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Crucifixion (150:0)

Was the crucifixion, resurrection and ascent of Jesus three separate and distinct events, or did His resurrection and ascent occur at the time of His physical death? And later, when Jesus made several appearances to His disciples (and others), were these of His physical body or of His spiritual body appearing in Heavenly Visions?[-ed] (150:1)

Harper's Bible Dictionary quote: "From 1 Cor. 15:3-8 we learn that faith in the resurrection was based not on the empty tomb, which Paul does not mention, but on the appearances of the Lord. The word used for 'appeared' is the same Greek word used elsewhere for visionary experiences. We may today characterize these experiences as revelatory disclosures from the transcendent realm. No distinction was drawn between the resurrection and ascension. The appearances are manifestations of the resurrected and already ascended Christ from heaven." [-ed] (150:2) see

Bahá'í quotes: "The obstacle which prevents the so-called religious man from accepting the teachings of God is literal interpretation" (note '17')."The resurrections of the Divine Manifestations are not of the body. All Their states, Their conditions, Their acts, the things They have established, Their teachings, Their expressions, Their parables and Their instructions have a spiritual and divine signification, and have no connection with material things.." (saq 103:2), as the Bible likewise confirms: "we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught us by the Spirit.." (1co 2:13-14 niv) [-ed] (150:3) 17 see

According to Paul, "spiritual things" of the Bible cannot be understood without "spiritual discernment" (1co 2:13-14). This has historically made interpretation very difficult, not only because there are a multitude of Bible passages which are difficult to explain spiritually, but because they are also clearly contradictory when viewed physically. Additionally, all the books were "sealed" to proper understanding until Christ returned to "unseal" them (note '47'), and attempts undertaken to interpret these and other passages have contributed to the establishment of literally thousands of Christian denominations. Now, however, in our age, the books have been "unsealed" (rev 5:5), and it is relatively easy to understand the Bible passages. It can be seen that the spiritual / symbolic passages of the Bible have historically been interpreted incorrectly as physical events - in many cases as several events occurring in separate time periods. [-ed] (150:4) 47 see

One major example of this process is the story of the Crucifixion of Jesus which has become the three commonly accepted events of crucifixion, resurrection, and ascent. Of course the Bible had predicted that Christianity would turn to Fables (note '03') before Christ's returned to unseal the books, and it is only since the unsealing (note '07'), that these passages are understood as not physical, nor contradictory, but simply referring to different spiritual aspects of a single episode. [-ed] (150:5) 03 07 see

The following Bible quotes clearly illustrate the true nature of Jesus' crucifixion and His immediate ascent to God's transcendent realm: [-ed] (150:6)

"He yielded up the Ghost" (mat 27:50) (150:7) see

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