Those After Death Experiences - Part 1 by Dudley Ross Spears
(Reprinted from the website of the Pekin church of Christ: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Oracle/7017/pekin_ch.html)
Most of us have heard or read of those who died and have returned to life to relate what the experience was like. Here is a composite picture of what people say it is like to die and then return to life. "After being pronounced dead, I moved through a long tunnel and saw the efforts to resuscitate me. I was outside my body, though I knew the body was mine. I was greeted by relatives who had gone on before me. Suddenly I encountered a long grid and in the middle was a brilliant light. The light gave me an evaluation of my life and spoke peace to me. I knew no discomfort, no pain, and no sadness. Then, I woke again to life." This is representative of several testimonies given over a number of years by those who say they have been pronounced dead and then revived.
Raymond Moody and Elisabeth Kuebler-Ross authored a best selling book entitled, Life After Life. It was a study of the experiences people have had with death and near-death experiences. The book seeks to prove that there is life after death and that it is filled with joy, reunion with others who have died, and reward. No matter what religious views one held in life, whether "Christian," Jewish, Buddhist, Mohammedan or those with no religion whatsoever, those who pass into the life after life are rewarded with peace and joy. In every case, they all returned to life after being pronounced legally dead.
These two authors claim around one-hundred-fifty cases were
thoroughly researched. Not one of the entire number had the same
experience as the others. Moody listed "fifteen or so"
components of the composite picture of what death is like. Of
these he claimed that most of those who have been pronounced dead
and revived have at least eight of the elements but no more than
twelve. Some, he said, "remembered nothing when they 'returned
to life'."
How does this fit into the biblical picture of life and death?
The Bible clearly teaches that there is life after death. There
are numerous instances where a person was brought back to life
after death. The single most notable case in history is that of
Jesus who "died for our sins, according to the Scriptures,
was buried, and rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures"
(1Cor. 15:3- 4). In the Old Testament there is the record of Elijah
and the revival of life to a young child.
"Now it happened after these things that the son of the woman who owned the house became sick. And his sickness was so serious that there was no breath left in him. "So she said to Elijah, 'What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?' "And he said to her, 'Give me your son.' So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. "Then he cried out to the LORD and said, 'O LORD my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?' "And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the LORD and said, 'O LORD my God, I pray, let this child's soul come back to him.' "Then the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived.
"And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house, and gave him to his mother. And Elijah said, 'See, your son lives'!" (1 Kings 17:17-23). Later, Elisha brought back to life the son of a Shunammite woman (2 Kings 4:32).
In the case of Jesus, the testimony that He returned to life is irrefutable. Notwithstanding the fact that His body was gone from a tomb where it had been laid, sealed, and kept under guard, impeachable testimony from credible witnesses affirmed that He rose from the dead. The cases of Elijah and Elisha cannot be explained away as cardiopulmonary resuscitation apart from the miraculous intervention by God Almighty. In order for such emergency procedures to be effective they must be initiated almost at once. If a person does not receive such treatment almost instantly irreversible brain damage occurs. In the case of the child Elisha revived the child had been dead several hours before the prophet reached the lad. He traveled a five to six hour journey from his home at Mount Carmel to where the Shunammite woman lived.
Another bona fide revival to life involved the bones of Elisha (2 Kings 13:20-21). There is the case of Lazarus, who had already begun to decompose in the grave (John 11:1-44). Jesus raised the 12-year-old daughter of the chief priest, Jairus, a ruler of the Synagogue. The apostle Paul brought Eutychus back to life (Acts 20:9-10). So there is no question that some people have returned to life after death to live a normal life. But the data differs from what the Bible teaches and the claims made in modern day cases.
The researchers say that the Bible has very little to say about
life after death. Those who have read the Bible with any profit
at all know this is pure falsehood. As we have seen, there are
numerous case histories revealed in the Bible of those who returned
to a normal life after death. The difference is this. In the Bible,
the death of the person was unquestionably true. Sometimes the
individual had been dead for days. The most significant fact is
that none of those in the Bible who came back to life told anything
to anyone about what they experienced.
[Editor's Note: Bro. Spears will conclude this lesson in next
week's issue.]
Suggestions for a Dull Sermon by Doy Moyer
(Reprinted from the on-line edition of Focus Magazine http://www.focusmagazine.org/Focus2.htm)
I came across a book that gives "101 things to Do During a Dull Sermon." While it may seem a bit flippant, it makes you think. A preacher can notice quite a few things going on, and can himself become distracted when he knows people aren't paying attention. I sometimes comment that I can recognize some by the shape of their nostrils (think about it). That said, here are a few of the "suggestions":
1. Make an "Ananias and Sapphira List." With due consideration for the net worth of each member and their motives for giving, list the names of the "Ten Most Likely To Be Struck Dead During the Offering."
2. Word Power: It pays to increase your word power. Whenever you hear a word you are unfamiliar with during the sermon, write it down and guess at a definition (that's how some theologians arrive at their definitions.) Check your guesses with a dictionary, Bible Dictionary, theological encyclopedia or ask your neighbor.
3. Hymn Memorization: Take advantage of this lull in your interest to learn those troublesome second and third verses of hymns - you know, the words you mumble while trying to keep up with the tempo. A Bible dictionary may help you make some sense of the lyrics.
4. Pew Warming: By experimentation, try to determine how many comfortable pew sitting positions you can discover. You will kill a lot of time before you realize there are NO comfortable pew sitting positions.
5. Play-by-Play: If you are seated near the rear of the auditorium, away from people, quietly "broadcast" the sermon (or the entire service) using the jargon of a sports announcer.
6. Yawn: see if a yawn really is contagious.
7. Back Row: Join the young people on the back pew. Ask to borrow one of their Walkmans.
8. Find the oldest church bulletin and Bible study ditto sheet in your Bible. This will tell you how long it's been since you last really read your Bible.
9. Ballgame Worry: If your favorite team is playing, worry about how much of the game you're missing.
10. List ways to embarrass visitors. It will be difficult to think of things that churches haven't already done, but try. (Here are some suggestions to get the creative juices going: Have the visitor list all the books of the Bible by memory; Ask the visitor why he/she hasn't been coming to church.)
I chuckle at some of these, if nothing else because they are too close to what really happens; but then a more serious thought crosses my mind. Have we grown so tired of gospel preaching that we cannot concentrate for a few moments to meditate and think seriously about God's word? While preachers should try to make their lessons interesting, it is not up to the preacher to keep us entertained and "awake." When we take delight in something, we find ways to keep our own interest level up. But here is a serious suggestion: if you really are having trouble following a preacher, then you can, at least, read your Bible and get something out of it. If you can't do that, there are more serious problems at the heart of the matter.
THE BOTTOM LINE
We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails. ---Anonymous