DEATH: Can we avoid it?

We can discuss religion, politics, wealth, progress, wars, and civilizations. But there's one problem before which, sooner or later, everything else loses importance: death. Every human being is born knowing that one day they will die. We can postpone the thought, we can pretend it doesn't concern us, we can fill our lives with commitments and distractions, but in the end the question always remains the same: what happens when the body stops functioning?

What is death according to the Gospels?

Particularly in the Gospel of John, death is referred to with two terms that in most translations are used interchangeably, but which have a profoundly different meaning.

The first term is ἀποθνῄσκω (apothnèskō), meaning biological death, the death of the body. This term is used, for example, to describe the death of Lazarus, the death of Joshua, and the death of other humans. The second term is θάνατος (thánatos), meaning the definitive separation from the ζωή (zoè). And therefore the state of irreversible non-existence.

For John, the "normal" condition of the human race is thanatos (θάνατος) death, even when the body is biologically alive. This means that we are non-existent, appearing for a few years like a flower, living, growing old, and then disappearing altogether. This isn't a deduction, but it says it explicitly. "Whoever hears my word... has passed from death-thanatos (θάνατος) to life (zoè)." (Gospel of John 5:24). So what is thanatos, and how did we end up in it?

Why do humans die?

Thanatos is a state of death from which no human can escape. The term can be translated as Irreversible Death. Humans find themselves in a state of Irreversible Death because humanity has separated itself from the Origin, from the Father. This separation produces Irreversible Death. It is a state of non-existence, which follows the few years lived between birth and biological death.

This happens not because God wills it, but because the source no longer nourishes humans. The Origin does not cause death. We have, in a certain sense, committed mass suicide, refusing to remain connected to the source of our life.

Was death part of the initial plan?

No. The texts do not contain the idea that humans were created to die. It was Yehoshua who said so, stating: "The Devil […] has been a murderer of human beings from the beginning" (John 8:44). By disconnecting humans from the source of Life, the Devil killed not a single human being, but all of humanity. Before this "murder," however, humans were not meant to die like the rest of the animal world. Remember: animals had bios, biological life. Humans had, in addition to bios, also zoe, the Irreversible Life that comes from the Father, because we were his children.

Many scholars agree on this point. The human brain isn't designed to receive information for only 70–80 years: its capacity potentially extends indefinitely. The human body, too, could theoretically renew itself indefinitely. We've discovered that there's a mechanism within cells that, at a certain point, activates and prevents them from renewing themselves. Life without death is already present within us, but this mechanism isn't activated.

How should we view death?

As we've said, John uses two very specific terms to indicate death, with very different meanings. He uses the transliterated term apothnēskō , which indicates biological death, as when someone becomes ill and dies. Then there is the term thanatos , which indicates the definitive separation from life, non-existence. This is the state in which all of humanity finds itself.

Consider an electronic device, like a computer or smartphone. This device can be in two basic states: on or off. When on, it can be used intensively or remain inactive, going into standby mode. Even if it's temporarily inactive, it's still internally powered on.

Likewise, when it's shutting down, it doesn't matter if the screen is active for a few seconds before going dark: those few seconds of activity don't change the reality that the electronic device is programmed to shut down, and it will. Our lives, unfortunately, are comparable only to those few seconds that pass between the command to shut down and when the screen actually turns off. Forever.

What does life and death mean to us then?

Having understood this, we understand that living beings possessing a mind can only be in two different states:

(1) In the zōē aiōnios , the Life for the Aeon, the state of Irreversible Life. It was the original state of beings endowed with a mind.

(2) In Thanatos , the state of Irreversible Death. It is the state in which those who are “disconnected” from the Origin find themselves.

Those in the state of Irreversible Life may pause for a few moments, like a computer that goes into temporary standby mode. Apothnēskō , biological death, may temporarily ensue. But this is entirely secondary. In fact, it is absolutely certain that that living being will resume life exactly where it closed its eyes.

Conversely, those in the state of Irreversible Death perceive only an illusion of life, because a relatively short time elapses between birth and death. In reality, they have been slowly fading away since their first day of life. And at the end of that brief life, they will fade away forever.

Unlike when they were created, all humans today are set to the state of Irreversible Death. This means that, from the moment they are born, they begin to die. Their lifespan is similar to the time that passes in a computer between the moment the command to shut down is given and the actual shutdown.

The switch

Is it possible to pass from the state of Irreversible Death to the state of Irreversible Life? For humans, it's impossible. But in 27 AD, the Principal Agent of Life in the Universe, the Logos, the image of God, came to Earth and lived for about a year and a half in Yehoshua bar Yoseph of Nazareth, in our language Jesus. John says: "and the Logos became flesh," inhabiting the body of Yehoshua not from birth, but from the time he began his mission.

The Chief Agent of Life, therefore, had the power to make the "switch," to set us from the state of Permanent Death to the state of Permanent Life. Did He do it? In John 5:24, Yehoshua said, "Whoever trusts in me has passed from Thanatos to Zoē ," which in John's language means from Irreversible Death to Irreversible Life.

Yehoshua isn't saying he can't die biologically. Rather, he says he has the "right" to live, or to be revived, regardless of what happens to his biological body. This aspect particularly concerns what makes us "like heavenly beings." Therefore, what remains alive, always and in any case, is our mind.

What does this mean for disciples in this time?

For disciples, the transition from Irreversible Death to Irreversible Life means two very simple things. The first is that, if the time has come for all those who are reborn to return to Life, then the disciple will never experience death. If his biological body were to cease, the Celestial Mind would simply separate from his body, which would immediately be transferred into a non-biological, but celestial, body. We'll discuss when this moment begins at a later date.

If we're not yet in that moment, the mind is still separated from the body and transferred to the new one. But in this case, it's not active: it sleeps, waiting to awaken in that new reality.

Revelation also speaks of those who are faithful disciples but who must not be transformed into celestial beings. They will be the first to be resurrected as humans on Earth, immediately after the Final Showdown that is about to occur.

We therefore understand the importance of Yehoshua's message. It's not about changing religion, or being better, or doing or not doing certain things. Understanding what he had to say makes the difference between living an irreversible life or disappearing from reality forever, with no possibility of return.

What will be the fate of the others?

Those whom Yehoshua does not consider his disciples fall definitively into Thanatos upon death. They no longer exist. Yet, on one occasion, Yehoshua said something incredible, to demonstrate how much he loves mankind. He said that the Father had entrusted the resurrection to the Son, without interfering with his plans. The Son, for his part, wanted to create a sort of "unplanned event," something new compared to the original plans.

Yehoshua promises that everyone will come back to life, even those who choose not to follow him. This is a true act of love, because none of the dead humans have a "right to live." This isn't about justice, but an act of profound love. Yehoshua wants to give everyone a second chance.

But their awakening will be very different from that of his disciples. They will have to wait a long time before being awakened. The Archons' dominion over humanity must first end. Humanity must be re-educated and must choose what it wants to do. There will be a new rebellion, but it will last a very short time. This time, all the rebels will be "extinguished," without appeal, without delay. Only then will the humanity that died far from Yehoshua be brought back to life.

What will be the state of those resurrected who were not disciples?

Even if they return to life, those resurrected who were not disciples will still be in a state of Irreversible Death. Therefore, even when they return to life, their lives will be a countdown. They must use that time to demonstrate that they have changed, that they want to become disciples. Otherwise, they will fade away again, this time forever.

So to speak, they will have to decide whether or not to do what you are doing right now. They will have to know, understand, and then decide. So this choice can only be postponed, but no one can ever avoid it. Everyone will have to express their opinion on whether or not to follow the Way of Yehoshua.

How will the dead who are not disciples be resurrected?

We shouldn't think that the dead will come back to life like zombies, nor that they will rise from their graves. In those graves, the atoms of their bodies are already part of animals, plants, and the soil. The dead will come back to life in the most natural way possible: they will be reborn as ordinary children. At a certain point, when they are ready, they will gradually remember who they were and what they were. In this way, they will be themselves in a different time.

Conversely, can you imagine an ancient Mayan soldier resurrecting in a post-technological era like ours? It would be a real culture shock. This way, the resurrected will have plenty of time to adjust to the new reality, completely naturally and without trauma.

You can read other chapters of the book “THE WAY BACK” by clicking on the image below