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NASB | Ecclesiastes 12:7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Ecclesiastes 12:7 then the dust [out of which God made man's body] will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it. |
Subject: At what moment do we go to heaven? |
Bible Note: Hi Bows44, You are very correct when you say that since we do not know you, or your history, that we may not be able to understand why you have experienced what you did. I don't know that we can even neccessarily interpret your experience correctly to know actally what it was, whether vision from the Lord, deception from the devil, or rogue potato cassarole from the night before - please, I mean no offense ;-) - but I think it can be very difficult even for ourselves sometimes to understand things we experience. I believe there is a place for us to share of our personal experiences, just as you brought out scriptures in another post that make that point very plain. God gives us certain experiences so that we will be equipped to share with others in their time of need. What you have described is much like what Paul wrote in Philippians 1:23 "For I am pressed together by the two: having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better, 24 but to remain in the flesh is more necessary on account of you." Paul recognized the usefulness of his life here on earth, in spite of his desire to depart and to be with Christ. I think the point others have been trying to make is that we must always subordinate experience to scripture. We can share experience to demonstrate an application of scripture. We can share experience to encourage another believe to continue in the doctrines of scripture. We can share experience to demonstrate the power of God's truth as revealed in scripture within our lives. We must be very careful to always let scripture have the first place, and always let experience be filtered and checked by scripture. One of the difficulties with near-death experiences is the wide variety of experiences that people report. Many are like yours, an in-between place where they meet with Jesus, and discuss whether to go on or come back. Many are of a "tunnel of light, moving towards a brighter light. Many are of the physical surroundings, looking down into the room, then drifting through the ceiling, through the sky, and so on. There are a variety of different descriptions. Not to mention the other kind, of burning and hellfire. So which are true and which are not? Are they all true? Are none of them true? Some seem so ridiculous they are beyond belief! (again, I mean no offense! yours seems fairly normal ;-) ) Not to mention, the results in people's lives of these experiences are across the board. Some grow closer to God, some become cultic and antichrist. How can we know if some or all of these experiences mean what we think they mean? How can I correctly interpret anything in my life? I thought that my illness was something bad, but God says "all things work together for the good." It is by the Bible that I can gain a correct understanding of the events in my life. So we must always use scripture to moderate our experiences. "I know a man, who, fourteen years ago..." We all know the story. We commonly understand this reference to be speaking about Paul when he was stoned outside of Lystra(?), but let me ask you, is Paul trying to intentionally mislead us? He says "I know a man who..." and goes on to speak of this man in the third person. So was this about Paul, or someone else? And either way, it doesn't tell us anything beyond that this was a vision. Anything else is our own conjecture. So I do not see where the Bible specifically gives validity to near-death experiences as are reported among us. I do not say that it is impossible for what you experienced to be what you think it is. I only say that we need to be very careful as we consider our experiences that do not have specific teaching or example in the Bible. Some things in my life are just for me to treasure in my heart, and sometimes to wonder, knowing I will understand fully in the time to come. I can see how the experience you described could certainly have been a method God could use to help establish within you a clearer focus of your purpose in this world, or some other work He wished to accomplished. I do not just assume that such could not happen. Doctrinal teaching must always come from the Bible. The only place the sharing of any experience has is in illustrating a truth which has first been taught from scripture. The Bible say "we reap what we sow", and brother, let me tell you what happened to me! That should be the format we follow, giving Scripture first place, and letting God, not experience, be our teacher. I hope somewhere in these many words a few are helpful ;-) Love in Christ, Mark |