on NDE's and the Resurrection

I read and article on near death experiences the other day that led to the following thoughts on our hope of Resurrection. One of the common features of a NDE is that the individual experiences the sensation of being out of their body prior to entering into another realm where any number of sensations are reported as being experienced. According to biblical anthropology human beings are spiritual physical beings. The union between our physical body and our soul is so complete that it is an unnatural state of existence for the two to ever be separated. One of the many tragedies of death is that upon the cessation of life our soul is separated from our physical body. What is even more fascinating about NDE's is that as soon as the physical body of the person who had clinically died is resuscitated the disembodied soul immediately returns to that body.

In the same way when we die we will all experience a separation of our soul from our physical body. But at the Resurrection our soul will be reunited with our flesh as God breathes new life into that which had died. We cannot stay eternally separated from our physical body because as humans we are created spiritual physical beings and are necessarily dependent upon embodiment for our existence. A soul with out a body is a soul, but it is not a human. In addition the union between our soul and our body is such that without the hope of the future resurrection of our body there is no hope of future existence beyond death. If our bodies are not raised our soul can never be re-embodied and we will cease to exist.

Where God keeps our souls until the Resurrection, and what that state of existence is like I do not know. But because God has raised Christ from the dead I can say with the church that I "long for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come."