"BUT UNLESS YOU ARE BORN AGAIN, YOU CANNOT ENTER THE KINGDOM OF GOD"?
(John 3:3)

"BUT PAUL SAID THAT THE DEAD 'SLEEP' UNTIL THEY ARE RESURRECTED"?
(1 Cor. 15)

"SLEEPING" UNTIL THE DAY OF JUDGEMENT?

"Born again" is the traditionalist translators transliteration of the New-Testament-times Greek words: "gennao" and "anothen".

The word: "born" is the English rendition/transliteration by traditionalist translators of the Greek word: "gennao", which can mean "to be born" or metaphorically "to engender, cause to arise"; which is from the word origin: "genos", which can mean: "offspring", "family", "stock".

The word: "again" is the English rendition/transliteration by the traditionalist translators from the Greek word: "anothen", which can mean: "from above", "from a higher place", and is derived from the root: "ano", which can mean: "up", "upwards", "above", "on high", "of the quarters of the heaven".

When a certain understanding of the heavenly spheres and the continuity of life after the demise of the physical body, are expounded within a spiritual philosophy given from the World of Spirit - such as the Greater World spiritual philosophy - one gains a more expanded understanding of spiritual life, in the sense of non-physical life and its interrelationship with physical life.

Thus, one can gain a better understanding of what Jesus was referring to when He said to Nicodemus - who was confused as to how one could enter the womb a second time (John 3:1-7): "I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not understand, how then will you understand if I speak of heavenly things? (John 3:12)"

Many a Literalist will say that one is destined to hell unless one accepts their concept of salvation, which, they say, necessitates being "born again". Of course, great spiritual joy and a knowledge of God's love and His Spirit can come to a person while still in the flesh, but by dying and being born again into a Heavenly Sphere of Light one is free from the once valuable - but temporary - earthly casket and its many restrictions, and then existing in regions of spiritual beauty unknown to the earthly mind, true spiritual happiness is known.

In other words, dying to this material plane and being "born again" in a heavenly sphere is the full import of what Jesus was saying. This earth plane and the taking on of a physical body by the spirit, is for the gaining of experience and to play its part in the gaining of understanding and discrimination between good and evil, so that the freewill can be used in accordance with the power God wishes to bestow as the evolution of the soul progresses - and there is Immortality in front; the earth life is also taken on to gain gifts and spiritual power to enable a deeper and more effective work for God in the Spirit. That is where the real life and the real happiness exists. The restrictions of this physical earth plane cannot hold the true happiness that can only exist in the purer Spirit conditions, it just does not have the capacity to do so.

The Literalist does not see this because he or she thinks that his or her idea of salvation is the only reason for taking on an earth life. They have not understood the heavenly things that Jesus would have gladly taught them if only they could arise above material thinking.

It is true that when one receives an initial spiritual awakening through the power of the Holy Spirit, then one has a renewed spirit, but this is not salvation as the "Born Again" people claim (one must work out ones own salvation Phil.12-18), this is but one small step on the path to God. But when someone has tried their hardest to do what is right and follow the path of duty, and adhere to - and live by - the spiritual principles demonstrated and taught by Jesus the Christ for man to follow, then, undergoing the transition is perhaps the most symbolic and realistic meaning of the term: "being born again".

Those with a limited and restricted outlook of the love of God and His redemptive powers may exclaim something like the following: "But Jesus said that you must be born again. Even if you follow religious observances and no matter how well you lead your life, the single act of being 'born again' is the only reason why we are on this planet. If you are not 'born again' then you will go to hell"! This is a common misconception of the Fundamentalists, and is responsible for turning many seeking souls away from true Christianity. What the Fundamentalists are doing in this case is putting the acceptance and affirmation of a manmade dogmatic metaphysical concept in place of the truth that ritualistic convention and following religious rules is useless if the individual cannot renounce the things of the world which block out and suffocate the things of the Spirit.

It is not a question of accepting a one-time belief and being "born again" but rather actually following Christ and living the Christ Way. If the individual holds fast to things material and aspires to nothing else, then there is no room for, or desire for the sacrificial spirit, which is necessary to allow the Spirit freedom of expression, because the Spirit is neither material nor does it follow religious observances, and It is in Itself a Sacrificial Spirit. How can a sacrificial Spirit be free in one who cannot sacrifice material things? NB: This is a general observation and does not mean that all of those claiming the title of "born again" are materialistic, but it does mean that the Spirit within is either suffocated or released to a greater or lesser degree according to the efforts made to live the Christ principles; and claiming to be "born again" does not excuse one from having to make material sacrifices, nor does such a claim excuse one from having to right what is wrong when one passes into the next state of existence.

God sent His Son to show us the way, not to use this as an excuse for thinking one becomes a saint instantly by a magical transformation. A special blessing of the Holy Spirit is just that, a special blessing of the Holy Spirit; this is not the turning of a spiritless being into one with a spirit. The Spirit has always been within the soul; and the soul is used to acquire and assimilate the necessary experiences to be able to receive and live that life which God desires that soul to have, and this is not achieved instantly. The Kingdom of God is already within, and this does not enter at some stage during the earthly sojourn - it just becomes recognised by the individual with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Neither is it the case that the soul can become perfectly pure after what is claimed to be the "sanctification" upon earth alone, for true sanctification must continue after physical death. Neither is the process of purification limited to only those who claim to be "born again". Any soul living by the principles which were laid down so clearly by Christ can become purified, and this process takes aeons and aeons of time. After all, we are meant, by our Father God, to become like the children He wishes us to be like - and we were made in His Image - and He is God. Becoming fashioned unto the likeness of the Christ in His magnificence and glory (Phil.3:20,21), takes countless changes of condition (sanctification).

The supernatural experience which comes to many of those calling themselves "born again Christians", is one in which they make an incorrect judgement as to the Spirit. They assume that when they have that particular experience, the "Spirit of God" enters in, and establishes them as "born again" and "separated unto God", in contrast to those who do not have this particular experience. They experience an ecstasy which seems to them to be the only reason for being born on earth - to accept a belief in order that they can be "born again" and thus "saved". But all that is happening, is that those many souls who have passed into some of the countless spheres or conditions in operation for their future development and progress, desire to rise into higher planes of spiritual purity.

In order to do this, they must seek to help another out of altruism because this is the law of the Spirit - there is no progress without helping another. Thus, they come back to the earth plane in order to accompany those in the flesh and seek to guide their footsteps into the pathway which the spirit within knows is best in order to achieve the greatest spiritual gain while enchained in the earthly body. These souls uplift those in the earth body, they seek to encourage them, and they grapple with the lesser self of the one still in the body of flesh. They seek to impinge their thoughts upon those in the flesh, and cast what they can of the rays of power they have released according to the degree of their own development. But this guidance and companionship is also happening to others of every race and creed every where on the earth (and in other conditions more or less evolved), not just to those who name themselves: "Born Again Christians".

Sometimes this supernatural occurrence is overpowering and the physical mind can be so impressed with it that nothing else can possibly be the reason for living on earth except to experience it and be "saved". They can then become blinded to the reality of other truths which are of God, and then the denial of God's higher Truth as revealed by the Christ Mission and the gifts associated with it - the gifts of Spirit Communion - comes about. And here the universal warning about abusing the gifts of the Spirit is given again, for there are countless enemies of Christ in these conditions, and many come masquerading as a friend, many without concern for the well-being of the children of the earth. Not all those who are unseen are here with the best intentions. The enemies of Christ thrive on disunity and disruption, and the attitude of superiority with the desire for revenge opens up the channel for them to strike. Under such conditions, one may fail to notice that the enemy has slipped in to cause disharmony - a real sheep in wolves clothing.

In conclusion, being "born again", is not simply starting afresh with a new spiritual outlook - although this is certainly one aspect which can be ascribed to this saying; and it does not mean receiving a one-time instant salvation as the Fundamentalists claim - they see this earthly life as the only life before either an eternal heaven or hell, when in reality this earth life, as invaluable and spiritually priceless as it is, is only a very short period in an exceptionally long life.

Being "born again" - in its truest and highest sense - according to our life on Earth in relation to the Realms of the Spirit, means dying to the physical world and being born into the Bright Spheres of the Spiritual World; indeed one shall never see death who truly keeps Christ's words from the depths of their being: to love God and love ones neighbour. Again, without being restrictive, being "born again" is also applied to fallen souls rising from the dark or twilight planes after an age-long chastisement, and, after great pain and anguish, entering the Bright Spheres of everlasting life and happiness, having made the conscious decision - and acted upon it consistently - to be strong and seek Divine Truth and righteousness. And the Master Christ showed us how this is possible (1 Peter 3:18-20 & 4:6).

"BUT PAUL SAYS THE DEAD 'SLEEP' UNTIL THEY ARE RESURRECTED SO CHRISTIAN SPIRITUALISM IS WRONG!"

One problem for the Literalist to overcome is found in 1 Corinthians 15, where the mention of the resurrection of the dead appears; some believe that the physical body "sleeps" until a "final resurrection". But such a discourse needs to be considered intelligently, basing an interpretation upon the way that the people thought about an Afterlife in those times.

NB: Believers of a "final resurrection" at "the end" often have a belief that the resurrected Christ could only appear in a flesh body. However, this was simply a lowering of His vibrations to those vibrations of the material plane. Christ Jesus was in a spiritually-charged form when He appeared to Mary Magdalene and it would have been dangerous for her to touch Him, but He could also appear in "another form" such as to two disciples (Mark 16:12) at Will; and He could raise His vibrations beyond the spectrum of even clairvoyant sight (Luke 24:31) which would give the appearance of "vanishing"; He also preached to the spirits in prison after death in His spirit (1 Peter 3:18-20 & 4:6). Where does one suppose that Jesus ascended to if He was merely in a physical body - perhaps to a physical star system or something similar on the earth plane? Of course not, He was in a spiritual form when He performed that action!

Concerning 1 Corinthians 15, one must remember that Paul, had had many spiritual experiences including spirit travel (2 Cor. 12:4), trance visions (Acts 22:17), clairvoyant (heavenly light) and clairaudient contact (Acts 9:1-9), among others. He was spiritually aware of so much more now than when he was a Jew bent on persecuting followers of Christ. Now Paul, with all of his understanding of a Spiritual World, had to address a people who still had a firm foundation in current notions of the Afterlife.

There were obviously some teachings going around among the Corinthians concerning the Afterlife and how Christ affected their notions of this - perhaps there was confusion as to how those who had died before Christ could be "resurrected" as they had not been alive when Christ walked the Earth. Paul included a chapter in his letter to explain his understanding of the Christian Afterlife.

The common notion of many Jews was that the "Unseen World" was underground. In the Hebrew, this place was called "Sheol" which became "Hades" when Greek became the common tongue. The souls of the dead went "below the earth" into either one of two conditions. One of these conditions was "Gehenna" into which the unrighteous and unjust went. The other condition was described by a variety of names such as "Paradise", "The Garden of Eden", "Beneath the throne of glory", and "Abraham's Bosom". Into this locality of Hades went the righteous and just at physical death. Here they would be until the "Day of Judgement".

There was a difference in belief between the Sadducees and the Pharisees with regard to an Afterlife. Josephus (a historian born in Jerusalem AD37/38 ) writes: "The Sadducees rob the rewards of the righteous and the just in Hades" because they did not believe in an Afterlife. But the Rabbinical writings show that most Jews entertained a belief in a conscious existence after physical death, and that this conscious existence occurred in that part of Hades which was considered to be pleasant, and which was on an equal footing with the Greek idea of Elysium, and this will have included the final Judgement taught by the Pharisees.

This dual-locality concept was therefore a common trend of thought among the people of Biblical times. Jesus did not alter this idea dramatically, but did point out to the Sadducees that they erred in their beliefs (or lack of them) concerning the Afterlife, using the present tense to state that God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which, to some, is a clear indication that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, were alive in the present, as opposed to being in some long, deep "sleep".

**See near end of this article.
"Sleep" is a word used often in the Bible, but which is a colloquial euphemism, to describe the departed, as some today would say: "passed away".

And into this concept of the Afterlife, was introduced the appearance of the Messiah of the Israelite Scriptures. What did they make of it? Paul had to address them in the terms that they understood. He begins by using terms such as resurrection, and as he unfolds his explanation, he leads them gradually onto the nature of physical bodies and spiritual bodies, and tries to bring their minds to an understanding of their co-existence. He explains that what is sown here in this world is reaped in the next, but he tries to tell them the sowing is happening as they breathe.

The Literalist has generally thought that Paul was talking about a Final Resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15 when he mentions the "first fruits" being Christ. But Paul, in his own inimical way, is explaining that because they preach Christ is "risen" from the dead (and demonstrated the continuity of life) then those who had "fallen asleep" were already "raised", and reinforced this fact by saying that if the "dead" do not rise then what they preach - the risen Christ - is not a fact either: "if the dead rise not, then Christ is not raised". Paul is saying that Christ is "risen", so it would be foolish and absurd to think Christ will rise again from the dead, therefore everybody who was already dead was not "asleep" but in fact "risen" too.

The mention of "first fruits" is used in the same manner as "first born" and was to take the minds of the Corinthians away from thinking about a resurrection at the end of time and back to Christ Who was there from beginning (John 1), the "Son" (Mark 1:1). Paul reasons with their minds, he starts in terms they understand in order to reveal knowledge of spiritual bodies and transitions, he brings to these Corinthians the unfolding of a "mystery" that "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye (1 Cor. 15:51,52)" and that "the last trumpet call" is in fact the spiritual transition for the individual when his earthly life is finally ended, not at the end of the world.

In Paul's explanation he states: "There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body" (1 Cor.15:44). This statement does not imply that there "will be a spiritual body", but categorically states that it already exists: "...and there is a spiritual body". If a future spiritual body was meant by Paul instead of one which co-exists with the physical body in the here-and-now, Paul would certainly have put that into writing as he did with the difference between the present and the future in the well-known statement: "For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face (1 Cor. 13:12)". Clearly, while explaining about the co-existence of the physical and spiritual bodies, Paul wanted to convey that the spiritual body was here right now with the physical body because he remained in the present tense ("Esti - is": present indicative), or he would surely have used the future tense to avoid any doubt.

This is perhaps difficult for fundamental religionists who think only in material terms to understand because of something else Paul said about the spiritual body being raised, but this only means that the already existing spiritual body is fully released at the transition. There is a physical body which co-exists with a spiritual body and the physical body must first die in order for the full release of the spiritual body (it is "quickened"): "Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die (1 Cor.15:36)". "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body (1 Cor.15:44)."

Here and now, the spiritual body is affected every moment of every day; it changes according to thoughts, desires, motives and deeds - it is "sown" via the vehicle of the "natural" body. The spiritual body which co-exists with the physical body, either becomes healthier or less healthy in the spiritual sense on a momentary basis, and will find itself, after physical death (when it is "quickened") in the environment which supports its state of spiritual health. Even in this day and age with many unseen activities taken for granted such as television, radio and the wireless Internet, it is difficult to talk to many people about the co-existence of a physical body with a spiritual body. Spare more than a thought for Paul having to explain this situation to a heavily indoctrinated and uneducated people 2,000 years ago, and in thinking we must give him full deference for his wonderful achievements!

Many naming themselves Christians have thought that the Bible tells about the end of the "world" and they also have a certain concept of the "second coming" in Matthew - but in literal fact this refers to the end of the Mosaic era. The Literalist then associates this with that which Paul is trying to explain to the early Corinthians concerning the Afterlife, and because of his use of words such as "subdue" and "enemies", the Literalistic Fundamentalist assumes this to refer to everybody who is on the Earth at "the end" who does not accept their concept of salvation based upon acceptance of a mental concept (a human blood sacrifice to atone God for the consequences of their sins) and such as these are to be used as a footstool by God (so it is said).

But this is all so misleading. Paul is referring to the things which are most destructive to the heart, mind and soul of mankind, such as self-centred materialistic ambition, the lust for earthly power and the desire to control others, naming "death" as one such "enemy" which is considered a major problem for mankind: "...deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Heb. 2:15).

The God Who is Love does not interfere with the freewill and it is unfortunate that people naming themselves Christians believe and preach about a Being desiring to use His own children as a footstool after having "subdued" their will - the same will (they say) which "failed" to accept an offering of blood sacrifice (which, it should be noted, God declared He did not want) for their instant spiritual perfection enabling them to be instantly translated into the most powerful realms of Divine Purity where only the highest of angels reside. This is a strange, strange spiritual morality indeed, and is based on an ignorance which belongs to a bygone era of heavily indoctrinated people steeped in superstition.

The "end" to which Paul was referring was the Grand Consummation of which he writes about in Ephesians 1:10: "That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him". Paul here is talking of both life after death for the individual and also that time when the great "Aeon of aeons" shall be completed and Christ "shall see the travail of his soul and he shall be satisfied (Isaiah 53:11)".

Jesus gave a spiritual teaching to confirm the existence of two co-existent bodies when He spoke of there being two bodies in the same place, at the same time, and doing the same thing (Luke 17:34-36). Jesus was not referring to two different individuals (at the end of time) as has been assumed both by the Traditionalists over the centuries, and also by those who are "saved" by being "born again" when they enter their so-named "rapture" with their concept of the return of Jesus. In this spiritual teaching, the Master Jesus was referring to the physical body and the spiritual body, which co-exist with each other. One will be taken (the spiritual body), and one shall be left behind, being fit now only to feed carrion birds (the physical body) (Luke 17:37). Woe betide he who calls himself spiritual but who has lived a life of selfishness or riotous excess and neglected spiritual life, for although he may try to guess, he does not know when his time comes, and it has been left too late - the spiritual body is already made!

The truth concerning the natural and spiritual act of being born into another sphere of existence (the transition) has eluded those who think in material terms; they are thinking in physical terms and that is the mistake. The transition is a spiritual act: A soul-body containing the soul, must be disconnected from the physical body by the severing of the spiritual chord (often a "shimmering" silvery colour) - so symbolical of the umbilical chord of physical birth - and enter into the heavenly realms to really be born again - born into a Spiritual World..."If ever the silver chord be loosed...then the dust shall return to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it" (Ecclesiastes 12:6,7).

Thus, the soul enters into the condition to which it is fitted. If the soul is black through having lived a totally evil life, it will pass into black conditions having no colour, just horror and chaos. If the soul is healthy, it will pass into a healthy environment - "He who is holy, let him be holy still; he who is just, let him be just still; he who is unjust, let him be unjust still; and he that is filthy, let him be filthy still" (Rev. 22:11).

**About the word "sleep" used in the Bible:

One must remember that while some Jewish priests, the Sadducees, taught there was nothing after physical death, they were in the minority; whilst the Pharisees taught a conscious non-physical awareness of the soul after physical death until a Day of Judgement, when the physical bodies are re-created and the souls returned to them in order to be judged. Originally, with the Pharisees, there was no final re-creation of physical bodies, just an immortal existence with God, but this dual event was introduced over time.

Add to this, the influence upon the general Jewish populace of Hellenism and Greek eschatology, and one can see that the average Jew at the time of Christ would have a fairly good reason for believing in a continuous conscious existence after physical death, in contradistinction to a literal sleep.

Now, the point to note is this: If the Bible refers to physically dead people being asleep, then how could the Jews have ever held a belief in a conscious existence after physical death? This is where the simplest of explanations comes in - it was their way of saying that a person was physically dead and in the Afterlife. Being "asleep" is used in the same way that one might say: "passed on", or twentieth century British soldiers used the term: "gone west", or death notices in the paper might read: "fell asleep on such a day and now safe in the care of angels in heaven", except the Jews were describing what applied to their eschatology - being asleep was being in the Afterlife.

Jesus appears to allow the Jews to continue thinking that there was a conscious existence after physical death because He used the same terms of reference for this as was spoken to Him. This is in contrast to the Sadducees who maintained that there was no Afterlife, and so He corrected them, stating that God was the God of people who had physically died and simultaneously stating that God was not the God of the dead but of the living - which is declaring that the "worthy" dead are not actually dead but in fact alive with God.

Now, of John 11:23-26 where Jesus is about to call Lazarus back to physical life. It reads like this:
"Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.
Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:
And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?"

So many, over the centuries and even to this day, have confused this issue by assuming that Jesus agreed with Martha's announcement by not saying anything to correct her assumption of a resurrection day at the end of earthly time. But just look at what Jesus does say:

I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.

How can anyone truly not see that Jesus has corrected Martha's statement? He is telling Martha that HE is the Resurrection, not some end-of-time teaching, and anyone who follows Him as He has asked, will live (live spiritually both here and hereafter) even though he should die (whether the death of self or of the flesh); and He reiterates this in the same statement to drive the point home: whoever lives now and believes in Him shall live spiritually and shall never die - never die! Another proclamation of the continuity of life.

The deep and meaningful visions in Revelations use the same terms again as the Jews used, but this is all allegorical. Many things not of this world are constantly revealed, but remember, this is for man on the planet to which the Saviour came in the flesh, and so it applies to the individual life more than anything else - the life of each one - because that is what God is concerned with most of all, His child! - warning about what can happen to each one, individually, at the end of individual life, what awaits one if an evil and selfish life has been lived, and what awaits one who has loved Him and followed His Commandments.

Revelations is not about the end of the world, it is not about some wrathful avenger enjoying a slaughtering spree, it is about the end of the world for each individual on earth at the death of his or her physical body: Christ is the resurrection and the life: Believest thou this?

".for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be (Rev.22:11,12)".

Do they believe on the Christ and His Commandments and will they keep them for His sake and for their own soul's sake? Then they shall not see death! There is no death, our stars go down, to rise upon a fairer shore, and bright in Heaven's jewelled crown, they shine forever more.

Concerning the resurrection of the dead (Luke 20:34-38) , we will leave the last word to Jesus Christ, the Master.

Christ addresses some Sadducees, telling them that their own Scriptures spoke of good people whose physical bodies had lost its life, but who had obtained worthiness (v. 35) while alive. The report given in the Old Testament of the passing of the three mentioned Patriarchs is very much in tune with the transition at the change called death; they, having centuries before "gathered up their feet" into their beds and having given "up the ghost", they were "gathered unto their people" (community, relatives, friends), before the burial of their physical bodies. Christ says that they were really alive, indeed the same as angels (v. 36), because Moses named the Lord as being the God of the living Patriarchs in contradistinction to the dead Patriarchs: "...that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (v. 37)". And to leave no doubt about this issue, Christ carries on to say: "For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living (v. 38)".

To God, all that ever lived are living still. He is their God for ever and ever.

NB: (v.35) The word: "anastasis" means:
1) a raising up, rising;
2) a rising from the dead;
and is rendered "resurrection" by the Translators in this passage.

However, the primary Greek definition of the phrase which the Translators have rendered: "the resurrection from the dead (v. 35)" is "anastasis - ek - nekros", which literally means: "a raising up - out of - one that has breathed his last". Indeed, the spiritual transition (the soul's final departure from the physical body) which has been witnessed by many people since time immemorial.

Tony Bisson