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Description

"There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." (Matthew 17:2)
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The first example we get of a new immortal body is Jesus. His disciples got to see it first and it was bedazzling! It's a strange concept that is quite unique to Christianity. It is a worldly religion, probably the most worldly. When I was a Buddhist I was taught that we had to be good enough to escape the material world, with no real idea what the 'immaterial' existence would be like other than 'knowing everything'. Ironically this path to knowing everything involved constantly emptying your mind and avoiding the pleasures and joys of this world. And it's easy to see why, because humanity's sense of pleasure and joy has been grievously warped.

But the God of the bible teaches that this world is important, that it wasn't always evil and corrupt, and in fact was designed to be very good! We know this from the brightest flowers to the fluffiest puppies, the warmest hugs to the most triumphant sunrises. This world was designed to sustain itself, to last forever, and so were we. So were our physical bodies. So when Jesus shows his disciples the blueprint for humanity's ultimate form, it helps us to make sense of his plan to restore the grand design of life in this universe. We won't just be a supernatural or spiritual presence that is unable to touch or feel or breathe or eat. We'll be mega-upgraded to sinless bodies that can experience pure pleasures and pure joys in the new kingdom!

Description

"There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light." (Matthew 17:2)
-
The first example we get of a new immortal body is Jesus. His disciples got to see it first and it was bedazzling! It's a strange concept that is quite unique to Christianity. It is a worldly religion, probably the most worldly. When I was a Buddhist I was taught that we had to be good enough to escape the material world, with no real idea what the 'immaterial' existence would be like other than 'knowing everything'. Ironically this path to knowing everything involved constantly emptying your mind and avoiding the pleasures and joys of this world. And it's easy to see why, because humanity's sense of pleasure and joy has been grievously warped.

But the God of the bible teaches that this world is important, that it wasn't always evil and corrupt, and in fact was designed to be very good! We know this from the brightest flowers to the fluffiest puppies, the warmest hugs to the most triumphant sunrises. This world was designed to sustain itself, to last forever, and so were we. So were our physical bodies. So when Jesus shows his disciples the blueprint for humanity's ultimate form, it helps us to make sense of his plan to restore the grand design of life in this universe. We won't just be a supernatural or spiritual presence that is unable to touch or feel or breathe or eat. We'll be mega-upgraded to sinless bodies that can experience pure pleasures and pure joys in the new kingdom!