The Bible states that we all will die once and then we will appear for the Judgment (Heb. 9:27). So how does Scripture reconcile this and other biblical truths with the raisings of Matthew 27:52, 53 and the other miracle raisings from the dead (e.g., Lazarus) who appear to have died twice?
The death spoken of in Hebrews 9:27 is the physical death that is followed in the fullness of time by Judgment Day at the second coming of Christ.
The so-called “miracle raisings” from the dead are supernatural, certifying, providential acts of God executed for His own good will and purpose. The miracle raisings restore certain deceased human beings of God’s choosing to life in their own earthly, perishable bodies temporarily to serve God’s purpose. And they later die and await the resurrection to their heavenly, imperishable, glorified bodies.
Allow me to explain.
DEATH
Scripture teaches that All human beings will die only once and after that they must appear before the Judgment (Heb. 9:27). When a believer dies, his or her spirit goes immediately into the presence of God in heaven just as Jesus’ soul did (Luke 23:43; Phil. 1:23;) and the disembodied souls of all believers will remain there in the intermediate state until the general resurrection when Jesus returns in Judgment (John 6:40).
At the second coming of Christ, the bodies of believers will be raised and reunited with their souls (1 Cor. 15:22, 23; 1 Thess. 4:14, 16) and they will receive their heavenly, imperishable, resurrected bodies. They will then be ushered into the new heaven and new earth for eternity. Scripture informs us that the glorified body is eternal and consequently cannot die (1 Cor. 15:53).
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is fully man (John 1:14; Heb. 2:17; 1 John 1:1, 4:2; 2 John 7) and as such He is required to die once (Heb. 9:27). The Bible gives evidence of His birth (Matt. 1:25), His hunger (Matt. 21:18) and thirst (John 19:28), His temptation (Matt. 4:1; Heb. 4:15), His suffering (Matt. 16:21), and His death (Matt. 27:50). Jesus was indeed an actual living human being who really died.
Having lived a perfect human life on earth (1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5), Jesus was thus without any sin (1 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 John 3:5). Being without sin, though He must die as a human being, nevertheless, Jesus did not have to wait for Judgment Day to be resurrected the way sinners do. His judgment was for the sins of others for which He suffered the throes of hell on the cross prior to His death.
When Jesus died, His disembodied spirit was immediately in heaven with God (Eccl. 12:7). Jesus made this clear on the cross when he stated “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit! And having said this he breathed his last” (Luke 23:46).
At death, the human soul of Jesus was received by God into heaven and His body was subsequently placed in the tomb where it saw no corruption and where it remained until the third day. On the third day, the body and soul of Jesus were reunited in one heavenly, imperishable, glorified body and brought to life by the Spirit of God. Jesus ascended to heaven and thus rules from heaven as the current and only resurrected human being in heaven. Although the disembodied spirits of the believing dead are in heave with Jesus, no other resurrected human beings will join Him until the general resurrection “on the last day” when Jesus will raise them up at His second coming (John 6:40; see also, 1 Cor. 15:23).
THE GENERAL RESURRECTION
The Bible is clear that Jesus was the first human being to be resurrected and then at the end of the age at His second coming ALL other human beings will be resurrected. The Bible states “in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep… But each in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ.” (1 Cor. 15:20, 23). No other resurrection of human beings to judgment shall occur prior to the second coming of Christ.
At the second coming of Christ, all believers in Christ will not be judged and condemned for their sins (Rom. 8:1) but will be resurrected for the final consummation of their salvation. The righteous will then be ushered into the new heaven and new earth in their heavenly, imperishable, glorified state. As for the wicked, Jesus will exercise His eternal, condemning judgment and wrath against all the unjust humans and fallen angels (Matt. 25:31-46; Heb. 9:28; Rev. 20:11-15; 2 Pet. 2:4; Jude 1:6) and they will all be thrown into the lake of fire, the second death (Rev. 20:14, 15).
MIRACULOUS RAISINGS
Now consider all those individuals that the Bible speaks of as being miraculously raised from the dead (e.g., Lazarus ([John 11:38-44), the son of the Zarephath widow (1 Kings 17:17-22), the son of the Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:32-35), the son of the widow of Nain (Luke 7:11-15), Dorcas (Acts 9:36-41), the saints who rose from the dead at the resurrection of Jesus (Matt. 27:50-53) and others, including many that are not mentioned in the Bible (c.f., John 20:30, 31). Each of them was subject to death later in life.
All of these people were actually dead. However, their raising from the dead was different from the resurrection of Jesus.
Jesus received a heavenly, imperishable, glorified body that was eternal and thus it could not see death. This is the same kind of body all believers will receive at the general resurrection on the last day.
On the other hand, all of the miracle raisings mentioned involved their earthly, perishable bodies being restored and re-united with their disembodied spirits; these were not their glorified bodies. They then remained on earth for a period of time and subsequently died as all human beings must. Their “raised” bodies were fully earthly human flesh and not glorified bodies like Christ’s resurrection body and like all human resurrected bodies will be at the general resurrection. Glorified bodies are eternal and incapable of death whereas an ordinary human body is perishable and, of course, will die.
Eternal resurrection begins a new life in a new heavenly, imperishable, glorified body that will never be subject to death. Since Lazarus and the others were raised from the dead in their earthly, perishable bodies, without entering a glorified state as Jesus did and as all believers will at the general resurrection, they had to subsequently die in order to receive a new life and a new body at the Judgment.
CONCLUDING REMARKS
On the third day, the spirit of Jesus in heaven was re-united with His body in a heavenly, imperishable, glorified state. Forty days later He ascended to heaven (Acts 1:3, 6-11). Jesus currently is the only resurrected human being in heaven. The Bible also tells us that ALL other human beings, believers and unbelievers, shall be resurrected at the second coming of Jesus on the Day of Judgment. At that time, believers will receive their heavenly, glorified bodies and will be ushered into the new heaven and new earth for eternity. The resurrected unbelievers will be condemned to the lake of fire, the second death (Rev. 20:14, 15).
Hebrews 9:27 which states “And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,” does not contradict the several miraculous deaths of Lazarus, et al. who suffered physical death two times. The death referred to in Hebrews 9:27 is death to be followed by resurrection to glory and the Judgment. All human beings will suffer death that will be followed by the resurrection of the body and soul on Judgment Day at the second coming of Christ.
However, these miraculous raisings from the dead were not raisings to a heavenly, imperishable, glorified state and for the Judgment. Therefore, they only suffered one death as described in Hebrews 9:27. Lazarus, et al. were raised from the dead and restored to their own earthly, perishable bodies temporarily on earth to serve the purposes of God and they later died a death to await the Judgment and glorification (Heb. 9:27) at the second coming of Christ.
“There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies” (1 Cor. 15:40). Jesus was resurrected in a glorified, imperishable state, a heavenly body, and all believers at the general resurrection will also be resurrected in heavenly, imperishable, glorified bodies. But all those who were miraculously raised from the dead did not receive glorified bodies at their raising and were not resurrected to be followed by the Judgment. They were raised back into their perishable, earthly bodies that had been restored to life and all of those individuals subsequently died.
No human being has been resurrected to heaven at this point in time except Jesus Christ. And no one else will be resurrected in heavenly, imperishable, glorified bodies until the general resurrection at Christ’s second coming.
In the end, there is no contradiction here. Jesus has been and believers at the general resurrection will be resurrected in heavenly, imperishable, glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15:42). But the so-called miraculous raisings in the Bible were deceased human beings raised back to life in their earthly, perishable bodies (1 Cor. 15:42) for a time to serve God’s purposes and they subsequently died to await the general resurrection as described in Hebrews 9:27.
