Jesus said, “The heavens and the earth will be rolled up in your presence. And the one who lives from the living one will not see death.” Does not Jesus say, “Whoever finds himself is superior to the world”?
Is it apocalyptic horror or apocalyptic delight that I will experience at the hour of my departing from this world? Bear in mind that the word apocalypse means “revelation.” It all depends upon that with which I have identified myself and from which I have lived my life. At the time of death, in the experience of dying, during one stage apocalyptic visions arise in consciousness of the heavens and earth being destroyed and devoured by fire, and for the individual, it is as though the whole world is passing away. In that one’s Nefesh is departing the world, for oneself the world is actually ceasing to exist. In death, the world one has known no longer exists for one’s soul. If one is attached to anything of this world, or one’s self-identity is based only on things of this world, then such a vision could only be a dread and horrible thing. Yet for one who is not attached to this world or anything in it, that same vision could be a blissful experience of liberation. It would all depend on one’s point of view, whether founded on ignorance or on the enlightenment experience of one’s Neshamah (Divine nature).
I cannot say what my experience in the hour of my death will be. I do not know, any more than I know when that hour will come for me, but I can labor now to dissolve my self-identity with name and form and things of the world and to generate a new self-identity with my Neshamah (bornless Divine nature) and the Christ-Spirit. I can engage in spiritual practice to develop a continuity of consciousness throughout all states of consciousness in my present experience. In other words, consciously living in Christ, I can prepare myself to consciously die in Christ-consciousness. If I die in Christ while I am alive, then death will not be death to me, but rather a transition to a higher plane of existence that is experienced as an awakening and liberation. It is this possibility the Master is pointing out, as he often does in his teachings. If we come to understand the deeper levels of the mystery of crucifixion, we will realize that death never existed, but rather that what we call death is a divine revelation—the revelation of the Divine presence and power of God within and beyond us. I would have to say that this is good news, considering how deeply we dread death! Praise the Lord for the divine revelation!