Four years ago in Saigon I got the hospital test results back. Malignant carcinoma, stage 3 or 4, Sigmoid colon. It was just information. I didn't taste it. My immediate response: "It may be my time to move on." It wasn't. Everyone's twinkle in time we call 'this life' will end. As Red said in The Shawshank Redemption, "Get busy living or get busy dying." And, as my hopefully King once said, "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." So that's what I do. Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom, the law and the prophets. Nothing more or less. No fear of death.
I have thought about the line in Forest Gump where his mother is dying and he asks her why and she simply says "it's my time." At this point, that is kind of how I look at it.
We are energy and when the body dies, that energy goes somewhere. I was in the room when my FIL passed. He struggled for a bit, and as he breathed his last sigh, I watched the soul leave his eyes. It was the first time I witnessed someone passing and it changes you. But while some people might find that upsetting, that was a pivotal moment for me. As someone pointed out, it is more the dying process that people fear - it will hurt, etc., but once you are there...it is the next stage in our journey.
Well said. I have another strange thing to most that happens with me. One of my seven younger sisters passed a few months ago. I was closest to her throughout our lives. Everyone in my large family mourned hard, and some are still mourning. I love her dearly but I don't miss her. To me it feels like she never left. Still with me, can't be taken away from me.
Couldn't agree more. I suggest reading two books by John Burke regarding NDE's (Near Death Experiences) that are fully documented; 1) Imagine the God in Heaven, and 2) Imagine Heaven. I know for a fact Jesus is real because he appeared and spoke to me nearly 60 years ago. I was into the "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" culture of the times and at about 15 years old was doing far too many drugs. One day Jesus appeared (NOT a hallucination - I know too well what those are) and his countenance was that of a person that you just knew, no matter how big a bad-ass you think you are, you just DON'T f*ck with him! And I'm a Viet Nam era USMC vet and I still feel the same. Anyway, he spoke five words in voice that went directly into my head..."this is not for you"...that if actually vocalized would have shaken the ground I stood on. From that day forward I was unable to get high on that drug. Period. Fast-forward to 2014. My ex-wife and I were getting together and I flew out to meet her in Texas. While staying in a hotel I got up to pee. As I walked through the bathroom to return to the bedroom I glanced in the mirror. I couldn't believe my eyes. I called out to my wife and said "come here and tell me what you see" (I didn't mention a golden, intricately woven crown on my head). When she came into the bathroom she nearly collapsed as she saw what I saw without any mention of it. I don't pretend to know what it all means..but I do know these events occurred exactly as described.
Thank you for sharing that. I've had en experience with Jesus as well. Absolutely pure love... and I'm not even sure "pure love" are adequate words for what I experienced with Him. I truly believe my body was changed in some way to be able to even BE in His presence, otherwise I think it would have been destroyed because of what evil is in it.
May I share a quote by CS Lewis? It speaks to the divine worth of each of us.
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which,if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” - CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory
I was with my brother when he died. A bright light appeared in the room, and my brother said the angels were singing. That was it. He was gone, but I will never forget the bright light and what he said.
This might be the clearest articulation I’ve ever read of what resurrection actually means. Not a magic reversal, but a reminder that consciousness is already immortal, wearing flesh for a few chapters of its endless story.
“The tomb was never the threat. The fear was.” That line could end entire religions if people took it seriously.
You’ve written what the mystics tried to whisper through centuries of incense and censorship. Death is not the debt we pay for life. It’s the door we keep walking through to remember we were never locked out.
So true what you write here. But take a step back and ask why does the physical realm exist at all if our destination is the next realm. And to help answer that take another step back and ask why do we all spend 9 months in the womb before we get to the physical realm.
And the obvious answer is that a clump of cells cannot handle a world of air and gravity and movement. The clump needs time to develop lungs and heart and muscles. And we don't think about it much, but that is not just automatic, it takes time and care to develop correctly, as many fetuses don't make it to maturity (not talking here of abortion, totally different thing) but miscarry.
And so we come to answer of why the physical realm exists. You mentioned it in your last article - the gap, the precious gap. It is our buffer from our true awesome strong power. God designed the physical realm as our time to learn how to handle the force of love properly so we could live successfully in the next realm. The learning was to be almost automatic, just like developing in the womb, but got severely messed up by the first two people, and they lost what they were to learn and pass on to their children.
And so here we are, with God working hard to reach us and teach us what we need to know to successfully mature to handle the next realm. Because you didn't mention it, but hell is real.
Each one of us has the power to create and build magnificent and beautiful things and processes and relationships, and each one of us has the power to create utter misery and ugliness and destruction.
As you said, the difference is what we choose to do in the gap. But the gap only exists in the physical realm. There is no gap in the realm of love. We need to be trained and disciplined before we get there in order to thrive and prosper. That is why it is so important to teach the 3 original principles that I mentioned before. It is not enough to tell people to love, it is not specific enough so that people know exactly what to do.
I am not disparaging what you write. Your articles are so magnificent and so heartening to me to read the true picture being told so boldly.
Mary, you're right that thoughts become more creative in higher realities.
But it's not exposure for judgment. It's recognition of what you've been choosing.
The Father already knows every thought.
The revealing isn't shame. It's finally seeing yourself as you actually are and discovering you're loved anyway.
And the gap doesn't disappear. It expands. More power means more responsibility to choose love. You don't graduate into a realm where wrong choices are impossible. Free will is eternal.
Physical life isn't training to pass judgment day. It's the beginning of infinite progression.
The exposure you describe isn't something to fear. It's becoming fully known and fully loved.
Or alternatively, a world where everything everyone imagines is on camera for everyone else to see (I Cor 13:12). Until then we all have our public thoughts and our hidden thoughts.
I'm not really afraid of death. Am more in fear of the dying process. I look around and it is quite challenging. What I learned from a wise person along time ago is that the sadness we have for our loved one gone is even tho they are eternal and always are and will be. It is the ending of how we have known them in this incarnation. I still have sadness over the loss of my parents as "that". Because "that" is no more. My Mom appeared to me shortly after she left. A magnificent orb came into my room, It was beautiful, However the part that was my Mom was a small spark in the largeness of the orb. I am grateful for that experience. We truly are awesome, infinite Beings.
the old testament makes it clear that who we are here, on earth, goes on. From looking up from hell, a place where God is not, to being apart from the body and in a heavenly realm-from the first page to the last it is clear that there is a world where the creator lives and where our choices here will take us.
Jesus didnt get tortured for nothing, did not sacrifice himself for nothing. It takes repentence, a humility to see the evil in our hearts, and to be called by God himself to come to him and follow him.
I was eleven when I sat contemplating killing myself and Jesus walked into the room. Stood there, light, light that went inwards but was light not emitting outwards, and a love radiation, a feeling that was so pure, so real, so intense it made me crawl backwards on my bed knowing what I was, what was in me wasnt pure enough to approach someone so holy and full of love-
but-he filled my heart. My entire being was light for just a split second, one that I have clinged to so many times in my life, with deaths, abuse, life and this world will negate Jesus at every turn and I see now that the road I have had he gifted me an answer to my question-"ARE YOU LOVE, ARE YOU REAL JESUS?"
And he appeared.
I have had supernatural occurences my entire life. I know that evil exists, I have been in the room with it, felt it breathe by me, looked into eyes that were not filled with humanness
Yes-religion is false.
Jesus, and the bible, and its message, however is not. It has THOUSANDS of years of save souls, raised hands, changed lives, and meet and greets of the fallen state of man with the creator triune Godhead that history will NEVER be able to hide or wipeout.
There are demons on this earth, there are spirits that can move among us, and yes-I believe that there are supernatural uses of the human spirit/being such as leaving ones body, communing with spirits that I believe are in fact demons, and demonic possession seems thriving.
We are left with only one decision on this earth-Do we believe that Jesus is the son of God, died for our sins, rose again and lives, willing to send the holy spirit to live in us, talk with us, guide us into his knowledge and light on this earth to live our lives doing his will on the earth.
Not my will Lord, but yours.
Its a choice.
If you cant say that here, you will hate heaven. You will never bow before a king let alone love, worship and crave his will in heaven be done.
I believe this one thing in the coming days-many will be led astray-and if you do not read the word, have scripture in your hearts and minds, so that God can bring them to rememberance, you will be succeptable to being led astray, you will believe lies, you will follow your own heart and what the mind agrees with-the minds of men.
Never in history is reading the word life saving as it will be in the next few years. Time is compressing, and it doesnt take being a Christian to understand there is a heaviness in the air.
Put on that oxygen mask. Read the bible, believe and Jesus will meet you at the door and come in and sit with you. We serve a risen savior. A holy God.
EKO, rather than presenting any points of disagreement, I have a few questions. When writing about politics you start with facts and evidence and then show the patterns within them. But when writing about faith you seem to start with a claimed pattern and work from there. So my question is, “What are you using for the sources of your evidence about what Jesus taught?” I ask this because it appears that you reject Pauline theology. Since Paul is directly or indirectly responsible for 13 letters directly with Luke, Acts & Hebrews written under his authority it seems that you are rejecting 16 of the 27 books in the New Testament. Is that an accurate statement? You also seem to rely upon Gnostic texts as reliable sources about Jesus. Is that an accurate perception of what you are using as source texts? You also regularly claim that the teachings of Jesus were misinterpreted by Paul and the church. Since you don’t generally exegete passages to support that claim, I’m wondering if you care to explain the basis for the hermeneutic you are using. We will likely still not agree on many things, but my goal in these questions is not to prove my positions correct. Rather, I want to better understand your methodology in reaching the conclusion you present here.
Dear EKO, once again you’ve walked away from truth. Yes, our souls are eternal, and I believe this is the practice round preparing us for the adventure of Heaven. But death is very much the enemy.. (1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.) And we just get this life to prepare for that eternity. There is just one way for that eternity to be ecstatically fulfilling because there very much is a judgment. (Acts 17:31 For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Hebrews 9:21 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. John 12:48 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.)
And so many others. This is not made up doctrine, it’s the inerrant word of God.
Those who have taken advantage of the salvation offered through Christ’s finished work on the cross will be judged for reward. Those who refused forgiveness by the full payment for their sins through Christ’s finished work will be granted their wish—eternity away from God’s presence. No light, no hope, no help, no end, wrapped in a world with all sin and its excruciating physical, emotional, mental and spiritual pain. (See Luke 16:24-25; Matthew 5:22, 8:12; 13:41-42, 25:41,46; Mark 9:43.)
If you read through actual near death experiences, you will find the pattern of a wall, door or gate they don’t enter before returning. Since the Temple was a pattern of Heaven, it’s possible what they experience is the equivalent of the court of the gentiles that anyone could enter. The Temple itself, the Holy place could only be entered by the priests. (1 Peter 2:9–spoken to true believers.). The Holy of Holies could only be entered by the high priest. Jesus is our Great High Priest seated on the throne at the right hand of God the Father. (Hebrews 4:14-16) Jesus tore apart the curtain that separated so His priests could have access to the Father.
So once again I beg you, EKO, get into the Word of God. Ask Him to speak to your soul, guide your thoughts, protect you from deception and protect your beautiful mind from the lies the enemy whispers so deliciously.
Donna, I hear your concern and I respect that you're standing on what you believe Scripture teaches. Let me be clear about what I'm actually saying.
Death as enemy? Absolutely. Paul's right. Death wasn't the design. It's the consequence of rebellion that happened long before Adam and Eve. But Jesus conquered it. The resurrection proved consciousness survives. That's not walking away from truth. That's what the empty tomb demonstrated.
On judgment being real? I agree completely. Every choice has consequences. The books are opened. What you've done matters eternally. I'm not teaching universalism where everyone gets the same outcome regardless of choices.
But here's where I think we're seeing the same truth from different angles.
The judgment isn't God deciding if He can love you. It's recognition of what you've been choosing all along. The books reveal the pattern. Did you choose love or fear? Service or selfishness? The Father's will or your own?
The lake of fire, the second death? That's real. But it's not eternal torture. It's cessation. The personality that persistently rejects love, light, life itself eventually chooses non-existence. God doesn't burn anyone forever. He respects the final choice to not participate in eternal life. That's the second death. Final. Not ongoing.
You quoted Luke 16 about the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus was using imagery His audience understood to make a point about consequences. The Pharisees knew Gehenna, knew Sheol. He spoke their language. But even in that parable, notice: the rich man's brothers are still alive. Still have chance to choose differently.
The pattern you see in near-death experiences? You're right there's often a boundary they don't cross. Because they're not actually dead. They're experiencing the threshold. The ones who do cross don't come back to tell us about it.
What I'm challenging isn't Scripture. It's 2,000 years of interpretation that turned Jesus's good news into threat management. The gospel isn't "believe correct doctrine or burn forever." It's "the Father is accessible, loving, present. The kingdom is within you. Eternal life begins now."
You said salvation is offered through Christ's finished work. Yes. But what does that mean? Not that Jesus paid a debt to angry God. That God was never angry. Jesus revealed what was always true—the Father running to embrace prodigals, forgiving before they ask, loving unconditionally.
The cross exposed what power does when confronted by love. It demonstrated that divine love doesn't retaliate. And the resurrection proved consciousness survives what kills the body.
I'm not asking you to abandon Scripture. I'm asking: what if the terrifying version you're defending isn't what Jesus actually taught? What if the Father really is better than we've been told?
Read His actual words. Not Paul's theology about Him. Not Revelation's apocalyptic imagery. Jesus's own teachings. How many times did He threaten hell? How many times did He emphasize the Father's love?
I haven't walked away from truth. I'm walking toward the Jesus who ate with sinners, touched lepers, forgave enemies, and told the Pharisees the kingdom was already within them.
This sounds much more scriptural than your original writing! Jesus did, however, speak often of hell—more than anyone else. And I’ve yet to find scripture that indicates punishment in hell is for a limited time. Matthew 25:46 describes hell as eternal punishment. If it’s limited, then eternal life would be limited, too. That would be good news indeed for those who experience the horror of hell, but devastating news for those of us yearning for heaven! And God does indeed get angry and release His wrath and vengeance (Psalm 7:11, Nahum 1:2, Romans 1:18, Ephesians 5:6*, Isaiah 26:21), though He is patient to the extreme. But for His own…He loves us far better than the best earthly father, more than finite minds can comprehend, and works through the Holy Spirit to make us more and more like His beloved Son.
Thank you, EKO. Some years ago, I recognized a pattern in my life. I did not have a name for it, but became fully aware in hindsite. I was a troubled youth. Most people in my situation have their bad choices follow them throughout the remainder of their lives, seemingly limiting their abilities to escape and start anew. What has happened to me over and over is not of my own doing; the Universe arranges a complete change of venue: new cities, new associations, new everything. After this occurred three or four times, I saw the pattern: a death and a rebirth. I am 70 now, and I have watched this pattern repeat itself eight or nine times. Each time I embrace it, I experience the most amazing restarts, going deeper into the new possibilities. Three years ago, while I was intentionally watching for the next iteration, the Universe presented me with an in-depth understanding. These "Bardos" are a gift, just as the final Bardo is a gift.
I discovered near death experiencers not quite a year ago on YouTube. Their stories transformed me almost instantly from an atheist to knowing we are all infinite and divine…my soul knew the truth all along and was waiting for me (words cannot describe what I have discovered). I recently found Darius J. Wright - if anyone has an interest in exploring the afterlife, I highly recommend delving into some of his interviews. Every day is a state of bliss for me. Love and peace to everyone.
The stories and lessons are a guide. I do not think it’s our “truth”, since we all narrate events differently. One should study many narratives of events to extract the common threads…the threads of truth.
Great insights! Looking forward to what you have to say about the SECOND death (Matt. 10:28, Rev. 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, 21:8, etc.). I got a preview of this during my own NDE, and fortunately made the right choice before coming out of the coma.
Four years ago in Saigon I got the hospital test results back. Malignant carcinoma, stage 3 or 4, Sigmoid colon. It was just information. I didn't taste it. My immediate response: "It may be my time to move on." It wasn't. Everyone's twinkle in time we call 'this life' will end. As Red said in The Shawshank Redemption, "Get busy living or get busy dying." And, as my hopefully King once said, "Let the dead bury their dead: but go thou and preach the kingdom of God." So that's what I do. Jesus' Gospel of the Kingdom, the law and the prophets. Nothing more or less. No fear of death.
I have thought about the line in Forest Gump where his mother is dying and he asks her why and she simply says "it's my time." At this point, that is kind of how I look at it.
We are energy and when the body dies, that energy goes somewhere. I was in the room when my FIL passed. He struggled for a bit, and as he breathed his last sigh, I watched the soul leave his eyes. It was the first time I witnessed someone passing and it changes you. But while some people might find that upsetting, that was a pivotal moment for me. As someone pointed out, it is more the dying process that people fear - it will hurt, etc., but once you are there...it is the next stage in our journey.
Well said. I have another strange thing to most that happens with me. One of my seven younger sisters passed a few months ago. I was closest to her throughout our lives. Everyone in my large family mourned hard, and some are still mourning. I love her dearly but I don't miss her. To me it feels like she never left. Still with me, can't be taken away from me.
Read John 3:3.
Couldn't agree more. I suggest reading two books by John Burke regarding NDE's (Near Death Experiences) that are fully documented; 1) Imagine the God in Heaven, and 2) Imagine Heaven. I know for a fact Jesus is real because he appeared and spoke to me nearly 60 years ago. I was into the "Sex, Drugs, and Rock & Roll" culture of the times and at about 15 years old was doing far too many drugs. One day Jesus appeared (NOT a hallucination - I know too well what those are) and his countenance was that of a person that you just knew, no matter how big a bad-ass you think you are, you just DON'T f*ck with him! And I'm a Viet Nam era USMC vet and I still feel the same. Anyway, he spoke five words in voice that went directly into my head..."this is not for you"...that if actually vocalized would have shaken the ground I stood on. From that day forward I was unable to get high on that drug. Period. Fast-forward to 2014. My ex-wife and I were getting together and I flew out to meet her in Texas. While staying in a hotel I got up to pee. As I walked through the bathroom to return to the bedroom I glanced in the mirror. I couldn't believe my eyes. I called out to my wife and said "come here and tell me what you see" (I didn't mention a golden, intricately woven crown on my head). When she came into the bathroom she nearly collapsed as she saw what I saw without any mention of it. I don't pretend to know what it all means..but I do know these events occurred exactly as described.
Thank you for sharing that. I've had en experience with Jesus as well. Absolutely pure love... and I'm not even sure "pure love" are adequate words for what I experienced with Him. I truly believe my body was changed in some way to be able to even BE in His presence, otherwise I think it would have been destroyed because of what evil is in it.
May I share a quote by CS Lewis? It speaks to the divine worth of each of us.
"It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which,if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” - CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory
Is that you MATC CO man?
No.
Thanks for sharing. It is some thing to have an audience with the King.
Revelation 3:20 (CSB)
“See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.
John 14:6 (CSB)
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Used to read; “I am the way, the truth, and the LIGHT.”
Another Mandela effect!
I was with my brother when he died. A bright light appeared in the room, and my brother said the angels were singing. That was it. He was gone, but I will never forget the bright light and what he said.
This might be the clearest articulation I’ve ever read of what resurrection actually means. Not a magic reversal, but a reminder that consciousness is already immortal, wearing flesh for a few chapters of its endless story.
“The tomb was never the threat. The fear was.” That line could end entire religions if people took it seriously.
You’ve written what the mystics tried to whisper through centuries of incense and censorship. Death is not the debt we pay for life. It’s the door we keep walking through to remember we were never locked out.
You know things.
So true what you write here. But take a step back and ask why does the physical realm exist at all if our destination is the next realm. And to help answer that take another step back and ask why do we all spend 9 months in the womb before we get to the physical realm.
And the obvious answer is that a clump of cells cannot handle a world of air and gravity and movement. The clump needs time to develop lungs and heart and muscles. And we don't think about it much, but that is not just automatic, it takes time and care to develop correctly, as many fetuses don't make it to maturity (not talking here of abortion, totally different thing) but miscarry.
And so we come to answer of why the physical realm exists. You mentioned it in your last article - the gap, the precious gap. It is our buffer from our true awesome strong power. God designed the physical realm as our time to learn how to handle the force of love properly so we could live successfully in the next realm. The learning was to be almost automatic, just like developing in the womb, but got severely messed up by the first two people, and they lost what they were to learn and pass on to their children.
And so here we are, with God working hard to reach us and teach us what we need to know to successfully mature to handle the next realm. Because you didn't mention it, but hell is real.
Each one of us has the power to create and build magnificent and beautiful things and processes and relationships, and each one of us has the power to create utter misery and ugliness and destruction.
As you said, the difference is what we choose to do in the gap. But the gap only exists in the physical realm. There is no gap in the realm of love. We need to be trained and disciplined before we get there in order to thrive and prosper. That is why it is so important to teach the 3 original principles that I mentioned before. It is not enough to tell people to love, it is not specific enough so that people know exactly what to do.
I am not disparaging what you write. Your articles are so magnificent and so heartening to me to read the true picture being told so boldly.
Good comment - "what we choose to do in the gap", which only exists in the physical realm, reminds me of Hebrews 9:27.
Yes, the Judgement. Our mind and heart fully exposed for all to see.
What will they find there? What will we find there? For so many are in denial of what they are really thinking and feeling.
Imagine a world where every thought is instantly creating a solid thing. Every feeling instantly acted upon. Jesus warned us in Matthew 5:28.
Mary, you're right that thoughts become more creative in higher realities.
But it's not exposure for judgment. It's recognition of what you've been choosing.
The Father already knows every thought.
The revealing isn't shame. It's finally seeing yourself as you actually are and discovering you're loved anyway.
And the gap doesn't disappear. It expands. More power means more responsibility to choose love. You don't graduate into a realm where wrong choices are impossible. Free will is eternal.
Physical life isn't training to pass judgment day. It's the beginning of infinite progression.
The exposure you describe isn't something to fear. It's becoming fully known and fully loved.
That's what Jesus actually taught.
Or alternatively, a world where everything everyone imagines is on camera for everyone else to see (I Cor 13:12). Until then we all have our public thoughts and our hidden thoughts.
I'm not really afraid of death. Am more in fear of the dying process. I look around and it is quite challenging. What I learned from a wise person along time ago is that the sadness we have for our loved one gone is even tho they are eternal and always are and will be. It is the ending of how we have known them in this incarnation. I still have sadness over the loss of my parents as "that". Because "that" is no more. My Mom appeared to me shortly after she left. A magnificent orb came into my room, It was beautiful, However the part that was my Mom was a small spark in the largeness of the orb. I am grateful for that experience. We truly are awesome, infinite Beings.
Death is the birth canal to everlasting life.
" Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” John 3:3
the old testament makes it clear that who we are here, on earth, goes on. From looking up from hell, a place where God is not, to being apart from the body and in a heavenly realm-from the first page to the last it is clear that there is a world where the creator lives and where our choices here will take us.
Jesus didnt get tortured for nothing, did not sacrifice himself for nothing. It takes repentence, a humility to see the evil in our hearts, and to be called by God himself to come to him and follow him.
I was eleven when I sat contemplating killing myself and Jesus walked into the room. Stood there, light, light that went inwards but was light not emitting outwards, and a love radiation, a feeling that was so pure, so real, so intense it made me crawl backwards on my bed knowing what I was, what was in me wasnt pure enough to approach someone so holy and full of love-
but-he filled my heart. My entire being was light for just a split second, one that I have clinged to so many times in my life, with deaths, abuse, life and this world will negate Jesus at every turn and I see now that the road I have had he gifted me an answer to my question-"ARE YOU LOVE, ARE YOU REAL JESUS?"
And he appeared.
I have had supernatural occurences my entire life. I know that evil exists, I have been in the room with it, felt it breathe by me, looked into eyes that were not filled with humanness
Yes-religion is false.
Jesus, and the bible, and its message, however is not. It has THOUSANDS of years of save souls, raised hands, changed lives, and meet and greets of the fallen state of man with the creator triune Godhead that history will NEVER be able to hide or wipeout.
There are demons on this earth, there are spirits that can move among us, and yes-I believe that there are supernatural uses of the human spirit/being such as leaving ones body, communing with spirits that I believe are in fact demons, and demonic possession seems thriving.
We are left with only one decision on this earth-Do we believe that Jesus is the son of God, died for our sins, rose again and lives, willing to send the holy spirit to live in us, talk with us, guide us into his knowledge and light on this earth to live our lives doing his will on the earth.
Not my will Lord, but yours.
Its a choice.
If you cant say that here, you will hate heaven. You will never bow before a king let alone love, worship and crave his will in heaven be done.
I believe this one thing in the coming days-many will be led astray-and if you do not read the word, have scripture in your hearts and minds, so that God can bring them to rememberance, you will be succeptable to being led astray, you will believe lies, you will follow your own heart and what the mind agrees with-the minds of men.
Never in history is reading the word life saving as it will be in the next few years. Time is compressing, and it doesnt take being a Christian to understand there is a heaviness in the air.
Put on that oxygen mask. Read the bible, believe and Jesus will meet you at the door and come in and sit with you. We serve a risen savior. A holy God.
In Christ alone.
Prayers fellow travelors.
EKO, rather than presenting any points of disagreement, I have a few questions. When writing about politics you start with facts and evidence and then show the patterns within them. But when writing about faith you seem to start with a claimed pattern and work from there. So my question is, “What are you using for the sources of your evidence about what Jesus taught?” I ask this because it appears that you reject Pauline theology. Since Paul is directly or indirectly responsible for 13 letters directly with Luke, Acts & Hebrews written under his authority it seems that you are rejecting 16 of the 27 books in the New Testament. Is that an accurate statement? You also seem to rely upon Gnostic texts as reliable sources about Jesus. Is that an accurate perception of what you are using as source texts? You also regularly claim that the teachings of Jesus were misinterpreted by Paul and the church. Since you don’t generally exegete passages to support that claim, I’m wondering if you care to explain the basis for the hermeneutic you are using. We will likely still not agree on many things, but my goal in these questions is not to prove my positions correct. Rather, I want to better understand your methodology in reaching the conclusion you present here.
Dear EKO, once again you’ve walked away from truth. Yes, our souls are eternal, and I believe this is the practice round preparing us for the adventure of Heaven. But death is very much the enemy.. (1 Corinthians 15:26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.) And we just get this life to prepare for that eternity. There is just one way for that eternity to be ecstatically fulfilling because there very much is a judgment. (Acts 17:31 For He has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.”
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. Hebrews 9:21 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment. John 12:48 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects Me and does not accept My words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day. Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.)
And so many others. This is not made up doctrine, it’s the inerrant word of God.
Those who have taken advantage of the salvation offered through Christ’s finished work on the cross will be judged for reward. Those who refused forgiveness by the full payment for their sins through Christ’s finished work will be granted their wish—eternity away from God’s presence. No light, no hope, no help, no end, wrapped in a world with all sin and its excruciating physical, emotional, mental and spiritual pain. (See Luke 16:24-25; Matthew 5:22, 8:12; 13:41-42, 25:41,46; Mark 9:43.)
If you read through actual near death experiences, you will find the pattern of a wall, door or gate they don’t enter before returning. Since the Temple was a pattern of Heaven, it’s possible what they experience is the equivalent of the court of the gentiles that anyone could enter. The Temple itself, the Holy place could only be entered by the priests. (1 Peter 2:9–spoken to true believers.). The Holy of Holies could only be entered by the high priest. Jesus is our Great High Priest seated on the throne at the right hand of God the Father. (Hebrews 4:14-16) Jesus tore apart the curtain that separated so His priests could have access to the Father.
So once again I beg you, EKO, get into the Word of God. Ask Him to speak to your soul, guide your thoughts, protect you from deception and protect your beautiful mind from the lies the enemy whispers so deliciously.
Donna, I hear your concern and I respect that you're standing on what you believe Scripture teaches. Let me be clear about what I'm actually saying.
Death as enemy? Absolutely. Paul's right. Death wasn't the design. It's the consequence of rebellion that happened long before Adam and Eve. But Jesus conquered it. The resurrection proved consciousness survives. That's not walking away from truth. That's what the empty tomb demonstrated.
On judgment being real? I agree completely. Every choice has consequences. The books are opened. What you've done matters eternally. I'm not teaching universalism where everyone gets the same outcome regardless of choices.
But here's where I think we're seeing the same truth from different angles.
The judgment isn't God deciding if He can love you. It's recognition of what you've been choosing all along. The books reveal the pattern. Did you choose love or fear? Service or selfishness? The Father's will or your own?
The lake of fire, the second death? That's real. But it's not eternal torture. It's cessation. The personality that persistently rejects love, light, life itself eventually chooses non-existence. God doesn't burn anyone forever. He respects the final choice to not participate in eternal life. That's the second death. Final. Not ongoing.
You quoted Luke 16 about the rich man and Lazarus. Jesus was using imagery His audience understood to make a point about consequences. The Pharisees knew Gehenna, knew Sheol. He spoke their language. But even in that parable, notice: the rich man's brothers are still alive. Still have chance to choose differently.
The pattern you see in near-death experiences? You're right there's often a boundary they don't cross. Because they're not actually dead. They're experiencing the threshold. The ones who do cross don't come back to tell us about it.
What I'm challenging isn't Scripture. It's 2,000 years of interpretation that turned Jesus's good news into threat management. The gospel isn't "believe correct doctrine or burn forever." It's "the Father is accessible, loving, present. The kingdom is within you. Eternal life begins now."
You said salvation is offered through Christ's finished work. Yes. But what does that mean? Not that Jesus paid a debt to angry God. That God was never angry. Jesus revealed what was always true—the Father running to embrace prodigals, forgiving before they ask, loving unconditionally.
The cross exposed what power does when confronted by love. It demonstrated that divine love doesn't retaliate. And the resurrection proved consciousness survives what kills the body.
I'm not asking you to abandon Scripture. I'm asking: what if the terrifying version you're defending isn't what Jesus actually taught? What if the Father really is better than we've been told?
Read His actual words. Not Paul's theology about Him. Not Revelation's apocalyptic imagery. Jesus's own teachings. How many times did He threaten hell? How many times did He emphasize the Father's love?
I haven't walked away from truth. I'm walking toward the Jesus who ate with sinners, touched lepers, forgave enemies, and told the Pharisees the kingdom was already within them.
That's the gospel that sets people free.
This sounds much more scriptural than your original writing! Jesus did, however, speak often of hell—more than anyone else. And I’ve yet to find scripture that indicates punishment in hell is for a limited time. Matthew 25:46 describes hell as eternal punishment. If it’s limited, then eternal life would be limited, too. That would be good news indeed for those who experience the horror of hell, but devastating news for those of us yearning for heaven! And God does indeed get angry and release His wrath and vengeance (Psalm 7:11, Nahum 1:2, Romans 1:18, Ephesians 5:6*, Isaiah 26:21), though He is patient to the extreme. But for His own…He loves us far better than the best earthly father, more than finite minds can comprehend, and works through the Holy Spirit to make us more and more like His beloved Son.
Thank you, EKO. Some years ago, I recognized a pattern in my life. I did not have a name for it, but became fully aware in hindsite. I was a troubled youth. Most people in my situation have their bad choices follow them throughout the remainder of their lives, seemingly limiting their abilities to escape and start anew. What has happened to me over and over is not of my own doing; the Universe arranges a complete change of venue: new cities, new associations, new everything. After this occurred three or four times, I saw the pattern: a death and a rebirth. I am 70 now, and I have watched this pattern repeat itself eight or nine times. Each time I embrace it, I experience the most amazing restarts, going deeper into the new possibilities. Three years ago, while I was intentionally watching for the next iteration, the Universe presented me with an in-depth understanding. These "Bardos" are a gift, just as the final Bardo is a gift.
https://www.lionsroar.com/four-points-for-letting-go-bardo
I do believe these are the most personal, profound and heartfelt comments I've ever read on any Substack. Thanks to all for sharing.
I discovered near death experiencers not quite a year ago on YouTube. Their stories transformed me almost instantly from an atheist to knowing we are all infinite and divine…my soul knew the truth all along and was waiting for me (words cannot describe what I have discovered). I recently found Darius J. Wright - if anyone has an interest in exploring the afterlife, I highly recommend delving into some of his interviews. Every day is a state of bliss for me. Love and peace to everyone.
The stories and lessons are a guide. I do not think it’s our “truth”, since we all narrate events differently. One should study many narratives of events to extract the common threads…the threads of truth.
Great insights! Looking forward to what you have to say about the SECOND death (Matt. 10:28, Rev. 2:11, 20:6, 20:14, 21:8, etc.). I got a preview of this during my own NDE, and fortunately made the right choice before coming out of the coma.