PROPHECIES OF CHRIST'S RESURRECTION

The top picture is the inside of the Garden Tomb, the nontraditional site of the tomb of Jesus. The nontraditional site meets the description requirements of the New Testament, but does not have tradition on its side. The middle picture is of the exterior of the Garden Tomb. The picture on the bottom is of the traditional site of the tomb of Jesus inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The reason tradition carries so much weight is that in the second century, the emperor, Hadrian, destroyed all the significant places in the life of Christ where Christians were worshipping. In their place he built pagan worship places. By doing this he effectively marked these Christian sites for future generations. In the fourth century, Constantine sent his mother, Helena, to the Holy Land to identify these Christian sites. She tore down the pagan worship centers that marked the holy places and built churches over them. So, the chances are good that the traditional sites are truly the right sites even though they do not look like it. Could the traditional sites be in error? It is possible. The vast Roman army that surrounded and destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70 could have destroyed enough of the evidence of the sites to confuse returning Christians. My personal belief is that the latter view. I do not believe our Heavenly Father wants us to reverence sites on earth. That is idolatry. He is to be the center of our lives!

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"For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol; nor will You allow your Holy One to undergo decay" (Psalms 16:10). This prophecy of Christ's resurrection is quoted by Peter in the first gospel sermon on Pentecost in Acts 2:27).

"After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up; that we may live before him" (Hosea 6:2). This scripture was alluded to by the apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 15:4. These are only two of several Old Testament prophecies of Christ's resurrection.

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The Christian faith stands or falls on the resurrection of Jesus Christ! The risen Christ is the cornerstone of all that Christians believe. If Christ has not risen, Christianity falls apart. If he has risen, God's word is true. If Christ has risen then God will have the last word--you won't!! If you are not in Christ, you have not defense.

Grace&Peace,

Tom