7/27/2019 The Two Resurrections

1/3

The two resurrections

The issue of resurrection confuses many people who are not familiar with the teaching of theChurch. They read in the Holy Bible about a first and a second death, or a first and a secondresurrection, and the views that they formulate are many and various. In this article, we shallattempt to explain this issue in brief, with the aid of the experience of the saints throughouttime.

Spiritual Death and Spiritual ResurrectionBodily Death and Bodily ResurrectionFirst resurrection and second death

Spiritual Death and Spiritual Resurrection

When God made man in His likeness, He had also warned man that he must not eat the fruitof a specific tree. God had said to him: On the day that you eat from this (tree) you shalldie, without fail. (Genesis 2: 17).

And yet, Adam lived on, for many more years after he had eaten from that tree. (Genesis 5:5).So, what happened? Did God lie to Adam? Or was God perhaps referring to a different kind ofdeath, and not the biological death that we are familiar with?

In Genesis 2: 7, it says about the creation of man: And He (God) blew into his (Adams)nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul. Now, why does it say living soul?Is there such a thing as a dead soul? And if there is, when is a soul dead?

The holy fathers teach us that the above verse does not describe how God gave life to a deadbody, but that He gave Adam the Holy Spirit, which vitalized him spiritually. So, when Adam

ate of the forbidden fruit, he lost the Holy Spirit that kept him spiritually alive and he thencebecame spiritually dead a dead soul.

This is where we identify the meaning behind the Christian baptism, which makes man aliving soul again, just as Adam was, prior to his downfall. We see this phrased in Ephesians 2:5,6 also: And while we were dead on account of sins, it vitalized us through Christ.and itresurrected us with Him..

These words are spoken by the apostle Paul, without him being biologically dead yet. So heis obviously not speaking of a physical resurrection here, but a spiritual one.

Or are you unaware that those of us who were baptized in Christ, were baptized into Hisdeath? We were therefore buried along with Him, through this baptism into His death, so thatjust as Christ arose from the dead through the glory of the Father- so shall we walk in anewness of life. For, if we became conjoined to the likeness of His death, so we shall also be(conjoined), to His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old person was co-crucified in orderto abolish the body of sin; that we shall no longer be enslaved to sin. so, if we die alongwith Christ, we believe that we shall (one day) live with Him. (Romans 6: 3 - 8).

With Holy Baptism therefore, man is resurrected Spiritually. This also appears in the verse ofActs 2: 38: Repent, I say, and be baptized, each one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, forthe absolution of your sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

So, that which Adam lost when he sinned - which rendered him Spiritually Dead can beattained by man, through Holy Baptism. It is the gift of the Holy Spirit; it is the rebirth, ofwhich the Lord Jesus Christ had spoken to Nicodemus, in John 3: 3 - 8: if one is not born ofof water and Spirit, he is not able to enter the kingdom of God.

7/27/2019 The Two Resurrections

2/3

Spiritual Death, therefore, is when someone loses the Holy Spirit, and Spiritual Resurrection iswhen he re-acquires it.

Bodily Death and Bodily Resurrection

As for the death of the body, there is no need to go into much detail, as we are all familiarwith it. So, just as Spiritual Death is the separation of the soul from the Holy Spirit, in thesame sense, the body without spirit is dead. (James 2: 26).

The word resurrection means setting upright again. But, for something to be set uprightagain, it must have previously fallen. In this resurrection, that which falls and returns to theground is the body. (Ecclesiastes 12:7). This is what is set upright again during theresurrection. This is why Protestantism (mainly) is incorrect in waiting for something it callsresurrection, yet not believing that this will regain their bodies. They give a vaguedescription of a certain celestial Paradise and of their ascent to heaven, but without ever

clarifying any of these.

But for Christians, the Spiritual resurrection through baptism is not enough; in fact, theyawait the redemption of their body: ..and we, who have our beginning in the Spirit, we toosigh within ourselves, awaiting the adoption, the redemption of our bodies.. (Romans 8:23).

For Christians, a paradise of souls is not enough; because, as God had intended it from themoment of mans creation, the physical body will also be a part of that paradise. It isnt onlythe souls of people that suffered and struggled in their lifetime; the bodies of Christians alsoparticipated. Similarly, it wasnt only the souls of the irreverent that sinned, but their bodies

also. Thus, whatever the soul is going to receive, the body must also receive, be it a blessingor a curse. And, just as God created the earth for man to live on, it is on this same earth,only renovated, that man shall live on, forever. (Revelations 21: 1,2).

creation itself shall also be liberated from the bondage of deterioration, into the freedomof the light of Gods children. (Romans 8: 21). According to the promise of God, we awaitnew skies and a new earth. (Peter II, 3: 13).

Just like the rest of creation, the resurrected body will also be imperishable: the dead will beresurrected imperishably, and we (the living) shall be transformed. (Corinthians I, 15: 52).

Then, just as the Lord Jesus Christ was on earth but simultaneously in heaven, (John 3: 13), sowill be the resurrected Saints; while they shall be on earth, they will also live as denizens ofheaven which is something that already occurs, even now. (Ephesians 2: 6; Hebrews 11: 16,12: 22,23; Revelations 20: 4 - 6).

First resurrection and second death

In Revelations 20: 4 - 6, three groups of people are described as seated on thrones andreigning together with the Lord Jesus Christ. They are the Christians who died during variouspersecutions, the Christians who will die under the beast, and a group that is mentioned firstof all, but is not described in detail. These three groups of people constitute the whole

Church, which will eventually receive the kingdom along with the Lord Jesus Christ.

In these verses we read:4. And I saw thrones. And they sat upon them, and (the authority of) judgment was given

7/27/2019 The Two Resurrections

3/3