4. Resurrections in 30 AD:
How do we understand thar after Jesus’ Resurrection, in 30 AD, some graves were opened, and some people were resurrected? Were they resurrected to the glorified bodies like in the “First Resurrection” but in 30 AD? Or were they only brought back to life like Lazarus? Where are they now? Did they die again?
They could not have been resurrected unto glorified bodies, as Revelation 20 is clear that the first resurrection happens after the Mark of the Beast. They simply came back to life and died again (some scholars suggest that this sentence was a scribal insertion. If it was, it must have been really early in the sequence of manuscripts).
This was prophecy of something yet to come.
First: Ex 31:13 Now as for you, speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘You must keep My
Sabbaths; for this is a
sign between Me and you throughout your generations, so that you may know that I am the Lord who
sanctifies you. (I'm not pushing observance here, I'm showing they are SIGNS we must try and understand)
A moedim and Sabbath primer:
***bold are pilgrimage feasts where sons of Israel were to present themselves clean before God with their offering.
Bold numbers reflect the various Sabbath rests commanded outside the weekly Sabbath. Spring Feasts:
1. Passover
2. ***
Unleavened Bread (Pesach) – seven days with a High Sabbath on the First Day
(1st) and Last Day
(2nd) of Unleavened Bread
3. First fruits of the Barley occurring within the 7 days of UB
Centerpiece
4. ***
Pentecost (Shavu’ot) – a High Sabbath
(3rd)Fall Feasts:
5. Trumpets (Yom Teruah) – a High Sabbath
(4th)6. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) – a High Sabbath
(5th)7. ***
Tabernacles (Sukkot) – a High Sabbath
(6th) on the first day and on the 8th day, Shemini Atzeret,
(7th) (Lev23:36)
Back to the oddity here:
Matthew 27:51-53 And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.The veil of the temple was torn in twoThis is the first time priests of God (other than the high priest) could find themselves in the presence of the Holy of Holies, the mercy seat of God, His throne. Remember, only priests and only those that were first cleansed at the laver could be in the Holy Place and thus find themselves before the symbolic throne of God on earth.
Ex 30:17-21 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing; and you shall put it between the tent of meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it. Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet from it; 20 when they enter the tent of meeting, they shall wash with water, so that they will not die; or when they approach the altar to minister, by offering up in smoke a fire sacrifice to the Lord. So they shall wash their hands and their feet, so that they will not die; and it shall be a perpetual statute for them, for Aaron and his descendants throughout their generations.” We see this underlying truth repeated by Jesus.
John 13:6-10 So He came to Simon Peter. He said to Him, “Lord, do You wash my feet?” Jesus answered and said to him, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter.” Peter said to Him, “Never shall You wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.” Simon Peter *said to Him, “Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.”Atonement, the bath, is done at the altar only once to be clean. But the washing at the laver with the water of the Word for purity is done regularly (Eph 5:25-27)
as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing; but that she would be holy and blameless.
We, of course, as believers experience a partial fulfillment of this now-the ability to spiritually come before God because of Christ's work. But we eagerly await the full fulfillment when we are completely purified and physically resting in His very Presence!
many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised The dead in Christ (saints abiding in Christ) shall rise first.
1 Thes 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. Saints aren't just everyone who is saved, but everyone who is ritually clean (see Rev 2-3 for details) so they are ready to come into the Holy Place. The rest of the saved have their own Sabbath, but no one but God (who sees the depths of man's spirit) can know the day or hour of any individual's Rest
Rev 4:1-2 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.
they entered the holy city (Note Matthew wasn't inspired to write "Jerusalem," but "the holy city")
Sabbath Rest is ultimately being in the very presence of God before His
throne in heavenly Zioncoming out of the tombs after His resurrectionIn Matthew 27, we see a dress rehearsal of the prophecy of the
1st Sabbath. However, it is an imperfect dress rehearsal as are most types and shadows. Christ must rise before the saints in 30AD (if Messiah 2030 is correct)
Colossians 1:18 And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. I think, if Messiah 2030 is correct, the waking of those purified saints who have fallen asleep in the bosom of Abraham will be in 2027 fulfilling this
1st Sabbath Rest. I think we also see this pattern in Revelation. (Don't assume I believe in "soul sleep" as the concept as it is generally understood. That is a complicated subject, too big for this post.)
"Come" as a warning, a plea, and as a directive is a fascinating study-note it is not "Go". ("seal" and "signet" are also beneficial studies as is the colors of the horses)
The first directive "Come" in
Rev 4:1 After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard, like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after these things.” This is spoken to John who is definitely an elder and is definitely "asleep" in Christ at the time of the events of Rev 4 on. (It tickles me to consider the possibility that the elder John speaks to in 5:5 could actually be himself, unrecognized in his glorified form, lol. Particularly since the elder says, "stop weeping!" This is 100% speculation of course, but it is a funny, plausible thought since John is time traveling in the Spirit here.
)
Also in chapter 4 we see the Lamb standing as slaughtered. This marks the time as Passover season. This brings us to the beginning of the moedim cycle and the
1st Sabbath Rest-the first day of UB. There are other moedim allusions in the seals. The seals are crucial for believers to understand. Understanding them actually might make a difference (
if you have ears to hear) in
when you, if dead when He comes, are awakened on the 1st (UB1 year 1) or 4th (FoT year 3) Sabbath or when you, if alive when He comes, are glorified at First Fruits (year 1,) Shavuot (year 3 or 2), or provided wedding-proper clothes at Sukkot (year 1000.) It might, if you have ears to hear, influence whether you enter His Rest from the beginning of the 1000 years or not. In my opinion, it is more important to understand the seals than the trumpets or bowls. When you recognize the fulfillment of various Sabbaths (entering Rest) and moedim throughout the book of Revelation (particularly the pilgrimage festivals where clean sons were to present themselves before God), it can change how you feel about the book. The sweet becomes so sweet, and you see the bitter is necessary to cleanse His people. There is sweetness in the mouth at the mercy and goodness shown to His faithful people (those who share Christ's throne, Christ the Head-where the mouth is) and bitterness in the stomach at what the remaining people of God (the body-where the stomach is) has to go through because they didn't heed Jesus' command to "Come out of her my people."
and appeared to manySeal 1 is scripturally linked to
Rev 2-3 (and dozens of other prophecies and types) and are the
visible harvest of those alive IN Christ at Firstfruits of the barley (in 2027 if Messiah 2030 is correct).
I want to point out the remaining "Come"s of the seals and at the last trumpet.
Rev 6:1 Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures (who are associated with the wheel within a wheel, the chariot of God)
saying as with a voice of thunder, “Come!”They are those who had the Spirit flowing in them unhindered by a reluctant, apathetic, or rebellious heart. They cultivated ears to hear and repented of any schmutz anytime He pointed it out in their lives, they washed, and now they conquer and will conquer and can claim the rewards offered to the seven churches. I believe these people truly take up their cross, and follow after Him. These are those who genuinely die to self (it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me Gal 2:20) and therefore these people who
only God can identify will be raised with Christ in that they will be raised on Firstfruits like He was. However, I think (hypothesize) they remain visible in the clouds for a few days until they actually enter His Rest and are taken to the throne room on the next, the
2nd, Sabbath of the moedim-the 7th day of Unleavened Bread. This spectacle would create quite a commotion sparking the need for the AOD of calling good, evil and evil, good. And so starts the abominations of haughty eyes and lying tongue, separating brothers etc, (Prov 6:16-19; Rev 12:15; Rev 13:6
And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven.) Zech 12:10 And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn. (repenting because they are actually seeing Jesus and those IN Him reflecting His image-the first fruits of all the harvests of the moedim aka the male (firstborn) child born from the Woman with other sons born later in Rev 12 and Is 66:6-9 during these few days). This kicks off those readying themselves to be clean by 2nd Passover 30 days later [2 witnesses-a group of repentant Jews, a group of repentant gentiles (why the 2 witnesses wear sackcloth)]
being sealed 2: a mighty sword, powerful filling of the Holy Spirit to speak His Word with miraculous impact given at Shavuot to the 2 witnesses after they repented and were ready by 2nd Passover
I heard the second living creature saying, “
Come"
investigate the use of "sword" in Revelation and in Jesus' own words and consider its relationship to
Joel 2.
Matthew 10:34-36 Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to turn a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a person’s enemies will be the members of his household.
Jer 20:9 But if I say, “I will not remember Him Nor speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am tired of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.
Rev 11:5 And if anyone wants to harm them, fire flows out of their mouth and devours their enemies
Speaking the Word of God like a sword of fire that divides not just families, but the spirit and soul; that sears consciences; that purifies hearts; that ignites passion; that condemns wickedness. The truths spoken reveal the reason there is a flaming sword that prevents man from reentering the garden (Gen 3:24)
being sealed 3Hopefully the plea to
Come! (come out of her my people) is heard. The scales of seal 3 are more clear now-a period of time of weighing & sorting those in the upcoming harvests. Look into a year of recompense for more. People will respond to the "come"
- and are identified as barley, the first harvest [only the two witnesses, those clean by 2nd Passover, can still be barley at this time (as Boaz and Jachin though, not foundation stones in the inner court of the temple Jesus is building). They will be the only ones who enter His Rest at the 4th Sabbath of the moedim-Tishrei 1].
- Or they are wheat (Shavuot harvest) their rest is connected to the 3rd Sabbath of the moedim
- or oil and wine (Sukkot harvest) their rest is connected to the 6th Sabbath of the moedim
being sealed 4Believers and unbelievers who haven't responded to His call to "
Come out of her" by this time still have this chance but things get hairy now. Any previous protection (other than for the 2 witnesses) is likely now removed. God uses His traditional Old Testament forms of discipline
of His own people: sword, famine, pestilence, and beasts as catalysts for repentance.
seal 5no more "Come"s are heard (until Rev 11:12). Instead, at the the next
(3rd) Sabbath of the moedim-Shavout the martyrs are given their white robes to be "Levites," ministers in the outer court of the temple Jesus is building. I don't know if this is Year 3 or Year 2 of the GT. They are told they have to wait until Feast of Trumpets, 3 days after "the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was completed also" to have what they cry for-the "judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth"
"
Come," at the Feast of Trumpets (the
4th Sabbath) in Year 3 of the GT
Rev 11:12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here.” And they went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies watched them.Those resurrected (Ezk 37) on Trumpets and also foreshadowed in 2 Kings 13:21 by the dead man touching Elisha's bones (by the power of the
Spirit *not relics*) include all of the 2 witnesses who enter His Rest at the
4th Sabbath as well as all those
whom God foreknew since before the foundation of the world, but who were disobedient in life due to a lack of faith, so they didn't have ears to hear the Spirit, were not cleansed at the bronze laver, and are unable to enter His Rest yet.
Heb 3:18-19 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? And so we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.
So these people are resurrected back to human life (Ezk 37) because they need Jer 3:15 shepherds to lead them and some in the nations (from descendants of GT survivors) to their Rest. The "oil and wine" and the second resurrection rebels come before Him at the 5th Sabbath of the moedim-The Day of Atonement in a 1000 years for judgment and "the oil and the wine" enter His Rest by the 6th Sabbath (Sukkot).
(The 7th Sabbath- the last day, the great day, I believe, will be a new experience of His Rest as a now perfectly unified body of Christ with Him as the head for eternity in a new heaven and earth).
I'll close this massive post with this:
Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires, take the water of life without cost.
)