The following is a response to a question I was asked by a friend about the resurrection.
Recently I've been spending quite a bit of time in 1 Corinthians 15, examining the Greek. I will be sharing my thoughts here as I continue to develop this understanding of, "The Resurrection."
The following is by no means a systematic treatment but something more along the lines of theological musing.
I believe we as preterist's have a much broader definition of what the resurrection was, is and will be. I personally see it as a singular thing that is part and parcel with Christ's Parousia, reign and Kingdom. His birth into this world, His presence that came in the first century...His Advent. He came to fulfill Israel's prophecies. He WAS Israel planted in the ground, to be raised back up to life. Jesus fulfilled Israel's hope in resurrection.
See Ezekiel 36:9-11 below.
For indeed I am for you, and I will turn to you, and you shall be tilled and sown. I will multiply men upon you, all the house of Israel, all of it; and the cities shall be inhabited and the ruins rebuilt. I will multiply upon you man and beast; and they shall increase and bear young; I will make you inhabited as in former times, and do better for you than at your beginnings. Then you shall know that I am the LORD.
Israel's hope in resurrection(restoration) was deeply seated in the idea of National restoration. One Nation under God. Pun somewhat intended.
However those who put their faith and trust in walls instead of God found their fiery demise in their false Earthly Nationalistic idea of restoration. Those that wanted the physical kingdom died in and with that physical kingdom.
Jesus came to restore/resurrect Israel and He did not fail in His mission. He brought the Kingdom. However it was not of this world. Those that had eyes to see and ears to hear entered in.
Israel's divided kingdom was restored/resurrected in Christ. This is the past and fulfilled aspect of the resurrection. And was fulfilled in the gospel having BEEN preached to every nation and creature under the heavens.
There is the the present active aspect of the resurrection, which is what I personally believe Paul was defending in 1 Corinthians 15. The present active aspect is what most would refer to as regeneration in a living breathing human beings life here on planet Earth.
And yet if I'm understanding the Greek properly in 1 Corinthians 15 there was still a future aspect(HOPE) that Paul was looking towards as yet to be fulfilled. That is that All Israel would be saved. See Ezek. 36 & Romans 11.
I believe that Paul understood that he was participating in carrying out the present/active aspect of the resurrection through the preaching of the gospel to "ALL" the nations/Ethnos/tribes.
Israel's National restoration was not an Earthly one. It was a heavenly one. Or a Heavenly country as Hebrews 11 tells us.
So I think some of the confusion between the preterist and futurist is that Paul speaks of all three aspects in 1 Corinthians 15.
The resurrection was past, present and future from Paul's perspective.
Paul said, death was defeated, death was being defeated, and death would be defeated. He also said he died daily and that they were being renewed daily.
Hebrews tells us Jesus appeared(past), was appearing(present), and would appear again(future).
Jesus said that "He is the resurrection and the life."
Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Are we alive in Christ? Yes. Will we still die? Yes. But our hope lies in the fact that though we may die...We will live again. And so we too will participate in every aspect of the resurrection, past, present, and future.
Jesus was old covenant Israel buried in the ground and raised back to life. Past.
Those that were accepting Jesus as their Messiah were being made alive even though they would still die. Present
And they would and we will too live again, beyond this life on Earth. Future. Absent from the body, present with the Lord.
What does any of it look like after we die? I don't know. The dust will return to the earth as it was and the spirit will return to God who gave it. I fully expect it will be way better than anything we can imagine.
I personally believe that the resurrection cannot be simply limited to or explained as something simply past, present or future. To deny one part of it is to deny all of it. Including Jesus' part in it, leaving you dead in trespasses and sins. I believe that this is what Paul was dealing with regarding Hymenaeus & Philetus and 1 Corinthians 15.
Preterist in general believe in all three aspects of it. Some Hyper-Preterist's deny any future aspect of it. And some deny future and even present aspects of it. I believe the latter two might have mill stones around their necks.
Futurists in general, tend to focus heavily on the future aspect of it with a general acknowledgment of the present aspect of it. But they deny the past aspect of it.
The past aspect of the resurrection is the physical/bodily aspect of death that was overcome by Christ. The present aspect is regeneration and renewing of our faith. The future aspect is that, though we will die. We will live again. The spirit returns to God who gave it.
I personally believe that all aspects of the resurrection will be fully realized once I'm in that place where I am living again after I die and my physical body goes back to the dust.
I will do my best to send you an email, podcast or video to let you know what it's like...8-)
I know that this response might get me in trouble with some preterist's. But this is just the way I see it today.
Yes we have a future hope. But it's only because of old covenant Israel's hope having been fulfilled.
I personally believe that if old covenant Israel's hope was not fulfilled and their part in God's salvific plan is yet to be fulfilled, then we as gentiles have no hope in anything past, present or future. Our faith is in vain and Christ isn't even risen.
