Regeneration is a term used only twice in the Bible. The word is found only in Matthew 19:28 and Titus 3:5. This word literally means a “new birth.” The Greek word so rendered (palingenesis) is used by classical writers with reference to the changes produced by the return of spring.
Mat 19:28 And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Tit 3:5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
In Matthew 19:28 the word is equivalent to the “restitution of all things” mentioned in Acts 3:21.
Acts 3:21 Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began.
In Titus 3:5, it indicates the passing from death to life that is well described elsewhere in 1 John 3:14 when the Mosaic Law is replaced with the New Law of Righteousness as the beginning and restoration of life unto eternal existence for all who believe.
1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Receiving the Law of Righteousness allows each to change from an old creature into a new creature in Christ Jesus 2 Corinthians 5:17; being born again John 3:5; a renewal of the mind Romans 12:2; a resurrection from the dead Ephesians 2:6; and a being quickened Ephesians 2:5.
2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
This change is ascribed to the Holy Spirit. It originates not with man but with God John 1:12-13; 1 John 2:29 & 5:4.
John 1:12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe onhis name:
John 1:13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
1 John 2:29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
As to the nature of the change, it consists in the implanting of a brand-new principle or disposition in the soul; the impartation of spiritual life to those who are by mortal nature “dead in sin” (Romans 8:10).
Romans 8:10 And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
The necessity of such a change is emphatically affirmed in Scripture: John 3:3; Romans 7:5-6 & Romans 8:6; 1 Corinthians 2:14; Ephesians 2:1 & 4:23-2.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
Romans 7:5 For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.
Romans 7:6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
Romans 8:6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
1 Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Ephesians 2:1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Ephesians 4:23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
Ephesians 4:24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Within the story of the crucifixion, written by Matthew, there is an actual factual account of a resurrection happening, but not a physical account. In Matthew 27:52-53, we read about the saints being regenerated from their actual physical graves and reborn into the Church of Jesus Christ. Matthew 27:52-53 is an observance of a spiritual occurrence directly connected with the doctrine of Spiritual Resurrection through the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
In order to make Matthew 27:52-53 adhere to the truth and to stay within the principles of the Word of God, how do we deal with these seemingly out of place scriptures of Matthew?
It is obvious that these scriptures were put into the Book of Matthew, by Matthew, as a sign of the resurrection power of Jesus. Additionally, they gave the church power. Jesus and the Apostles taught that if we receive the Holy Ghost and complete our Fire Baptism with the ultimate claim to perfection, we will walk in the spiritual Holy City which is the New Jerusalem (called the Bride of Jesus Christ).
Primary passages for the Doctrine of Spiritual Resurrection are directly written in Romans 6, Ephesians 2 and 1 Corinthians 12. The doctrine of Spiritual Resurrection teaches that we are spiritually dead in our sins before believing in Jesus our Savior.
Being dead in our sins concludes in mortal death, with or without a resurrection; the stipulation for a physical resurrection being the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Savior and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
Those who believe in Jesus but don’t become overcomers are only eligible for the Second Resurrection. Through the acceptance of Jesus as our savior and receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost, we become resurrected in his resurrection. This begins our transformation into the perfect image of Jesus Christ. We are brought to spiritual life through Jesus resurrection our spiritual rebirth.
When our Old Man becomes a New Man, a spiritual rebirth happens for each of us. Our bodies and souls die when we receive the Holy Ghost. Our Old Man dies within the grave of our body, and our New Man is born reborn when our spirit rejoins our body.
All of us who receive the baptism of the Holy Ghost spiritually rise from the graves of our own bodies. Through overcoming the world and destroying Satan as Jesus did, we qualify to live in the spiritual Holy City called the New Jerusalem (the one hundred forty four thousand). We must continue our walk until we either reach perfection in Christ as a result of staying in the city, or we temporarily end our walk and physically die to await the Second Resurrection.
If those mentioned in Matthew 27:52-53 were OTW, they would not have met the requirements of the First Resurrection. God would have had to break his own word to create a special exempted non-biblical physical resurrection. There is no biblical exemption either written in the Law of Moses or in the Law of Righteousness to allow a special pre-resurrection.
Those who were raised from the dead in Matthew 27:52-53 were those who were witnessed by many receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost in Acts 2:24 on the day of Pentecost.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. John 3:16 is written to illustrate the totality of faith in Jesus Christ from beginning to end of salvation.
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
The bible states that the physically dead cannot hear those words. The Dead cannot worship nor acknowledge anything that a living person can experience. The Bible states the Dead do not have any existence whatsoever. David provides clear details about the outcome of the dead:
Ecclesiastes 9:4 For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion.
Ecclesiastes 9:5 For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten.
Ecclesiastes 9:6 Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 9:7 Go thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink thy wine with a merry heart; for God now accepteth thy works.
David also wrote in Psalms about the Dead;
Psalm 115:17 The dead praise not the LORD, neither any that go down into silence.
Could the graves written of in Matthew 27, which the saints were resurrected from, be their own dead bodies which were condemned to death without the Holy Ghost? Graves are defined as a burial site, graveside, cemetery plot, tomb, sepulcher, vault, burial chamber, mausoleum, crypt; last resting place. When it says “And the graves were opened”; does this refer to the physical place where a person’s body is laid to rest, or could it mean something else?
According to Jesus, both men and women can be graves. Jesus made analogies of the scribes and Pharisees saying they were like graves and sepulchers.
Luke 11:44 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them.
Matthew 23:27 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchers, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.
King David also mentions men as “graves”:
Proverbs 1:12 Let us swallow them up alive as the grave; and whole, as those that go down into the pit:
The prophet Isaiah writes that sinful man is a “pit” or grave:
Isaiah 38:17 Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back.
According to the above scriptures, men can be described as graves, in which sinful souls are awaiting destruction. This is unless redeemed by the Blood of the Lamb through the baptism of the Holy Ghost.A potential follower of Jesus asked Jesus a question in Matthew 8:22 and Luke 9:60.
Matthew 8:21 And another of his disciples said unto him, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Luke 9:59 And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father.
Jesus said “let the dead bury the dead”. When Jesus spoke of burying the dead, he was actually speaking about those people who were alive and had ears and could hear. These individuals had the potential to recognize the Gospel of the Kingdom if they were so inclined to do so.
What about the dead, who were supposed to bury the dead? How did they get from their graves to bury anyone else? Were they resurrected too? Who is Jesus speaking about when he states “all that are in the graves shall hear his voice” in John 5:28? Were they the actual dead or those who died in Christ?
John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Could all the sleeping bodies in natural graves hear Jesus cry to them? Or could they have been the Dead in Christ? It is only through hearing the Word of God preached by the church. This is because those who receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost die a death and are raised in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:26-27 speaks of the children of God have put on Christ.
Galatians 3:26 For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.
Galatians 3:27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
Colossians 2:12 states those who receive the Baptism of the Holy Ghost are “buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith”.
Colossians 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
What Jesus said in John 5:28-29 can take on a new meaning if we consider the above.
John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Could we consider that these scriptures in Matthew 27:52-53 are written about those who are not physically dead, but those that are dead to Christ? Could they be those who were alive and heard the Word of God, received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and either became a member of the Bride or died awaiting their reward in the Second Resurrection?
John 11:23Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
John 11:24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
John 11:25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
John 11:26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
Jesus made a direct statement to Martha about her brother Lazarus. Jesus threw a caveat into her brother’s statement in order to have hope for her brother’s life. This is because she had been taught about the resurrection of the deceased. The Lord does not contradict her statement, but he adds that he alone gives access to any kind of resurrection life through knowledge and faith in him. Her knowledge of Jesus and her belief of Jesus as Messiah would gain her the resurrection of which she was speaking. During Jesus’ resurrection, he prepared his followers for eternal life.
As he suffered in prison, the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Colossi to encourage those who, if they continued to serve Christ, could be walking in the New Jerusalem:
Colossians 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
Colossians 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
Colossians 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
Paul writes that those who follow Jesus are those who are hidden with Jesus being spiritually dead, but physically alive with God. Paul then pinpoints who he is speaking about by adding those who will be in the Bride of Christ will appear with him in glory:
Colossians 3:4 When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.
The apostle Paul tells the Christians in Rome that through their faith, they are established in his death…and can be in Christ’s resurrection.
Paul explains that our Old Man, which is our cursed carnal spirit, is subject to death and buried in sin. The Old Man, which is ruled by sin, is made aware of, or hears, the Word we believe in, and we are baptized in water. However, we remain inert in Christ. As a result of the Holy Ghost baptism, we die both physically and so does our soul. Being dead in Christ there is a need for a resurrection. The baptism of the Holy Ghost produces a resurrection into Christ with a brand-new birth of the New Man. Paul states that because of this spiritual birth we are freed from sin, the curse of God is lifted and we now live in Christ as a New Man.
Because Christ lives in our baptism, we live in Him. If we continue in Christ, our resurrection will be forever with him, but if we cease to remain in Christ, we can fall back under the curse of death hoping for another resurrection (this is the reason for the term Second Resurrection).
Romans 6:5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Romans 6:6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
Romans 6:7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
Romans 6:8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
Romans 6:9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
Romans 6:10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
In Ephesians 2, Paul writes about God’s mercy towards us in having raised us from the dead into the hope of eternal life through Jesus. Our salvation is completed when we continue to walk in his light.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
Ephesians 2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 2:7 That in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Ephesians 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Ephesians 2:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
The First Resurrection begins at the time of our resurrection in Jesus. In the First Resurrection, the One Hundred Forty Four Thousand members of the Bride are fulfilled. The First Resurrection began on the Day of Pentecost with the one hundred twenty of the upper room receiving the baptism of the Holy Ghost Acts 2:38-41.
Acts 2:38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Acts 2:39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.
Acts 2:40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying,Save yourselves from this untoward generation.
Acts 2:41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
This was the first time of mass resurrection of the soul and body from the dead. In addition, this was the first time the New Man was born. This was the first resurrection leading to eternal life. The resurrection on the Day of Pentecost was also witnessed by “MANY” devout men from every nation. Not only did these devout men observe them resurrect, a multitude came together and were confounded. The multitude turned into three thousand people witnessing the one hundred twenty walking into the streets of the holy city the New Jerusalem the Bride of Jesus Christ Acts 2:33.
Acts 2:33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.
These one hundred twenty disciples believed that Jesus had the Words of Life and knew that they were Dead in Sin because Jesus told them they were dead in John 5:25;
John 5:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.
John 5:25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.
John 5:26 For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;
John 5:27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
These one hundred twenty disciples heard Jesus speak while dead in sin in accordance with John 5:28-29:
John 5:28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice,
John 5:29 And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
This passage, John 5:24 through John 5:29, describes scriptures concerning both the First and Second Resurrection. These scriptures tell of the spiritually dead hearing the voice of God. The voice of God is literally Jesus himself. In their graves of flesh, all are able to hear the words of Jesus.
In fact, after hearing these words, the disciples were baptized by the Holy Spirit, thus placing each of them in the First Resurrection. This is until either they fulfilled their salvation by living a life of overcoming victory or they perished in sin awaiting the Second Resurrection. When Jesus spoke these words in John 5:28, “all” in the grave were not physically dead; he was speaking of those spiritually “dead in Christ”.
In John 5:29, Jesus mentions “damnation,” which is a judgement upon those who die with sin in their lives. Those who do not reach this goal are judged unworthy of the Bride and will die until the Second Resurrection, the resurrection of damnation.
They have been raised in Jesus through the Holy Ghost, but because they did not become perfectly holy, they die in damnation. Those who pass away in sin, but have proved to God that they love him, will receive a Second Resurrection with a second chance at either eternal life or eternal damnation, after the thousand year reign.
During the Second Resurrection dispensation, John 5:29 takes on a different and finite meaning for “damnation,” which means those that die again in sin after the Second Resurrection will be cast into the Lake of Fire.
The Apostle Peter’s statement about worthies and King David makes this clear. Peter said in Acts 2:29: “‘David. . . IS BOTH DEAD AND BURIED, and his sepulcher is with us unto this day?” Peter emphasizes this statement in Acts 2:34saying: “DAVID IS NOT ASCENDED INTO THE HEAVENS.” Either David wasn’t worthy therefore doomed for the Lake of Fire, or there were no worthy ones resurrected in Matthew 27:52-53.
A spiritual resurrection makes it much easier to understand Matthew 27:52-53 than to make up a resurrection for Hebrews 11. Matthew has connected a spiritual resurrection to Jesus’ physical resurrection to illustrate the correlation between being physically and spiritually resurrected with him. The understanding is broken down like this:
Matthew 27:52 And the graves (physical bodies of the disciples) were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept (in sin) arose,
Matthew 27:53 And came out of the graves after his resurrection (received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost), and went into the holy city (the New Jerusalem beginning their walk into the Bride of Christ) , and appeared unto many (were seen by devout men and the three thousand who received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost).
The Saints Arose 