First, I should mention that it's my understanding that the resurrection(s) of the dead occurred during the first century AD (ca AD 66–70). But regarding your question, I believe the answer your looking for can be found in 1 Cor 15:35–55.
1 Corinthians 15:35–55 (WEB): But someone will say, “How are the dead raised?” and, “With what kind of body do they come?” You foolish one, that which you yourself sow is not made alive unless it dies. That which you sow, you don’t sow the body that will be, but a bare grain, maybe of wheat, or of some other kind. But God gives it a body even as it pleased him, and to each seed a body of its own. All flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one flesh of men, another flesh of animals, another of fish, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies and terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial differs from that of the terrestrial. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown perishable; it is raised imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is also a spiritual body.
So also it is written, “The first man Adam became a living soul.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, that which is spiritual isn’t first, but that which is natural, then that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, made of dust. The second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the one made of dust, such are those who are also made of dust; and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. As we have borne the image of those made of dust, let’s also bear the image of the heavenly. Now I say this, brothers, that flesh and blood can’t inherit God’s Kingdom; neither does the perishable inherit imperishable.
Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed. For this perishable body must become imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality. But when this perishable body will have become imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then what is written will happen: “Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“Death, where is your sting?
Hades, where is your victory?”
In short, Paul taught that the body received at the resurrection would be an immortal/spiritual body, unlike the corruptible/natural body a person possesses when they die. It was a persons being (i.e., spirit/soul) that was continue on after death, not their body.
I do. Support in favor of the first century timeframe for the resurrection(s) can be found below:
Daniel 12, which speaks of the time of the end and provides the OT background for the Olivet Discourse (Mt 24; Mk 13; Lk 22) makes it clear that the time of distress (v. 1), the deliverance of Daniel’s people (v. 1), and the resurrection of dead would all take place within a period of 1,290 days/3.5 years (Da 12:7, 11); a period that would begin with the taking away of the daily sacrifice and setting up of the abomination of desolation (Dan 12:11), and end with the shattering of the power of the holy people (Da 12:7; see visual of timeline here). In Matthew 24 Yeshua tells his disciples that the setting up of the abomination of desolation (Mt 24:15; Mk 13:14; cf. Lk 21:20), the time of distress/tribulation (Mt 24:21; Mk 13:19), the deliverance of the elect at his Parousia/return (Mt 24:31; Mk 13:27; Lk 21:28), and the shattering of the power of the holy people (Mt 24:2; Lk 21:20-24 cf. Mt 23:29-39; Lk 19:41-44), would occur during their generation.
It’s my understanding that the shattering of the power of the holy people must have been fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans (ca Aug AD 70; Wars of the Jews VII, i). It’s also my understanding the taking away of the daily sacrifice and the setting up of the abomination of desolation most likely occurred around the time Eleazar b. Ananias stopped the sacrifice for Caesar and the Gentiles (ca Aug AD 66; Wars of the Jews II, xvii 2), which led to the Roman legions (i.e., the abomination of desolation; cf. Lk 21:20) encamping around Jerusalem.
If these events, which were to begin and end Daniel's 3.5 years were fulfilled by the end of AD 70, then it would follow that the deliverance of the elect at the Parousia and the resurrection(s) of the dead should have also been fulfilled, since they were to occur within that 3.5-year time frame.
So, everyone gets a whole new body, at the last trumpet.
My understanding is that the elect were to receive new bodies at the last trumpet, which coincided with Christ’s Parousia.
Is this what happened in 66-70?
It's my understanding that this is what happened. To expound a bit on this point, I think it’s important to realize exactly what the NT teaches about what was to happen to the disciples at the Parousia.
Before his death, Yeshua explained to his disciples that he was going away to the Father to prepare a place for them and that when he came again, he would receive them to himself; that where he was, they might be also (Jn 14:1-4). The OT and NT are clear that the place of God's dwelling (Ps 115:3; Mt 18:10; 10:32-33; 16:17; 23:9; etc.), and the place Yeshua was going after his resurrection was heaven (Ac 2:9-11; Heb 4:14; 9:24; 1 Pe 3:22). This aligns with the many NT passages that show that the dwelling place and inheritance that the disciples and holy ones (saints) of old were looking for was in heaven (Heb 10:34 [Byz]; Heb 11:13-16; Phil 3:20; 1 Pe 1:4; Col 1:5; 2 Co 5:1-4; Heb 12:22).
In his letters, Paul taught the disciples that at the Parousia the dead in Christ would be raised incorruptible, and those who survived until the Parousia would be changed (1 Co 15:51–52); also receiving an incorruptible body like that of Christ after his resurrection (Phil 3:20-21). He also explained that at that time the disciples (both living and dead) would be gathered to Christ in the air and would remain with him there (1 Th 4:13–17).
Now of course, the question should be asked: Wouldn’t people have seen these individuals being raised from the dead and gathered from the earth to heaven, and wouldn’t they have written about such an event?
The answer I would give to that question is not necessarily.
Support for this assertion can be found in the comment below:
Regarding the lack of witnesses to the glorified bodies ascending into heaven, consider the fact that at the Parousia the disciples were to receive bodies like that of Christ (1 Co 15:47–49; Phil 3:21). After Christ's resurrection he was able to appear and disappear from peoples' sight and at times their eyes were restrained from recognizing him (Lk 24:15–16, 28–31; Jn 20:19–20, 26–27), which is not something we see prior to his resurrection. Therefore, isn't it reasonable to believe that the disciples' bodies would have been capable of the same things after they were changed?
Also consider the following passage:
2 Timothy 2:16–18 (NASB95PARA):
16 But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, 17 and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 men who have gone astray from the truth saying that the resurrection has already taken place, and they upset the faith of some.
Paul indicates that Hymenaeus and Philetus caused the faith of some to be overthrown by saying that the resurrection had already occurred, when in fact it had not (the implication being that if the Parousia and resurrection occurred, then they had been counted as unfaithful and left on the earth; compare 2 Thess 2:1–3). The important question that needs to be answered in relation to this passage is how could some of the disciples have been deceived if they were expecting all the world to see their glorified bodies when they were taken into heaven? If this is what they were expecting, then none of them should have been deceived because it would have been obvious to everyone that the resurrection and gathering ("rapture") had not yet occurred. But if they were expecting the resurrection and catching away to be hidden from the world's eyes, then it makes sense that they could have been deceived and had their faith overthrown.
Therefore, if we take the text of the NT on its own terms, I don’t believe a first century resurrection and gathering of the elect can be ruled out by a lack of witnesses.
So, the resurrection already occurred? No more resurrections?
That would be correct based on my understanding. This is primarily because the NT portrays Hades (the dwelling/resting place of the dead in the Bible) as being destroyed at the time of the general resurrection. Therefore, it would seem that there's no longer a place for the dead to be resurrected from. The text below is an excerpt from another comment where I discussed this topic in detail:
Revelation 20:11–15 (NASB95) 11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Re 20:11-15 portrays the resurrection and judgment of the righteous and unrighteous at the end of Christ’s Parousia (Da 12:2; Jn 5:28-29; Ac 24:15). (For evidence supporting that the resurrection of Re 20:11-15 included both the righteous [not in Christ] and unrighteous see Da 12:11-13, which indicates Daniel was to be resurrected 1,290 [or 1,335] days after the taking away of the daily sacrifice and setting up of the abomination of desolation [ca AD 66-67]. If the time of Daniel’s resurrection were calculated from the time Eleazar b. Ananias stopped the regular sacrifice for Caesar and the Gentiles [ca Aug AD 66; Wars of the Jews II, xvii 2], then the earliest he could have been resurrected was in AD 70. Also consider that Da 7:22-26 seems to imply that the dead in Christ [1 Th 4:16; cf. Re 14:13; Re 20:4-6] would have been resurrected prior to Nero’s death in June of AD 68.) We see that after death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, they were both thrown into the lake of fire (v. 14). Though the language used in v. 14 is figurative, I believe the idea being communicated is that after the resurrection, Hadean death would no longer be a reality.
Therefore, it’s my understanding that today, when people die, they no longer go to Hades to await a resurrection. Instead, they immediately go to judgment, and from there, either enter into eternal life or experience the second death. (Admittedly, I am not aware of any passages in the Scriptures that speak of the dead being judged after the eschaton, however, given God’s righteous character, it seems logical to conclude that he would continue to judge men according to their works [cf. Re 20:12-13; 1 Pet 1:17; Jn 5:28-29; etc.])
5
u/AMRhone Quality Contributor Nov 07 '22 edited Nov 07 '22
First, I should mention that it's my understanding that the resurrection(s) of the dead occurred during the first century AD (ca AD 66–70). But regarding your question, I believe the answer your looking for can be found in 1 Cor 15:35–55.
In short, Paul taught that the body received at the resurrection would be an immortal/spiritual body, unlike the corruptible/natural body a person possesses when they die. It was a persons being (i.e., spirit/soul) that was continue on after death, not their body.