Dedication

  To our families and close friends:

  Thank you for your help,

  understanding and support.

  David Bell and Dave Griffiths

  Contents

  Dedication

  Acknowledgements

  Preface

  Resurrections

  Yuri

  Fran

  Johan

  Adilah

  Meeting in the Eternal City

  Adilah: Past Injustices

  Johan: New Desires

  Fran: A Lost Opportunity

  Yuri: Dog Eat Dog

  Experiencing the Eternal City

  Johan: Questions and Revelations

  Fran: Anger Is Good

  Exploring the Eternal City

  Yuri: Frustration Mounts

  Adilah: Animals and Laughter

  Jubilee Changeover

  Johan: Enemies?

  Adilah: Friends with Everyone?

  Yuri: Surprising Gifts

  Fran: New Neighbours

  Enjoying the Eternal City

  Johan: Confrontation

  Fran: Trying Harder

  Adilah: Do I Have to Like Them?

  Yuri: Rage and Disgust

  The Second Jubilee Reviewed

  The Third Jubilee

  Adilah Enters the Eternal City

  Johan Enters the Eternal City

  Yuri Enters the Eternal City

  Fran Enters the Eternal City

  Abundant Life in the Eternal City

  Afterword

  Author Profiles

  Copyright

  Acknowledgements

  As in our first book “Emerging from the Rubble”, it is Dave Griffiths who has produced most of the storyline in this new work based on our regular discussions and joint insights. During the course of writing we have been privileged to be in contact with many others with similar beliefs through the wonders of social media and have benefitted from many relevant internet articles and books. We list these resources on our website www.loveaboveallthings.uk.

  We would like to give special thanks to Mary Anketell for editing and proofreading our original draft. Working with Mary has been a wonderful experience, and she has greatly improved the readability and consistency of the chapters. In many places she has suggested alternative sections that capture our thoughts in ways that we struggled to express.

  We are also grateful to the many friends who critiqued sections of this work during its development.

  The cover was selected from the many designs offered by Matt Davies. We were fortunate to have found such a good illustrator.

  Preface

  “In our world full of strangers, estranged from their own past, culture, and country, from their neighbours, friends, and family and from their deepest self, we witness a painful search for a hospitable place where life can be lived without fear and where community can be found.” Henri Nouwen

  Working together, Dave Griffiths and I have had many conversations about the afterlife. We have each experienced the grief of losing loved ones and searched for inner peace about their future and ours. We have chosen to create this story to record our current thoughts in a format that we hope is both entertaining and informative.

  We have described our vision through the experiences of four people from different backgrounds: a soldier killed in a war; a gang leader who dies after a life of crime; an African girl murdered by her captors; and a western housewife who dies surrounded by her family.

  The ideas in this story are offered as suggestions for contemplation. Whilst we believe that it is possible, neither of us would claim that the future will transpire to be exactly as depicted. The story has many elements that will be familiar to those who know the Bible but can be enjoyed by all.

  Dave and I were both raised within Christian families and live in the south of England. Whilst we now reject much that the church taught, we cannot but frame our thoughts using concepts from our upbringing and environment. We have come to recognise that aspects of all faiths and cultures can be helpful and that no doctrine or lifestyle should be considered as the final authority.

  We do not have a definite view about what happens to a person immediately after death. We do, however, believe that at some point everyone will be resurrected into a new body. To simplify the flow of the story we have chosen to say that a person awakes from a sleep-like state when first given their new body.

  In this book we frequently use the term agape love, which may be unfamiliar to some of our readers. Agape (pronounced a-ga-pay) is the Greek word used in the New Testament of the Bible to describe both God’s love for people and the highest possible expression of love in human relationships. In our story agape love describes the love that Eternal Love (the creator, the ground of all being, God) has for everyone. It is actually very difficult to encapsulate the full meaning of such love in words. It may be helpful to think of it as being like a diamond with more facets than can be counted.

  We hold that eventually everyone will love everyone and live an abundant life. If this is to be the future, we accept that the details of how each day of our new lives will be structured is a discussion that will remain ongoing until we each personally experience it. However we feel that the fresh vision presented in this story can bring hope to those with whom it strikes a chord.

  This story is a sequel to our first book “Emerging from the Rubble”. It continues the story of many of the characters introduced in that book. Readers of that book have often asked us what happened next. This book addresses that question and many more.

  We are both convinced that after the period when Jesus returns to this earth (described in “Emerging from the Rubble”) a New Earth will be created. We believe this is the destiny of all of mankind and have formed a view on how it might function. We suggest answers to such questions as: How will it be possible to live with those who have hurt others? Will there be money? What technology will be available? And how do immortal bodies recover from injury? We hope you find our suggestions at least worthy of consideration.

  The objective has been to describe the structure of a future environment that would facilitate each individual reaching maturity without the use of coercion or diktat. Whilst using specific examples to make our points, the precise details of each storyline should not be considered a basis of a doctrine or moral position.

  Now that we have envisioned and described a logical and practical way in which a harmonious life could be achieved for all, our minds are at peace. The future may not be exactly as we have portrayed it. But having constructed what we believe to be a feasible scenario, we have inner assurance that it will be possible for each and every human to eventually live an abundant life.

  Our wish is that you may also achieve such inner peace.

  David Bell and Dave Griffiths

  12 July 2024

  Resurrections

  Johan sensed light around him, like waking from a deep sleep to morning sunshine. Opening his eyes, he remained motionless. Slowly he began to feel his body. He touched his legs with his palms and turned his head from side to side. Was it a dream or had he really been travelling toward a light in a vast black space? The last thing he remembered with any certainty was blowing out a lantern in the dank dugout he shared with Wilhelm and two new recruits.

  Looking around he saw that he was in a living room very similar to the one he had known in his childhood. It was light and airy with large windows overlooking a landscape of rolling hills. The sofa on which he was lying was so comfortable that he felt as though he was floating. Somehow, this place felt just like home, although he was sure he had never been there before.

  To his right were folded clothes. Dry, soft clothes were a distant memory. He felt like a child getting into cosy pyjamas as he put them on.

  Johan wondered if he had been injured. Was he in some sort of hospital? As he tried hard to remember anything about what had happened since snuffing out the lantern, he heard footsteps, and a door to his left opened. A face peered around the door.

  “Johan,” said the face, olive-skinned with thick dark wavy hair and a short beard. It was like an old friend greeting him with affection.

  Johan smiled back, but with some puzzlement. The friendly face continued with a warm smile, “I know, it’s confusing. Come with me, and all will become clear. All is well.”

  Johan followed the man through a short entrance hall into a kitchen.

  This side of the house glowed with a welcoming hue that reminded Johan of firelight. Sitting at a wooden table was a figure that shimmered like a rainbow. Johan could clearly make out the being’s shape and form but other features were hard to define.

  The dark-haired man pulled out a chair from under the table and signalled Johan to take a seat.

  “This is Ruach,” he said.

  The being’s eyes seemed to take in the totality of Johan, both inside and out. Far from feeling self-conscious, Johan felt seen, welcomed and understood. The man placed a steaming mug on the table in front of him.

  “Black coffee, no sugar.”

  Johan looked at the mug and then back at the man.

  “That’s how I like it,” he said, bewildered.

  “You’re probably wondering where you are?”

  Johan took a sip of the coffee. It was hot but didn’t burn his mouth. He looked at the man and nodded, still trying to remember what had happened.

  “My name is Jesus.”

  Johan nearly spat out the coffee he was savouring. Jesus and Ruach chuckle
d, and Johan laughed nervously with them as he composed himself.

  “This is our home, and you are our guest,” Jesus continued.

  “Wh… why am I here?” stuttered Johan.

  “Your time in the Previous Age has ended. In other words, you died.”

  “Dead?” Johan’s eyes opened wide.

  “It was very quick. You had no time to realise,” Ruach reassured him.

  “How?” asked Johan, trying to grasp what was happening.

  “A shell hit your dugout. It killed you and three others,” replied Ruach.

  “What? I had no idea. So, wait, is this … is this it? Am I in Heaven?”

  “Don’t worry, all will become clear,” said Jesus.

  “This is our time to look at your existence so far – your experiences during the Previous Age, what you have learned and where we go from here,” continued Ruach.

  Johan took a deeper breath. “I see,” he said. “So, if I died with the other three, why aren’t they here too? Where’s Wilhelm?”

  “Everyone gets their own time with us,” Jesus replied. “Every person has their own unique journey.”

  “So this is like an appraisal of my life? Wait! Isn’t that what’s called Judgement Day?”

  “We think that sounds a little severe,” said Jesus.

  “I heard that God’s judgement was supposed to be severe.”

  “Sometimes it can appear so,” replied Ruach. “However, this is more like a discussion. Everything we do is because we love each person with unfailing agape love.”

  Johan thought for a moment. Questioning Jesus and Ruach seemed at once both strange and absolutely necessary. Desiring to know as much as possible, he continued.

  “What does unfailing agape love mean?”

  Jesus smiled and looked Johan in the eye. It was unnerving, yet somehow thrilling.

  “It means the highest, purest type of love. Our love for people will not fail to seek the best for them. It comes in many forms to restore and reconcile creation.”

  This sounded rather idealistic to Johan, who had seen too much violence in his short existence to comprehend quite what Jesus meant.

  “Ok, so if you love everyone, does everyone just go to Heaven?”

  Jesus pulled out a chair and sat down at the table. “What do you mean by Heaven?”

  “A place where good people go to be with God after they die,” replied Johan.

  “Well, that would not be our definition,” said Jesus with a smile.

  “What about Hell?” asked Johan nervously.

  “Well, we don’t have any lakes of fire, if that is what you are worried about.”

  That was actually what Johan was worried about, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

  “Which brings us to you, Johan,” said Ruach.

  “Me?” whispered Johan. He bowed his head, suddenly feeling emotional. “I know what I am. I am a soldier – a man of war.”

  “That is not what defines you,” said Jesus firmly. “You could not help where and when you were born. What matters is your heart.”

  Ruach nodded, “The circumstances you found yourself in were ugly, but your heart is beautiful. I saw you giving the last of your water to captive soldiers. I saw you hold your dying captain until he was gone, even though he belittled you every day.”

  Johan began to well up.

  “But, but didn’t you see all the times I failed? I couldn’t save my captain, and I know our army did horrific things. I did things I am ashamed of.”

  “I saw,” said Ruach tenderly. “But I know your heart hated that which was evil.”

  “But I swore an oath to the Fuhrer.”

  “You will get a chance to make new commitments.” Jesus said, reaching across the table and placing a hand on Johan’s wrist. Johan looked up, tears rolling down his cheeks.

  “How can I live a better life? What must I learn to do?” he asked.

  Ruach leaned in towards him, her presence somehow calming.

  “We have a place for you. You will get to explore our agape love without the constraints of the Previous Age. How would you like to help care for some of our children?”

  “Children? There are children here?”

  “Yes, children who die in the Previous Age still get to grow up. They are placed with relatives who have been raised into this age.”

  “My sister!” gasped Johan.

  Jesus and Ruach beamed as Johan realised that he was about to be reunited with his little sister, Gertrude, who had died when she was seven years old.

  *

  Yuri opened his eyes and immediately jumped up. It wasn’t unusual for Yuri to find himself in an alien environment. He must have blacked out, or been drugged and kidnapped. As soon as he had cast his eyes over the room, there was a knock at the door to his left. Yuri spun around, fists balled.

  “Christ!” he yelled with surprise, alarmed that he might be joined by a stranger.

  “That’s right,” chuckled Jesus.

  “Huh?” replied Yuri, confused and coiled like a spring.

  “Why don’t you put your clothes on?” offered Jesus from behind the door.

  Yuri didn’t say anything, but his fists relaxed a little. To Yuri’s right was a rail with some familiar-looking clothes hanging on it. He grabbed the first things that came to hand and pulled them on roughly.

  Striding over to the door, he jerked it open and saw a man leaning up against the wall just outside.

  “Do you like your clothes?” Jesus asked.

  Yuri stayed silent, feeling awkward. His eyes looked the man up and down and he wondered what this stranger wanted.

  “Come through?” beckoned Jesus with an open arm, pointing across a hall to the kitchen.

  “Where’s the boss?” said Yuri curtly. “I want to see your boss.”

  “I don’t have a boss,” Jesus answered gently. “You can meet my friend though. She’ll be along shortly.”

  “What do you want with me?” Yuri felt increasingly aware of how little he knew. If there was one thing he hated, it was not being in control.

  “Come on through,” repeated Jesus.

  “You first,” demanded Yuri.

  Jesus nodded and held the door open.

  Tentatively, Yuri stepped into the kitchen. His eyes furtively searched the room for anything he could use as a weapon, but there were no knives – not even a rolling pin.

  Jesus gestured toward a seat that was pulled out from the wooden kitchen table. It was the kind of table Yuri had spent hours at, hunched over a deck of cards, chain-smoking Marlboro Reds and knocking back vodka.

  “I’ll stand,” insisted Yuri. “Where is this friend of yours?”

  “She’ll be along in a minute,” said Jesus, hardly able to contain an excited smile.

  Jesus turned around and poured out a short drink. He slid the glass along the worktop towards Yuri.

  “Here.”

  Yuri looked at the glass and, not wanting to give away any sign of weakness, slung the shot back and slammed the glass down on the worktop.

  His eyes lit up and he stood up straight.

  Jesus smiled. “We want you to feel welcome here.”

  The door at the back of the kitchen burst open and a shimmering being entered with a large German Shepherd dog.

  Yuri gasped, “Gulag? It… it… can’t be!”

  The dog bounded across the room and began to smother Yuri, who had dropped to his knees.

  “Gulag! You’re alive!” Yuri laughed, shocked yet delighted.

  He looked up at Jesus and the figure who stood next to him, still running his hands over Gulag as the dog repeatedly circled him, tail wagging furiously.

  “How is this possible?” he asked, losing his defensiveness in the wonder of the moment.

  “We raise and restore. It’s what we do. Love endures forever and we know what this means for you both,” Ruach replied, joy radiating from her face.

  “Ok. You have my attention. What do you want?”

  “The only thing we would like is for you to sit with us and talk for a while,” Jesus replied.

  Yuri rose from the floor and sat down in a chair with Gulag at his feet, gazing up at him devotedly.

  “Just let us fill you in,” said Jesus, sitting down at the table.

  Ruach cut some bread and then joined them with offerings of butter and jam.

  “Tuck in if you like.”

  Yuri‘s mouth watered but he defiantly ignored the food.