The Meaning of Resurrection Miracles in Pentecostal Theology

Abstract

Early Pentecostal literature contains many narratives of miracles of individuals being raised from the dead. While attention has tended to their factual or evidential value, including to some extent in the narratives themselves, this article examines the interpretations given to such miraculous events in Pentecostal theology. Specifically, it finds four major trends in interpretation in the literature: first, the meaning of the resurrection miracle as evidential, as a ‘proof’; second, the miracle as a sign of God’s victorious power over death and/or his mercy for the deceased and his/her family; third, the resurrection as prefigured in earlier miracles, especially Jesus’ raising of Lazarus; and finally, the miraculous return to life as a return to the realm of death, in which it is clear this event is not the final victory.