RAISING THE DEAD - NYOBS 60.31

RAISING THE DEAD
Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

Raising the dead today

·         Jesus raised the dead and said that he did the Works that the Father gave Him to do and He commissioned His disciples to do the same thing and said that they would do even GREATER works than He did. – Greater works; meaning MORE works since the ministry of Jesus was short, only three years and most of us have many many more years than that.

·         God does not change, and Jesus does not change, and The Holy Spirit does not change, so YES; someone can be raised from the dead today. - The Question remains; does it happen?

Acts 26:8 – Why do you not think that God raises from the Dead
⁸ Why is it thought incredible by any of you that God raises the dead?

 James 1:17 – God is the same – He does not Change

¹⁷ Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is NO VARIATION or shadow of turning. (NKJV)

Hebrews 13:8 – Jesus is the same – He does not change
⁸ Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (ESV)

John 14:12 – The believer has more time for MORE WORKS
¹² Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and GREATER WORKS than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. (ESV)

Matthew 10:6-8 – Go and Raise the Dead
⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
⁷ And proclaim as you GO, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
⁸ Heal the sick, RAISE THE DEAD, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay. (ESV)

Matthew 28:19-20 - Observe all that I have commanded you
¹⁹ Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
²⁰  teaching them to OBSERVE ALL that I have COMMANDED you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”  (ESV)

Visions of the Dead

·          The Catholics are having Marian Apparition’s; the appearance of the Blessed Virgin Mary, but what they see does not remain and walk around among us, they are not flesh and blood. – There is NO SCRIPTURAL EXAMPLE found in the Bible for us to follow concerning visions of someone communicating with us from the grave. – NYOBS 44.02 - FATIMA - FICTIN & FACT

·          The Muslims are having dreams and visions of Jesus appearing to them and they are worshiping Jesus who they call ISA. - Joy, love and peace immediately floods over them and they accept Christianity; but the Qur’an says ISA will judge Jews and Christians by the Qur’an, not by the Bible. – NYOBS 59.10 – VISIONS AND DREAMS -- NYOBS 46.17 – QUR’AN ON JESUS

·         Except for Paul (Saul) on the road to Damascus, there is no Biblical record of Jesus appearing to anyone after His ascension to Heaven… Paul only saw a light and only heard a voice; he did not see Jesus.

Word/Faith Movement Reports

·         Benny Hinn television Evangelist prophesized that TBN, Trinity Broadcasting Network, is going to have people from around the world watching TBN that were raised from the dead.

·         Sid Roth television host on “It’s Supernatural” had a guest on his program who had prayed for 8 people in his family that had died from poison; they all came back to life. – No video -

·         Reinhard Bonnke on CBN, Christian Broadcasting Network, testified of the resurrection of a dead man in Nigeria where rigormortis had already set in and he had been embalmed with chemicals and was brought to where Reinhard was preaching and suddenly the man began to breath. – No video presented -

·         Tyler Johnson and his DEAD RAISING TEAM made a documentary film of a “gang of Christians” who say they can raise people from the dead. – No video of the dead raising. -

·         Melissa Fisher at Christian XP Media has a MORTUARY MINISTRY to raise the dead.  They have visited a number of Mortuaries attempting to raise the dead, but have not had any success so far, but feel like they are massaging the outreach for “raising the dead” and believe it will happen soon.

·         In England Robby Dawkins pastor of Vineyard Church, in an interview with Charisma news published on 5/26/15 claimed that he raised a church member from the dead. - A doctor who was present verified Matt Catlow who was lying on their church floor was dead.

·         In Mexico, David Hogan says he raised a little boy from the dead, in a back woods cabin who had been dead for four and a half hours.  He says that he has personally been present when 21 other people were raised from the dead.

·         In Africa CBN, Christian Broadcasting Network reported a boy after 24 hours was raised from the dead and because of that, many accepted Christianity.

·         In Nigeria a video surfaced on YouTube about a man dead on the street was raised from the dead and tells his story.

·         I had a “deeply committed” Christian Friend whose wife had died; he prayed over her for three days to be “raised from the dead” and when it didn’t happen he was devastated.

·         So Far I have not seen any video nor read any personal testimonies of people being raised from the dead.  There seems to be an absence of medical records and most of the time there is an absence of names. 

·         Because of the way I am wired, I WANT TO BELIEVE that God uses Believers to raise the dead today, but I am very doubtful. – Why doesn’t it happen in Irmo, South Carolina?

Purpose for Raising the Dead

·         There were many sick and demon possessed people that Jesus and the disciples healed during His ministry. -  While in the beginning of the ministry COMPASSION seemed to be the reason for the healings and resurrections, it also pointed to something else.

·         When a person raises someone from the dead, it AUTHENTICATES that he is “a man of God”.

·         Jesus said the sign of His Divinity was the sign of Jonah who was in the belly of a great fish for three days and three nights. – I personally believe Jonah died in that great fish and was “Raised from the Dead” and I believe Jesus’s death and resurrection confirms this – NYOBS 03.02 – JONAH AND THE WHALE

·         The Bible contains everything we need to know to BE CONVINCED of the Gospel. – Jesus said, “Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have NOT SEEN and yet have believed”.

·         Bringing back someone from the dead in order to give THEIR TESTIMONY will have no effect. - Jesus said, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be CONVINCED if someone should rise from the dead.’

Matthew 12:38-40 – Jesus Raised from the Dead is the Sign
³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, WE WISH TO SEE A SIGN from you.”
³⁹ But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but NO SIGN will be given to it except THE SIGN of the prophet Jonah.
⁴⁰ For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (ESV)

Luke 16:27-31 – Man not convinced by raising of the dead
²⁷ And he (the rich dead man) said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him (the poor dead man) to my father’s house—
²⁸ for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’
²⁹ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’
³⁰ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but IF SOMEONE GOES TO THEM FROM THE DEAD, THEY WILL REPENT.’
³¹  He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should RISE FROM THE DEAD.’” (ESV)

John 20:29 - Blessed those who haven’t seen yet have believed
²⁹ Jesus said to him, "Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (NKJV)

Communicating with the dead

• Necromancy is a form of magic involving communication with the dead – either by summoning their spirit as an apparition or raising them bodily for the purpose of divination; imparting the means to foretell future events or to discover hidden knowledge. 
• Since we are told to NOT communicate with the dead, then obviously we can do so.  The problem that arises is; what are you communicating with? - NYOBS 11.16 – FAMILIAR SPIRITS ---NYOBS 11.16 - DEMONS --- NYOBS 60.02 - ET”s UFO”s and PORTALS --- NYOBS 42.26 – NECROMANCY
• Voodoo and Witchcraft practitioners also claim they can raise the dead and communicate.

·         Jesus Christ is the only one who has the authority to communicate with the dead.  - It’s in the book. -

Isaiah 8:19 – People should seek God not Mediums and Wizards
¹⁹And when they say to you, "Seek those who are mediums and wizards, who whisper and mutter," should not a people seek their God? Should they seek the dead on behalf of the living? (NKJV)

Leviticus 19:31 – Do not defile yourself with Mediums.
³¹ ‘Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled by them. I am the LORD your God. (NIV2011)

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 – Demons disguise themselves
¹⁴ But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.
¹⁵ So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve. (NLT)

Deuteronomy 18:9-12 – Sorcerer, Medium, Spiritist; Abomination
⁹ "When you come into the land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations.
¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer,
¹¹ or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.
¹² For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD. (NKJV)

Ephesians 4:8-9 – Christ only one to communicate with the dead
⁸ Wherefore he said, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
⁹ Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? (KJV)

Witchcraft

• You have to ask the question, are there any occurrences in scripture of people being raised from the dead to communicate with the living.  The answer is NO, there is ONLY one instance when The Witch at Endor brought up “something” for King Saul who they thought was Samuel. -  NYOBS 33.09 - WITCH OF ENDOR
• Here is where you must accept that the Bible is the inspired Word of God, without error, and that all scripture being inspired of God carries the same weight regardless of how FEW TIMES a subject is mentioned. – This is only mentioned ONCE and Saul DID NOT actually see this apparition.  So what did Saul see, or did he actually see anything?

·         Nothing in scripture indicates that Satan has the power to resurrect someone from the dead.  HE CANNOT GIVE LIFE, but he CAN GIVE THE ILLUSION, he can utilize demons and fallen angels who are immortal. - NYOBS 60.02 – ET’s UFO’s & PORTALS

1 Samuel 28:8-11 – Bring up Samuel from the grave - Hell

⁸ So Saul disguised himself and put on other clothes, and he went, and two men with him to the woman by night. And he said, "Please conduct a séance for me, and bring up the one I shall name to you."
⁹ Then the woman said to him, "Look, you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the spiritists from the land.
¹⁰ And Saul swore to her by the LORD, saying, "As the LORD lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing." Then the woman said,
¹¹ "Whom shall I bring up?" And he said, "Bring up SAMUEL for me."

1 Samuel 28:12-14 - Scared the Tater Tots out of her
¹² When the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice and spoke to Saul, saying, "Why have you deceived me? For you are Saul!"
¹³ The king said to her, "Do not be afraid. What did you see?" And the woman said to Saul, "I saw a spirit ascending out of the earth."
¹⁴ So he said to her, "WHAT IS HIS FORM?" And she said, "An OLD MAN is coming up, and he is covered with a MANTLE." And Saul PERCEIVED that it was Samuel, and stooped with his face bowed down.to the ground.

1 Timothy 4:1 – Seducing Spirits – Doctrines of Devils.
¹ Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; (KJV)

2 Thessalonians 2:9 - Satan has signs and lying wonders
⁹ The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, (NKJV)

2 Corinthians 11:14-15 - Satan’s servants disguised as light
¹⁴ For Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
¹⁵ It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve

(NIV)

Isaiah 8:19 – Familiar Spirits that mutter and peep
¹⁹ And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that PEEP and that MUTTER should not a people seek unto their God for the living to the dead? (KJV)

2 Thess 2:8-10 – Power – False Signs – Wicked Deception
⁸ And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
⁹ The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and FALSE SIGNS and WONDERS,
¹⁰ and with all WICKED DECEPTION for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. (ESV)

The Dead Raised

·         There are some Ten recorded instances of people being raised from the dead included in the Old and New Testament.  - People being raised from the dead bear witness of God’s authority over everything, including death.

·         Clearly God does this and it is not for just a few minutes in order to communicate information from the other side. – They were raised to life and given back to their families to walk among them. – There is NO RECORD in scripture that indicates that they had information or stories to share about the afterlife.

1.      Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead

2.      Elisha raised the Shulamite’s son from the dead

3.      Elisha’s bones raised a man from the dead

4.      Peter raised Tabitha/Dorcas from the dead

5.      Paul raised Eutychus from the dead

6.      Jesus raised the man from Nain from the dead

7.      Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead

8.      Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead

9.      Jesus’s DEATH raised many from the dead

10.    God raised Jesus from the dead.

·         Millions upon Millions more will be raised from the dead to meet Jesus Christ in the air at the rapture.  

John 5:36 – Power over the grave bear witness of God’s authority

³⁶ But the witness which I have is greater than that of John; for the works which the Father hath given me to accomplish, the very works that I do, BEAR WITNESS of me that the Father hath sent me. -

1 Kings 17:17-23 – Elijah raised the widow’s son from the dead
¹⁷ After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was NO BREATH left in him.
²¹ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the LORD, “O LORD my God, let this child’s life come into him again.”
²² And the LORD listened to the voice of ELIJAH. And the LIFE of the child CAME INTO HIM AGAIN, and he revived.
²³ And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, YOUR SON LIVES.” (ESV)

2 Kings 4:32-36 – Elisha raised Shulamite’s son from the dead
³² When ELISHA came into the house, he saw the child lying DEAD on his bed.
³³ So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD. .
³⁵ Then he got up again and walked once back and forth in the house, and went up and stretched himself upon him. The child sneezed seven times, and the child OPENED HIS EYES.
³⁶ Then he summoned Gehazi and said, “Call this Shunammite.” So he called her. And when she came to him, he said, “Pick up your son.” (ESV)

2 Kings 13:21 – Elisha’s bones raised a man from the dead
²¹ And as a man was BEING BURIED, behold, a marauding band was seen and the man was thrown into the grave of Elisha, and as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he REVIVED and stood on his feet. (ESV)

Acts 9:36-41 – Peter raised Tabitha/Dorcas from the dead
³⁶ Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity.
³⁷ In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room.
⁴⁰ But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up.
⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then calling the saints and widows, HE PRESENTED HER ALIVE.

(ESV)

Acts 20:9-12 – Paul raised Eutychus from the dead
⁹ And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up DEAD.
¹⁰ But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.”
¹¹ And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed.
¹² And they took the youth away ALIVE, and were not a little comforted.

(ESV)

Luke 7:11-15 – Jesus raised the man from Nain from the dead
¹¹ Soon afterward he went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a great crowd went with him.
¹² As he drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had DIED was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.
¹³ And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.”
¹⁴ Then he came up and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, ARISE.”
¹⁵ And THE DEAD MAN SAT UP and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

(ESV)

Luke 8:51-55 – Jesus raised Jairus’s daughter from the dead
⁵¹ And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
⁵² And all were weeping and mourning for her, but he said, “Do not weep, for she is not dead but sleeping.”
⁵³ And they laughed at him, knowing that SHE WAS DEAD.
⁵⁴ But taking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, arise.”
⁵⁵ And her spirit returned, and SHE GOT UP at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat.

(ESV)

John 11:43-44 – Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead
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.”

(ESV)

Matthew 27:51-53 – Death of Christ many raised from the dead
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.

(ESV)

Acts 2:32 – God raised Jesus from the dead
³² God has resurrected this Jesus. We are all witnesses of this. (HCSB)

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 - The dead in Christ will rise first
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.

(ESV)

So here’s where we are

·         Jesus fed four, then five thousand people at a time with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish; He turned water into wine, He healed many people as well as raised some from the dead and the results was they just wanted more SIGNS, more MIRACLES and more FOOD.

·         If someone today was raised from the dead, it would point to the “Raiser” as a “MAN OR WOMAN OF GOD”. -  If that were the case they would need to do a few more “Raisings” to prove it was not a fluke.  - Then if SOMEONE ELSE RAISED THE DEAD, there would be a conflict over who “you followed” just like in the NT with Paul and Apollos when actually it is Jesus Christ to whom we should all be pointing.

·         One of the Gifts of the Spirit is the “Working of Miracles” which would include RAISING THE DEAD and God could cut it loose in every church in the world if He so chose. – However Amazing Miracles are not what leads to genuine faith. – NYOBS 06.08 - GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT

·         I believe in the End Times, the Anti-Christ and his minions will use MIGHTY MIRACLES including “Raising the Dead” to deceive the world.

·         YES, God can raise people from the dead today… If I were God… I wouldn’t do it…   

Matthew 12:38 – We need some more SIGNS
³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, “Teacher, WE WISH TO SEE A SIGN FROM YOU.” (ESV)

John 6:26 – We need some more FREE FOOD
²⁶ Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.

1 Corinthians 3:4 - I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos
⁴ For when one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not men? (ASV)

1 Corinthians 12:4-11 – Gift – The Working of Miracles
⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit;
⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;
⁶ and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
⁸ For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
¹⁰ to another THE WORKING OF MIRACLES, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.

2 Thessalonians 2:9-10 - False miracles, signs, and wonders
⁹  The coming ⌊of the lawless one⌋ is based on Satan’s working, with all kinds of FALSE MIRACLES, SIGNS, and WONDERS,
¹⁰  and with every unrighteous DECEPTION among those who are perishing. (HCSB)

Revelation 19:20 – Mighty Miracles that deceive
²⁰ And the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet who did MIGHTY MIRACLES on behalf of the beast—MIRACLES THAT DECEIVED all who had accepted the mark of the beast and who worshiped his statue. (NLT)

In the multitude of counselors,

there is wisdom.

Proverbs 11:14

I am grateful to those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical

information, and scripture verses.  Because of them I can stand on their shoulders

and see further that I otherwise ever could have.

                                                                                                                                     

Antiquity of the Jews – Flavius Josephus Matthias

Apocrypha - Goodspeed

Bible Almanac; The – Packer-Tenney-White

Bible Dictionary – Harper and Row

Book of Enoch – www.reluctnt-messinger.com

Cherubim Chariots – Josh Peck

Dake’s Annotated Bible – Dake

English Standard Version Bible – ESV

Exo-Vaticana – Chris Putnam & Thomas Horn

Expositor’s Bible Commentary – Frank E. Gaebelein

Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s

Illustrated Bible Dictionary; The – Tyndale

Interlinear Greek-English New Testament - Baker

King James Version Bible – KJV

Mysteries of the Bible – Readers Digest

Nave’s Topical Bible - Zondervan

New International Dictionary of the Bible; The – Douglas - Tenney

New International Version Bible – NIV

On the Path of Immortals – Thomas Horn & Chris Putnam

Thru the Bible – J. Vernon McGee

Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner

Wikipedia –

Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible; The – Tenney