There are many different stories of near-death and actual death experiences. When someone is proclaimed legally dead and has been revived and brought back to life, somehow an individual might remember their experience. The fact is that people have had spiritual experiences while on the threshold of death and have lived to tell their stories. These near-death experiences have helped many to overcome a fear of dying.
There is a natural fear of not knowing what is on the other side and what could happen when we get there. In dealing with the issue of death, there is a great paradox: To be able to live fully, we must somehow come to terms with death, especially our fear of it. Our most primary fear of death is rooted in the body's survival instinct (Rosen 150).
Regardless of whether or not we believe in God, it is a fact that everything living will eventually die. But death leaves nothing to fear if we are in the hands of the loving savior Jesus Christ. This is accomplished by accepting Jesus into our lives and giving up anything that could separate us from God's love.
Repentance is giving up what is wicked or evil. God gave us the Ten Commandments and summarized them with, Love one another as He has loved us (St. John 15:12). Furthermore, Do not commit murder; Do not commit adultery; Do not steal; Do not lie; Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself (St. Matthew 19:18).
In Beyond the Light, P.M.H. Atwater describes the mysteries and revelations of many near-death experiences. The author has devoted years to researching this phenomenon. She has interviewed hundreds of others who have experienced the after-life. "Not all of these experiences pertain to the pretty stories about heaven, that's not the way it is. There's a hell, and people go there" (41).
Atwater explains that people don't want to hear the gruesome stories about hell: "At the 1990 Washington, D.C. conference of the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS), Bruce Greyson admitted that people like him had not been asking the right questions to identify those who might have undergone dark or distressing episodes. He confessed: "We didn't try to find them because we didn't want to know." His comment underscored the fact that published reports of near-death studies have sidestepped negative accounts" (41-42).
Everyone must know that Satan is real and very powerful. The Bible describes Satan as a deceiver and a thief: "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the fullest" (John 10:10). The Holy Bible also says, "Satan was a murderer from the beginning" (John 8:44). If you are a child of God, then you don't have to worry about what Satan can do to you. God gives us all the necessary tools to overcome the tricks of the devil.
Many religions of today fail to mention such a place as hell. We don't want to hear it. We want to hear about the streets of gold and the pearly gates of heaven. What's going to happen to the ones who reject Gods plan of salvation? Jesus said, "Unless you repent, you shall all perish" (Luke 13:3, 5). He said many times, "Go and sin no more and your sins shall be forgiven" (St. John 5:14). However, we must love one another as well. Jesus also informed us that we "must be born again".
The Holy Bible speaks of hell in Matthew 10:28: "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. Also in Mark 9:47: And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: According to Jesus, facing the reality of life after death is the most significant issue of life" (10 Reasons To Believe In Life After Death).
The book Saved by the Light, by Dannion Brinkley, is a true story about a man who died twice and about the revelations he received during this time. The first time, Brinkley was struck by lightning coming through his phone line on September 17, 1975. He was hit so hard by a jolt of lightning that it knocked his boots off and he was hurled to the ceiling. He died and described his memory of this event as his life flashing before him. He saw a brilliant Being of Light and described the communication as follows: "There were no actual words spoken, but this thought was communicated to me through some form of telepathy" (20).
The message was clear to Brinkley: "Humans are powerful spiritual beings meant to create good on the earth. This good isn't usually accomplished in bold actions, but in singular acts of kindness between people and it's the little things that count, because they are more spontaneous and show who you truly are" (20, 21).
Brinkley was about to be taken to the morgue when his friend Tommy came and stood next to him. Brinkley was paralyzed. There was a sheet over his head. He couldn't speak! All he could do to signal he was still there was to blow on the sheet. Tommy saw this and shouted, "He's alive, he's alive" (52)!
Brinkley's fingernails had been burned off by the lightning and were nothing but black stubs. He was completely paralyzed for six days and had to rehabilitate himself because the doctors, nurses, and even his family didn't believe he'd recover. This bolt of lightning had damaged Brinkley's heart; yet he survived despite all the circumstances.
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Brinkley also has a chapter in the book Experiencing the Soul. This describes his recovery experience in more detail. He became a hospice volunteer for seventeen years, helping people who were terminally ill to cope with their fear of dying.
In As We See It from Here, the Holmes Research Team discusses the spirit: "to set all things right with the world around you is the sweet water of repentance and forgiveness that washes away the old emotional holds upon your being which have existed so long. Only then is it possible for man to tune into this great life-wave of Love or Divine spirit circulating throughout the physical and spiritual worlds of this planet" (101).
What is Spirit? The Holmes Research Team defines spirit as energy and concludes, "Scientifically, it is the wavelengths of different vibratory forces of light" (99). Holmes also mentions past lives but I strongly disagree. I have been led to believe that each individual has only one body and one spirit. The Holy Bible tells us this: "It is appointed to men to die once, afterwards is the judgment." Hebrews 9: 27
For whatever reason, many are deceived by the notion that it is okay to try to communicate with a deceased loved one. The Holmes Research Team mentions, "Communication with loved ones who have departed the physical plane is not recommended for at least six months to a year afterward" (110).
I am convinced that trying to contact the dead is an unhealthy attempt to escape reality. We can watch videos and look at pictures of our deceased loved ones, but the best thing we can do is to keep on living and focus on life. The dead people of this world are in a new dimension. The only way to go there is to die.
To try to make contact with the dead is also dangerous! People who are frustrated, bereaved, and want to communicate with the dead are looking for a way to escape reality. It isn't wise to focus on these things. The main objection to searching for mediums is found in The Holy Bible, "Do not practice divination or sorcery" (Leviticus 19:26) and, "Do not turn to mediums or seek out spiritists, for you will be defiled, (corrupted) by them" (Leviticus 19:31).
To consult a "familiar spirit" or a "medium" is to bring wickedness upon yourself. Is it possible to communicate with those who have passed into the next world? "There have been numerous books published on the subject with bitter controversy. The truth is that communication can take place, but don't expect it to happen. This is a difficult and uncertain possibility." Fox, (227).
Fox shows that much research has been done about communication with the dead. She concludes, "the truth is far rarer than most believers in it suppose, and it is always accomplished with considerable difficulty and uncertainty. It is more like the very early days of Marconi's experiments in wireless when an occasional broken message came through; but much more often it is mere atmospheric disturbances and meaningless movements" (227).
On the other hand, a deceased loved one might appear to us in a vivid dream. The deceased could be sending us a message to comfort us and to show us that life on the other side is pleasant and blissfully beautiful, if he or she is in the loving hands of The Heavenly Father. This particular incident happened to Ronnie after the death of our brother, Dennis. The dead in Christ are absent from the body, present with the Lord. "Truly I say to you, whoever hears my word, and believes in him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not be condemned; but is passed from death unto life" (St. John 5:24).
People who die belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ go to be with Christ at the time of their deaths. Although we have no guarantee of our being alive on earth in the next moment, many can rest assured of our eternal destiny through accepting Jesus as Lord and through a sincere repentance.
Jesus paid the ultimate price for everyone but we must accept this as fact. He was bruised for our transgressions. He died, was buried, and was resurrected on the third day so that we can have eternal life. Jesus is very much alive and omnipresent. The world as we know it can crumble and fall, but Jesus has the power to put it back even better than it was.
Contrary to the popular belief that only good things happen to God's children, the opposite might hold true. Yet God gives us the strength to conquer anything that we might encounter. "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).
"God gives us an armor to fight against wickedness" (Ephesians 6:11, 20). Part of this armor is made up of knowing that we have our salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. The rest is to know the word of God and to put our trust in Jesus for salvation.
Jesus is the key to an abundant life. He alone has the answer to everything. No problem is too small or too large for the Author of the Universe. Jesus raised the dead, healed the sick, made the blind to see, and gave the lepers back their hands and feet. Jesus Christ is the great physician. There is no doubt that the Lord will raise everyone from the dead as promised. We will be raised either to eternal corruption or to eternal life. The choice is ours. I have chosen life!
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