(Ver 1.0) This is an amazing day of celebration. This day is when we normally enjoy a time of reflection when our Lord and Savior was resurrected from the “dead”. Please notice the term “dead” because this is very important. Was this Jesus coming back to physical life only?  That is what many teach and preach but is that all that occurred on this day? What does this Bible that we should love really say about what happened on this day and why are so many fighting against what the Bible says?

Act 12:4  And when he had apprehended him, he put him in prison, and delivered him to four quaternions of soldiers to keep him; intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.

Today is traditionally called Easter by too many people.  This term “Easter” is an extremely wrong translation of the Greek word in Acts 12:4. This word was chosen by King James translators and it only occurs only in this one verse of Acts. The original Greek word occurs 29 times in the New Testament and it was correctly translated as “Passover” 28 times. Only in this verse does it suddenly appear the word “Easter”.  What we are discovering is the term “Easter” is a foreign influence coming probably from Satan as its inspired source.

Therefore, the celebration and remembrance of Passover should be our primary focuse today. It is because of the sacrificial Lamb of God’s death, burial and resurrection from the dead that has saved us from experiencing this fate without believing In Jesus Christ. It was all God becoming a human man with flesh and blood that facilitated and enabled Him to die for “us” paying the penalty of all our human sins. What an amazing work that He accomplished “fully” so that everyone that believes on Him will not experience an eternity in “hell”. He was our “Passover” substitutionary Lamb of God. Praise the Lord!

What was Completely Different About the Resurrection of Jesus?

This is a new mystery for many Christians because it has not been popularly taught in many churches. There was a very major difference that occurred when Jesus was raised from the dead than from all the others listed in the Bible that were previously raised from physical death before Jesus and after Jesus was resurrected. Have you ever thought of this mystery? How many people were listed as being raised from physical death in the Bible? Do you have any clue? There are so many that we do not really know the exact number. Let’s list the major ones that are listed in the Bible:

Old Testament Examples of Dead Raised

1. The Widow’s Son at Zarephath – 1 Kings 17:17-24

– Description: The son of a widow in Zarephath fell ill and died, with no breath left in him. The prophet Elijah prayed to God, and the child’s soul returned, reviving him.

– Reference: 1 Kings 17:22 – “And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.”

2. The Shunammite Woman’s Son – 2 Kings 4:18-37

– Description: The son of a Shunammite woman died suddenly. The prophet Elisha prayed and performed a physical act of lying on the child, and the boy was restored to life.

– Reference: 2 Kings 4:35 – “Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.”

3. The Man Thrown into Elisha’s Tomb – 2 Kings 13:20-21

– Description: After Elisha’s death, a dead man’s body was thrown into Elisha’s tomb. Upon touching Elisha’s bones, the man revived and stood up.

– Reference: 2 Kings 13:21 – “And it came to pass, as they were burying a man, that, behold, they spied a band of men; and they cast the man into the sepulchre of Elisha: and when the man was let down, and touched the bones of Elisha, he revived, and stood up on his feet.”

New Testament Examples of People Raised from the Dead

4. Jairus’ Daughter – Matthew 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56

– Description: The 12-year-old daughter of Jairus, a synagogue ruler, died. Jesus took her hand and commanded her to arise, and she was restored to life.

– Reference: Mark 5:41-42 – “And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked.”

5. The Widow’s Son at Nain – Luke 7:11-17

– Description: Jesus encountered a funeral procession for a widow’s only son. He touched the bier, commanded the young man to arise, and he sat up and began to speak.

– Reference: Luke 7:14-15 – “And he said, Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak.”

6. Lazarus – John 11:1-44

– Description: Lazarus, a friend of Jesus, died and was in the tomb for four days. Jesus called him out of the tomb, and Lazarus came forth alive.

– Reference: John 11:43-44 – “And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth.”

7. Jesus Christ – Matthew 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-12; John 20:1-18

– Description: Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day, He rose from the dead through divine power, fulfilling His own prophecy.

– Reference: Matthew 28:6 – “He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay.”

8. Many Saints at Jesus’ Crucifixion – Matthew 27:50-53

– Description: At the moment of Jesus’ death, the graves of many saints were opened, and they arose after His resurrection, appearing to many in Jerusalem.

– Reference: Matthew 27:52-53 – “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.”

9. Tabitha (Dorcas) – Acts 9:36-43

– Description: Tabitha, a disciple known for her good works, died. Peter prayed, commanded her to arise, and she opened her eyes and sat up.

– Reference: Acts 9:40 – “But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up.”

10. Eutychus – Acts 20:7-12

– Description: Eutychus fell from a third-story window during Paul’s preaching and was taken up dead. Paul embraced him, and he was restored to life.

– Reference: Acts 20:9-10 – “And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: … and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.”

Total Count

– Old Testament: 3 individuals (Widow’s Son at Zarephath, Shunammite’s Son, Man in Elisha’s Tomb).

– New Testament: 7 specific individuals (Jairus’ Daughter, Widow’s Son at Nain, Lazarus, Jesus Christ, Tabitha, Eutychus) plus an unspecified number of saints (referred to as “many” in Matthew 27:52-53).

– Total Individuals: At least 10 named or specific individuals, with additional unspecified saints in Matthew 27:52-53.

Answering the Mystery Question

This was an almost comprehensive list of the physically dead that were brought back by God’s power into the “Land of the Living”. As you noticed this list included “Jesus Christ”. However, the question is still unanswered. What made the resurrection of Jesus completely different from every other human being that God gave back life to? The simple answer is that everyone raised from the “dead” by the power of God, ALL of these physically raised people DIED AGAIN! Only Jesus was raised from the dead, and lives forever and He will never die again. This is the beginning of the answer. But let’s confirm the TRUTH!

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

From the mouth of Jesus, He claims to have been “dead” but now after resurrection has as physical flesh and bone body that will “NEVER” experience “death” or separation from God His Father again forever! Wow! What else does the Bible say that is different from all other humans that were raised from the dead? Take a look at this verse:

Rev 1:5  And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Wow! Please read this verse very carefully. We can see from the reference of the “blood” that this is concerning the death of our Lord and Savior on a cross where He physically suffered in our place to pay the ultimate death penalty for us all because we all have sinned.

But please focus on the phrase “THE FIRST BEGOTTEN OF THE DEAD”! This has been one of the most IGNORED statements in the Bible.  The Greek word translated as “begotten” is the Greek word “prototokos” (G4416). This word is most popularly translated as “firstborn”.  It is used in Mathew 1 and Luke 2 to describe Jesus being the “firstborn” son of Mary in the Bethlehem stable. But this birth is not the same as the “firstborn” birth that Jesus is stated to experience in the verse of Revelation 1:5. The first birth of Mary is purely natural and physical a child coming into the world through normal physical life birth born of a natural woman, and the other first birth is completely a Spirit of God rebirth from the “Dead” as plainly stated. Let us confirm this again with scripture:

Col 1:18  And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Do you see what God is saying? Here the translators made the choice to use the word “firstborn” from the dead.  But we know this verse is still speaking of Jesus in this verse by claiming He is the “Head” of the church body. God further claims that this “birth” gave Jesus the “preeminence” over “ALL” others that were labeled “dead”. This word “preeminence” is very confusing to many since Jesus was God incarnate in human flesh. Didn’t God the Creator already have all “preeminence” over all of His created creation? That is another mystery for another lesson. But why is Jesus being called the “Firstborn” from the dead? Is is impossible for this description to be referring to a natural birth like He is called with Marry in Matthew and Luke. Therefore, this birth can only be a spiritual rebirth or what Jesus called in John 3:3 being “born again”.

Joh 3:3  Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Hopefully, you know when Jesus spoke these words to a human man, He was also a Human Man as well as being the Son of God simultaneously. I believe with all of my heart, Jesus had to be including Himself in this statement. We can begin to see the reason why by what we just read in Colossians 1:18, this second spiritual birth causes Him to have all “Authority” both in heaven and on the earth as Jesus claimed in Matthew 28:18 saying “All power is given to me both in heaven an on the earth”. Wow, the works of God are truly amazing and complex for many.

Conclusion

What we are observing on this “Passover Lamb” Resurrection Day Celebration is that Him being raised from the dead was completely different than anyone else in human history that was every raised from the dead. We can see how God described Jesus to have died physically once on a cross and we are now beginning to see how that He was also being described to have been born twice, once a natural birth of Mary in Bethlehem and the second birth occurred when He was raised from the dead after His death on a cross. These two births could not have occurred in any other order or sequence of recorded Bible events.

Now Jesus is the only man in heaven with a physical body that never dies. The Bible says this resurrection was God’s “firstfruits”.

Co 15:20  But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.

The term “them that slept” is referring to natural and physical death viewing the the natural body as being motionless while buried in the ground and decaying. This is not a soul sleep as some teach. Spirits never sleep only naturally bodies sleep. Did you know Jesus was raised from the dead on the “Feast of Firstfruits”? Every other Christian whether physically dead or alive is awaiting our own resurrection that will be occurring much sooner than many people think or believe.

Very soon we will all have bodies that never die. This will be a glorious day for all Christians. For those that have not believed in Jesus and made Him their Lord and Savior, this will not be a good time. It is not too late to make Jesus your Lord and believe the Truth about His death, burial and resurrection. It all happened just as recorded in God’s Holy Word. Please search for Him and you will find Him. If you are ready to receive Him there is a link at the bottom of this lesson to receive Him.

Jesus is coming back for us very soon. Please celebrate his death, burial and resurrection with the greatest antic pated joy for His soon return. God bless you all and thank you for reading and studying the Bible with us. God loves you and we love you and He is coming very soon!

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