"Near Death Experiences (NDEs) phenomenon is gaining attention worldwide, even amongst Christians. Many feel comforted when reading NDE stories as it claims to give us a glimpse of heaven. In this post I want to warn of the dangers of holding value to these "visits to the other side and messages from heaven" as they often contradict Scripture and in many cases become a pathway to the New Age/Occult, away from the Biblical Jesus Christ, the ONLY Christ who saves.

Before I got saved, I was obsessed with NDE testimonies. I've read hundreds of testimonies from people claiming to have been on the other side, getting a "Tour de Heaven" and returned to tell it all. I had many books on the topic, also scientific books. These testimonies gave me great comfort and reinsured me that there is a God. But which God? because I surely wasn't following the God of the Bible at that time even though I claimed to be a Christian.

As a teenager, I got introduced to NDEs through Oprah Winfrey. She often had people on her show who had an NDE. I became fascinated by the topic and began to research it. It's what sparked a deep interest in spirituality. It eventually led me to meditation, channeling, tarot cards, automatic writing. Basicly ANYTHING to be in contact with this "other side" and the "spirits who guide us". It's a dangerous doorway to the demonic realm. When I got saved, I got rid of all my New Age items, including NDE books, but to show how big the pull was: I then purchased books on NDEs that claimed to be Biblical oriented, one written by a pastor and heavily promoted by known media outleds. A few months later I got rid of these books as well as I was convicted by the Holy Spirit to do so.

People who claim they had an NDE often describe a tunnel and a bright light. Some identify this light to be Jesus, but the majority of testimonies do not. A common theme is that of a life review. They were shown everything they'd ever done and how it had impacted others. They were never judged by the light, instead they themselves became the judge of the situation. All this sounded lovely to me and I believed it to be true. Soon enough I was parroting these claims to others, telling them they didn't had to fear God nor His judgment since we will judge ouselves instead. When I got saved, I repented of this terrible error and that I had led others astray by spreading it. Most of the people who've had an NDE say that the God they encountered was nothing like "the judgmental God of the Bible". For any Christian this should be a red flag.

Another red flag is people claiming they saw their deceased loved ones in heaven, no matter if uncle Bob or aunt Sally were believers in Christ or not. There are also testimonies about hell, but these are rare. The overal picture is that of a beautiful place, a God whose only attribute is love and not wrath, who does not mention repentance and believing in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins, but a God who basicly tells you to "try to be a better you" as he pushes you back into your body because "your work isn't finished". All this is completely contradicting to Scripture and leads to universalism. Reincarnation is a reoccuring theme in NDEs as well. I've read many cases where people were reminded that they signed a contract with other souls before they came to earth to learn from each other and that this process will be repeated until we evolve enough to be absorbed by the light permanently and lose our own identity as we become this light.

Another thing to notice is how all testimonies contradict one another and vary a lot. They explain this away by claiming that God adjusts himself to what a person is comfortable with. You'll get to see what matches your beliefs and views so you won't be distressed by the experience. The NDE stories are all over the place. Few examples of things I've read: People claiming God is Gaia, accounts that mention Jesus never agree on His appearance and almost never proclaim Him Biblically, some even claim they saw jesus transforming himself into buddha, krishna, muhammed to show that all roads lead to Him. Again, that's universalism. Others said God taught them about chakras, or gave them all the knowledge of the universe. I even read a case of a man who said he was welcomed by his guardian angels in heaven. According to this man, his guardian angels were both gay, because as you probably already guessed, he happened to be gay.

There are surveys published where those who've had an NDE are asked how the experience has impacted their lives and what their current beliefs are. Only a small amount converted to Christianity or decided to join a local church, while many experiences resulted in people being drawn to New Age/Occult/Mysticism concepts. After their encounter with this other side, many became Reiki masters/energy healers, mediums, spiritual life coaches etc, as they discribed they now had a gift and urge to help others through their newly gained abilities and knowledge. Often those who put out their NDE story also wrote a book about their experiences and it has become a source of income for them.

The focus of NDE experiences seems to be on the self. How loved and special the person is, how important THEIR work on earth is etc. The glory seems to always go to the individual and not to God nor to Christ's finished work on the cross. Another point of concern is that in many NDE cases the person is being encouraged by the light or spirits to tell everyone on earth what they had seen.

In Scripture we read that God gave visions of heaven to a few selected people ONLY. Daniel had a vision related to heaven but was told to not reveal certain things because it was not time (Daniel 12). In 2 Corinthians 12 we read that Paul was caught up into the third heaven where he heard inexpressible things but is forbidden from revealing it to anyone. Paul writes here in the third person and explains why. He doesn't want the story to put the spotlight on himself and refuses to boast about it. In Acts 7:55-60 we read that Steven, shortly before his death, gazed into heaven and described seeing Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Notice that Scripture starts by mentioning that Steven was full of the Holy Spirit when this vision occurred. In Revelation we read John describing New Jerusalem.

God doesn't contradict Himself. Neither is He a God of confusion. He is incapable of lying and He does not change. If something is from God, it will align with His Word and not point away from it. From His Word we know that:

● No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him (1 Cor 2:9).
● Jesus said: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) and “Unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)
● It is appointed for man to die once, after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
● The just shall live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Romans 1:17).

We get our answers from God. His Word is the final Authority. God clearly didn't want to reveal more about heaven than that which He has chosen to reveal through His Word. We also have to remember that God's Word tells us that we wrestle against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places and that satan transforms into an angel of light. Therefore we are to test everything to Scripture to see if something is from God or from satan the deceiver. This includes peoples spiritual experiences or claims, no matter how appealing or alluring. Being led by curiousity or itching ears will lead us astray. Scripture tells us to hold fast to sound doctrine.

Jesus Christ said that He will prepare a place for us in His Father's house. His sheep can take comfort in His promise. There is no new revelation or "hidden" knowledge outside of God's revealed Word. God has spoken and gave us everything we need. His Word is sufficient."