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Matthew 27:52-53, "And the graves were opened: and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after the resurrection, and went into the holy city and appeared unto many." Did their soul/spirit enter their body and made them alive again?  After they lived again did they die again?  Will they be in another resurrection again? Does anybody know for sure.

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When the graves opened, those souls were waiting for Christ to reopen
Heaven. Just as the two veils in the Mosaic tabernacle of the temple, the
entrance of the holy place and the inner one before the holy of holies.
Only the high priest could enter the holy of holies. The temple was torn
in half and opened up showing now all people have access to God.
 
The soul entered the body of those from the grave to raise up and
enter the city. They were on their way to paradise. There were many souls
waiting for this very day and there was no further need for a temple Jesus
rebuilt with his resurrection and new covenant. This is just a quick thought
of  the plan created before time.

This miracle:

Matthew 27:51-54 (CEV)
51  At once the curtain in the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, and rocks split apart.

52  Graves opened, and many of God's people were raised to life.
53  Then after Jesus had risen to life, they came out of their graves and went into the holy city, where they were seen by many people.
54  The officer and the soldiers guarding Jesus felt the earthquake and saw everything else that happened. They were frightened and said, "This man really was God's Son!"

 as recorded in the above scripture(s) was done for a reason and the reason was exactly what happened in verse 54 which was confirmation that Christ was exactly who He said He was.  I, though, believe that this was a targeted miracle meaning that it was meant for just certain people and not for everyone.  Surely there were people who didn't know these people who were raised, from the dead, thus they would not have known they were dead in the first place and there would have been no real significance to the miracle, that's my opinion strictly but based on how the event is recorded it's possible that the people were just known to have been dead and now are alive.  So  those in the town would have known these people to have been raised and thus not just showed up as visitors from another town. 

This will happen again.  Consider the following:

1 Corinthians 15:48-54 (Contemporary English Version)
48  Everyone on earth has a body like the body of the one who was made from the dust of the earth. And everyone in heaven has a body like the body of the one who came from heaven.

49  Just as we are like the one who was made out of earth, we will be like the one who came from heaven.
50  My friends, I want you to know that our bodies of flesh and blood will decay. This means that they cannot share in God's kingdom, which lasts forever.
51  I will explain a mystery to you. Not every one of us will die, but we will all be changed.
52  It will happen suddenly, quicker than the blink of an eye. At the sound of the last trumpet the dead will be raised. We will all be changed, so that we will never die again.
53  Our dead and decaying bodies will be changed into bodies that won't die or decay.
54  The bodies we now have are weak and can die. But they will be changed into bodies that are eternal. Then the Scriptures will come true, "Death has lost the battle!

 Mankind is born into a fleshly body from earthly elements from the union of our two parents, sperm & egg and has color, nationality, and male or female, with a God Created God given spirit within that has no color, no nationality, and no sexual orientation.  The fleshly body is temporary and decays and dies but the spirit is eternal, as scripture indicates.  Some believe that the spirit can die or be destroyed also, due to God's ultimate judgment whereas others see the inner spirit/soul as eternal and faces judgment for things done while in the fleshly body.  There is much debate on this area but the scripture in 1Corinthians above indicates mankind is both fleshly and spirit/soul.

There is also a time coming, for believers, who will again raise from their graves as recorded and taught by Paul in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18

1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (Contemporary English Version)
13  My friends, we want you to understand how it will be for those followers who have already died. Then you won't grieve over them and be like people who don't have any hope.
14  We believe that Jesus died and was raised to life. We also believe that when God brings Jesus back again, he will bring with him all who had faith in Jesus before they died.
15  Our Lord Jesus told us that when he comes, we won't go up to meet him ahead of his followers who have already died.
16  With a loud command and with the shout of the chief angel and a blast of God's trumpet, the Lord will return from heaven. Then those who had faith in Christ before they died will be raised to life.
17  Next, all of us who are still alive will be taken up into the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the sky. From that time on we will all be with the Lord forever.
18  Encourage each other with these words.

 The teaching and instruction that Paul gave about Christ coming comes from the teachings of Christ Himself  given in the Gospels (Matthew 24:30-31, Luke 21:26-27) and Mark 13:25-27.  This section refers to what Christians call the Rapture.

Mark 13:26-27 (New American Standard)

26  "Then they will see THE SON OF MAN COMING IN CLOUDS with great power and glory.
27  "And then He will send forth the angels, and will gather together His elect from the four winds, from the farthest end of the earth to the farthest end of heaven.

I fully believe though that this raising of the dead will be their spirits/souls being put into a new glorified body, one that will continue on and a different body than that which was earthly, fleshly but a body created by God specifically for the resurrected spirits/souls of those who were chosen and/or saved believers in Christ Jesus.  Those whom God decides are His and belongs to Him.  Unlike those who were resurrected into bodies at the time of Christ resurrection.   I am not comfortable saying that the new "glorified" bodies will resemble our current fleshly bodies for I fully believe that our new heavenly, glorified bodies will be sexless in that we will not be male or female as such.  What scripture does indicate about them is as follows, we call it a glorified body in part due to the verses below from Paul's letter to the Philippian church. 

Philippians 3:20-21 (NASB)
20  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ;

21  who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.

Romans 8;22-25 and 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 indicating that the new body is imperishable, will not die or perish but is immortal.

1 Corinthians 15:53-54 (NASB)
53  For this perishable must put on the imperishable, and this mortal must put on immortality.

54  But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, "DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.

Again there is much dispute among Christians regarding what happens at death and afterwards and many different scriptures are used to justify various people's opinions.  Christians rely upon God's Holy Spirit to assist us in our personal study of Scriptures as to what is actually what God has for us and wants for us.  I say this to preface the following.

People wonder what happens after death when some say when death occurs that the spirit dies too or that the spirit goes immediately to heaven or to purgatory or some other location to await Christ return or God's Judgment.  Others use the statement of Christ, from/on the cross where He told the thief that "today you shall be with  me in paradise" to indicate that upon death that the spirit departs the body and immediately is before Christ in heaven.

I personally believe (that is it's my opinion) that our spirits (saved and unsaved people) are different from the flesh and that the function of the earthly fleshly body is to support the spirit/soul that we have.  Specifically from Paul's letter to the Thessalonian believers in 1Thessalonians 4:13-18 above I believe that Paul taught that our spirits/souls are in a sleep or state where we are awaiting for reawakening when Christ comes again for us.  I know that this is not what people want to hear for everyone wants to think that their relatives and loved ones can know we are visiting their graves and can hear or understand and comprehend what we are telling them or what we think.  Many people make a good living or profit in claiming that they communicate with the spirits of the dead.  There are places where it seems to indicate spirits have an awareness after death and possibly roam around like ghost. 

I believe that there exist and is a Spiritual world or realm apart from the Physical Realm and that Spiritual Realm is God's domain and encompasses all that there is meaning greater and more expansive than our known physical universe and physical realm.  I also believe it is something that is beyond mankind's comprehension or understanding but we have to conceptualize it rather than visualize it.  It's a matter of faith that is.  I would like to think the dead have an awareness of the living and that they can know we are there or know that we care for them and miss them.  Frankly I don't know and am not confident in making a decision about it either way.  I do though believe Paul indicates that the raptured spirits come from the grave, come from Earth, and that our spirit/souls are awaiting another body that will be given unto us by Christ at the Rapture. 

I also believe that it is our spirits/souls that will receive God's judgment and also punishment(s) as the result of that ultimate judgment God performs based on what mankind did while in the fleshly body and with the minds that we were given.  I believe it is this inner soul/spirit that also differentiates us from all other living species such as dogs, cats, animals, mammels, fish, trees, whatever living thing you want to point to.  I believe God made mankind special in that He made mankind in HIS IMAGE.  By that IMAGE I believe it means spirit/soul (because God is a Spirit, not some white haired man setting on a cloud) and because there is the ability to make decisions have a will (conscience and deliberate action, choosing one's own direction).

As for those who came to life after Christ Resurrection I believe they died again or were taken away back to the grave, possibly died as we die and as they died before, possibly just removed from the state they were in.  The question can also be ask were their inner spirits/souls also resurrected or just their bodies that others could see that what was dead is now alive again.  Those questions I don't know and I don't know that anyone can dogmatically answer but rather give an opinion as I did. 

 

 

I thought you might saddle up on this one gb. My opinion is
these very well could be souls trapped in limbo until the gates
were once again opened and God wanted those souls back in
their bodies to show the power of the crucifixion and the Father's
promise to send a redeemer was being fulfilled.   
They aren't going to die again but the souls entered heaven
and the bodies would wait until the final judgment, along with
some souls that also may be waiting for the final........... 

Too many varied opinions on this one like with many things.  I just tried to present what I though would apply.  Although I'd love to think that our former, fleshly, earthly bodies would somehow be resurrected I can't accept it based on what I've read in scriptures to this point.  I will not attempt to restrict God's abilities though for I fully believe He can and will do as He desires and Wills.  I do fully believe and accept that our future bodies, for the saved, will be immortal bodies, sexless bodies, and genderless bodies as well as they will not have diseases and they will be imperishable, will not have the decay and aging we now experience in our earthly fleshly bodies. 

Frankly I have a difficult time trying to imagine all it could be but whatever our future holds I fully believe it will be worth it and glorious beyond anyone's expectations.  I also believe that we will be able to know our parents and loved ones as well as others but I am not ready to guess or venture an opinion about just how much of what we now call our memories and brain ability will be there or follow us. 

I sort of look at it like a reverse physical birth process whereby at physical birth a spirit/soul is put within a physical body and upon death no longer is bound by that physical body but a spirit/soul born into eternity and the Spiritual realm.  Now whether that happens immediately or whenever the Rapture occurs or at the 2nd Coming or whenever in the future, for the person, the spirit/soul it will seem like an instant.

In other words some believe our spirit/souls are immediately before Christ and some believe the spirit/souls sleep until awoken at the Rapture, by the Angels and Christ coming.  For me I don't lose sleep over it for either way, whichever is valid and is actually what it is it will seem, to the soul/spirit/person as if it was instantaneous or in that blink of an eye.  Similar to when you're knocked out for surgery, you may be out for a time but never really realize it for it's as if you were never out at all other than being droggy a bit.  I just go on Romans Chapter 14's directions to believers that debate various debatable things and disagree.  The advice Paul gives is excellent.

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