(on embracing the “eternal instant” between Life & Death)
Especially when it comes to Heaven & Hell, the Bible is – to say the very least – a most intriguing tome.  Sometimes it is contradictory and often it is confusing … and yet always is it insightful.  As a prime example, consider the following verses from the Gospel of John:
*“He who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God will abide on him.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 3:36)

*“For the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son … I pass judgment on no one.” ~ Jesus Christ (John 5:22 & John 8:15)

 

How is it even remotely possible to reconcile these passages? They are both written by the same author, they are both found in the same book, and they are both supposedly uttered by the same man … and yet they seem quite clearly to directly contradict one another quite undeniably.  When we add in Jesus’ brilliant treatise on God’s perfect Love being given to all without blemish or condition – that we too are to forgive and care for others without any exception whatsoever (see specifically Matthew 5:40-48), then things get even more puzzling … After all, a God who judges no one cannot send anyone His wrath.  Just as clearly, a God would not give all judgment to a Son who then refuses to do any judging (unless “the Son” in this verse doesn’t refer specifically to Jesus … hmmm) … And on top of that, if all of his teachings are indeed authentic, what are we to make of Jesus’ Biblical warnings about Hell & damnation & the torment due to all “sinners” (warnings almost exclusively found in the Gospel of Matthew)?
Some Christians attempt to reconcile this conundrum by stating that it is somehow “sinners” themselves who openly abandon God’s grace and thereby consciously choose to burn for eternity in Revelation’s “unquenchable fire”, and yet such a position is simply not tenable, as even the most radical of masochists would never willingly opt for such a fate.
And besides, if God truly is all-potent – and if He truly did create the entire Universe, then He also created the system of deliverance that by its very nature demands that billions of fallible humans continue to make such an ill-informed choice.  As such, at the very least by indirect omission – at the very least by knowing ahead of time that such poor choices will be made and then doing nothing to stop them (much less soften their overly harsh consequences once they are ultimately chosen), such a God is directly implicated as a deity who does indeed unfairly judge & who does indeed unjustly condemn.

So what are we to make of all this?

Well, for Christians & non-Christians alike, we are essentially left with two primary alternatives: either the Bible fundamentally contradicts itself (freeing each of us to choose which interpretation we happen to like best), or – maybe Jesus was talking about something else when he mentioned “Hell”.  Maybe he was warning us about a very real psychological phenomenon that visits every single sentient being in the final moments of his or her life. Considering the gravity of the consequences if the latter option proves to be true, it would be worthwhile for each of you to earnestly ponder the explanation that follows …
*For starters, realize that time is not an objective essence; that it cannot be perceived consistently, but rather is repeatedly reconstructed by the particular brain perceiving it.  In essence, time doesn’t make us, we make time – literally.
*It has also been established that different conscious beings perceive the passage of time quite differently, and even that the same conscious being will often perceive an identical span of time quite differently as well, depending upon one’s internal response to that moment’s surrounding circumstances. Albert Einstein summed this Truth up quite well when he jokingly noted that, “When you sit with a nice girl for two hours, you think it’s only a minute, and yet when you sit on a hot stove for only one minute, you think it’s two hours.”
*And here’s the rub: when taking this all into account, it becomes quite probable that this “time stretching” phenomenon becomes acutely crystallized during a person’s last moment of consciousness … You see, in the moment that the body-mind ceases to function, there is nothing left for us humans to use to measure the passage of time.  As such, while this “final breath” moment may seem like but a split second to those witnessing that “ultimate transition”, for the one doing the transitioning, this last moment of consciousness stretches smoothly yet steadily into what seems like – and therefore essentially becomes – eternity.

Now I’m not saying that this final moment actually becomes eternity, of course, and yet I am postulating that this last moment is perceived to be an almost eternal one – that it literally feels like forever.

And this dramatic slowing of time is quite critical to the one experiencing it, for this “eternal instant” allows us all to literally “reap what we have sown” during the course of our lives – and it allows us to do so most vividly …

 

 

*For those who have lived lives primarily of active, self-sacrificial LOVE for others, such an “eternal moment” is perceived as pure Bliss – a soft & steady shower of Peace & Gratitude & Joy.

*And for those who have chosen to primarily live lives steeped in satisfying their own desires, rationalizing their own aggressions, justifying their own condemnations &/or cowering from their own fears, then this final moment truly becomes “the wrath of God” – it truly becomes a living Hell.   For in this very long instant these individuals will realize what the priceless Gift of Life was truly all about; namely, that we are here to Give and not to receive; that we are here to Serve and not to be served; that we are here to Care and not to condemn.

 

And it is in this moment that these people will realize that they have squandered this Gift … & they will realize that there is nothing more that they can do about it.

And yet, how fortunate it is for us all that none of us are required to suffer such an awful fate!  And how brilliant it is that we – each & every one of us – can choose today to turn our lives around; that we can begin today to live for others as opposed to merely for ourselves!
How wonderful it is that we can choose to be inspired by the admonishments of Jesus Christ (indeed, by the more gentle teachings of the founders of almost all the world’s religions) – namely, that we can all allow ourselves to be encouraged (in-Couraged) to awaken to the soft & pure interconnection we share with others, and then to act accordingly thereafter.
 “Repent*, for the Kingdom of Heaven is already at hand.”

~ Jesus Christ (in Matthew 4:17)

 

Jesus also repeatedly emphasized during his ministry that our time is short; that our own death – our own personal Day of Judgment – will come unexpectedly “like a thief in the night”; that we must prepare for such an arrival as though it were coming tomorrow;

… and that we must live consciously as if it is arriving today.

 

 

Amen … Let it be so.

“And those who have done good
come out to the resurrection of life;
while those who have done evil,
to the resurrection of judgment. ”
~ Jesus Christ (in John 5:29)

“Fear not, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom. ”~ Jesus Christ (in Luke 12:32)
 

 
*Please NOTE that the Biblical word translated into English as “repent” in this verse comes from the Greek word “metanoia”, which literally means “a full shift of mind & heart” – or in more practical terms: a radical & purposeful alteration of one’s inner being that comes via purposefully & radically altering the intention (from selfish to selfless) behind one’s behaviors.

Filed under: Preserving Paradise by Scaughdt