"Is There Really New Evidence on Life after Death?”
It is clear that many people are given to “faddism.” It seems that almost any kind of an absurd idea, viewpoint, or practice can gain a following if it is widely presented. Sometimes, it seems that the farther a position is from the truth the larger will be the sales of the books which advocate it (e.g., consider Hal Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth and similar books on premillennialism with its human speculation and Bible-denying doctrines.”
Recently, I have been hearing a great many claims of various people to the effect that they have experienced (1) death—the leaving of their physical bodies, (2) various experiences subsequent to death, (3) coming back to life, and (4) living again (back in their physical bodies) and going about their usual human pursuits here on Earth. These claims are advanced, its advocates say, to confirm that there is life after death.
In this article, I plan to show in the light of plain Bible teaching that these claims are false.
In attacking the claim of “revival” to which I have referred above,[1] I do not mean to deny that the spirit (or soul, the inner man) of a person survives the death of that person. That the soul does survive the death of the body is made clear by Jesus Himself when He said, “And be not afraid of them that kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. . . .” (Matthew 10:28). If the soul (or spirit) died when the body died, then it would be possible for one human being to kill the soul of another. However, Jesus’ statement makes clear that such is not the case. If man A, by pulling the trigger of a shotgun, blows off the head of man B, then man A has killed man B. But, man A has not killed the soul of man B (Jesus made clear that no man is able to do that to another); he has killed man B’s body—not his soul.
Again, in telling of the rich man and Lazarus, Jesus said, “. . . and the rich man also died, and was buried. And in Hades he lifted up his eyes, . . . and he cried and said, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me . . .’” (Luke 16:19ff). Among other things which are clearly taught in this passage are the following: (1) a man is conscious after his death, (2) he will experience anguish if he has been a wicked man, (3) he will remember earthly experiences and relationships. Obviously, the soul survives physical death and is conscious after death.
So, I have no quarrel with one’s trying to prove that the soul will survive physical death. What I do deny is the claim of a person who says the he died in some hospital room and that he (presumably his soul) floated up near the ceiling and could see the doctors and nurses trying to revive his dead body and could hear what they said while he (his soul) floated near the ceiling (“Up past the light fixture”) and then later (that is, after having actually died) he (that is, his soul) came back into his dead body and, having “revived” (came back to life), then went on about the usual activities in which living human bodies engage themselves.[2]
The Bible settles this matter when it plainly declares that “. . . it is appointed unto man once to die, and after this cometh judgment; so Christ also, having been once offered to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, apart from sin, to them that wait for him, unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:27-28). This passage makes clear: (1) that every man will die (of course, Jesus will come again while some are still living—they will not die, but will be changed, 1 Corinthians 15—this passage speaks in general terms), (2) that every one who dies will die only one time (just as Jesus died on the cross but once)! This settles the matter: if a man dies, he will not be “revived” until the resurrection (John 5:28-29).
Thus, all of the claims of people who say that they died following a heart attack (or during surgery, etc.) and then came back to life are simply false. Men should honor and respect the Bible as the word of God, learn what it teaches, and then act in harmony therewith.
No hallucination or experience during surgery or other experience of illness can be a substitute for the plain teaching of the Bible. I, myself, recently had some very serious illnesses, but if I had died during one of them, I would remain dead (that is, my soul or spirit would be separated from my body, James 2:26), until the resurrection (John 5:28-29). That the soul survives physical death is clearly taught by the Bible. That any one today has died and then “revived” (came back to life) the Bible clearly denies.
[1] There are a number of newly published books which are filled with such claims. I have examined a number of them.
[2] Raymond A. Moody, Jr. Life After Death. New York: Bantam.
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The above article was first published in 1978.