Someone once asked me the following question:
“You mentioned how you learned from near-death testimony how we don’t go to heaven by believing in Jesus; but rather, we grow to heaven through emulating Jesus by loving everyone unconditionally. How has your knowledge of NDEs changed your belief in Christian doctrines such as the trinity, resurrection, the work of Jesus, and others.”
My answer is NDE testimony has expanded my understanding of practically all Christian doctrines. Where controversial doctrines were once in question, NDE testimony gave me the answers. The following are my answers to questions related to Christian doctrines in light of my understanding of NDEs.
1. God
The Bible teaches that God is love (1 John 4:16) and God is light (1 John 1:5). And the Apostle Paul quoted Greek philosopher poets to show that God is also life in Acts 17:26-28:
“From one man he (God) made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ [1] As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.'” [2] (Acts 17:26-28).
Notice in the above Bible verse how the Apostle Paul references the Greek philosopher poet Epimenides [1], who lived in the 7th or 6th century BC, and the Greek poet Aratus [2] who lived in between the 2nd and 3rd centuries BC, concerning the Greek philosophy of everything existing as a part of God. And because all physical matter can be reducible to light particles according to particle physics, science also supports everything in the universe consisting of light particles. Another supporting Bible verse declares God to be “eternal” life (1 John 5:20). And according to the Bible, God is literally the “life force” holding all things together as declared in Colossians 1:15-17 — a reference to the awesome power of the atom. So according to the Bible, God exists as a Biblical “trinity” of love (the “Father”, the “Mind of Christ“), and life (the “Son”, the “Body of Christ“), and light (the Holy Spirit, the “Spirit of Christ“). God is literally the “Force” of life holding all light particles in the universe together in love. So this realization of God existing everywhere in everything — and that all humans are all a part of God — agrees with the Bible and the consensus among people having NDEs. These Bible verses also agree with NDE testimonies, and another Bible verse (Numbers 23:19), which shows that God does not exist in the form of a man sitting on a throne. God is the light of love shining from one degree to another within the life of everyone, including such great wisdom teachers as Jesus, Buddha, Mohammad, Moses, etc. One particular near-death experiencer gave a good analogy of their experience of God in heaven — air is to the physical world, what God is to the spirit world. In the higher realms of light, it has been said the presence of God is obvious to everyone. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning God.
2. Evolution
Scientific, metaphysical, religious and NDE evidence suggests both evolution and creationism are true. The universe was created by God through the process of evolution billions of years ago. Although a literal interpretation of Genesis suggests the universe is no older than 7,000 years, the scientific evidence shows the universe is around 14 billion years old. The light from the stars we see in the night sky took millions and millions of years to reach our eyeballs. If this was not true, you would not be able to see them. This fact alone proves the universe is much older than 7,000 years. The Bible also declares how one day to God is but a thousand years and vice versa (2 Peter 3:8). However, a spiritual interpretation of Genesis can incorporate the scientific evidence because the universe is a greater revelation of God than Genesis. The universe itself is a greater declaration of God’s handiwork than the entire Bible. And there is a mountain of scientific evidence supporting the theory of evolution. You can read more about human origins based upon a famous NDE experiencer named Edgar Cayce.
3. Humanity
So, our bodies evolved from the earth. Our minds evolved with the stars according to Biblical astrology. And our spirits evolved from God. This is the mystery of God within human beings. While in the physical world, we are evolving into perfect human beings in body, mind, and spirit. Jesus said, “you are gods” (John 10:30-36) declaring the divinity within himself and every human being. When making this declaration, Jesus was referencing to Psalm 82:1-6 how we too are “gods” and “sons” (i.e., children) of God just like Jesus. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning humanity.
4. Garden of Eden
A literal interpretation of the story of the Garden of Eden tells a bizarre tale of how “evil” and “sin” entered into this world, and how humanity fell from God’s grace: A talking snake tricked a woman, who was created from a man’s rib, into eating magical fruit.
A literal interpretation of Genesis 2 through Genesis 3 shows just how ridiculous are assuming the Bible should always be literally interpreted. Such a ridiculous literal interpretation of creation supposedly unleashed the horrible satanic legions of apocalyptic abomination of desecration, and the damnation of souls from the dark abyss, and into the hearts of all humanity bringing unspeakable evil, death, oblivion, holocaust, and Armageddon.
However, if we give this ridiculous story a spiritual interpretation, as one would do with a parable or dream, then we are able to see Genesis as being an archetypal account of humanity’s fall from the spiritual world to the physical world. The “Garden of Eden” represents our heavenly origin. The snake in Genesis representing wisdom (knowing both good and evil); and the snake in other religions represents spiritual wisdom. The “forbidden fruit” possibly is a symbol representing our free will. Our “banishment from Eden” represents how some souls left the divine origins of heaven to explore their free will and physical reality. A large group of early Christians believed this was the real story behind Genesis. Read more about my research conclusions concerning the fallibility of a literal interpretation of the Bible.
5. Adam and Eve
A literal interpretation of Genesis suggests Adam was the first human on earth. Eve, supposedly created from the rib of Adam, was the first woman on earth. But, this story doesn’t account for the millions of years of human evolution discovered by science. Edgar Cayce, who experienced NDEs for over forty years, was given the complete account of Adam and Eve:
Human beings evolved from homo erectus to homo sapiens. Homo sapiens did not become human beings until souls who left their divine origins in heaven began to possess homo erectus bodies. This is the actual interpretation of the Biblical story of “sons of God” mating with the “daughters of men.”
The story of Adam and Eve is the story of how ape-men became human. Once souls began possessing the bodies of these ape-men, they came out of the trees, developed communities, learned to cultivate and created religions. The first man, Adam, was the first homo sapien to become the first “son of God” and the first to receive the fullness of divine consciousness. Edgar Cayce affirmed reincarnation in the Bible. He revealed Adam was the first incarnation of the “Christ” soul. The “Christ” soul was a higher spiritual being chosen to supervise the evolution of humanity. Cayce revealed Jesus, as a human being, was not the only incarnation of the Christ soul; he was the final incarnation of the Christ soul. This is why the Bible reveals Jesus to be the first and last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:45 and Romans 5:14). Read more about Edgar Cayce’s NDE testimony on the past lives of Jesus.
6. Original Sin
The doctrine of original sin came from a literal interpretation of the story of Adam and Eve. It suggests the sin of Adam led to spiritual and physical death of all humanity. Only a divine savior can reverse it.
The notion of God punishing children for the sins of their fathers is incredibly unjust and Christians need to face up to this. Suppose your friend committed a murder. It would be an incredible travesty of justice if your friend’s son was executed because of his father’s sin – especially if your friend gets off scot-free. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning religion.
7. Evil
The Bible describes evil as being like a “plague” of the human soul. Many Christians believe this evil is a universal force opposing God and is the source all sin. The phrase “The Devil made me do it” is a similar concept believed by Christians. But NDE testimonies reveal evil is best understood to be an ignorance of spiritual realities. In other words, what many Christians understand to be sin is best understood as being mistakes from which we learn valuable lessons.
It must be admitted by all Christians: “evil” and “sin” are permitted to exist only because of the sovereignty of God. Otherwise, God would have destroyed it the moment it appeared. People having NDEs learn God permits human beings to make mistakes for the purpose of spiritual instruction and enlightenment. For example, Hitler was a very “evil” man: he was a “very ignorant” man when it came to spiritual realities. So there is no universal force than made Hitler “evil.” Hitler made himself into a very, very ignorant person. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning Hitler.
8. Satan
The Bible refers to an entity known to be the originator of “evil”. According to the Bible, this entity was one of the greatest creations of God but fell from grace. It is believed this entity, called “Satan“, is an omnipresent force leading a rebellion against God by tempting people into sin. It is believed this entity is responsible for the fall of humanity from the grace of God. However many near-death experiencers have learned such an entity does not exist. What Christians believe to be “Satan” is actually known by NDE experiencers as being their own personal flaws of self-centeredness, self-gratification, self-glorification, self-consciousness, self-righteousness, self-interest and the preoccupation with SELF. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning Satan.
9. Angels and Demons
The Bible describes angels as being a hierarchy of spirit entities who aid humanity in fulfilling the work of God. Demons are a hierarchy of lower spirit beings warring against God and man.
There is much evidence from NDEs, after-death visitations, deathbed visions, out-of-body experiences, dreams, etc. of the existence of a hierarchy of angels. Some of these angels are actually the spirits of human beings. The Biblical describes how people entertaining strangers may be entertaining angels without knowing it (Hebrews 13:2). Other angels appear with great authority and emit a tremendous amount of light and love.
The Bible and NDEs reveals entities who can best be described as horrible. People having NDEs have described spirit entities with grotesque bodies having such features as rotting flesh, melting faces, a dark countenance with very unpleasant personalities. It is generally assumed by NDE experiencers that these entities were once human beings. These beings can be encountered in the hell realms. Earthbound human souls haunting the living have been mistaken for “demons“. However, God has not abandoned these souls according to many NDEs. Rather, their condition is a temporary one caused by their refusal to enter into the Light because of the fear their “darkness” will be revealed (John 3:19-21). God has a plan for every one of these miserable souls to attain liberation. Eventually, all souls will eventually see the light and progress higher. Like the prodigal son in Luke 15:11-32, God allows such souls to have the spiritual “time-out” they desire as long as necessary. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning angelic guides.
10. Heaven and Hell
Traditional Christianity holds to the existence of only three realms: hell, the physical realm, and heaven. NDE testimonies generally agree with this; although they have described the existence of many hell realms and many heaven realms. The Bible describes the existence of a “third heaven” (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). I have read enough NDE testimonies to conclude the physical realm we currently inhabit is a realm somewhere in the middle of the hierarchy of afterlife realms. In other words, we are actually living in the afterlife right now and our physical universe is but one of these realms in the hierarchy. So we are moving up the Jacob’s ladder of success, you might say, in God’s heavenly “corporation” to become permanent citizens once again in the highest heaven. The highest heaven is the eventual destiny of every human being. It is where we originated from – our true home – and where we all will eventually return.
11. God’s Law
The “law of God” in the Bible is based on the concept of “an eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth.” This is the natural law of cause and effect; what goes up must come down; do unto others and the same will be done to you; live by the sword and you will die by the sword; you reap what you sow; every action has an equal and opposite reaction; the law of karma, etc. This is the law of nature and the law of the physical realm. While the effects of this law can be seen everywhere, there exists an even greater law revealed from higher sources. It is the law of love – forgiveness and grace. When someone strikes you in the face, you should not strike back. This will stop the vicious cycle of hurt in its tracks. It means loving even your enemies. It means unconditional love. The best way to undo “bad karma” is through love and forgiveness. Like love, forgiveness is a divine trait because God forgives everyone. Actually, NDE testimonies reveal there is really nothing for God to forgive us for. God allows us to make mistakes for higher reasons. God is love (1 John 4:16) and love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians.13:4-5). In fact, love removes a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8). Therefore, the law of God is love (Romans 13:10). The commandment of God is love (John 15:12). Love is the very gospel of God (John 3:16). Jesus taught how the way to eternal life is through love (Luke 10:25-28). Everyone who loves is “born of God” and knows God (1 John 4:7). We know we are “saved” if we love others (1 John 3:14). Love is the sign of being a disciple of Christ (John 13:35). Without love we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2). Without love we gain nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3). So faith alone without works of love is dead (James 2:17). The Kingdom of heaven can be found within ourselves (Luke 17:20-21).
12. Virgin Birth
I believe it matters very little whether or not a person believes in the virgin birth of Jesus or not. Modern Bible scholarship has revealed the verse in Isaiah describing a “virgin” giving birth to a Messiah is actually better translated as “young woman”. Personally, I don’t believe it matters in the scheme of things whether Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus. If she was a virgin, then her pregnancy was a miracle. If not, then it wasn’t a miracle. Either way, Jesus had a human side to him either way. Read more about one particular near-death experiencer interpreted the Christian doctrine of the virgin birth.
13. Jesus
The Bible describes special people whom exhibited super-human abilities. One of them was Jesus. The influence of the life of Jesus upon the world cannot be overstated. Jesus also appears frequently in NDEs. The Bible describes Adam to be the first “son of God.” The Apostle Paul compares to Jesus to Adam when he refers to Jesus being the “last Adam” who undoes the error of the “first Adam”.
In the Hebrew Bible, a character named Melchizedek is described as someone who was never born and who has never died. Paul describes Jesus as being a priest in the order of this Melchezidek. Enoch was another special person because God took him to heaven without suffering death (possibly an NDE). The story of Joseph is about a man who was thrown into a pit and left for dead by his brothers. From this pit, he eventually rose to become an Egyptian prince. Joseph was blessed with the power of dream interpretation and prophecy. It is clear from the Bible these were very special people. If the gospels are true, then Jesus certainly displayed powers no one else ever had. However, Jesus did say we could perform the same miracles as he if we believed (John 14:12). Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning Jesus.
14. Christ
The word “Christ” means “anointed one” and is a reference to the Hebrew Messiah. The New Testament declares Jesus to be the Hebrew Messiah. The origin of the concept of the Messiah can be found in Genesis where God informs Satan of a descendant of Eve who will destroy him and – in the process – Satan will harm this descendant of Eve (Genesis 3:15). This descendant of Eve will be known as the Messiah.
The Bible describes several people who help to fulfill this prophecy of the Messiah. As previously mentioned, several such people in the Bible includes Adam, Enoch, Melchizedek, Joseph and Jesus. These people display many characteristics similar to each other and Jesus.
The Bible reveals how reincarnation was widely believed in Biblical days. There is strong evidence of Jesus teaching reincarnation in the Bible. Christians who believe in reincarnation can see how these special people in the Bible could be the reincarnation of the same soul. Several Christian groups living around the time of Christ believed in reincarnation as well. The man who had more documented NDEs in history, Edgar Cayce, affirmed this to be the case as well.
In essence, the Bible is the story of this special soul called “the Christ” and his ministry throughout the recorded history of the world. From this revelation, one can believe in the humanity of Jesus, as flesh and blood, whose soul attained “Christhood” (i.e., at-onement with God) as the “anointed one” who reincarnated at times to enlighten the world.
15. Trinity
According to the Bible, humans were created in the image of God. According to many religious traditions and NDEs, a human consists of a physical body, a mental body and a spirit body. Therefore, the human body is actually a trinity of bodies: mind, body and spirit. The Bible describes God as a trinity of “bodies”: life, light, and love. Jesus described his relationship with God as: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Using this information, we can now understand the relationship between God, Jesus and humanity. The Bible refers to humans as being part of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27), having the Mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), and having the Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9). This explains why Jesus defended his divine nature by making a “blasphemous” remark to the religious leaders in John 10:30-36 where he quoted Psalm 82:6. The verse in Psalm states, “You are gods; you are sons of the Most High.” Jesus was almost killed for quoting this verse. It clearly states the divine nature within all human beings.
This concept of the trinity I have described is another revelation from Edgar Cayce who described this trinity in terms of the body (conscious mind), the soul (subconscious mind), and the spirit (superconscious mind). According to Cayce, each aspect of our being corresponds to various afterlife realms. The body belongs to the physical realm; the soul belongs to the astral realm (the realm of dreams and near-death experiences), and the spirit belongs to the spirit realm (the higher realms of pure consciousness).
16. Bible Miracles
The most intriguing miracles in the Bible are those performed by Jesus. Jesus turned water into wine, raised people from the dead, walked on water, healed many people of incurable diseases, transfigured into a Being of Light, feed a multitude of people, quieted a storm, foretold his own death and rose from the dead. Because so many NDE testimonies identify Jesus to be a “Being of Light”, this is strong evidence of a historical Jesus and not a mythical Jesus. NDE experiencers have received information of the truthfulness of the Bible when it is interpreted spiritually. Because of this, I see no reason to disbelieve these miraculous claims – especially in light of the miracles reported in modern times such as psychic phenomenon, healings, near-death experiences, etc. Read more about NDEs and the miracles of Jesus here.
17. Resurrection
The consensus among Christians is “resurrection” is the miraculous power of God in raising corpses out of their graves and transforming them into immortal bodies. The gospels describe Jesus resurrecting Lazarus from the dead and Jesus himself resurrecting from the dead.
The concept of a “final resurrection” originated with the Persian religion of Zoroastrianism which is also the source for apocalyptic end of days and the concept of Satan and demons. During the Babylonian exile of the Jews, these concepts from Zoroastrianism were incorporated into the Hebrew religion. In the days of Jesus, the religious sect called the Sadducees rejected all Persian concepts because they believed them to be “foreign” doctrines. For this reason, the Sadducees rejected the concept of resurrection and maintained the traditional Hebrew doctrine of Sheol, the place where all the dead go.
The Pharisees, according to Flavius Josephus, believed “resurrection” meant reincarnation. It is also clear the traditional Zoroastrian concept of resurrection was also believed in those days. Paul was a Pharisee who embraced the mystical concept of resurrection (i.e., reincarnation).
In the 1940’s, two of the greatest archeological discoveries occurred – the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi library of Gnostic Christian writings. Among modern Biblical scholars who examined these early works, a controversy and cover-up centered occurred which dealt with the concept of resurrection found in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Gnostic Christians. These early writings affirm the concept of resurrection actually meant reincarnation in those days.
In the Bible, Jesus describes two different kinds of “resurrection”. One kind is a physical “resurrection” identical to reincarnation. The other kind refers to spiritual “resurrection” – a regeneration or becoming “born again.” Lazarus is described in the Bible as being “resurrected” physically from the dead. The same happened to Jesus. Although there is no reason to doubt these events, affirming them does not discredit reincarnation. It is possible Jesus appeared to his disciples after his death in the same way people have after-death visitations today. This means the resurrection of Jesus does not necessarily need to be interpreted as a physical resurrection. Jesus’ resurrection appearances could have likely been after-death communications (ADCs).
18. Gospel
Jesus came to bring the “gospel” which literally means “good news”. Jesus gave the meaning behind the gospel when a scribe asked Jesus what it took to attain eternal life. Jesus affirmed the key to eternal life was loving your neighbor and loving God with all your heart (Luke 10:25-28). Eternal life simply means never having to experience death anymore. By reading the Sermon on the Mount and other teachings of Jesus, his emphasis on unconditional love becomes clear. Because God is love, it is easy to believe the gospel is also about love. Jesus did not come to teach a new religion. Jesus taught people unconditional love. It was the “heart” of his message because love is God.
19. Salvation
Many Christians believe only those who believe in Jesus are saved from hell. I believe this is based on a misinterpretation of the teachings of Jesus. After all, even demons believe in Jesus.
The Bible describes two different types of salvation. One type of salvation is defined by Paul. It is salvation by faith alone. The other type of salvation was defined by James, the brother of Jesus. James taught salvation by performing good works of faith. Jesus clearly emphasized good works – especially loving others. When Nicodemus asked Jesus what he meant by “born again”, Jesus replied “whosoever believes in him will have eternal life.” What does Jesus mean by “believes in him?” Does it mean those who believe in his name have eternal life? Or does it mean those who believe Jesus is their savior have eternal life? Or does it mean those who know certain things about Jesus have eternal life? None of these are correct. In Luke 10:25-28, Jesus describes what it takes to have eternal life – loving others and God. So, we see salvation through good works – not faith alone (James 2:24). Everyone who loves has been born again knows God (1 John 4:7-8).
20. Last Judgment
Throughout the Bible, references to the “judgment” of God are given. Although God may be called the “Great Judge”, this does not necessarily mean the Great Judge does, in fact, judge people. The Bible says God does not judge people (John 5:22). Nor does Jesus judge anyone (John 8:15 and John 12:47-48). The Bible suggests people are “self-judged” (John 12:47-48). Much of the doctrine of a “Judge of Wrath” comes from the symbolism of the parables of Jesus and the Book of Revelation – both of which are not to be taken literally. NDE testimonies support the idea of people judge themselves – God does not. Read more about the NDEs and my research conclusions concerning the life review.
21. Damnation
The image above is a depiction of the fundamentalist’s view of damnation. In this case, it is a depiction of Jesus casting a Hindu teenager into hell for never having made a pledge of allegiance to His Lordship. This concept of “eternal damnation” comes mostly from the symbolism of the parables of Jesus and the Book of Revelation which were never meant to be understood literally. Near-death experiencers affirm hell is a place for purification and instruction, not eternal damnation. Common sense should tell people a God of infinite love and mercy would never allow even one soul to be eternally tortured in hell. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions about hell. Also, read the history of how the Christian doctrine of hell became an eternal hell.
22. Bible
Several near-death experiencers were told by Jesus the Bible is true but it has to be read spiritually, not literally. A literal interpretation of the Bible yields a multitude of errors and contradictions. It is also a mistake to limit all revelations of God to just a book (the Bible) as many Christians do.
The Bible, as it exists today, is the product of the Catholic Church when a relatively few bishops and clergymen decided what would be in the Bible and what would not. The Book of Enoch was a book considered to be holy scripture by the Jews during the days of Jesus. In fact, a quote from the Book of Enoch can be found in the Bible – Jude 1:14-15 to be exact:
“Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men: ‘See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.'” (Jude 1:14-15)
However, the Church rejected the Book of Enoch as heresy. But even the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelation was suspected of being heretical and almost received the same fate as the Book of Enoch.
During the early Church age, there were many gospels and many writings floating around. The few clergymen of the Church had to decide what is inspired and what is not. It was completely a bureaucratic process.
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Nag Hammadi scriptures show how many books were considered to be holy scripture in the days of Jesus. This suggests the modern Bible is not the complete work of God.
Many NDE testimonies involve a direct experience in heaven with the light of God. This cannot be said of all the experiences in the Bible. This begs the question: “Are near-death experiences a greater revelation of God than the Bible?” This is a question people have to answer for themselves. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning the Bible.
23. Church
Many Christians make the mistake of defining the “church” to be a building where people go to worship God. However, Jesus’ definition of the “church” is the people who are members of God’s kingdom. Since Christians generally believe Jesus is the Savior of the whole world, this suggests the whole world is made up of members of God’s kingdom. This agrees with NDE testimonies affirming universal salvation.
24. Prayer
During Betty Eadie’s NDE, she was actually shown how the prayers of people on earth create spiritual “beams of light” shooting out from the earth and into outer space toward heaven. She saw how group prayer creates an even larger and stronger beam of light to God. She saw how a mother’s prayer for her children also produces a much stronger beam of light. She saw how insincere prayers – or prayers of repetition – create very weak beams of light falling short of the boundaries of earth and never reach heaven.
Kahlil Gibran, the famous Christian mystic and poet, had an interesting way of defining prayer. He said, “God listens not to your words save when he utters them through your lips.” I believe the poet is referring to how God is within us and when we pray to God, we must go within.
One controversy for some Christians today is children not being allowed to pray in public school. Although kids should and need to pray – especially when there is such an epidemic of drugs, gangs, and venereal diseases in our public schools – I believe it might be harmful to allow prayers in public schools. It leads to the question of “what kind of religious prayer should kids in school say?” Some religions believe prayers should be performed in a kneeling position facing East. Some religions teach people to pray to more than one God. Some religions don’t even involve prayer. So who is to decide what kind of prayer to give? What if the majority of kids in a class wanted to say a Buddhist prayer with Christians in the same room? Because of this, I think it is best to keep religious rituals and public prayers out of school and into churches where they belong. Besides, Jesus taught against public prayer. He taught how prayers should be done in the quiet of your own room where nobody but God can see you.
25. Once Saved Always Saved
Orthodox Protestant Christianity, as founded by John Calvin and Martin Luther, traditionally held to the belief of once a person is saved by Jesus, they are forever saved by Jesus. On the other hand, modern Christianity in general holds to the belief of once you are saved by Jesus, you can still fall from God through sin and become eternally lost. On the other hand, one particular NDE experiencer, Mellen-Thomas Benedict, was given a revelation from God: humanity was already “saved”. This is because NDEs affirm there is no eternal damnation and God gives everyone as many opportunities it takes to grow toward the light.
26. Predestination
Orthodox Protestant Christianity, as founded by John Calvin and Martin Luther, traditionally hold to a doctrine of “unconditional election” which is a Biblical term used to describe how God is absolutely sovereign in deciding who to save and who to damn. This is based upon Biblical references describing how God chose, before the universe was created, an “elect” group of people out of fallen humanity whom God would save from eternal damnation. Other Christians believe God gives everyone the opportunity to be saved because all humans have a free will not enslaved to Satan. Calvinists deny free will except for the freedom given to us by Jesus. However, I have discovered NDEs affirm both predestination and free will to be correct. God chose to have every soul be “saved” from self-destruction. Everyone has the free will and ability to return to God. The key to understanding this is all paths lead back to God. In other words, we choose our own destiny. Our free will is predestined to ultimately bring us closer to God.
27. Second Coming
I believe the evidence shows Jesus as having many incarnations in this world. The idea of a “second coming” is really a misnomer. It would be best to say that Jesus will return in he same manner he has returned a number of times throughout history. This also means Jesus will enter the world the same way he did the last time – through childbirth (or more correctly “rebirth“). Based on a number of prophecies – both Biblical and NDE – I believe Jesus may have already been born again into this world for the final time. It these prophecies are correct, then Jesus is now an adult and he is ready to help lead humanity once again to seek the Kingdom of heaven within.
28. Abortion
The controversy of abortion revolves around the question: “when is a human zygote or fetus an actual human being?” Some people believe in “zygotic personhood” – the belief of life beginning at conception. Some people believe life begins at birth. I prefer to believe the psychic revelation from Edgar Cayce on this subject. The soul/spirit enters the body during a time period from six months before birth and up to an hour after birth. The Bible describes God giving man the “breath of life” making him a living being. One particular woman had an NDE from having an abortion and God had absolutely no condemnation against her. In essence, God didn’t care about it and didn’t even mention it.
As long as babies are not aborted near the time of birth, I see no reason to prevent a woman from aborting a fetus. In fact, contrary to what many Christians believe, the Bible actually approves of abortion. According to Numbers 5:20-22, when a woman becomes pregnant by a man who is not her husband, God gave Moses “water that brings a curse” which the pregnant woman must be made to drink to induce a miscarriage. Also, the prophet Hosea prayed to God to have the fetuses of his enemies miscarry (Hosea 9:14-16). Hosea’s prayers were answered by God. From this, one can conclude abortion to be Biblical and legal. However, it is not Biblical or legal to bomb abortion clinics and kill people. If life begins at conception, then what about all natural abortions millions of women menstruate every year? Is menstruation murder? You can see how silly such a question is.
29. Death Penalty
Suppose a murder/rapist tortured, raped and murdered your daughter (God forbid). The anger and desire for retribution would be incredible for many people. NDE testimonies describe how the souls of murderers and rapists create their own in hell after death. Many such experiences reveal how people in hell are allowed to reincarnate when they finally repent of their actions.
Concerning the punishment of murderers, which is better: having murders killed immediately by capital punishment and sending them to hell? Or is it better to have murderers “rot in prison” for the rest of their life and then face a possible hell. For some of the more horrific murderers, death certainly seems too good for them. But it may be best to have murderers live the rest of their lives in prison to reflect upon their actions and face a lifetime of “prison justice” by other prisoners. Perhaps we should have compassion for these unfortunately ignorant murderers. “Rotting in prison” may actually be the more humane route of justice. It gives them the opportunity to be rehabilitated for when they must face God when they die.
I believe many Christians support the death penalty because the Bible suggests God supports it. Their argument is: “if God did not believe in the death penalty, Jesus would have been given 10 to 20 years in prison with time of for good behavior”. But, in my opinion, Jesus’ death penalty of crucifixion was cruel and unusual punishment.
30. Homosexuality
The Bible was written thousands of years ago when people had slaves, women were slightly higher in status than cattle, homosexuals were stoned to death, pagans were put to death, and prostitutes and adulterers where stoned to death. It is in this context the Bible was written.
In the Bible, Paul certainly declares his pro-slavery, anti-feminist, homophobic, religiously intolerant, anti-Semitic, anti-marriage and sexually repressed opinions. Such attitudes are certainly against the principles and teachings of Jesus who said God is our only master; women are equal to men; so-called “sexual deviants” such as prostitutes are loved by God; and a person’s religion does not matter to God. The only “religion” that matters is love.
Those Christians who condemn gay people should examine their own sexuality. For example, do such Christians masturbate? If so, then why shouldn’t such Christians be condemned as well? Especially when NDE testimonies affirm gay and lesbian people are welcomed into heaven as well.
31. War
It should be obvious to everyone how declaring war against Hitler saved the world from fascism. This alone suggests war can be an honorable, moral and even divine cause. The Bible describes a war in heaven. One NDE experiencer was shown how some wars are justifiable in the same way antibodies attack viruses in the human body. It is a natural process. Defeating the fascism of Hitler certainly was an honorable, moral and divine cause. Read more about NDEs and my research conclusions concerning war and evil.
