Are Near-Death Experiences Real?
by David K. Bernard
Podcast recording (no venue stated in the delivered transcript)
Kind: teaching
Scripture: Acts 2:38, 2 Timothy 3:15-17, Revelation 4, Luke 16

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/david-k-bernard--are-near-death-experiences-real
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

------------------------------------------------------------
I would say take them with a grain of salt which means uh cautiously but first the first things first the Bible is our Authority for everything we need for Salvation Christian Life Christian Ministry that stated in second Timothy 3 15-17 so first any definitive information should come from the Bible anything that directly contradicts the Bible is simply wrong there could be a big gray area where there is some discretion I do think what the main thing we might take away from these various testimonies is that the human life is more than just the physical body it's more than just materialism as atheistic science would say that we're just highly evolved animals that have no soul and when we die that's the end so if these uh near-death experiences teach us anything they teach us that the human being is more than that more than just an animal body but we do have a soul now any authoritative experience as I said would have to agree with scripture or have to come from scripture and if it's legitimate I have to agree with scripture so I do know for sure one person who had in scripture who had a Heavenly division vision and described it and that's John The Book of Revelation in John chapter 4 he was caught up into heaven he saw one God on one Throne which is identified as Jesus Christ he saw 24 Elders which seemed to be the Saints of the ages worshiping God around the throne so even that is highly symbolic but that's what heaven is going to be like now we do have the story of the rich man and Lazarus some think is a parable but even if it's a parable a parable is a true to life story not not a fantasy story but Jesus gave this story and he did describe it's before uh his death-bailed resurrection but he described a a place of the afterlife where the souls of people are have conscious existence one place in a place of rest and joy the other place of unrest and torment for the righteous versus unrighteous and the rich man who is in torment saw the poor beggar Lazarus now enjoying the afterlife now I do believe that's a temporary place of waiting for the judgment and I also believe that because once Jesus arose from the dead then the dead in Christ are in his presence they don't have to wait for anything else because he has purchased their salvation that's kind of a side note but the key point I want to focus on is there was a conscious existence in the afterlife either of bliss and rest or torment and unrest and the rich man asked Abraham in this story because Abraham and Lazarus were together in the place of paradise or rest and joy can you please send Lazarus to talk to my unsaved Brothers to tell them not to come to this place of Torment but to repent change the way of life and Abraham said even if someone were to come back from the dead they wouldn't believe him they have Moses and the prophets let them hear him them so I use that to say look there's limited value in these stories whatever these stories are whatever legitimacy there were be to that God is not really going to use that and those stories shouldn't change us it's the word of God today the preaching and teaching of the word of God that we have that we should follow that we should obey that we should respond to and that will change us not some story but if I were to further uh discuss it many of these stories seem to be very generic uh like they saw uh the you know they saw their body lying on the operating table whatever or they they were in a corridor they were in a place of light or they were in a place of you know they they were walking towards some place of bliss in life and you know it could be that that is just a human experience as they as their soul is kind of separating um it it might be God allowing them to experience that to show there is a real spiritual life but of course the Lord knows they're not going permanently so to interpret that as their permanent Destiny would be to go far beyond what's reasonable because you could even say if uh well if they felt like they're going toward light or they're hearing music or seeing feeling Blissful that may not be a Divine guarantee that they're saved that may be the Lord's gracious um help to them to know that you know God knowing they're not going to their Eternal Destiny he's giving them a chance to experience something positive and knowing they will be resuscitated and encouraging them to follow what they've experienced or felt you know so there or it could be just if it's a human phenomena of your mind whatever your expectation in your mind could temporarily you could temporarily be experiencing it so I guess what I'm saying is there are several different ways from uh just a natural human perspective of what's in your mind to a spiritual perspective God allowing them to be blessed in order to motivate them um and there there could be some cases of save people that are getting a taste of of the world to come I do remember one of our Elder ministers who's passed away uh David F gray one of our pioneers and he personally related to me an experience I believe he had a heart attack on in the in the hospital and was clinically pronounced dead but he was conscious of that whole experience and related in Vivid detail how he felt uh looking down upon his body and could could identify the people in the events and the situations and the experience he had but then God released them back to his body so I don't discount there could be legitimate experiences like that but when it's in the case of people who aren't saved or we don't know if they're saved I think we can't make those authoritative we can't really use those as primary sources of instruction or testimony other than the word of God because we already have Luke 16 telling us no it's the word of God and the preaching of the word that we should really be listening to so I don't tend to read all those if I do encounter them the main thing I get is there is an afterlife so God is trying to show us there is an afterlife God is trying to show us there is a separation of the soul from body temporarily at death and and then beyond that it may be our human expectations or it may be God's grace that would give a positive experience