It is interesting to know that death does not exist in a timeless, spaceless world. It reminds me of Revelation that says both death and hades (ignorance of our true identity) have been cast into the lake of fire (metaphorically - defeated by Jesus' finished work at the cross through death and resurrection). I think it is true that in a sense, physical death is an illusion, just as its counterpart - physical life - is an illusion. As the article noted, "reality is a process that involves your consciousness". I think that is one reason Jesus came to earth - not only to restore to us a sense of our true identity as God's beloved sons and daughters, but also to deliver us from the fear of death - that is, by removing the illusion of death from our consciousness.
"O death, where is your sting? O hades (ignorance), where is your victory? The sting of death is sin (illusion about our identity), and the strength of sin (illusion) is the law (doing in order to become). But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."
As we learnt earlier from the post about our true identity, "sin" can be seen as having an illusion about ourselves, or having a false external identity attached to the physical realm. Our physical body is part of the physical realm, so our true identity isn't attached to our physical body. So when our physical body dies, our true identity does not die. Our true identity continues to live.
Jesus said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die."
I believe Jesus' words are meant to be metaphorical, or else He was contradicting himself by saying a person "may die" and "shall never die". How can a person "die" and "never die" at the same time? To me, to live means to live in the consciousness of our true identity. When we are conscious of our true identity and origin in Him, we will never experience a sense of condemnation (a form of death).
"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood (symbolic of the physical realm of time and space and materiality), He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage."
I think this shows that once upon a time, the devil (or false ego) had the power of death, which came from the illusion that death was the finality of life. But that was just a lie. Death is only an illusion, therefore the psalmist called death a "shadow", not the real thing.
"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow (illusion) of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me"So the bottomline to me is: There is life that has swallowed up death, as it is written "Death is swallowed up in victory". It is important for the knowledge of the truth of the gospel be made known, so that people will not despair over "death". Thanks to quantum science and biocentrism, science is now supporting the gospel of grace and peace as well.
Paul wrote: "For me to live is Christ and to die is gain."
I understand it as saying to live is to live in the consciousness of our true identity, and to die is to depart from this earthly realm with the knowledge that our true identity never dies. Our consciousness or spirit continues to live on - as Ecclesiastes 12:7 says, our spirit goes back to God who gave it.
I also noticed that in the Old Testament, people would mourn for those who died because back then, they did not have the revelation of their true identity, for Jesus has not yet come to show them who they are. They probably thought their loved ones would stay dead and would only rise again one day in future. That was what Martha and Mary thought too, when their brother Lazarus died of sickness. But Jesus said to Martha that He is the resurrection and the life. I believe the present moment is where we experience the resurrection and the life - the "I am" - our true identity who never dies.
Paul wrote in the New Testament: "And I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, that ye may not sorrow, as also the rest who have not hope, for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so also God those asleep through Jesus he will bring with him,"
I believe this was written in the context of the spiritual awakening that would take place en masse in AD70. Our hope in awakening to our true identity is in Christ.
Today, people mourn over the passing away of their loved ones during funerals and I think there is a place for mourning over the physical loss of a person. After all, Paul also exhorted us to "rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep". Life and death - even though they are illusions - is a process we all go through on earth in time and space. We express love and kindness through relating with one another in happy times and sad times. Jesus Himself - even though He knows perfectly the reality behind the illusion of death - still chooses to relate to us in our daily struggles and challenges, for "we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tested/tempted as we are, yet without sin (without illusion of His own true identity)."
We learnt that Jesus kept Himself in the consciousness that He is the beloved of the Father, in whom He was well pleased, which gave Him strength to carry on, and having experienced sufferings Himself, He uses His knowledge to relate to our sufferings, and His strength to help us deal with our personal challenges. I think that speaks of His self-sacrificial love.
"For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted/tested, He is able to aid those who are tempted/tested"So in a sense, we are all Christs living on earth today. Having been awakened to the truth of our true identity, we are able to help others who have yet to receive the revelation of their true identity, and sometimes when we forget who we really are, others help us in our weaknesses too. I think it is a beautiful picture of our oneness and interrelatedness where we all experience love through helping and supporting one another in times of need.
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