Part I:
I post the passage again.
John 11
"11 Now a certain
man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was
that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. 3 Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”
4 When Jesus heard
that, He said, “
This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”"
If Lazarus died, how is this sickness not unto death? It was different.
"11 These things He said, and after that He said to them, “
Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up.”
12 Then His disciples said, “Lord, if he sleeps he will get well.” 13 However, Jesus spoke of his death, but they thought that He was speaking about taking rest in sleep.
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead. 15 And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, that you may believe. Nevertheless let us go to him.”"
I understand you really want Lazarus to be the first fruits from the dead, but that honor goes to the boy that Elisha raised from the dead. Or, you will recognize that none of these were resurrections, but simply those "sleeping" waking up. They aren't being resurrected. Their spirits are reentering their mortal bodies for a time, according to the purpose of God. Paul is clear that Jesus alone is the first fruits of the dead. If there are any others, than Jesus death loses all worth.
I Corinthians 15:
"20 But
now Christ is risen from the dead,
and has become the firstfruits of those who have [d]fallen asleep. 21 For since by man
came death, by Man also
came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23
But each one in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits,
afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming. 24
Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. 25
For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. 26 The last enemy
that will be destroyed
is death. 27 For “He has put all things under His feet.” But when He says “all things are put under
Him,”
it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all."
If Jesus is reigning now, then death has yet to be destroyed. The final enemy is not yet destroyed. It holds no power over believers because of Christ, but all others die and face the second death.
"51 Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, 52 and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; 53 and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many."
They came out of the grave as Lazarus did. Lazarus is not the Christ, so Lazarus was not the firstfruits of the dead. Paul is clear that this is Jesus. The reason why it is different for Jesus is because He was sinless and perfect. Lazarus, the kid in the OT, the young man Paul raised from the dead, they all died again. Their coming back to life served a purpose. Again, remember Jesus original words of encouragement and strength: "
This sickness is not unto death," Again, I believe Jesus spoke to finality. That appointed time of death before judgement. How many people have died, medically stamped dead, who came back to life? They died again. Would that rationally not mean that it wasn't the appointed time? They didn't go to judgement, so it doesn't break the verse. They didn't die, go to judgement, and then come back to life, did they? What did Jesus say? He said they were only sleeping.
Please, give a verse that states that Elijah did not pen a prophecy, give it to Elisha, and told him to pass this on to Jehoram who was already king. (Dual kingship for seven years I believe, between Jehoshaphat and Jehoram.
There are three explanations that ignore yours. 1. The author was not writing chronologically at this point, and Elijah's translation to heaven was later in Jehoram's reign. (This is like the passage in Matthew, where the saints coming out of the grave is mentioned at Jesus death, but it says they didn't come out until Jesus resurrected. (Same time.)) Jehoshaphat and Jehoram had joint rule for about five to six years, if you look at the chronology.
2. Elijah wrote down the prophecy before he left, and left it with Elisha or someone else to send to king Jehoram at a later time. Elijah is a prophet, and that is kind of how prophecy works.
3. Elijah told Elisha what was going to happen, and when the time came, Elisha wrote down Elijah's prophecy and sent it to Jehoram.
I actually find the last two plausible, while yours, not so much. Phillip actually was translated by the Holy Spirit from one place to another, and there was no fiery chariot. He was carried away by the spirit. Elijah's spirit remained on Elisha.
The Jewish literature doesn't end Elijah's history until the end of the history of man, so basically, their tradition is that Elijah did not die. He was translated to heaven. Again, this makes Elijah a candidate for one of the two witnesses in Revelation. Traditionally, Jeremiah also didn't die, so he is another candidate. Enoch a third. Some say Moses, however, we know he died.
