The concept of regeneration is found throughout the Old Testament. Indeed, the Old Testament is all about discovering Jesus. Moses and the prophets had firm belief and trust in Jesus, not only on his birth and death, but also the resurrection:
Your dead shall live; their bodies shall rise. You who dwell in the dust, awake and sing for joy! For your dew is a dew of light, and the earth will give birth to the dead. (Isa 26:19)"Your dead shall live" refers to resurrection. Furthermore, it is seen that it refers to Jesus and those dead in Christ: "Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock" (Isa 26:4). The Lord (Jesus) is the rock who is everlasting: "The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation—" ((Psalm 18:46). Jesus's name means "Yahweh is salvation." Isaiah saw Jesus's resurrection and had faith that the dead in Jesus would also rise: "Just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life" (Rom 6:4).
If Jesus had not died and risen, neither would anyone have the hope of resurrection. Jesus will come back to gather the dead just as Isaiah envisioned. Paul made the same prophecy as Isaiah when he wrote, "For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first" (1 Thes 4:16).
The resurrection is the time of salvation according to Paul, "Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed" (Rom 13:11). Christians have the hope of resurrection as they have the "hope of salvation" (Psalm 55:5; 1 Thes 5:8).
Salvation is when the Devil can no longer harm Christians. The ultimate time of salvation for all those living is when Satan is utterly destroyed, and can no longer tempt. Until that time, those who are regenerated live in safety in that Satan can do them no harm beyond tempting (Job 1:12).
Christians are in safe-keeping by a spiritual hedge about them (Job 1:10). When Jesus appears in the sky, the occasion is the "time of salvation". When Jesus snatches up the living and the dead in the sky, and they rise with him, that unknown time is salvation.
From what are Christians "saved?" From the Devil and eternal death in Hell. The sanctuary from Hell is Heaven. That's the destination of the resurrected. Resurrection occurs in two stages: The soul is immortal. When the flesh dies, the soul remains. Matthew wrote: "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell" (Mat 10:28). Stage one is the safety of the soul since it is immortal, and stage two is the body finally saved.
I often write that Adam and Eve didn't understand death because death had never occurred to know its meaning. They didn't understand the intensity and gravity of disobedience. For that reason, God was gracious and provided safery for the two until they are resurrected. As such, their souls were saved from perishing when they died. Thus, from the time God covered them with a coat of skin which he sacrificed on their behalf, until they are resurrected, they were safe from the cunning of the Serpent.
Death is when both the body and the soul perish; it occurs when both are cast into Hell with the Devil. Salvation is an exemption from dying. It pertains firstly to the soul, but at the resurrection, both body and soul are saved from Hell or eternal death.
Christians often say, "Jesus saved me." That is true to a certain extent. His death provided the blood antidote to death, but it is similar to an innoculation until the moment the death angel comes. Because Jesus died for everyone, doesn't mean that everyone is safe. Only those who accept his gift of faith are safe. All others live in peril. Upon death, the souls of Christians are saved, and at the resurrection, their bodies are regenerated just as at the generation, and with that, the body and soul are saved!
This all sounds complicated, and indeed, those with confidence can say with assurance, I am saved, because they see the prize ahead. Jeremiah wrote, "But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go," (Jer 45:5) which was validated by Paul when he said, "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Phil 3:13-14). They both were looking forward to the time of resurrection when the dead bodies of Christians arise!
What is written herein is the doctrine of Arminius which aligns quite well with the Doctrine of Christ. Resurrection is important to Christians because that is the time of salvation of the body as it reunites with the soul. What's important, is that because Jesus was resurrected, Christians will be as well!
What happened after Jesus flesh died? His body "gave up the Ghost" (Mark 15:37 KJV). Where did Jesus's body go? To the tomb. Where did his soul go from the Cross?
When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.” (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth? He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) (Ephes 4:8-10).Jesus, since he took all the sins of mankind on himself, went to Hell to drop them off onto the Devil. His body was still in the tomb, thus his living soul visited Hell, then ascended to Heaven on Good Friday since he would be with the thief that day in Paradise. His soul and body were two different places until the resurrection. What happened to Jesus will happen to all Christians. The day Jesus was resurrected his body rejoined his soul, and Jesus became a living soul again as God again breathed life into him just as he did Adam back on the sixth day of creation. The resurrection is re-creation... a re-genesis! That is the prize to which Christians "running the race" see as they run the Way of Jesus! (1 Cor 9:24).
The resurrection is the time that both the bodies and souls are reunited and saved. By celebrating Jesus's resurrection, we celebrate our own; it is a day of thanksgiving because Jesus died and was resurrected that we too might be saved.
When Paul preached, he put great emphasis on the resurrection because that is the time of complete salvation. For those who are in Christ, salvation is when they are snatched up; theologians call that "the rapture." You will know that you know that you know you are saved when you meet Jesus in the sky! I "see" him now because I trust the Word.
This is the day others should consider because it has so much importance; to save your body and soul, you must believe that Jesus died and was resurrected. If he was not, then neither will you be. This is a great day for those who have the hope that they shall be saved just as Jesus was resurrected.
Note: All passages are from the English Standard Version (ESV) except as noted (KJV).
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