This next bit is going to seem somewhat bizarre especially when dealing with spirits buzzing freely about from place to place; some would call it teleporting or teleportation. BEWARE of this stuff as those in the occult get involved in it through mind control or some such thing. What I relate here today has nothing to do with that 'type' of teleportation.
As we have been 'reading through' the The Eternal Journey book, birthed by authors Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D. & Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D, and highlighting bits of interest, to me, now we will see some spectacular reportings in this 'episode' as seen from the book, about just such occurrences of teleporting that people who have had Near Death Experiences (NDE) related.
From the book page 103-105...
"Apparently everyone does not instantly realize that they have died. Earthly concerns, desires, expectation, & habits do not suddenly cease with death...
It took George Ritchie, a young soldier training to become a physician during WWII, a long time to realize that he had died. His first memories of his unusual experience occurred when he awoke. He sat up in his bed & found himself in a tiny room. He got out of bed, noticed that there was someone in the bed, but didn't realize it was him. He left the room to find an orderly, & when he did, the orderly refused to acknowledge his presence or to answer his questions. When he tried to force the orderly to respond to him, he was shocked when his hand & arm went through the orderly. Puzzled by this experience, but not suspecting that he had died he left his tent & headed toward his home in Virginia. As he traveled he found himself rising higher & higher until he was looking down on West Texas towns flashing below him (which he told himself was impossible). He decided to return to Camp Barkeley, Texas, to try to find out what was happening to him. When he arrived, he searched until he found the tiny room with the person still in bed. The person's hand was hanging below the covers & he was shocked to see his class ring on the hand & that hand had to be his. He observed:
"But...if that was my ring, then--then it was me lying under that sheet. Did that mean that I was...It was the first time in this entire experience that the word 'death' occurred to me in connection with what was happening.
But I wasn't dead! How could I be dead & still be awake? Thinking. Experiencing."
> I've read in other books that those who practice teleportation--occult & such do teleport similarly as this. They do so, often to wreck havoc with other peoples' lives. I believe that this fellow's experience is akin to teleporting although NOT to do mischief.
However, I believe there needs to be some distinguishing definitions here. Perhaps other terminology needs to be employed. Two words: Out-of-body experience (OBE) and teleportation. The former OBE is more or less the same as the NDE, from what I can tell (don't quote me on this), which is kind of what this man Ritchie seems to have experienced. However if he had been "dead", so called, then I suppose you'd call that a NDE while the OBE is very much while the person is alive. Try to reach conclusions on that one for yourself. I haven't really researched it much so, again, don't quote me. On the other hand, to teleport, is definitely while a person is alive and they can move from one place to another with body and soul and spirit, at high speeds suddenly materializing, from point A, at point B. Something about "quantum mechanics/physics blah, blah, blah".
As mentioned in the introduction, be very, very wary of this. It has to do with mind control with certain sectors of people and not to be played with especially if you are a follower of Jesus Christ! However, scientists supposedly can send an atom from one side of the room to another (look it up), and feel that in time there will be machines to be able to help us to do this in a jiffy; some super sonic kind of high speed airplane, I suppose. But this George Ritchie stayed 'on earth' in his NDE which differs from most accounts where most go 'out of the world' and see heaven & hell and beings there.
As I gleaned from the above quantum mentioned website, Jesus teleported, and He teleported others as well for good reasons. The article mentions that Jesus "got into the boat" during the time of the storm and Jesus was walking on the water (another miracle), the boat being yet a couple of miles from land, yet when Jesus got into the boat, "they were at the shore, immediately" (John 6:16-21). How about the time the disciples were in a room with all the doors closed and locked for "fear of the Jews" (John 20:19) when Jesus appeared in their midst? Then there was the two on the road to Emmaus who asked Jesus to come in and dine with them. They eventually realized this man was Jesus and then Jesus suddenly "vanish from their sight" (Luke 24:31). In Acts we see Philip suddenly appear and disappear for the benefit of the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8:38-40) to come to Christ. According to the article, that was likely over a distance of 40 miles!
Note here that the author of the above mentioned article, a Dcn Joseph Gleason, also mentions something about Habakkuk and Daniel. As far as I know there are only 13 chapters in the book of Daniel and the story of Daniel in the lion's den is in chapter 6 with absolutely no mention of Habakkuk. So not sure where he got that info. However the rest seems to be told 'straight'.
There is another chap, Tom Terry, by name, who has an excellent article on the subject of teleporting as related in God's Word. Take a look at it.
All this is almost unfathomable to our human minds.
From the book Page 105...
"Ritchie's question suggests that he believed that with death comes a cessation of the activities associated with the physical body, including action & thought. Obviously that was not what he was experiencing, & this shocked him. He had a body with legs, hands & feet. He could not only hear & see, he could think & act. He had a body not too different from his physical body in appearance & function but significantly different in other ways. But what he could not do was be seen or communicate with the living."
> Yes, it would be a weird experience! How to explain it? Ritchie asks a very good question, "how could he be dead yet still awake?" The human spirit once 'breathed' into man will be everlasting: everlasting life with Christ or everlasting death in hell are the two options when we leave this world of Earth. Be sure you are ready to die at an given moment. To be "with Christ" will be far better. We have covered a lot of this theme in earlier entries of this title. If you start at Part 1 & read straight through all you will have better continuity of the overall ideas and messages from God's Word we need to know in the here & now.
We need to be reminded though that God does not want us attempting to communicate with the dead no matter how much we miss and long for our departed loved ones. What you are more likely to encounter are evil spirits impersonating the deceased (Deuteronomy 18:9-14).
We have seen in prior entries of On the Doorstep, But Don't Get to Enter, that Lazarus was not allowed to go back and talk to the rich man's brothers and warn them about the after earth life. Abraham told him, no, if they don't believe what the prophets of old had passed on to them while in life, then they will not listen though one rose from the dead.
Communicate with those in the land of the living. More important is to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. He is risen! He is alive! Praise the Lord for this!
From the book Page 107...
"I was a dual personality", on the bed lay my dead body of flesh & bones absolutely lifeless & dead. But my spirit in the same image stood before that bed, freed from all pains filled with new life & ambitions & new hope to live. Now I understood that it is the spirit that gives the power to the mortal body of flesh & bones to function & keep alive." ~Herman Stulz~ 'out-of-body' experience~
> Yes and no.
It is God who gives us human kind the spirit that empowers our mortal being & is the one which keeps it going. We can do nothing of ourselves unless God keeps us breathing. I'm going to spell out a list of Bible verses below having to do with the 'spirit of man' and of God's Holy Spirit works to sustain ours. Please read them in their entirety. Very interesting.
1 Corinthians 2:9-11
vs11. "For who among men know the thoughts of a man except the man's spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
Numbers 16:22
"But Moses & Aaron fell face down & cried out, "Oh God, God of the spirits of all mankind, will you be angry with the entire assembly when only one man sins?"
Job 32:8
"But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty that gives him understanding."
Genesis 2:7
"...the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground & breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, & the man became a living being."
John 4:24
"God is a spirit & his worshipers must worship in spirit & in truth."
1 Corinthians 2:14
"The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God for they are foolishness to him & he cannot understand."
"The man without the Spirit" refers to God's Holy Spirit. When a person accepts Christ as Lord & Savoir, the Holy Spirit will instantly indwell that person. Then that person can have some understanding of God's things.
Ecclesiastes 3;3
"Who knows if the spirit of man rises upward..."
If a person knows Christ, they will definitely "rise" to be "with Christ" upon death.
Ecclesiastes 12:7
"...and the spirit returns to God who gave it."
Job 27:3
Job says: "as long as I have life within me, the breath of God is in my nostrils..."
1 Corinthians 14:32
"The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets."
2 Timothy 4:22
"The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you."
James 2:26
"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead."
1 Peter 4:6
"...but live according to God in regard to the spirit."
Yes, it is our spirit that keeps us going but it is God who is the keeper of our spirits.
~ERC 2016~
Have you ever wondered what would be left of what has made you, you, after your earthly body fades away and extinguishes? What does your 'you' look like then, when you leave this world? The authors of The Eternal Journey, Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D. & Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D, tell us what folks who have had Near Death Experiences (NDE) have revealed to researchers over the years.
From the book Page 101...
"Just what is it that survives death? It is evident from the accounts reported in Chapter 6 that those who die retain an identifiable familiar identity. They are seen & have bodies that resemble those they had on earth. But just how much of "them" was carried over into the next life?"
"Some people who had "died" were permitted to see into the spirit world as they were dying & the reports of those who "died" & were permitted or required to return to life..."
> A person is made up of a spirit, soul and body. Upon death, the spirit/soul leave the body and go to be "with Christ" if the person happens to have been a follower of Jesus Christ, or to Hades, if the person had not. At the time prior to Christ's death and resurrection, you will recall from earlier on in this series that there were two 'departments' in Hades: one for those of faith and one for those without. We have seen the interaction between the Rich Man & Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31), the one being "in torment" & Lazarus being at ease in "Abraham's bosom". The Rich Man recognized Lazarus and also Abraham's form.
On the 'Mount of Transfiguration' (Matthew 17:1-13), Peter, James and John identified Moses and Elijah as being the two figures who had appeared there talking with Jesus.
Christians will get an imperishable body in time to come...after all its got to last for all eternity (1 Corinthians 15:42-53). This is really great to think about especially for those of us getting on in years and the wear and tear on our bodies is ever so much more evident. People look for the fountain of youth and all that stuff. Forget it. Don't bother. God's going to do something a whole lot better!
Having said that we do recall those whom Jesus did raise from the dead during His time on earth: the Lazarus who was Mary & Martha's brother (John 11:38); the widow of Nain's son (Luke 7:11-17) and the 12 yr old damsel (Mark 5:21-43). But they have all 're-died'. Miracles. Not NDE. Actual raising from the dead. At Jesus's resurrection, there were also many other persons that came out of their graves & were seen by many (Matthew 27:52, 53). It must have been kinda freaky for both the 'raised' and for their families and friends but likely joy once they'd gotten over the shock of having their departed loved one 'arrived' back. At that time, their bodies were not changed to the 'imperishable' as they would have had to die again and it was not yet the 'day of judgment'.
Jesus, of course, is the exception in this case. Do note here that these were all raised back to life, by God or Jesus; they were not 'self-raised'. Only Jesus was self-resurrected.
So whether a person has had an NDE or has been well and truly dead as the above mentioned folks, we have to instill the verse from Scripture, "It is appointed unto man, once to die [except those mentioned above] & after death the judgment (Hebrews 9:22-28), into our minds. We need to get a deep hold on the meaning.
We do not know the day nor the hour in which we will die. We also do not know the day or hour in which God will say enough is enough of the sinning on earth. Time to stop it. We must "prepare to meet God (Amos 4:12). "After death is judgment..." Mankind will face judgment. To prepare to meet our Maker we must accept Jesus Christ as Lord & Savior. He made atonement for our souls by dying on the cross, taking the penalty for our sins by dying & going to hell in our place, taking away the sting and curse of sin for the "whosoever" (John 3:16) once & for all, for all sin, for all time & for all people. When a person accepts Jesus' offer of salvation, God has his or her name in the Lamb's Book of Life (Revelation 13:8)
At the judgment day time, God will peruse that book and if your name is written therein, you'll experience the joy & bliss of being in His presence forever.
If not, He'll open the other books (Revelation 21:11-15) and find your particular one and show you your list of sins which His Son Jesus atoned for, yet you rejected the pardon, making His offer invalid to you; forever too late after death. How terribly, terribly tragic that will be for that person. "The wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23) and Hell (Revelation 21:11-15). To be forever in Hell--everlasting death & torment. Sorry to be so blunt but it is imperative for you to get this, plain and hopefully simple.
Dear, dear person reading this, I implore you to accept Jesus as Lord & Savior of your life before it is forever too late. How sad the sound. Begin a relationship with God through Jesus today and be able to look forward to the end of times with a glad and peaceful heart.
At death &/or at the resurrection (whichever comes first) then all followers of Jesus Christ can indeed look forward to that time when the imperishable body will reunite with our spirit/soul because that's what God's Word tells us. Families & friends will be able to recognize who's who of those who'd gone on before them just as the NDEer people have seen & told, not because they have experienced it but because God's Word says so! We will be the same, only different for all of eternity, rejoicing with gladness in God's presence. I hope and pray you will be there with me.
~ERC 2016~
"Death is the chariot our heavenly Father sends to bring us to Himself," so saith Mr. Erwin W. Lutzer in his book One Minute After You Die. Wow. Interesting chariot. And just to Whom is that chariot taking a departed-from-earth-believer to? To God Himself, our Heavenly Father. Yet, many think of their relatives greeting them. Well, I wouldn't mind that either but....
The book The Eternal Journey which tells of Near Death Experiences (NDE), by Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D and Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D, describes such scenes and says,
On Page 99 that...
"It is comforting to know that loving friends, relatives, or special emissaries will be there to guide or escort those who die...escorted & greeted by beings who love them unconditionally..."
And as reported by Marshall Gibson, 1922,
"There was a feeling of love and peace..."
"The function of the greeters "seems to be to ease them through the transition from the physical world to the next world."
> If you look at the story of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:19-31, you'll see this was the case for Lazarus who was seen in Abraham's bosom.
In Revelation, an angel (not a friend or relative) was showing John about (Revelation 22:8).
Daniel 10:2, 4 reports Daniel has visions and in them interactions with angels. Both John and Daniel's cases were not NDEs, rather visions. John was "in the Spirit on the Lord's Day" (Revelation 1:10) when he saw visions. Daniel was lying in bed and saw the visions in his mind, then wrote them down (Daniel 7:1-28). It was angels that tended to them and told them stuff.
However the Apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 tells of his experience that sounds a lot like an NDE; he couldn't figure out if he were in or out of his body. Maybe it was an NDE. Perhaps at the time that he had been stoned to death by angry men and left for dead (Acts 14:19-20). Just saying, maybe it was, maybe it wasn't. Paul declared in the 2 Corinthians passage that it was "the Lord" who revealed "inexpressible things he wasn't to reveal". He barely wanted to tell about it as he didn't want to boast nor did he want others to think he was some sort of superior person for having had such an experience.
Go back to Jacob and his ladder in Genesis 28:10-17. He was dreaming and seeing a vision of a ladder that reached up to heaven. There were the angels of God "ascending and descending" but his attention was riveted on "the Lord"; the "God of your father Abraham, and of your father Isaac". We'd tend to be enthralled by the angels of God, but Jacob had eyes only for "the Lord".
Another New Testament brother of note is Stephen, the first Christian martyr. He was stoned to death and just before his life was extinguished, he
"looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." and he said, "Look, I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." His focus was on Jesus. Jesus was "standing". "Standing" to receive him to glory (Acts 7:54-60 NIV).
Jesus was ready & waiting for him.
In Luke 16:22 we see that "angels came to escort Lazarus to Abraham's bosom". Lutzer of the One Minute After You Die book states:
"While relatives sorrow on earth, you will find yourself in new surroundings which are new beyond your imagination. Most probably, you will have seen angels who have been assigned the responsibility of escorting you to your destination, just as the angels who carried Lazarus..."
It appears that it's angels or God or Jesus whom folks see in the heavenly scenes, although it may not preclude the relatives idea as we hark back to what King David said about his baby that died, "I will go to him but he will not return to me" (2 Samuel 12:23). Even in this time of deep and tragic time of loss and mourning, David's focus was honed on "dwelling in the house of the Lord forever" (Psalm 23:6) and pondering on the goodness and mercy of God.
From all this I would ask again, "Just Whom do you wish to see most up there?" Yes, I have a little one up there I'd love to hug. I have grandparents I'd love to see again. I have some dear, dear departed friends there too. What makes Heaven, Heaven? Rather WHO? Let us focus on the One who sacrificed His life for us making atonement for our sins so that we can escape the wrath of God, and have the privilege of even going to Heaven to be "with Christ" for ever and ever.
Many people who have had NDEs have seen the two choices of places one could end up, have been told such things as: "you're not ready yet or it's not your time yet; go complete your mission you were meant to fulfill". I believe that they have had very narrow escapes especially if they have not "completed their mission". The biggest mission would be to accept the salvation God offers through His Son so that upon their death they can go to that wonderful place of light, love, peace and joy; "with Christ".
Two verses spoken by Jesus when He was on earth that can halt one in their tracks are from John 12:47-48:
"As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day..."
This is solemn; to have known yet to not do anything about it, to not choose aright. I plead with one and all to come to Jesus, just as you are, receive the salvation He offers and the "ticket" to everlasting life in God's wonderful City of Light and by that I do not mean, Paris!! I definitely mean that pure place of God's abode, Heaven.
Anyone who has had an NDE, needs to be sure they do what's right afterwards whether they've been greeted and toured about by an angel, friend or family member or not. Those who hear about it all must do so too. Do what's right in the eyes of God who certainly loves you to the core and that unconditionally; live by God's standards as marked out in His Word, the Holy Bible. Start today. Perhaps today that fiery chariot will come calling again, this time, for you; be ready!
~ERC 2016~
I kinda choke on this one, saying, "Oh, really?! Souls exist prior to birth on earth?" That's what the writers Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D and Harold A. Widdison, Ph. D. of The Eternal Journey book report on...
Page 92...
"Nine-year old Katie while unconscious at the bottom of a swimming pool, does not remember drowning but she does remember this as related by Melvin Morse:
"A tunnel opened and through that tunnel came "Elizabeth". Elizabeth was "tall and nice" with bright golden hair. She accompanied Katie up the tunnel, where she saw her late grandfather and met several other people. Among her "new friends" were two young boys--souls waiting to be born--with her and introduced her to many people."
> This seems to teach that souls are eternal, prior to, as well as, after, life in a body on earth. This would make people, God. Prior to creation, before Time began, in eternity past, a person's soul exists? Into eternity future, yes, but past, no! Only God is eternal on both ends and throughout Time. Only God is eternal. Human beings are NOT gods.
When a person becomes a Christian and joins God's family, they get eternal life. They get it from that very moment of salvation onwards and into eternity future even after their body dies; eternal life "with Christ", forever. A non-believer will have eternal death in Hell in eternity future.
As I have said twice before in this series, a good rule of thumb my husband taught me to remember while reading of such Near Death Experiences (NDE), is that they are just that, "experiences". They are experiences and not doctrine. We must needs measure all up against the Word of God, the Holy Bible.
In one online 'stack exchange' with Christianity, trying to tell us what the Bible has to say about life before conception, it says in Answer 7...
"The Bible doesn't explicitly say whether or not we exist prior to conception. Psalm 139 contextually, seems to be referring to the omniscience of God..."He would know us even before we were conceived..."
"It could be instructive to ask what would need to be in the Scriptures to give sufficient evidence for the belief in pre-conception existence. If there were a verse that indicated God spoke to us or heard our prayers prior to conception or indicated we had made a decision prior to conception ...those would be quite significant. No such verses exist, though."
King David of Old Testament fame asserted, in Psalm 51:5,
"I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me"
--but NOT before that. Again, this is significant to note.
One of the preachers in my church remarked that Adam did not become a "living soul" until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and the man became a living being" (Genesis 2:7). I, too, would allege that it was at that point that the soul/spirit of Adam began to be. It had not been waiting 'backstage' somewhere for a body to inhabit.
I believe this is the same for all other human beings since Adam and will continue to be God's modus operandi. If there are any spirits on the loose looking for a body, it's more than likely one of Satan's evil minions over and above a person's own spirit, trying to possess and control that person's actions. Having said that, these evil spirits were once angels and they too are created beings.
In this Christianity stack exchange alluded to and recounted from above, there is much said and apart from those points mentioned, which I happen to agree with (but not all, remarks from the LDS I do not adhere to), they too talk about Adam. Apparently the Hebrew word "Ruach", says this exchange, was used in the original text, and has the meaning "breath, wind or spirit".
To me, this is a strong indication that souls do NOT exist until the point of conception in the babe's mother's womb.
Therefore, I conclude, that the nine-year old had her experience (this, one cannot easily refute), but 'Elizabeth" was not one of God's angels rather one of Satan's minions masquerading as an angel of light, spreading deception of which he and they are professionals.
The best thing to know is not so much where we came from but where we are going? "After death is the judgement" (Hebrews 9:27) of our souls; are you prepared to face God your Creator, Sustainer? Come to God through Jesus Christ, the One and Only way to God. He will bring your soul to the safe Heaven haven to be 'with Christ' after death and that for all eternity when we belong to His family. Won't you come to Jesus today?
~ERC 2016~
People often wonder about the babies and very young children or about those whose mental capacity is hindered. What about them? Will God let them into Heaven without having to be "born again" through the salvation plan God offers the rest of us? Well this series I'm writing is about Near Death Experiences (NDE) as related by authors Craig R. Lundahl and Harold A. Widdeson (both Ph.Ds) in their book The Eternal Journey. They tell of NDEers who have 'seen' infants in a good place in the other world.
In the book on Pages 90-91, it states,
"INFANTS. Some people who have had near-death experiences report seeing infants who have died. One of these was a woman who in August 1848, had an extensive visit to the world of spirits. While there she saw an angel carrying an infant in her arms. She commented:
"One [angel] drew near me. I saw in her arms an infant "whence came this?" I inquired; and the angel answered, "I received it from a heart-broken mother at the gateway of death, as the spark of life expired in the external world, and I am conveying it to the sphere of infancy in the paradise of peace."
"Her spirit guide also told her that specific angels have been assigned to protect infants and to "meet" infant spirits as they leave the external world and enter into the spiritual. She then reported two children came toward her and she was told by one that children who die in infancy are innocent and are taken directly to paradise. The child went on to encourage her to tell parents that they were happy where they were and they were free from pain and sorrow..."
> The Bible does mention in Isaiah 40:11 that God will
"...feed His flock like a Shepherd. He will gather the lambs in His arm, and carry them in His bosom..."
If "the lambs" are in God's arm, and we believe that God is in Heaven, then, as in mathematics, if A = B and B =C, then A must also = C, then I believe that those babies, etc will be safely in Heaven whether or not they have been able to decide for themselves to accept or reject God's offer of salvation.
God is also concerned about another group. Have a look at Jonah 4:10-11:
"But the Lord said, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left...should I not be concerned about that great city?"
God spared the destruction of Nineveh partially for the sake of those people.
I have gotten some perspective on this from an article from Christianity Today by a Jim Denison.
In short, there were many verses covered and I shall list them later on. Some, such as Romans 5:18 talk about justification that brings life for all men; and Ephesians 2:8-9, which mentions about the decision to receive grace..."our decision to reject grace causes a person to NOT go to Heaven" (John MacArthur). Therefore if an infant, young child or those who are mentally challenged have not reached an "age of maturity", enough to make such a decision then they will have their names in the book of life.
There is no explicit answer to say YES or NO, babies, and others do or do not go to be with Christ if they die yet we know that King David of the Old Testament had great faith in God, and said, when his own wee one died,
"...While the child was still alive, I fasted and wept. I thought, "Who knows? The Lord may be gracious to me and let the child live.' But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." 2 Samuel 12:23
Couple those verses with Psalm 23:6, also written by Old Testament David;
"Surely goodness and love with follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."
If David believed he was going to "dwell in the house of the Lord forever" at the end of his earthly days, and that he would go to to be with his departed baby, then that seems very much like a, YES, the babies and "others incapable" (as one John MacArthur, puts it), will be in Heaven even though they do not accept nor reject salvation through Jesus Christ. This couplet from God's Word has given me a whole lot of great comfort over the years since my husband's and my own wee daughter had an early demise at the tender age of 15 months.
John MacArthur of Grace to You has a great little piece on the subject. He brings to our attention the verses Matthew 18:1-6; 19:13-15 and says they "affirm the Lord's love for them". From 2 Corinthians 5:21, we learn Christ carries our sins.
So we see, that according to Scripture, there is not an "explicit answer" to "Do babies go to heaven when they die? Or what about the mentally challenged?" However, MacArthur collates these two categories: the babies and those others
"incapable of professing faith in Christ", and says to get away from saying "age of maturity or accountability". Instead think, "condition of accountability".
He goes on to say that if a person has not reached
"sufficient mature understanding in order to comprehend convincingly the issue of law and grace, sin and salvation, that this is not an age but a condition."
It is a credible assumption that a child (or person incapable) who dies at an age too young to have made a conscious willful rejection of Jesus Christ will be taken to be with the Lord.
MacArthur's article continues,
"...Scripture teaches that condemnation is based on the clear rejection of God's revelation--whether general or specific--not simple ignorance." See also Luke 10:16; John 12:48 and 1 Thessalonians 4:8.
He also says,
"We can be assured that God will do what is right and loving because He is the standard of rightness and love."
All totaled, the NDEer who has seen infants in that wonderful place, is not far-fetched. Perhaps they are not exactly portrayed by the account above compared to the real scenario in Heaven but I believe from the Scripture verses recounted above that the infants and those others who do not have a "condition of accountability" will indeed be with Christ, "safe in the arms of Jesus", upon their death; safe forevermore. Praise God from whom all blessings come. He is the God of all grace, mercy and comfort.
~ERC 2016~
Here are some more Bible verses to research:
Jeremiah 17:10; Romans 2:8-9; Romans 6:23; Matthew 19:14; Luke 10:6; John 12:48; Revelation 21:4.
HI there, I decided to take a break from my On the Doorstep, But Don't Get to Enter series as I have found what I have been looking for, for a while. Way back in 1996, I had only been in SEA for about seven years but still felt the pull of my 'past' life in Canada on my heartstrings. So when we ended up in a certain country, I spotted some things that reminded me of 'home'. I wrote about them and sent it as a would-be hopeful entry to a Canadian magazine. Alas, it was not worthy of them yet having dug it up from the home archive in the present, I present it to you, slightly updated, in this blog form.
May I present .....
Nostalgic Canadian
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| Brunei Diamond |
Living in the small, oil rich country of Brunei (BREW'-nigh), situated in Southeast Asia (SEA), has not caused me to lose any fondness for Canada or Canadian things. Rather, the fondness has been honed by some discoveries of local 'Canadian flavors' that lend a taste of home.
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| The Pines |
Take, for instance, one lovely park that boasts corridors of pine trees and carpets of pine needles. My first trip there gave an almost overwhelming sense of awe and peace. A surprise from the Creator in which I could find sanctuary far from home.
Speaking of trees, would you believe there are maple trees here too?! Someone must have had a touch of humor (or maybe homesickness)--I never expected to find maple trees* in the tropics! They don't come in autumn colors, but to an observant eye, the green, yet distinctly-shaped foliage of a maple can be observed.
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| Disregard the flag... |
One local grocery store was supposedly promoting Canadian products (they looked more American to me) during their Canadian Day's specials. I spotted a jar of syrup with a maple leaf on its label. Snatching it up, I read, to my disappointment, "made in U.S.A." But...wait a minute...the back label read, "Product of Canada"--what a golden find!
Various people have told me that there are many Canadians (most often they are school teachers) in Brunei. In three years I have met only one Canadian who just so happens to be a nurse from Ontario. Although our paths rarely cross, it is rather nice to know there are some "kindred spirits" about.
Occasionally Canadian friends "pop over" from yonder shore. On a most recent trip they brought four or five copies oh...can you guess?..."Canadian Living" magazines; back issues, mind you, yet still relevant. These are great to help keep me abreast of what folks are eating and wearing; how they are decorating, having their babies (June '95 issue); and last, but not least what Peter Gzowski (also known as 'Mr. Canada' or 'Captain Canada') is up to on Morningside.
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| Brunei Rocks and Water |
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| SEA Bagpipers |
And finally, for the sound of Maritime music, an excursion to the port affords that waves-beating-upon-the rock aire; faint by comparison....Yet, with closed eyes, one's imagination can roam from dear Sambro to Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia; to forests, foods, and folks, and to bag pipers piping (they have these here too)--lilting a collective symphony to the Canada I remember.
~ERC originally written May 1996--presented here Nov 2016~
*P.S. Not so sure those maple trees survived well. They were good while they lasted.
Here again we bump into the idea that there is nothing to fear about dying. Actually there IS something to fear if a person has not accepted God's salvation. As said in other of the blog entries in this series, there is Hades and God on His Great White Throne to face and Hell for everlasting punishment; that is to be feared. A person can mock and jeer at this all they want, but they may well have a rude and terrifying awakening when it is their turn to die.
This On the Doorstep, But Don't Get to Enter series has been greatly based on findings in the book The Eternal Journey written by Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D. and Harold A. Widdeson, Ph.D. The book is about Near Death Experiences (NDE).
From the book pages 82-83 comes the following:
"Problaby the most frequently mentioned aftereffect of the NDE is that dying is nothing to fear. As Doreen Edwards stated flatly, "The terror I had of death is gone..."
"The specific events in the process of dying suggest that dying is a relatively painless, quick and simple process. As Betty Eadie was told by her guides in the other world, when a person is dying he or she is experiencing nothing more than a transition to another state."
> We cannot refute that these people have actually experienced and 'learned' these things. However, I query from whom they learned. Just who were their 'guides'? Does what was learned all match up to what God has to say in the Holy Scriptures, the Bible?
Certainly, if we are a follower of Jesus Christ, we need NOT fear death. Certainly it is a transition from death to the consummation of everlasting life with Christ in Heaven.
It is an out of the body experience. Our body is only our "house" for our spirit and soul. So, a transition to another state could simply mean, just that.
However, I believe we need to have a healthy fear of where our spirit and soul will end up after death. That is what a person needs to address. Have you accepted Jesus Christ as Savior, allowing Him to give you that gift of salvation and atonement for your sins and soul? Have you? If you have, then, yes, I agree 100%---fear is unnecessary!
However, and this is a BIG 'HOWEVER', an important however, if a person has NOT accepted that offer of salvation, their spirit and soul will go to the waiting room called Hades, en route to Hell for everlasting death as already stated. This is a tragedy to be terrified of.
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezekiel 18:20-KJV).
God's Word in Revelation 20:14-15 (NIV) goes on to say,
"Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."
There are not two ways about it. God has given us His warnings, we will do well to be afraid and take heed.
Later on in the book there is a section re: souls who've experienced a taste of that during their NDE. Being in Hell forever is definitely something to fear so, all totaled, I believe that Doreen Edwards and Betty Eadie may well have met the Deceiver (Satan) or one of his minions in the other world.
From the book page 85
"The primary fear of death for most people is a fear of pain and what, if anything, occurs after death. Death has always been thought of as the great unknown. However, 1000s of individuals just like Mr. Dippong have lived, died, and returned to report on what they have seen while they were clinically dead. There are also countless individuals who have caught glimpses into the next world just before they died and whose observations and reactions were recorded. The rich detail in these accounts does much to alleviate the fears and uncertainties about death that plague so many people today."
"What is it like to die? In studying thousands of recorded cases, the answer is clear. Dying may be very painful, but death is not. In fact, death itself is beautiful. One man in his twenties was dying from gunshot wounds in is abdomen. When he saw Jesus and felt he was going with Him, his mood changed from fear to acceptance, from agony to peace, and he was not afraid to die."
All I can say is that which the good book, God's Word, has to say in Hebrews 9:27,
"It is appointed unto man, once, to die and after death the judgement."
Also in 2 Thessalonians 1:8-9, where it reveals that if a person does not belong to Christ, the end is death and Hell; everlasting death and torment. That person should be afraid to die!
"He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of His power..."
If a person does belong to Christ, he or she will have their name written in the Lamb's Book of Life (Rev 21:27). They will be with Christ forever experiencing everlasting life and the joys it affords in His presence. This person does not need to be afraid to die. The gunshot fellow mentioned above must have been a child of God, and therefore his glimpse of Jesus and his peace before departure.
As was related in Part 1 of this series, my husband said to me, "All these stories are experiences; not doctrine." Thus one must always line up the experience to the plumb-line of God's Word. We are to "test the spirits to see whether they be of God" (1 John 4:1). Please, everyone, do look out for your soul and spirit. If what I have countered here is true, and I believe it is, then it is well for you believe it too; not just because I say so, but because God says so. The alternative, unbelief, will still get you to the wrong place. I would not wish that on anyone.
~ERC 2016~
According to many cited Near Death Experiences (NDEs), the person's spirit hovers about and can see such things as doctors and nurses trying to revive them, or they can look down from some "above" place and see their own bodies' lying there. The spirits can hover and loiter, so to speak. Writers Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D. and Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D. recount in their book, The Eternal Journal about NDEs who have remarked on what happens to the spirits after death and why they linger, they say on...
Page 82...
"After dying...One NDEer, Peter Johnson, states that he was informed in the other world that his first duty would be to watch his body until it had been disposed of because this was necessary knowledge for him to have for the resurrection..."*1
> I believe this to be hogwash and the fellow likely hoodwinked by Satan or one of his minions (evil spirits). Why would I say that!?
God is very capable of gathering us back together even if a person has been cremated and had their ashes spread far and wide. God's Word informs us in Revelation 20:13-14 that,
"The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what he had done..."
Our spirits don't have to search about for our departed, decayed bodies; or what's left of them.
Also, we followers of Jesus Christ will be given incorruptible bodies so we don't need to know where our old earthly, corruptible body has been buried nor where our ashes have been stashed or scattered to the winds (1 Corinthians 15:53). God has given the believer "everlasting life"; their body needs to be able to last.
Those who will go to Hell will have bodies that never get burned up although they likely will feel the pain of the lake of fire, as we have learned in Part 7, that Hell is "everlasting punishment and destruction".
So saying, I don't believe we have to worry about our bodies' whereabouts when we die. I'll let God take care of it.
Another reason given as to why peoples'...
"spirits choose to hover about on earth for a short time"*2
after death, according to Betty Eadie, is...
"to comfort their loved ones".*3
> This does not ring true to me. I have been to several Chinese religion funerals, and the families of the deceased were not comforted. In fact they do everything possible to "persuade" the spirit to go peacefully to where it is supposed to go by burning "hell notes" and making appeasement sacrifices in the form of various foods that the deceased enjoyed during earth life; and the burning of articles made of paper in the shape of cars or computers, etc. They have a continual recorded chant beckoning the departed to go to the 'right' place. When they leave the funeral parlor and the grave site and go home they will make a little fire at the entrance to the driveway of their home. Family members will be compelled to step over that fire to deter the spirit of the departed loved one from coming home and disturbing the family with unrest.
These actions show fear. I can not understand why a departed loved one who was good, kind and loving in life would suddenly turn and wreck havoc in the family?! This is not comfort at all. This is distinct discomfort if you ask me.
In the movie The 6th Sense, a little boy is disturbed, well, not mildly disturbed, he was terrified by the spirits whom he could see loitering about and that were even injuring him. They wanted to make him do things for them. Granted the spirits wanted to set wrongs they had been dealt in life, straight. For instance one little girl's spirit kept badgering him til he was told by an adult, who in the end turned out to be a departed spirit as well, to see what the girl spirit wanted. Her mother had been instrumental in her death. Unbeknownst to the mother, the girl, while still alive, had videoed the mother's actions. The girl spirit then wanted the boy to find that video tape and give it to her father so that the truth of the matter would be revealed.
I do not believe that these things can happen. Rather, I believe that, if there are spirits roaming about that they are evil spirits sent from Satan. He likes to have a semblance of doing good thus the portrayence of it as in the movie-story related above but he is always a deceiver and so are his minions. They masquerade as the departed. They are very tricky like their master Satan whom God abhors. As mentioned in Part 5, God "strictly forbids" communicating with the departed spirits.
Lazarus was not allowed to go back to earth to help or watch over anything (Luke 16:24-26). In fact he was very comfortable in Paradise; his worries and torment over. In 1 Samuel 28, King Saul begged the Witch of Endor (both in bodily form in the land of the living) to communicate with the prophet Samuel (deceased and spirit form) to get some information about the coming battle. Samuel scolded him for disturbing him. The witch, herself "cried out with a loud voice". This was unusual for her too. She was not used to "the real thing". One can only conclude she was used to the demons manifesting and deceiving.
God's Word does not tell us to engage the evil spirits. We are to don the armor of God and stand firm and pray (Ephesians 6:10:-17). We are to submit to God, and to God alone (James 4:7). We are to resist the devil. If we are listening to the supposed spirits of the departed, we are then being controlled by them. We believers in Jesus Christ should only be controlled by the Holy Spirit of God.
As mentioned in the introduction above, it is the spirit of the NDEer that is hovering and loitering and that can 'buzz' about. Near Death, are the key words. If a person is dead their spirit will go to be "with Christ" or go to Hades and stay there till the resurrection of the dead when they will then stand before God to be judged, either before the Bema Seat (for Christians) or the Great White Throne (for all the others). This is the knowledge we need to have in the here and now. Prepare to meet God now in this very alive and living-on-earth-moment (Amos 4:12)! Are you ready to meet your Maker? He'll take care of your body as well as your spirit.
~ERC 2016~
Bibliography
1. The Eternal Journey;
Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D. and Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D.; copyright 1997;
Warner Books, Inc., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 A
Time Warner Company; page 82.
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.
Well, now, we come to a statement by one lady who has had a Near Death Experience (NDE) a way back in 1973 and since has written a book about it. Although I do not refute that she has had her experience, I do not accept all she says as truth. Much of what she says goes contrary to God's Word. We must always measure up what we hear, see, or learn, to the teachings of the Bible.
Here I will quote what authors Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D. and Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D. have written about what she said she was told during her NDE in their book The Eternal Journey,
Page 76...
"Betty Eadie was told by her guides in the other world that when we die "we experience nothing more than a transition to another state".*1
> I think this declaration needs to be qualified...it seems to me like a subtle Satanic lie to mislead folks.
Death will not be so simple a transition for the non-believer in Jesus Christ. There will be Hades and then Hell at the end of time on earth. We learn from The Rich Man in Luke 16:19-31 that he was "in torment". That was only Hades!
In time up until the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, it is said that Hades had two areas and there was a "great gulf fixed betwixt the two". The rich man could look over and see Lazarus and Abraham and visa versa but they could not access either place from where they were. The rich man in torment could see Lazarus in good hands and comfort. Once Jesus rose from the dead, He "led captivity captive" (Ephesians 4:8; Psalm 68:18); meaning those in the Paradise side got out of Hades and went to be "with Christ" (Philippians 1:23).
As Erwin W. Lutzer put it in his book, One Minute After You Die, page 49,
"What about the believer, Lazarus? He was in that region of Sheol or Hades, which is called here "Abraham's Bosom". But after the ascension of Christ believers are said to go directly to heaven. In other words, the two regions of Hades no longer exist side by side; there is reason to believe that Abraham's bosom is in heaven today.
So if you die and your spirit goes to Heaven, you will not be able to see those who are suffering in Hades as Lazarus did. Perhaps at the ascension, Christ took those who were in Abraham's bosom (near those who suffered in Hades) to Heaven with Him. So Abraham's bosom, paradise and Heaven all refer to the same abode, namely the place of bliss in the presence of God. [See 2 Corinthians 5:8])."*2
If this is true then perhaps the diagram above is not quite accurate either. However it will give you an idea of things. From being "with Christ" the believers in Jesus Christ will still be reunited with their bodies (resurrection, as depicted in the diagram), for the Bema Seat. Christians will have a different kind of "judgement" at that time.
From various verses in the Bible we get such descriptions of Hell as being a place of: "fire and brimstone (sulfur); everlasting punishment; a furnace of fire; everlasting destruction; wailing and gnashing of teeth; smoke of their torment; lake of fire". That is a horrid list and definitely something to fear.
True enough, that the moment a person dies, they do make a transition to another place: either Hades, or to be "with Christ". If one has faith in Jesus Christ and has accepted Him as their Savior, then Heaven it is for them; they transit from earth to "depart and be with Christ which is far better" (Philippians 1:23). See Part 3 to learn a bit more about Hades.
In time to come all the souls will be recalled to be reunited with their bodies, to the Great White Throne or the Bema Seat. But we'll see about that another day. Let us not be lulled into complacency that the hereafter is just "another state". It is serious to end up in Hades. It is not a place to want to venture. In the here and now on earth, I once again implore all the readers of this blog to come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. He loves you. He cares about you. He wants you in His family. Come to Jesus today. Won't you accept?
~ERC 2016~
Bibliography
1. The Eternal Journey;
Craig R. Lundahl, Ph.D. and Harold A. Widdison, Ph.D.; copyright 1997;
Warner Books, Inc., 1271 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020 A
Time Warner Company; page76.
2. One Minute After You Die; Erwin W. Lutzer; Moody Publishers; January 5th, 1997; page 49.
