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Waking up again, for the final time, on Planet Earth

Tim Bragg
Tim Bragg
Sep 9, 2018 · 4 min read

I watched a short documentary about life after death which spoke about the Resurrection. In fact that became the focus of the film. The ideas of the Resurrection were taken from the Bible. Rather than humans having souls and/or going to heaven, apparently, we will be resurrected on this very earth at a certain time in the future. And that was an interesting side point — because there was a constant reference to ‘the future’ but of course someone dying and apparently having no consciousness, would, when ‘waking up’ at the resurrection, be like us waking from a seemingly dream-less sleep.
As I recall, the documentary was about the moment immediately after we die. And that moment we would have no consciousness — as if in a deep sleep (or coma). Naturally for the dead person, as I have already said, they would die and wake as if instantaneously — wouldn’t they? Well this is all quite interesting in that it purports to explain the true nature of what happens to us from a Christian point of view. I wasn’t expecting this slant but stayed with the documentary. I think I recall reading about a form of this resurrection on earth but with a certain number of folk going to paradise — possibly Calvinism.
There were some frustrating moments — notably what exactly was happening to us bodily (and our mind) during the non-conscious state. What happens to those who have been cremated? And, frankly, billions of people being resurrected at the same time on earth strikes me as being somewhat of a nightmare. Now some informed folk might be able to put me right here — and I’d be interested and grateful.
Now it seemed — from the short documentary — that we would rise with bodies (in what state?) and live under God’s rule on earth. But I can only presume that we wouldn’t be exactly as were were on earth pre-death. This might sound trite but I wonder about the state and size of the earth (but I guess an all-powerful being can deal with that); would the earth have flora and fauna? What would we requite to ‘live’ on this earth? How would all we humans from across the ages communicate with each other? Would some remain dead and never be resurrected?
I am presuming we would not be subject to the wants and desires of pre-death/resurrection. With potentially billions of us rising then the planet wouldn’t stand a chance — and the wildlife and animals neither! If some of us remain dead, then why? If there was a kind of judgement (which, again, I presume) then where would the ‘cut-off’ be. Would it requite some heinous act for us to remain ‘at sleep’? If it were the sum of our actions would 50.001% be okay (resurrection) and 49.999% not (annihilation)? Truly I’m not being facetious and I can imagine the cries of — it’s beyond our ken (knowledge) and that these things must remain veiled. But if we HAVE been told certain things about post-death then surely it’s in order to question/imagine them?
Using my imagination and being allowed to create here — we could have an enlarged earth with its beautiful, diverse Nature…where we can live without food. We can live without fear and pain. The lamb lying down with the lion (but would the lamb be a lamb and the lion a lion?). Where the weather is such that perhaps we don’t need to build shelters and thus trees and plants are saved from chopping and cutting. Which of course immediately reminds me that we’d have to have something to chop with if shelters WERE necessary…hmmm…you see I can go with this if we are changed from the ordinary bodily state into something much more ‘spirit like’. And I get that this world we live in NOW is created by us — we perceive the world we live in and we perceive ourselves. It is WE that collapse those light/photon particles seemingly into the world we observe and within which we exist!
Okay I’m almost overstepping the boundaries of my knowledge — BUT — we experience everything INSIDE of us even if the source of the experience appears OUTSIDE of us. Yes, when we touch something we feel that something in our fingers but isn’t it REALLY our brain feeling? And of course when I say our brain, well it isn’t the brain feeling as such but our idea of our own consciousness and its reality — our mind.
Where DO we FEEL exactly? Where do we SEE exactly? And so on…We don’t objectify our feeling by saying — yes, my brain finds that touch very soothing. It is US the ‘I’ that experiences all the various senses. (And yet these senses arrive at different times to our consciousness — thus the brain must be holding and packaging them to deliver into our conscious mind as if it is NOW!).
I think I’ll stop. Will this resurrected experience be ‘more of the same’ or something totally and wonderfully different for us? Or is this the correct interpretation of Christian thought — or is it even plausible? I’m really not sure about this from my current perspective. Consider this short essay tangential…unless any of you can put me right of course. I welcome any response.

Part One of these ponderings on the ‘after-life’:
https://medium.com/@tahbragg/a-glass-of-cordial-the-first-problem-of-time-96ad09e55bb8

Tim’s latest book is ‘Lyrics to Live by: Keys to Self-Help; Notes for a Better Life’
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lyrics-Live-Self-Help-Notes-Better/dp/1916424821/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536487247&sr=8-1&keywords=lyrics+to+live+by%5C

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1916424821?pf_rd_p=d1f45e03-8b73-4c9a-9beb-4819111bef9a&pf_rd_r=2CKA5XGS1C56622Q3CE0

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