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Deathbed Experience?


Rare is the person unfamiliar with the subject of a deathbed or near deathbed experience (NDE). Web sites exist with stories on both subjects. International organizations dedicate resources to the subjects while university and foundation research produces numerous reports on both.

Understandably, NDEs convey an escape from finality while deathbed experiences denote that last exhalation of human breath. Generally, both involve apparitions of deceased friends and loved ones, and often contain a component of eternal implication. Research shows the deathbed experience mates with NDE, revealing descriptions remarkably similar. These experiences are comparable across nationalities, religions, and cultures—all showing something more is waiting for us.

In 1926, Sir William Barrett, a Professor of Physics at the Royal College of Science in Dublin, published Death Bed Visions and concluded there is something on the other side of death. In 2017, A Call from Heaven, by Josie Varga, provided convincing evidenced for the existence of something beyond the vale. One Last Hug Before I Go, by Carla Wills-Brandon (2010), offered a compelling look at life after death. The conclusions of other books on the subject reveal a remarkable similarity—an afterlife.

The Christian Bible is replete with verses referencing the afterlife. My favorite comes from the lips of my Lord as He hung on the cross. Talking to a thief who hung next to Him, my Lord said, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43).

Koehler (1939) writes that our spirit, endowed with immortality by God, “continues to exist as a distinct personal entity” (p. 294). Proctor (2008) writes, “Physical life is the union of the spirit with the body, [believer] spiritual life is the union of the spirit with God” (p. 56). Both authors also agree that humans have already made their eternal choice before any deathbed experience. Jesus sums up that choice. “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat: because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matt. 7:13, 14).

When our dead bodies deteriorate, decomposition ensues, notwithstanding, our immaterial essence—our spirit—does not liquefy and seep into the earth. Our spirit does not vanish. God is spirit, and we were made in His image. Our spirit lives on after death.

The aspect of death is an obsession for some—a fearful expectation for others. Some welcome its arrival with hope or relief. Others joke in its face. For some, the apparent vulgarity of death, its’ cessation—like a light bulb switching off, provides solace. I recently read a post by an atheist who found peace in knowing physical death reflected finality. For the atheist, that vision of finality provided impetus to live with gusto now, to appreciate now the many wonderful aspects of life. As a Christian, is my pursuit of gusto in this life any less satisfying considering that I look onward, to a time where even more gusto awaits? I think not.

Whether your acceptance of Christ’s substitution was heartfelt or not, whether you believe in an afterlife or not, from a Christian perspective, it is clear that death’s moment manifests an eternal destiny. Believers shall be saved, and nonbelievers shall be lost (Mark 16:16). As Christians, the study of NDE’s, or actual death, can be interesting, but the Bible is clear about this: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Heb. 9:27).

For those believing death’s door remains a distant destination; thus, unimportant in regards to salvation, know this, at the appointed time, Christ comes in power, and great glory—your day of reckoning (Matt. 24:30-31; Matt. 24:37-39). At that time, Christ comes not to bare your sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly await Him (Heb. 9:28).

There will be a grand finale of this present age with a final score that all will see and where there is no mulligan. NDEs or actual death experiences will merely be a footnote in one’s life story; that finale turns the last page in the last chapter of one’s mortal life.

Barrett, W. (2011). Deathbed visions: How the dead talk to the

dying. United Kingdom: White Crow Books.

Koehler, E. W. (1939). A summary of Christian doctrine (Second

Edition). River Forest, IL: Koehler Pub.

Procter, F. (2008). What Christ teaches concerning future

retribution. In R. A. Torrey & A. C. Dixon (eds.), The

fundamentals: A testimony to the truth (pp. 53-63). Grand

Rapids, MI: Baker Books. (Original work published in 1917).

Varga, J. (2017). A call from heaven. Wayne, NJ: New Page

Books.

Wills-Brandon. C. (2010),One Last Hug Before I Go: The mystery

and meaning of deathbed visions. Amazon Digital Services.


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