If you believe in an afterlife, you have probably pondered on what you would look like. These are my ponderings and my ‘conclusion’.
This is a rather short series since in my sixty years of existence I have only been able to expound on just two ‘amazing’ and ‘spectacular’ theories about things that can only be implied from scripture.
You might call this lazy scholarship, but I like to think that I was hindered in the fact that several good theories had already been proffered, so I had the bad luck of being born many thousands of years after man started contemplating the deeper meanings of Yahweh’s Word.
I also like to think that these two are really, really good and what I lack in quantity, I make up for in quality.
The Ground Rules
I am not going to repeat the preamble I laid out in the last blog, entitled “Theory #1” (great titles, no? It kind of sounds like a Dr. Seuss book . . . “Thing 1 and Thing 2”) – but you should read it so you know what I am trying to do here.
These theories are mental exercises in logic to extend what we know from the written Word to answer questions that are not addressed in Scripture.
I’m not advocating new doctrines nor that any of this is God-Breathed. That is why I don’t quote a lot of scripture in these. The Word is not a lifeless collection of well-meaning anecdotes. We are to read it, study it, meditate on it, contemplate it, . . . . Yahweh Wrote one Book – it is vital you understand what He has Shared with you.
Of course, if you believe anything I have written (or anyone else) without testing it for yourself, then you are in danger of being misled in the most vital aspect of your present existence . . . and your future existence.
Please let me know if you are one of the non-critical believers of anything. My next blog will be on my ownership of a bridge in Brooklyn and how you can be a part owner . . . for a small fee.
Are you tired of my meanderings, yet?
Theory #2 – Our New Bodies will all be 30 Years Old.
Before you young people start crying, “that is SO old!”, let me lay out some ideas to ponder on.
- We can’t be the same age as when we die. It would be very unfair for:
- Children who died in infancy and would not be able to get around paradise on their own or get stuff off of upper shelves without help, or
- Old, infirmed people, who would not be able to get around paradise on their own or get stuff off of upper shelves without help
- Personally, I was in my best physical shape at the age of 37, so seeing 30, again, would be a huge blessing. Most everyone I know that is as ‘ancient’ as me feels the same way.
- After his resurrection, Yeshua is on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24) with two of his disciples – neither of which recognized him. The three spoke of current events as they walked and how these things were foretold in the Scriptures. When they sat down for a meal, they recognized that he was the resurrected Christ. If Yeshua had received the body of a teenager, the disciples would have probably told him, ‘Great impersonation, kid – You should take your act to Vegas’.
Other, more important things, to ponder is the age of adulthood in the Jewish faith.
- Thirteen (13) is when a child became / becomes responsible for following Torah (Bar Mitzvah). Still, they were not able to perform certain rituals or be counted towards quorum in Hebrew assemblies.
- Twenty (20) is when a majority of men were / are considered full adults is every legal way.
- Thirty (30), however, was considered a sign of physical and mental maturity. It is an age when you are ripe for leadership. It is the age that Yeshua began his ministry.
E.W. Bullinger, a prolific writer of study guides in the late 1800s and early 1900s, wrote a guide entitled, Number in Scripture (it is a free pdf on the internet – Number in Scripture). This book is a wonderful read and should be in your permanent library.
Amongst the many definitions and usages of numbers in the Scriptures, he shares that:
- Thirty (30) was the age of Joseph [an example of the Christ] when he became chief magistrate in Egypt – second only to Pharaoh (Genesis 41:46)
- Thirty (30) was the age that David began his reign as king of Israel (2Samuel 5:4)
- Thirty (30) is the product of three (3) [the Biblical number for completeness] and ten (10) [the number denoting ‘divine order’], which represents “the perfection of Divine order, as marking the right ”
Yeshua was a type of Adam (Romans 5:14), but he was not tainted with the sin of Adam because Yahweh was his Father. He now has a new body and will bring about the newness of our bodies once he defeats Satan and restores his Father’s Creation.
Philippians 3:20-21
20 For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: 21 Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
Does it matter whether we are thirty or thirty-three hundred? What matters is that we accept the grace that is freely given by confessing Yeshua as our Lord and Savior and that we believe that Yahweh raised him from the dead (Romans 10:9-10).
It also matters that you read the Word, study it, meditate on it, contemplate it, . . . . Yahweh Wrote one Book – it is vital you understand what He has Shared with you. He is not likely to give you revelation on things He has already revealed.
Challenge yourself, ask questions, and make the Word of God come alive in your heart and in your life. What more could a loving Father ask?