I do believe there is an eternal afterlife. I believe this not only because the God of the Bible says there is and I have chosen to believe in Him and what He says....but I also believe in an afterlife because it's like Corie Henson says: "I have only 2 choices - to believe or not to believe." And choosing to believe does give me something to look forward to...and to keep walking each day towards. I don't know exactly what awaits me on the other side...but I choose to believe that it does exist and that even if it is in a different shape and form...I will continue to exist too.
Yes I can see an advantage in believing to push away any fears of dying, and making this life more bearable if you not happy or having a tough life generally. The problem I have is after looking into the bible and other holy books and religions, none of them made any real sense to me and I couldn't simply believe in any of them for the sake of believing. It's great if you have reached a state of belief and accept whichever religion you have sought out as the truth, but I simply can't unless it is proven to me in some way.
I found it very interesting that people who were clinically pronounced dead, yet came back to life and spoke of their experiences of a life after death....also spoke about how they no longer had any fear of dying because they knew who and what were waiting for them on the other side or afterlife. Choosing to believe by faith has done the same thing for me...there is no more fear of dying for me...only a confident assurance that when I leave this earthly life I will enter into my eternal one. Have you ever read some of these documented cases of life after death?
I have read some accounts, and I firmly believe there is more ... As you, I'm not scared of dying either. I'm very strong in that belief. I feel that I had spiritual support as I stood over my dying husband three years ago ... it was just a wonderful calming feeling.. really hard to put into words.
http://www.near-death.com/science/evidence.html Interesting articles about afterlife experiences, etc.
The day my husband died was to me very surreal and strange. I was sleep deprived because he started the dying process a little after I had done what I had to do in caring for him, meaning emptying all his bodily functions bags, cream on bedsores, all his meds, etc I probably slept an hour and I heard his moaning and that's when it all begin I called hospice and they sent out hospice nurse. Yes, he was dying. She left and I spent the hrs by his side, he wasn't really with it anymore, and going outside for a cigarette. By morning I had many hospice volunteers there And it got a little crazy, I was even laughing and talking to my volunteer friend. I spent some time searching for a catholic priest to come to the house and give him his last rites even though neither of us were really catholic anymore, it's just something I felt I had to do. Finally got one. It was a very long day, he died at 5:23 PM, think the nurse upped his morphine...her shift ended at 6. That day has never left my mind, in detail. One strange thing did happen the day before, he fought getting a hospital bed to the end. But finally had to. When he was put in it he asked me why someone was still there. He said that Joanne, the previous owner of the bed was there. There never was anybody named Joanne in the house and I chalked it up to all his meds. I was going to try and find out who had the bed before he did but thought with privacy laws I wouldn't get the info anyway.
http://beforeitsnews.com/beyond-sci...-at-death-according-to-new-study-2448708.html I saw this the other day...interesting too. I remember reading years ago that someday Science would be able to prove the spiritual side of life does exist and it seems they are getting close to doing just that.
As a Christian, I do believe that there is life after death. However, the Bible does not clearly explain the nature of this life or exactly when it comes about. Are the dead going to rise upon the Second Coming of Christ or do we go to heaven immediately after death? From the biblical account, it is also difficult to determine just what type of existence we will have in heaven. Streets of gold don't do much for me unless I am able to dig them up and spend them somewhere.
@Chrissy Page , your story about the hospital bed reminds me of one about my mother, when she was in the hospital and dying. My dad and I had been sitting with her, and mom was trying to tell me about some Mexican family that was in the basement, and she had been helping to take care of them. It was very real to her. I knew that there was no possibility of any kind of family living in the basement of the hospital, and finally decided that she was going back and forth from this world to someplace else, and somewhere, she was helping the Angels take care of a little Maxican family in some basement, and they needed help . This was also a few hours before she died; since she passed away early the next morning. I think that it is very likely that she is now helping out the Angels on their missions to rescue people , and undoubtedly, enjoying it a lot. She loved helping people.
My husband was a strong believer in supernatural and paranormal happenings and this has kind of reminded me of some stories that he told me and I've forgotten. Maybe one day I'll post some but not today. Even though it's been 12 yrs since he died when I relive some of the things like his death....I just break down and have a good cry and one was enough for today. Not asking for hugs or anything, I am fine. It's just one one of those things.
Sending you <<<HUGS>>>, @Chrissy Page ! I know how hard it had to be for you to talk about losing your husband, and some of our memories always seem to be "right there" like they just happened. Sometime, this is a good thing, and sometimes not; but that is how we are made, I guess. I know cyber hugs are just not the same, but I am imagining myself hugging you (in your Angel garb and all) in my mind; so just imagine me hugging you in your mind. There are some interesting stories about people who have experienced coming back after being proclaimed dead, and although not all of them are probably real, I believe that some of them are. There is even a good case for reincarnation, or at least something along that line, and some amazing articles and stories about people, especially young children, who remember a previous life, and the facts check out. ( I think we might have a thread on that very thing in the paranormal part of the forum). Edgar Cayce, a committed Christian, cited Bible scriptures that he thought pointed to the possibility of reincarnation. I realize that this is not accepted by Christians in general; but since I am not an expert on the Bible, and always reading to learn more, I try to at least keep an open mind to having a better understanding of what the Bible is trying to tell us about things, even when it seems different than what I was raised to believe.
These are questions many Christians end up not being able to come to agreement on. Here's my thoughts on your questions. My take on what the Bible says is found in 1 Thessalonians 4:12-18 13 And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. 15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT My belief is that when we die our earthly bodies lie asleep in the grave, etc. but our spiritual souls go to heaven. When God's timing is right Jesus will come and reunite the souls with their earthly bodies in the grave...when that reuniting happens those bodies will become spiritual or glorified too. And those believers who are still alive on earth will be caught up and their bodies will become spiritual as their souls are too. This is Christ coming for His Bride and I believe this is not the same event as the Second Coming of Christ. We will all ascend with Jesus into Heaven and celebrate the marriage of the Lamb enjoy the marriage supper. Some people refer this as the Rapture. Other references to this can be found in John 14:1-3, and I Corinthians 15:50-53. On the other hand my belief on the Second Coming of Christ is referred to in Revelation 19:11-16. It begins: "Then I saw heaven opened, and a white horse standing there. And the one sitting on the horse was named Faithful and True. For he judges fairly and then goes to war.... The armies of heaven, dressed in pure white linen, followed him on white horses.....On his robe and thigh was written this title King of kings and Lord of lords. When Christ comes back this time it will be to take evil from this earth and we who are His are the army dressed in white linen following Him on white horses. Although we will be in heaven part of the time, we will also be on the new earth assisting Christ in governing it. References to this are found in Revelation 21:9 and 2 Timothy 2:12. It is clear we don't know the whole story of what awaits us on the other side but there is a Scripture that brings me great peace that whatever is unknown to us is wonderful. The Scripture is 1 Corinthians 2:9 which says: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him."
You bring up one of the questions that I have been thinking and reading about, @Babs Hunt , and that is about the army of God who returns with Jesus when he comes back. Most writers seem to think that it will be us, the followers of Jesus who are in his army. However ......the Bible also says ( and you were just referring to it in another topic), that we are to be the Bride of Christ. Traditionally, a bride would NOT be a warrior going into an army battle. So, which are we ? If the Bride (us) is not the army, then who or what is the army ? Maybe, some of God's Angels ? In the Bible, there are places where it talks about Angels and refers to them as stars (would have to look up the reference, you might know it), and the Bible also says that all of the stars will fall to earth in the end times. Maybe that refers to angel/stars coming to earth, which would fit for Angels being the Army, and us being the Bride.