The Forty Days Following Christ's Resurrection (No. 159A)

Introduction

It is often asked what was the Christ doing when he returned after being presented before God as the Wave Sheaf Offering on the Sunday Morning of the Feast of Unleavened Bread after his resurrection the previous evening. The aspects of the Death and Resurrection of Christ are covered in the paper Timing of the Crucifixion and Resurrection (No. 159).

We see from the Books of Acts that there were Forty Days involved in the period. How do we know what transpired in those Forty Days? What does Scripture say and what clues does it offer for us as to what transpired?

The Bible is quite clear that he was presented before God as the Wave Sheaf Offering on Sunday morning at 9am (see the Wave Sheaf Offering (No. 106B)). The indication of what happened on that day can be seen in Revelation chapters 4 and 5.

Revelation chapter 5 shows what happened when the lamb was slain and went before God as the Wave Sheaf after his resurrection. He was accepted by God and the elders around the throne as being worthy. He was then given power to open the Seals and he was also given power to return to earth and render instruction to the entire Host and to make salvation through the Holy Spirit available to all the creation both human and spiritual.

Revelation 5

¹And I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals; ²and I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?" ³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it, ⁴and I wept much that no one was found worthy to open the scroll nor to look at it. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, "Weep not; lo, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals." ⁶And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth; ⁷and he went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. ⁸And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints; ⁹and they sang a new song, saying, "Worthy art thou to take the scroll and to open its seals, for thou wast slain and by thy blood didst ransom men for God from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,¹⁰and hast made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on earth."

By his sacrifice he was made worthy to lead all men to salvation but he was to do that in sequence and to take out a kingdom of priests to our God and we are to reign upon the earth under Messiah.

¹¹Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹²saying with a loud voice, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!" ¹³And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all therein, saying, "To him who sits upon the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might for ever and ever!" ¹⁴And the four living creatures said, "Amen!" and the elders fell down and worshiped.

See also the paper The Seven Seals (No. 140).

He returned to earth that afternoon not being subject to earth’s linear time sequence. He spoke to the apostles and breathed the Spirit on them but they were not yet to receive it.

The text in John 20 gives us an indication of the sequence following his return. He returned on the first day of the week at the end of the day. He rose at the end of the Sabbath and had to wait until the Wave Sheaf Offering at 9am on the Sunday as we see, and then returned after his acceptance as the Passover Lamb slain and the Wave Sheaf as the First of the First Fruits.

The apostles were present except for Thomas who did not see him on the Sunday, but eight days later when Christ returned, Thomas was present and then acknowledged him as his elohim showing his rank on acceptance.

John 20

¹Now on the first day of the week Mary Mag'dalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb. ²So she ran, and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him." ³Peter then came out with the other disciple, and they went toward the tomb. ⁴They both ran, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first; ⁵and stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; he saw the linen cloths lying, ⁷and the napkin, which had been on his head, not lying with the linen cloths but rolled up in a place by itself. ⁸Then the other disciple, who reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹for as yet they did not know the scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰Then the disciples went back to their homes. ¹¹But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb; ¹²and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³They said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping?" She said to them, "Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him." ¹⁴Saying this, she turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵Jesus said to her, "Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?" Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away." ¹⁶Jesus said to her, "Mary." She turned and said to him in Hebrew, "Rab-bo'ni!" (which means Teacher). ¹⁷Jesus said to her, "Do not hold me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to my brethren and say to them, I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God." ¹⁸Mary Mag'dalene went and said to the disciples, "I have seen the Lord"; and she told them that he had said these things to her. ¹⁹On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." ²⁰When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. ²¹Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you."

So here we see that he had received authority to send the apostles as teachers throughout the world as the kingdom of priests that he was instructed to do in Revelation 5. To do that he had received permission to give them the Holy Spirit but from Acts we see that it was not to occur until Pentecost 50 days later in the Omer Count.

²²And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit ²³If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." ²⁴Now Thomas, one of the twelve, called the Twin, was not with them when Jesus came. ²⁵So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe." ²⁶Eight days later, his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. The doors were shut, but Jesus came and stood among them, and said, "Peace be with you." ²⁷Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing." ²⁸Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" ²⁹Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe." ³⁰Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; ³¹but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.

The Journey to Emmaus

The two on the road to Emmaus referred to in Luke 24 were of the 70 and not of the 12. Christ appeared to them as they walked perhaps towards the end of their walk. They were all keeping the Passover but for some reason they had to go to Emmaus which is a village within the environs of Jerusalem some seven miles or two hours walk. This was on the day after his resurrection and in the afternoon of his return from the acceptance as the Wave Sheaf. We do not know where the 70 and the rest were keeping the Passover as it was scattered around Jerusalem being limited by the regulations to a maximum of 20 per site so there must have been at least six sites or more for the 120 and then the 300 and 500 would have required at least 25 sites. Perhaps one was at Emmaus or nearby. At any rate they returned after they had eaten the meal to Jerusalem and spoke with the rest that had gathered there. The elect did not leave Jerusalem until after Passover as we are told. They were obeying the laws of God under Deuteronomy 16:5-8.

Luke 24

¹But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices which they had prepared. ²And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³but when they went in they did not find the body. ⁴While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men stood by them in dazzling apparel; ⁵and as they were frightened and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? ⁶Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, ⁷that the Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day rise." ⁸And they remembered his words, ⁹and returning from the tomb they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. ¹⁰Now it was Mary Mag'dalene and Jo-an'na and Mary the mother of James and the other women with them who told this to the apostles; ¹¹but these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. ¹²*[No text] ¹³That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, ¹⁴and talking with each other about all these things that had happened. ¹⁵While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. ¹⁶But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. ¹⁷And he said to them, "What is this conversation which you are holding with each other as you walk?" And they stood still, looking sad. ¹⁸Then one of them, named Cle'opas, answered him, "Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?" ¹⁹And he said to them, "What things?" And they said to him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, ²⁰and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. ²¹But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since this happened. ²²Moreover, some women of our company amazed us. They were at the tomb early in the morning ²³and did not find his body; and they came back saying that they had even seen a vision of angels, who said that he was alive. ²⁴Some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just as the women had said; but him they did not see." ²⁵And he said to them, "O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! ²⁶Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" ²⁷And beginning with Moses and all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. ²⁸So they drew near to the village to which they were going. He appeared to be going further, ²⁹but they constrained him, saying, "Stay with us, for it is toward evening and the day is now far spent." So he went in to stay with them. ³⁰When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. ³¹And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight. ³²They said to each other, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the scriptures?" ³³And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem; and they found the eleven gathered together and those who were with them, ³⁴who said, "The Lord has risen indeed, and has appeared to Simon!" ³⁵Then they told what had happened on the road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the bread. ³⁶As they were saying this, Jesus himself stood among them. ³⁷But they were startled and frightened, and supposed that they saw a spirit. ³⁸And he said to them, "Why are you troubled, and why do questionings rise in your hearts? ³⁹See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit has not flesh and bones as you see that I have." ⁴⁰*[No text] ⁴¹And while they still disbelieved for joy, and wondered, he said to them, "Have you anything here to eat?" ⁴²They gave him a piece of broiled fish, ⁴³and he took it and ate before them. ⁴⁴Then he said to them, "These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled." ⁴⁵Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, ⁴⁶and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, ⁴⁷and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. ⁴⁸You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high." ⁵⁰Then he led them out as far as Bethany, and lifting up his hands he blessed them. ⁵¹While he blessed them, he parted from them, and was carried up into heaven. ⁵²And they returned to Jerusalem with great joy, ⁵³and were continually in the temple blessing God. (RSV)

To understand the size of the Passover we need to look at history.

There were over 200,000 lambs slaughtered at the Temple on 14 Abib between the ninth and the 11^th hour (3-5 PM) as we know from the record of Josephus (A of J, W of J & notes index (Whiston p. 769) incl. for pp. 250,500, 588). There were a minimum of approximately 5 million people at the Passover. Accommodation was thus extremely scarce and the people were accommodated where they could be accommodated.

Acts then tells us that he was with them for forty days.

Acts 1

¹In the first book, O The-oph'ilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ²until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commandment through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³To them he presented himself alive after his passion by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days, and speaking of the kingdom of God. ⁴And while staying with them he charged them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, "you heard from me, ⁵for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit." ⁶So when they had come together, they asked him, "Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?" ⁷He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Sama'ria and to the end of the earth." ⁹And when he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." ¹²Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away;

However we know he was not with them from Day Two to Day Seven which was the Sabbath. Where did he go? His mission was to the elect and that was first to the apostles, but he was also sent to save sinners and there was one group he had to visit and that was the fallen Host. Peter says that he visited them in Tartaros.

1Peter 3

¹⁸For Christ also died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit; ¹⁹in which he went and preached to the spirits in prison, ²⁰who formerly did not obey, when God's patience waited in the days of Noah, during the building of the ark, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were saved through water. ²¹Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a clear conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²²who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers subject to him.

Now it was taught by WCG that Christ went while his body was in the tomb but this is a false doctrine and that of Antichrist that seeks to separate the humanity from the divinity of Christ and denies that he was fully dead and so remained until the Resurrection to the spirit as the Wave Sheaf. It denies the Sign of Jonah and holds the Satanic doctrine that Spirit cannot die.

Peter is quite clear that he was dead and then resurrected to the spirit and this was the requirement for his presentation as the Wave Sheaf.

His mission was First to the apostles to reaffirm his return and then to Tartaros to preach salvation to the Demons and then return to educate the apostles on their tasks. Thus on the First day of the second week or Eighth day of the Omer Count he began the completion of their education.

In Tartaros he was to reveal the plan of God to them and that some would be released from Tartaros for the Last Days. These powerful demons were to be the four superior angels held in the pit at the Euphrates until it was time to destroy a third of mankind (Rev. 9:14). After the return of the Messiah and the vials of the wrath of God the entire Host is confined to Tartaros until end or last phase of the millennial system and they are released to deceive mankind again. Then they and mankind will all be killed and then resurrected for the Second Resurrection and the Great White Throne Judgment (No. 143B). There the demons will be judged by the elect (see Judgment of the Demons (No. 080)).

Paul’s listing of the appearances show that he appeared to the 500 apparently before the appearance again to the twelve.

1Corinthians 15:1-28

¹Now I would remind you, brethren, in what terms I preached to you the gospel, which you received, in which you stand, ²by which you are saved, if you hold it fast -- unless you believed in vain. ³For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, ⁴that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, ⁵and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.

So this sequence shows he appeared to the 500 then to James and then to all the apostles. We can assume this was the eighth day.

⁶Then he appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. ⁷Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles

The appearance to Paul was on the Road to Damascus quite some time later after he had persecuted the church for years.

⁸Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. ⁹For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. ¹⁰But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God which is with me. ¹¹Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed. ¹²Now if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? ¹³But if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised; ¹⁴if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. ¹⁵We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified of God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised. ¹⁶For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. ¹⁸Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. ¹⁹If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all men most to be pitied. ²⁰But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. ²¹For as by a man came death, by a man has come also the resurrection of the dead. ²²For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. ²³But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. ²⁴Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. ²⁵For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. ²⁶The last enemy to be destroyed is death. ²⁷"For God has put all things in subjection under his feet." But when it says, "All things are put in subjection under him," it is plain that he is excepted who put all things under him. ²⁸When all things are subjected to him, then the Son himself will also be subjected to him who put all things under him, that God may be everything to every one.

So we are given the understanding of the purpose of the Resurrection so that God may be all in all. That is achieved through the Holy Spirit.

The Remaining Days

Over the next 32 days Christ instructed the apostles and gave them their task in order that they be sent out into the world.

The record of where the Twelve and the 70 were sent is recorded in the Fate of the Twelve Apostles (No. 122B). Hippolytus placed the tasks and responsibilities on record. So also do we know of the Death of the Prophets and Saints (No. 122C). Also of note is the paper One Hundred and Fifty Three Fish (No. 170B).

He charged them not to leave Jerusalem until after Pentecost in which they would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5, 8 above).

He again appeared to them after that at the sea of Tiberius. They went fishing and caught nothing and Christ instructed them by symbolism in the catching of the 153 fish (cf. above). He also told Peter and John what was to befall them both and the others also understood their tasks. Then they also elected the other apostle to replace Judas from among the 120 (Acts 1:21-26).

They were instructed in the Kingdom of God and the Plan of Salvation over the millennial system and the First and Second Resurrections of the Dead and the coming City of God. The overall plan was then given to the church through the Apostle John at the end of the First century after the death of the apostles so that God through John entrusted it to the church.

And so we were given the Plan of Salvation to instruct mankind in the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.

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