Perhaps the greatest question of faith is – “what lies beyond death’s door?”
Whether a person has a strong faith or none, that question applies to all. Different denominations or even different beliefs share that same question. What is it like after death? What will I see or feel? Will I be reunited with loved ones who have gone before? Will I continue to exist at all?
Certainly the Bible provides some hints, but just that – hints. We need to remember that the Bible was written in the language of the time and using examples that would be familiar. Even if we accept that the texts of the Bible were inspired, the translation of that inspiration needed to be in a language that readers would understand. The report that heaven contains “many mansions,” and that the streets are paved with gold creates the image that would appeal to a human being concerned about that uncertain future, but ring a bit hollow when tested against contemporary logic. Would a spirit-being require a mansion? Would a spirit-being require a street, let alone a street of gold?
The reality is that these images are in the form that we, as human beings, can identify with. The truth is something far beyond our ability to comprehend because we don’t have the background of experience to compare. There’s an old expression that fits this scenario perfectly – “there’s more than meets the eye.”
Fortunately, current technology gives us access to additional examples that provide more insight into the realities of the realm of existence after physical death. Most commonly referred to as NDE (near death experience), these episodes are strong evidence that the human personality or spirit continues to exist following physical death. One critical benchmark of these reports is the fact that the person reporting this experience has no agenda. In fact, many of those making such claims would prefer not to be publically acknowledged. The second critical benchmark is that, having had such an experience, they no longer fear death because they claim to know for a certainty what lies beyond death’s door.
The Bible and traditional discussions about heaven would have us believe that heaven is just another world with conditions that mimic the physical world that we experience. Those who have experienced death and a return to life report sensations that exceed our earthly experiences such as a bright light or colors that don’t exist in the physical world. Some report landscapes of serene beauty. Some report different landscapes. Some report meeting deceased loved ones, dressed in familiar garb. In short, people seem to experience what means the most to them. It seems that “heaven” is, at least, partially defined by the individual’s interpretation.
The bottom line is that the afterlife, or heaven, is not so much a physical space as it is a dimension of spirit energy. A large part of our struggle to imagine the afterlife is simply that we don’t have words in our vocabulary to describe a spiritual realm. If we reflect on it, we would recognize that all the words in our vocabulary are connected to some type of image or sensation. Lacking that connection, we are handicapped in our efforts to grasp the concept of a realm where our spirit exists, not in a physical form, but as a free-form energy.
We keep trying to imagine the “where” of the afterlife. The problem is that “where” is a feeble substitute for that missing word from our vocabulary. Perhaps we will never know the correct description until we arrive.