“Is this 21st century miracle resurrection story true?” “Did Jesus do some things as God and others as man?”

QUESTION: A video entitled “Raised From The Dead” claims to be a 21st-century miracle resurrection story. Is it true?

ANSWER: This video, sold in bookstores and on the Internet, claims that in 2001, a Nigerian man died from injuries due to a car accident, and then came back to life two days later after being taken to a church. The man reported that during this time he had been taken by angels to heaven and hell, before God sent him back to warn people of hell.

The account is unusual because, although the man was said to be critically injured, after being taken to a hospital he was able to demand transfer to his hometown hospital, a 1.5 hour drive away. Then he was taken to a clinic, a mortuary and a church. No proof is given regarding the accident or the man’s injuries, and the only evidence of death is a clinic certificate and verbal report. Although the man’s family, a doctor and a mortician claim he was dead, the evidence is not conclusive.

The claim of being taken to heaven and hell goes against Bible teaching. As the man himself said on one occasion, “It may have been a dream.” Heaven is the eternal destiny of believers while hell is the eternal destiny of unbelievers. After death people go to one or the other, not both. The Bible says there is a great chasm between heaven and hell and no one from either side can cross over (Lk. 16:26). For example, Lazarus went to heaven and the rich man went to hell (Lk. 16:19-31). The reason the rich man was in hell was because he rejected the message given in the Old Testament.

The phrase, “women received back their dead” (Heb. 11:35), quoted in the video to support the alleged miracle, refers to events in the Old Testament such as the son of the widow of Zarephath and the Shunammite’s son (1 Ki. 17:17-24; 2 Ki. 4:18-37). On these occasions God used a prophet, either Elijah or Elisha, to raise a boy back to life.

Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter (Mk. 5:22-24, 35-43), the son of the widow of Nain (Lk. 7:11-17), and Lazarus (Jn. 11:1-44; 12:1-2). In the second case it occurred during the funeral and in the third case it happened after the burial. When Jesus died many godly men and women were raised from their tombs (Mt. 27:52-53). Three days later, Jesus was resurrected from the tomb (Jn. 20:1-31 ). Peter said, “We are all witnesses of this fact.” Paul said that Jesus appeared to more than 500 followers at the same time (Acts 2:32; 1 Cor. 15:6). Dorcas was raised after Peter prayed (Acts 9:36-42). Eutychus died after falling from the third story of a building, but came alive after Paul put his arms around him (Acts 20:9-12). All these New Testament instances of people being raised from death involved either Jesus or an apostle.

This video promotes a gospel of works. It states that a person is in hell for stealing, not for rejecting Christ’s work of salvation, and the man who died would go to hell because of angry words spoken to his wife. The video supported this with Jesus’ statement that God will not forgive our sins if we do not forgive others and only the merciful will obtain mercy (Mt. 5:7; 6:14-15). These verses are taken out of context; they do not refer to salvation, which is an unconditional gift received by faith in Christ, not a goal achieved by works (Eph. 2:8-9). Instead, they are part of the Sermon on the Mount giving the Lord’s disciples principles for daily living (Mt. 5:1,2). They teach that forgiveness is necessary for believers to maintain fellowship with God, and that believers will be rewarded according to their compassion displayed (1 Jn. 1:9; 1 Cor. 3:12-15). The man said to have been raised from the dead was afraid that he would sin again and not go to heaven. He had no assurance of salvation.

The video says that this miracle was a sign from God to lead us to Jesus. However, our faith in Christ is not based on modern miracles, but on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as documented in the Scriptures. The way to heaven is through believing the message of the Bible, not a so-called modern miracle.

By George Hawke

QUESTION: Did Jesus do some things as God and others as man?

ANSWER: We should approach this question with reverent caution, with our shoes off (Ex. 3:5), careful not to look into the ark (1 Sam. 6:19). “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16). We need wisdom from above to distinguish properly, recognizing that we cannot divide. For Scripture never presents our Lord as man to the exclusion of His deity nor as God to the exclusion of His manhood.

Hebrews 2:9,14 tell us that Jesus was made a little lower than the angels; He became true man, so that He’d be able to die for us. He is and ever was true God; He is eternal and immortal – incapable of dying. He took part in manhood, becoming what He was not before. He remains God and man in one person, and is now in the glory as man, our guarantee that we too shall be there.

On earth, to all appearances He was a man. He veiled His glory, humbling Himself (Phil. 2:5-8). He called Himself “the Son of Man,” but at times it became evident that He was far more than a man. No man could command the wind and waves to obey him. Christ’s death and the phenomena associated with it caused the centurion to say, “Truly this Man was the Son of God!” (Mk. 15:39).

It is easy to venture beyond Scripture, but dangerous. “Every word of God is pure ... Do not add to His words, lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar” (Prov. 30:5-6). This doesn’t mean that we can’t use words, such as “trinity,” to summarize Scripture truth. But to use human reasoning to set forth what Scripture doesn’t teach is risky. And to attempt to define beyond Scripture our Lord’s person is riskiest of all. Throughout history the enemy has wreaked havoc among Christians by attacking the truth of His person. Though in some things we see His godhead present, and in others His manhood, it is wiser to avoid speaking of Jesus doing some things as God and others as man.

By Eugene P. Vedder, Jr.