Death is not the end. It is a doorway.
That was one of the central themes Rabbi Jason Sobel shared during a recent appearance on the Blurry Creatures podcast, where he explored the meaning of Christ’s death, resurrection and the hope of eternal life.
Sobel recounted a supernatural encounter that transformed the course of his life before he ever opened a New Testament.
“One day I was meditating and my soul began to vibrate and it left my body, went through the ceiling, through the clouds, and the next thing I know I was standing in heaven and there was this king high and lifted up in this glorious light, and I felt the power of God pulsate through every cell of my body,” Sobel said. “It’s a indescribable experience.”
“He told me I was called to serve and then I knew that king was Jesus. I knew nothing about Jesus. No one ever shared with me about Jesus, but I knew that was Jesus.”
Order Jonathan Cahn’s New Book, “The Altar of Pergamon” on Amazon.com!
Later in the discussion, Sobel pointed to the resurrection as the ultimate picture of God’s power to bring life where death appeared to have won.
“The Hebrew word for tomb is kever. And it’s the same word for womb,” he said. “How can tomb and womb be the same word?”
He explained that both serve as gateways into different realities.
“The tomb and the womb are connected because they’re both portals. The tomb is a portal to the afterlife. The womb is a portal to this life.”
“They’re both doors. They’re both portals to realities.”
The empty tomb reveals God’s ability to transform what appears to be an ending into a new beginning.
“The reason why these words are the same is because Jesus is in the business of transforming the tomb into a womb,” Sobel said. “The very thing that seems like it was going to be the end is the very thing that God uses to become the beginning.”
Sobel also connected the resurrection to freedom from fear.
“When Jesus resurrected from the dead it said your fear is as empty as the empty tomb,” he said. “We don’t need to live in fear. Fear is empty. Jesus overcame.”
He closed with an encouragement rooted in the victory of Christ.
“The very thing that seems that’s going to be your end is the very thing that God wants to transform into that new beginning for you,” Sobel said. “So don’t worry. Don’t live in fear. Let’s live by faith. Place it in Jesus because He changes everything.”
The resurrection story declares that death does not have the final word. Jesus does. The empty tomb stands as a testimony that God brings life out of death, hope out of despair and new beginnings out of what appeared finished.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
