Near Death Experiences

Years ago as a Gospel messenger out on the streets of my community I was asked from time to time to give thoughts regarding those claiming to have died and gone to heaven or hell, then came back again. “I’ve just read a book about this woman who had a near death experience; fascinating!” they’d say. “Sounds like heaven is a lovely place.” Or, “Sounds like there really could be such a place as hell.” A couple of years earlier I had made it my goal to read and study only the Bible, plus any Christian books that would help achieve that goal. I believed then as I do today, that the Bible will give me all the answers I need on any topic, including near death experiences.

Back in those days, there was no Internet or You Tube to view five and ten minute testimonies on this topic. I’m glad for that, otherwise I might have been tempted to spend more time viewing those and less time reading and studying the Bible. “What did they say about the Lord Jesus Christ?” That was/is always my standard question when talking with people reading about near death experiences of entering heaven. It has always been the perfect opportunity to share with them the biblical Jesus Christ and His Gospel of mercy, repentance, forgiveness and eternal life. Often their response back then was, “nothing” or “I don’t know” or “they spoke about God and angels, but not Jesus” or simply, “the sense of love was overwhelming.”

Click into You Tube today and you’ll find all sorts of people giving account of their near death experience. When viewing, ask yourself, “What do they say about Jesus?” If you discover your responses are similar to those above, you can back it in, that person has not experienced heaven. Why the emphasis on Jesus? Why not simply, God? Jesus gives us the definitive answer. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me John 14:6. Heaven is a holy place Psalm 20:6; we can’t get there without Jesus. God is a holy God 1 Peter 1:16; we can’t get near Him without Jesus. Without holiness no one will see God Hebrews 12:14; without Jesus no one can be made holy.

I don’t doubt their near death experience, but based on the above Bible declarations, I reject their claim of encountering God, or His angels. When Jesus is not Central in any encounter, they have met with a counterfeit god, counterfeit angels and a counterfeit heaven. The counterfeit god is Satan, the counterfeit angels are demons and the counterfeit heaven is just that – counterfeit! Too many people are unwilling to believe in the reality of Satan because they’re unwilling to accept the Bible as the sole word of God. On hearing that God has nothing to say to us outside of the Bible, they get offended, they reject it and they dismiss you. Satan loves those kinds of responses. Bible ignorance means he’s got himself a hostage.

The Bible alone tells us who and what Satan really is and nowhere within its pages do we see him depicted as one in a red suit with horns sticking out of his head! That’s a foolish image; one that comes from him, in fact. On the contrary, Satan is depicted as one who transforms himself into an angel of light 2 Corinthians 11:14. That means he copies God, he speaks as God and he acts as God. That’s one reason why he’s called, the god of this world (age) 2 Corinthians 4:4. But he is not restricted to this world; he has access to the spirit world – even access to God at this point! Job 1:7. That being the case, it’s no problem for him to take an ignorant soul from a dying body and play games with it in the spirit world.

People ask, why would God allow that? The Bible shows us God allows Satan all sorts of things. But whatever He allows is to fulfill God’s purposes, not Satan’s. In other words, Satan is an instrument in the hands of God; God is not an instrument in the hands of Satan! Satan’s power and authority are limited; God’s power and authority are unlimited. One reason God might “allow that” is because that person, did not receive the love of truth that he or she might be saved. And for this reason God will send strong delusion, that they should believe the lie 2 Thessalonians 2:10-11. God then allows that soul to come back into the body so as to be used in sending different forms of strong delusion to other truth-rejectors.

Some years ago a wealthy businessman here had a near death experience. With his soul coming back into his body, he later boasted on National TV that he had, “been to the other side and there’s *!*!*! nothing there. There’s no one waiting there for you. There is no one to judge you, so you can do what you *!*!*! well like.” How’s that for strong delusion ? God did not allow Satan to play games of any sort with this mocking, blasphemer! But his claim of “nothing there….no one to judge you ….do what you like” was music to like-minded, mocking, blasphemers. That’s one example of how God might use someone to bring strong delusion to other truth-rejectors. A few short years later his soul left his body again. This time it didn’t come back!

What about near death experiences of people who claim they met the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven? I would be weary of any testimony that doesn’t bring ultimate glory to the Lord – and many of them don’t. Example: When John the apostle met the Lord in heaven, he fell at His feet as dead Revelation 1:17. John didn’t do that when he walked with Jesus on the earth. In heaven John encountered Jesus Christ in all His fullness as God and such an encounter dropped him to the floor like a dead man. Too, there is no hint of John engaging in small talk with Jesus or walking along some beach kicking sand in each other’s faces, which is the kind of flippancy and foolishness we hear from some who claim to have died and went to heaven.

I don’t dismiss near death experiences of Christians who testify of encountering Jesus in heaven – or hell. However, we must be very clear on what the Bible declares about the Lord – He doesn’t change! Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever Hebrews 13:8. Therefore, any testimony that excludes the command from Jesus to go back and preach the gospel should be questioned. Jesus may well minister to their deep hurts, reasons for backsliding, or whatever else they may testify to, but His word never changes either. If, God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life John 3:16, is not part of their new-found mission and proclamation, there’s cause for doubt.

Heaven is God’s glorious promise for the repentant. Hell is God’s horrid promise for the unrepentant. Whichever one the person having the near death experience claims to have to have entered, Jesus’ word (if He spoke), would be as specific to them as it is in Scripture. That is not the testimony of many who say they died, met Jesus, and then came back again. The apostle Paul entered heaven; so overwhelming was his experience of it no words could do justice to what he saw and heard, so he kept his mouth shut! Not lawful for a man to utter, he said, 2 Corinthians 12:3-4. Basically that’s all he said about it. Paul didn’t sit down, write a 300-page book on his experience then rush out and sell as many as he could to the itching ears, deceived and gullible!

Everything God wants us to know about heaven and hell is revealed to us in the Bible. We need to hear from God Himself on the matter, not people claiming to have had near death experiences; their experience cannot be verified. People ask, “What about the young child who died, met Jesus in heaven and came back?” What about it? It may be authentic, it may be inauthentic. In any case, there’s nothing in it to sustain your faith. Satan will soon come along and pull that out from underneath you and down you’ll go just like every other Christian who goes chasing after anything but the Bible! Jesus said, Take heed that no one deceives you Matthew 24:4. Satan will use a child for that purpose just as surely as he’ll use an adult.

“Sounds like heaven is a lovely place,” they said all those years ago. It is. Heaven is the  Christ-believer’s inheritance – a place of everlasting bliss; no death, no sorrow, no pain, no curse, no wickedness, no end. It is a place of righteousness, joy, peace, service and rewards. You enter heaven by faith in Jesus Christ alone. “Sounds like there really could be such a place as hell,” they said all those years ago. There is. Hell is the Christ-rejector’s inheritance – a place of eternal torment, everlasting fire, eternal punishment and outer darkness. Hell is for the devil and his angels, the wicked, the disobedient, the fallen angels, the beast and the false prophet. You enter hell by choice. But it is written : “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” 1 Corinthians 2:9.