Heaven Can Be Harmful To Your Health Series

For 40 years Rev. William Tennent served as pastor of the historic

Presbyterian Church at Freehold, New Jersey. As a young man this pastor

experienced a remarkable trance. He was in bad health, and one day while

talking with his brother he fainted away and appeared to have died. The

doctor pronounced him dead and the funeral service was arranged. Friends

assembled for it, and then to the amazement of everyone young Tennent spoiled

everything by opening his eyes. The funeral was canceled, and for weeks he

lingered near death, but finally recovered. It took a long time, but one day his

memory was restored, and he told of what he had experienced.

He said he was in another world being escorted along by a heavenly being.

They approached a new environment dazzling with glory and resounding with

the most beautiful music. There were innumerable happy beings there, and he

longed to stay with them, but he was told he must return to earth. This came as

such a shock that it was too much for him, and it took him a long time to

recover and face life on earth again. Such a story would be worthless if it had

not come from a man of God with such a solid reputation. If some crackpot or

fanatic told such a story, who would take it seriously? But this man of strong

repute cannot be dismissed, for his experience is similar to that of the Apostle

Paul.

Paul did not see, but he heard, and he too was left with a physical problem

after the experience. Going to heaven before you actually die can be harmful to

your health. It is not the trip there, but the return trip that does the damage.

If you stay, you never know suffering again, but to return to earth is a chock to

the human system. If man could actually organize tours to the heavenly Holy

City, as he does to the earthly Holy Land, he would have to advertise that this

trip may be harmful to your health.

Paul's experience of being caught up to heaven must have been a

marvelous one, but he does not tell us a single thing about what he saw or

heard, except that it was so out of this world that he was not allowed to tell of

it. All his emphasis is on what the trip cost him in terms of his health. Paul

had to pay a heavy price for his peak at heaven's glory. Examining his

testimony might convince us that it is better to wait until we die and enter

heaven permanently rather than to long for a special preview while we are yet

in the flesh.

Someone once asked G. Campbell Morgan if he thought people still had

such experiences, and he responded, "Undoubtedly. I am certain that

experiences like that have been granted under certain conditions to certain

persons, and always with a certain definite purpose." He went to say that a

real and authentic vision would be a very personal experience and one not

likely to be shared by the person experiencing it.

Had there not been a special need for revealing it we never would have

known that the Apostle Paul had such an experience. He had been laboring for

Christ all over the world, and he had spent much time with the Corinthians,

and yet never once did he mention his trip to heaven, but now he feels a need to

share it. It happened 14 years ago he says in verse 2. For 14 years Paul had

concealed this unique experience, for it was private, and he was fearful of

boasting about it. the experience led him to have to suffer with the thorn in the

flesh. Any boasting in pride about it to exalt himself could only lead to greater

problems, and so he was very cautious. Heaven had already been harmful to

his health, and he was not anxious to make it fatal.

The Corinthians, however, were having so many problems, and there was

so much pride among them because of the gifts of the Holy Spirit that Paul felt

it was necessary to share his experience with them. He was so careful to avoid

boasting that he refers to his experience as if it was another man who had it. He

was hoping that his humility about such a blessing would give the Corinthians

a pattern to follow to guide them away from pride and boasting over their

lesser spiritual experiences. The paradox we see here is that Paul is bringing

forth his hidden basis for boasting in order to build up his own authority, but

to do it in such a way that they will see the folly of boasting.

Some of them are strutting all over the place boasting of their ability to