The Raiser of the Dead

Trinity on Trial Act V continued...

The Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament provide us with three accounts of persons 'raising the dead.'

Elijah (1 Kings 17:21-22)
"And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto YHWH, and said, O YHWH my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.

And YHWH hearkened unto the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived."

Elisha (2 Kings 4:32-35)
"And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed. He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto YHWH. And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and he stretched himself upon him; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.

Then he returned, and walked in the house once to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes."

Jesus of Nazareth (John 11: 38-44)
"Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone lay against it. Jesus saith, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time the body decayeth; for he hath been dead four days.

Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou believedst, thou shouldest see the glory of God? So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou heardest me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the multitude that standeth around I said it, that they may believe that thou didst send me.

And when he had thus spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth.* He that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave-clothes; and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go."

All three of these 'raisings' were performed by YHWH working through the agency of his prophets and his anointed. Just as no 'divinity' attaches to Elijah or Elisha because of these 'raisings,' so also does no 'divinity' attach to Jesus.

Another misconception is that Jesus raised himself from the dead. It is important to realise that the apostles were preaching that God raised Jesus, not that Jesus raised himself. Despite any misinterpretation of the account as given in the Gospels, it is made abundantly clear that God raised Jesus in Acts 2:24,32; 3:15,26; 4:10; 5:30, Romans 4:24; 8:11,34; Colossians 2:12; Hebrews 11:19; 13:20.

* The proponents of the doctrines of Heaven and Hell must pretend not to notice that the four days dead Lazarus should have been already received into Heaven or condemned to Hell for all eternity.