A phenomenon of late that has gained much attention is the near death experience. This out of body experience has drastically changed how millions view death. Because of its popularity and serious consequence, it is necessary for the child of God to be sure that the teachings of those who have had such experiences be biblical. If any experience, no matter how thrilling or spiritually significant, is contrary to the teaching of the Word of God, then the experience is not of God!
While not all near death experiences (NDE's) are exactly the same, there does seem to be many similarities between the majority of them. A typical NDE contains these elements:
Once a person has had a near death experience, there seems to be some common responses also to the experience. Most people today have an increased interest in social work. During the NDE there is an emphasis on the love of God, usually with the encounter with the being of light. Once "back to life" the person seeks to emphasize this "love" in their lifestyle by being involved in the lives of others. There may be some "evangelistic" emphasis associated with this social work, but not all seek to religiously convert others.
A second effect of the NDE is that those who experience it no longer have any fear of death. While some have had "hellish" (see To Hell And Back by Dr. Maurice Rawlings) experiences, most have pleasant experiences and look forward to when they die "again".
A third characteristic is that their conception of God focuses only on the love of God. Sometimes this focus comes to the exclusion of all the other attributes of God. When the character of God is not conceived correctly in man's mind, the lifestyle of man will not be able to fulfill the will of God.
An example of a typical NDE is found in the testimony of Dr. George Rodonaia. Dr. Rodonaia was pronounced dead from an automobile accident and was left for dead for three days until an autopsy was begun. With the initial incision of the medical examiner, Dr. Rodonaia came back to life. Dr. Rodonaia concludes his experiences with these words:
"Anyone who has had such and experience of God, who has felt such a profound sense of connection with the reality, knows that there is only one truly significant work to do in life and that is to love; to love nature, to love people, to love animals, to love creation itself, just because it is. To serve God's creation with a warm and loving hand of generosity and compassion- that is the only meaningful existence."
(The complete testimony of his NDE can be found at www.nderf.org/NDE%20General%20Information.htm) As you can see, Dr. Rodonaia's experience caused him to embark on a life of service of loving all creation. But the primary command of God is to love Him first, then to love humanity. Without loving God for all that He is, it is impossible to fulfill the second great commandment.
This is where the distortion of the character of God becomes so important. Does the person who has a NDE truly come into contact with God? Let us examine the testimony of one "believer in Christ" who supposedly had a NDE. Concerning the doctrine of hell, this person writes, "...would the messenger of God's compassion have taught such a brutal doctrine? It is doubtful." Later he adds, "But Jesus taught us that God is kind...and that God does not condemn. As such, Jesus' message is the same message as the Being of Light, Who is seen in the Near Death Experience." Concerning salvation he adds, "During the life review, those who lived a nonspiritual life on earth can open their eyes, and learn everything they missed. As a result, the formerly nonspiritual person will suddenly become equal in knowledge and advancement to the person who followed an arduous spiritual path throughout their earthly life." In other words, an atheist will have opportunity to stand in the presence of God and receive instruction that will sanctify them. What ever happened to the words of Jesus who said it is impossible for the one who is not born again to see the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3)?
Not only does this person distort the works of Christ in salvation, but he also distorts the person of Christ by at least implying, if not out rightly denying His deity. He writes, "He never calls himself [in the Gospel of Mark] "Savior" or says that he will die on the cross for the sins of the world. In fact, Jesus was self-deprecating. When the rich young man once said to Jesus, 'Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?' Jesus responded, 'Why do you call me good? No one is good, but God alone.' (Mark 10:17,18) The grand statements which Jesus is said to have made about himself in the Gospel of John, 'I am the way, the truth, and the life,' 'I and the Father are one' represent the Church's experience with the risen Jesus. As such, they are ahistorical." For the complete testimony see www.observations.net/Jesus.html
How do we explain these phenomena? Can they truly be of God or are they explainable by some natural method? There have been given 4 possible explanations of NDE's with the possibility as well as a combination of these. The first is that they are explained on the basis of some psychological phenomena. Carl Sagan write in his book Braca's Brain that the NDE is simply the remembrance of the intrauterine bliss of the unborn. The long dark tunnel is in actuality the birth canal and the being of light is simply the child's entrance into the world. The problem with this explanation is that is does not account why this bliss can not be remembered during life. Why does it take death to remember these things?
A second possible explanation is that NDE's are caused by the interactions of drugs being administered to the dying patient. Various medications may interact to produce hallucinations or the effects of anesthesia may produce the feeling of floating such as down the long dark tunnel. While I do not doubt that this can contribute to the NDE, I do doubt that it is the only answer. The problem with limiting the explanation to physiological explanations is that of the similarity of the experiences. Why do nearly all NDE's experience the same or similar experience?
A third possible explanation is that the experience is simply a dream, possible induced by medication, that is conditioned by cultural beliefs of the afterlife. The dying patient visualizes what he or she believes the afterlife to be based on what society accepts as true. It is interesting to note that NDE's were also once common during the medieval period. While many of the elements common to current NDE's were found then, they had one significant difference. Medieval NDE's emphasized judgment rather than bliss. Rodney Clapp, writing in an article that appeared in Christianity Today, stated, "The most striking difference is the medieval's NDE's inclusion of- indeed, their near obsession with- the pains of hell. Sinners are variously eaten by dragons, attacked by serpents and toads, pinned to the ground with red-hot nails, baked in furnaces, dropped into boiling pots, hooked to flaming wheels, and cast in sulphurous wells from which their naked bodies bounce in and out like scorched popcorn. Whereas guides to the otherworld in modern NDE's are benevolent and paternal, medieval guides are foreboding and authoritarian; they clearly reflect feudalism." While I believe it is also possible to explain some of the modern NDE's by this reason, I still come short of believing that the majority are so caused. The question remains here as to why these visions are not conceived during healthy times as compared to dying times.
This brings me to the fourth, and I believe most probable explanation of modern NDE's. Medieval NDE's became less prevalent when the Renaissance came about. What is significant is that with the advent of the Renaissance came a return to ordering lives according to what the Bible said. I believe then that the most probabe explanation of modern NDE's is that the person has experienced spiritual delusion. In stronger terms, they have received a satanic counterfeit of the afterlife. Many will object to this, especially those who claim to know Jesus Christ as their savior. How can a Christian be so fooled?In writing to the Christians at Corinth, Paul states that he is concerned about them being beguiled as was Eve in the garden of Eden. He states that their spiritual discernment was so pitiful that they might accept a different Jesus, a different Spirit, and a different gospel message. He goes on to state that the false apostles who were troubling the Corinthians looked genuine. He then states why, "And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." Could it be that the "Being of Light" that the typical NDE encounters is none other than Satan himself? I think so.
But what I think is of no value unless it can be verified by the Bible itself. Therefore we turn to the Scriptures to validate or invalidate my conclusion. We begin by comparing the modern NDE with the accounts of those who died and were returned to life. We begin with Lazarus. Lazarus, whose sisters were Mary and Martha, was a close friend of the Lord. When Lazarus had become ill, Mary and Martha sent for the Lord in order that he might heal their brother. By the time Jesus came to Bethany, Lazarus had been dead for four days. Nonetheless, Jesus cried, "Lazarus come forth" and Lazarus did come forth. You would think that in the record that follows some account of the after death experience of Lazarus would be found. In John 11 we read not one word of what Lazarus experienced, the focus is solely on the Lord.
A second death experience is that of a young man named Eutychus. The apostle Paul had been long preaching (must be in the name) and slumber overcame Eutychus. Unfortunately, he was sitting in the window of an upper room and when he fell asleep, he fell out the window. Acts 20 tells us that he died, but Paul revived him to life. The account continues that they all went back into the room where Paul continued to preach until morning. Once again no mention is made of any experience Eutychus had.
A third account is that of the Apostle Paul (at least that is what many Bible scholars believe). Paul writes of a man who was caught up into the third heaven (the dwelling place of God). What this man saw and heard was unlawful to repeat. Paul goes on to say in 2 Corinthians 12 that while being caught into the presence of God is a spectacular thing, it is not something that he will glory in. Rather, he will glory in his sufferings, for there is the power of God made perfect. The reason that neither Lazarus nor Eutychus reported of their death experiences is that they, like Paul, were not permitted to speak of them. How is it that those who have these experiences today are able to declare all the details while those in Scripture were commanded to be silent? Nothing has changed in the will of God!The only way that today's NDE's can be so descriptive is that they have not met with God.
We not only need to compare modern NDE's with those in Scripture, but we need to look at the theology of death. What does the bible say happens to the person who dies? The first thing that we note about death is that death is always a separation. As James writes that as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. While James is emphasizing the nature of true saving faith, he does instruct us as to what happens at the moment of death: the spirit of man departs from his body. Solomon put it this way in Ecclesiastes 12:7, "Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." The soul and/or the spirit which composes the immaterial part of man's being is separated from the material body at the point of death. The body is buried and decomposes but the spirit is at the discretion of the Lord to its disposition. If there is any real similarity with biblical death and the NDE it is here and here alone. From this point on, the modern NDE and the Biblical theology of death go in different directions.
For the NDE, all spirits go through a long dark tunnel and then into the presence of the "Being of Light". Biblically, however, the destiny of spirits of dead people go in different directions according to the faith the person possessed concerning Jesus and His atoning work on Calvary. For the believer in Jesus Christ, the spirit is immediately in the presence of the Lord. 2 Corinthians 5:8 states that the believer is will to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. There are only two conditions that the spirit of saved man experiences: in the body or present with the Lord. There is no intermediary. There is no long dark tunnel to travel apart from the presence of Christ. To be outside of the body is
At the consummation of the Church age, Jesus will return to rapture His Bride. This is known as the rapture of the Church. It is depicted in several biblical passages but in 1 Corinthians 15:51-52, Paul states that the rapture will transpire in a moment. The Greek word that is translated "moment" is the word "atom". When scientists discovered the atom, they believed at the time that it was the smallest particle in the universe and indivisible. Since its discovery, we have found out that there are other smaller particles. Nonetheless, at that time when looking for a name for their new discovery, scientists chose atom since it meant an indivisible amount of time. Time is normally measured in hours, minutes and seconds- seconds being the base unit. However, seconds are divisible; we often speak of "split-seconds". An indivisible amount of time is "now". The rapture will take place so quickly that at one moment the spirit of Christians will be resident in their bodies. Before the next moment can come, those same spirits will be in their glorified bodies in the presence of Christ.
Following the rapture of the Church, believers works will be judged at what is known as the "Judgment Seat (Bema) of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10 speaks of this judgment. The purpose of the judgment is to determine reward for works done in the body. The basis of the judgment is whether the works were good or bad. The word "bad" has the idea of being worthless rather than morally evil. Regardless of the outcome of the judgment, the purpose of the judgment is not informational or instructive as with the NDE, but that ultimately Christ may be glorified.
From the time of the rapture onward, the Christian will always be in the presence of the Lord Jesus. There is no going back from heaven, no re-entry into life. Jesus stated in John 14:3 that when He returns for His Church, that where He is, there His church will be also. This can not mean the simple "spiritual presence" of Christ, for everyone is always in the "spiritual presence" of Christ (Acts 17:27). Had this promise meant His spiritual presence, there simply would be no real promise. For a believer to be sent back to life after death or the rapture of the Church would violate the words of Jesus.
For the unsaved person, their spirit travels in a different direction. Immediately upon death the spirit travels to a place of conscious torment called "Sheol" in Hebrew, "Hades" in Greek, and "Hell" in the King James translation of the Scriptures. Luke 16:22-23 attests to this fact. Once again the Scripture does not teach of any intervening time between death and consciousness in hell. Between the point of death and his arrival in hell, the rich man of this passage saw nothing, for it was in hell that he "opened his eyes".
The spirits of the unsaved remain in hell until after the end of the millennial kingdom. At this point, according to Revelation 20:13-15, the spirits of the unsaved are resurrected for the judgment of damnation. Like the Bema Seat judgment where believers works are judged, here unbeliever's works are judged, not for righteous reward, but for punishment. The consequence of the judgment is that all the unsaved of all the ages are cast eternally into a lake of fire. Once death has occurred, there are no second chances for the unbeliever. While the unbeliever may have opportunity after opportunity on earth, once he has died, opportunity no longer knocks.
In light of the destiny of the unsaved, the most untrue thing that a person can say of a departed person who knew not the salvation of the Lord is that they are in a better place, or that they are no longer suffering. The fact of the matter is that the worst thing that could happen to an unsaved person is for them to die. No matter how much pain that person may have experienced in life, they would not have even scratch the surface of the amount of suffering then. While God is a God of "unspeakable" love, He is also a God of infinite holiness. To allow a person who rejected the salvation provided by Jesus Christ on Calvary's Cross access into eternal bliss, would violate His holiness. Not only that, it would be a slap in the face to the Lord Jesus who died on Calvary that man, who could not pay sin's penalty, could be redeemed. How could the Father love the Son if He negated the effects of His work on the Cross?
From both the biblical record of death experiences and the theology of death presented in Scripture, the modern NDE is contradictory to biblical truth. The only plausible explanation of these NDE's is that Satan has counterfeited an experience, either through the means of reactions to medications and recall of social concepts of the afterlife. The experience can in no way be of God!To be so, we would need to discard most of what the Bible teaches about Jesus and His salvation. And this is what those who have had these experiences have done. Whenever any portion of Scripture does not conform to their experience, they simply say that portion of Scripture is not accurate or historically correct. No longer does man's experience need to conform to God's standards but God's standards must conform to man's experience. As someone has rightly said, "In the beginning God created man in His own image." "In the end, man created God in man's own image."
How then, should a believer view death? Three principles I would like to encourage you with as we conclude this study. First, the believer need not dread death. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:54-55 that death has been conquered by the Lord Jesus Christ. Its sting (the sting of a scorpion) has been removed. In Philippians 1:21 and 23, Paul writes that for a believer to die is gain and to be with the Lord is far better than any experience on earth. In light of this, while I am to enjoy every moment of life on earth, I can look forward with anticipation to a better life after death.
Secondly, the believer should not desire death prematurely. Certainly, there is nothing wrong in a believer who has come to the end of their days looking or even longing to be with the Lord in heaven. However, we must be willing to allow God to be sovereign over the number of those days. In Job 14:5, Job states that the number of our days has been determined by God. It is impossible for us to go beyond them and we should not seek to cut them short. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 15:26 that death is still an enemy. While we have life, we have opportunity to serve the Lord. Once death takes place, our work is finished.
Finally, the believer should not despair death. I have heard people say that they are not sure if they want to spend eternity in heaven if all we are going to do is sit around singing "Amazing Grace". Well, first of all, that is not all that we are going to do. The Bible tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4, that we will be reunited with our loved ones who precede us in death. There will be a grand fellowship of the saints in heaven better than there ever was on earth. Secondly, the Bible also states that in eternity we will serve the Lord Jesus. No detail is given as to how we will serve Him, but nonetheless there will be satisfying and fulfilling work to do. According to Revelation chapters 21 and 22, conditions will be absolutely utopian. Finally, and most importantly, the believer will be conformed to the image of Christ, and be able to enjoy the blessing s of God to the fullest degree possible. If you know the Lord Jesus as your Savior, your greatest "days" are ahead of you.
If you have never trusted the Lord to save you from your sins, do so today. YES, God is a God of love, so much so that He made a way that you need not suffer eternally for your sins. But if you refuse His provision, you reject His love. The way is simple and clear. The Bible tells us that all of us are sinners by nature (Romans 5:12). The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), not just physical death, but eternal death. But Jesus died in our place paying for our sins with His blood (1 Peter 2:24). We receive forgiveness for our sins not by our works, but when we trust in Him and call upon Him to save us (Ephesians 2:8, Romans 10:13). Don't put off this decision until tomorrow, you don't know if you will live to see it (James 4:14). Be saved today (2 Corinthians 6:2)!