"Were the angels outside the tomb when the women arrived?" (Alleged Contradiction #E7168)
And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. …
Matthew 28:2
And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.
Mark 16:5
And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments …
Luke 24:3-4
But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain.
John 20:11-12
Response
The angel of the Lord was outside after rolling the stone away, and two angels were inside the tomb later. The Bible never says that the first angel remained on the top of the stone the entire time; he may have entered the tomb later, or he could have been a different angel altogether. More than one angel could have told the women the exciting news of Jesus’ resurrection: after all, the disciples “believed not for joy,” and it may have taken a while for the resurrection of Jesus to sink in. Thus, there is no contradiction among these passages.
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