Paul is emphasizing the point that we will have bodies. We will not be disembodied spirits for eternity; we will be walking, talking human beings. Furthermore, this is consistent with the rest of Biblical teaching about the resurrection.
1 John 3:2: Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we shall be. We know that, when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him just as He is
So this confirms that we will be like him when the resurrection from the dead occurs. This is the exact point Paul is making in 1 Cor 15.
You Bring up a passage (1 John 3:2) that fully supports my contention. John was an eyewitness to the Post Resurrection/Pre Glorification Body of Jesus, and here he states unequivocally that he still had not “seen” Jesus “as He is”.
Clearly John understood that something happened to Christ's Body at or after the ascension that changed it in some way from it's pre ascension-post resurrection form. And For Sure, John's Depictions of Christ's heavenly Body in the Revelation bear NO Physical resemblance to the one that Hung on the Cross and subsequently Rose from the Grave and appeared to many... (Revelation 1:13-16, Revelation 5:6, etc...)
I contend that "change" was the Glorification, which came no earlier than Acts 1:9, and it is unto THAT body that ours will be fashioned, and not unto His pre glorification, wound riddled Body that came out of the tomb.
Philippians 3:21: who will transform our humble body to be conformed to his glorious body, in accordance with the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself.
Clearly God is not going to remove our bodies; he is going to transform our bodies. The point here is that we will still have bodies, and they will be like the one Christ has after His resurrection. This is the clear NT teaching.
The reason there are differences in the way we are raised and the way in which Christ was raised is because of those Biblically defined differences between Christ's body and ours. Differences such as:
Christ is the only one who is both fully God and fully Man -- God incarnate. (John 1:1-18). Christ is the only one who was virgin born, and, therefore, born without original sin. (Rom. 3:21-26; 5:12-21; 7:4-11; etc.). Christ is the only one who ever lived a sinless life. (Heb. 4:15). Christ is the only one promised that his flesh would not suffer decay. (Acts 2:27,31). This is clear NT teaching.
His human body was not subject to original sin, nor corruptible (i.e. He was "impeccable"), nor did He ever commit sin and become corrupted. Because of this, He could keep His selfsame body, whereas, we cannot.
Unless Jesus' body had been resurrected, His disciples would have had no assurance that His soul had been to Hades and had been resurrected.
The physical resurrection of Christ was essential to verify the spiritual, to which it was tied. While, Just Like the concept of retaining our wounds in our resurrected bodies “Just Like Jesus did” would have no point, the physical resurrection of our bodies would likewise have no point, since we will not continue living on this planet, breathing earth's oxygen, and eating earth's food after we die physically, and of course, unlike Jesus, we will not have to PROVE our resurrection to anyone.
But 2 Thess 2 was not fulfilled in 70 AD. There was no abomination of desolation, and there is no one who claimed to be God in the temple. If you are going to argue that it must have happened, but it just wasn't recorded, then you need to explain why both Old and New Testament would describe this as the major sign of Jesus' coming, yet most people would never even hear that it was fulfilled. How can something be a sign if no one sees it?
Or, it was seen.
Paul plainly shows that the "man of sin" was one of his own contemporaries who was
at that time being restrained from the seizure of the Jerusalem Temple by some restrainer there:
And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.
The Holy Spirit was not the restrainer, and the "man of sin" is a man, one who was alive and grown and was accomplishing his role in Paul's generation. That is what the text says. The man of sin was alive in Paul's day. What more proof do we need??
The reason it is right to assign 2 Thess 2 to the event of the Temple takeover by the messianic Zealots at AD 66-70 is:
(1) Paul says the man of sin was already in action at the time he is writing and that the Thessalonians knew the man and what was restraining that man -- such is a then-contemporary issue
(2) History shows that
the Zealot false messianic movement indeed arose in Israel, indeed captured the Holy Temple, and indeed launched a national rebellion that culminated in the destruction of the nation and Temple
(3) There are *many* day-of-the-Lord judgments throughout history, and the bible counts AD 70 as one of them
The man of sin was being restrained in the first century, and the Thessalonians knew who was restraining that man before his takeover of the Jerusalem Temple at AD 66-67. It was obviously a first-century event.
Also, who exactly is the man of sin, and how was he slain with the breath of Jesus mouth?
You can't just claim this as 70 AD without giving good evidence that what happened in 70 closely matches the description here.
Again, The man of sin was alive at the time Paul is speaking (2 Thess 2:7). His accomplices in his work of rebellion were the "sons of disobedience" (Eph 2:2; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6), Judaizers who were set apart to receive God's wrath for their persecution of the apostles that were spreading the gospel of Christ to all the gentiles (1 Thess 2:14-16; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6). Judas,
a member of the Zealots, had been a part of this political movement, and thus was called "son of perdition" (Jn 17:12/2 Thess 2:3). Judas was acting along with this key political movement when he betrayed Christ to the rulers. The Zealot movement was a violent terrorist movement, and it took over the Temple in AD 66
[the Sicarii (dagger-men terrorists)], launching the Jewish Civil War and Great Revolt against Rome that ended in the destruction of the Temple, Jerusalem, and most of Israel's cities.
So, As to the "man of lawlessness/the son of perdition," scripture makes it clear that he was being restrained from siezing control of Herod's Temple in Jerusalem at the time Paul was writing to the Thessalonians (see: 2 Thess 2:6-7)
We don't need extra biblical confirmation as to the exact Identity of the Man of Sin to affirm he was a contemporary of Paul's. The passage itself shows He was already a blood pumping, air-breathing, grown Human MAN at the time Paul wrote the passage, and the Thessalonians already knew who was restraining him from his takeover of the temple. This man's lawlessness was already at work in the nation of Israel in Paul's day; only he who then restrained this anarchy continued to do so until he was taken out of the way. And then the lawless one was revealed (2 Thess 2:7-8). This, of course, took place at the Jerusalem Temple within about 10 years of Paul's writing. Whoever he was, he was one of these men. even though we need no extra biblical confirmation of his exact identity to confirm He indeed fulfilled Paul's Prophesy in his generation for the reasons I stated, If you must have a name,
Manehem ben Judah Fits the Bill perfectly, as he indeed
had himself crowned as the messiah-king in the Temple
So the passage has a fulfillment clearly contemporary with Paul and the 1st century Thessalonians exactly as Paul stated. That 2 Thess 2 passage MUST be past in fulfillment.
Next, we know that the phrases "brightness of his presence" and "spirit of his mouth" don't require a physical incarnation of God,
for they never require such anywhere else in the bible when that language is used of God's judgments (see: Ps 44:3, Jer 4:26; Nahum 1:1,5; Isa 30:30-31).
The Jews understood that God governs human events and brings calamities upon nations as His personal judgments. It was through the eyes of faith that Elisha saw God's warring chariots of fire all around during a human battle (2 Kings 6:17). It was through the eyes of faith that Gideon raised his own sword and shouted "the Sword of the Lord" (Judges 7:20-22). It was with the eyes of faith that King David could say of his defeat of King Saul:
"Smoke went up out of [God's] nostrils, fire from His mouth devoured; coals were kindled by it. He bowed the heavens also, and came down with thick darkness under His feet. And He rode on a cherub and flew; And He appeared on the wings of the wind. And He made darkness canopies around Him, a mass of waters, thick clouds of the sky. From the brightness before Him coals of fire were kindled. The LORD thundered from heaven, and the Most High uttered His voice. And He sent out arrows, and scattered them, Lightning, and routed them. Then the channels of the sea appeared, the foundations of the world were laid bare by the rebuke of the LORD, at the blast of the breath of His nostrils." (2 Sam 22:8-16)
Likewise it was with the eyes of faith that Jesus labeled the destruction of their country the "coming of the Lord of the Vineyard" and "the Stone which crushes them" (Matt 21:40-45). You see, the Jews understood the rise and fall of nations and empires as God's doing. In none of these instances was a physical incarnation required. And yet in all of these instances God
LITERALLY came and waged war and did countless deeds.
Lastly, regarding the transfer of those in Hades. I agree that something happened there, but I am not an expert on the topic. However, I consider that to have taken place at Jesus death. This is why he was able to say that the thief on the cross would be with Him in paradise rather than Hades. If your going to argue 70 AD, you will need some good evidence for that.
I’ve already laid that out but will do so again. We already Know that Hades contained two separate Holding Tanks, one for the wicked and one for the righteous, separated by a great gulf. Jesus went to the Righteous Side (Paradise) with the thief that day… To insist that Jesus took the unatoned with Him to heaven BEFORE His own resurrection is putting the cart before the horse. And Lest you argue that it happened at the ascension, Scripture tells us
We know the earthly temple was a copy of heavenly order. The most holy place being an earthly copy of heaven, where God's presence resides.
Hebrews 9:23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these
The author of Hebrews states, in relation to the high priest going into the most holy place once a year, that the way into the holy places is not yet open while the 1st tabernacle is having (present tense) a standing (often used in scripture in regards to sedition or dissension). The author even adds WHICH IS SYMBOLIC FOR THE PRESENT AGE
Hebrews 9:8-9 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first tabernacle is still standing (which is symbolic for the present age).
Paul goes into even greater detail tying the resurrection of the Dead into Gods Heaven to the temple's destruction:
Paul clearly taught the resurrection was ABOUT TO happen in their lifetimes -- Acts 24:15; Romans 13:11, 1 Thess 4:15. Indeed the fact that Christ was called the "FIRSTFRUITS" indicates the whole harvest is present, and not thousands of years off.
Paul ties the victory of resurrection to the end of the LAW AGE, when the early followers of Jesus would cease to observe the Law of Moses (which they did observe up to AD 70). It was when the Mosaic System was destroyed that the victory of resurrection would happen: Paul writes:
1 Corinthians 15:54-56
and when this corruptible may have put on incorruption, and this mortal may have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that hath been written, 'The Death was swallowed up in victory where, O Death, is thy sting? Where, O Hades is thy victory?' And the sting of the death is sin, AND THE POWER OF SIN IS THE LAW
Look very closely at the saying that "death is swallowed up in victory." Look how Paul ties it to the end of the Age of the Mosaic Law and NOT the end of the New Covenant Age (which had barely even begun yet). Paul writes:
'The Death was swallowed up in victory where, O Death, is thy sting? Where, O Hades is thy victory?' And the sting of the death is sin, AND THE POWER OF SIN IS THE LAW -- 1 Cor 15:55-56
It was The Law of Moses that was preventing the saints from entering Heaven due to it's condemnation of the saints. Paul sees the victory over death to be tied to the removal of the Law Age, which was centered in the Temple system instituted by God and not destroyed until AD 70. Christ had very much to say about the destruction of the Temple.
Paul was living in the last days of the Old Testament Age when Resurrection was about to happen (Romans 13:11; Acts 24:15), -- it was even to occur in their lifetimes as Paul fully expected and taught (1 Thess 4:15 -- "WE who are alive and remain..."). Acts 24:15 says:
Acts 24:15
having hope toward God, which they themselves also wait for, that THERE IS ABOUT TO BE a rising again of the dead, both of righteous and unrighteous (Young's LITERAL translation)
Indeed, Jesus was resurrected out of Hades at AD 30 and Paul was expecting the rest of the O.T. saints to exit Hades and join Christ in Heaven's bliss very, very, soon. They hadn't yet, but Paul promised that the Hebrews 11 O.T. saints were destined to receive their promise in Paul's generation (Hebrews 11:39-40).
Does Paul tie Resurrection (which he taught was ABOUT TO happen in their lifetimes -- Acts 24:15; Romans 13:11, 1 Thess 4:15) to the end of the New Covenant Age? Absolutely not. Does Paul tie the institution of Resurrection to the end of the Old Testament Age? The answer is ABSOLUTELY YES. Paul ties the institution of Resurrection to the removal of THE OLD COVENANT LAW OF MOSES. Paul teaches that the sting and victory of death (which futurists teach have not yet been eradicated) exists due to SIN POWERED BY THE LAW OF MOSES! (1 Cor 15:56). Look at it carefully one last time:
1 Corinthians 15:54-56
and when this corruptible may have put on incorruption, and this mortal may have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the word that hath been written, 'The Death was swallowed up in victory where, O Death, is thy sting? Where, O Hades is thy victory?'[56] And the sting of the death is sin, AND THE POWER OF SIN IS THE LAW.
When the Temple was destroyed at the last trump at AD 70 the dead O.T. saints were instantly taken to Heaven to be with Christ in their eternal inheritance. They are there now and we, the living, are caught up to be with them instantly and exactly as 2 Cor 5:1-2 states:
2 Corinthians 5:1-2
For we know that if the earthly house of our tent is dissolved, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. For most assuredly in this we groan, longing to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven
None of this of course NEGATES the yet future CREEDAL consummation into the FINAL ETERNAL STATE of all things, The timing and details of which have not been revealed to Men (Deuteronomy 29:29)
