Introduction
The accusation that Full Preterism denies the bodily resurrection of Christ or destroys the gospel is built upon a false understanding of both Scripture and the nature of resurrection itself. The resurrection of Jesus Christ was indeed bodily, but it wasn't the same kind of corruptible flesh that dies. The Scriptures declare that He became a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45), and the saints were promised a share in that same resurrection life, not a return to mortal, corruptible flesh. The fulfilled perspective doesn't deny Christ's bodily resurrection, it explains it correctly in light of what Paul and the apostles actually taught.

The Nature of Christ's Resurrection
† When Jesus rose from the dead, His body was transformed. It was no longer subject to death or corruption. He appeared and vanished (Luke 24:31), entered closed rooms (John 20:19), and ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9). These aren't characteristics of a natural fleshly body, but of a glorified, spiritual one. Paul describes this very transformation: It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44). The fulfilled perspective holds firmly that Christ rose bodily, but that His body was changed, glorified, and made spiritual.

† After His resurrection, Christ's body demonstrated the nature of the new creation. He could appear in locked rooms, vanish, and ascend into heaven, yet still be seen and touched. This proves that His glorified body was both real and spiritual. He wasn't a ghost, but neither was He bound by physical limitations. This is the very kind of transformation Paul described for those in Christ, from mortality to immortality, from corruption to incorruption.

† The claim that a "spiritual body" must mean "non-body" is false. Paul's entire contrast is between natural (Greek: psychikos) and spiritual (Greek: pneumatikos), between mortal, corruptible flesh and the new, incorruptible, immortal life. A "spiritual body" is still a body, but it's animated by the Spirit instead of blood. Paul said plainly, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 15:50). Therefore, Christ's glorified body was no longer flesh and blood, yet it was real and tangible.

Our Resurrection Like His
† Paul didn't teach that our resurrection would be a return to physical existence, but a transformation into the same kind of glorified life Christ entered. He said, As we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly (1 Corinthians 15:49). The earthy image was Adam's, mortal flesh. The heavenly image is Christ's, spiritual, immortal life.

† When Paul spoke of our vile body being changed (Philippians 3:21), he referred to the collective body of believers, not to individual fleshly bodies. The "body" that was to be changed was the body of death (Romans 7:24) and the body of sin (Romans 6:6), the covenant body of Adam. It was being transformed into the body of Christ, the spiritual house of the redeemed (Ephesians 2:21-22). This wasn't a promise of a future biological transformation but of a covenantal transition fulfilled in Christ's kingdom.

† The resurrection Paul taught was covenantal in scope but spiritual in reality. It was the transformation of the people of God from the Old Covenant of death to the New Covenant of life. The focus wasn't on individual fleshly bodies, but on the entire covenant body of believers being made alive in Christ. This is why Paul said, We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed (1 Corinthians 15:51).

The Fulfilled Resurrection of the Saints
† The resurrection Paul and Daniel spoke of wasn't about graves opening in AD 70, but about the covenantal change from death in Adam to life in Christ. Daniel 12:2 spoke of many awakening, some to everlasting life and others to shame. This awakening corresponded to the judgment of that generation (Matthew 24:34), when the righteous were gathered into the kingdom and the wicked were cast out (Matthew 13:40-43).

† Paul declared that resurrection was already in progress in his time: Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you (Ephesians 5:14). He also warned of those who said the resurrection was already past (2 Timothy 2:18), meaning they were denying the timing and nature of the ongoing transformation that was taking place as the old covenant body was being replaced by the new. The resurrection wasn't about graves, but about passing from death to life through Christ (John 5:24-29).

Refuting the Futurist Argument
† The argument that "if our resurrection isn't bodily, then Christ's wasn't bodily" confuses physicality with glory. Christ's resurrection was bodily, but not of flesh and blood. Ours is like His, a transformation, not a reanimation. To say otherwise is to deny what Paul said: It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body (1 Corinthians 15:44).

† The early church never preached the resurrection of corpses. They preached the resurrection of the dead in Adam through the life of Christ. The empty tomb testified that death was conquered, not that corpses would one day rise from graves. Jesus' empty tomb proved His victory over death, not the future decay of flesh being reversed.

† The fulfilled perspective fully upholds the gospel. Christ rose, conquering death, and became the firstfruits of those who were asleep (1 Corinthians 15:20). Those in Him shared in that victory when the Old Covenant system, the administration of death, was destroyed in AD 70. This completed the redemption of the saints and opened full access to eternal life.

Historical References
† Josephus, Wars of the Jews 6.5 - records the signs of resurrection and divine judgment before Jerusalem's fall.
† Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.7 - speaks of the saints being taken up from Jerusalem's destruction, linking it with divine deliverance.
† Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 24-26 - describes resurrection in terms of transformation and renewal, not reanimation of flesh.

How it applies to us today
The resurrection fulfilled in Christ and completed in AD 70 guarantees that death no longer separates believers from God. The kingdom is open, the old world of sin and separation is gone, and we live in the presence of Christ now. Our hope isn't for future fleshly restoration, but for eternal spiritual life already secured through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

† Because the resurrection has been fulfilled, we now live as the resurrected people of God. Eternal life isn't a future hope, it's our present reality in Christ. We've passed from death to life, and our citizenship is in heaven, where we live and reign with Him spiritually. This is the victory that was completed when death, the last enemy, was destroyed in AD 70 (1 Corinthians 15:26).

Why Futurists Do Not Understand This
† Futurists misunderstand the resurrection because they interpret spiritual realities through the eyes of physical expectation. They see words like "body," "death," and "resurrection," and immediately assume these must refer to biological terms instead of covenantal transformation. They read Paul's teaching as though he promised the reanimation of corpses rather than the renewal of God's covenant people.

† Their confusion comes from viewing Scripture through the lens of the natural man instead of the spiritual. Paul said, The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them (1 Corinthians 2:14). In the same way, futurists cannot discern that the resurrection was the passing from death in Adam to life in Christ, not the restoration of physical bodies to mortal life.

† They expect a physical resurrection because they've never understood the death that Christ came to destroy. It wasn't biological death that entered through Adam, but spiritual death, separation from God. When Adam sinned, he didn't drop dead physically; he died spiritually. Christ came to restore what was lost, reconciling mankind to God, not to reverse physical death but to remove the spiritual separation caused by sin.

† Futurists also fail to recognize that Jesus identified resurrection with belief, not with biology. He said, He who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die (John 11:25-26). This promise isn't about escaping the grave, it's about never being separated from God again. The fulfilled perspective sees this as the true resurrection, the life of Christ given to all who believe.

† Because futurists interpret Scripture materially, they miss the spiritual fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. They continue waiting for what has already been accomplished, not realizing that in Christ, the resurrection has already been made complete. The gospel isn't about escaping physical death; it's about life and immortality brought to light through Christ's finished work (2 Timothy 1:10).

† This misunderstanding keeps them in constant expectation instead of resting in fulfillment. They continue to look forward to what Christ has already finished, missing the peace, joy, and spiritual life that come from knowing the resurrection is complete and the kingdom is fully established.

† This is the fulfilled perspective we proclaim at Fulfilled Prophecies †
© Fulfilled Prophecies - Dan Maines.

Source Index
† 1 Corinthians 15:44-51; Philippians 3:21; Romans 6:6; Romans 7:24; Ephesians 2:21-22; Daniel 12:2; Matthew 13:40-43; John 5:24-29; Ephesians 5:14; 2 Timothy 2:18; 1 Corinthians 15:26; 1 Corinthians 2:14; John 11:25-26; 2 Timothy 1:10.
† Josephus, Wars of the Jews 6.5.
† Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History 3.7.
† Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 24-26.