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.
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