{"id":67071,"date":"2024-03-16T15:28:12","date_gmt":"2024-03-16T20:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=67071"},"modified":"2024-03-16T15:28:12","modified_gmt":"2024-03-16T20:28:12","slug":"how-can-you-discount-near-death-experiences","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-you-discount-near-death-experiences\/","title":{"rendered":"How can you discount near-death experiences?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Hello,<\/p>\n

I have a few comments about near-death experiences.<\/p>\n

First, you answered “No” to Job’s question<\/a>: “If a man dies, shall he live again?” To me, your answer is not biblical unless I misunderstand you. Jesus Christ promised eternal life for those who repent while on Earth and believe in him. So if one dies and gains eternal life, how can he not live again? Actually, the physical part of our body dies, but our soul continues to exist.<\/p>\n

About hellish near-death experiences, you write they don’t really exist. Really? Do you know God can raise one from the dead? Nothing is too hard for God. Jesus said to enter through the narrow gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate, and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find it. This suggests many will be in hell. Why would God not warn this generation through near-death experiences?<\/p>\n

I just do not understand your thinking. I admit there is no proof of near-death experiences either way, so why are you so quick to reject the many, many hellish near-death experiences?<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

“Man, who is born of woman, is short-lived and full of turmoil. Like a flower he comes forth and withers. He also flees like a shadow and does not remain. You also open Your eyes on him and bring him into judgment with Yourself<\/strong><\/em>” (Job 14:1-3).<\/p>\n

“Since his days are determined, The number of his months is with You; And his limits You have set so that he cannot pass<\/em>” (Job 14:4).<\/p>\n

“For there is hope for a tree, when it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and its shoots will not fail. Though its roots grow old in the ground and its stump dies in the dry soil, at the scent of water it will flourish and put forth sprigs like a plant. But man dies and lies prostrate. Man expires, and where is he? As water evaporates from the sea, and a river becomes parched and dried up, so man lies down and does not rise. Until the heavens are no longer, he will not awake nor be aroused out of his sleep?<\/em>” (Job 14:7-12).<\/p>\n

“If a man dies, will he live again? All the days of my struggle I will wait until my change comes. You will call, and I will answer You<\/strong>; You will long for the work of Your hands<\/em>” (Job 14:14-15).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Throughout this passage, Job states that man does not return to life on this earth after death. That is why Job longed to die. He was tired of his existence. He wanted to leave this world and rest. But also notice that Job does not rule out life after death. He speaks of a change coming (I Corinthians 15:54), a judgment (I Corinthians 4:5), and God calling His people (John 5:28-29). Job’s statements that death is a final separation from Earth don’t rule out eternal life. Nor did my answer leave that out since the next quote was, “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment<\/strong><\/em>” (Hebrews 9:27).<\/p>\n

Yes, a few people experience nightmares. I agreed with the writer of the question that “the reported near-death experiences are almost<\/strong> universally positive.” This is not ignoring the negative experiences.<\/p>\n

You asked why God would not warn people about hell. He did. It is called the Bible. When the rich man wanted to have Lazarus sent back from the dead to warn his brothers, Abraham’s answer was, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead<\/em>” (Luke 16:31).<\/p>\n

You imagine that God is using near-death experiences to warn people, but you also admit there is no proof. I laid out proof from what the Creator said about His creation and you don’t wish to accept the evidence. If you desire to stay out of Hell, listen to what God has said.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Hello, I have a few comments about near-death experiences. First, you answered “No” to Job’s question: “If a man dies, shall he live again?” To me, your answer is not biblical unless I misunderstand you. Jesus Christ promised eternal life for those who repent while on Earth and believe in him. So if one…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[109,1165],"class_list":["post-67071","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-death","tag-near-death"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":19750,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-near-death-experiences-reflect-the-afterlife\/","url_meta":{"origin":67071,"position":0},"title":"Do near-death experiences reflect the afterlife?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 3, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have heard about different accounts that people have had in the afterlife.\u00a0 I have heard people who were unbelievers say that nothing happened and it was simply dark, but no experience of hell.\u00a0 I have also heard an account of a pastor who was in a car accident\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":41253,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-hell-a-real-place\/","url_meta":{"origin":67071,"position":1},"title":"Is Hell a Real Place?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 31, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jefferson David Tant In the Bible, Matthew 25 gives us a picture of the Day of Judgment, where the righteous enter into everlasting joy and peace, while the unrighteous enter into hell, an everlasting torment of fire. Some reject this as repulsive, claiming that the unrighteous will simply cease\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27844,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/have-some-people-visited-hell-in-a-near-death-experience\/","url_meta":{"origin":67071,"position":2},"title":"Have some people visited hell in a near-death experience?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 25, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have recently seen a video on YouTube that took quotes from people who had near-death-experiences and had apparently \"been\" to Hell. And what they said about it just seems to me like it couldn't be. How could God let anyone, good or bad, be made to have that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5142,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/will-a-person-who-dies-at-the-same-hour-as-christ-go-straight-to-heaven\/","url_meta":{"origin":67071,"position":3},"title":"Will a person who dies at the same hour as Christ go straight to heaven?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 2, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I heard at Mass, during the Liturgy, that one of our church members died about 3:00 on Divine Mercy Sunday. The priest explained that she will go straight to heaven, for having died during the third hour, the hour in which Christ breathed His last breath. I have been\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70006,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/theres-always-been-two-choices\/","url_meta":{"origin":67071,"position":4},"title":"There’s Always Been Two Choices","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall There's always been two choices, two paths, two decisions. It started in the Garden of Eden. The enigmatic tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil can be understood simply: obeying God by not eating led to life and functioning as God intended-good, or eating led to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85055,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-narrow-way\/","url_meta":{"origin":67071,"position":5},"title":"The Narrow Way","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Chadwick Brewer \"Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/narrow-cave-300x225.avif","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=67071"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/67071\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=67071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=67071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=67071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}