Questioner

What are your thoughts on people having near death experiences? It hasn't happened to me but when I read of others experiences I get a check in my spirit. Because the person who has had one is so sure it happened and Christians believe they saw Jesus, went to heaven, and were sent back with more work to do. How can we test that this is true? I don't want to judge another's experience, yet I somehow find it all so hard to believe. Can you help clarify, thanks! 

Answer

 They didn't really die, nor did their souls ever leave their bodies. We simply check what they say against the Word of God, which says, "Man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment."  [Hebrews 9:27].  So, from that verse we know that no one can die and come back to this mortal life.  So their claims are invalid.

Now what exactly is happening, because they are seeing something.  What is causing all this and why?
 
1. The whole idea that you can die and come back goes against the Bible, and therefore is not from God.  God said, "You die once and then are judged."  A person dies and is brought into heaven or is thrown into hell, never back to earth (see Luke 16:19-31).  Satan and the demons are liars and if they can convince people that you get a second chance, then both the unbeliever and the believer really won't have to worry too much about the first time around, since they can do it right when they come back.  Thus it discredits God's Word.
 
There are even those who claimed to have died, then went to hell, and then came back.  That lie only encourages people to stay unsaved and enjoy their sin, because they will get another chance.
 
2.  But how can we explain what they see while experiencing this supposed out of body experience?

One is that those who claim that they floated around the hospital and could tell you what was going on in another room or in the parking lot, while they were on the operating table: This is easily explained by the fact that the demons can see everything going on and can somehow transmit that data into the minds of the person on the "table." 
 
Also, Satan and the demons seem to have the ability to give false visions as evidenced by all the false visions given throughout the history of the church, many of which spawned false religions.  Thus they can conjure up fake visions of heaven or hell to continue in their deception of the human race.
 
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "Tony Capoccia's Questions and Answers" by:

Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
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Email: tony@biblebb.com
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