If the post-earth life destinations of Heaven (referred to as the "City of Light" by NDErs) and Hades and Hell, (referred to by NDErs as "The Realm of Bewildered Spirits) are reality ( and I firmly believe in the infallible Word of God that declares there are indeed such places), then in the here and now on Earth, in the land of the living with their perishable bodies, we must prepare for such departure.
Many are the skeptics but it is better to be safe rather than sorry, don't you think? Once in Hades en route to Hell, there is no getting out; no escape, as has been alluded to several times throughout this series. There is impending doom.
Take the analogy of the weathermen. They warn of cataclysmic storms or tornadoes, or earthquakes and tsunamis. The foolish do nothing. The wise prepare. The weathermen are human beings and therefore wrong in their predictions at times. However God is Almighty and True and never lies. What He says in the Bible I believe to be 100% truth. Don't gamble your everlasting place of joy and peace, and love away due to unbelief.
Trust Jesus. God proved His love for you by sending His One and Only Son Jesus to take the penalty for your sin in your place. The penalty of death and Hell. He does not want you to perish eternally in Hell. He wants you in Heaven with Him. He wants to commune with you; to have a relationship with you now and continue it in heaven, forever in time to come. Won't you accept His loving gift of salvation this very day?
It was noted in the book that many NDErs had a change in religious beliefs, even from atheistic people. They went from dubious belief, or from no belief at all as to there being the existence of God, Heaven, Satan and Hell to full swing belief. Their lives attest to that, for the most part, changed for the better from the NDE impact, many even coming to Christ.
However, I've heard from a friend who knows and has interacted with, a person who has had an NDE. Sadly, and to her detriment, yes, she changed, but her focus appears indelibly altered to the wrong conclusion. She now worships angels which are created beings every bit as much as she has been, by God.
God's Word forbids worship of other beings; forbids making them their god (Exodus 20:3). One hopes that after all this NDE talk, that no one else will make the experience the focal point of praise and worship. A NDE is not a god. Rather, praise and worship your Maker, turn to Him the One true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. He is the One worthy of all worship and praise.
Garner a relationship with God through Jesus and serve Him. God's purpose and plan for each of our lives is to belong to Him through Jesus's death and resurrection and then to do good deeds to honor Him.
Initiated by God's love, we can make peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Then we work on the process of sanctification, inculcating the peace of God, developing peace of mind through our trust in Him in our every day living. Serving him and doing good deeds for sure, but also working on our character to become more Christ-like; "holy as He is holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16). This brings peace and calm even before RIP transpires.
Going back to the subject of having other gods...NDErs say materialism is not a purpose of life. True enough. We are to lay up treasure in Heaven not on Earth. What a person may amass on Earth cannot be taken along with them into the afterlife. As Job 1:21 says,
Naked in. Naked out; so to speak. That's why its so important to have Christ in our life. We can maintain our relationship with Him for all time and time to come whereas our earthly possessions are just that, earthly. Our future is in God's capable and faithful hands; He is everlasting and so will a relationship with Him be.
It was noted in Part 3, Part 6, Part 16, and Part 33 that suicide does not resolve problems in the afterlife; nor do addictions such as gambling, alcohol, drugs or even dependence on such things as pain medications, stop at death. After death, when the soul reaches Hades (non-Christians) those desires become amplified. We did learn in Part 15 that the five senses become keener causing unquenchable cravings that will torment for all eternity to come. The blessing of belonging to the family of God is that our only desire will be to please Him, and praise and worship Him in the peace and safety of His presence. This prompts me to make yet another appeal to those who don't yet belong to Jesus, to come to Him today.
After death it will be too late and no amount of praying from the living loved ones on behalf of those in Hades will change the situation one iota. Tragic but true. This is indeed something to fear.
So you discover that death is a whole lot more than "just a transition" from earth to post-earth life. If one rejects Christ, Hades and Hell await. If one accepts God's offer of salvation through Jesus Christ, Heaven awaits him or her who depart in peace to be 'with Christ". Truly, this is the only confidence one will have of ever RIP.
When the Christian spirits and souls do depart from their terrestrial bodies, they go to be "with Christ" and are met in Heaven by Jesus Himself. He's an 'all-the-way-Home' Savior.
Then around the throne of God in heaven we can join the myriads of other redeemed souls to praise Him together with the angels. What a glorious day is coming!
The love of God is great. He is LOVE. Once we have been touched by His love in that personal encounter through Jesus Christ and accept his salvation; absolutely nothing can separate us from His all encompassing love.We believers in Christ must needs radiate His love out to others. One way this can be done, is by having compassion for those addicts or those who've become dependent upon medications due to illnesses and pain. Think also of those who've attempted suicide as well. Think of the reasons they become this way, keeping in mind those who do not know Christ as yet, and what their terrifying end-of-earth journey's end will be.
In the magazine, Christianity Today, December 2016 issue, there's an article about pain killers and how there is hope of relief in a certain combination of 'cure'. The article by Matthew Loftus, MD says,
"To help addicts heal, we need to bring all forces to bear." (Page 43).
We need to have some understanding of where the 'addict' bit is coming from. Loftus says,
"In fact we need to recognize at least four dimensions in addiction: moral, social, biological and spiritual. Addicts are moral agents, in community, with biology working against their spiritual goals. Biological science gives us insight into the particular ways an addict's body makes a normal life that much harder to live. Public health can describe how a community and its institutions make recovery more accessible to people trapped in addiction. A moral framework helps us understand how addiction harms ourselves and the people we love, while also providing the basic routines of living free. Most importantly, spirituality helps us to understand God's love for everyone (no matter how lost they are) and gives us the power to live healthy, whole lives" (Page 41).
An earlier article from the same magazine, this one by Timothy Kane, coupled to the above one, tells of his dependency on pain meds, given legally by his physician. He eventually realized... that
"...his addiction had chosen" him (Page 35).
He tells of the need for family and church community, besides the physicians recommendations, encapsulated by his own willingness to 'get free', to work together for his own good, was the way to 'get free'.
However, some people do not have that initiative willingness and thus out of love, the family and community need to 'kick-in' initially to get the ball rolling and to sustain it til the...
"...darkness of their addiction may be overcome." (Page 39).
So why am I talking about this when this series is supposed to be about NDEs? There are many accounts of NDErs told to go back to their earthly bodies because it was not yet their time to leave earth as they still have not completed their purpose of life. For the Christian, part of the role we must take on earth is to help each other in the name of Jesus. This is an exemplary example of one such role.
"We have to bring all the forces available to us to bear--sometimes even to the extent of using medications like methadone and Subozone. Loving people who have become trapped in biochemical bondage is not easy or cheap, but love never is. And when we use every possible resource God has given us to combat addiction, we also demonstrate the goodness and power of God, who seeks to transform us in every way--even the neurons in our brains."
Thus said Matthew Loftus, MD (Page 43).
This piece from Christianity Today was saying there are two medications (as named in the above quotation) that can be given to help a person wean off the pain meds (opioids), assisting them in overcoming their addictions.
We saw how awful it is for non-believers in Hades/Hell who will have unrequited desires and that for all eternity. The love of God compels us to help in any way we can. There are support groups they can be guided too. Off the top of my head is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and ex-addict/dependent's groups for ongoing crave surge struggles, as well as the combination of family, church, etc.
The brain neurons have been altered and need re-training. People may struggle for life on earth but it is to be hoped they can conquer their misery while still on earth. It is certainly to be avoided for eternity. Come to Christ if you haven't already; He is the best antidote and longs to bring you healing and hope from such bondage, as well as from the bondage of sin in general.
Brothers and sisters-in-Christ, this is part of the "storing up treasure in Heaven". Help when and where we can as the opportunities present themselves. To God be the glory.
A word of exhortation to Christians. Don't think that because when you get to Heaven all your earth cravings and addictions will be gone that you don't need to bother to address them now. God's Word tells us to stop sinning (1 Corinthians 15:34) and we are to have the self-control which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit within us. We too will be held accountable at the Bema seat of Christ. What we do for Him will be rewarded.
You may shout back at me, "So you think my addiction and dependency, which I never asked for, is sin?! Huh!???, Huh???"
No. But to continue in it once realized would be. It would be like a 'god' to you and therefore to 'worship' this god by giving in to it, therein is the sin. I speak to myself as well and do not mean to turn anyone away from Christ by saying what I have. All this is part and parcel of Christian living and sanctification and becoming more like Christ Who was, and is, always in submission to His Father, God. He is our Impeccable Example. Follow Him.
All in all, this On the Doorstep, But Don't Get to Enter series has been quite an education and eye-opener. What a journey! The best is yet to come and I look forward to the day when God calls me home to be "with Christ" to meet to part no more; thousands of times better than an NDE! Hope to meet you all there too, singing with angels and giving praise to the One who made it all possible.
Thank-You, Heavenly Father, God. You are so great and mighty, the Creator, and lover of our souls. I look forward to that day we, my brothers and sisters-in-Christ, can all be together with You forever and ever. Thank-You Father. Thank-You, Jesus. Amen.
~ERC 2017~
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