Why do we talk about a spiritual resurrection? After all, Yeshua was resurrected physically before ascending to His Father.
Yochanan (John) 20:24-28
24 Now Thomas, called the Twin, one of the twelve, was not with them when Yeshua came.
25 The other disciples therefore said to him, "We have seen the Master."
So he said to them, "Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe."
26 And after eight days His disciples were again inside, and Thomas with them. Yeshua came, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, "Peace to you!"
27 Then He said to Thomas, "Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing."
28 And Thomas answered and said to Him, "My Master and My Elohim!"
It is also clear that Yeshua physically resurrected Lazarus from the dead.
Yochanan (John) 11:43-44
43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"
44 And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave-clothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth.
So when the Renewed Covenant talks about physical resurrections, why should we talk of a spiritual one? One of the reasons is that the Apostle Shaul (Paul) tells us that there will be a mass resurrection that is spiritual in nature.
Qorintim Aleph (1st Cor.) 15:42-44
42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption.
43 It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
44 It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
We will talk later about why we know Shaul is referring to Ezekiel 37 here. However, because most people do not think in spiritual terms, the concept of a spiritual resurrection seems foreign to them.
Still you may wonder, “What do we mean by the term, ‘spiritual’ resurrection?” Yeshua tells us that there was a kind of a spiritual resurrection that took place in Yochanan haMatbil (John the Baptist), if we have ears to hear what Yeshua is really saying.
Mattai (Matthew) 11:11-15
11 "Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than Yochanan haMatbil (John the Baptist); but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 And from the days of Yochanan haMatbil until now, the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force (i.e., the violent have overpowered Israel).
13 For all the prophets and the Torah prophesied about Yochanan.
14 And if you are willing to receive it, he is Eliyahu (Elijah) who is to come.
15 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
This can be a difficult question to understand, but was Yochanan haMatbil (John the Baptist) literally Eliyahu HaNavi? No, of course he was not. Yochanan was Yochanan (not some ‘reincarnation’ of Eliyahu).
However, did Yochanan haMatbil come in the spirit of Eliyahu? Yes, the Scripture plainly says that he would, and this is precisely what happened.
Luqa (Luke) 1:13-17
13 But the messenger (angel) said to him, "Do not be afraid, Zachariah, for your prayer is heard; and your wife Elisheva will bear you a son, and you shall call his name Yochanan (John).
14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth.
15 For he will be great in the sight of YHWH, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will also be filled with the Set-apart Spirit, even from his mother's womb. 16 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to YHWH their Elohim.
17 He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for YHWH."
So if Yochanan haMatbil came in the spirit and power of Eliyahu, then is there anyone else who ever came in the spirit and power of Eliyahu? Yes: Scripture tells us that the prophet Elisha did also.
Melachim Bet (2nd Kings) 2:9-15
9 And so it was, when they had crossed over, that Elijah said to Elisha, "Ask! What may I do for you, before I am taken away from you?"
Elisha said, "Please let a double portion of your spirit be upon me."
10 So he said, "You have asked a hard thing. Nevertheless, if you see me when I am taken from you, it shall be so for you; but if not, it shall not be so." 11 Then it happened, as they continued on and talked, that suddenly a chariot of fire appeared with horses of fire, and separated the two of them; and Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven.
12 And Elisha saw it, and he cried out, "My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and its horsemen!" So he saw him no more. And he took hold of his own clothes and tore them into two pieces.
13 He also took up the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and went back and stood by the bank of the Jordan.
14 Then he took the mantle of Elijah that had fallen from him, and struck the water, and said, "Where is YHWH Elohim of Elijah?"
And when he also had struck the water, it was divided this way and that; and Elisha crossed over.
15 Now when the sons of the prophets who were from Jericho saw him, they said, "The spirit of Elijah rests on Elisha." And they came to meet him, and bowed to the ground before him.
First Eliyahu had his own spirit, and then Elisha had it, and then finally, Yochanan haMatbil had Eliyahu’s spirit. Does this mean that Eliyahu was ‘reincarnated’? No, not at all! What happened was that both Elisha and Yochanan haMatbil were given the spirit of Eliyahu. That is to say that YHWH caused the spirit of Eliyahu to rest upon them (or in them, as the case may be). They were given Eliyahu’s spirit.
If this concept seems foreign, just sit with it for a while. However, for people to be ‘given’ other spirits is by no means a new concept in Scripture. The Tanach (the ‘Old’ Covenant) gives us many other examples of this.
For example, the Spirit of Elohim dwelt in Joseph.
B’reisheet (Genesis) 41:38
38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of Elohim?"
That the Spirit of Elohim dwelt in Joseph did not mean that Joseph was YHWH any more than Elisha was Eliyahu: rather, what happened was that Joseph died to his own fleshly will (and his thoughts), so that he could hear, speak and act according to the Still Small Voice (which is what prophesying is).
Even Bala’am, the son of Be’or was given His Spirit!
Bemidbar (Numbers) 24:2
2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of Elohim came upon him.
We could also note that Yehoshua (Joshua) the son of Nun was filled with a ‘Spirit of Wisdom.’
Devarim (Deuteronomy) 34:9
9 Now Yehoshua (Joshua) the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moshe had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as YHWH had commanded Moshe.
The Spirit of YHWH came upon King Shaul.
Shemu’El Aleph (1st Samuel) 10:6
6 Then the Spirit of YHWH will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them, and be turned into another man.
However, the Spirit of YHWH was also taken from King Shaul, and YHWH sent a distressing spirit to replace it.
Shemu’El Aleph (1st Samuel) 16:14-15
14 But the Spirit of YHWH departed from Shaul, and a distressing spirit from YHWH troubled him.
15 And Shaul's servants said to him, "Surely, a distressing spirit from Elohim is troubling you!”
We can also see that spirits are not limited to being placed on (or in) certain individuals; but even groups of people can have certain ‘spirits.’ For example, Hosea 4:12 tells us that the House of Israel (Ephraim) has a Spirit of Harlotry. This is because idolatry is spiritual adultery, and the Ephraimites are idolaters in that they worship on wrong days (e.g., Sunday, Christmas).
Hosea 4:12
12 My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, and their staff informs them; for the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, and they have played the harlot against their Elohim.
As we will see, YHWH promises to cleanse Ephraim of her idolatry, and to punish her severely for not keeping all of His Torah. Similarly, Isaiah tells us that YHWH will wash away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purge the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by a Spirit of Judgment, and a Spirit of Burning.
Yeshayahu (Isaiah) 4:4-5
4 When YHWH has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and purged the blood of Jerusalem from her midst, by the Spirit of Judgment and by the Spirit of Burning,
5 then YHWH will create above every dwelling place of Mount Zion, and above her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day and the shining of a flaming fire by night; for over all the glory there will be a covering.
Judah will also be cleansed by YHWH’s ‘Spirit of Favor (“grace”) and Supplication.’
Zechariah 12:10
10 "And I will pour on the House of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
In a certain sense, these ‘spirits’ refer to our attitudes, our mindsets, our predispositions, and our inclinations.
In the spiritual realm, these spirits are real beings, and the more advanced practitioners among us can not only spot them, but can also name them (as well as cast them out). For example, the apostles were able to name the evil spirits that Yeshua cast out.
Luqa (Luke) 4:32-36
32 And they were astonished at His teaching, for His word was with authority.
33 Now in the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon. And he cried out with a loud voice, 34 saying, "Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Yeshua of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are — the Set-apart One of Elohim!"
35 But Yeshua rebuked him, saying, "Be quiet, and come out of him!" And when the demon had thrown him in their midst, it came out of him and did not hurt him.
36 Then they were all amazed and spoke among themselves, saying, "What a word this is! For with authority and power He commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!"
If someone without eyes to see were to encounter a man like this in a synagogue today, he might say, “That man has a really bad attitude!” That is because, to eyes that are not trained to see, evil spirits can look like a bad attitude (because they give one a bad attitude). However, Yeshua understood that the root problem was not just a bad attitude, but an evil spirit.
Do we honestly believe that evil spirits are only a thing of the past; and that they ceased to exist after the first century? Do we honestly believe that we do not have to deal with evil spirits in today’s times? Or are we willing to re-assess the spiritual landscape in front of us with eyes that can see (and discern) evil spirits?
The Apostle Shaul also discerned evil spirits when he encountered them, and he treated them as such.
Ma’asim (Acts) 16:16-18
16 Now it happened, as we went to prayer, that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling.
17 This girl followed Shaul and us, and cried out, saying, "These men are the servants of the Most High Elohim, who proclaim to us the way of salvation."
18 And this she did for many days. But Shaul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, "I command you in the Name of Yeshua HaMashiach to come out of her." And he came out that very hour.
If this were to happen in modern times, someone might refer the girl to a psychologist, or to a psychiatrist (for medications). However, when Shaul recognized he was dealing with an unclean spirit, he simply cast it out.
We will talk elsewhere about how to cast demons out. However, the thing to notice here is that the Hebrew apostles understood that the way to deal with the material world was not superficially, but in the spirit. Since they were dealing with spiritual issues, they had to deal with things at the spiritual level.
Qorintim Aleph (1st Cor.) 2:14-15
14 But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of Elohim, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
If we have eyes to read, we should be able to see that the Renewed Covenant is full of spiritual things. Yochanan tells us that the apostles could even tell who was really of Elohim (and who was not) by whether or not they heard and understood their (real) message.
Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 4:5-6
5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.
6 We are of Elohim. He who knows Elohim hears us; he who is not of Elohim does not hear us. By this we know the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error.
Yochanan is telling us that the apostles knew who had a love for the truth, and who did not. Those who had been given the Spirit of Truth could understand the truths the apostles were saying; whereas those with the Spirit of Error could not.
Let’s read this again.
Yochanan Aleph (1st John) 4:5-6
5 They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.
6 We are of Elohim. He who knows Elohim hears us; he who is not of Elohim does not hear us. By this we know the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error.
If you understand the truths we are speaking here, then at least to some degree, you have been given (and have received) the Spirit of Truth. You read the words we write, and you recognize the truth in them. Without having been given at least some measure of His Spirit of Truth, you could not do this.
Similarly, for those of us who are of the House of Joseph (Ephraim), unless YHWH had first restored our Ephraimite spirits to us, how could we have known that we are Ephraimites? The fact is that we can only know that we are Ephraimites because our Ephraimite spirits have been spiritually resurrected.
The reason we now have Ephraimite spirits is because Elohim has restored these Ephraimite spirits to us. He has renewed these spirits within us, in accordance with His promise to spiritually resurrect the House of Israel (which we will talk about in the next chapter).
In Ezekiel 36 (just prior to the promise of the spiritual resurrection), YHWH describes this exact same event in a different way. He promises to put a ‘new spirit’ within us; and then bring us back to His Land.
Yehezqel (Ezekiel) 36:24-28
24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols.
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28 Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your Elohim.
The specific language of this passage is important. Remembering that sequence matters when interpreting prophecy, verses 24 and 25 tell us that first YHWH will bring us back to His Land, and then He will sprinkle clean water on us (and we shall be clean). However, verses 26 through 28 tell us just the opposite: that first YHWH will put a new spirit within us, and then He will bring us back to His Land.
So which is it? Is YHWH contradicting Himself? Do we receive a new spirit before we come back to His Land? Or do we receive a new spirit after we come back to His Land? Or are perhaps both true?
As we will see, both are true.
Elsewhere in prophecy, YHWH tells us that first He will give us a new spirit, and then He will bring us back to His Land (at the time of the Ingathering). Then, other passages tell us that after He brings us back to His Land, then He will give us even more of His Spirit.
Just a few verses later, Ezekiel 36:31-32 shows us that while some believers may receive the fullness of His Spirit prior to the Ingathering (in that they work hard for their Elohim, and submit themselves completely to His Voice), the majority of Ephraim will not receive the fullness of His Spirit until after the Ingathering is already over.
31 Then you will remember your evil ways and your deeds that were not good; and you will loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities and your abominations.
32 Not for your sake do I do this," says YHWH Elohim, "let it be known to you. Be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, O House of Israel!"
This passage tells us that Ephraim will come home in a less-than-pure state, not having fully repented.
If we reflect on this, we can see a mystery: YHWH says He will bring His people back to His Land, even before we have received the fullness of His Spirit.
But how is that possible? How can we return back to His Land if we do not have the fullness of His Spirit? Why would anyone even want to go back to the Land of Israel if he does not have the fullness of His Spirit?
We will explain why the Ephraimites will want to come back home (even in their impure state) in the chapter entitled, “The Wars of Territorial Expansion.” However, before we can talk about the coming war with Islam, we need to discuss Ezekiel 37, because it will reveal much about the great mission that lies ahead of the Ephraimite people, if they are to be used to provoke Judah to jealousy (so that he accepts his Messiah).
However, before we can talk about Ezekiel 37, first we must explain the Post Millennial Rapture, also called the ‘Great Catching Away.’
That is, ironically, before we can talk about the First Resurrection, first we must talk about the second one. The reason for this is that most people only understand the Second Resurrection, and once we understand what the Second Resurrection really is, then they can understand what it really is not.
Once we understand what the Second Resurrection is not, then we can begin to understand what the First Resurrection really is, and why it is taking place even now, as you read this book.