I can't say I am much of an expert on Spinoza's thoughts about God, but from what I know in the end he may have a more accurate concept of God than orthodox Christianity. Paul wrote what I believe is concept that is foreign to most Christians
20But now is Christ risen from the dead,
and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
21For since by man
came death, by man
came also the resurrection of the dead.
22For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
23But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
24Then
cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
26The last enemy
that shall be destroyed
is death.
27For he hath put all things under his feet. But when he saith, all things are put under
him, it is manifest that he is excepted, which did put all things under him.
28And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him,
that God may be all in all.
Most Christians believe that we are going to remian individual entities for all eternity. But I suspect that Paul might be hinting at something else here. The "eternal" life that Christians think of is in the greek more accurately translated as the life of the ages. An age or eon is a finite period of time. Time is part of creation, not eternity. Time will cease to exist at some point.
According to the passage above written by Paul in the ages to come every man is his own order shall be made alive. But eventually in the ages to come every power authority and rule will be put down and death will be destroyed. (How can death by destroyed if even one single person from history is not alive in Christ?). Once this is all done and all things are put under the rule of Christ, Christ himself will be subjected to God so that "God may be all in all". Is Paul hinting here that everything will return to God and will we no longer exist as seperate distinct entities for eternit? Will we all just be absorbed back into the substance of God himself? Paul also wrote "it is I that no longer live but Christ that lives within me". The ultimate expression of that is that none of us will exist for "eternity" as distinct individuals but we will all return to the substance of God himself.
Just some thoughts...nothing I've worked out to any absolute conclusions yet.
