 | The Reverend Doctor Cathy Northrup was born in Ft. Meade, MD, and was raised in a variety of places in the United State and Germany, as her father was in Counter Intelligence with the Army. She graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Hamline University in St. Paul, MN, with a double major in English and Religion. She graduated from Georgetown Law Center in Washington, DC, and practiced law with the Federal Reserve Board for a number of years before attending Union Theological Seminaryin Richmond, VA. She graduated from Union, and served several churches in North and South Carolina, at the same time obtaining her Doctor of Ministry from Princeton Theological Seminary in Princeton, NJ. Dr. Northrup is currently the Pastor/Head of Staff of First Presbyterian Church, Wichita, KS. She is married and has two black Labrador dogs who were rescued from abusive situations. You can contact Dr. Northrup at cnorthrup@firstpresbywichita.org or by phone at (316) 263-0248, ext. 26. |
Religion
2007-09-01 09:59:00
Do some of the saints have to die a natural death again?
I have always thought that until the Last Judgment, only the souls are in Heaven, and following the Last Judgment, the souls of all will be reunited with their bodies. But in the Gospel of Matthew 27:52-53, we read that , at the moment of Jesus’ death, “the graves opened, and many bodies of saints who had died, were raised to life. After Jesus’ resurrection they came forth from their tombs, and entered the holy and appeared to many persons. What happened to them after this event?
Did they have to die a natural death again? Were their souls and bodies reunited and then entered Heaven?
There are certainly various interpretations of this verse in the Bible within Christianity and within Presbyterianism. I understand this verse first to make the point that in Jesus’ death, death itself was overcome; this opening of the graves and rising of the dead serves to emphasize that point. The verse also makes the point that Christians believe in a bodily resurrection, not simply something like one’s spirit living on. Finally, the verse makes the point that Jesus’ death and resurrection have the power to work backward and forward, in a sense, so that we need not worry about those who died before Jesus lived on earth.
Some may interpret this verse literally, others symbolically and theologically only. Should one interpret it literally, I cannot say with absolute certainty what happened to these persons after this event.
I can only look to the story of Lazarus, who, by the power of God, was also raised from the dead. It appears that he went on to live and then at another time die, and he will be raised again at Jesus’ second coming.
