1 Corinthians (New Testament)
15:1 - Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
15:2 - By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
15:3 - For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
15:4 - And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:
15:5 - And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve:
15:6 - After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep.
15:7 - After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles.
15:8 - And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
15:9 - For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
15:10 - But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
15:11 - Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.
15:12 - Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?
15:13 - But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen:
15:14 - And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain.
15:15 - Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not.
15:16 - For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised:
15:17 - And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins.
15:18 - Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.
15:19 - If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.
15:20 - But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
15:21 - For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.
15:22 - For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
15:23 - But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
15:24 - Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
15:25 - For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
15:26 - The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
15:27 - For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith all things are put under him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
15:28 - And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be all in all.
15:29 - Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?
15:30 - And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
15:31 - I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
15:32 - If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.
15:33 - Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.
15:34 - Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.
15:35 - But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come?
15:36 - Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die:
15:37 - And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain:
15:38 - But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body.
15:39 - All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds.
15:40 - There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
15:41 - There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in glory.
15:42 - So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:
15:43 - It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:
15:44 - It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
15:45 - And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.
15:46 - Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.
15:47 - The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven.
15:48 - As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
15:49 - And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
15:50 - Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.
15:51 - Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
15:52 - In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
15:53 - For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
15:54 - So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
15:55 - O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?
15:56 - The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.
15:57 - But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
15:58 - Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.
The Neal A. Maxwell Institute for Religious Scholarship at BYU posted a short featured article on their homepage yesterday by Dr. Stephen Ricks on the subject of the dexiosis (Greek) or dextrarum iunctio (Latin), which was a peculiar Greek, Etruscan, Roman, and Early Christian practice of joining the right hands in a solemn and ceremonial handclasp. In antiquity such a practice was often associated with marriage and fidelity. It is often seen in artifacts and art dating from these time periods.
DearScriptures.com
7 Comments
“They did so in part because they agreed with the non-Christian Romans that…” But I would bet that both the Romans, the Christians acquired that view from the same source. People have been sealed together since Adam and Eve.
An understanding of different aspects (fragments) of the Eternal Union can be found throughout many cultures. Of course the early church was an authorized custodian of the practice.
-David
Yes, I’m sure they did come from the same source. In fact, I’ve got an example from early Christianity which projects the practice back to the beginning, with diety uniting the hands of Adam and Eve. It’s fascinating.
Thanks for your insights!
I noted that many early Christian writers and art works present a journey of the soul through different realms of existence as including a drama of ritualistic types of that journey too. Art works that helped the person going through “the mysteries,” understand the ritualistic type of Christ’s life, death, resurrection, victory march throughout the world, and ascension into heaven! They were types of this. These types included different types of hand and wrist grip in being raised up out of the lower realms, (hades, limbo, purgatory, the pit, abyss, underworld, grave, tomb, etc, etc). Plus, in ascension into the higher after life realms, where the hand of God, Christ, or angels grips the hands or wrists of those ascending.
Thanks for your comment. I too have noticed many works of art which depict Christ raising up man out of the lower realms into heaven by extending His right hand to them. Sometimes it is just the right hand of God that extends out of heaven, often a cloud, to help the one that is ascending. I saw several examples of this in Eastern Orthodox churches on a recent trip to Ukraine. Clearly the dextrarum iunctio had a place in early Christianity, but has since almost disappeared.
Thanks Bryce. I’ve also noted this sort of thing too. It’s too bad that the communists have destroyed a lot of the churches in Romania & other areas, for not only the peoples’ religious sanctuaries, but the people themselves have been deprived of their religious heritages. It’s sad that also a lot of religious artifacts, and art works have been lost too. I’ve also noted that in the Eastern Orthodox churches, one of the most common hand & wrist grasping depictions in iconography there, is “the Anastasis,” the lifting up of Adam or the saints of old out of their underworld realm to resurrect them by Christ. Christ is often depicted as having back up, in that his angels are also there down in the pit, or underworld, to cuff or put in irons, the devil. Christ often stands on the doors of hell, or tramples under his feet, the monsterous looking devil, symbolic of his victory march that is about to begin, for after showing the resurrected souls to his Mother (a theme more common in the Latin & Spanish art works), and leading these souls “to God,” (1 Peter 3:15-21; 4:6; 1 Cor. 15; Isaiah 42:6-7 , note the words: I the Lord will hold thy hand and give thee a covenant and bring souls out of the prison house); then Christ, a newly resurrected glorious son of God, begins his victory march throughout the world. Here again is where we see a lot of hand and wrist grasping as Christ invite his followers to come forth and feel the nail marks in his hands, and this other wounds. Monks would greet each other and wandering pilgrims, etc., as if they were greeting Christ who was in different guises to test them (Matthew 25). Thus he appears to peasants in Russia to test them and preach to them. Legends say he wanders about there with his apostles, art works show the hand clasps in these greetings. See for example 1896, Nesterov’s depiction of Christ visiting peasants in Russia. This is another area where evidences for the restored temple is clearly seen. If I had more time, I’d give more information. I’m making a video presentation of this for You Tube and will offer a link to it when I’m done. Thanks, and may God bless the entire world to stop it’s wars and may the Prince of Peace the Christ, bless and heal us all!
Ohler, THE MEDIEVAL TRAVELLER, pp. 82, 84, 85, & 89; Dom Hubert Van Zeller, The Holy Rule, Notes on St. Benedict’s Legislation for Monks, (New York: Sheed & Ward, 1958 Zeller), pp.331 & 333, see also note 1 on p.331, & p.467; Schroll, Sister M. Alfred. Benedictine Monasticism, as reflected in the Warnefrid-Hildemar commentaries on the Holy Rule, (New York: Columbia University Press, 1941), p.147; David Knowles, Christian Monasticism, (New York, Toronto: World University Library, McGraw-Hill Company, 1969, reprinted 1972 & 1977), p.35, & note 12 on p.245, Rule of St Benedict. The Book of Art, A Pictorial Encyclopedia of Painting, Drawing, and Sculpture, Volume 2, ITALIAN ART TO 1850, Edited by Professor Mario Monteverdi, (Grolier Inc., 1965), see: Filippino Lippi, The Madonna Appearing to St. Bernard. About 1486, Florence, Badia. A portion of a scene in the background shows two
Christ-wandering-legends monks greeting each other in a very interesting way for endowed members to consider. The one supports himself with a crutch or walking staff as though to represent the traditional way in which they were to greet each other as if each wanderer was Christ himself in the guise of a cripple, beggar, pilgrim, leper, or fellow servant. Christ’s hidden and true identity would be known only to those who knew about how he was wounded.
Hood, 1933, Fra Angelico at San Marco, pp. 158, & 160, pl.152. Fra Angelico, Christ Being Received as a Pilgrim. Florence, San Marco, cloister; The Bible In Art, Twenty Centuries Of Famous Bible Paintings, (New York: Covici, Friede, Edited with Commentary by Clifton Harby).
http://vrcoll.fa.pitt.edu/uag/Art-Anytime-Page/Lochoff-pages/pages/13-Angelico-Pilgrim.htm
Thanks Justin for your insights and references. These things are very interesting to see.
A good example of the “Anastasis” icon of the resurrection can be seen at this link, and is written about here. This particular example is a “fresco in the apse of the arekklesion or funerary chapel, of the Monastery of Chora at Istanbul.”
I’ve seen a couple of your videos on YouTube, and it would be good if you worked on them a bit more. They seem a little “dark” and not very inviting from an LDS apologetic standpoint.
I am looking for the reference and illustration I once saw of Enoch receiving a handclasp from God through a rainbow in the sky. It was memorable to me because of the veil reference as well as illustrating a rainbow before the Noah story.
Does anyone know where it may be?