The Afterlife: Where Do We Go When We Die?
Last Updated:
05/31/2008 04:13
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In Progress...The afterlife should be
of concern to everyone. Some people don't believe there is an afterlife.
it's viewed as unscientific and wishful thinking. I believe a lot of this
has to do with the deception of evolution. Dr. Kent Hovind has some great
information on the creation/evolution debate and science proving the
Biblical record of the flood among other things. You can view them
here.
We all die, that is a part of life because of the curse brought by our
disobedience. There are lots of beliefs about the afterlife, some believe we
reincarnate into other things to keep bettering ourselves. The Bible makes
it clear this is not the case, connecting our only hope in Christ who
covered our transgressions. This is the reason for our death in the first
place and we have no power to eliminate them by our works, only through
Christ's blood.
Hebrews 9:27,28
And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the
judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto
them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto
salvation.
Hebrews 2:12-15
Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren,
in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. And
again, I will put my trust in him. [Yeshua] And again, Behold I and
the children which God hath given me. Forasmuch then as the
children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same; that through death he might
destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And
deliver them who through fear of death were all their
lifetime subject to bondage.
Fear of death is bondage which we are delivered from through Christ who
offers us eternal life if we love and obey Him.
Matthew 10:26-28
Fear them not therefore: for there is nothing covered,
that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye
hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops. And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both
soul and body in hell.
Revelation 21:8
But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have
their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.
When we realize that Yeshua has power over death by paying the debt for
our sin and offering us eternal life, we have no fear in dying physically
and are no longer in bondage to the fear of death. The question is, where do
we go when we die? If you don't accept Christ, He won't accept you, the
choice is yours. If you choose to reject Christ, He will reject you and give
you the promised eternal separation from Him. God is Love, so think hard
before you choose because the opposite of love for eternity is not good.
What is hell?
As a Christian however, the question becomes whether we are with Yeshua
immediately when we die, or if we are asleep awaiting His coming to gather
us to Himself. Right now, this is just a collection of discussions I had
with some friends on the
Fulfilled
Prophecy bulletin board. I will develop it further to address these
questions.
I would also like to share this link regarding
Near
Death Experiences reported by people.
1
Thessalonians 4:13-18
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which
are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if
we believe that Jesus died and rose again,
even so them also
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto
you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the
coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the
archangel, and with the trump of God: and
the dead in
Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be
caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air:
and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with
these words.
I think there's a misunderstanding on where the dead in
Christ are. They are not currently with Christ to be coming back with Him.
The italicized portion above is where you stopped, but looking at the whole
context we can see that the dead in Christ are raised first. That means they
were sleeping in the earth, not with Christ. They are resurrected before we
are all caught up to the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. If they were
already with the Lord, why would they be resurrected and then caught up with
the rest of us? The dead are asleep right now. They will be awakened with
the trump of God as they are raised incorruptible.
What I believe scripture is stating here is that the dead in Christ will be
brought with Christ when the rest of us are taken to heaven. We're all going
to be caught up together and go to the marriage of the Lamb in heaven. All
the dead in Christ will be brought by God with Christ to that event even
though they were asleep. We're to comfort each other with these things. We
don't lose hope in death, but await to see the glory of God raise them
incorruptible to join us all with Him and God will bring us all to Himself.
That's what I believe this passage is stating, not that the dead are with
Christ now and will come with Him from heaven to harpazo us.
Isaiah
26:19-21
Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise.
Awake and sing, ye that dwell in dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs,
and the earth shall cast out the dead. Come, my people, enter thou into
thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a
little moment, until the indignation be overpast. For, behold, the LORD
cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their
iniquity: the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover
her slain.
Here we see a resurrection of dead bodies. Notice this
takes place BEFORE God's
wrath comes. After they're resurrected, they're told to hide because the
Lord is coming out of His place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for
their iniquity.
We're not appointed to His wrath in several places in scripture.
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In
my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told
you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am,
there ye may be also.
As we can see in this passage, Yeshua left to prepare a
place. There's no mention of us going with Him. In fact His next statement
makes it pretty clear we won't be with Him because He promises to come back
for us that we will then be with Him. It is from the point of the harpazo
that we are forever with Him. He's still "building" our future residence
until He comes for us after it's ready and the time has come that only the
Father knows.
Hebrews 11:36-40
And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea,
moreover of bonds and imprisonment: They were stoned, they were sawn
asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in
sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; (Of whom
the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and
in dens and caves of the earth. And these all, having obtained a good
report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided
some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made
perfect.
This seems to say it all, everyone
who dies in Christ is resurrected at the same time.
John 3:13
And
no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from
heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.
Seeker brings up the points:
Are we to change the basic tenants of Christianity because it
doesn't match our viewpoints? The souls of those that have died in Christ are
with Him now.
Matthew 22:31,32
But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which
was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of
Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the
God of the dead, but of the living.
If the OT fathers are with God we are
too when we die. Here is another example. This time from the NT. This group is
under the altar in heaven speaking with God.
Revelation 6:9-11
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw
under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God,
and for the testimony which they held: And they cried with a loud voice,
saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our
blood on them that dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every
one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a
little season, until their fellowservants also and their brethren, that
should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
They have died in Christ and are
speaking with God prior to the cosmic signs.
Luke 23:42,43
And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.
And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with
me in paradise.
Jesus' own words telling the thief he
would not have to wait until the kingdom to be with Jesus in paradise. Rather
he told him "today" he would be in paradise with Jesus.
My response:
1
Corinthians 15:50-58
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a
mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality, then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of
death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the
Lord.
It would seem from this passage that death isn't swallowed up
in victory until we are raised incorruptible or changed depending on status at
the harpazo.
Job 28:12,13
But where shall wisdom be found? and where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof; neither is it found in the land of the
living.
The "land of the living" always seems to refer to earth. And
Christ referred to death as sleep. God is the God of the living because we
have all gained eternal life through Yeshua the Christ. Does that mean we
don't die because God is the God of the living? Or does it mean that we sleep
now and when the resurrection/harpazo takes place we are then given our
immortal bodies with which to follow Christ to the place He's been preparing
for us?
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my
Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you.
I go to prepare a place for you. And
if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there
ye may be also.
Wouldn't that mean that we aren't with Christ until He comes to
receive us unto Himself?I don't argue that our souls are present, just not in our
immortal bodies until the resurrection/harpazo. Our bodies will die (sleep)
and our spirits will then be in Abraham's bosom, kind of like a common dream
with the rest of the dead in Christ. I'm
just having a hard time with the clear transition when Christ comes to receive
us to Himself and the fact that the dead aren't raised until that point. I
believe our spirits enter an alternate dimension (for lack of a better term)
that's like a dream state, where our consciousness still exists, just without
a tabernacle. That doesn't come until the resurrection.
What is paradise? Is that
another term for Abraham's bosom? Christ hadn't gone to heaven yet
and so if paradise is the holding place till the resurrection, then
Christ would see him there that day. Only Christ, and those
resurrected with Him
Matthew 27:50-53, would then be resurrected and leave that place for the
land of the living again. Then He ascended into heaven while the thief
remained in waiting for his resurrected body. Perhaps those resurrected were
the
24 elders
seen
in heaven later in the vision.
Douggg brings up the point:
"To be
absent from the body is to be present with the Lord?" (paraphrased) Ever hear
of that one? When a Christian dies, his or her soul goes instantaneously to
heaven to be with Jesus.
My response:
2
Corinthians 5:1-10
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with
our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be
found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened:
not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might
be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing
is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we
are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and
willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of
him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every
one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether it be good or bad.
I would rather be absent from
the body and be present with the Lord as well. Reading the context of the
beginning, it's centered around the incorruptible body we get, but we don't
get that until the resurrection/harpazo according to scripture. Then there's the story of the
afterlife we do hear about. It's not terribly detailed, but the rich man isn't
in the lake of fire, he's in Hades.
Luke 16:19-31
There was a certain rich man, which was clothed in purple and fine linen,
and fared sumptuously every day: And there was a certain beggar named
Lazarus, which was laid at his gate, full of sores, And desiring to be fed
with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table: moreover the dogs came
and licked his sores. And it came to pass, that
the beggar died, and was carried by
the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And
in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off,
and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have
mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in
water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham
said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things,
and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art
tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf
fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can
they pass to us, that would come from thence. Then he said, I pray thee
therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: For I
have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into
this place of torment. Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the
prophets; let them hear them. And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one
went unto them from the dead, they will repent. And he said unto him, If
they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though
one rose from the dead.
So is heaven Abraham's bosom? Or is that a place the dead go in
waiting for the return of Christ to have their souls placed in the new
tabernacles which are incorruptible and immortal? Kind of like how Hades is
the holding place of the wicked until the great white throne judgment?
Douggg wrote:
Hi Brother Triton,
Triton57: "I'm just
trying to understand the two different impressions the Word gives. It's said
to be absent from the body is present with the Lord, but the dead aren't
resurrected until Christ comes here. The only way it fits right now is that,
like the Holy Spirit's presence with us, so too is He present (trinity) in
our death and waiting for His physical return to give us our incorruptible
bodies. Nobody has them yet except for Christ. Otherwise, why would any be
resurrected at His return? They would already have the new bodies. More
research needed. Thanks for the discussion!"
What is dead and in the grave of EVERYBODY -
right now? It is the body. Not the soul. The soul of EVERYBODY is
either with the Lord - if a
person is saved. Or the soul is in sheoul...hell... if a person has not
received Jesus. That's only TWO places....to consider... heaven or hell.
Daniel 12:2
And many of them that sleep in the
dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to
shame and everlasting contempt.
Daniel 12:13
But go thou thy way till the end be:
for thou shalt rest, and
stand in thy lot at the end of the days.
Triton57:
The way this is described is as sleep and the dead are asleep in the dust of
the earth. Both verses compare death to a sleep, an unconscious state, which
is to continue until the time of the resurrection.
Here's a study on this topic
The idea that death is merely a separation of a conscious,
immortal soul from the body came not from the Bible but from Greek philosophy.
Notice what Plato wrote in Phaedo:
"The soul whose inseparable attitude is life will never admit of life's
opposite, death. Thus the soul is shown to be immortal, and since immortal,
indestructible... we believe there is such a thing as death? To be sure. And
is this anything but the separation of the soul and body?...being dead is the
attainment of this separation when the soul exists in herself and separate
from the body, and the body is parted from the soul. That is death... death is
merely the separation of the soul and body".
An interesting philosophy— very much in harmony with the modern concept of the
soul; but it is nowhere taught in the Old Testament. Even modern theologians
who believe in the immortality of the soul admit frankly that it is not taught
in the Bible.
John 11:11-27
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them,
Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I
go, that I may awake him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord,
if he sleep, he shall do well. Howbeit Jesus spake of his death: but they
thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
Then said Jesus unto them plainly,
Lazarus is dead. And I am glad for your sakes that I was not there,
to the intent ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said
Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow disciples, Let us also go,
that we may die with him. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in
the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about
fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to
comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard
that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had
not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God
will give it thee. Jesus saith unto her,
Thy brother shall rise again.
Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection
at the last day. Jesus said unto her,
I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were
dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I
believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the
world.
Obviously this was before Christ's death and
resurrection. The dead in Christ sleep until the awakening blast of the last
trump. Those living in Christ are changed before death.
1 Timothy
6:14-16
That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukable, until the
appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in his times he shall shew, who is
the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
Who only hath immortality,
dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen,
nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.
2 Corinthians
5:1-10
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we
have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in
this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be
unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath
given unto us the earnest of the Spirit. Therefore we are always confident,
knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the
Lord: (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)
We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and
to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether
present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in
his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
This statement, "We are confident, I say, and
willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord,"
isn't stating that when we die we're with the Lord. It's stating that we are
confident (by faith) in the promise of eternal life and willing (desiring) to
be absent from this body and clothed with the immortal one, the tabernacle
from heaven. However, we know that nobody is raised into this incorruptible
until the last trump, the catching away.
Ecclesiastes
12:7
Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall
return unto God who gave it.
Jesus' body was not left in the grave because he
was the firstfruits.... as the bible says. The rest of us will have our bodies
resurrected or changed in the twinkling of an eye if we are alive when the
event of
1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 takes place.
Triton57: "Do you
have a scripture stating that Abraham's bosom was emptied and nullified as a
place for the just to go when dead? Is there some reason why the story of
Lazarus and the rich man no longer represents the afterlife before Christ
comes again and resurrects the dead in Christ? Why are they being
resurrected on His return? Do we need our physical incorruptible bodies to
be in heaven, that's how Christ ascended."
No, we don't need our incorruptible bodies,
for our souls to go to heaven... evidenced by the souls that John saw in
Revelation of those in heaven who died during the great tribulation....
Revelation 7.
The soul does have some sort of form there, because the multitudes in
Revelation 7... their souls are pictured. But in that form, it is not the
promise of God... that redemption of the body will occur. God is correcting
what that Satan wanted to destroy of God's creation. Satan instrument for
destruction was-is ....sin. It is in everything... even the earth itself must
be redeemed... it too will be destroyed.... and be made anew.
I am not saying that Abraham' bosom was nullified....it still exists...but it
never was the place that CHRISTIANS go. The story of Lazarus and the rich
man...was before there were any Christians. One has to keep that in mind.
The conclusion of the story of Lazarus and the Rich man itself (that the rich
man's relatives wouldn't listen Moses so they wouldn't also accept the gospel
message)... and that hell doesn't give up its those who have died "souls"
UNTIL the final Great White Throne Judgment at the end of the millennium...
indicates that hell is still operational.
What Paul said regarding being present with the Lord when absent from the body
(until the resurrection of the body occurs) .... applies to Christians....of
where out souls go when a Christian physically dies. We have that comfort. And
that when the resurrection and redemption of the body that is now in the grave
takes place.... those who are alive at that time... won't be left out... we
also have that comfort.
More Scriptures
John 13:31-36
Therefore, when he
[Judas]
was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is
glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in
himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little
while I am with you. Ye shall seekG2212
me: and as I said unto the JewsG2453,
Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you. A new commandment I give
unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love
one another. By this shall all
men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Simon Peter said unto him,
Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus
answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt
follow me afterwardsG5305.
What is Jesus telling us about our ability to be with Him now in His
physical presence? There's a chapter separation, but this is the continued
conversation...
John 14:1-6
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in
me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I
am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.
Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we
know the way? Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
This tells us that we are not with Christ until He comes back to "receive
you unto myself." So what does this mean when applied to where the dead
are currently at when they die. Where is your Father, Grandmother, Sister, or
Brother who has died? The general answer is always, for the Christian, that
they're with Jesus. But is that what the Bible says?
1
Corinthians 15:50-58
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of
God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a
mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment,
in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,
and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For
this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. So when this
corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put
on immortality, then shall be brought
to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of
death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God,
which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my
beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the
Lord.
I view death as falling asleep. When we sleep, we dream. We aren't really
in these places we dream and many times they never happened to our
knowledge, but we still experience them even though our bodies are
unconscious and in a death-like state. When we wake up, they may have even
affected our conscious thought.
In death, we sleep. Our bodies remain in the earth while we "dream" a
shared dream with those who died in Christ of Abraham's bosom. The only
difference is this is reality, just in a "dream state."
When Christ comes for His bride, the last trump will wake the dead and
they will be raised in their incorruptible bodies and taken, with those
living who are changed, to meet the Lord in the air. This verse is not
representative of the harpazo, but it shows the relationship of sleeping
and waking as related to death. (The only time the unjust are raised is
the great white throne judgment after the millennium.
Revelation 20:4,5)
Daniel 12:2
And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some
to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
John 14 makes it clear that Christ has left to prepare a place for us. It
is also clear that Christ promises to return one day to gather us unto
Himself so that we can be with Him from that time on.
John 14:1-3
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a
place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be
also.
If we're already with Him when we die, why would He be promising to come
receive us to Himself so we can be with Him? It is His coming again that
brings us together as He gathers us to meet Him in the clouds.
Near Death Experiences (NDE)
-
Near Death Experience Cases & Research on Coast to Coast AM -
Dr. Jeffrey Long,
a leading researcher into near-death experiences (NDEs), shared new findings
and reports on the phenomenon. He also reacted to Prof. Kevin Nelson's recent
study (see below) which connected NDEs to out-of-body experiences (OBEs) and
sleep paralysis. While Long was pleased that research into this area was being
conducted, he was critical of the study's conclusions. He felt their surveys
didn't retrieve enough details from respondents, and that more information
could have highlighted the differences between these experiences. There is a
startling similarity across countries and cultures of what people report
during NDEs, which can include being greeted by deceased relatives and
friends, traveling through a tunnel, and undergoing a life review. Even NDErs
who have been blind from birth report seeing similar things, he said. About 5%
of NDEs involve hellish encounters, Long noted. In a few cases he's collected,
people have reported interactions with beings on other planets. He shared the
report of
Roger C. who described speaking
telepathically, and conveying images to members of an advanced civilization on
a distant planet. The beings, dressed in strange uniforms that molded to their
skin, expressed surprise when he told them that humans eat foods that had been
alive. "We knew there were primitive civilizations but not as bad as that!,"
they commented.
-
International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS)
- The International Association for Near-Death Studies
is the first organization in the world devoted exclusively to the study
of Near-Death Experiences (NDEs) and Near-Death-Like experiences.
Founded in 1978, it has become the premier NDE resource for research,
education and support. Based on scientific and scholarly research roots,
IANDS is the most trusted source for researchers, experiencers,
professional care providers, clergy and seekers of greater meaning.
-
Near Death
Experience Research Foundation (NDERF)
- The largest NDE Website in the world with over 1000 full-text published
NDE accounts.
-
After Death
Communication Research Foundation (ADCRF)
-
extensive information and
resources regarding after death communication (ADC), bereavement, grief,
life after death.
-
Out of Body
Experience Research Foundation (OBERF)
-
Out of Body Experience (OBE)
spiritually transformative events, consciousness studies, extensive
information and research. People share their stories and learn more about
different states of consciousness.
-
Dying
Testimonies Of Saved And Unsaved -
Solomon B. Shaw was a wise recorder of life-and-death scenes. His best-known
book is "Dying Testimonies of Saved and Unsaved", originally published in
1898. In this most touching, and spiritually rewarding, book, Shaw records
the dying scenes, and the last words, of both the saved and unsaved, both
famous and unknown. You will see the tremendous difference between those who
are Born Again and those who have refused salvation, as they approach the
hour of their death. As one physician once remarked, "Christians die well".
Biblical doctrines which saints of God have believed all their lives sustain
them wonderfully in the hour of their death. Many believers report seeing
angels coming to escort them to Heaven and the lights of that wondrous abode
shining around them as they lay dying. Conversely, you will realize that
many unsaved go through the agonies of Hell as they approach death, some
even feeling the fires of Hell and seeing demons in the room, coming to take
their spirits to the Abyss. You will also discover that the Biblical
doctrine that a person cannot come to Jesus on their own, but must be drawn
by the spirit -- Who gives the very desire to come to salvation -- is borne
out by the testimonies of the unsaved. No one should put off the promptings
of the Holy Spirit, thinking they can utter the correct words just before
they die and go to Heaven. Truly, God is not mocked! This book is wonderful,
and we recommend it to all our readers.
23 Minutes in hell
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