I’ve shared this before, but I think it bears repeating.
I once had a patient who reported having two near death experiences. At the time of the first one she claims to have been a Christian and experienced the stereotypical light, warmth, feeling of peace.
When she had her second she had left Christianity for one of the cults that circles around the edge of the faith and felt torment and pain.
I also had a neighbor who was in the hospital for an extended period and went into cardiac arrest. He told me that he knows there is retribution (his word). When he shared his experience he trembled and was in tears. He would not listen to the Gospel as I shared because he told me his sin was too great to be forgiven.
I think there is something to all of this, but don’t spend too much time dwelling on it as Scripture is silent on the topic.
Too bad your neighbor felt like he could never be forgiven. He was obviously sent back with a chance to repent and find God. Not too many get a literal warning!
Its not something I generally share, but has had a profound effect on me my entire life. It was completely peaceful.
I spent a bit of time at a hospice 2 years ago, and I asked many of the workers if they’ve seen things like this.
They all said that they’ve seen many people at the end of their lives seeing something that was not there and then becoming filled with joy or terror.
Seems to me your first patient was never really saved at all. Several atheists have come forward with NDE saying they experienced the exact same “light, tunnel, & peace”.
The devil is always about deceiving and it’s his MO to keep people lost. A near death experience like this by a luke-warm Christian or cultural Christian, would mean that the message is, “see, you’re saved—you can just keep on living like you are”.
Your neighbor’s response is beyond tragic. Nothing is further from the truth regarding sin being too “big”.
Matthew 12:31 says it—this sin it refers to is the sin the person commits by dying and not believing in Jesus. Every person in hell right now, committed this sin.