Well everyone, that other post was a nice post for the day and now I am adding something off the wall. It is about the mystery of where Jesus was for those three days before he rose from the dead. Here is a time travel theory that he was making his appearances elsewhere in the bible, which include being in the garden with Adam and Eve, wrestling with Jacob, and being in the firey furnace in the book of Daniel. Then maybe he rolled the stone and came back to eat fish with his disciples and coordinate the ascension. It might also create an interesting hierarchy of problems to overcome: actual death, family trauma, and hell. I would agree with that.
I have wondered before if he was somewhere for millions of years during that time and paid the cruel and unsual punishments we all deserve in some kind of jail program, or even in a more literal storyline justice life to endure the exact punishments we deserved. (Think, Nebuchanezzar, not having to be burned alive) And then came back after three days as a way of showing that rising from the dead is a three phase process or something like that. I think what would refute that is that the cross was “sufficient.” And Jesus said “It is finished” before that mysterious three days.
But really I do not know. He said to the thief on the cross, “today you will be with me in paradise.” Well I bet the interpretation that no one would ever say is what if he was saying that guy partook of Adam’s sin and Jesus was headed back to that day in the garden and all of humanity was there in some way as part of that disobedience and Jesus told that thief he was onto his little games. Or what if reincarnation is true in some way and Adam and Eve were the other two people on crosses. And Jesus was between them as the rightful divorce. They were nailed to a tree like they deserved for causing the fall of man.
Wow no one would ever say that but I think at least time travel theories really need to be considered sometimes, as well as reincarnation ideas after Jesus pretty much spelled out that John the Baptist was Elijah. I mean he basically just stated that and then told Nicodemus that people had to be born again. He was careful with it, though, and kept it simple. It is not coincidence that it was said to a pharisee who probably was a theologian. But anyway two posts ago I said something different and said that reincarnation would really be too tricky and uncharacteristic of God. In fact, family resemblance itself could be an indication of how much people don’t repeat lifespans. However, I personally don't think the verse, "it is appointed each man to die once," settles it.
I also think that Presbyterians especially should really make the effort to at least rule out time travel, because they have expressed a belief in God’s total authorship of reality. Like it is a fixed and unalterable play, so if you get to heaven and ask to help out in a war a long time ago, maybe God would send you there and assure you that it is a done deal and already woven into history. One more relevant verse: "the kingdom of heaven is within you."
This post is too long because it is probably full of stuff that is not true. But if we are going to read sci fi with those ideas then maybe we should apply it to other categories of thought, too.
Extra credit: read this post and then go back and read those chapters in Genesis. You can see how lovable "the Lord God" is. And then Deuteronomy, where he lists the things that will happen if we don't obey the law. Is that not a possible list of punishments? It also could cure some fundamentalist focus on excessive fire torture. I mean you really could consider hell and heaven happening in realms that overlap earth. But you can also see how nice "The Lord your God" is, and how sweet. It is Jesus from the New Testament, who cares about people knowing him.
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