Posted on 05/12/2009 10:53:22 AM PDT by NYer
Death is terrifying, right? Correct?
Oh, sometimes, yes, for some -- perhaps.
But in the majority of near-death experiences, death is described not as a frightening traverse onto foreign turf, but as a feeling of return. How strange this seems!
"I'm home. I'm finally home," they often say they felt. "This is my real home!" many claim they felt upon death (and entrance into the eternal).
That's a constant in near-death experiences: the feeling that this -- Heaven -- is where they originated (in the Mind of God) and that earth was indeed as Catholicism says: a place of exile.
God indeed "knew you before you were born." He knitted you in the womb. He is the main reason why upon death you will feel like you are returning to your origin. Ditto for Jesus. "In my Father's house there are many dwelling places," He told His disciples. "If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be. Where I am going you know the way."
You know the way because it is the way home. It is the way into His arms. He is the way. There is an actual location that you will head for after the transition. It will match the station of your soul. It will be where you belong, as a home is where you belong. It is home because you originated here in the Mind of God.
Another reason folks feel so much like they are returning home is that after death -- sometimes immediately -- they're greeted by close relatives. Mothers, fathers, spouses, children, sisters, and brothers are there to greet you (and help with the transition). The rest of eternity is a reunion!
If that sounds too good to be true, remember that God is better than you can imagine.
Some say that upon "dying" they encountered a stadium-like structure filled with people who turned out to be distant relatives and ancestors! This is especially intriguing and raises a question: should we be praying not only for deceased relatives we knew in life on earth but all our ancestors (back to Adam)?
They could indeed fill a stadium. What a joy it would be to meet them! In eternity, one fascinating place will unfold unto another -- all somehow familiar. For your discernment.
"We descended together from God's light into a universe of bright stars," said one near-death witness, after the tunnel experience. "We were again in the deepest void of space, but now I felt comfortable in this environment as well as in my spirit body, and I felt at home in this celestial location. As [another soul] and I continued to descend, I was startled by the magnificent ethereal structure directly below us. The heavenly structure resembled an amphitheater similar to those found in ancient civilizations."
In the afterlife, families, it is said, are very important because they work together; they mesh in God's plan. For one to fail is for all to fail. Thus perhaps they root for each other (as in a stadium)! There is even testimony to that effect. We are all in this together.
Think about this the next time you are praying for the deceased.
Each day, pray for everyone who ever existed on your father's or mother's side.
"Reliving all these scenes, he felt as all the others who were part of them had felt," wrote two authors of a man's near-death episode. "Again he understood that he and everyone else were part of a whole, not separate. They were all part of God.
"While he relived scenes from his life, he heard voices. They were all talking about him. He was overhearing the thoughts and sharing the feelings of people he'd known. He was hearing and feeling what they'd thought and felt about him. He was deeply astounded by how many people cared deeply for him.
"Toward the end, he'd become so embittered that he hadn't seen the good in life, or in many of the people he'd shared it with. He'd never realized until he heard these voices. He heard his parents, his brother, his sister, his grandparents.
"There were friends, and co-workers.
"There was his high school friend Bob, someone he'd never considered a particularly good friend. He heard bob speak of him in the most loving terms, felt the friendship and loyalty Bob had felt for him. At that moment he realized that any good thought one person had about another, any compassionate feeling, was enduring. When the person was ready, even if this didn't happen until after death, the thought and feeling came back to him or her. Even if a person was oblivious of the thought, or dismissed the empathy at the time, it wasn't wasted."
Everyone is concerned with where they will go when
they die, they never consider where they were before
they were born.
I believe in God and Christ as his Son.
But a itty, bitty, tiny part of me worries that we will die and find out Life was just a joke on all of us...
My wife doesn’t seem to have that bitty voice — she is very firm in her Faith.
I had an OBE years ago which was not pleasant, didn't go anyplace like hell, and heard a deep voice "I am here" but could see nothing but blackness. I never want another OBE or NDE even if it is pleasant, am resigned to take what comes even if it turns out to be lights out forever. I decided once they are out, nothing would ever matter one way or the other any more. Sometimes even that would be preferable to unending pain and heartache.
There are things that tie me to this world that would be painful to leave. I've detached from my family, would look forward to meeting my ancestors, my dear long list of pets, my love for some special wild animals, and my roses I propagated that are so special to me. I'm still too attached to some material things and am concerned that they will find the right home after I am gone.
Also I fear that my love for photography of the beauty in this world will be denied me for some reason. Maybe music will be allowed.
I fear much of the tokens of my life on earth will end in the city dump. It's not so much the "things" but what they signify.
I have prayed for just about everything and everybody, including my ancestors. I had a mass offered for some on my mom's side generations back that met a tragic fate. I've also had other masses offered for nearer departed family members and whatever or whomever I felt on my heart. Maybe it is better to pray for those who we have disliked or have hurt us the most, I don't know.
I was in the Pink Pony strip club in Atlanta, GA.
What an excellent observation. And here's another. Occasionally the question of what happens to stillborn or aborted babies - do they remain forever infants after death or do they grow and develop into adults? The following thread seems to answer that question.
Serbian Abortionist Who Aborted 48,000 Babies Becomes Pro-Life Activist
When in doubt, always turn to Jesus. Recall that He died and returned in His glorified body. The Apostles touched His hands, gave Him some fish to eat and even broke bread with Him on the road to Emmaus, before He ascended into heaven. He assured us that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life. Trust in Him.
I died on 10 Jan 06 of congestive heart failure. Spent a bit of time on the “other side” before being given the option of returning.
There is no description in human words to describe the feeling one has there. Sorry.
And to those who do not “believe”, well, you will see in the end. God is very real. As is judgement.
This is a 6 part BBC series well worth viewing. Scientific evidence.
Excellent documentary on those who died and came back....especially pay attention to “Pam’s” story —as the medical doctors feel hers is one of the most persuasive accounts that consciousness truly survives physical death.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_I9-XxBAEsQ
There is so much junk in here I don’t know where to start. Just a few quick points.
And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, - Hebrews
There isn’t any hint in the Bible of anything like near death experiences. In fact the Bible bluntly states you die once. Yet the modern stories of people dying, visiting heaven and comming back to life have almost become routine. Both can’t be right. Either the Bible is wrong, or the modern stories are wrong.
“should we be praying not only for deceased relatives we knew in life on earth but all our ancestors (back to Adam)? “
Totally incompatible with standard Christian doctrine. You can not be saved after you die. Your salvation is based 100% on your accpetance or rejection of Jesus Christ prior to your death. That is standard Christian doctrine. Christians do not pray for the dead.
“In the afterlife, families, it is said, are very important because they work together; they mesh in God’s plan.”
Also not standard Christian doctrine. The physical family you had on Earth is not your family in heaven. In heaven your brothers and sisters in Christ are your family. All believers in Christ will be one, large family in heaven. Jesus also bluntly said there would be no marrige in heaven (between men and women.)
I believe in life after "life after death". When I die, Paul's writings (scripture, I might add) inform me that I will be with Christ.
Scripture also informs me that upon Christ's return I will be reclothed in a physical body just like the one Jesus has now, immortal, incorruptible ... there is either a physical human being sitting on the throne of God as I type this or scripture is lying.
There's a word for the belief that our end game is some sort of detached, spirit being existence that finally gets to cast off the "evil" of a physical component .. it's a heresy called gnosticism.
out
>>as the medical doctors feel hers is one of the most persuasive accounts that consciousness truly survives physical death
Who needs a 6 part BBC series? Just watch “Ghost Whisperer” on Friday night...
That little town is to ghosts what Cabot Cove was to murders.
;)
In my expereince there were no individuals in Heaven. Only an overwhelming sense of community with God, a peace that defies description.
I feel that way when I’m drunk. Altering one’s brain functions can do funny things to one’s outlook on life, the universe, and everything.
God, I am so screwed; to think that all my ancestors know way to much about me and my somewhat checkered past.
I dunno, I did the best I could.
What you call “standard Christian doctrine” is Protestant superstitions. You are right, however, that indeed most people die once. We cannot be sure, however, that near-death experiences of some are their “first death”.
very interesting. so what do you feel your purpose is, now that you got a second chance at life? what has changed for you?
Thank you for posting your testimony. Scripture attests to what you have written. Several saints were also given a glimpse of the afterlife and certain accounts were not very pleasant.
You forgot about Lazarus and the daughter of Jairus. Both were dead but came back to life.
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