They are sleeping.

Does Jesus lie? Does Jesus use metaphor when he does not claim to be using it, which would be an intentional misleading? Does Jesus repeat the same misleading metaphor without ever claiming to be speaking in metaphor?

Matthew 9:24
he said, “Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep.” But they laughed at him.

Mark 5:39
He went in and said to them, “Why all this commotion and wailing? The child is not dead but asleep.”

Luke 8:52
Meanwhile, all the people were wailing and mourning for her. “Stop wailing,” Jesus said. “She is not dead but asleep.”

John 11:11
After he had said this, he went on to tell them, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I am going there to wake him up."

In each gospel Jesus tells the crowd that the individuals are asleep, before resurrecting them. It seems to me more likely that we do not understand the state of death, rather than that Jesus intentionally misled people, or that he accidentally used the same metaphor without saying he was speaking metaphorically on these separate occasions. You might find this absurd, you would not be alone, in fact the crowd laughed at him; they laughed at Jesus, for his words. But if you consider that at the resurrection we will return to consciousness, who is to say this is not similar to waking up? In fact, who is to say they have greater knowledge of the matter than one who, as a timeless entity, already knew the realm of death despite not having died and been resurrected yet in our timeline (unlike the crowds that had gathered or the readers of this blog presumably). Who can say these words are false or flowery language, that we should not believe Jesus in saying that death, at a minimum in cases like these- but more possibly in all cases than in none- is the same as being asleep, and so resurrection is the same as waking up?

The question I then have is regarding dreams. My assumption is that the dead would dream. This would be quite similar to my assumption of what happened in Genesis when God made Eve from Adam and he put Adam into a deep sleep- Adam dreamed and the decisions made in his dream helped lead to the perfect partner in Eve, the soulmating process, presumably. I acknowledge this is just an assumption, and for most of you it may seem meaningless to even consider it given all the dreamers in question are dead from our perspective anyway, but I have verification that I am a dreamwalker, that I have shared dreams with others, and so the question is of particular interest to me.

I told my father on his deathbed that he should look for me in his dreams. I told him that I believed he would have dreams and that if he saw me he should try to notify me, because I would end up recognizing him and we would dream amazing things together. This is not something he would have ever considered in life, a conservative man, but even though he still had the strength to talk and express with his face, his face reflected awe and a quiet agreement, like I had read his mind somehow, rather than disagreeing that the notion was even possible. It truly struck me as though he had already started seeing these dreams but had dismissed them until I explained my gift. He told my uncle, I believe after that point, that he wished he had the strength to continue for a while and write everything down, because it would be unbelievable. I believe he saw what I am seeing now, blessed with just enough of a foresight to provide a clue or two without having the time or strength to give anything specific away, because in dealing with time travel such good natured hints can alter events completely. 

I have seen him in dreams, some very important dreams, over a dozen times since his death, far more than during his life. This did not really start until years later, and I remember one dream where I truly surprised him, like I had entered his dim dream world and he was shocked that my plan had actually worked, a plan he seemed to have nearly forgotten as he went about a routine I assume most fall into in these places, and that it was going to work at large. In many other dreams we partner up on the Apocalypse, finding my soulmate, or other world altering endeavors, but they each feel like we are partnered in shared realms, rather than explicitly his, or even explicitly mine (although identifying when we are in mine is harder to say). I have even dreamt with him in an alternate timeline altogether, where he was still alive and I basically possessed the version of myself there (for all I know an alternate version of him experienced these as "awake"). He realized quickly I was another version of his son, rather than his flesh and blood son directly. We were able to communicate between worlds that night, and compare notes on what may end up happening for each realm. He is the one I dream with second most out of anyone, and almost exclusively after he died. 

From my perspective this is obvious: the dead dream until their resurrection in one form or another. Maybe these are places like purgatory or Hades or paradise, partially based on what we expect to have happen, but also based on other factors, just like the dreams we have at the end of each day they are influenced by the events preceding them. Maybe when a dreamwalker invites you to their dreams, even if you do not say yes, you have the chance to accept or decline again somewhere along the way when you happen across each other's paths. 

It is a most interesting realization for me, Jesus repeatedly claiming those we saw him resurrect were sleeping rather than dead. How easily we assume metaphor when something is inexplicable. In fact even when the action is inexplicable but is accomplished (a miracle), and the actor explains directly what has happened, we still assume metaphor because the process is incomprehensible. This is not to discount the miracle at all, I do not believe another could have woken them up without Jesus' power used, but this would mean that dreams are housed and experienced somewhere outside of strictly the brain as well. I choose to believe Jesus' actions and words. Death is akin to sleep and so those we would call dead likely dream as they wait for the resurrection. This means plenty of opportunity, like with Adam and Eve, for motivations to be tested, hearts to be softened, and redemption and forgiveness to be had before the final trial, which seems a far cry more effective and potentially kind than simply having one day you die and the next (some time later in this timeline) you are resurrected for a final judgement.

6/21/22 Update: It is interesting to me that with Lazarus, of the group of resurrections, when pressed by his disciples Jesus did add that he was dead.

John 11:12-15
His disciples replied, “Lord, if he sleeps, he will get better.” Jesus had been speaking of his death, but his disciples thought he meant natural sleep.

So then he told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.”

This is interesting because it seems that saying "they are asleep" must ease out somehow improve the resurrection, and as Jesus would not lie, must also be accurate. This verse does draw some distinction though, albeit without providing specifics, between "natural sleep" and the sleep one must experience when "dead." 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Step by Step On The Open Ocean

(W)rest Control

Verdict