jhm

Q1. What is the word used in the Bible instead of "rapture"? When will the resurrection take place in relation to Christ's return? In relation to judgment? In relation to glory? (This is NOT the place to debate various theories of the rapture and the millennium.) The words used in place of 'rapture' are caught up, raised and resurection. The resurrection will take place right after the angel's trumpet sounds the coming of Christ. I am inclined to believe that the believers will be judged for their service on earth right after the rapture but some form of judgement would appear to occur at the time believers reach the presence of God right after their physical death in order to be assigned some form of service in Heaven. The judgement of the believers will occur before the judgement of the unbelievers. The rapture will instantly place us in glory.

Q2. In what way does Christ's resurrection somehow validate that we are saved and forgiven by God? If we didn't believe Christ had been actually raised from the dead, how might we have doubts about our salvation? The resurrection of Jesus is a validation of our own experience in going from death to life; burying the old man and rising with the new, the corruptable putting on the uncorruptable; becoming a new creation in Christ. If I did not believe the account of the resurrection I would question everything else that I read in the Bible. I could then read any part of the Bible and decide it was written in archaic times for archaic people. I would choose which parts to believe and which parts to ignore. I would choose which parts apply to me, or which parts will have any affect on my behavior and my life's goals, ambitions, etc. Therfore, I choose to believe that the Bible is God's Word, and completely accurate (inerrant) and is the means of my salvation, and is in fact the only way to God. Jn. 14:6

Q1. What kind of credibility would Jesus' ministry have had if he were not raised from the dead, especially when he predicted it ahead of time? In what way is the resurrection God's seal of approval on him? There would have been absolutely no credibility in His ministry if Jesus had not risen from the dead. I cannot imagine anyone following the teachings of a leader that made claims that did not happen. Restoring life to a lifeless body could only be done by an all powerful God, and what a seal of approval that is! The changes in the spiritual condition of our own lives is what gives our own witness credibility, the same as what happened to the disciples. The resurrection is also the validation of all the Old Testament prophecies of the coming Messiah, Savior and Redeemer.

Q4. Which of the various proofs for the resurrection seems the most compelling to you? Why? If you had a friend who wasn't sure about the resurrection, could you explain why you're sure that Jesus was raised from the dead? The eyewitness accounts are very credible but for me I believe the most compelling proof is the change in the disciples. These timid, ordinary tradesmen that forsook Jesus during His trial and hid afterward became powerful orators and witnesses for the gospel of Christ. Their bold testimony made a tremendous impact in the community around Jerusalem and was carried on into all of the known world of the time.

Q3. How does the disciples' psychological state after the crucifixion provide excellent support for belief in the resurrection? The Jewish leaders must have been elated with the initial response of the disciples. They would not have qualified as 'Most likely to succeed in perpetuating the teachings of Jesus'. They were not in any way capable of continuing the ministry of Jesus. Changing them into the powerful leaders of the early Christian church could not have occured with human effort, but required a supernatural event. The change in the disciples was as much a miracle as was the resurrection of Christ.

Q2. On the theft theory, what motive might the disciples have to take Jesus' body? What motive might the Romans have? The Jews? Joseph of Arimathea? There does not appear to be any reason that any of those mentioned in the question would have any motive to steal the body of Jesus. The disciples were in hiding and probably afraid of being hunted down as associates of Jesus. The Romans had absolutely no reason to take the body and neither did Joseph. The Jews especially wanted the body to remain in the tomb.

Q1. What do you think motivates liberal Christian scholars to explain away the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ? Why would they claim that it is unhistorical more than some other event in the first century? I believe it is because of an unwillingness to accept by faith anything that cannot be proven by naturalism. The Jewish leaders who had Him crucified remembered the words of Jesus about rising from the dead on the third day. They took significant steps to squelch the story of the guards that had been guarding the tomb by bribing them. (An interesting question is why did they go to the Jewish leaders before they reported to their own military leaders?) The easiest way to prove the resurrection false was to produce the body of Jesus but they could not, for there was no body to produce. The God of many of today's liberal scholars is not a very powerful one, not able to perform acts that defy the laws of nature. Today's scholars have the same problem that the biblical scholars had; they did not want to submit to an all powerful, omnipotent Creator God and therefore reject the Savior as He is; Redeeming and RISEN LORD. They do not believe that God is intimately involved in each of our lives and in fact are very uncomfortable with that idea. They want to run their own lives and careers and not submit completely to the sovereignty of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Q2. What similarities do you find in the resurrection accounts? Based on the agreements between the accounts, what seems to have happened? The first and main point of agreement is that the grave was empty and Jesus was RISEN and ALIVE! Regardless of the number of women they all found the stone had been rolled away. Regardless of where it was, the grave was still empty. Regardless of the sequence of the appearances of the resurrested Lord He did appear to 500 plus people before turning the work of making disciples over to those that did then, and those who still do, follow Him.

Without Jesus there would not be any resurrection. He IS the resurrection! He was the 'WORD' (Jn. 1:1) involved in the creation of everything, including me. He is the resurrection, has all the power of resurrection, has everything associated with our future resurrection from our earthly bodies. We rejoice now in our spiritual resurrection that has already occured for those of us that have acknowledged Him as Savior and Lord. What is His role? His role is in everything involved with the process of the attainment of our new and glorious bodies!

I believe the religious leaders actually feared that Jesus body would somehow disappear. This would have been a tremendous blow to their positions of power. They certainly remembered the words of Jesus as they mentioned in their request to have the guards placed at the tomb. As far as the religous leaders were concerned they were taking no chances but simply did not, or would not understand their error in their concept of God and His power. jhm

It gives me great confidence to know that Jesus is 'THE' resurrection. I will follow Him on this earth until I am with Him in the resurected state. My body will be like His, my thoughts will be like His, my goals will be as His. I will sing of the glory of the Lord and my Savior. I believe I will have a work assignment that will fit my abilities that will bring a satisfaction I was never able to atain on this earth in my sinful state. I believe I will be united with friends and family that have gone before me and will meet many others with whom I will have instant bond of fellowship. I believe I will meet the patriarchs of the Boible and we will rejoice together. WHAT A DAY THAT WILL BE! jhm

Job's response is an enthusiastic response to the certainty of life after death, a joyful anticipation of his personal resurrection and a meeting with God Himself. jhm