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Introduction
As I write this it is
Saturday, April 20th 2019,
yesterday
was called “Good Friday” and
tomorrow
April 21st will be
Easter Sunday. These are terms the
Scriptures of truth know nothing
about for God never builds any
doctrine on the day our Lord was
crucified, but the Holy Spirit makes
emphatic mention of the day
He rose from the dead and its
blessed results. There is only one
verse in all the scriptures which
informs us of what day it was, and
that is, “Now when Jesus was risen
early the first day of the week”
(Mk. 16:9). Of course there will
always be skeptics and those who
reject this truth. Their question
is, “Prove Jesus rose from the
dead”. No doubt many prefer not to
believe He rose for if (used
argumentatively) Christ did rise, it
has uncomfortable ramifications for
them.
One of the foremost points in such
an argument is the fact that beliefs
are based on facts. For instance,
we expect flowers to bloom in the
Spring. We believe that will happen
due to the fact that it happens
every year. That is a fact. A time
of light (day) follows every period
of darkness called night. These are
facts which we can believe.
Therefore, if a person believes that
Christ never rose from the dead and
there was no resurrection, then what
are the facts they are basing their
belief on?
The First Observation:
The Holy Spirit indissolubly unites the death and
resurrection of the Lord.
There are matters which God puts great emphasis on, sometimes by
using a word in triplicate, such as the word “Holy” when
referring to God (Isa. 6:3; Rev. 4:8); sometimes by using a
negative as when emphasizing the perfection of the offerings
(Ex. 12:5; Lev. 1:10); and sometimes by repeating various truths
built on the same foundation. This is the way the vitalness of
the death and resurrection of the Lord are emphasized in the
scriptures. |
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a) |
The crucified Lord died so as to rise (Jn. 10:17), and the risen
One lives forever as the crucified One (1 Cor. 2:2; Rev. 5:6) |
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b) |
Both are necessary for the unveiling of the power and love of
the Father. “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay
down my life, that I might take it again” (Jn. 10:17; Eph.
1:19-21). |
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c) |
Both are necessary for the message of the gospel to be complete
(1 Cor. 15:3-4). |
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d) |
Both are necessary for the reconciliation of humanity. “For if,
when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of
his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life” (Rom. 5:10). |
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e) |
Both are necessary for the model and power of the believer. “For
in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth,
he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be
dead indeed unto sin but alive unto God” (Rom. 6:10-11). |
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f) |
Both are necessary for the functioning of His Heavenly
priesthood. “Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died,
yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34). |
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g) |
Both are necessary for the unilateral Lordship of Christ. “For
to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he
might be Lord both of the dead and living” (Rom. 14:9). |
Those who argue that the
resurrection never happened?
In such a situation it does not
matter what others believe whither
it is incarnation, die like a dog,
etc. Where is the evidence for
their beliefs? I could be foolish
enough to proclaim that the sun and
moon are optical illusions and there
is no such places as such. Reality
is, I could declare it all I want
but it is not based on facts. The
fact is the sun and moon are real
material objects. However, we must
consider a “what if” question:
What if the Lord
is
not raised from the dead?
The individual who does not believe in the Lord’s resurrection
has to present evidence to prove all that the resurrection of
the Lord entails is man made foolishness. Let them present the
facts that the Lord did not rise from the dead. Such an
individual must: |
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a) |
Prove that all the purposes of God are nullified. A matter
impossible to do for the purposes of God can never be nullified
(Eph. 1:5-6, 9, 11) for, “I know that, whatsoever God doeth, it
shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken
from it: and God doeth it, that men should fear before him”
(Eccl. 3:14). Prove they can checkmate the Almighty. |
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b) |
Prove that the end of the only perfect life ever lived which was
well pleasing to God ultimately became as any other entombed
body, a collection of dust in an ancient tomb. The unbeliever
must prove the tomb was never vacated,
and the end of a life well
pleasing to God was to die as a criminal, a body of corruption
ending being a handful of dust. |
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c) |
Prove that all the “resurrection types of the Old Testament are
nothing more than empty religious rituals”. One of the Old
Testament types of the death and resurrection of the Lord was
the offering using two birds when one bird was killed and the
other let go free (Lev. 14:4-7).
The bird was the only offering which incorporates the truth of
the incarnation and ascension of the Lord for the bird left its
natural habitat and came down to where man lived. After
the death of the Lord, the other bird indicates His resurrection
by ascending back to its natural habitat. To this could be
added the waving of the Sheaf of Firstfruits for Christ is risen
from the dead and become the Firstfruits
(Lev. 23:20; 1 Cor 15:20), Aaron's rod which budded and a number
of others. An unbeliever would need to be able to prove that
God never gave such instructions and they were nothing more than
useless meaningless human rituals. |
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d) |
Prove that all the prophecies concerning the Lord’s resurrection
have never yet been fulfilled and are nothing more than
imaginative fantasies. Prophecies such as, “For thou wilt not
leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One
to see corruption” (Psa. 16:10); “Yet it pleased the LORD to
bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his
soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall
prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in
his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be
satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I
divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto
death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare
the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isa.
53:10-12). The unbeliever must prove that these two prophecies
and all other written prophecies are futile imaginations. |
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e) |
When Paul wrote to the Romans he based the truth of
justification on the resurrection of the Lord. “But for us
also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that
raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for
our offenses, and was raised again for our justification” (Rom.
4:24, 25). If this is a myth then all are under eternal
condemnation, without any hope for eternity. |
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f) |
The Lord spent some 33 years learning by experience the path of
obedience (Heb. 5:8) and God informs us that, “Being made
perfect, He (Christ) became the author of eternal salvation unto
all them that obey him” (Heb. 5:9). The Lord learnt by
experience what it was to be tempted, hungry, suffer, enter
death, etc. If Christ be not raised then all the experiences of
the 33 years of His earthly sojourn were for no purpose. This
would indicate a sad God who would cause His Son to have the
hardest of life’s experiences
being a man of sorrows (Isa. 53:2) for absolutely no
reason. |
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g) |
Prove that Christ was a liar and a con man who said multiple
times he would raise from the dead and do so after three days
(Matt. 20:19; Mk 8:31, 10:34; Lk. 18:33 24:7; Jn. 20:9); and
others accepted what he said as being a possible truth (Matt.
27:63). If the Lord told a single lie or led people into a
false line of thinking He would have been a deceiver. Had He
been such the sufferings on the cross were no more but indeed
less effective than any of the blood sacrifices of the Old
Testament, then
the individual must prove that the sacrifice of the animals was
superior to that of Christ’s. |
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. . . . . .To be continued
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. . . . Rowan Jennings |
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