How Many Times Did Christ Die?
By Dr. Ken Matto

"Later in this study, we will learn that the Lord Jesus Christ died twice in connection with the atonement. He died before the foundation of the world as the Lamb that was slain (Revelation 13:8). He also died when He was on the cross, demonstrating to us and the world how He paid for our sins." - From "To God be the Glory" Page 25
 
One of the most recent heresies drummed up by Harold Camping is his teaching that Christ died for the sins of the Elect before the foundations of the world. Christ died in both body and soul before the world was even created. He further teaches that the physical cross on which Christ died was only a demonstration and he was not carrying the sins of the Elect and that is why His body did not see any corruption for the time it was in the tomb.
 
(Psa 16:10 KJV) For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
 
Now what we must do is search the Scriptures to see if what Camping is teaching is correct. What we will do is look at the Scriptures and compare them to the theory which Camping has postulated.
 
For us to begin this study, let us begin in the Old Testament where we will find a tremendous parallel to the crucifixion of Christ.
In Exodus 17:6, the people were in the wilderness of Sin and pitched their tents in Rephidim. They were very thirsty and had no water. The people had expressed anger over the fact that there was no water. So Moses cried out unto the Lord and the Lord told him to go to the rock in Horeb and strike it with his rod. Moses did this and the rock gushed forth water, so all the people had ample water to drink.
 
(Exo 17:6 KJV) Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
 
In Numbers 20, there is a repeat of the scenario which happened in the wilderness of Zin. The people were once again thirsty and there was no water. God had commanded Moses to take his rod, but not to strike the rock, but speak to it. Moses had become so angry with the people that he disobeyed God and struck the rock twice. The water did come out and the people had enough to drink and also enough for their animals.
 
(Num 20:7-8 KJV) And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, {8} Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
 
(Num 20:10-11 KJV) And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? {11} And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.
 
This is a very telling scenario. The rock was already smitten and God told Moses not to strike it again but to speak to it. Very interesting but means little if it is allowed to stand alone. This picture of the rock being smitten is a picture of the Lord Jesus Christ being smitten only once, as He is referred to in Scripture as the Rock. (Psa 95:1 KJV) O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. There are many references to Christ as the Rock but let this one suffice for now. Now this Old Testament picture teaches us that Christ was smitten or suffered death only once. The question now remains, when did He die, before the earth was formed in eternity or after the earth was formed, in time?
Camping claims that Christ was crucified before the earth was created and he uses this verse to make his case.
 
(Rev 13:8 KJV) And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
 
This verse is very illuminating in the area of salvation. The question always arises concerning, was their grace in the Old Testament? The answer is a resounding yes, because in principle, Christ was slain before the foundation of the world. This would mean, that along with whom God named as heirs of salvation in the New Testament after the physical crucifixion of Christ, that those in the Old Testament would become saved the same way by means of Christ being slain before the foundation of the world. This is why Abraham could have faith because he was a Christian saved by the pre-creation crucifixion of Christ, although in principle, was to become a physical reality in time. No person could ever become saved by any type of works and that is why those in the Old Testament such as David, Moses, Solomon, and others were saved because they were saved by the grace of God through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Camping mutilates this verse by changing the word “from” to “away.” The word “from” in the Greek is the preposition “apo” which also carries with it the meaning of “away from, out of, because of, with, since, or when.” As you can see when a single Greek word has as much as 7 meanings (including from), it means that the word must be looked at in light of the context of the statement where it is being used. In Revelation 13:8, we see that the names of the Elect are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life which was also created before the foundation of the world.
 
Now, here is a great parallel principle. The Elect of God were also saved in principle before the foundation of the world, even when they were not yet created. Now I was born in May 1953 and I did not see salvation until August 1980 when the Lord started drawing me. So even though I was named as one who was to become saved, I was not saved until I was born into this world and then afterwards, sometimes in the future in my life, because God named me, I became saved 27 years after birth. So we have in concert with the Christians being saved in principle from the foundation of the world, we also have the Lord Jesus Christ being crucified in principle and then thousands of years later in 33 A.D., He fulfilled that pre-creation principle of Him dying for the Elect in real time on this earth. So the word “apo” being mistranslated as “away” in this case makes no sense. This is because the believers were guaranteed to be saved from the foundation or from the time the world was created. The same thing with the Lord Jesus Christ, His was a guarantee that He would enter time and physically die for the Elect.
 
Now this took a little bit of time but I went through the entire New Testament and looked up everywhere the word “apo” (apo) is used and it is never used, not even once, in the entire New Testament for the English word “away.” In fact, the word “away” is connected to other words in the New Testament and does not stand alone, here are some examples and each example represents one word in the Greek, and that word is “airo” (airw) which carries with it the meaning of “carry off or bear away.”
 
(Mat 13:12 KJV) For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
 
(Luke 11:52 KJV) Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
 
(John 19:15 KJV) But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
 
(Eph 4:31 KJV) Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:
 
So when Camping decides that the word “away” is better than the word “from” which the KJV translators used, he has no leg, no precedence to stand on. To substitute the word “away” makes absolutely no biblical sense and only causes confusion. So we can safely conclude that the King James translators had it 100% correct in using the word “from.”
 
Now since we have seen that Christ was crucified in principle from the foundation of the world and the true believers were chosen for salvation in principle before the foundation of the world and before they were even created. Let us see what the Bible says as to when Christ was truly crucified and how many times.
 
(Rom 6:9-10 KJV) Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. {10} For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
 
(Heb 7:24-27 KJV) But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. {25} Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. {26} For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; {27} Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
 
(Heb 9:11-12 KJV) But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; {12} Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
 
(Heb 9:26-28 KJV) For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. {27} And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: {28} So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.
 
(Heb 10:10 KJV) By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
 
(1 Pet 3:18 KJV) For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:
 
Here are six verses which teach plainly that Christ was sacrificed once for the sins of His people. We previously saw that the sacrifice of Christ before the foundation of the world was totally in principle and based upon these verses, there cannot be two crucifixions of Christ. Let us focus on Hebrews 9:26-28 above. If you notice in verse 26, it states that Christ came in the end of the world to sacrifice Himself once. If the Bible plainly teaches that Christ died for His people in the end of the world, then that would completely put to rest the idea that Christ died before the foundations of the world. Now what period of time is the end of the world?
 
(1 John 2:18 KJV) Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
 
The word “time” in 1 John 2:18 may also be translated as “hour.” So John, who also penned Revelation under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, wrote that he was living in the last hour.
 
(Heb 1:1-2 KJV) God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, {2} Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
 
The book of Hebrews confirms what John is saying concerning timing. The Bible now states that we are living in the last days because the age of the individual prophet is over, and now through the Son, we send forth the Gospel message through the entire body of believers worldwide. The last days commenced at the cross and will end on the last day when the Lord Jesus Christ returns.
 
Summary
So to summarize this study, we plainly saw that there is no possibility that Christ died in both body and soul before the foundation of the world. The Bible is very clear that Christ entered time and died for His people once and the Bible considers that the time of the cross was the beginning of the end of time. So now we are living in the last days, which commenced at the cross and will end on the last day, when Christ returns. The book of Revelation is totally about the body of believers and the hardships they will face throughout the entire New Testament period. This is why there are several parallel visions in Revelation ending with the return of Christ. We can safely conclude based upon our biblical findings that Harold Camping has once again butchered the Scriptures to make sure that his teachings are followed. He must be considered a heretic because his teachings are contrary to Scripture again!

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