David W. Jones 1. introduction Research Fellow in Christian Ethics at the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission s Research Institute 1.1. Every major religion has a belief in the afterlife, whether it be nirvana, Elysium, Valhalla, Utopia, Shangri-La, etc. 1.2. In the US books about near death experiences (NDE) have been popular in the secular market since at least the mid-twentieth century. Major examples include: 1.2.1. On Death and Dying, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross (Simon & Schuster, 1969). 1.2.2. Life after Life, by Raymond A. Moody (Mockingbird, 1975). 1.2.3. Embraced by the Light, by Betty Eadie (Gold Leaf, 1992). 1.2.3.1. Spent 78 weeks on NYT best-seller list. 1.2.3.2. Sold more than 13 million copies. 1.3. There have been dozens of NDE books published in the last decade. Some of the more popular recent Christian books include; 1.3.1. Heaven Is For Real, by Todd Burpo (Thomas Nelson, 2010). 1.3.1.1. Over 7 million copies sold. 1.3.1.2. 50 weeks on top of NYT bestseller list. 1.3.2. 90 Minutes in Heaven, by Don Piper (Revell, 2006). 1.3.2.1. Over 6 million copies sold 1.3.2.2. Only actually has about 15 20 pages on heaven. 1.3.3. Heaven Is Real, by Don Piper (Penguin, 2007). 1.3.4. 23 Minutes in Hell, by Bill Wiese (Charisma, 2006). Issue Analysis 1.3.5. To Heaven and Back, by Mary C. Neal (Waterbrook, 2012).
1.4. Over the past few years, NDE books have sold more than all Bible commentaries and Bible reference works combined. 1.5. NDE books are the most financially lucrative type of non-fiction books in the history of Christian publishing. 1.6. Interest in this genre of books demonstrates a desire among believers and nonbelievers alike for knowledge of heaven. 1.6.1. Indeed, Christians citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20). 1.6.2. We are told to think about heavenly things. Paul writes, Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth (Col. 3:1 2). 2. resurrections and visions of heaven in the bible 2.1. Instances of resurrection in the Bible; 2.1.1. The widow s son (cf. 1 Ki. 17:17 24) 2.1.2. The Shunammite s child (cf. 2 Ki. 4:32 37) 2.1.3. The dead man who touched Elisha s bones (cf. 2 Ki. 13:21) 2.1.4. Jairus daughter (cf. Matt. 9:18 26; Mark 5:21 43; Luke 8:40 56) 2.1.5. The widow s son (cf. Luke 7:11 16) 2.1.6. Unnamed saints (cf. Matt. 27:52 53) 2.1.7. Jesus (cf. Matt. 28; Mark 16; Luke 24; John 20 21) 2.1.8. Lazarus (cf. John 11:1 44) 2.1.9. Dorcas (cf. Acts 9:36-41) 2.1.10. Eutychus (cf. Acts 20:9-12). 2.2. No one who came back from the dead in Scripture gave an account of the afterlife, including Lazarus who spent four days in heaven. 2.3. Those who had visions of heaven in Scripture include: Micaiah (cf. 2 Chron. 18:18), Isaiah (cf. Isa. 6:1 4), Ezekiel (cf. Ezek. 1, 10), Daniel (cf. Dan. 7:7 10), Paul (cf. 2 Cor. 12:1 4), Stephen (cf. Acts 7:55), and John (cf. Rev. 4 6). 2.3.1. A commonality among those who have visions of heaven in Scripture is fear, reverence, and worship. For example: 2.3.1.1. Woe is me! For I am lost (Isa. 6:5).
2.3.1.2. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead (Rev. 1:17). 2.3.1.3. I fell on my face (Ezek. 1:28). 2.3.1.4. As I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face (Dan. 10:9). 2.3.2. The focus of accounts of visions of heaven in Scripture is God and his glory. 2.3.3. Other biblical passages related to seeing God; 2.3.3.1. You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live (Exod. 33:20). 2.3.3.2. Not that anyone has seen the Father, except he who is from God; he has seen the Father (John 6:46). 2.3.3.3. God dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see (1 Tim. 6:16). 3. analysis of nde accounts and books 3.1. We are told to exercise discernment in regard to spiritual things; 3.1.1. Test everything; hold fast what is good (1 Thess. 5:21). 3.1.2. Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world (1 John 4:1). 3.2. It is difficult to critique those who have had NDE, precisely because they are individual experiences. Yet, while we cannot question whether or not an individual has had an experience near death, we can evaluate the phenomena and accounts of NDE in light of Scripture. 3.3. Many Scripture passages seem to explicitly rule out the possibility of NDE, at least in the sense of the modern phenomena. For instance: 3.3.1. Prov. 30:4, Who has ascended to heaven and come down? 3.3.2. John 3:13, No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. 3.3.3. Heb. 9:27, It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment. 3.3.4. Rom. 14:10, We will all stand before the judgment seat of God.
3.4. In the Old Testament, those who communicated with the dead, or attempted to do so, were an abomination to God, There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD. (Deut. 18:10 12; cf. Lev. 20:27). 3.5. As was noted above, those in Scripture who had NDE, were resurrected from the dead, or had visions of heaven did not give detailed accounts of the afterlife. 3.5.1. This is true in all ten instances of human resurrection in Scripture. 3.5.2. Paul went to the third heaven, but was forbidden to tell his readers about it. Paul wrote, I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter (2 Cor. 12:1 4). 3.6. As a whole, NDE books lack theological precision and seem to focus on personal experience and minutia. As such, the emphasis of most NDE books does not match biblical emphases of visions of heaven, which include God and his glory. 3.7. Christian NDE books often don t agree with each other in their details about heaven. Examples of disagreements include: the age of those in heaven, the presence or absence of conflict in heaven, the method of human communication in heaven, the appearance of angels, etc. 3.8. The Bible never instructs believers to base or bolster their faith on someone s account of heaven. Scripture even seems to warn against such an idea (cf. Luke 16:27 31). 3.8.1. Jesus taught, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). 3.8.2. Faith is trusting in God s revealed grace as given in the Bible. It does not need outside verification. 3.8.2.1. The Protestant principle of sola Scriptura teaches that the Bible alone is sufficient for Christian faith and practice. 3.8.2.2. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17; cf. Heb. 1:1 2). 3.8.2.3. The Holy Spirit works through the Word of God, not someone s NDE narrative.
3.9. It is noteworty that secular accounts of NDE, as well as NDE among those of other religions, are very similar. Indeed, it is problematic for Christians to believe that non-christians will enter heaven. 3.10. NDE are similar to the historical heresy Gnosticism, which claims special enlightenment for a select few who have had a mystical experience. 4. conclusions 4.1. While the authors of NDE books may be sincere, they also may be sincerely wrong in believing that their experience(s) were divine. 4.1.1. Demonic deception ought not to be lightly dismissed. 4.1.2. In light of the biblical material related to NDE, these books ought to be viewed with suspicion at best. 4.2. In light of the disparities between most NDE books and Scripture, Christians may be wise to avoid the genre all together. 4.3. For those who have been encouraged by reading NDE books in the past; 4.3.1. Educate such individuals about the problems with such accounts. 4.3.2. Point readers of these books to scriptural material on heaven and hell, encouraging them not to go beyond what is written (1 Cor. 4:6). 4.4. Suggested resources; 4.4.1. Heaven, by Randy Alcorn (Tyndale, 2004). 4.4.2. Heaven: Your Real Home, by Joni Eareckson Tada (Zondervan, 1997). 4.4.3. The Glory of Heaven: The Truth about Heaven, Angels and Eternal Life, by John MacArthur (Crossway, 2013). 4.4.4. Unseen Realities: Heaven, Hell, Angels and Demons, by R. C. Sproul (Christian Focus, 2011). 4.4.5. Heaven and Hell, by Edward A. Donnelly (Banner of Truth, 2002).