Raising the Dead
by Mike James
On December 14, 2019 two-year-old Olive Heiligenthal died. Her church, the Bethel Church in Redding, California asked that she remain in the coroner’s office while the church attempted to raise her from the dead. In an Instagram post on December 16, the church stated they believed in a Jesus who died and conclusively defeated every grave. They asked for bold unified prayers from the global church to stand with them and believe that God would raise the little girl back to life. After about a week they stopped the attempt to raise little Olive from the grave.
This isn’t Bethel’s only experience in raising the dead. One of the group’s more controversial initiatives is their “Dead Raising Team.” The volunteer groups are trained by the church “School of Supernatural Ministry,” which travels with first-responders and prays for deceased people in an attempt to bring them back to life. According to their website, they have “brought about 15 resurrections amidst the 60 teams worldwide.” But there is no evidence to support any of these claims.
What’s going on here? Can the dead be raised? Well, the quick answer to that question is yes. I believe the dead can be raised and will be raised at Christ’s Second Coming (1 Corinthians 15:52) and at the end of the Millennium at the Second Resurrection (Revelation 20:5). But can the dead be raised now at this time, like the people at Bethel Church believe? I don’t believe so, and I want to tell you why.
One of the primary scriptures that Bethel Church uses to support their belief in raising the dead now is Matthew 10:7-8. A little research on this verse shows that it is not in all of the old manuscripts of Matthew. In fact, some scholars believe it was added to the text in later manuscripts. This information may have been added because of the examples in Acts (see 9:36-43; 20:7-12) where apostles did raise the dead. But the reason this verse is so often used to support raising the dead is the admonition Jesus is making to His disciples to “raise the dead.” Even if this scripture is part of the original text, we need to realize the context. Jesus is speaking to the apostles specifically. This admonition is not made to all of the followers of Jesus throughout history.
I am emphasizing this because Scripture only records ten resurrection events throughout biblical history. The various books of the Bible were written during a 1,400-year period. Those books record history that occurred over 4,000 years. Now get ready for this: there are only ten recorded examples of people rising from the dead in that 4,000 year period! And no examples of anyone being raised from the dead after the first century A.D. Let’s take a look at these 10 examples:
1 Kings 17:17-24—The prophet Elijah raises a boy from the dead.
2 Kings 4:18-37—The prophet Elisha raises a boy from the dead.
2 Kings 13:20-21—The bones of the prophet Elisha raise someone from the dead.
Luke 7:11-17—Jesus raises a man from the dead.
Luke 8:52-56—Jesus raises a girl from the dead.
John 11:43-44—Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead.
Matthew 27:50-53—At the death of Jesus, holy people were raised.
John 20—Jesus is resurrected.
Acts 9:36-43—Dorcas is raised by Peter.
Acts 20:7-12—A young man is raised by Paul.
Are there any linkages we can make between these various examples? Well, let’s begin with Elijah and Elisha. They were two of the most powerful prophets of all time, and they prophesied in the late 700s and 800s B.C. Within 70 years of the death of Elisha, Israel was taken into Assyrian captivity—a very important point in biblical history. When we come down to Jesus, we find some linkages to Him and Elisha. The ministry of Jesus followed that of John the Baptist just like Elisha followed Elijah. Some considered John the Baptist a type of Elijah (Mark 9:13). The ministry of Jesus was under John’s ministry until John left the scene just like Elisha being under Elijah until he left the scene. Probably, the most significant thing about Jesus when we look at biblical history is the significance of His death in bringing all the possibility of eternal life. Finally, the last two people in the Bible who raised the dead were Peter and Paul—the most revered of all the apostles. The early church needed their miracle-working power as it did the resurrection of Jesus to put some momentum behind the fledgling church.
When we analyze the resurrections in the Bible we see they occurred very rarely and by some of the most significant figures in biblical history. They also occurred at points in history that were very significant in the master plan of God. Do I believe God can raise the dead? Yes, of course I do. But I don’t think it is something He often does, and I believe He only does it at important times in His plan. I don’t think it’s going to happen again until perhaps the most significant time in God’s plan, right before the Second Coming (Revelation 11:7-11) when God will bring the two witnesses back from the dead. Notice they are then taken up into heaven soon after this. I believe this may coincide with the resurrection of the dead which occurs at Christ’s Second Coming. Resurrection back to physical life will eventually end too. Let us strive to be part of that resurrection which results in eternal life.
I feel for the family of little Olive. To lose a child must be so difficult to bear. But rest assured one day little Olive will live again and have her opportunity to live forever.
Sources:
Newsweek.com, 12/20/19
Slate.com, 12/19/19
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
The Orthodox Study Bible New Testament and Psalms