Nowhere in the Bible does it say it is “appointed” (Gk: ‘apokeimai’ - to be reserved, laid away) for humans to die more than once. Humans don't die, go to Heaven or Hell, and then come back, except Jesus, who is God incarnate.
“Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28 NIV)
There are many stories and YouTube Videos of people who swear they had a Near Death Experience (NDE), went to Heaven and spoke to Jesus or a dead relative or pet, etc., etc., etc. Yet, there is no way to validate, verify, or substantiate their stories, especially from the Bible. When a person has no heartbeat, breathing, or brain activity, that is described as clinical death, but it does not necessarily mean biological death, which is when a person's brain is damaged. Cells in the heart, brain, and other organs die from a lack of oxygen within 4-6 minutes and will progressively become worse from about 6-11 minutes. Generally, when 11-14 minutes have passed without a supply of oxygen to the brain, a person will have little chance of survival because of the damage caused, which is irreversible. At that point, 'personhood' is legally removed from the body.
The New Testament records a handful of people who died and were raised from the dead, but it does not record that anyone had an NDE. The most famous is Lazarus of Bethany, yet he was the third person Jesus raised from the dead. Lazarus was 100% dead and rotting in the grave for four days and was not near death (John 11:17). Jesus said, "Our friend Lazarus sleepeth, but I go, that I may awake him out of sleep" (John 11:11 KJV). The word' sleepeth/sleep' in Greek is '???µ??µa?' and is used in the Bible metaphorically and euphemistically equivalent to 'die of the sleep of death; to decease, the dead' (see Matthew 27:52; Acts 7:60,13:36; 1 Corinthians 7:39,11:30;15:6,18,20,51; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15). The result of these astonishing miracles was God was glorified, and many people believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Yet, some refused to believe in Jesus and plotted to kill Jesus and Lazarus (John 11:53; 12:10).
The first person that Jesus raised from the dead was the widow of Nain's son (Luke 7:11–17). Jesus came across a funeral procession that was leaving the city with a young man in an open coffin who had died within the last 24 hours. When Jesus saw the procession, He had compassion on the widow and physically reached out to touch the coffin, saying to the dead man, arise! The young man immediately sat up and began to speak. The people were astounded and began to glorify God. This young man was dead and not near death when Jesus spoke life into his body.
Many people believe that the daughter of Jairus, a leader in the synagogue, was the second person to be raised from the dead (Luke 8:40–56). Someone from the house of Jairus informed him that his daughter was dead. Jesus overheard them and said, "Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well" (Luke 8:51). Jesus then went to the house and told everyone there that she was "not dead but sleeping" (Luke 8:52). They laughed at Him. He then took her hand and said, "Child, arise," and her spirit returned. She got up, which amazed everyone there. What is interesting is that Jesus didn't say she was dead but only asleep, even though her spirit had already left her body.
The next person to be raised from was Tabitha (Acts 9:36–43). Tabitha, whose Greek name was Dorcas, was a Believer in Jesus who lived in the coastal city of Joppa. The Apostle Peter prayed for her. Dorcas was known for "always doing good and helping the poor" (verse 36). When she died, the Believers in Joppa were filled with sadness. They laid the body in an upper room and sent for Peter, who was in the nearby town of Lydda (vs 37–38). Peter came at once and met with the Disciples in Joppa, who showed him the clothing that Dorcas had made for the widows there (verse 39). Peter sent them all out of the room and prayed. Then, "turning toward the dead woman, he said, 'Tabitha, get up.' She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up. He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet" (verses 40–41). The overjoyed Believers received their friend, and the news spread quickly throughout the city. "Many people believed in the Lord" as a result (verse 42).
Eutychus was a young man who lived, died, and was revived in Troas (Acts 20:7–12). He was raised from the dead by the Apostle Paul. The Christians in Troas were gathered in an upper room to hear the Apostle speak. Since Paul was leaving town the next day, he talked late into the night. Eutychus was one of Paul's audience members and had sat by a window to hear him. He fell asleep, slipped out of the window, and tumbled three stories to his death (verse 9). Paul went down and "threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him" (verse 10). Eutychus came back to life, went upstairs, and ate a meal with the others. When the meeting finally broke up at daylight, "the people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted" (verse 12).
There were a number of people in Jerusalem who were raised from the dead at the exact moment of the resurrection of Jesus as well as at the moment of Jesus' death on the Cross as the "earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open" (Matthew 27: 51-52). Those open tombs remained open until the third day. At that time, "the bodies of many holy people . . . were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus' resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people" (Matthew 27:52-53). On the day that Jesus was raised to life, these holy people were also raised and became witnesses in Jerusalem of the life that only Jesus can give.
The Disciple Stephen had a supernatural revelation just before he died from being stoned to death by an angry mob that revealed a celestial scene where the Triune God was at work and on display. As he was dying, "full of the Holy Spirit," he "gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:55-60).
The widow of Zarephath's son was raised from the dead (1 Kings 17:17–24). The prophet Elijah was staying in an upper room of the widow's house during a severe drought in the land. While he was there, the widow's son became ill and died. In her grief, she brought the body of her son to Elijah with the assumption that his presence in her household had brought about the death of her boy as a judgment of her past sin. Elijah took the dead boy from her arms, went to the upper room, and prayed, "Lord my God, let this boy's life return to him!" (verse 21). Elijah stretched himself out on the boy three times as he prayed, and "the Lord heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived" (verse 22). Elijah brought the boy to his mother, who was filled with faith in the power of God through him: "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth" (verse 24).
The Shunammite woman's son was raised from the dead (2 Kings 4:18–37). The Prophet Elisha regularly stayed in Shunem in an upper room that had been prepared for him by this woman and her husband. One day, while Elisha was at Mount Carmel, the couple's young son died. The woman carried the body of her son to Elisha's room and laid it on the bed (verse 21). Then, without even telling her husband the news, she departed for Carmel to find Elisha (verses 22–25). When she found Elisha, she pleaded with him to come to Shunem. Elisha sent his servant, Gehazi, ahead of them with instructions to lay Elisha's staff on the boy's face (verse 31). As soon as Elisha and the Shunammite woman arrived back home, Elisha went to the upper room, shut the door, and prayed. Then he stretched out on top of the boy's body, and the body began to get warm (verse 34). Elisha arose, walked about the room, and stretched himself out on the body again. The boy then sneezed seven times and awoke from death, and Elisha brought the boy, alive again, to his grateful mother (verses 35–37).
The Prophet Elisha was connected with another miracle that occurred after his death. Some time after he had died and was buried, some men were burying another body in the same area. The grave diggers saw a band of Moabite raiders approaching, and rather than risk an encounter with the Moabites, they threw the man's body into Elisha's grave. The Bible records that "when the body touched Elisha's bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet" (verse 21).
The Apostle Paul wrote about a supernatural experience “a man in Christ” had who had been “caught up to the third Heaven. Many believe Paul was speaking about himself when he wrote the following:
"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 Corinthians 12:1-4 ESV)
Note that Paul was talking only about visions and revelations and not an NDE or death itself. The Greek word translated as "caught up" is 'harpazó,' which means to seize, catch up, snatch away (as in the Rapture), and is never used in the Bible to refer to death or dying. Paul also said he didn't know whether he was "in the body or out of the body," which means he had no idea how he received his vision or revelation. He also said that the things he heard could never be told or uttered, which means we have no idea where he heard them or what they were. Visions are biblical; NDEs are not.
While Paul was visiting Lystra, “some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe” (Acts 14:19-20 ESV). Note that nothing was said about Paul actually being dead. The people just thought he was.
He said nothing about the person having an NDE as that would contradict the Bible, which says that “people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment” (Hebrews 9:27 ESV). The words “caught up” come from the Greek word ‘harpazó, which means to seize, snatch, take away by force. In other words, God took him somewhere in a vision to show him things he could not talk about.
The result of these astonishing miracles was that God was glorified, and many people believed that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Yet, some refused to believe in Jesus and plotted to kill Jesus and Lazarus (John 11:53; 12:10).
The University of Virginia (UVA) School of Medicine did a comprehensive study on NDEs. It noted that people have a common pattern of events when they are experiencing intense threats, are seriously ill, or are close to death. They found that most people experienced things that were affirming, such as:
- Sensations of leaving the body and being drawn into darkness or a tunnel, sometimes seeing their
own physical body
- An intense light
- Quickly functioning, sharp minds
- Sensations of peace, well-being, or complete love
- Remembering important past events
- Previews of future events
- Encounters with deceased family, friends, or religious figures
However, not all so-called NDEs are positive. The International Association for Near-Death Studies published an article written by Nancy Evans Bush and Bruce Greyson, MD, the National Institutes of Health entitled, "Distressing Near-Death Experiences: The Basics," which said, "The great majority of NDE experiences reported publicly over the past four decades have been described as pleasant, even glorious. Almost unnoticed in the euphoria about them has been the sobering fact that not all NDEs are so affirming. Some are deeply disturbing. Few people are forthcoming about such an event; they hide; they disappear when asked for information; if inpatient, they are likely to withdraw; they are under great stress."
THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE
At the moment Jesus died, many people were raised from the dead.
“The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many." (Matthew 27:52-53 ESV)
The word "saints" (Gk: 'hágios' means holy, different from the world, and set apart for God. The verse does not explicitly say if it was their physical or spiritual bodies that were raised. Nor does it tell us if they had been in the grave a few minutes, days, or a millennium. The verses tell us that the resurrection of Jesus brings resurrection to others.
Human logic, opinion, emotions, feelings, dreams, visions, experiences, clinical 'evidence,' church dogma, or the teachings of 'spiritual' leaders can never be the basis for sound doctrine, they will be "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Ephesians 4:14 ESV).
The Born-again Christian must learn to "walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7 KJV). The Christian can't be established upon sensory spirituality or experiential eisegesis that is based upon the belief in the abstract and subjective 'I hear - I see - I feel - therefore, it must be real' feelings, emotions, and experiences. The five senses - taste, feel, hear, see, and smell - are all rooted in the fallen flesh of humanity. It must be God's written Word, which serves as the concrete cognitive foundation upon which all decisions and beliefs are based. The Bible must be studied from God's perspective, not ours.
The relating of experiences or 'divine revelation' outside of the Word of God is what Paul calls "fables." The minute you open the door and teach from the basis of experience, you lose authority and introduce confusion. You should consider the experience but also note the limits of the knowledge that God has revealed. Experience does not add to the truth of Scripture. Born-Again Christians are not to be "tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14).
Jesus is "the God of the Living" and not "the God of the dead who will centuries later come back to life" (Mark 12:27 ESV). Heaven is a paradise for all Born-Again Christians (2 Corinthians 12:1-4). Everyone, including those who just died in the Great Tribulation, will accompany Jesus when He returns from Heaven (See Hebrews 12:23; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14; Revelation 6:9-11; 7:9-17).
Jesus is the "resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die" (John 11:25-26 ESV). In context, the word "believes" (Gk: pisteuó) means to have been persuaded to entrust your life to Jesus with unwavering confidence as long as you live.
The Born-Again Christian doesn't need to wait for eternal life to happen somewhere in the distant future. Eternal life begins at the moment of conversion, when a person repents of their sin and receives Jesus as Lord and Savior; then the Kingdom of Heaven is within them (Luke 17:21; John 5:24, 17:2, 1 John 5:11-12, 20).
The enemy can disguise himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14-15). It would be better for a person to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of God's children to stumble (Luke 17:2).
A near-death, and not actual death, experience is possible and could be used by God when it aligns with Scripture. Christians are to value the truth found in the Bible over any possible experience in a so-called NDE (John 8:32). Subjective experience must never overrule the clear teaching of the Bible, which reveals His ways, character, and nature and is the only trustworthy way to hear the voice of God because it is "breathed out" by Him "and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
God's Word, the Bible, is the absolute truth because it was written without error by His inspiration through human hands. The Born-Again Christian should rely on what the Scriptures teach to understand their experience, rather than letting experiences shape or add to their perceptions of the Scriptures. Subjective experience must never overrule the clear teaching of the Bible.
No one knows what will happen in the time that lies ahead. Today is the day to make a decision; you do not want to be like the rich man Jesus spoke of.
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry. But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:16-21 NIV)
No one knows the “day or hour” when their time will be up in this life (Matthew 24:36). There are no second chances when you die. However, “if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve” … and hopefully say, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 234:15 NIV) and hear the Lord say when you stand before Him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant!” (Matthew 25:23 NIV)
