Acts 9:32-43 Another one returns from the dead

Acts 9:32-43 Peter travels to Lydda and heals a man who has been paralyzed for eight years, then to Joppa and prays for a woman who is raised from the dead. At least, Peter has ventured a few kilometers outside Jerusalem, and the signs that Jesus promised and the Holy Spirit empowered continued. This appears to be the first recorded New Testament instance of someone being raised from the dead through the apostle' ministry. Jesus had raised a few people from the dead while He was alive on the earth. (Matthew 9:25, Luke 7:15, John 11:44) And in the Old Testament there were a few instances as well. (I Kings 17:22, 2 Kings 4:35, 2 Kings 13:21)

          How are we to understand these instances of people returning from the dead? The first and most obvious observation is that they were temporary, since there is no indication that when these people returned from the grave, they had entered into the permanent state of glorification that Christ promised. So they must have eventually died again. However, these resurrections do show that God has power over death. In the case of Lazarus, the onlookers commented that he had been dead for four days so that his body would have started to decompose and smell (John 11:39), so Jesus demonstrated that God's power triumphs over the decay of the body. Modern medicine indicates that brain death occurs if it is deprived of oxygen for fifteen minutes (or less), so any resurrection after that period has to be based on a regenerative miracle, not just a simple cure of whatever caused death in the first place. Paul described the state of the resurrected in imperishable bodies that bear the image of the glory of God. (I Cor 15:35-54) That resurrection, which has not yet happened to anyone other than Christ, goes far beyond the regeneration of the body as we know it, because the new body is imperishable.

          In no case is there a record of what the person who was raised said about what they experienced during the period of their death. That remains a mystery. Prior to the death and resurrection of Christ, the few passages that bear on this suggest that those in the grave are in a place called Abraham's bosom, if they died in faith, or a place of torment, if they died apart from faith. (Luke 16:19-31) The point of Jesus' story there was that the miraculous raising of the dead, although a sign, will still only cause those who listen to Moses and the prophets to repent. Those who reject or ignore Moses and the prophets will not be persuaded by a miracle as powerful as the resurrection from the dead. But this does say that prior to the resurrection of Christ, those who died in faith were with Abraham and received good things. However, since Christ rose from the dead and led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8-10) one has to wonder if Dorcas (or Tabitha) was in the presence of Christ during the period when her body lay dead. There is no indication how she felt about being brought back to the earth from that glorious abode.

          None of the resurrections recorded seem to be based on the merit of the person raised, or at least, not as much as it is a result of the pleas of others who loved, needed or depended on that person. In the case of Dorcas, there obviously was merit in her character, but the text notes that all of the widows showed Peter the garments that Dorcas had made for them (Acts 9:39). And so, could this be a sign relating to the eventual resurrection of believers that we are not going to be raised in the final judgment for any reason other than God wants us to be around so that He can fellowship with us? And if that will be the case then, should it not also motivate us now to fellowship with Him? In practical terms, such as daily time spent with Him in prayer, and in church on a frequent basis? In that final state, perhaps He will be with us continuously because we will be continuously with Him. If that is an ideal, how much of that can we experience now?

          Why do people who do not want to become Christians want to go to heaven? Specifically, if heaven exhibits the continuous presence of the unveiled face of Christ, why would people who do not want to be in the presence of Christ now, while His presence is veiled on earth, want to go there? Perhaps people have misperceptions about what heaven is, or is like. The worldly view of heaven is perhaps a place of unending joy and pleasure, without consideration of what that really means.  We can be quite certain, on Jesus' authority, that these joys and pleasures are not worldly.