(basic thoughts, refine later)

In an attempt to arrive at an explanation of physical death to tell you, (my children) I spent untold amounts of time reading and contemplating. Talking about death with kids is hard enough…..trying to explain it in a non-threatening way is harder yet. What I arrived at is this.

To begin with, you must understand that you are, above all…a spirit being. You also have a soul and you have a physical body. This is the order of importance and it doesn’t change just because you happen to have other beliefs.

(explain spirit more fully)

Your spirit is the part created by God and it is your “heart-of-hearts”. When you feel something in your “heart”, you’re talking about your spirit. When you talk about your conscience, you’re talking about your spirit. It is that part of you that God actually talks to. Whether you listen when He talks though, is up to you.

(explain soul more fully)

Your soul is your intellect…your feelings of good and/or bad. It is a cumulative collection of experiences that you have had. The good, joyful times with friends or family that care about you. The sad times. The tough times. The awkward, unknowing, embarrassing times. The times you cared enough to take the time to visit someone and brighten their day. The time you found the stray animal or lonely kid and you made them feel wanted and loved.

Your spirit and your soul are the “real you” in you. What you really are, in God’s eyes and in the eyes of others is your spirit and soul.

Your physical body is really nothing more than a vehicle, whose job it is to haul your spirit and soul around. The best example I have found, based on my experiences, is the following.

Imagine yourself getting in your automobile and taking a drive somewhere. As you drive this car, you…as the driver decide when to turn right or left, when to speed up or slow down or when to start and stop. All the vehicle does is to respond to your inputs and transport you wherever you decide to go.

While you are driving, you look through the windows and take in the sights and even treat your physical senses to sounds, smells, etc. When you stop the vehicle, turn the motor off and get out…you, the “real” you ….hasn’t changed. You still see the same things outside the vehicle that you saw looking through the windows.

You still “feel” the same way about things even though you’re outside the vehicle. You still have the same values and you still recognize the same people whether you’re in the vehicle or outside of it. The only thing that has changed is that your personal “vehicle” has stopped and now you’re outside of it.

This was, in my case, the actual experience of “life-after-life”. Your physical body (vehicle) is no longer able to carry your spirit and soul around on earth and in the “twinkling of an eye”, you move from this physical life on earth to the next life. Your spirit and soul don’t die….they just….move on!

What about the idea of getting to heaven and recognizing relatives or friends from earth. How can that happen if only the spirit and soul go on and they don’t have a familiar-looking physical body wrapped around them? Well…..have you ever talked to someone familiar…a family member, neighbor or good friend on the phone? You can’t see their physical body…yet…you know the person you’re talking to.

You’re familiar with the physical voice but more than that…you’re familiar with that person’s spirit and soul. These are the feelings and ideals expressed by the person that you are familiar with. Sometimes we call it their “persona” or we say they have a gentle soul. It’s not a physical entity that can be scientifically measured but we know its there. Have you ever talked to a complete stranger on the phone and felt instantly at ease and comfortable with that person? Or, just the opposite…someone you felt uncomfortable with...but for no apparent reason? I think that is their spirit and soul projecting through.

I believe that when we get to heaven, we will be encountering those familiar spirits and souls and we will feel comfortable and at ease with them because of their familiarity...even though they may or may not have a familiar physical appearance. In this way, we will “recognize” family members and friends.

Note: add in somewhere…the idea that because the physical body is like a vehicle…it must be kept in good running condition…good fuel, usage is better than storage, keep the mechanics checked and in good order, etc……..and….from time to time, accidents happen and the body gets dented and bumped and may need professional help to get back on the road. The vehicle can only do a good job of hauling the spirit and soul around if it’s kept in good shape….therefore, no drugs, etc.

ADDITIONAL:

Physical death has no pain associated with it. There may be pain leading up to the point of death, but at the millisecond that physical life leaves our bodies, there is no pain. It’s like walking through a doorway. One moment you’re on one side of the doorway and the next moment, you’re on the other side. Physical death is very quick and in most cases it comes unexpectedly.

This is why it is so important to listen to your spirit and educate it and your soul in the Word of God. That Word is the Truth and we need to learn as much about the Truth as we possibly can while we still have a physical vehicle to haul us around.

The one thing I can guarantee you, based on my experience, is that each of us has an appointed time that our physical bodies will die. The important thing is that when that physical body dies, whatever stage of earthly education your spirit and soul are in…that’s it. I believe that there will be Heavenly education of our spirit and soul but when we stand in judgement….before God…for our earthly accomplishments (or lack thereof), our spirit and soul will be judged only up to the time of physical death.

I believe this is one of the reasons that God has urged me to write all of this at this time – to pass on the message that what you do and learn on this earth is very important. And that physical death can come at any time. And….that, except in rare cases (like mine), you can’t go back to the physical world and try doing good works or living your life over.

It’s not like committing a crime...being sent to jail to be punished (hopefully rehabilitated) and then getting out to start you life over again. In that case, you have a chance to make amends and to show God and society that you are sorry for what you did, you have learned and you are a better now.

There’s a piece of advice that goes something like: “live each day as though it were your last...not afraid...but proud of the things you stand for and have accomplished and always trying to be better than you were the day before.” I admit that, being an average human being, I don’t practice this advice the way I should but that’s one of the reasons I’m still here…trying to get it right.

ADDITIONAL:

(more thoughts to be redone later) (Is Death Negative or Positive?)

When you physically die, I believe you will have your eyes opened to the Truth. It won’t make any difference what your religion on earth has been or what you truly believe….you will know God’s Truth because He has only one Truth….and if you are going to abide in Heaven, with Him, you’re going to live under His Rules. That’s why its so important to search for part of that Truth now, because when physical death comes, your time is up and you’re stuck with whatever you have up to that point.

JUDGEMENT –

Sometime, after physical death, each of us will face a judgment time. You will stand before God, who is all-knowing, and He will go back over your life with you…except….He will have the “TRUE ACCOUNT” of your life….not the version you would tell.

In today’s technological world, it’s not too hard to imagine being led into a special room with a large television for all to see. Then watching as someone goes to a large stack of alphabetically arranged video tapes, selects the one with your name on it…puts it in the VCR…hits the play button…and then sits down to watch, along with you….God...Jesus… Angels, etc. The material on the tape is going to be the TRUE version of your life and you will be judged on the Truth of your life and there will be no other story.

MESSAGE –

The message I’m trying to get across to you is this: according to my understanding at this time: 1. There is life after physical death on this earth. 2. You will know the ABSOLUTE TRUTH at the time of your physical death 3. Your spirit and soul will go on in the next life 4. You will stand judgement, before God, for what you did (or didn’t do) on earth in your allotted time 5. These things will happen, whether you are a Believer in them or not 6. After your physical death, that chapter of your life is over and you can’t go back and re-write it 7. Physical death happens very quickly, and most of us aren’t ready, therefore you better have your life in order as far as God is concerned, at all times, so that when you find yourself in the next life you will be thrilled and not panic’d.

TAKING IT WITH YOU –

I have shown that according to my experience, that only your spirit and soul go on to the next life and because of this, you can forget the idea of “taking it with you.” There are no physical things that go to the next world…not money, not jewels, or cars, or houses or furs or anything else.

The good news is that you won’t care. Once you cross over to the next life, your values and wants and desires change. The things that seemed so important in this life won’t matter. You won’t worry about what other people think of you now that you’re gone from this physical world. It will be more important to please God. You will be so overwhelmed by the warmth, joy, security and compassion and love of God, you won’t care about anything else. You will know, in your Spirit, that God will be taking care of the loved ones you left behind. You won’t need to worry about them. That’s why its so important to learn about God now, while you’re in this world for your own sake and the sake of your family and friends.

HEAVEN –

It seems that every time I read someone’s account of a “life-after-life” experience, people are always asking them to describe what Heaven is like. Up until now, I haven’t told that many people about my experience so I haven’t had people beating down my door to ask my opinion. However, I have thought about it.

Are there streets of gold? Are there gates of pearl? If you enjoy golfing, will Heaven consist of playing golf every day on a perfectly prepared course where you always hit the perfect shot? Or, if there are other things you enjoy doing on earth, will you be able to do them in Heaven? Etc., etc……

For now, my answer is this: I DON’T KNOW ..

But…my idea is this: Once you cross over into the next life, everything of your physical life is done and now you are continuing with your spirit and soul, which are different from your physical being. And your spirit and soul are more “in-tune” with God and when they are in His realm, they will be more receptive to Him. In Heaven, the part of “The Lord’s Prayer” that says: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” will mean just that. Whatever God wills for us to do, we will do it and not just because we have to..it will be because we will want to as a way of pleasing Him. Following God’s will in Heaven will make our spirit and soul happy, no matter what it is. There won’t be any hesitation to do it.

So, I don’t know what Heaven will be like. I don’t know about gold, or pearl, or golf courses, or motorcycles or even shopping malls. But whatever it is, it will be a thousand times a thousand greater than anything we can imagine.

IS DEATH A NEGATIVE OR A POSITIVE?

It seems that with most of the accounts of “life-after-life” experiences that are being talked about or written about lately, the general theme is that after the so-called “experience”, most of the people involved always have positive feelings about death. They don’t seem to fear death and that’s true in my case also. According to a number of articles written on the subject, this seems to be the common feeling.

Another common feeling being cited by many of these people is the idea of a warm, glowing presence of all-enveloping love and gentleness. This is accompanied by a feeling that everything is ok and no matter what your past history of earthly-life, everyone or at least almost everyone, has now had their “slate” cleaned and Heaven is waiting with open arms for your arrival.

I agree with the warm feeling of love and gentleness but I have a problem with the simplistic approach of “clean-slate” and there not being anything negative about death. In most all cases, it is viewed as a positive thing where the bad life on earth is over and voila…..everything is new and fresh again after physical death and love accepts everyone equally.

The problem as I see it in accepting this idea is that there is no incentive to change our lives and lifestyles while we are on earth because the next life and Heaven will just accept us for who we are when we get there and it will be a “forgive-and-forget” type of thing. Now that’s a nice, easy to accept theory but I believe it is also a very dangerous notion to hold on to.

In the first part of the Bible, God created the earth and everything in it and He also created Adam and then Eve and put them in the Garden of Eden to live for ever and ever. I don’t remember there being a plan for physical death for Adam and Eve in God’s original plan.

It was only after Adam and Eve disobeyed God that the idea of sin and death came to the world, as I understand it. So, if that is the case, then physical death is not a positive thing…it is a negative thing. It is the end of our life on earth for now. It is the end of our time with our families and friends here. And, most of all, it is the end of our chance to turn our lives around, follow God and be a positive example for others to follow.

I don’t want you to get the idea that I’m saying you need to fear death, that’s not it at all. The only time you would need to fear death is if you haven’t committed your life to God, through Jesus, while you are still in this physical life. Again, according to my understanding, physical death is the cut-off point for whatever stage of development your spirit and soul are in on earth. If you haven’t turned your life around by the time you physically die, then death is a negative.

However, if you have committed your life to God, through Jesus, then you have no reason to fear death. It will come when it is supposed to, according to God, and it will be a normal, natural part of life and our spirit and soul will continue on in Heaven and will rejoice and be happy and loved.

The biggest thing to remember in all of this is……we don’t know “when” God has determined when our time is up in this life. That is something known only to Him. And because that is the case, we have to be prepared and not just wait until we see death coming around the corner. That would be the biggest loss…to have had the opportunity to have seek and know God, but not to have done it until it’s too late.

AN EXAMPLE:

You’re in school, taking a class and hopefully learning information about whatever the subject is. You know that there are assignments to read and study and learn because at some point you’re going to be tested on the information you’re learned so far. If you just play around all the time or you don’t work as hard as you could to learn your lessons...the time will come and you won’t be ready. And, if you don’t pass the test, you won’t be able to go on with the rest of the class. You’ll be left behind and when it comes right down to it…nobody wants to be “left behind”.

I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve been in this position in the past and I did not like the feeling then and I sure don’t want to do it again with so much at stake.

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Note: this goes with “Says Who?” (this is not finished but I will leave it for now as some things to think about)

Why is it important? What difference does it make if you believe in God or not? Did the world start with a “big-bang” or is the Biblical account of God breathing life into this world that we know the way it happened? Well, I have an idea about that. First of all, let’s go with the idea that neither side of that question can actually prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt that it happened either way. Or even something different.

No matter what science is used to prove the “big-bang” or any other non-God start to this world or “evolution” from the standpoint of a bug mutating to the point of a human being, it is only theories. And theories are only ideas that someone has and then tries to back them up with some kind of proof.

I happen to believe the Bible when it comes to the creation of the earth and all that is in it. But if somebody says….”prove it”…….I say that I can’t. I wasn’t there when it happened. And neither was anyone else. But….because nobody was there to verify it, there also is nobody that can say it “didn’t “ happen either.

Scientists can say they have proof or they “know” that this or that happened but those are theories and as such are not completely provable.

It’s interesting to note that there has always been people (highly educated or not) that said there is no God. And others that say there is. And with more highly technical information and machines, it sometimes seems that science has won the debate.

But…………….science has been wrong before. Back when I was farming and crop chemicals were becoming more popular (because it made the farmer’s job easier and helped produce a better crop), farmers would spend the “off-season” or non-growing season learning about better ways to farm and what some of the more popular crop chemicals would do for them. And one of the things discussed was the toxicity of the chemical in regards especially to the farmer or chemical applicator.

Each chemical was technically inspected and it’s toxicity level was posted for safety. Most of the time, these “safe” levels were determined by the chemical company that was producing it so the only thing most farmers had to go by was what the chemical company told them. And to be fair, I believe that most of those companies did test as accurately as they could. But the point to remember here is that they could only test as well as the technical equipment would allow them to.

Now, as technology improved, so did the quality of the information that was available. One of the things that happened is that chemical companies that had posted certain “safe” levels of toxicity for a chemical were now able to do a better job of testing and in some cases they found that what they thought had been “safe”, it now deemed to be “un-safe”.

A quick illustration is one that dealt with a chemical used in sugar beet production. I don’t remember the exact name of the chemical or the company that made it….it really doesn’t matter. But I noticed in the safety booklet that came with each chemical that the toxicity levels had changed and what had been deemed safe before was now considered unsafe. The company hadn’t done anything wrong or tried to hide things, it was just that technology had allowed them to test the chemical in “parts-per-billion” instead of the “parts-per-million” or even “parts-per-thousand” that had been used in the past.

So, even though the company had been correct in their first levels of toxicity, as they were able to apply newer, more sophisticated technology, they found that they needed to warn that applicators needed to be more careful to avoid problems.

What does all this mean? Well, basically, I will be up-front and honest is saying that I can’t “prove” the existence of God and that He breathed life into this world we know. But on the other hand, no one can prove that it didn’t happen that way. And scientists can theorize that it happened a certain way based on what they know now………but maybe technology will come about that proves different later. It’s happened before.

So what? Basically, the question is: what do you have to gain or lose depending on what you believe? I think it goes something like this. If you believe in “no” God and you do the things that you know you shouldn’t do and you have so-called fun all your life like partying, cheating, lying, etc., etc. and then you die and you’re right about “no God”, then you’ve been able to do all these things and “get away with it” with no punishment. However, if you believe in God and you live your life according to His Word, what do you have to lose? You’ve had a good life. You’ve lived according to the 10 Commandments and the Golden Rule. You’ve treated your fellow-man honestly and fairly and if it turns out that there is “no God”, what have you lost?

Ahh, but…………..what if I’m right? What if there really is a God? What if all the stories about the beginning of time are correct? And there really is a Heaven and a…………Hell? And……….there really is a consequence for your actions? You see, when you start to look at what you have to gain or lose depending on what you believe in and the way you live your life………….it starts to make a big difference about your beliefs.

The biggest question is……….are you willing to throw away your eternal life with God in Heaven because someone else gave you bad information? It happened before.

NOTE: subject of evolution

When some people talk about the origin of man, they adopt the idea of evolution from the standpoint that man “evolved” from a primitive creature and slowly changed over time into the Man we have today. This is in contrast with the theory of Creation as told by the Bible. According to “evolutionists”, man is a “hap-hazard” creature that has simplistic beginnings and then for some untold reason, has changed or “evolved” into a very complex person.

More to add here…………

But I have a question about all of it. When a child is born, they are not able to speak any kind of language but as they grow, they listen to the people around them and slowly but surely they begin to learn a particular language depending on where they are and the people they are around. That is “practical” evolution.

Now, if all of us “evolved” from one basic creature……….and each of us learns language from those we grow up with……….why would there be so many different languages in the world today? How did one form of communication grow from grunts and groans into the sophisticated languages we now have? The laws of “progressive evolution” don’t seem to follow this.

I do have another thought as to why languages are what they are. In Genesis, chapter 11, it talks about something we could use as a reason for the multitude of different languages. It has to do with the Tower of Babel.