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HOW DO I SEE JESUS 

SCRIPTURE: "He is not here: he has risen, just as he said." 
- MATTHEW 28:6a

In order to understand "resurrection," one has to know that Jerusalem consists of two hills (one of them is called "Zion"). Between the two hills is a deep ravine (gorge) which was considered since ancient times to be the grave of Adam. Here, death has been encountered by mankind for the first time. It was considered that at this place there is the gate to the underworld. On the other hand, it was believed that from here the world was created. Specifically, it was considered at old times that in this gorge the foundation stone, that is, the navel of the creation was placed. It was considered since millennia to be the center of the earth. From here the earth grew like a child in a womb. In short, since old times birth and death was considered to be close together. 

The deeply buried foundation stone and the grave of Adam were always places of worship and they still are today by Jews and Moslems. (Jews worship it from a certain distance because this holy place is now in Moslem territory). Solomon caused the filling in of the ravine to make space for building of the temple.

As a consequence of the earthquake at Christ's death the ravine re-opened as Matthew tells us. Matthew tells us also that there was at least one strong aftershock on Easter Sunday, but most probably a number of them must have occurred, as we know today from geologists. (Palestine is an area of intense seismic activities as can be seen for example by the earth-quake-caused destruction of a Roman temple at Caesarea Phillipi). 

The Bible tells us that the grave of the Josef of Arimathia was found to be empty. The body and the blood of the Christ went, so we are told, to the realm of dead through a ravine which opened as a consequence of an aftershock. 

Here, he brought the Divine to the dead. The significance of the Easter Victory is that the light of which the evangelist John speaks in his prologue, can now illuminate earth including the dominion of the dead.

In short, Christ is on earth, Christ is in us. This is the meaning of the term "resurrection."  

PRAYER: Dear God, we give you thanks for Your great gift. AMEN.

Rolf E. Hummel


Please direct responses and praise to Rolf by clicking here.

P.S. Don't forget to set your clocks forward one hour at bedtime tonight for the start of Daylight Saving Time tomorrow.  

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