The "like manner" of Acts 1:9-11

[justbyfaith]

So...you're convinced then, just like the demons, great!

Which, in James 2:19 it says that you do well if you believe and are convinced.

That verse does not tell us that it is wrong to believe; but that belief must be genuine and backed up by action or fruit coming from the person who says that he believes.

 

[Earburner]

Christ died once for all time concerning sins, a righteous person for unrighteous ones, that he might lead you to God, he being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit." —1 Pet. 3:18

On the cross Jesus shed His blood unto His death!
Unless there was a blood transfusion and a resuscitation, NO WAY was His body of "flesh and blood" going to come back to His OLD mortal life!

So then, HOW was He Resurrected to be not a spirit, but rather very visible as "flesh and bone" (without blood)?
You referenced it:
"....put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit:

 

[Earburner]

Paul also said, "you do not sow that body that shall be."

The common mistake and misunderstanding that is made, is that when Christ laid down His life and took it up again in the flesh, it was not that resurrection. His rising from the dead in the flesh was only the manifestation of His having concurred death "on earth as it is in heaven." But that does not make void the scriptures that say that the flesh "returns to the dust" and is "destroyed by fervent heat and with fire", and "cannot inherit the kingdom of God" and that it is not "that body that shall be."

So, rather than the tit for tat arguments that we followers of Christ have pitting one scripture against another (as if God could be against Himself), we have the responsibility of reconciling all scripture, which Paul revealed as "rightly dividing the word of truth"; that is, dividing or cutting a straight line between the things of this world and the things of the kingdom. In this case, that means rightly dividing Christ's rising from the dead in the flesh, from His ascension and that resurrection of prophecy. That difference was explained with Lazarus, whom Jesus raised up in the flesh, which was not the resurrection (John 11). In which case, we cannot say that body is that body that is resurrected, when the scriptures clearly say that it is not...even if it has been misunderstood and taught in error for 2000 years.

Scott, from you perspective, maybe you can expound a little bit on Matthew 27:50-54.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

On the cross Jesus shed His blood unto His death!
Unless there was a blood transfusion and a resuscitation, NO WAY was His body of "flesh and blood" going to come back to His OLD mortal life!

So then, HOW was He Resurrected to be not a spirit, but rather very visible as "flesh and bone" (without blood)?
You referenced it:
"....put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit:

He was resurrected as a spiritual person as I said and the scriptures agree. If you read all the scriptures that talk of Jesus talking to his disciples after his resurrection he appeared to them with different bodies. The Apostles and his disciples didn't recognize him by his physical appearance, they recognized him because of something he said or did that's when they recognized him to be Jesus Christ. In the scriptures Jehovah God in the past sent Angels to certain of his people and they would appear similar looking to men in physical appearance because in Angels natural state which is spiritual, humans can't see Angels in this natural state so they appear to people looking similar to humans in physical appearance. Jesus did the same thing. In Jesus natural state after his resurrection which was spiritual he appeared in many different physical bodies. The scriptures are very specific when speaking when speaking of Jesus resurrection, that eh was rewarded with immortality and inherited incorruption. So before Jesus was put to death he was mortal and corruptible but after his death and resurrection he was immortal and incorruptible. The scriptures show that mankind is mortal and corruptible but those who get a resurrection like Jesus are rewarded with immortality and inherit incorruption

 

[ScottA]

Scott, from you perspective, maybe you can expound a little bit on Matthew 27:50-54.

Matthew 27:50-54
"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

This is the apex of the year, day, and hour of Christ, the "time, times, and half a time." All that is written, is fulfilled in that moment, "in the twinkling of an eye."

 

[Earburner]

He was resurrected as a spiritual person as I said and the scriptures agree. If you read all the scriptures that talk of Jesus talking to his disciples after his resurrection he appeared to them with different bodies. The Apostles and his disciples didn't recognize him by his physical appearance, they recognized him because of something he said or did that's when they recognized him to be Jesus Christ. In the scriptures Jehovah God in the past sent Angels to certain of his people and they would appear similar looking to men in physical appearance because in Angels natural state which is spiritual, humans can't see Angels in this natural state so they appear to people looking similar to humans in physical appearance. Jesus did the same thing. In Jesus natural state after his resurrection which was spiritual he appeared in many different physical bodies. The scriptures are very specific when speaking when speaking of Jesus resurrection, that eh was rewarded with immortality and inherited incorruption. So before Jesus was put to death he was mortal and corruptible but after his death and resurrection he was immortal and incorruptible. The scriptures show that mankind is mortal and corruptible but those who get a resurrection like Jesus are rewarded with immortality and inherit incorruption

So in your estimation, Jesus had no point or purpose to say what He did in Luke 24[39] Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
What was so interesting about His hands and feet?

Like I said, you answered your own opinion with 1 Peter 3:18, but you don't believe it. "being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

 

[justbyfaith]

He was resurrected as a spiritual person as I said and the scriptures agree.

No, they don't. Consider...

Jhn 2:18, Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
Jhn 2:19, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Jhn 2:20, Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Jhn 2:21, But he spake of the temple of his body.

 

[charity]

Paul also said, "you do not sow that body that shall be."

The common mistake and misunderstanding that is made, is that when Christ laid down His life and took it up again in the flesh, it was not that resurrection. His rising from the dead in the flesh was only the manifestation of His having concurred death "on earth as it is in heaven." But that does not make void the scriptures that say that the flesh "returns to the dust" and is "destroyed by fervent heat and with fire", and "cannot inherit the kingdom of God" and that it is not "that body that shall be."

So, rather than the tit for tat arguments that we followers of Christ have pitting one scripture against another (as if God could be against Himself), we have the responsibility of reconciling all scripture, which Paul revealed as "rightly dividing the word of truth"; that is, dividing or cutting a straight line between the things of this world and the things of the kingdom. In this case, that means rightly dividing Christ's rising from the dead in the flesh, from His ascension and that resurrection of prophecy. That difference was explained with Lazarus, whom Jesus raised up in the flesh, which was not the resurrection (John 11). In which case, we cannot say that body is that body that is resurrected, when the scriptures clearly say that it is not...even if it has been misunderstood and taught in error for 2000 years.

' ... But some man will say,
How are the dead raised up?
and with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
.. And that which thou sowest,
.... thou sowest not that body that shall be,
...... but bare grain,
........ it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
.......... But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him,
............ and to every seed his own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh:
.. but there is one kind of flesh of men,
.... another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial:
.. but the glory of the celestial is one,
.... and the glory of the terrestrial is another.'
(1 Corinthians 15:35)

Hello @ScottA,

With respect, taking a verse out of it's context is not wise. Looked at within it's context, the verse you quoted does not fit the application you gave to it. The seed sown always produces 'after his kind' (Genesis 1:11-12): bare grain goes into the ground (be it wheat or some other grain), but God gives it the body as it hath pleased Him, to every seed his own body (like for like).

Your understanding of the meaning of the term to, 'rightly divide' (2 Timothy 2:15), and your application of it, is one which I am not familiar with, and I do not understand your argument concerning the death and resurrection of Christ either. Forgive me, but it just seems like a foreign language which is indecipherable to my ears. That could simply be a matter of lack of familiarity, for I am not acquainted with your beliefs, or your manner of expression.

You refer to Lazarus, but he was raised to the earth, and would have died ultimately, not having a resurrection body, which is incorruptible, but the body he was born with, which was subject to corruption. However, our Lord when He was quickened into life, and raised from the dead, was in the body He was born with, yes, I agree. However His body was without sin: He need never have tasted of death, He chose to do so, in order to bear the penalty of the sin of mankind. He had life within Himself, He had the power to lay down His life and He had power to take it again (John 10:18)..

[When Mary Magdalene saw the Lord in the garden, following His quickening, and after He was raised to life again: she sought to touch Him, but in John 20:17 it says that our Lord said to her, ' ... touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father ... ', yet in Luke 24:39, sometime much later on the same day He invites His disciples to ' ... handle Me and see ... ', which is curious don't you think? Does this indicate that the Lord had ascended to the Father and returned during that time? - (these are just my thoughts)]​

When He appeared to His disciples He had a body in which He could appear and disappear at will, but it was none the less comprised of flesh and bone: and that was the body He ascended with.

Forgive me for not being able to understand your reasoning.
In Christ Jesus
Chris

 

[Earburner]

Matthew 27:50-54
"And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. 51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. 54 So when the centurion and those with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

This is the apex of the year, day, and hour of Christ, the "time, times, and half a time." All that is written, is fulfilled in that moment, "in the twinkling of an eye."

Rev. 12:14 time, times, and half a time-
[14] And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
> Which means according to you: 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
> so, verse 52 and 53 did not literally take place, or are you saying that it did, and therefore those Saints are in paradise with Christ?
"paradise".

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

So in your estimation, Jesus had no point or purpose to say what He did in Luke 24[39] Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
What was so interesting about His hands and feet?

Like I said, you answered your own opinion with 1 Peter 3:18, but you don't believe it. "being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:"

Although the Greek word pneuʹma can refer to invisible spirit persons, the disciples were evidently using the term to refer to an apparition or a vision. Jesus showed the disciples his hands and feet and told them: “Touch me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones just as you see that I have.” (Lu 24:39) This was to prove that like angels in the past, he had materialized in order to be seen by the disciples.—Ge 18:1-8;19:1-3.

I know there are those who have been taught that Jesus Christ himself was raised with the very same body in which he was crucified, and that fact sets the pattern for all the other dead who are to be resurrected. And Jesus now has that same body in heaven to which he ascended.’ These people have been taught so in the religious systems that they have attended. But does the apostle Paul agree with that? In 1 Peter 3:18, 19 he says, according to The New English Bible of 1961: “For Christ also died for our sins once for all. He, the just, suffered for the unjust, to bring us to God. In the body he was put to death; in the spirit he was brought to life. And in the spirit he went and made his proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.” Other modern translations of 1 Peter 3:18, 19 read similarly.

On some occasions the disciples did not know or recognize the resurrected Jesus. (Matt. 28:16, 17; Luke 24:15, 16; John 20:14-16; 21:4-12) The explanation for this is given in the words found in the Latin Vulgate, the Roman Catholic Douay Version, the German Luther Bible and the Authorized (King James) Version, in Mark 16:12. This verse in the Douay Version reads: “And after that he appeared in another shape to two of them walking, as they were going into the country.” The Greek word there translated “shape” is morphé, which the Greek-English Lexicon says means “form, shape, fashion, appearance.” But even apart from what Mark 16:12 says, a careful study of the resurrection appearances makes it clear to the honest investigator, who does not need to be a Sherlock Holmes of a detective, that the resurrected Jesus materialized different bodies to suit the occasion. On at least two occasions he materialized bodies that resembled the one in which he had been nailed to the stake. (Luke 24:38-40; John 20:20-27)

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

No, they don't. Consider...

Jhn 2:18, Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
Jhn 2:19, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Jhn 2:20, Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Jhn 2:21, But he spake of the temple of his body.

1 Peter 3:18, 19 Peter says, according to The New English Bible of 1961: “For Christ also died for our sins once for all. He, the just, suffered for the unjust, to bring us to God. In the body he was put to death; in the spirit he was brought to life. And in the spirit he went and made his proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.” Other modern translations of 1 Peter 3:18, 19 read similarly.

On some occasions the disciples did not know or recognize the resurrected Jesus. (Matt. 28:16, 17; Luke 24:15, 16; John 20:14-16; 21:4-12) The explanation for this is given in the words found in the Latin Vulgate, the Roman Catholic Douay Version, the German Luther Bible and the Authorized (King James) Version, in Mark 16:12. This verse in the Douay Version reads: “And after that he appeared in another shape to two of them walking, as they were going into the country.” The Greek word there translated “shape” is morphé, which the Greek-English Lexicon says means “form, shape, fashion, appearance.” But even apart from what Mark 16:12 says, a careful study of the resurrection appearances makes it clear to the honest investigator, who does not need to be a Sherlock Holmes of a detective, that the resurrected Jesus materialized different bodies to suit the occasion. On at least two occasions he materialized bodies that resembled the one in which he had been nailed to the stake. (Luke 24:38-40; John 20:20-27)

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

No, they don't. Consider...

Jhn 2:18, Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
Jhn 2:19, Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
Jhn 2:20, Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
Jhn 2:21, But he spake of the temple of his body.

Tear down this temple, and in three days I will raise it up: Only John records these words spoken by Jesus. As shown at Joh 2:21, Jesus was using figurative speech; he was comparing his anticipated death and resurrection to the demolition and reconstruction of the temple. Although Jesus said: “I will raise it up,” the Scriptures clearly show that it was God who resurrected him. (Ac 10:40; Ro 8:11; Heb 13:20) After being put to death and on the third day resurrected (Mt 16:21; Lu 24:7, 21, 46), Jesus was given another body, not one made with hands like the temple in Jerusalem, but a spirit body made by his Father (Ac 2:24; 1Pe 3:18).

 

[ScottA]

' ... But some man will say,
How are the dead raised up?
and with what body do they come?
Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
.. And that which thou sowest,
.... thou sowest not that body that shall be,
...... but bare grain,
........ it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
.......... But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him,
............ and to every seed his own body.
All flesh is not the same flesh:
.. but there is one kind of flesh of men,
.... another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial:
.. but the glory of the celestial is one,
.... and the glory of the terrestrial is another.'
(1 Corinthians 15:35)

Hello @ScottA,

With respect, taking a verse out of it's context is not wise. Looked at within it's context, the verse you quoted does not fit the application you gave to it. The seed sown always produces 'after his kind' (Genesis 1:11-12): bare grain goes into the ground (be it wheat or some other grain), but God gives it the body as it hath pleased Him, to every seed his own body (like for like).

Your understanding of the meaning of the term to, 'rightly divide' (2 Timothy 2:15), and your application of it, is one which I am not familiar with, and I do not understand your argument concerning the death and resurrection of Christ either. Forgive me, but it just seems like a foreign language which is indecipherable to my ears. That could simply be a matter of lack of familiarity, for I am not acquainted with your beliefs, or your manner of expression.

You refer to Lazarus, but he was raised to the earth, and would have died ultimately, not having a resurrection body, which is incorruptible, but the body he was born with, which was subject to corruption. However, our Lord when He was quickened into life, and raised from the dead, was in the body He was born with, yes, I agree. However His body was without sin: He need never have tasted of death, He chose to do so, in order to bear the penalty of the sin of mankind. He had life within Himself, He had the power to lay down His life and He had power to take it again (John 10:18)..

[When Mary Magdalene saw the Lord in the garden, following His quickening, and after He was raised to life again: she sought to touch Him, but in John 20:17 it says that our Lord said to her, ' ... touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father ... ', yet in Luke 24:39, sometime much later on the same day He invites His disciples to ' ... handle Me and see ... ', which is curious don't you think? Does this indicate that the Lord had ascended to the Father and returned during that time? - (these are just my thoughts)]​

When He appeared to His disciples He had a body in which He could appear and disappear at will, but it was none the less comprised of flesh and bone: and that was the body He ascended with.

Forgive me for not being able to understand your reasoning.
In Christ Jesus
Chris

This is a big subject, one that has not been fully understood and even taught in error for 2000+ years. I will try to address things one at a time and concisely:

I am not out of context...but you are correct, each body does produce "after his kind." But the leap is not out of context, but rather out of kind, because "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit." Meaning, that "the flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven"...nor populate it. Thus, we must be born again, born also of the spirit of God, after who's kind is spirit. And if I said nothing more--these things are true, and I am correct in what I have told you.

As for the resurrection and the account of Lazarus...nothing has been seen by men unless it was revealed. Thus, in the world, all things including men and flesh, were spoken into existence--that is into an image. Just as God has said He "created man in His own image", that is what we are...which is of the same dust of the earth and its elements, meaning they too are images. Now, if this is too much for you to follow and something you are not familiar with...that does not make it untrue. Nonetheless, we live in the times of our being lead unto all truth, so I make no apology for sharing it as it was given to me.

Continuing on then, the account Lazarus--and even Jesus, are revelations revealed within the limitations of the natural, but about spiritual things. As such, it is of no benefit to lean on natural understanding or to split technical hairs, for it is all just examples of what is otherwise above the understanding of men until that time we become like Him...which if you have not perceived, is spirit. So, if I go off in that direction leaving behind the elementary principles, you should have expected it. Question it, test it, compare the scriptures, but there should be no doubt that all truth and that which is beyond the imagination of natural man, is to be expected. So, if you lean back on the natural examples, you will favor the flesh, bringing forth the things of the flesh. But I lean (press) onward. But not blindly, not with speculation or conjecture--God does not work that way. So, test away. But if I have agreed with scripture, you can either be honest or join those who killed the prophets.

Back to Lazarus and Jesus, coming back to life. God can, for revelation, easily do that, and did. And walking through walls--easy. Remember, the whole creation was spoken into existence. The question is why, and where is it that this all leads. Well, the answer is not that God had intended to evolve men from natural flesh to glorified flesh. Paul makes it very clear that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." But that is not even the issue--the issue is that God is producing children--spiritual children, without flesh, or shadow of turning...His likeness. Not only in His image, but after His likeness, which is spirit.

Or...did you not believe the whole born again of the spirit of God thing?

You might want to think about getting with the program.

 

[justbyfaith]

Although Jesus said: “I will raise it up,” the Scriptures clearly show that it was God who resurrected him. (Ac 10:40; Ro 8:11; Heb 13:20)

Jesus is God (Hebrews 1:8-9) and raised Himself from the dead (John 10:17-18).

1 Peter 3:18, 19 Peter says, according to The New English Bible of 1961: “For Christ also died for our sins once for all. He, the just, suffered for the unjust, to bring us to God. In the body he was put to death; in the spirit he was brought to life. And in the spirit he went and made his proclamation to the imprisoned spirits.” Other modern translations of 1 Peter 3:18, 19 read similarly.

I am of the kjv-superior position when it comes to my choice of Bible translations. I hold the kjv to be the authoritative standard when there is any doubt concerning a controversy. If you have to go some other translation therefore, to make your point, you are not going to make your point with me.

 

[justbyfaith]

If anyone doesn't believe that Jesus is the great I AM, they will die in their sins (John 8:24).

 

[Earburner]

This is a big subject, one that has not been fully understood and even taught in error for 2000+ years. I will try to address things one at a time and concisely:

I am not out of context...but you are correct, each body does produce "after his kind." But the leap is not out of context, but rather out of kind, because "that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit." Meaning, that "the flesh cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven"...nor populate it. Thus, we must be born again, born also of the spirit of God, after who's kind is spirit. And if I said nothing more--these things are true, and I am correct in what I have told you.

As for the resurrection and the account of Lazarus...nothing has been seen by men unless it was revealed. Thus, in the world, all things including men and flesh, were spoken into existence--that is into an image. Just as God has said He "created man in His own image", that is what we are...which is of the same dust of the earth and its elements, meaning they too are images. Now, if this is too much for you to follow and something you are not familiar with...that does not make it untrue. Nonetheless, we live in the times of our being lead unto all truth, so I make no apology for sharing it as it was given to me.

Continuing on then, the account Lazarus--and even Jesus, are revelations revealed within the limitations of the natural, but about spiritual things. As such, it is of no benefit to lean on natural understanding or to split technical hairs, for it is all just examples of what is otherwise above the understanding of men until that time we become like Him...which if you have not perceived, is spirit. So, if I go off in that direction leaving behind the elementary principles, you should have expected it. Question it, test it, compare the scriptures, but there should be no doubt that all truth and that which is beyond the imagination of natural man, is to be expected. So, if you lean back on the natural examples, you will favor the flesh, bringing forth the things of the flesh. But I lean (press) onward. But not blindly, not with speculation or conjecture--God does not work that way. So, test away. But if I have agreed with scripture, you can either be honest or join those who killed the prophets.

Back to Lazarus and Jesus, coming back to life. God can, for revelation, easily do that, and did. And walking through walls--easy. Remember, the whole creation was spoken into existence. The question is why, and where is it that this all leads. Well, the answer is not that God had intended to evolve men from natural flesh to glorified flesh. Paul makes it very clear that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." But that is not even the issue--the issue is that God is producing children--spiritual children, without flesh, or shadow of turning...His likeness. Not only in His image, but after His likeness, which is spirit.

Or...did you not believe the whole born again of the spirit of God thing?

You might want to think about getting with the program.

And the last time that you saw a dead friend placed in the grave, but then three days later, he walks up to you, and wants to have coffee,....was when?

Our psyche is not likely to accept, nor is it willing to agree, that a dead friend is audibly talking to us in the flesh.

 

[BARNEY BRIGHT]

Justbyfaith said : I am of the kjv-superior position when it comes to my choice of Bible translations. I hold the kjv to be the authoritative standard when there is any doubt concerning a controversy. If you have to go some other translation therefore, to make your point, you are not going to make your point with me.[/QUOTE]

I have nothing against the Kjv of the scriptures, if a person wishes to use that version of the Bible. I don't however, judge someone wrong in any way or sense if they use another version of the Bible. The KJV is just that, a version of the Bible.

 

[justbyfaith]

Justbyfaith said : I am of the kjv-superior position when it comes to my choice of Bible translations. I hold the kjv to be the authoritative standard when there is any doubt concerning a controversy. If you have to go some other translation therefore, to make your point, you are not going to make your point with me.[~/QUOTE]

I have nothing against the Kjv of the scriptures, if a person wishes to use that version of the Bible. I don't however, judge someone wrong in any way or sense if they use another version of the Bible. The KJV is just that, a version of the Bible.

It is the standard for us in English.

 

[ScottA]

Rev. 12:14 time, times, and half a time-
[14] And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent.
> Which means according to you: 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
> so, verse 52 and 53 did not literally take place, or are you saying that it did, and therefore those Saints are in paradise with Christ?
"paradise".

By "literally" I gather you mean, in worldly terms rather than heavenly terms. But, yes, it is written, and so it is; and yes, those saints are with Christ.

 

[ScottA]

And the last time that you saw a dead friend placed in the grave, but then three days later, he walks up to you, and wants to have coffee,....was when?

Our psyche is not likely to accept, nor is it willing to agree, that a dead friend is audibly talking to us in the flesh.

You obviously do not believe that "all is vanity", meaning "breath", "vapor", or "emptiness." Just because we see a friend walk through this world the same as we do, seemingly walking, talking, and having a form of perceived "literal" substance...we should not believe the scriptures that say otherwise? But before you answer...you must know that Satan will give the same answer as you are likely to, right? Of course He would, he is the head honcho of this beastly existence!

Anyway, no, you have it all upside down and backwards. Your friends were always dead, even when you thought they weren't. But we have a Savior, and He told it straight...and so am I:

Ecclesiastes 12:7
"Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it."

John 3:3
"Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

2 Peter 3:10
"But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up."​

Stop hanging onto "vanity."