We use cookies on this site to enhance your user experience

By clicking any link on this page you are giving your consent for us to set cookies.

Search form

Search

What happened to the resurrected saints mentioned in Matthew 27: 52-53?

You are here

UCG.org / Bible Study Tools / Bible Questions and Answers / What happened to the resurrected saints mentioned...

What happened to the resurrected saints mentioned in Matthew 27

52-53?

57 comments Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Add to my study list

Login or Create an Account

With a UCG.org account you will be able to save items to read and study later!

Sign In | Sign Up

×

Matthew 27:51-53 tells us what happened right after Jesus Christ died: "Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many."

This resurrection of several believers was one of the phenomena accompanying the resurrection of Jesus Christ to underscore that monumental event. These saints came back to physical life. (In the Bible, the word saints means those who are sanctified or set apart as holy, meaning all of God's true followers.) We know from such scriptures as 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 and 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 that God has resurrected no one to eternal life as an immortal spirit yet—except Christ.

For example, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 says: "For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord."

These references teach us that God will change the righteous dead along with living Christians to immortal beings when Jesus Christ returns.

After God brought the people mentioned in Matthew 27:52-53 back to life, they undoubtedly went back to their homes, where many acquaintances saw them. It's hard to imagine how utterly startling such an experience would be for their relatives and friends!

The Bible says nothing further about these people God resurrected at Christ's death, leaving us to conclude that they eventually died (again) and their families buried them (again). Along with all other saints who died, they await in their graves their resurrection to spirit life.

What happens after I die? resurrected saints resurrections Christ's death Matthew 27:52-53 Doctrinal Beliefs Death Resurrection

Comments

  • Lena VanAusdle
    Lena VanAusdle

    Hi David,
    There are a couple of scriptures that you should consider along with this topic. First, Ecclesiastes 9:5, the dead know nothing. Second, John 3:13, No one has ascended to heaven, but He who came down from heaven. Third, Jesus Christ Himself referred to death as sleep, John 11:12-15. Fourth, regarding Enoch, read Hebrews 11:13, these ALL died in the faith, including Enoch. Check out this article, https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/booklets/heaven-and-hell-what-does-the-bible-really-teach/was-enoch-taken-to-heaven.

    The word of God cannot be contradicted, and there are many verses that say that we do not go to heaven when we die.

  • RevMoose
    Dan M Appel

    Seems to me we have to take John 3:23 in some kind of context, or else Enoch, Moses, Elijah really didn't make it to heaven and no Transfiguration

  • anaat1@hotmail.com
    Ana Dobbs

    Awesome, it took my years to grasp this from the word as I had always been taught and believed wothout question what would happen to the saints when they die. I hve learned that scripture interprets itself, the answers are in the Word. Searching will always bring the answer amen

  • msepiderm
    Lori Miner

    It sounds to me from the comments I’ve read here that many believe we will not be in heaven until Christ’s physical return. What about 11 Corinthians 5:8 where it talks about being absent from the body (dead) is to be present with the Lord? Doesn’t it seem more plausible that we will be with the Lord immediately upon death and it’s just our bodies that will be resurrected at Christ’s return? We have God’s inerrant Word, and that’s seems like the only way scripture agrees with the other scriptures. We are spirits wrapped in flesh for this world, but our spirit will be in heaven upon the death of our flesh.

  • anaat1@hotmail.com
    Ana Dobbs

    The spirit goes back tot he father from whence it came, spirit in this instance is breath, breath of life he gave us, the soul is what we became when he breathed life into us and it is the soul, mind, will emotion, conscious that died and will be judged

  • tiffanyjoan2b
    tiffany toledo

    I am just curious, if we go to heaven when we die, then why not just die? I sure would like to be with Jesus, and I don't mean suicide, we all have been near death at some point, yet we choose to breathe because we are afraid to die. Why the fear when heaven is so near? Also why does Christ need to reap our bodies here on earth, if our spirits are good to go in heaven?

  • Skip Miller
    Skip Miller

    Hello Tiffany, You have a great point ! If we go to heaven when we die, why the Great effort to remain alive? But as you will find by searching a little more deeply, those who die remain dead until raised to life by God. (There is more to this story but for your point a few more scriptures are needed) : Ecc 9:5 sums it up neatly but not completely. We need to examine 1 Cor 15 to fill in several blanks. Let's read from verse 12 to 26. Then read 35 to 38. After that
    go to 42 and read to 49. If you don't want to Skip around then read all of 1 Corinthians 15. But there are several scriptural thoughts in this chapter that (usually) need to be explained. I will finish this explanation with simple Truth. God created us physical and that means like any physical thing we will run down. But God also made a way that we can live forever. (Not in Heaven!) That explanation is include in several booklets that we produce. Ask us about Eternal Life.

  • Skip Miller
    Skip Miller

    Hello Lori,
    Very true Lori, those of us in UCG do believe that we will NOT be in heaven --- not before Jesus' return, nor after! We believe that the "dead in Christ" are dead and when God resurrects us to spirit life we will serve God on earth during the millennium. (There is more to the story than this but that is enough for now.) Our booklet "Heaven and Hell" explains in much more detail and I highly recommend that you request one (or download it) today.

  • Motorsports
    Robert Donaldson

    i take it as Jesus said to the decipels that we sleep in a state of being and knowing it is paradise as He said to the dying thief on the cross.....i do not accept we are spiritually dead as we are saved not like the dead in spirit and body going to the lake of fire

  • mimijones
    Mimi Jones

    I'm not sure all UCG teaches, not very familiar with it, just happened to run across this article but since I had so many questions and different opinions, I've been studying the topic in depth on my own and have to say I agree in full with UGC's standpoint in this reply. Plus the passage "We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord" doesn't indicate at all that "being present with the Lord" happens immediately after death. Paul is simply stating he prefers to be in God's presence instead of in this decaying, corruptible body we currently inhabit.

  • Steven Britt
    Steven Britt

    2 Corinthians 5:8 is best understood to mean that our next conscious moment after death will be with Jesus Christ - not because we are instantly transported to heaven, but because we will be unconscious in death until the resurrection at His return. This understanding is consistently taught throughout the bible, such as 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, which says that the "dead shall be raised incorruptible" at the same time that those who are alive "shall all be changed in a moment, in twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet." This verse would make no sense if the dead were already alive in heaven right now. Consider also 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17, which says "The Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout... and the dead in Christ will rise first." If the dead were already living in heaven, there is no need for them to "rise." Revelation 20:4-5 agrees - those who die in Christ will not live again until He returns to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, while "the rest of the dead [will] not live again until the thousand years [are] finished." The idea that our spirit goes to heaven when our flesh dies is not found in scripture.

  • truuthseakur
    Johnny Harry

    This makes a lot of sense.

  • Rapture1
    David L White

    Steve,
    Your Soul is eternal and that is what either goes to Heaven or Hell when you die. In Luke 16:22-28, The rich man who died was in Hell. He could remember his life and even knew who Abraham and Lazarus were. Lazarus was carried to Abraham's Bosom when he died. All old testament righteous saints stayed here until Jesus died and provided a way for them to go to Heaven. In Revelation 6:9-11
    9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for
    In Revelation 7:9
    9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;

    14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
    15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
    This individuals were dead but their souls were in Heaven and they were talking to Jesus.

  • Gaziger
    Alex DuBois

    The Bible states that "it is appointed to all men, once to die and then the resurrection." Except that is not the case as apparently, some men get to die more than once, such as these saints and Lazarus and Elijah. This is not an apparent contradiction but an actual contradiction. '

    Many people are apparently making assumptions based on human reasoning when there is no evidence one way or the other. What we do know is that no mention of any of these events appear in secular history. No mention of the earthquake, no mention of this or any other resurrection and no mention even of Jesus. This is just a story, made up more than 100 years after the supposed time of the events.

  • harpgirl
    Linda Bailey

    Lazarus wasn't dead, Christ said he was sleeping. We know that Elijah was removed from the earth so that he would not see death. So these are not contradictions.

  • Motorsports
    Robert Donaldson

    there will be a reason and i be certain theres no actual contradiction just our finite minds cause this unknowing at this time.

  • J.M.Brown
    John M. Brown

    Actually there is evidence outside of Jewish or Christian faiths, it comes from the Romans of that period.
    The Roman historian and senator Tacitus referred to Christ, his execution by Pontius Pilate, and the existence of early Christians in Rome in one page of his final work, Annals (written ca. AD 116), book 15, chapter 44.
    (P.E. Easterling, E. J. Kenney (general editors), The Cambridge History of Latin Literature, page 892 (Cambridge University Press, 1982, reprinted 1996). ISBN 0-521-21043-7)

    The passage is one of the earliest non-Christian references to the origins of Christianity, the execution of Christ described in the canonical gospels, and the presence and persecution of Christians in 1st-century Rome. Scholars generally consider Tacitus' reference to the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate to be both authentic, and of historical value as an independent Roman source. Paul Eddy and Gregory Boyd state that it is now "firmly established" that Tacitus provides a non-Christian confirmation of the crucifixion of Jesus.

  • mimijones
    Mimi Jones

    Hey Alex, I understand what you're saying even though the passage you're reading is incorrect. You're quoting Hebrews 9:27 that states, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment". The judgment and the resurrection are 2 completely different events, happening at completely different times. But you do have a valid point in raising the question about the dying once part, even though you're missing out on some extra info that'll answer this for you and show you there's no contradiction at all. Do you study the Bible on your own or just pieces people's articles together? Hopefully, not the latter. Now, the fact you came to this page just to tell everybody that their belief is fake is an action based on hatred and what good does that do to anyone, including yourself? If you had at least displayed an incredible amount of biblical knowledge, we could at least listen to what you have to say but you stated 1 verse and without context, when the people behind this study put hours, weeks, months and maybe years into studying the subject. You can at least respect it.

  • Trick James
    Trick James

    Alex, I question to myself why a person who I perceive has a unbelieving stance of biblical evidence would even be reading articles on this web site. I wonder if your curiosity about this subject means you are searching for something bigger then yourself? I am a nobody and I don't know anything, only that I believe the bible is more reliable than human reasoning based on a secular history that is a constantly moving target based on who is in control of writing the history at the time. One of many reasons that I have come to trust the bible is that it is my understanding that spiritual things are spiritually discerned by the power of the Holy Spirit. Unbelief would disqualify me the ability to discern biblical truth. For me it comes down to do I believe the bible or that secular history record or lack of a historical record. I wish you well on your quest for enlightenment.

  • RobRoy
    Rob Roy

    Alex DuBois - Spot on. This is all wishful evangelical conjecture. There is no historical evidence that these events took place, nor that jesus ever existed.
    The apologists have an immensely difficult time not rationalizing the absurd to buttress their dogma.

    • Join the conversation!

    Log in or register to post comments