The Resurrected Body

1 S from the dead, referred to as the First Resurrection important questions. and the Second Resurrection. This raises several criptures reveal that there are two Great Resurrections •How is the divine aspect of our nephesh (the self or person) resurrected back to life? •What kind of body will we have when we return to life during either of these two Great Resurrections? •Will our body be ﬂesh or spirit, mor- tal or immortal? •Does our new body get old and suf- fer from disease or does it remain forev- er young and vibrant? Saul begins to address these questions in his ﬁrst letter to the assembly at Corinth. He points out that some will ask the questions, “How are the dead raised? And with what body do they come?,” 1 Saul responds by dividing the process into two categories: 1.The type of body at the resurrection 2.The quickening of this body at the time of our change when one attains eternal life. The issue of quickening the body into eternal life will be taken up in detail in another discussion. For now we will concentrate on the incorruptible body that a person re- ceives at their resurrection. In this regard, Scriptures teach that, when we rise up from the grave, our nephesh (person) will have a new ru- ach (spirit)-type physical body composed of incorruptible ﬂesh. With this new body, the ruach (spirit) of life will be restored to us and we will once more live. Nevertheless, we shall remain mortal until we have qual- iﬁed to be quickened into eternal life. From the Grave At death, the body itself—except in circumstances of total dissolution (e.g., being turned to ashes or dust and scat- tered)—is the home of the nephesh while it is in the state of sheol (death). The ﬂesh is ‘apha r (dust or material sub- stance of the ground), and the nephesh (person, self) “clings to the ‘aphar ”2 while in a death sleep in sheol . In turn, the res- urrected person must come forth from the ‘aphar . This detail is plainly explained in Scriptures. When a person is raised, their body will be called out either from the grave or from the ‘apha r (ground, water, or other mate- rial substance) in the vicinity where the body experienced total dissolution. In the latter case, this adjoining ‘apharbecomes the grave for the divine part of the human nephesh. It is where the body is buried that one ﬁrst looks for the return to life of the nephesh . This understanding is certain- ly indicatedas the reasonthatthe patriarchs(Abraham, Isaak, Jacob,etc.)and their wivessoughttobe buried in the Promised Land. 3 Joseph, the son of Jacob,eveninsistedthat,in the fu- ture, when the Israelites left Egypt during the Exodus, his body wouldbe removedfromEgyptand placed in the PromisedLand4—a requestthatmakeslittle sense unless he desired to show his trust in the resurrection and longed to be resurrected in the Promised Land. Meanwhile,Moses, who wasforbiddentoenterthe royal portion of the Promised Land was buried on Mount Nebo, just east of the Dead Sea. 5 He will cross over into the royal portion, the land of Kanaan after he has been resur- rected during the First Resurrection. Important examples of this principle are as follows: The Resurrected Body “It is where the body is buried that one first looks for the return to life of the nephesh.”2 THE RESURRECTED BODY • When those of Israel are resurrected from the dead, Yahweh reports, “You will know that I am Yahweh, when I have opened your graves and have brought you up out of your graves, my people, and I have put my ruach into you and you will live.”(Ezek. 37:13-14 ) • When the Messiah died and was raised, “tombs were opened, and many bodies of the fallen asleep (i.e., dead) saints arose, and having GONE FORTH OUT OF THE TOMBS after his (Yahushua’s) arising, entered into the sacred city and appeared to many.” 6 No doubt the reawakenings of these saints (and not of the wicked) came about due to the power of the sacred ruach which was nearby at the time it was used to raise the Messiah from the dead. The import- ant point is that the person came out of the grave where his physical nephesh and body was placed. • In another statement the Messiah informs us, “Truly, truly, I say to you, that an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the son of the deity, and those having heard will live. For even as the father has life in himself, so he also gives to the son life in himself, and au- thority he gives to him also to execute Judgment, because he is the son of man. Do not wonder at this, for an hour is coming in which ALL THOSE IN THE TOMBS WILL HEAR HIS VOICE, AND WILL COME FORTH, those that practiced good, unto a resurrection of life, and those that do evil to a resurrection of judgment.” (John 5:25-29) • When Lazarus, a friend of the Messiah, was raised from the dead by Yahushua, his body was brought forth from the tomb in which he was buried. 7 “And he (Lazarus) who had been dead came forth, bound feet and hands with grave clothes, and his face with a handkerchief bound about. Yahushua said to them, Loose him and let him go.” (John 11:44) • The Messiah himself died, being nailed upon a torture- stake, 8 but came back to life from his tomb. Suﬀering death, he (the nephesh or self) went into the state of sheol in the midst of the land (i.e., buried in a grave or tomb). 9 Then after lying in the grave for three days, 10 the Messiah was resurrected and his own body came out of his tomb, 11 for he was still able to manifest the nail holes in his ﬂesh.12 • The two great witnesses of Yahweh who are murdered 3½ days prior to the First Resurrection are left unburied in a broad place of Jerusalem. 13 “And after these 3½ days, the ruach of life from the deity entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and a great fear fell upon those beholding them.” (Rev. 11:11) • If one’s grave is in a dunghill, he will be raised from its trash. This will even be true for a member of the Elect.14 Similarly, if one died and was buried at sea, then they will rise from the sea. 15 We should note that whether we are discussing revi- talization (the resurrection of a corruptible body into an incorruptible body) or reactivation (the resurrection of an incorruptible body that has died), there will be no need for a resting place for the dead when the renewed heavens and earth are created at the end of our current world age. Consequently, at that time, sheol (the state of death) will no longer exist. 16 Flesh, Nephesh, and Ruach The individual that is brought up during either of the two Great Resurrections will be composed of their person and innermost self, having a new ﬂeshly ruach -type incorrupt- ible body, and brought back to life by the animating ruach . •A Body of Flesh – The body that returns from the dead during either of the two Great Resurrections is composed of ruach -type ﬂesh—i.e., the bodies of those coming up in the First Resurrection and Second Resurrections will have an incorruptible ﬂeshly body. That we are resurrected with a ruach -type incorruptible body of ﬂesh is conﬁrmed by several facts. Job addresses the issue of a ﬂesh-and-blood body after the Resurrection during his lamentations. While voicing his desire to die and go to sheol because of the terrible ail- ments that were then aﬄicting his body, Job writes: For I know that my redeemer is living and at the last he will raise (us) up above the ‘aphar. 17 And after this skin of mine corrodes, YET FROM MY FLESH I WILL SEE ELOAH, whom I will see for myself, and my eyes will see, and not an- other’s (eyes); (although now) my reins in my bosom are exhausted. ( Job 19:25 ) That this passage is a discussion of Job’s own resurrec- tion (at which time Yahweh will be standing above the ‘aphar which is being raised, i.e., Job’s body) is further sup- ported by the ancient Greek Septuagint (LXX) translation of this verse: For I know that he is eternal who is about to deliver me, to raise up upon the land my skin (“body” in the Alex. LXX) that endures these (suﬀerings). ( LXX Job 19:25-26 ) The main point that must be gleaned from this verse is that Job will see his Savior after the Resurrection and that he will do so with his own ﬂesh and eyes. We have the same indication in Isaiah 40:5 (quoted by Luke 3:6), which speaks of the time after the Resurrection: And the glory of Yahweh will be revealed, and ALL FLESH will see it together, for the mouth of Yahweh has spoken. ( Isaiah 44:5 )3 THE RESURRECTED BODY In another place Isaiah directly states, “their dead bodies will stand up,” 18 meaning that the nephesh that lies dor- mant in the ‘aphar of the ground will be resurrected. At the same time, this new body will be a mortal, ruach -type incorruptible body of ﬂesh. This detail is conﬁrmed by the fact that shortly after the Messiah’s resurrection, when he was quickened into a higher, immortal ruach form, he reminded his followers that he was still ﬂesh and bone.19 The discussion regarding this aspect of the resurrected body will be reserved for a later part of this study. For now it will suﬃce to show that we will still have some kind of ﬂesh or physical body upon our being resurrected. •Salvation of the Nephesh –It is important to realize that, just because one is resurrected, it does not mean one automatically attains immortality or that this body is no longer of a ﬂesh-and-blood type. To demonstrate, the apostle Keph (Peter) points out that our trust in the Messiah will result in our . . . receiving as the end of your trust THE SALVA- TION OF YOUR yucw`n (psuchon = NEPHESH), concerning which salvation the prophets sought out and searched out, who prophesied of the grace toward you.” ( 1 Pet. 1:8-10 ) Psalms similarly refers to the resurrection of the nephesh where it has: Also, my ﬂesh will rest in hope, for you will not leave my nephesh in sheol. ( Ps. 16:10 ) A nephesh is, on the one hand, the exchange of oxygen in the blood,20 and, by extension, “life” itself. The human nephesh diﬀers from that of the animal world in that the ﬂeshly nephesh of mankind was combined with the breath (sacred ruach ) of Yahweh when Adam was made a living nephesh , 21 creating a nephesh that clings to the ‘aphar in death rather than dissipating when the creature dies. The human nephesh (person) includes the leb (inner self, mind) and lebab (innermost self, subconscious mind), which require a ﬂesh-and-blood existence to live and be self-aware. •The Ruach of Life – As with the present human con- dition, besides a corruptible ﬂeshly body and our nephesh , we must also have the ruach of life or animating ruach . The animating ruach belongs to Yahweh.22 It only becomes our possession while we are permitted to live.23 Even the Messiah gave up this animating ruach when he died.24 Saul informs us: Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very deity of peace sanctify you wholly, and your entire pneuma (= ruach) and the psuche (= nephesh) and soma (= gewiyah; body) will be preserved as blameless at the coming of our sovereign Yahushua the Messiah. ( 1 Thes. 5:23 ) Therefore, all three parts (the body, the person, and the animating ruach ) must be brought back together and pre- served as blameless at the Messiah’s coming—whether at his second coming, when the First Resurrection takes place, or at his third coming, at the end of the Millennial Judgment Day, when he returns with father Yahweh. This animating ruach , as previously noted, must not be confused with the sacred ruach which was blown into Adam’s mouth, combining with his ﬂeshly nephesh to create the human person, nor with that manifestation of the sacred ruach which will cover us at the quickening, giving us eternal life. For example, at the time of his second coming the Messiah will give the Elect eternal life.25 Nevertheless, eternal life is the next stage after being resurrected back to life. The Resurrection itself can only bring you back to a mortal life. A higher level of life springs forth from the sacred ruach , which will quicken us, “each in his own tagmati ( tagmati ; rank, order).”26 The Resurrection Process An excellent description of the resurrection process is de- scribed in Ezekiel 37, in the vision of the valley full of the dry bones of deceased Israelites. In these passages it is ex- plained how those of the Elect of Israel will be brought to life during the First Resurrection. And he (Yahweh) said to me, Prophesy to these bones and say to them, Dry bones, hear the word of Yahweh. Thus says adonai Yahweh to these bones, Behold, I will make ruach enter into you and you will live. And I will put upon you sinews, and will bring up upon you ﬂesh, and will spread over you skin, and put in you ruach, and you will live. And you will know that I am Yahweh. So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I prophesied there was a noise, and behold, a shaking. And the bones drew near, a bone to its bone. And I watched, and behold, THE SINEWS AND THE FLESH CAME UP UPON THEM, AND THE SKIN SPREAD OVER THEM FROM ABOVE. YET NO RUACH WAS IN THEM. Then he said to me, Prophesy to the ruach. Prophesy son of Adam and say to the ruach, Thus says adonai Yahweh, from the four winds, Come ruach and blow on these slain ones, so that they will live. So I prophesied as he com- manded me, AND THE RUACH CAME INTO THEM AND THEY LIVED AND STOOD UPON THEIR FEET, a very, very great army.4 THE RESURRECTED BODY And he said to me, son of Adam, these bones are all the house of Israel. Behold, they say, Our bones are dried and our hope has perished. We are cut oﬀ to ourselves. Therefore prophesy and say to them, Thus says adonai Yahweh, Behold, I will open your graves and cause you to come up out of your graves, my people, and will bring you to the land of Israel. And you will know that I am Yahweh in that I opened your graves, and have brought you up out of your graves, my people. And I will put my ruach in you, and you will live, and I will put you upon your own land, and you will know that I, Yahweh, have spoken and have done it. ( Ezek. 37:4-14 ) Therefore, the grave is opened and the body is recon- structed around, and in union with, the nephesh (self, per- son), which in the state of sheol (death) has been clinging to the ‘aphar (dust). 27 At ﬁrst the bones come into existence and are put togeth- er, followed by sinews and ﬂesh (because the resurrected body has ﬂesh), and ﬁnally the skin, which spreads over the body from above. The body is new but the nephesh (with its leb and lebab ) is the same person who died. However, even though the body is reconstructed around the nephesh , the person has not yet come to life. The awakening and animation of the nephesh only occurs when the animating ruach from Yahweh enters into the new ruach -type incorruptible body. Furthermore, it is only after the nephesh has been awak- ened from its death sleep that “you will know that I am Yahweh.” In other words, even if one knew before death that Yahweh would in the future resurrect him, you cannot “know” that “I am Yahweh” until after one has been awak- ened from sheol and have become self aware, for there is no knowledge or self awareness while in sheol . Marked Out How does one distinguish the Elect of the First Resurrec- tion from other lifeless persons lying in sheol who will arise during the Second Resurrection? According to Scriptures, those accounted worthy are marked.28 In Revelation we read that the 144,000 Elect of Israel, who suﬀer through the Great Tribulation that occurs just before the First Resurrection, being servants of the living deity, must be “sealed” on their foreheads. 29 What is this mark that seals the Elect? Revelation reports the following: And I saw, and behold, the lamb (the Messi- ah) standing upon Mount Zion, and with him a 144,000, HAVING THE NAME OF HIS FATHER (i.e., Yahweh) WRITTEN UPON THEIR FORE- HEADS. ( Rev. 14:1 ) A seal, of course, is a mark. It is also obvious that this mark of the sacred name is not a physical impression on the body. The word “name” indicates one’s character,30 and therefore a reﬂection of the person’s nature. In eﬀect, carrying the name Yahweh reﬂects having the divine nature, for you are part of Yahweh, being part of the body of Yahweh. As a result, the very idea that the name has been placed upon the forehead of the Elect refers to the divine nature being placed in their minds, especially the lebab (inner- most self). The Elect, therefore, are marked out by their acquiring the divine nature within their lebab , a subcon- scious nature obtained by their trust and adherence to the instructions of father Yahweh. Carrying the sacred name also indicates that the person has the sacred ruach . Scriptures, for example, indicate that the 144,000 Elect of Israel of the First Resurrection will be baptized with the sacred ruach , placed upon them in the sacred name, prior to their experiencing the Great Tribula- tion and their death. 31 Indeed, the sacred ruach separates and marks out these men from others by the fact that it remains with them af- ter their death. Our example comes with the members of the 24 Elders of the First Resurrection. 32 Moses was so ﬁlled with the sacred ruach that his face shined or radiated;33 and Yah- weh, because of his special position and attributes, buried Moses so that no man could ﬁnd him.34 The great prophet Elijah, who like Moses was ﬁlled with the sacred ruach , was hidden away from men. 35 In this re- gard, both Moses and Elijah are represented as rising up in the First Resurrection. 36 The twelve apostles are also deﬁned this way, and they too were ﬁlled with the sacred ruach . 37 Elisha, as still another example, had “a double portion” of the sacred ruach . 38 That the sacred ruach remained with him after death is demonstrated by the fact that his dead body was still able to raise the dead long after his own de- mise.39 These details indicate that such men will not only have the divine nature in them but their nephesh will continue to have the enhanced light of Yahweh’s sacred ruach after their death. Others who have possessed the gift of the sa- cred ruach in this life lose it upon death.5 THE RESURRECTED BODY The Elect, on the other hand, will retain the sacred ruach after death, sealing in their nature. As a result, Yahweh will be able to distinguish them from others while they yet lay in sheol . Like the Messiah’s Body Saulnotes that at the Resurrection we willobtaina body resembling the one Messiah had. More specifically, we are to acquire a body like the fleshly body Yahushua had while hewasamanontheearth,beforehisresurrectionfrom the dead, i.e., a ruach -type incorruptible fleshly body, one that was still mortal. Saul writes regarding the resurrected body: It is sown a yucikovn (psuchikon = nephesh- type) body; it stands up a pneumatikovn ( pneumatikon =ruach-type) body. There is a nephesh-type body and there is a ruach-type body. So also it has been written, the first man, Adam, created εἰς (into)a living nephesh; the last Adam εἰς (into) a living ruach. ( 1 Cor. 15:44-45 ) Yet the first (Adam) was not the ruach-type, but was the nephesh-type. Afterward came the ruach-type. The first man was ejk (ek; from out of) the earth, made of earth; the second man, the sovereign, ejx (eks; from out of) the heavens. As is the earthy, such also are those made of earth; and such as the heavenly one, such also the heavenly ones. AND ACCORDING AS WE BORE THE IMAGE OF THE ONE MADE OF EARTH, WE WILL ALSO BEAR THE IMAGE OF THE HEAVENLY ONE. ( 1 Cor. 15:47-49 ) Notice that the body we will obtain after the Resurrec- tion is like the one that the Messiah had when he came “from out of” the heavens, i.e., when he was transformed into a human, not like the quickened ruach -type body he had when he returned to the heavens. Since the Messiah shed his blood for us,40 and blood ac- tually came out of him,41 it is clear that his type of ﬂesh contained blood, and therefore, he was a nephesh being and was human. The Messiah’s body also has one other unique feature. Unlike our present corruptible ﬂeshly bodies—which hlb ( balah ; decay, wear out), 42 i.e., suﬀer from disease and ag- ing—Yahushua’s earthly body, incorporated as it was with his preexistent heavenly form, was NOT tjç ( shakhath ; de- caying, rotting). 43 Herein lies the reason that Yahushua allowed himself to be murdered. He had an incorruptible (nondecaying) body and, without some form of outside intervention or person- ally sinning, his body would not have suﬀered old age or a natural death. The fact that he was murdered also demon- strates that those with incorruptible bodies can still suﬀer death. In addition, as a preexistent heavenly being who joined with ﬂesh and blood to become human, Yahushua was not allowed to experience corruption in the grave. In a prophecy about the Messiah, King David, remarks: You will not give your pious one to see תחש (shakhath; decay, rotting). ( Ps. 16:10 ) Therefore, unlike the term hlb ( balah ), which means “to wear out, decay,” and which is used to describe the condi- tion of our present living bodies, thç ( shakhath ) refers to the “spoilt” or “decaying” condition of the body in a grave as it lies “rotting” after death. After citing the passage from Psalms in Acts 2:25-28 , the apostle Keph makes the following comment to the Jews in Jerusalem: Men, brethren, it is permitted me to speak with freedom to you concerning the patriarch David, that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is among us until this day. Therefore, being a prophet and knowing that with an oath the deity swore to him, out of the fruit of his loins, as concerning the ﬂesh, to raise up the Messiah, to sit upon his throne. Foreseeing this, he spoke concerning the resurrection of the Messiah, that his nephesh (soul) would not be left in sheol (hell) nor would his ﬂesh see diafqoravn (diaphthoran; corruption). 44 ( Acts 2:29-31 ) The Greek term diafqoravn ( diaphthoran ) is used in the LXX to translate the Hebrew word thç ( shakhath ). 45 To rot or be spoilt is the essential meaning.46 As another example, Saul, referring to Psalm 16:10, writes: And that he raised him (the Messiah) from out of the dead, NO MORE ABOUT TO RETURN INTO diafqoravn (diaphthoran; ROTTING), thus he spoke, “I will give to you the trustful mercies of David.” Wherefore also in another (place) he said, “You will not suﬀer your pious one to see diafqoravn (diaphthoran; rotting).” For David indeed, to his own generation having served by the counsel of the deity (Yahweh), fell asleep, and was added to his fathers, and saw diafqoravn (diaphthoran; rotting). Yet he whom the deity awoke (resurrected) did not see diafqoravn (diaphthoran; rotting). ( Acts 13:34-37 ) Therefore, even though, like King David, all humans in their present ﬂeshly form see corruption, Yahushua the Messiah did not. In still another prophecy regarding the Messiah, Psalms states:6 THE RESURRECTED BODY A brother cannot at all redeem a male, nor give to eloahim a ransom for him, and the re- demption of the nephesh is precious, and it ceases for a world age and yet lives for a world age. He (the redeemer) will not see תחשה (ha- shakhath; the rotting). (Ps. 49:7-9 ) These passages prove that Yahushua had died. Yet be- cause of the nondecaying, incorruptible form of his body, after three days in the tomb,47 he had not yet begun to rot when he was raised back to life. Nonetheless, Saul’s statement that Yahushua was “no more about to return into rotting” still indicates that, given enough time, his body would have been on its way toward rotting. Therefore, after his death the Messiah’s body could be destroyed or further damaged, which explains why his fol- lowers retrieved his body from the stake before the Jewish priests and leaders could lay their hands upon it. This detail also explains why father Yahweh did not let the process of the Messiah’s death go any further than the third day after his execution. The fact that he was in the tomb for three days proves he was most assuredly dead, yet it was within the time frame before his ruach -type body would begin to decay. The Incorruptible Body Just as with the Messiah during the time that he was a ﬂeshly man, those of the resurrection will have new incor- ruptible (i.e., a ruach -type) body, one that is capable of in- heriting immortality. Saul begins by explaining: Yet someone will say, “How are the dead raised? With what swvmati (somati; body) do they come?” Fool, what you sow is not quick- ened UNLESS IT DIES. And what do you sow? YOU DO NOT SOW THE BODY THAT WILL BE but a bare grain; it can be of wheat or one of the rest. Not every ﬂesh is the same ﬂesh, but one ﬂesh of men, and another ﬂesh of beasts, and another of ﬁshes, and another of birds. And there are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies: but truly diﬀerent is the heavenly glory and dif- ferent is the earthly. One glory is the sun and another glory is the moon, and another glory the stars; for star to star diﬀers in glory. SO ALSO IS THE ajnavstasi~ (anastasis; standing up; i.e., RESURRECTION) OF THE DEAD. ( 1 Cor. 15:35-42a ) Straightforwardly, Saul is telling us that the corruptible ﬂesh-and-blood body that men presently have is but a bare grain that must be planted in death in order to reach a higher form. It is now one type of glory. At the resurrec- tion, what springs up is a diﬀerent kind of glory. It is a dif- ferent type of ﬂesh (as one ﬂesh can diﬀer from another). The new body is not made up of the previous type of ﬂesh, for our present ﬂesh is corruptible (decaying), i.e., it ages, becomes diseased, and dies of itself. Our resurrected ruach -type body will be incorruptible (nondecaying), ma- turing to a prime stage of early adulthood—i.e., maintain- ing a youthful appearance, unable to suﬀer disease, and, although subject to a mortal wound from outside forces, unable to die of itself. Saul writes: It (the body) is sown in fqora`/ (phthora; cor- ruption, decay), 48 it egivretai (egeiretai; awak- ens) in ajfqarsiva (aphtharasia; incorruption, i.e., A NONDECAYING FORM). 49 ( 1 Cor. 15:42b ) The Greek term diafqorav ( diaphthora ), which is used to describe what kind of body the Messiah did “not” have, is a form of the term fqora`/ ( phthora ; corruption). Concise- ly, in our present form, we have a decaying or corruptible body—a body that degenerates, is subject to inﬁrmities, and dies of itself. On the other hand, the word ajfqarsiva ( aphtharasia ), which is the type of body the Messiah had from his birth as a human, is the negative form of fqora`/ ( phthora ; decaying) and literally means “nondecaying.” Some Christian dictionaries and concordances will often add “immortality” or “unending existence,” 50 68 but this is a slight misrepresentation of the Greek word. By “incorruptible” or “nondecaying,” it means that if left to itself, the body will not decay (become diseased, grow old, or die of itself). Yet the nondecaying body can still suﬀer death and be destroyed by outside forces. For example, Isaiah, while speaking of that future time, remarks: There will no more be לוע (aul; evil) 5169 days and an old man who has not fulﬁlled his days, for as a youth, a son of a hundred years, he (the old man) WILL DIE; and the sinner, (as) the son of a hundred years, he will be unworthy. ( Isaiah 65:20 ) The meaning of Isaiah’s words, which are glossed over by the LXX paraphrase, 52 are set within the context of the Millennial Judgment Day. Isaiah does not mean that a youth will die at a hundred years of age (for during this time people may well live to be a 1,000 years old before the ﬁnal judgment), but rather young person brought back in the resurrection of the dead will reach a youthful form when reaching 100 years old, and will retain that form when becoming “an old man.” Nevertheless, if that old man proves to be a sinner and is unworthy of attaining eternal life (although he retains a youthful body, a form arrived at during the ﬁrst 100 years of Judgment), “he will die.” 7 THE RESURRECTED BODY In this sense, if unaﬀected by any outside intrusion (e.g., one being murdered, given death in the Gehenna Fire, etc.), an incorruptible body, once quickened, could experi- ence an unending existence as a youthful person. Nevertheless, an incorruptible, nondecaying body can still suﬀer death or dismemberment. For example, if one was beheaded, regardless of his nondecaying body, he would die. Indeed, the Messiah suﬀered death by being murdered. Yahushua even warned that it was better to enter into life (i.e., eternal life) without an eye or hand than to retain these bodily parts and be thrown into the Gehenna Fire.5372 His statement clearly shows that during the Millennial Judgment Day, a resurrected person could still lose parts of his body. As the evidence reveals, the capability of death is precisely what the Scriptures teach as the end of those who are resurrected but fail to make themselves worthy of being quickened at the Final Judgment. A Better Body is Required The important thing we must take notice of is that a new and better body is required before we can inherit eternal life. As Saul notes, our present corruptible “ﬂesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of Yahweh, nor does fqora ( phthora ; corruption) inherit ajfqarsivan ( aphtharasian ; incorruptibility).”54 Therefore, only incorruptibility can inherit incorruptibil- ity. That a new incorruptible body of ﬂesh and blood is re- quired is also revealed in the parable of the torn garment and the new wine skins. Yet no one sews a piece of unfulled cloth on an old garment: for its ﬁlling up takes away from the garment, and a worse tear takes place. Nor do they put new wine into old skins, otherwise the skins will burst, and the wine is poured out, and the skins will be destroyed; but they put new wine into new skins, and both are pre- served together. (Matt. 9:16-17; Mark 2:21-22; Luke 5:36-38) Due to the fact that Adam and Eve were given the prima- ry instruction to produce oﬀspring,55 they were originally created “naked,” i.e., they had a material body in order to perform the task. Nonetheless, they were not “ashamed,” because their material body was clothed with the sacred ruach . 56 Since their bodies were clothed, it kept them youthful, free from corruption, and capable of continuous life. 57 Unfortunately, Adam and Eve sinned, being enlightened by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, called by Jo- sephus the tree of “wisdom by which can be distinguished what was good and what was evil.” 58 Cursed with death because of their disobedience, they were now able to see that they were naked (mortal), for the sacred ruach was no longer covering them, and they were ashamed. Josephus writes: And now they became aware that they were naked and, ashamed of such exposure to the light of day, bethought them of a covering . ( Jos. Antiq. 1:1:4 ) So they hid from Yahweh, clothing themselves instead with loincloths of ﬁg leaves to conceal their nakedness.59 Yet the absence of the sacred ruach allowed entropy to set in. The curse of death now passed to all mankind. 60 The apostle Saul refers to this cursed body as “the body of this death.” 61 Therefore, when humans die, the wages of sin being death, there are two important changes that aﬀect their condition at the Resurrection. •First , those of the Resurrection do not marry,62 mean- ing that they are no longer required to produce children. •Second , they are legally sinless, having paid their debt to Yahweh. Accordingly, Yahweh will give them a ruach -type incorruptible body that is capable of inheriting eternal life. Nevertheless, this new, incorruptible body is not itself part of the Inheritance, only a prelude to giving them the Inheritance. Corruption Cannot Inherit As a result, since “ﬂesh and blood cannot inherit the king- dom of Yahweh, nor does corruption inherit incorruptibil- ity,”63 Saul adds: It (the body) is sown in dishonor; it stands up in glory. It is sown in weakness; it stands up in power. It is sown a yucikovn (psuchikon = nephesh-type) body; it stands up a pneumatikovn (pneumatikon = ruach-type) body. There is a nephesh-type body and there is a ruach-type body. ( 1 Cor. 15:43-44 ) As already stated, this resurrected, incorruptible body is deﬁned by Saul as being one like the body which Yahushua had when he came “out of the heavens” and became a man,64 i.e., a human with an incorruptible ﬂesh-and-blood body. It is clear that this body is still ﬂesh and blood, but now, enhanced and made incorruptible by ruach , it is capable of inheriting, just as the Messiah was capable of inheriting. Therefore, the evidence proves that there are two types of ﬂeshly bodies prior to our quickening:8 THE RESURRECTED BODY 1. The present human body, which is sown as a nephesh - type, corruptible ﬂesh-and-blood body. 2. The body that is raised is a ruach -type, incorruptible ﬂesh-and-blood body. This body is modeled after the one the Messiah had after he descended from the third heav- ens and was transformed into a human. The key point is, as Saul later adds, “the dead will be awakened a[fqartoi ( aphthartoi ; incorruptible, nondecay- ing).”65 In 1 Corinthians, Saul completes his discussion on this matter by pointing out that, after attaining our incor- ruptible but mortal bodies, we must then be quickened into immortal beings. 66 Those not quickened will perish with an eternal death. Still Mortal The resurrected person, having an incorruptible ﬂesh and blood body, has not attained immortality at this stage and is still mortal. This fact is reﬂected in Matthew: And you should not have fear from those ajpokteinovntwn (apokteinontun; killing) 67 the body, but the yuch;n (psuchen = nephesh) are not able to ajpoktei`nai (apokteinai; kill); 68 but you should rather fear him who is capable of ajpolevsai (apolesai; causing to utterly per- ish) 69 both person (nephesh) and the body in Gehenna. ( Matt. 10:28 ) In this passage Yahushua is advising his listeners not to be afraid of anyone, man or demon, for they can slay the body but are not capable of putting an end to the person or nephesh (the divine, ruach aspect of Adam), because Yahweh can resurrect the nephesh back to life from sheol . Rather, we should fear Yahweh, for Yahweh can per- manently destroy both the body and the nephesh in the Gehenna Fire. The Gehenna Fire, which can cause the nephesh and the body to utterly perish, envelopes the en- tire earth at the end of the Millennial Judgment Day. 70 Further, this ﬁery event occurs well after the Second Res- urrection. 71 Accordingly, as we have been informed by the above verse from Matthew, those cast into the Gehenna Fire will not only have a mortal body but a mortal nephesh , for both are subject to the Second Death and can perish in that ﬁre. Similarly, we are told in Matthew that it is more proﬁt- able for a man to enter into eternal life with his oﬀending eye cut out or with his oﬀending right hand cut oﬀ rather than “your whole body to be cast into Gehenna.”72 Since we are saving both our body and our nephesh , it is clear that we are saving the ruach -type ﬂesh and blood that such would entail. This body will also be clothed with sacred ruach as a protective covering—although the wick- ed will lose this covering before they are destroyed at the end of the world-age. The wicked will lose this protection because they will reject and blaspheme the sacred ruach . 73 A Body Like the Messiah As previously stated, our primary model of a mortal ru- ach -type incorruptible body comes with Yahushua the Messiah. As a man Yahushua had a ruach -type ﬂesh-and- blood incorruptible body but was mortal, for he suﬀered, shed blood, and died with this type of body. Since we are to have a body like the the Messiah had when he came from out of the heavens, 74 then our resur- rected bodies, like his, will also be mortal. The mortal na- ture of those resurrected is further conﬁrmed in the book of Revelation. Here it is foretold that after the 1,000-year reign of the Messiah the following will occur: And the sea will deliver up the dead in it; and death and sheol will deliver up the dead which are in them: AND they were judged, every man according to his works. And death and sheol were cast into the lake of ﬁre. THIS IS THE SEC- OND DEATH. And if anyone was not found writ- ten in the book of life, HE WAS CAST INTO THE LAKE OF FIRE. ( Rev. 20:13-15 ) Yet to the fearful, and untrusting, and abom- inable, and murderers, and those committing sexual crimes, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake which burns with ﬁre and brimstone; which is the second death. ( Rev. 21:8 ) The criminals listed in this passage are given a second death, which clearly means that they have already suﬀered a ﬁrst death and have subsequently been resurrected back to life with a new incorruptible but mortal body. The ﬁrst death, meanwhile, cannot be escaped by any- one, including the Messiah.75 The second death can be avoided if we acquire the divine nature. Those found writ- ten in the Book of Life at the end of the Millennial Judg- ment Day, on the other hand, are saved from the Gehenna Fire because, just before the arrival of father Yahweh, their mortal incorruptible bodies will have been quickened into immortal ruach beings. Clothed With the Ruach Being permanently clothed with the sacred ruach , they will not be ashamed for they will not be found naked. Af- ter their quickening, the intense ﬂames of the Gehenna Fire will have no eﬀect on them. The wicked, on the other hand, although they have been resurrected with incorrupt- ible bodies, will commit the unpardonable sin by rejecting the sacred ruach , which will then leave them. Unclothed and devoid of the sacred ruach , they will ﬁnd death in the Gehenna Fire—i.e., the second death. An excellent example which proves that those raised from the dead (and even beyond the quickening) will still have ﬂesh and bones comes with the account of the resur- rected Messiah. 9 THE RESURRECTED BODY •History shows us that Yahushua remained in sheol and his tomb for three days and nights. 76 •After three days, when those who came to see the deceased had arrived, they found Yahushua’s body miss- ing. 77 •They also found the linens and graveclothes used during the embalming of Yahushua’s body “wrapped up in one place by itself,” 78 implying that someone had un- wrapped the body. The body of the Messiah did not simply disappear. The angels at the grave site asked the visitors, “Why do you seek the living with the dead?,” 79 after which they an- nounced that the Messiah had “ hjgevrqh ( hegerthe ; awak- ened)” 80 and that he “was not here.” 81 Later on Yahushua suddenly appeared among the apos- tles who had locked themselves within a house in Jerusa- lem and said to them, “Peace be to you.” Yet being terriﬁed and ﬁlled with fear, the apostles “thought they had seen a pneuma ( pneuma , ruach or spirit being).” 82 And Yahushua said to them: Why are you troubled? And why do reasonings come up into your minds? See my hands and my feet, that I am he? Feel me and see, BE- CAUSE A SPIRIT BEING DOES NOT HAVE FLESH AND BONE, AS YOU BEHOLD ME HAVING. And saying this, he showed them the hands and feet. ( Luke 24:37-40; John 20:19-20 ) This statement is hard evidence that someone raised from the dead (and even someone quickened into immor- tality) still retains a ﬂeshly body. Yet there is an all-important diﬀerence in the resurrect- ed incorruptible body one receives during the Second Res- urrection.This type of resurrected body is reinforced by the sacred ruach of Yahweh and is incorruptible (unable to de- cay) but still mortal. Because of the incorruptible nature of the ruach -dom- inated ﬂeshly body, those of the Resurrection—whether they prove to be pious or wicked—will be able to survive until the end of the Millennial Judgment Day. At that time they will face either eternal life or eternal death by means of the Gehenna Fire. The Secret Meaning Herein lies the secret meaning behind the expression, “ﬂesh and blood will not inherit the kingdom of Yahweh”; 83 yet Yahushua did inherit the kingdom and still retained his ﬂesh. It is not “just” ﬂesh and blood that inherit but the justiﬁed person with the sacred ruach that clothes the body and enables one to inherit. More will be discussed on this issue in a separate study on the quickening. This truth was also known by the early Assemblies fol- lowing the Messiah up until the 2nd century C.E. Justin Martyr, for example, plainly states, “Yet I, and all other en- tirely orthodox Christians, know that there will be a resur- rection OF THE FLESH.” ( Justin, Trypho 80:5 ) Likewise, Tatian observes that when the nephesh (soul) dies it “is dissolved with the body, but rises again at the last (day), at the end of the world, WITH THE BODY, receiving death by punishment in eternity. Yet, again, if it acquires the knowledge of the deity, it (the body) does not die.” ( Tatian 1:13 ) Therefore, Tatian realized that a resurrected person who does not receive the knowledge of Yahweh will receive death by an eternal punishment (i.e., he will perish forever). Conclusion When humans return to life in one of the two Great Res- urrections, our nephesh (person, self), which has been clinging to the ‘aphar of our dead bodies (or, if the body has dissipated, clinging to the material elements of the ground, water, etc.) while in the state of sheol (death), will be resurrected with an incorruptible body. The combination of our nephesh with this new, ﬂeshly ruach -type incorruptible body will then be brought to life with the animating ruach of life. Despite the fact that we are resurrected into a higher form of an incorruptible ﬂeshly body, we will still be mortal (for which reason those who do not attain to salvation at the end of the Millennial Judgment Day will die a second death, being consumed in the Gehenna Fire). For those of us who are saved, our incorruptible ﬂesh and bone body will be quickened into eternal life, also by means of the sacred ruach , at the end of the Millennial Judgment Day. In this regard, we must keep in mind that the sacred ruach , which is used by Yahweh in each stage of our de- velopment into higher beings (e.g., original creation, res- urrection from the dead, quickening into eternal life, and the attainment of perfection), must not be confused with three other types of ruach : 1. The animating ruach of life, the divine power which allows us to live. 2. The psychological or mental ruach, which is de- ﬁned as the disposition and thinking part of the human nephesh (i.e., the self and innermost self) 3. That part of the sacred ruach originally given to Adam in order to form the divine aspect of the human nephesh or person. However, Yahweh will quicken this divine aspect of the nephesh , transforming those inheriting eternal life into a higher, immortal ruach form. This act will then be followed by an even higher form—our perfection, also accomplished by the sacred ruach .  QLYP Next >