To Heaven and Back?

There has been a phenomenon in recent years over people’s near-death experiences and supposed glimpses and visits to heaven (and hell). These experiences have been turned into bestseller books, and the books have been written into movies. For instance, 90 Minutes in Heaven, a book released in 2004, is being released in theaters today. Some may say, “This is great for the Christian faith. I think God is trying to tell us something.” Without sounding crude, I would have to disagree with the first part of the statement and agree, tongue-in-cheek, with the second half of the comment. Let me explain: What greatly concerns me about these type of movies is the basis of them are on the person’s experience. The foundation and authority are not Scripture. With a number of “heaven” stories, it should not come as a surprise that some of them contradict each other and many times there is no Scriptural basis for the things they say they experienced. What may concern me even more than these people’s accounts is the number of Christians that flock to such movies. In order to know what heaven is like, they go to a child to hear what their experience was. They listen to the man who claims he was in heaven but is now back here. Often, where the people of God neglect to turn to for a description of heaven is the Word of God. The Bible is the authority for our lives and we bank our hope on what it says. That means if we want to know what heaven is like we go to the Bible. We live in an age where feelings and experience are exalted and the Bible is laid down. However, for the Christian, the Bible is above all and is our source of truth and the standard of authority. While I will say honestly there may be some instances where people have an experience and it does not contradict Scripture. To that, I cannot speak to because I humbly admit I do not know. Nevertheless, please take time to watch the video above and hear David Platt elaborate a little more on this subject. If we are going to be discerning in our learning, we must have God’s Word as our foundation and our source and standard for truth. These types of movies are not always fruitful for the Christian faith but they do show us that God is saying something: go back and read His Word. Simply put, Christian, be discerning in your learning!

Here is a beneficial article by Dr. David Shrock as you think on this subject further and learn to discern. For more articles, visit Tim Challies website here.