Were You Spirit Before Becomming Flesh, Will Your Flesh Be Changed To Spirit Again When Christ returns.

Resurrection


In the following scripture, Saint Paul documents the series of appearances of Jesus after his resurrection. He concludes the sequence with the “appearance” of Jesus to him (on the road to Damascus).

1 Corinthians 15:4-8

That he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Peter , and then to the Twelve . After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers at the same time , most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James , then to all the apostles , and last of all he appeared to me also.

The manner in which Jesus appeared to Paul is explained in Acts 9:3-7: As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked. "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone.

“They heard the sound, but they did not see anyone .” This is how Jesus “appeared” to Paul. Paul could see, but others could not. Likewise, when the many bodies of the saints “appeared,” they appeared to some but not all. This was the spiritualized form in the resurrection of the spirit. Paul teaches clearly in 1 Corinthians 15:35-52:

But someone may ask, "How are the dead raised? With what kind of body will they come?" How foolish! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. When you sow, you do not plant the body that will be, but just a seed , perhaps of wheat or of something else. But God gives it a body as he has determined, and to each kind of seed he gives its own body. All flesh is not the same: Men have one kind of flesh, animals have another, birds another and fish another. There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind , and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another . The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor.

So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable , it is raised imperishable ; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body , it is raised a spiritual body . If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body.   I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed .

Some key statements in these verses: Paul states that when you sow you do not plant the body that is to be; instead, you are planting just a seed. Likewise, the body that is sown is the natural body, the body that is raised is the spiritual body. The body that is sown, the natural body, is perishable. It cannot inherit imperishability or the kingdom of God (meaning: it can’t go to the spiritual world). It is the spiritual body that is raised. It is imperishable and it can inherit (that is, go to) the Kingdom of God (spirit world).

Mark 16:12 testifies that Jesus “appeared in a different form” after he was raised from the dead. This is because, as Paul affirms, “the dead will be raised imperishable, and will be changed .”

Jesus Gazes into the Spirit World

This is one of the most interesting parables that Jesus ever gave. It provides keen insight into some of the realities of the spiritual world. Most important, Jesus provides a clear definition of “raising from the dead.” It involves two men who die. One is a rich man, the other a beggar. The beggar goes to heaven to be with Abraham. The rich man goes to hell. (The beggar’s name is Lazarus and is not to be confused with the Lazarus whom Jesus raised from the dead.)

Luke 16:19-31

There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side . The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away , with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, “Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.”

But Abraham replied, “Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed , so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.”

He answered, “Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my father's house, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment .”

Abraham replied, “They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them .” “No, father Abraham,” he said, “but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.” He said to him, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead .”

What is Jesus’ definition of “raising from the dead” in this parable?” It is the phenomenon of a spirit in the spirit world “appearing” on the earth plane to perform a providential task centering on people on earth. The rich man wanted Lazarus to “raise from the dead” to warn his brothers to repent so that they would avoid coming to hell