Behind the Veil

Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed – in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. – I Corinthians 15:51-52

My mother once lamented that after a certain age, “it’s patch-patch-patch.” It does seem sometimes that the moment one problem is dealt with, another one crops up. I no longer wonder what old people do all day – they go to doctors, mostly “specialists.” They take supplements, do physical therapy, and research the latest treatment for whatever is ailing them on any given day. Not fun.

But I’m also spending my time reading, discussing, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture, and my thoughts often turn to the glorious future we (Christ-followers) have been promised. I look forward to having a new body, one without aches, pains, weakness, and sickness, that doesn’t get stressed and struggle to sleep. (Do people even sleep in heaven?)

Speaking of sleep, these thoughts have even entered my dreams.

Recently I dreamt I was walking on a city sidewalk, when suddenly I began to rise into the air. Looking around, I saw other people being raised up, too! It wasn’t a violent whoosh, like being sucked up by a giant vacuum cleaner, or slowly floating, like helium balloons. It was more like going up in an elevator – an invisible elevator.

As I looked around, I caught a glimpse of a familiar face reflected in the windows of one of the buildings. It was someone I hadn’t seen in many years …

It was ME – a twenty-year-old me! I only caught a momentary glimpse, but it was enough to thrill me – That person still exists! When I woke up, I concluded that I had dreamt about the Rapture, and that the moment my feet left the sidewalk, I had already received my new body.

A similar theme popped up in another dream, after learning that one of my high school classmates, Audrey – “Audie” – had passed away.

This time I was coming into a room where our class was gathered. The first person I saw was Audie! Startled, I wondered if the news I had received had been a mistake. Or was this a dream? I was seeing her so clearly that I asked, “This is real, isn’t it?” She just smiled at me mischievously, the way she used to in high school. In fact, she looked just the same as when we were in high school – dark brown hair, rosy cheeks, wearing a bright red t-shirt. She sure didn’t look like a ghost. I hugged her, she hugged me back. She sure didn’t feel like a ghost.

Next to Audie was a very tall, slender, elegant-looking woman, with white (or platinum blonde) hair and a silvery blue, shimmering dress. She had a slight smile on her face, and, like Audie, seemed just to be enjoying watching the party. I wondered why no one else was as excited and amazed as I was to see their classmate. – Was I the only one who saw her?

Then I noticed that the rest of the scene looked like a grainy old black and white movie.

In other words, Audie and her companion were more real than the rest of us.

“I suppose I should ask you what it’s like on the other side …” I thought out loud. The two just looked at each other and smiled, and I knew I wasn’t going to get any information out of them.

I don’t look to dreams for guidance. At best, they confirm what Scripture says. If my interpretation of a dream contradicts the Word of God, that dream should be ignored unless and until God gives me a better interpretation. But to me, these two dreams confirm what the Scripture from I Corinthians says – We will be changed, and when we are in our new bodies, we won’t be shadows or ghosts. We will be solid, living, breathing, hugging. Real – more real than we are now.

Yesterday I turned (gulp!) 72. If I had asked the much younger me what I expected life to be like at 72, I don’t think I would have imagined its being this interesting, exciting, and fun. Still, this body has its limitations, and I’m comforted knowing there are better things to come.

As I was getting out my Bible, I was thinking about how some have called it “God’s love letter to us.” With that in mind, I read from Song of Solomon. As I was reading chapter 4, the words of the Lover to his Beloved: “How beautiful you are, my darling! Oh, how beautiful! Your eyes behind your veil are like doves …” The word “veil” caught my attention. What follows is a lavish description of the woman the King’s beloved. Verse 3 repeats the phrase, “behind your veil.” In verse 7 the Lover declares, “All beautiful you are, my darling; there is no flaw in you.”

The Bible calls the Church “the Bride of Christ,” and describes a divine wedding that will take place at the end of the age. On that day the veil will be lifted, and as we behold Him face to face, we will be radiant, flawless.

So, if, like me, you feel like your veil has gotten a little rumpled lately, and the thought of being “flawless” makes you laugh (or cry), take heart. One day (maybe very soon) the veil of this earthly existence will be lifted, and we will be in our new bodies, free from everything that corrupts. Like the beauty that captured the heart of King Solomon – only better! – we will be the all-beautiful, flawless Bride of Christ.

But I’m guessing we won’t be looking at ourselves or one another. On that day we’ll only have eyes for our Bridegroom.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, as the world clings hopelessly to health, strength, youth, and beauty, all of which are fading away, we thank You that You have promised us new life in Your forever Kingdom, if we just trust in You. Help us to keep divine perspective as we await Your return for Your Bride. In Your name we pray. Amen.