“THE MANY RESURRECTIONS OF THE FIRST EASTER!”
AS HE CAME NEAR JERUSALEM SHORTLY BEFORE HIS TRIUMPHAL ENTRY, JESUS RAISED LAZARUS FROM THE DEAD!
John 11:38-44
(38) “Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. (39) Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.” (40) Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” (41) So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. (42) I knew that you always hear me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent me.” (43) When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” (44) The man who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
THREE DAYS AFTER HIS DEATH, JESUS WAS HIMSELF RAISED FROM THE DEAD!
Matthew 28:1-7
(1) “Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. (2) And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. (3) His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. (4) And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. (5) But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. (6) He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. (7) Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.”
FOLLOWING THE RESURRECTION OF JESUS, GOD RESURRECTED MANY BELIEVERS IN THE CITY OF JERUSALEM!
(45) “Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. (46) And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (47) And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” (48) And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. (49) But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.”
(50) “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. (51) And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. (52) The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised,
(53) and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. (54) When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES IN JESUS AND DIES BEFORE HE RETURNS WILL BE RAISED FROM THE DEAD WHEN HE RETURNS!
1st Thessalonians 4:13-18
(13) “But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. (14) For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep. (15) For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (16) For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
(17) Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (18) Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
– WHEN THE LORD RETURNS, THERE WILL BE A REVELATION OF JESUS!
– WHEN THE LORD RETURNS, THERE WILL BE A RESURRECTION OF HIS PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED!
– WHEN THE LORD RETURNS, THERE WILL BE A RAPTURE OF HIS PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE!
– WHEN THE LORD RETURNS, THERE WILL BE A REUNION OF HIS PEOPLE WHO HAVE DIED AND THOSE WHO ARE STILL ALIVE WHEN HE RETURNS!
CF. JOHN 11:25-26
(25) “Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, (THE DEAD IN CHRIST) yet shall he live, (26) and everyone who lives (WE WHO ARE ALIVE, WHO ARE LEFT) and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Do YOU believe this? Do YOU?
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