Complicated Q&A from Yahoo Answers

[kida]

I found this question on Yahoo Answers yesterday:

Where in the Bible does it tell about after Jesus died and rose he opened the door to heaven and Elijah?

got dead people to rise up and go to heaven?

I'm asking because yesterday someone on here said this. I have read the Bible and I go to church so I just wanted to see what the Bible actually did say.

The answers given were as follows:

#1

No where,that is not Biblical.

#2

Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;
Mat 27:52 And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,
Mat 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.


That is as close as it gets to what you want.

#3

Nowhere.

Elijah is still asleep in his grave, awaiting a resurrection (John 5:28,29)

EDIT: The reference at Matthew 27:53 does not say that either.

***‘Tombs Opened’ at Jesus’ Death. The text at Matthew 27:52, 53 concerning “the memorial tombs [that] were opened” as the result of an earthquake occurring at the time of Jesus’ death has caused considerable discussion, some holding that a resurrection occurred. However, a comparison with the texts concerning the resurrection makes clear that these verses do not describe a resurrection but merely a throwing of bodies out of their tombs, similar to incidents that have taken place in more recent times, as in Ecuador in 1949 and again in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1962, when 200 corpses in the cemetery were thrown out of their tombs by a violent earth tremor.—El Tiempo, Bogotá, Colombia, July 31, 1962.

EDIT: Jesus with Elijah and Moses "on the hill" (the Transfiguration) was a vision- Moses represented the Law and Elijah the Prophets. No one went to heaven before Jesus did, so that means Moses and Elijah could not have been in heaven at that time.

#4 - Mine

I'm not sure exactly what you're asking, but is it possible you've mixed up the order? In Matthew 17 (see source link) there's a story about Jesus talking with Moses and Elijah on a hill. This was before the crucifixion. It implies that Moses and Elijah were already in heaven, they just came down to talk to Jesus, then went back. If you want to talk about it in more detail you can email me.

EDIT: Luke 16:19-31 (Lazarus and the rich man) and Matthew 22:31-32 (God is not the God of the dead, but of the living) would seem to contradict the idea that no one went to heaven before Jesus. You have to remember that heaven is not our final destination - our final destination is New Jerusalem on the new earth. Heaven is a temporary place where the righteous dead wait for the resurrection.

However, Yahoo Answers is not the place to go into a full-on discussion. Please email me, and we can get on chat or meet at christianforums.com if you'd like to initiate a discussion

#3 listed his source as "Insight on the Scriptures" which is the Jehovah's Witnesses Bible interpretation source. I listed my resources as Bible Gateway and Matthew Henry's Commentary.

So my questions are: How would you answer this question? How would you respond to answer #3? How would you respond to my answer? I'm open to criticism if I'm wrong, just please make it Spirit-led criticism (using "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control") And if I've posted this in the wrong forum, I apologize

 

[LamorakDesGalis]

Its hard to answer conflated questions, and I think you did fine, kida.

Concerning the last half of the first question - about the door and Elijah - is highly likely a reference to the Jewish Pesach (Passover). This is not in Scripture but is according to Jewish tradition. In the ceremony, a cup is poured for Elijah, who according to Mal 4:5 will precede the Messiah. After the cup is poured, the door is opened a bit for the possibility of Elijah's coming.

Matthew 27:51-53 addresses the second question. How would I reply to #3 that the passage just says the bodies were just "thrown about" their tombs?

Well, its just hard to ignore the wording in the passage itself. In verse 52 it says that "the bodies...were raised." Then verse 53 says that "they came out of the tombs." The clincher is verse 53, where "they went into the holy city."

The tombs were located outside the city, not in it. Dead bodies can be "thrown about" from their tombs, but they certainly don't "go into the city" by themselves.


LDG