InvestigateTruth
Well-Known Member
Is Lazarus spiritually dead or physically dead? If you believe he is spiritually dead then explain the verses I quoted.
There are some hints in the story that tells us, the Author of the Bible meant spiritual resurrection of Lazarus. I already raised two questions, which if physical resurrection was intended, it would be contradictory to the details of story.
Notice that first, Jesus is told Lazarus is sick. Jesus waits for two days, then He goes to the town, which is just two miles away to see Lazarus. When He gets there, they tell Jesus that Lazarus has been dead since 4 days ago! If he was dead 4 days ago, then why just two days ago, they had told Jesus that he was sick? Notice that Jesus speaking to His disciples, first says Lazarus is sick, then says he is asleep, then says he is dead. Why would He in an apparently quick minute, says 3 different things. Why not saying plainly he is dead from beginning? Also notice when Jesus says, lets go to Lazarus, the disciples say, "we come so we die with him" . If he was already dead, it is incorrect to say lets go and die with him. It can only be correct if he is alive, and they can die together. Why and how they should die? Did they want to suicide? But when they went there, did they die with him? Why would they want to die with him?
There is a lot of questions which cannot be answered with literal interpretation of the story. But see, how all these questions are answered when interpreted spiritually:
The Author of Bible uses the word 'dead', or 'alive' not only to mean physically, but also to indicate 'believer', or 'disbeliever'.
Just before Jesus mission begins, it was not determined yet who is a believer or disbeliever in Jesus. But at the moment His mission began, nobody had believed in Him yet, thus all are symbolically called 'dead', until they find Him and believe in Him.
The duration of the Jesus ministry was about 3.5 years according to many Bible scholars, which includes 4 individual years. The story of Lazarus is very close to the end of Jesus ministry, and is reasonable to say it happened in the 4th year of Revelation of Jesus. All these years, he had remained unbeliever in Jesus, until Jesus went to Him and resurrected Him, meaning, he was disbeliever, and became believer. God, uses "a day as a year" , to make the meaning 'hidden'. Thus when it is said in the Bible, he was dead for four days, this is a mysterious and figurative way for saying he was a disbeliever for 4 years!
Notice, the Author of Bible uses the term 'Natural', to be the opposite of 'Spiritual'. This can be seen in many other parts of the Bible. Then think, He gives a hint in the story, that Lazarus' asleep was not 'Natural'. Therefor, if his asleep was not a natural sleep, then, what type of asleep was it? That is right! Spiritual asleep! Only in this way, asleep and death can mean the same, but physical death is never same as asleep.
Now, think about the rest. Disciples say, we want to go and die with him! Now this time can be said literal death. The disciples knew that once Lazarus becomes a believer, he will be also put to death by the Jews, thus, they say, we are also willing to die with him. Think about the rest of expressions. But do not use your own imagination to make up interpretations! Notice elsewhere Jesus said 'new cloth' is 'newness of life'. Thus, here He tells Lazarus, take off grave cloths, meaning, set aside old ways of life, and become new, with His new teachings. The other expressions are symbolic as well, and if you search in Bible, you can see for example what 'stink', symbolically mean.
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