How should we view someone's near-death testimony? There are a lot of people who have experiences where they die, but are brought back, and share their stories of what they experienced. Some, like Don Piper (90 Minutes in Heaven) align with the Bible. Others do not. What do we do with that? Some Christians are skeptical of any account of the afterlife, even those aligning with the Bible, because of verses such as Proverbs 30:4 (Who has ascended to heaven and come down?), Hebrews 9:27 (Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment), and John 3:13 (No one has ascended into heaven, but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.). And yet other scriptures talk about believers getting a glimpse of eternity. Paul describes being caught up to Heaven in Second Corinthians 12, but he says in verse 4 that he heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. Then, in Revelation, John saw the vision of eternity, and he was permitted (commanded, actually) to share what he saw.
All this said, Christians are often divided on how they view near death experiences. Atheist-turned-evangelist Lee Strobel (author of Case for Christ) argues that all near-death-experience accounts (NDE's) indicate that our soul lives on after our clinical death, and that is an encouragement to Christians. He goes on to say that important thing to consider in NDE's is the main elements, not the way the person interprets them. New Testament scholar Gary Habermas says that I don't think the nature of NDEs helps us construct what kind of worldview is true, only that the naturalistic [atheistic] alternative is probably false, since there is strong evidence here for an afterlife. This indicates that we shouldn't look at NDE's as a source of truth.
I recently heard this account of a NDE. Karen Thomas, a church member in Alaska, had a near-death experience in a hospital during a routine surgery. The story she recounted changed her beliefs. She allegedly had an out of body experience in which she went to an indescribably beautiful place. She assumed it was Heaven, though she didn't see Jesus, and that confused her. She claimed she saw her Dad there, whom she claimed was not born again, causing her to conclude one doesn't need to be born again to go to Heaven. Her father, as well as everything she saw, was across a river from her, and she didn't cross over during this experience. A telepathic voice told her to follow a guide (whom she instinctively knew wasn't Jesus) who led her to a location where they talked about her life and she lived it all over again in the space of a second, and then she was given the choice if she wanted to return to earth or not. She claims this guide told her what would happen in life if she returned, as well as some things that may or may not happen, since it was dependent on other people. She said she was given this information in order to make the choice to remain where she was or return to life, but as soon as she chose, that part of the experience was erased from her memory. This guide apparently said she wouldn't be able to remember what would happen in her future, or it would remove her ability to have free will. Next she knew, she was waking up in the hospital. She left her church (which she described as "fundamental") and joined a more "open-minded" one, and she claims now that she believes everyone goes to Heaven. She says she now communicates with spirit guides, including the guide who led her during this trip. So much of her story opposes what the Bible says. What do we do with this, and other accounts?
First, we need to conclude that this is someone's experience. It is subjective, and, while I don't question how she experienced this, I do question her interpretation of what she experienced. I do believe she had an out of body experience, and I believe that this is definite evidence that life continues after death, as Gary Habermas suggested (disputing the secular/naturalist view that this life is all there is). However, nowhere in her account did she actually get confirmation that this was Heaven. She didn't see Jesus. We know that Satan masquerades as an angel of light (Second Corinthians 11:14). He could have staged this to deceive her. As another possibility, maybe she got a glimpse of Heaven and her father had been born again and she just didn't know. She didn't actually cross the river to this place, so she didn't really know everything about it. The whole part about experiencing her life all over again and being told about her future and given the chance to choose if she wanted to go back--none of that really gels with scripture. As I said, it could be a deception.
She said she went to a "fundamental" church prior to this experience. From what little she said about it, though, it sounded like she didn't understand salvation or the Gospel. She said she had tried to dot all her i's and cross all her t's. The Gospel of Christ is that we don't have to be perfect, because Jesus perfectly lived out God's law for us, and with His death, He paid for our sins, and with His resurrection, He defeated sin for all time. By placing our faith in His finished work, we receive His righteous standing with God, and our sin is gone. A godly life should result from true faith, but in no way contributes to our salvation. She also said she "tried to be baptized in the Holy Spirit" to be born again. Being baptized by the Holy Spirit is a subject different Christians believe differently about, but everyone agrees this happens as a work of the Spirit at or after salvation, not something we have to try to do, and it doesn't make us born again. Being born again is our salvation experience. So, it sounds like she might not have truly known the Lord. I can't say. What I can say is that her experience isn't the be-all and end-all, nor the determiner of truth about life after death. It did not lead her closer to biblical truth. It led her into very unbiblical teachings and beliefs. That is the danger of some of these NED experiences. It removes the fear of death without Christ.
There are multiple videos on YouTube with similar accounts of near death experiences. As Lee Strobel said, these experiences do indicate that life continues after death. The spiritual world is very real. As Christians, this can bolster our faith and encourage us. Beyond that, though, as I already asked, what do we do with accounts that don't align with the Bible? Well, we also need to consider the fact that these experiences don't all align with each other either. What does that prove? They are not an indication of absolute truth. Our faith needs to be in the Bible, not in someone's subjective experience. In fact, in my next post, I am going to look at how we should interpret and view subjective experiences (our own and other people's). Ultimately, our faith needs to rest in the Bible, but sometimes, when these experiences align with scripture, that can be an encouragement.
I have not had a NDE myself, but I have had some spiritual experiences that I believe God gave me. One of them was a time at age six, when I almost drowned in a swimming pool. I remember being at the bottom of that pool thinking, It's time for me to die. But I wasn't afraid. I was already saved, and at that moment, I had 100% assurance I was going to Heaven, even more than I would normally have in daily life. It was real to me in a deeper way. In my 20's, I had an experience where I faced a person who had a demon. This demon acted exactly the way demons in the Bible acted when Jesus or Christians challenged them. The demon was afraid of the Holy Spirit in me (not me, but the Holy Spirit who lives in me). It gave me a very strong glimpse into the spiritual world, and bolstered my faith, and assurance that God is in my life. Still another time, also in my 20's, I had a very vivid dream about Heaven, and it was more than just a dream. I believe I saw a glimpse. I shared this with a friend, and it was exactly what she needed to hear, further confirming it was from the Lord. However, all of these experiences are subservient to the Bible, not the other way around. I don't base my life on these things. These things are encouragement for what I already know to be true in the Bible. It's like archeological artifacts that support the Bible. Those things give us encouragement, but our faith doesn't rest in them--it rests in Jesus.
Were there NDE's in the Bible? Not many, but a few. Elisha saw Elijah taken up to Heaven in Second Kings 2:11. This must have bolstered his faith in eternity. On the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9, Mark 9:2-9 and Luke 9:28-36), Jesus allowed Peter, James and John to witness His glory, and see Moses and Elijah, Old Testament believers who were already in eternity. Interestingly, Peter knew who they were with no introduction. This technically wasn't a NDE for Peter, James and John, but it gave them that glimpse into deeper things spiritually. When Stephen was stoned in Acts 7, he describes seeing Jesus and God the Father right before he died. I already mentioned the Apostle Paul's trip to Heaven, and John's vision in Revelation. God gave us what He wanted us to know about this. Much of the Christian life is lived in faith, and faith pleases God. Our trust needs to rest in Jesus, not the latest story of someone's experience (or our own). Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:2).
For further information, I suggest reading Heather Tomlinson's article Do near death experiences contradict Christian belief and doctrine? It was a source for this post, and you can read it here.
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