lie to testify of the resurrected Jesus. He gives his testimony twice, in Acts 22 and 26, as proof that Jesus was raised from the dead. He boldly told King Agrippa: Acts 26:²² So, having obtained help from God, I stand to this day testifying both to small and great, stating nothing but what the Prophets and Moses said was going to take place, ²³ as to whether the Christ was to suffer, and whether, as first from the resurrection of the dead, He would proclaim light both to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.” Then there was James the Lord’s brother who did not believe that Jesus was the Son of God before he saw the resurrected Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:7). So the eyewitnesses of the resurrection were not just 12 apostles who had been with Jesus for 3 years and who might have been part of some conspiracy to make up the story of a resurrection of Jesus. Even Paul and James, who did not want to believe in Jesus, came to believe in Him b/c they actually saw Jesus raised from the dead.

Some say that the disciples stole the body of Jesus from the tomb and then made up a lie that he had been raised? What would they gain from that? Also there were at least 4 Roman guards at the tomb who would be killed if they allowed anyone to steal Jesus’ body. The Jews made up a story that the guards fell asleep and that the disciples stole the body of Jesus. It is obvious that the apostles were too terrified to risk their lives by stealing the body. They went into hiding after Jesus was arrested. It is unbelievable that they would be able to tiptoe past sleeping guards, roll the huge stone away from the tomb, steal the body from the tomb, and tiptoe past the sleeping guards as they carried the body away without waking the guards. Even if they did that, why did the Roman and Jewish authorities not simply go arrest them and find out where they put the stolen body of Jesus? The fact that the enemies of Jesus made up the story about the disciples stealing the body proves that the tomb was indeed empty. That’s a major point. Even the enemies admit that the tomb was empty. So now we must examine their explanation of the empty tomb, and when we do, their story makes no sense.

What about the “swoon theory”? Some say that Jesus “swooned” or faked death in some way. Maybe he was drugged to a very low heart rate, even appearing to be dead. But what about the Romans who crucified him who did not break his legs to hasten his death? They were professional crucifiers who knew when a victim was dead. Plus one put a spear into Jesus side and brought out blood and water. Could Jesus have survived that, along with the scourging, and come out of the tomb after 3 days without any medical help if he was not really dead at all?

Then there’s The Passover Plot, a best selling book by Schonfield, published in 1965. ‘Schonfield’s central idea is that Jesus was a mortal man of intense faith who, reading the many signs and prophecies in existence in old Jewish scripture, decided that he was the Messiah. He then went out of his way to confirm this through enacting the other prophecies that had been made about the Anointed One, the King of the Jews, the Son of David, and the Son of Man, as his many names alternately translate as. Schonfield even posits a theory about Jesus faking his death – timing his crucifixion so that it would last only a short time due to the Sabbath, being administered a narcotic through a sponge dipped in vinegar wine – only for it to be ruined by the famous stab in the side he received from a Roman soldier.” The theory here is that the tinyband of Secret Jesus Conspirators had visited the tomb on Saturday night to help restore Jesus but found him too mortally wounded (from the unexpected Roman spear thrust in his side); so they then got his final instructions before he ‘died’ (a ‘second’ time”). Then they reburied him nearby (in the vegetable garden?) in an unmarked grave (like Moses). Supposedly it was someone else who was seen on Easter Sunday at the tomb, giving rise to the speculation that Jesus had been raised. (by scottmanleyhadley) I was in the 10th grade when this book came out and our preachers were condemning it as blasphemy, which it was. The post resurrection appearances of Jesus is the proof that the book’s premise is false.

One further proof of the resurrection: where did they first start preaching and witnessing to the resurrection? It was in Jerusalem where the resurrection supposedly occurred. You might hear someone say there was a resurrection of a dead person somewhere far off in Africa, but with no verification of that. But this is like a few of us saying that we saw someone raised from the dead 50 days ago just a few miles away from here in a cemetery. People would be able to easily check the veracity of that claim. Just 50 days after the resurrection the apostles are saying they saw Jesus raised from the dead just a short distance away, and thousands accepted that as a true testimony in Acts 2. The enemies said nothing to contradict Peter’s claim in his sermon in Acts 2 that Jesus had been raised from the dead 50 days before that.

Can we be 100% sure that Jesus was raised from the dead? I guess not in one sense. Just like we can’t be 100% sure that we landed on the moon. But it appears that there is more than enough evidence that Jesus was raised from the dead and that our faith is not in vain. More importantly, we can be sure that we receive an eternal immortal body that will live on eternally after we die physically. Jesus said, “he that believes in me will live even if he dies” (John 11:25). The same power that raised Jesus from the dead raises us from the dead spiritually when we become Christians. After our baptism, we receive an immortal spiritual body that will live on after we die.

As i approach the latter years of life, it helps me to review the evidence and proof for the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. I hope it helps you.