NDE from a Christians Point of View, and Mystical Spirituality
What should Christians think about NDE? Its theological implications. Making sense of the spirit dimension and reincarnation.
Near Death Experiences are causing some Christians to wonder if perhaps pluralism is true; perhaps everyone eventually gets into the New Earth, no matter what religion they follow, as long as they try to be good.
After watching and listening to countless stories, here are some thoughts on Near death Experiences, (or afterlife Experiences as they could be called) from a Christian perspective (I hope).
Its worth pointing out that an NDE is not full death, full death comes after a soul crosses a line in the spirit realm from which point it cannot return to its body. Perhaps this is why Jesus said of Lazarus that he was merely sleeping. We don’t know how different a personas final experience will be from an NDE.
Whey are some individuals told there is no judgment, only acceptance?
Justice and therefore judgment are the back drop and foundation for morality. Once these have been laid culture is able to move forward, with its attention fixed on the goal of grace, light, compassion, restoration and moral wisdom. Jesus himself said that he did not come to judge but to save and to bring light (John 12:48). Yet he forecasts judgment for those who are privileged enough to hear and reject his worlds because “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required.” (Luke 12:48) When an angel tells someone that they are totally accepted, that they are not being judged, they need only to learn from their mistakes; this might be a specific message for only that person, and not a truth statement for everyone for all time. After all, most non-Christians experiences of NDEs never have heard the gospel, will not meet Jesus, but will often have a life review. It is rare for a Christian to experience a life review, perhaps they will if they have unrepentant sin in their heart.
Thus there are three reasons why angelic beings, or Jesus himself might not bring the gospel or any justice to an experiencer:
firstly, the individual trying to be a good person and has never heard the gospel. They then need to do their research when they awake to find out who this God is.
Secondly, the individual may misinterpret their experience because of the condition of their heart imposes its bias.
Thirdly, they may have met deceiving spirits who mix truth with lies, and these people often go into mystical spirituality when they awaken. It is hard to imagine that a being that conveyed love might also be a deceiving spirit, but perhaps feelings of acceptance can be generated inside the human spirit quite easily.
Pagan Or Christian NDE – Justice or Only Mercy?
Whether its New Age, pantheistic, mystic or whatever, these all have one thing in common: they believe in independent and indulgent spirituality, in which mercy has not only triumphed over justice, instead it has obliterated justice. Acceptance is the only virtue in this kind of environment, regardless of all evils committed. These contain a lot of moral truth and good intentions but they are all about building the human soul so that we no-longer need to rely on God almighty for righteous values or for spiritual purity. Unless this is something that Christians have gotten wrong; perhaps God no-longer requires people to come to the cross in humility for transformation and salvation, he just needs them to be open and genuine, to listen to their intuitions and to heal their souls. But this independent approach to salvation makes these people vulnerable to deceiving spirits, they must trust in their own corrupted values and they have no grounds for salvation when they die.
NDEs or after life experiences, in which a person’s consciousness meets angels or ancestors who merely tell them how they ought to increase in compassion and authenticity but who do not mention justice or anything of God’s kingdom need to be taken with caution, but this does not make them in error. If people have never heard the gospel of Jesus then God is not obliged to share it with them when visiting the spiritual dimension; people generally just continue on the same path, having their existing beliefs affirmed. But there are some who unfortunately meet a Jesus figure who contradict the teaching of Matthew 26 in which Jesus claims the wine represents his new covenant in his blood that was shed for many. We are warned that the end times will bring many false Christs.
The Gaia spirit promotes unconditional acceptance and tolerance no matter what, and triumphs over rational discernment, hierarchies of values and truth. But what is wrong with extreme acceptance? After all, we are meant to accept people no matter how productive, attractive and sinful they are. When Christians accept people unconditionally they do not leave them as they are or reinforce their existing condition, advising them to be authentic and true to themselves. The difference is that Jesus has provided a judicial and rational basis for acceptance, having paid the debt; and he doesn’t stop at acceptance; he cleans up the spirit and revolutionises the heart. The high path retains discernment while seeking harmony; provides justice while preferring mercy; judges without condemning
Teachers like Peter Panagore, and many other Gnostic, mystics or occultists have a set of beliefs that are easy to spot once you can identify the traits. They are what GK Chesterton would have referred to as ‘imminent’, or ‘descending’, as Ken Wilbur would say, or I would call them feminine. The opposite of these are the Biblical foundational perspective: transcendent; ascending; masculine, and this mindset initially priorities perfection over self-acceptance. The ascending perspective looks to perfection and tries to emulate it. It forms hierarchies and it employs justice. It therefore believes that justice demands that the consequences of our actions require payment or redemption. Christianity then later moves us into the imminent paradigm once the heart is ready. But it recognises that the immanent is more advanced, vulnerable and gracious, and must be used correctly once the foundations are laid and boundaries set. If we are indulgent and go for the immanent without proper transcendent principles we lack delayed gratification, grabbing the low hanging spiritual fruit in our desire for power, self-confidence and serenity.
Christ invited the happy moral pagans and the wealthy clever clogs to his righteous feast, but they were distracted by DIY spirituality and self-realisation. They have their own goodness and it will be tested one day. However, it may be that they end up in the outskirts of the new earth away from the new Jerusalem in the ‘nations of the saved’, once they have paid for their wrongdoing. (See the article on Divine justice.)
Reincarnation
The belief in reincarnation is even more dangerous than universalism because of how it changes our view of God and how it changes our mission on Earth. Mystics tell us we originated in heaven; in a prior existence we chose to come to earth to experience something specific; there is no justice or judgement, it’s all just about learning. If there is no memory of the past life then how are we to learn or to add to previous experience? What is the whole point of the exercise anyway? Their aim is to become enlightened and powerful in this life; they are not looking for a paradise in their creator’s presence. They refuse to humbly come to the cross for salvation.
It seems like the identity and individuality of a person does not come from their spirit but from their soul, and the soul is largely physical. Our spirit is the part that drives us higher, although it can easily become corrupted. If the soul is imprinted on the human spirit, but then is wiped clean of its memory and desires and recycled by being put back into a soul, what part of that original soul still exists?
Firstly: if God is merely an impersonal source or force and not a personality, where did the spiritual dimension come from?
Secondly: Perhaps past life memories are implanted experiences from other humans and from the collective human spirit.
Thirdly, if there always needs to be some evil and suffering in the world in order for us to learn from then the world cannot get better, especially if ‘better’ is so hard to define. If there is no real right and wrong then why get better at all? After all, as Nietzsche pointed out, it can be quite fun to become the most powerful person and to exploit other people.
Fourthly, acceptance and mercy make no sense without some kind of criteria or justice, and if these do exist then how can there be no consequences of our evil actions?
Fifthly, If we are all one and have lived multiple lives, then in the new world, which of those separate people will experience reward for their self-sacrifice?
Howard Storm seems comfortable with the idea of reincarnation of certain souls. He was told reincarnation can occur in the case of a young baby who has not had the chance to live to the age of accountability. I guess if unborn or young babies did not have caring parents who would want to meet them after death, and they have no life experience and no close relationships in heaven then returning to Earth would make sense. But again, if this soul imprint is blank when it re-enters a fetus, how is that different from basic soul annihilation? Elijah may have been reincarnated in John the Baptist, but Jesus may have just meant that the spiritual blessing of Elijah was upon John.
Deceiving Spirits and Hell
As Brian Melvin, on Randy Kay’s channel points out, Hell is a complex place; it spirals down progressively, getting more tortuous as it descends. Many people there are in a virtual reality cube and parts of their lives are replayed and re-experienced. Some further down are tormented by demons. The point is that some of the dead are entertained by deceiving spirits who pretend to be relatives and pretend to care about them. (Randy Kay wisely only interviews people who meet Jesus ).
The big problem with all of this is that there are many types of angels or deceiving spirits; they may be our guardian angel, or they may be a fallen angel, or even Jesus himself. If the direction of their lives has been away from the divine and towards rebellious and self-glory then God owes them no favors nor an explanation of truth. God is not under any obligation to protect or to draw people to himself if they have not had faith in this life, yet there are many stories of atheists and agnostics who are rescued from a dark evil place when they cry out to God. God calls who he wants to call. Even Angels are not bound to preach Christ and him crucified, this is a responsibility we share with the Holy Spirit.
Some Angels Seem To Be Therapists
Why do some encounter angels who tell them, “there are no mistakes, only opportunities for learning”, yet other people encounter angels who show them the times that they abused love and broke its boundaries, and rejected moral wisdom? Jeffrey Olsen’s encounter generated two questions: are there two different types of free will, and are there two types of standards for moral assessment in the afterlife?
Would God say to Stalin, “don’t worry about failure, as long as you learned from your mistakes”? Could Stalin justify the misery he brought to millions because of his childhood trauma? Perhaps arrogant and powerful people will be judged with a different set of criteria than humble victims. If we are merely puppets of our childhood experiences and lack free will, then we cannot be held accountable for the misery we inflict. But in this scenario the angel tells this mild-mannered gentleman to learn to exercise free will; to choose a responce in difficult circumstances. God enjoys our moral wisdom, and our desire to overcome because our good choices, mixed with faith give him an opportunity to relate to us and help.
We could look at Revelations chapter 2 where Jesus encourages each church when they overcome, but rebukes them for their failures. The angel that spoke to Jeffrey Olsen gave him one side of the coin. He needed to hear about choice, acceptance, trust, encouragement. Other people need to hear about justice, responsibility and humility.
So God may deliver a different message to each individual depending on the condition of their heart, just as Jesus told the paralysed man his sins were forgiven without him even asking, and condemned a Pharisee, without him even asking for an opinion.
But we should not confuse humility with low self-esteem, and the answer to low self esteem is not high self esteem, it is acceptance by God and knowledge of his salvation. But God’s therapy may help us to open ourselves to becoming part of a church and therefore to feel accepted by people as well as by God.
Some believe that life is not a test its a gift. But it is both a test and a gift, so let’s not only focus on one or the other. Be grateful for everything, but be challenged and repent where necessary.
Therefore it is understandable that some people get told one side of moral reality and other people receive the other. But there are clearly some messages that are against the truth.
Why only some meet Jesus
The main question I have puzzled over is why God only reveals Christ to a minority of people and not to everyone. (The same can be asked of this life too.) I have noticed that in every case where Christ has revealed himself to someone in an NDE that person has heard the gospel or has had someone praying for them. The cross is to be learned about in this life. An angel’s job is to help us to improve morally, and to deliver God’s blessings, so they use a life review and they show love rather than harsh judgment as love is a powerful motivator.
It does seem unlikely that the kind of love often felt emanating from beings of light would come from demons. Yet even fallen angels can transform themselves into angels of light. However it seems the dead are not totally at the mercy of deceiving spirits, they still have free will, and can choose to believe in an alternate reality. (So if you ever experience one try and remember this 🙂 )
However, even if they meet Godly angels, an angel is not tasked with giving the gospel of Jesus, God himself does that through Jesus himself and the work of his Holy Spirit, and we partner in this responsibility. Secondly God is not obliged to tell someone the good news about Christ just because they are dead temporarily. Faith is exercised in this life, not in paradise. God values faith, especially exercised in suffering or when we sense our need for righteousness and peace. There are always consequences to wrongdoing, in this life and the next. Obviously there are those who reject God and reject goodness, both in this life and probably in hell; they will join the devil in the lake of fire after the final judgment. (Hell is emptied at the final judgment Rev 20,13)
The ‘Mechanics’ of it
Normally our consciousness takes its perception from our brain and the reality it conjures up, but once the brain is inactive then the spirit beings conjure up reality for us. However, before being transported by beings of light into a shared reality, or by demons into a constructed experience, the soul is able to wander freely through this physical world. Some report traveling not just around the building in which they died but to the far reaches of the universe. Then they either experience absolute darkness or they are transported directly into the third heaven. An animal’s soul is tied to its body but the human soul is tied to the collective human spirit. Thus our emotions and memories are recorded, perhaps in some kind of sub-atomic particle cosmic computer.
The white light pulls their consciousness into a constructed reality. The tunnels that many report are a kind of transport that pulls human consciousness into another dimension; into a section of the ‘second heaven’ or the third heaven.
It seems likely that the paradise people visit is an aspect of a real and shared reality, as opposed to the simulated, constructed reality or ‘holodeck’-like experience of the second heaven or hell. There are illusions that enclose the consciousness of those who are not protected by God as they are placed into virtual realities through which they can experience the evils of their own making and learn humility, or be deceived by seducing spirits into thinking they are in paradise.
Heaven or Paradise is only temporary, lasting only until the final judgment, and then off they all go to the New Jerusalem: some to reign and some to create, and who knows what else. (Rev 20)
Two Types of Benevolence – Natural love and Christ’s Love.
Some return with seemingly enlightened information about how we ought to recognise the divine in ourselves, and to love ourselves so that we can better love others. Is this message at odds with the Christian challenge of denying self and taking up one’s cross?
Although it can be inferred from “love your neighbor as you love yourself” (Matt 22:39) that we ought to love ourselves, the Bible does not major on this theme; nor that we ought to fulfil our self-realised destiny or to try and enjoy every moment, etc. But it does tell us that we are all made in God’s image, which is a very similar sentiment to the one expressed by most New Age teachers–that we ought to recognise the spark of the divine within us and take care of ourselves. And if a little piece of God is within us, then each of us has great worth and great potential. Loving ourselves is a basic necessity. As a Anita Moorjani’s found out, who, returning from her NDE explained, all of us know these things from when we are babies. If we all know these fundamentals then there is no need for Christ to teach them. Both the Old and New testaments take it for granted that we all sense these things as part of our natural law. Christ did not teach us to attempt to return to a state of paradise in which we sense our innate worth and our oneness with the universe or how every atom in the cosmos emits love; he instead taught us that he himself is our power, our inner life, our worth, and our peace. He taught us to abandon aiming for our own greatness and pleasures and to instead seek something higher and greater than everything on earth; to spend eternity surrounded by God who forgave us and cleaned us up, and with the souls whose lives we have enriched.
But there is more than this: Yahweh introduces the concept of rational justice (rather than mere fairness or equality) and once we accept justice it introduces the need for mercy and atonement. If there are natural consequences for spreading fear, deception and destruction in this life, and spiritual consequences in the next life, then merely sensing our worth will not be sufficient to motivate change and to heal the past. However, the experience of God’s love in a tangible way can have this effect, yet it still does not deal with the problem of justice.
So there are two paths: natural goodness and the way of the cross. One leads to an unsure and frightening future, and the other leads to inheriting the Earth, and to reigning with Christ in the New Jerusalem.
How to Become a Demi-god
They begin by correctly telling us that a part of God is within us, but they do not describe which part. But they then go on to tell us that “God is the infinite universe, the infinite light that shines out from behind your eyes. I am an expression of God” etc. This moves beyond the realistic truth of having been created to relate to God as rational being with a conscience into more dangerous territory in which we become little gods able to channel the universe’s energy to make things happen. Even though we may use this energy to do good (or so we think) we have no idea which spirits carry out our desires, nor what they will request from us in payment. We need to know which God we are dealing with and what he requires form us. God makes so much effort in the Old Testament to demonstrate his character of justice, mercy and moral wisdom, and Christ displays the character of the father through healing and by offering his Spirit to change our hearts and provide living water.
Some lies peddled by spirits during NDEs: “What you think with strong emotion you will get.” (similar idea as manifesting your will and intentions) “We are your future selves. We are who you are learning to be.” This kind of thought will encourage a person to become great but not necessarily righteous according to God’s character. And it will not bring them into a relationship with God; both of these are part of the purpose of creation, the human purpose/telos.
The power of belief is peddled by most occultist, Gnostic and wealth oriented groups. On a natural level if we focus our attention on something we move in that direction. We also create emotional environments, and our actions and words have knock on effects. But we should be careful about talking about creating physical reality. Can we, for example, manifest an object if we have strong enough will and emotions? We cannot without spiritual intervention. And this is where the problem lies: if our intentions are merely towards our own greatness and health, instead of seeking God’s kingdom in our lives, and we then expect to manifest something through our worlds, we will invite demons to help us, just like witches and sorcerers have done for millennia.
Three Typical Outcomes
There are three outcomes I have observed; the one where a minority of people meet Christ and have their sins forgiven and they are rescued from darkness, these people often become Christians. The second where they have a life review, and they are encouraged to be charitable when they go back.The beings they meet seem neutral in allegiance to God or the devil, perhaps these are guardian angels. The third is where a minority meet accepting beings who actively downplay judgement and nor do they encourage living a good life. They impart complex spiritual and physical concepts and encourage self belief. People who encounter this third kind often practice the occult on returning because of how psychic they become.
It may be that they have been chatting to Angels of darkness dressed as angels of light. For example, a lady called Melinda Lyons said she met Jesus who told her he did not die to pay for sins. There are a couple of possible explanations; she may have recalled this incorrectly as she only remembered it 11 years later, or she met a false Christ. Since she came back she has become a Medium and has had various visitations from evil spirits who torment her.
Comepare this with this lady who left the occult and got born again https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xm9N-p4JEzQ
Those who meet Christ in their NDE find real peace and protection when they come back and live life. They are transformed in their character and they submit to God’s authority. They have a light in their soul and real assurance. They leave behind the occult and are led by the Holy spirit instead.
A Few Examples
In Howard Storm’s story he calls out to Jesus because he learned a song about Jesus in Sunday school, and Jesus rescues him. He was formerly an atheist though. He felt ashamed of his sin in the presence of such love, and was forgiven.
Then the angels took him and spoke to him about life. They generally told him how it all works and that love is the most important thing, but also mentioned that some babies are reincarnated as they have not lived life, and that life forms exist on other planets. (Reincarnation is the exception not the rule and aliens are irrelevant to us).
His experience can be divided into two parts, the first is the classic Jesus experience that those who have heard the gospel receive, and then the classic mystical experience that those who never become Christians receive.
Peter Panagore poses a puzzle for us. He also met Jesus, and in the presence of holy love he judged himself, and was forgiven. Interestingly he says he brought a treasure out of the refining, burning process: it was the love that had been shown to him and that he had given away. The most significant part of his story for me is when he puts his hands on a person who has internal bleeding to heal him, and experiences his head chakra opening and energy pouring out. But in the car Peter had terrible pain inside as if he had taken the man’s injuries, until he saw a cross on a church and it zoomed towards him in his mind, and his pain went away. Peter does not seems to have come to the cross for salvation. He is interested in becoming a demi-god. We may be able to heal people through our connection to the spirit dimension, but to take someone’s illness in ourselves is totally against the bible and it shows us where his power is coming from. Jesus already took out illness, fear and sin on the cross. Perhaps this experience where the cross took his pain away was God reaching out to him, to give him one more chance to trust him.
Theological Objections
Some could argue that Luke 16:31 says God will not use an NDE to communicate with the living. However it just says that people will not be persuaded, it does not say they won’t come back. NDEs are primarily for the individual they are given to and it is only more recently that people have begun to speak about them, as medicine has improved survival rates. Having said that many people are also miraculously healed when they come back. The book of Hebrews says people are appointed to only die once and then be judged. This is a general rule of thumb and is not stated anywhere else in the Bible. It could be said the an NDE is not a permanent death, a bit like Lazarus, who was just ‘sleeping’ in death.
It is surprising that some people are told by an angel that their deeds are neither good nor bad, but are experiences to learn from. Maybe God gives them the information that they need at that time and treats them according to the light they have received. Christ treated the Pharisees differently than the adulterers who realised their weakness and failure. God shows kindness and encouragement to the repentant but he convinces the proud of their sin. So when God is working in the heart if a non Christian who is humble and poor in spirit he does not need to convince them of sin, he needs to convince them of his mercy and their worth in his sight. There are some non Christians who have a basic relationship with God but don’t know that Christ died for them, yet.