Following On

For the next six weeks I want to talk about heaven. The Bible tells about heaven. Everyone wants to go to heaven. We sometimes even talk about old grandma Spencer looking down on us from heaven.  However, is there any real proof that heaven exists?  Is heaven just a fantasy?  How can we even know there is a heaven?

Well, I think the only way to know for sure would be if someone went to heaven and then came back to tell us about what they saw there.  Jesus said that he had been there.  In John 3:12 He says, “I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?”   He was trying to tell the crowd something of what heaven was like.  Near Death Experience (NDE) researchers tell about millions of people who have been very near to death, were restored to life and then go on to tell about what they experienced during that time when they almost died.  Estimates are that between 20 and 30 million people in the Western world have had some sort of near death experience in which they: left their bodies, saw themselves lying dead on an operating table, and then went on to experience a place of incredible love and beauty.

The stories they tell are remarkably consistent. There are about ten elements present in the majority of near death experiences.  Most returnees talk about entering into a tunnel that takes them to heaven. They also tell of a life review where they experience once again the things they did in this life.  They then tell about meeting deceased loved ones who have gone on ahead.  And finally, they talk about a Beings of Light who radiates an overwhelming love toward them.

 The very consistency of these descriptions helps us to believe that there is something real in these stories. In fact, people who have never heard about others experiencing these things nonetheless go on to experience them for themselves. When we hear of near death experiences in Africa, Asia or the Middle East they also tell about how they passed through a tunnel, experienced a life review and then met with a being of light.

So for the next five weeks, I want to tell you the stories of people who have seen for themselves that Heaven is real.