*** Life Eternal ***
We have but to want it - and reach out for it
posted by Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™ at 5:03 PM
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
We have but to want it - and reach out for it
About Me
- Name: Luminous (\ô/) Luciano™
Born in the Age of Aquarius, destined to seek out truths in many an art form, trained as a historian and a journalist but truly a prose-lover... Luciano is out to dispel any clichés and reinvent them all both to the tune of a little something called the truth as also to his own image - and being old-fashioned, he does not mind that distinction one infinitesimal tiny bit at all...! "There are two ways to spread the light; be the candle... or the mirror that reflects It." I have chosen to be the latter... okay? ~*~ "To be not only a seeker of light... but a dream weaver of light" ~*~ For as surely as the moon reflects the light from the sun, you and I can reflect the Light from Above - and be, indeed, the light of this world! ~*~*~*~ NOTE: THERE ARE COOKIES ~ from at least three parties~ ON ALL OF MY BLOGS! ~*~ accept it!
Previous Posts
- Christmas
- The question is...
- GOD IS GOD
- You may yet get your kicks on Route '66, pal....
- Blessings!
- 3 Years Ago For Us... 3 Days After For Them
- GOD IS GOD
- +++
- ...
MY RESULTS: Clouds and Jesus
You're a good person and you've got a front row seat in the Kingdom of God. Yawn, that's great. How about helping a friend out with some box seat tickets?
Hmm... depends... mainly if you are worthy of such "help"... "buddy"! God's Grace is for all though - that is true! (Evidently, the above quiz was made by an atheist...)
Nota Bene: the ascending soul pictured below thrice rather than once is NOT the quiz-making atheist!
8 Comments:
Thank You Lord
For The Gift of Life!
World Scripture
ETERNAL LIFE
The goal of the religious quest is often described as immortality
or eternal life. Humanity has always chafed under the limitations of
mortality, and people have found in religion the means to transcend the
death which seems to proscribe the possibilities of human existence. Yet
we have already gathered under Immortal Soul, pp. 326-34, passages from
scripture which recognize that every person has an eternal spirit as his
or her birthright. Everyone will continue eternally in some form of
existence after the end of this physical life. The question of eternal
life, therefore, does not mean eternal existence per se, but rather what
form it will take, and whether death will remain a barrier to human
fulfillment.
We find that the scriptures of many religions give two meanings to
the terms "life" and "death." There is the physical meaning of life:
existence in this physical realm, and there is the spiritual meaning of
life: the state of blessedness which is enduring from life to life and
hence transcends death. There is the physical death: the dropping of the
body which is an event in the voyage of every soul, and the spiritual
death: the condition of distance from God, ignorance, and a hellish
existence in the hereafter.
Hence when the question of salvation is at issue, the outcomes
called "eternal life" and "immortality" are often ciphers to describe the
condition of blessedness. This condition is present already in the
physical life of the person who realizes Truth or lives in God's grace,
and it will continue, unabated, in the hereafter. The person who gains
"eternal life" has accomplished the goal of life, and hence death is not
to be feared as a limitation, as it is for a worldly person who has tied
all hopes to his possessions and pleasures in the world.
Some Taoist scriptures, on the other hand, promote the ideal of
physical immorality. The eternal youth of the Taoist Immortals is a
consequence of their life being totally at one with the Tao of nature.
Likewise, the doctrine of the resurrection is interpreted by some
Christians, Jews, and Muslims as requiring the reconstitution of the dead
in their physical bodies, to dwell forever on this earth. Yet these
physical interpretations are also based on a spiritual concept of life and
death: only the spiritually alive are qualified to enjoy immortality or
the fruits of the resurrection.
We note that Buddhist scriptures generally avoid speaking of the
state of blessedness as eternal life. Buddhist teaching views the desire
for life as a kind of grasping, and hence a fetter to liberation.
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in
Christ Jesus our Lord.
Christianity. Bible, Romans 6.23
Jesus said to her, "I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in
me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me
shall never die."
Christianity. Bible, John 11.25
>From the unreal lead me to the Real!
>From darkness lead me to light!
>From death lead me to immortality!
Hinduism. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28
All Israel have part in the world to come, as it is said, "and they people
shall be all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever, the branch of
my planting, the work of my hands that I may be glorified" (Isaiah 60.21).
Judaism. Mishnah, Sanhedrin 11.1
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Romans 6.23: Cf. John 3.16, p. 506; 12.50, p. 634; Midrash, Psalm 18, p.
575. John 11.25: Cf. John 12.24-25, p. 897; Mark 8.34-36, p. 897; Romans
8.9-17. p. 576; Job 19.25-26, p. 587. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 1.3.28:
Cf. Rig Veda 9.113.8-11, p. 354. Sanhedrin 11.1: All Jews are entitled to
an eternal kingdom by virtue of membership in the Jewish people and God's
heritage and promise which they have received.
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Those who have faith and do righteous deeds, they are the best of
creatures. Their reward is with God: Gardens of Eternity, beneath which
rivers flow; they will dwell therein for ever; God well pleased with them,
and they with Him; all this for such as fear their Lord and Cherisher.
Islam. Qur'an 98.7-8
Having realized the Self, which is soundless, intangible, formless,
undecaying, and likewise tasteless, eternal, and odorless; having realized
That which is without beginning and end, beyond the Great, and
unchanging--one is freed from the jaws of death.
Hinduism. Katha Upanishad 1.3.15
Being in accord with Tao, he is everlasting.
Taoism. Tao Te Ching 16
Eternity does not exist apart from true love.
Unification Church. Sun Myung Moon, 8-18-88
Where one sees nothing but the One, hears nothing but the One, knows
nothing but the One--there is the Infinite. Where one sees another, hears
another, knows another--there is the finite. The Infinite is immortal,
the finite is mortal.
It is written, He who has realized eternal Truth does not see death, nor
illness, nor pain; he sees everything as the Self, and obtains all.
Hinduism. Chandogya Upanishad 7.23, 27
Then do I proclaim what the Most Beneficent spoke to me,
The Words to be heeded, which are best for mortals:
Those who shall give hearing and reverence
Shall attain unto perfection and immortality
By the deeds of good spirit of the Lord of Wisdom!
Zoroastrianism. Avesta, Yasna 45.5
The supreme stage of the Soul is free from birth, old age and death; he is
supreme, pure, and devoid of eight karmas; he possesses infinite
knowledge, intuition, bliss, and potency; he is indivisible,
indestructible, and inexhaustible. Besides, he is supersensuous and
unparalleled, is free from obstructions, merit, demerit, and rebirth, and
is eternal, steady, and independent.
Jainism. Kundakunda, Niyamasara 176-77
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Qur'an 98.7-8: Cf. Qur'an 25.75-76, p. 233; 56:10-27, p. 353. Katha
Upanishad 1.3.15: Cf. Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.25, p. 119; Bhagavad
Gita 8.20-21, p. 122; 9.30-31, p. 519. Chandogya Upanishad 7.23, 27: Cf.
Brihadaranyaka Upanishad 4.4.6-7, p. 927. Niyamasara 176-77: In Jainism
there is no pre-existent Supreme Being, but rather the state of Godhood
(Paramatman) which is humanity's goal and highest good.
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There is the nine-portalled lotus
covered under three bands, in which
lives the spirit with the Atman within,
that the Veda-knowers know.
Desireless, serene, immortal, Self-existent,
contented with the essence, lacking nothing, is He.
One has no fear of death who has known Him,
the Atman--serene, ageless, youthful.
Hinduism. Atharva Veda 10.8.43-44
Death is but another phase of the dream that existence can be material.
Nothing can interfere with the harmony of being nor end the existence of
man in Science. Man is the same after as before a bone is broken or the
body guillotined. If man is never to overcome death, why do the
Scriptures say, "The Last enemy that shall be destroyed is death"? The
tenor of the Word shows that we shall obtain the victory over death in
proportion as we overcome sin. The great difficulty lies in ignorance of
what God is. God, Life, Truth, and Love make man undying. Immortal Mind,
governing all, must be acknowledged as supreme in the physical realm,
so-called, as well as in the spiritual.
Christian Science. Science and Health, p. 427
Higher than this is Brahman, the Supreme, the Great.
Hidden in all things, body by body,
The One embracer of the universe--
By knowing him as Lord men become immortal.
I know this mighty Person
Of the color of the sun, beyond darkness.
Only by knowing Him does one pass over death.
There is no other path for going there.
Than whom there is naught else higher,
Than whom there is naught else smaller, naught greater,
The One stands like a tree established in heaven.
By Him, the Person, this whole world is filled.
That which is beyond this world
Is without form and without ill.
They who know That, become immortal;
But others go only to sorrow.
Hinduism. Svetasvatara Upanishad 3.7-10
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Atharva Veda 10.8.43-44: The 'nine-portalled lotus' is the 'city of nine
gates' (Bhagavad Gita 5.13), that is, the body. Cf. Kena Upanishad 1.1-2,
p. 117, Svetasvatara Upanishad 2.12, pp. 824f. On immortality in the Sikh
scriptures, see Ramkali Dakhni Onkar, M.1, p. 776. Svetasvatara Upanishad
3.7-10: Cf. Rig Veda 90.1-4, p. 97. Note the image of the tree--compare
Bhagavad Gita 15.1-3, pp. 382f., and of the Supreme Being likened to the
Sun--see Isha Upanishad 15-16, p. 74.
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Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the
kingdom of God.
Christianity. Bible, Luke 9.60
Can he who was dead, to whom We gave life, and a Light whereby he can walk
among men, be like him who is in the depths of darkness from which he can
never come out?
Islam. Qur'an 6.122
"For the living know that they shall die" (Ecclesiastes 9.5): these are
the righteous who in their death are called living... "but the dead know
nothing": these are the wicked who in their lifetime are called dead.
Judaism. Talmud, Berakot 18ab
Thou bringest forth the living from the dead, and thou bringest forth the
dead from the living.
Islam. Qur'an 3.27
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and
we shall be changed. For this perishable nature must put on the
imperishable, and this mortal nature must put on immortality. When the
perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on the
immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written,
Death is swallowed up in victory.
O Death, where is thy victory?
O Death, where is thy sting?
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be
to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Christianity. Bible, 1 Corinthians 15.52-57
The hand of the Lord was upon me, and he brought me out by the
Spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of the valley; it was
full of bones... and lo, they were very dry. And he said to me, "Son of
man, can these bones live?" And I answered, "O Lord God, thou knowest."
Again he said to me, "Prophesy to these bones, and say to them, O
dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these
bones, Behold, I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. And
I will lay sinews upon you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live. And you
shall know that I am the Lord."
So I prophesied as I was commanded; and as I prophesied, there was
a noise, and behold, a rattling; and the bones came together, bone to its
bone. And as I looked, there were sinews on them, and flesh came upon
them, and skin covered them.... and breath came into them, and they lived,
and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great host.
Then he said to me, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of
Israel. Behold, they say, 'Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost;
we are clean cut off.' Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the
Lord God, Behold, I will open your graves, and raise you from your graves,
O my people, and I will bring you home into the land of Israel.... And I
will put my Spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you in
your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken, and I
have done it, says the Lord."
Judaism and Christianity. Ezekiel 37.1-14
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Luke 9.60: Jesus uses two different meanings for the word 'dead' in this
proverb. The first 'dead' are those that are physically alive but
spiritually dead, in contrast to the true follower of Jesus who shares in
eternal life. Qur'an 6.122: Cf. Hidden Words of Baha'u'llah, Arabic 7, p.
897. Berakot 18ab: Cf. Asa-ki-Var, M.1, p. 456. 1 Corinthians 15.52-57:
The resurrection brings immortality and victory over death only by virtue
of Jesus' victory over death. It is through faith in Jesus that
Christians have confidence in their immortality. Otherwise, they will be
stung by death, as 'the sting of death is sin.' Cf. 1 Corinthians
15.21-22, p. 547; 15.24-26, p. 1116; 2 Corinthians 4.16-5.10, p. 329;
Romans 6.3-11, pp. 854f.; 8.9-17, p. 576.
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Nan-po Tsek'uei said to N Y, "How is it, in spite of your great
age, you have the freshness of a child?"
N Y replied, "Through living in conformity with the Tao, I have not
become exhausted."
"Could I learn this doctrine?" asked Nan-po Tsek'uei.
"You do not have the qualifications. There was Puliang I; he had
the disposition required. I taught him. In three days, he had forgotten
the outer world. Seven more days, he had lost the notion of objects which
surrounded him. In nine more days, he had lost any sense of his own
existence. Then he acquired clear penetration, and with it the science of
the uninterrupted chain of momentary existence. Having acquired this
knowledge, he ceased to distinguish the past from the present and the
future, life from death. He understood that in reality killing does not
take away life, nor does giving birth add to it, that Tao sustains the
being across its endings and becomings. Hence It is justly called the
Fixed Constant, since from It, the Fixed, are derived all changes."
Taoism. Chuang Tzu 6
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Ezekiel 37.1-14: This passage is traditionally understood to be a prophesy
of the resurrection of the dead. In its literal, historical sense it
speaks figuratively of the reconstitution of the nation of Israel after
years of exile in Babylon. Cf. Berakot 15b, Qur'an 41.39, Yakima
Tradition, p. 331. Chuang Tzu 6: On the little child, cf. Tao Te Ching 10,
p. 840; 20, p. 608; 55, p. 231.
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Source material
God's presence in our lives produces peace, purpose and power.
--------------------------
Peace shows itself by the ability to properly relate to God, other persons, ourselves and our world.
Purpose provides understanding of God's desires for our lives.
Power is the ability to do all we were put in this world to accomplish.
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How intimate and personal is your relationship with God?
To some degree this can be determined by how often you sense His presence in your life.
1. Minute - every waking minute.
2. Hourly - frequently during the day.
3. Daily - sometime during each day.
4. Weekly - perhaps associated with religious services.
5. Monthly - occasionally through the year.
6. Yearly - on occasions like Christmas, Easter or the anniversary of a loved one's death.
7. Seldom - at crisis such as death in family or financial reversal.
Are you positive you will live with Him in heaven forever? Suppose you were in an accident. At the gate of heaven you are asked: "Why should you be admitted?" What would you say?
The Bible says: "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
You can have an intimate relationship with God now, and be sure you will live with Him in heaven forever.
The best news you will ever hear is that God loves you and has made it possible for you to have eternal life! This raises a number of questions:
What is eternal life?
How does it express itself?
Why don't more people have it?
How does a person get it?
ETERNAL LIFE IS KNOWING GOD
"This is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3).
In the Bible, God reveals His inner self. He reveals He is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the Almighty Creator of all things.
GOD MADE US IN HIS OWN IMAGE
For this reason, man is a personal, spiritual being with a moral sense of right and wrong, and he has the ability to worship, love and communicate.
Knowing the only True God means having an intimate, personal relationship with Him - not just knowing about Him.
How does eternal life express itself?
ETERNAL LIFE IS EXPRESSED THROUGH LOVING RELATIONSHIPS
The first and great Commandment is:
"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind; and, love your neighbor as yourself" (Luke 10:27).
A person's love for God must show itself in love for people. "Anyone who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen" (I John 4:20). Our ability to have loving relationships has been altered by sin.
SIN IS DISOBEDIENCE
Disobedience is doing what God says is wrong - in act, attitude or thought. "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer" (I John 3:15). "Anyone who looks . . . lustfully has already committed adultery . . in his heart" (Matthew 5:28).
Disobedience is not doing what God says is right. "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins" (James 4:17).
God requires perfection. Jesus said: "Be perfect . . . as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Matthew 5:48).
How does sin alter relationships?
SIN SEPARATES US FROM GOD AND DAMAGES OUR ABILITY TO RELATE TO PEOPLE.
"Your iniquities have separated you from your God" (Isa. 59:2). God must now relate to us as our righteous Judge instead of our loving father.
When we are not rightly related to God, our ability to properly relate to people is damaged. We hurt each other. We especially hurt ourselves. We grieve God by disobeying His laws.
The only answer to this problem is Jesus.
JESUS IS THE MEDIATOR.
"There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men" (I Tim. 2:5-6).
Not only is He true man, He is also true God. The prophet Isaiah, looking forward to His birth 800 years before it happened said: "To us a child is born, to us a son is given . . . and he will be called Mighty God" (Isa. 9:6).
As True God He has equal dignity with God and His payment for man's sin had infinite value. As True Man, He had perfect sympathy with man and can pay for man's sins.
What did He do for us?
HE DID EVERYTHING NECESSARY TO RESTORE RELATIONSHIPS. HE LIVED THE PERFECT LIFE!
The apostle Peter declared, "He committed no sin, and no deceit was
found in His mouth" (I Peter 2:22).
After thirty-three years of living perfectly, what did Jesus do?
JESUS DIED.
"He himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness" (I Peter 2:24).
"He forgave all your sins, and blotted out the charges proved against you . . . He took this list of sins and destroyed it by nailing it to Christ's Cross" (Col. 2:13,14LB).
Then what happened?
HE CAME OUT OF THE GRAVE ALIVE.
Luke declared:
"He showed himself to these men (the Apostles) and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days" (Acts 1:3).
This is the most important and one of the best attested facts of history. Now it is possible to receive eternal life.
Because you receive a restored relationship your mind must change.
CHANGING YOUR MIND IS NOT BEING SORRY FOR GETTING CAUGHT. CHANGING YOUR MIND IS BEING SORRY FOR DOING WRONG, TURNING FROM IT WITH GOD'S HELP AND DESIRING JESUS AS LORD.
"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy" (Proverbs 28:13).
Changing your mind about doing wrong is necessary! God's holy nature will not allow Him to forgive sin without it. But to be sorry for past wrong cannot undo it.
The relationship is restored through Living Trust.
LIVING TRUST IS NOT MERE BLIND BELIEF.
It is not a blind leap in the dark.
It is based on the promises of the Bible that have actually happened in history-the facts that Jesus lived a perfect life, died and then came out of the grave alive.
After Jesus returned from the dead He said to Thomas, "Reach out your hand, and put it into my side; and stop doubting and believe." Thomas answered and said to him, "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:27,28)
LIVING TRUST IS NOT MERE HEAD BELIEF.
Merely knowing about food in the mind will not satisfy hunger. It must be eaten.
Merely knowing about Jesus in the mind is not the same as having an intimate, personal relationship with Him.
LIVING TRUST IS NOT MERE NOW BELIEF.
Jesus taught us to depend on God for needs in the daily life. He urged us to pray, "Give us today our daily bread" (Matthew 6:11). But there is more to life than things that are seen: "What is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal" (II Cor. 4:18).
What then is Living Trust?
LIVING TRUST IS RELYING ON JESUS CHRIST ALONE FOR YOUR ETERNAL LIFE.
The apostle John said, "God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Jesus said: "No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6).
Living trust is not belief without evidence, but it is commitment to Jesus Christ without reservation.
What happens when I trust?
YOU RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE.
God enters into a new intimate personal relationship with you. He provides life that has power. He also provides life that has purpose.
Do you feel this makes sense? Would you like to enter this new relationship with Jesus and receive eternal life now?
This is the most important decision you will ever make in your life.
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BRIEFLY REVIEW what is involved in entering this new relationship with Jesus and receiving ETERNAL LIFE.
ETERNAL LIFE is knowing God, intimately, personally. This shows itself through loving relationships. You seek with God's help to love Him with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself!
This especially shows itself in your relationship to other members of His family. He gathers His family into local churches. He wants you to be a responsible growing member in a local church.
Is this what you want?
SIN alters the ability to have loving relationships. SIN is disobedience. It separates us from God and damages our ability to relate to people.
Do you acknowledge that you have sinned?
JESUS is the only answer to this problem. He is the only mediator. He did everything necessary to restore relationships. He lived the perfect life, died, and came out of the grave alive.
Do you acknowledge that Jesus is the only answer to the problem of sin in your life?
YOUR MIND MUST CHANGE before you receive a restored relationship. This is not being sorry for getting caught. It is being sorry for doing wrong, turning from it with God's help and desiring Jesus as Lord.
Are you willing to turn from whatever is not pleasing to him?
LIVING TRUST restores the relationship with God. Living trust is not mere blind belief, head belief or now belief. Living trust is relying on Jesus Christ alone for your eternal life. Is this what you want?
How do you receive eternal life?
EXPRESS your trust in Christ by sincerely praying the following and God will give you eternal life.
Lord, I have sinned. I am sorry for my sins. With your help I want to turn from my sin. Take control of my life. Help me be a responsible growing member of your family in a local church. Lord, I want eternal life. I want an intimate, personal relationship with you. I want to know for certain that I will live with you in heaven forever. In Jesus name I pray.
"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life" (John 3:16).
God cannot lie! These words are true! On the basis of His promise and your response, do you now have eternal life?
IF someone asks you "do you have an intimate, personal relationship with God?", what would you say? IF you were to depart this world tonight, where would you open your eyes? IF at the gate of heaven you were asked why should you be admitted, how would you reply?
IF you truly trust in Christ alone, at the gate of heaven then . . . the Lord will say to you: "Enter good and faithful servant . . . ."
When you trust Christ, He not only is your Lord and God, He also wants to be your Best Friend. If you truly trust Christ, you will want to do all you can to be His friend. Best Friends is a booklet that will tell you how to grow in your friendship with Jesus.
Source: Best News Booklet
by Archie Parrish
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Online source
On the topic of Eternal Life ~ this post is most appropriate...
Courtesy of The Luminous Blog
1 Corinthians 15: verses 51-52 (New International Version) New International Version (NIV) Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
~~~~~~ 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed—
52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
Skeptics will always need MORE evidence...
So, here:
Scientific Evidence
Afterlife 101
The Lawyer's Take On It
More Scientific Evidence
More Evidence-From Boston!
Afterlife Knowledge
Afterlife Breakthrough Book!
Afterlife Book Excerpt
Plato (dear him, father of the Atlantis legend) regarded the body as the prison of the soul and death as an escape from the bondage of matter...
Socrates departed this life without regret whatsoever...
Cyrano de Bergerac, in his final soliloquy, voiced his belief that he would be joining Socrates, among other luminaries, on the moon... Luminous Souls need a place to hang out, surely, and what better spot than Luna... hmm?
And if you still do not believe...
If you still need evidence...
Check out all the ghost stories
here
There is Life After Death!
Now it is up to YOU to make it
Everlasting Life
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