Hi there, I am just reading through this now and i am aware that you made a comment a while ago. I like that you made a point with Phil 1:21 which sums it all up perfectly..thank you for that. In regard your query, I think the writer was referring at the christians who are more or less mingling with the world and becoming entangled with with earthy things, no rightly dividing soul and Spirit....to live is Christ and to die is gain...is not a reality unless I identified myself with being crucified with the Lord, then all things are passed away and all things are new in the eternal,always renewing for ever. The problem is that by remaining in our old identity we won't face death and we won't see beyond the temporal. We can't live eternal life even right now, unless we suffer the loss of everything which is temporal. I don't know if this helps you at all .. I just felt moved to say this prompted by a recent conversation I had with my wife. We are free to live in the now. Stefano.