What happens to a person during the first 15 minutes after he or she dies? A "near death experience" is when a person is clinically dead and then resuscitated by immediate medical intervention. Many of these people remember and recount what they experienced during the brief time that they were in this state of clinical death. Often they have had out of body experiences.
Prominent Cardiologist Maurice S. Rawlings, MD, interviewed many of his own patients who had near death experiences. Dr. Rawlings who was not a Bible believer, was shocked and stunned to hear many of his patients (who were also unbelievers) tell of hellish experiences that they had in their brief view of the afterlife. Dr. Rawlings concluded that it was "not safe to die." He went on a spiritual search through all the world's books of faith. He studied the Vedas, the Upanishad, the Tao-te-King, the Talmud and the Koran among others.
He finally settled on the Bible as the only holy book accredited by prophecy and accurate fulfillment of prophecy. This supernatural aspect of the Bible is like God's signature on it! None of the other holy books had anything like the Bible's record of prophecy and fulfillment of prophecy. The Bible also gives an accurate view of the afterlife. Dr. Rawlings became a born-again Christian. He wrote a book titled To Hell And Back that describes his patients' experiences.
Many books have been written about near death experiences. Most emphasize only the positive experiences people have while outside of the body. The best-selling book Life After Life by Raymond Moody, Jr. MD, though written from a non-biblical perspective, does at least record the hellish experiences of people who attempted suicide and were resuscitated.
People can choose either heaven or hell. If people seek God through His Son Jesus Christ who died for their sins they will be received into God's presence in heaven in the afterlife. People who reject God in this life will get what they choose. They will not enjoy God's presence in the afterlife.
A father about to spank his son (or give him time out) will say "This is gonna hurt me more than it will hurt you." In the same way, it grieves God's heart to punish sinners. God says in the Bible "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezekiel 33:11). The bottom line is that near death experiences tend to confirm and not discredit the truth and reliability of the Bible.
"We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord." II Cor. 5:8
The Bible is scientifically accurate! Find the evidence at www.icr.org.
Steps to salvation:
Jesus said "Ye must be born again." (John 3:7)
- Believe that God created you and loves you and sent the Messiah (Messiah is Hebrew for Christ) to redeem you.
- Believe that Jesus the Messiah came in fulfillment of over 300 Bible prophecies to die for you to take upon Himself the penalty for your sins. (Isaiah 53:5-6, John 6:29, Romans 4:5, First Peter 3:18)
- Turn from sin and call on the name of Jesus to receive forgiveness. (Romans 10:13)
- Receive Jesus as Savior and experience the new birth. (John 1:12, Acts 2:38)
- Follow Him as Lord. (John 14:21)
"Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Romans 10:13)
To receive the salvation that Jesus purchased for us at the terrible cost of His suffering and death on our behalf I invite you to pray this simple prayer:
"Dear heavenly Father, I thank you for sending Jesus, the promised Messiah, to die for my sins. I admit that I am a sinner and I ask for your forgiveness on the basis of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. I ask you to fill me with your Holy Spirit to empower me to serve you under the Lordship of Jesus Christ, Amen."
If you prayed that prayer in the humble sincerity of your heart then you have received everlasting life, which includes power to live right in this life and entrance into heaven in the afterlife!
Bill Nugent, Overcomer Ministries of West Harrison, New York, USA
(C) 2010 William P. Nugent, permission granted to email or republish if credit given
Read Bill Nugent's award winning Christian book, Lawful or Legalistic: How New Testament Believers Must Understand Old Testament Laws. For more information and to order click here.
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DEFENDING THE FAITH
APOLOGETIC ARTICLES
Bill Nugent currently writes a series of articles called "Defending the Faith" which, as the title suggests, defend the Christian faith from the many attacks leveled against it in our postmodern world.
The articles deal with such topics as evolution, UFOs, cults, modern/postmodern philosophy, liberal theology and popular culture. At the end of each article is an invitation to receive Christ as Savior and Lord. These articles are sent out over the Internet to several opt-in email lists. People who receive these articles are encouraged to resend them to their own lists and in this way reach their own unsaved relatives and friends with the Gospel.
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