The greatest transition.
The day before my father died, he got out of bed and with a huge smile on his face walked to the corner of the room with his arms lifted towards heaven. Did that again the next day before he died. My mother said his eyes were almost electric. My entire family witnessed it.
A lot depends on how the departing one lived, as to how they will die. There are deathbed stories of individuals who never had time for God, who writhed and moaned in agony as they felt themselves slipping into hell. And OTOH, there are accounts of ones who claimed Christ as their Savior, who at the moment of death, told of peace and joy as they began transitioning to the wonders of Heaven. They are not all that clearly defined. An infidel can have a smooth exit if sufficient drugs are avaiable. And a veritable saint can have a terrible passing if a certain illness or trauma is involved. But I’ll take my chances with Jesus, and His eternal promises. After He carried me through life so dependably; why wouldn’t I trust Him with my eternal wellbeing also?
There are countless ways to die. I really don’t see how you can generalize about it.
My mother, the day before she died had a long, rational discussion with a friend, not even needing a hearing amplifier. I told this to another family member who is a nurse who deals with the dying. She called it the “last hurrah” and said it was not that unusual.
I was in a horrendous car accident in my late 20’s-had both lungs punctured, a fractured sturnum, a horrendous head wound that practically scalped the skin off my head entirely, a broken jaw and two busted legs.
To this day remember nothing about the accident except that some car crossed into my lane on the highway and it was a head on collisioin.
My first remembrance was that I could see my body laying on a gurney.
I was not in my body. I saw my mom crying over my body and my dad standing looking down at me. I felt no pain. I heard the ER doc say my blood pressure was 40/0 and then God started talking to me.
God said, “ can you see your mother.”
I said, “yes, she’s crying and I feel bad for my mom and dad.”
God said, “ I feel bad for them too, so I am going to have to send you back because it’s not time for you to come with me yet. When I send you back, you will have a lot of pain, but it won’t be any more than you can handle. Are you ready?”
I said, “yes, I will do whatever you ask.”
Then very suddenly, I was in my body looking up and felt a lot of pain. I was trying to talk to my parents and tell them I wasn’t going to die, but I couldn’t talk with my shattered jaw.”
I will NEVER forget this incident and I KNEW it was God talking to me. It was like talking to someone you’d known all your life. No introductions neccesary. It all seemed very normal at the time.
So yes, anything can happen as you’re nearing death! And God is there with you.
No one gets out alive.
Cats are able to tell who is about to die. There are stories of nursing home cats who are able to pick out whomever is next to die and sit with them until they expire.
I can tell you when my time comes, I plan to “let go and let God” if I have any conscious thought in the matter.
My Grandfather, on his last day, went into his closet and picked out a suit of clothes. He told my Grandmother that’s the suit he wished to be buried in. He went out to the garden and put it in good order then drove to town and checked in with his insurance agent to make sure there was no problem with his life insurance. His last stop was his doctor’s office where he died on the doorstep. He died at age 86.
I have been dead through 11 minutes of CPR and 2 AED shocks. The stopping of the pain from my heart attack was a welcome relief. Dying is extremely relaxing. I saw total blackness that appeared to be a tunnel, at least that was my impression. There were ethereal beings in the tunnel. They seemed to be floating. I do not know what or who they were, angels, dead relatives, I don’t know. Then I woke up.
It depends on your relationship with Jesus Christ
Depends which gate you choose in life—the wide one or the narrow one.