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“...Nor Did His Flesh See Decay”
Does Yeshua (Jesus) “inhabit eternity” (Isaiah 57:15) or is He “three days and three nights” short of that?
Yehovah (Jehovah) said that He occupies eternity. There is no reason to conclude that Yeshua is not, as is His Elohim (God): past—present—and future, all at once!
Revelation 1:8 I am the Alaph and the Tau [Aramaic], says Yehovah Elohim [Yeshua], who is and was, and is to come, the sovereign”.—The Gabriel Bible
Speaking of occupying time and space, even as Yeshua lay in the grave He was still present in a way, because there was something unique about His death—His body was not allowed to deteriorate at all. In the Greek, all 6 times that “decay” (diaphthora) is used, it is in reference to the lack of deterioration of Yeshua’s dead body, with the sole except of David’s body that “saw decay” (Acts 13:36).
Notice the detailed explanation of Yeshua’s flesh:
Acts 2:27 because You won’t leave my 'body' in the grave or allow Your 'Cherished' One to 'undergo' bodily decay.
Acts 2:31 He foresaw, and spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that He wasn’t to be left in the grave, nor would His body undergo decay.
Acts 13:34-37 Yehovah raised Him from the dead, never to return there and see decay, as He said, “I’ll give you the 'Cherished' One of faithful David.” 35 He also says in another 'Psalm', “You haven’t allowed Your 'Cherished' One to see decay.” 36 After serving Yehovah’s purpose during his generation, David fell asleep and joined his predecessors, and underwent bodily decay. 37 But the One Yehovah raised didn’t undergo bodily decay.
This detailed description about Yeshua’s body not seeing decay stems from a prophecy of David, and that prophecy even emphasizes His “flesh”:
Psalm 16:9-10 So I am joyful in my inner being; I rejoice out loud. My body will remain secure. 10 You won’t abandon 'me' in sheol. You simply won’t allow your 'special' One to rot in the pit. [Acts 2:27]
With so much emphasis, this is quite significant. Since Yeshua apparently experienced no more bodily degradation than that which was inflicted upon Him by men, perhaps He did not pass from the realm of always existing. Apparently Yeshua is technically Eternal.
Don’t think for a minute that I am saying that He didn’t die. What I am saying is that as soon as our heart quits beating or our lungs cease to work are bodies begin to “decay” and soon we begin to stink. I don’t think Yeshua’s body was allowed to degrade or stink.
Recall that manna, “the bread from heaven” “bred worms and stank” by morning when people tried to save it. Yet when Yehovah wanted it preserved it didn’t “decay” for “generations”!
Exodus 16:19-23 Moses told them, “No one should leave any of it until morning.” 20 But they didn’t listen to Moses. Some of them left part of it until morning, but it became infested with worms and began to stink, and Moses was angry with them.
21 So they gathered as much as they needed every morning, and in the 'heat' of the day it melted away. 22 On the sixth day they gathered twice as much 'food', two omers apiece. When all the leaders of the assembly reported it to Moses, 23 he told them, “This is what Yehovah commanded: Tomorrow is a Sabbath commemoration, a Sabbath special to Yehovah. Bake what you want to bake, and boil what you want to boil. Keep the rest until morning.”
Exodus 16:33 Moses said to Aaron, “Take a pot, and put an omer-full of manna in it, and lay it aside before Yehovah, to be kept thruout your generations.
Interestingly, manna, “the bread of life”, was to be treated like the Passover lamb in that is should not be kept for use the next day during the week.
Exodus 12:10 You must not leave any of it until morning; but if any of it is left over in the morning, it must be burned.
Yeshua was the “the true bread out of heaven”. And yes His flesh was symbolically eaten at the Passover.
John 6:30-35 They asked Him, “What miraculous sign will You perform so that we can see and believe in You? What are You going to do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the wilderness as it is written in the Scriptures, ‘He gave them bread from the sky to eat.’” 32 Yeshua told them, “I tell you with absolute certainty that it wasn’t Moses who gave you bread from Heaven, but My Father gives you the real bread from Heaven, 33 because the bread of Yehovah is the One who came down from Heaven, giving life to the world.” 34 They replied, “sovereign, give us this bread from now on.” 35 Yeshua told them, “I am the bread of life. Anyone who comes to Me will never be hungry, and anyone who believes in Me will never be thirsty.
There is a parallel to this: if at Yeshua’s Supper you eat the bread in an unworthy manner your destiny may just stink!
There is a Hebrew word that is the equivalent of the Greek word for “decay”. Here is an interesting use of the word. This appears to be in reference to the resurrection!
Job 33:23-26 But if a Messenger is mediating for them, one in a thousand, to remind a person what is right for them, 24 to show them favor and to plead, ‘Spare them from going down to the pit, I’ve found a ransom.’ 25 Then their flesh will be rejuvenated like a child’s. They’ll return to the days of their youthful vigor. 26 And when they pray to Elohim, and He finds favor with them, they’ll see His face and shout for joy. Then the person’s righteous reputation will be restored.
Under what other conditions could an adult’s flesh be “like a child’s”? I believe that this is “born again”—spirit composed flesh.
The point is that Yeshua’s body was not allowed to see “decay” even on the cellular level, so it appears that He was technically eternal even in the flesh.
But there is more. When people die they know nothing, that is they have no consciousness until our resurrection:
Ecclesiastes 9:4-5 Anyone still among the living has hope. “It’s better to be a living dog than a dead lion!”
5 The living know that they’ll die, but the dead don’t know anything. They have no further compensation, and even memories of them will fade away.
This is not to say that Solomon wasn’t aware that Yehovah preserves our spirit essence in a safe place until the time of judgment:
Ecclesiastes 12:5,7,14 They’ll be afraid of heights, and terrors in the streets, as when almond blossoms fade, and grasshoppers drag themselves along, and caperberries no longer stimulate desire, because people go to their long duration home [the grave: Targum] [1], while mourners walk in the streets. 6 Remember Him before the silver cord is removed, and the gold bowl is broken, the pitcher by the spring is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed, 7 and the dust returns to the ground where it had been, and a human spirit returns to Elohim who gave it... 14 Elohim will judge everything we do, every secret thing, whether good or bad.
[1] “Long home—literally, “eternal (see Ecclesiastes 1:4 note) house;” man’s place in the next world. Without attributing to the author of Ecclesiastes that deep insight into the future life which is shown by the writer of the Epistles to the Corinthians, we may observe that He by whom both writers were inspired sanctions in both books (see 2 Corinthians 5:1-6) the use of the same expression “eternal house.” I[f] 2 Corinthians means that spiritual body which shall be hereafter; and it is placed, as it is here (see Ecclesiastes 12:3), in contrast with that earthly dissolving house which clothes the spirit of man in this world.”
But only our “spiritual genetic code” goes to heaven:
John 3:13NO ONE HAS GONE UP TO HEAVEN EXCEPT THE ONE WHO CAME DOWN FROM HEAVEN, the Human Son who is in Heaven. [Commentary]
However with Yeshua, because He is eternal, He was consciously suffering even in death along with the vilest of disembodied spirits who—unlike their less vile companions—are even now being restrained. This was part of the suffering that Yeshua did for us!
1 Peter 3:17-20 It is far better for you to suffer for doing good things, (if that is Yehovah’s will) than for doing evil things. 18 The Messiah died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that He could bring you to Yehovah. His body died, but His spirit was empowered with life. 19 He heralded to the spirits [1] who were imprisoned in sheol [2], 20 those who disobeyed long ago in the days of Noah, when Yehovah in extreme patience, commanded an ark to be made. He was hoping that they would change their ways, but only eight people entered it and survived the water during the flood.
[1] Did Yeshua visit “souls” or “spirits”? The best distinction to this often misunderstood difference is that a soul is “ a living being whose life resides in the blood” That should rule out humans here since they return to their maker! [2] The Greek doesn’t mention sheol.
In due “time” we too will inhabit eternity:
Job 14:13-15 Oh that you would hide me in sheol, that you would keep me secret until Your wrath is past, and that You would set a time to remember me! 14 If someone dies, will they live again? All the days of my appointed service I will wait until my CHANGE comes. 15 You will call, and I will answer You. You will long for the work of Your hands.
As of now immortality, never experiencing absolute decay is too costly for even the world’s richest people (but Yeshua paid our way):
Psalm 49:8-9 The price of redemption for their 'lives' is too costly, no payment is ever enough 9 to live on eternally and never undergo decay.
But the ignorant will decay in their graves:
Psalm 49:13-14 This is the destiny of the ignorant [or foolish], and their followers who perpetuate their 'allegations'. Selah. 14 They’re like a flock of sheep destined for sheol. Death will be their shepherd (but the righteous will rule over them in the morning!) Their bodies will rot in sheol, far from their estates.
While the ignorant won’t survive judgment day:
Psalm 55:23 But you, Elohim, will throw them into the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars won’t live out half their days. But I’m trusting in You.
