The Truth Matters....
Have you Heard…..
Barbara Henderson
Have you heard of people who saw an
angel, died and went to heaven and came back, or some other 'proof' of heaven
being real? How do you interpret this in the light of scripture?
Does it matter? Your answer to the first questions is probably 'yes', I
have heard of people going to heaven and coming back. You may wonder if
this is proof of heaven or just something that is actually without explainable, but possibly
explained by drugs.
Let's see what the Bible has to say.
The Bible tells us that Elisha’s
servant’s eyes were opened to see the heavenly host around them protecting them
from danger. So, I am not discounting
the fact that people sometimes see things that are not normally seen. They may see the armies of God or possibly
even the armies of Satan. We are told of
angels bringing news being seen in the Bible.
I personally have had several unexplainable experiences in seeing
something that could get me classified as on some sort of hallucinogenic if I
was bold in telling the world about my experience or vision or whatever it
was. The absolute fact is there is no
real way to verify or prove such an experience is for real, or that it has any
relevance to actual events. The Bible
does tell us not to try to communicate with the dead. There are far more important things that
Christians need to be doing. The lost
people of the world need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ as set down in
writing for us in the Bible. There is no
personal experience that is better than what we already know based on
scripture.
1 Peter 1:16-21 tells us,
‘16 For we have not followed
cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received from God the Father
honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
18 And this voice which came from heaven we
heard, when we were with him in the holy mount.
19 We have also a more sure word of
prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth
in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
20 Knowing this first, that no prophecy of
the scripture is of any private interpretation.
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by
the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
Peter heard God the Father give honour
and glory to Jesus Christ saying, ‘this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased.’
Peter heard this personally. Yet Peter said, ‘We have a more sure word of
prophecy,’ and goes on to name the written scripture as the ‘more sure word’
than repeating his personal experience.
So, there we are. If Peter,
having spent 3 years in the presence of Jesus Christ, and having heard the
voice of God from heaven, names the written word of God as a more sure word of
prophecy, then any personal experiences of a man, woman, or child, do not
supersede the written Word of God.
If a person actually came back from
heaven what do you think they would actually say? I believe they would
start quoting scripture on how to be saved. Above all else they would not
want the lost to miss heaven. I know that a great many of my relatives
are there in heaven. I don't need someone to verify that they are there
enjoying themselves. I believe if a Christian had an encounter with a
dead person returning from the grave they would hear something like, 'Hi.
Glad to see you. Now get busy telling the world the way of salvation is
through Christ Jesus our Lord.' They wouldn't spend any time telling you
that they had seen your loved one or friend who is already in heaven.
They wouldn't spend time telling you how good the food is or how wonderful the
music is. They would be preaching the good news that the lost can be
saved from hell through Jesus.
So, I think it is fine to acknowledge
that there are some experiences that cannot be explained. If you think
you saw an angel, then perhaps you did. If the angel spoke to you that
being would not say one single word that contradicts the written word of the
Bible. Don't say things that cannot be verified through
scripture. The lost don't need to hear, 'Well, I believe the Bible
because I saw an angel.' You could say that you believe the Bible because
it is true, and the truth has a power all its own. It is like fire and a
hammer - very powerful. Everyone does not need to see an angel to be saved.
Or have some other super natural experience. Or at least feel really
good. The truth is that any feeling or experience can be duplicated by
the devil.
What people need is to be saved is
faith. The Word of God as given to us in the Bible doesn't change.
It is there for us to read and find comfort. Make use of it. Most
people have some sort of wonderful feeling of relief when they get saved, but
it doesn't last. It comes down to experiences are not an indication of
salvation. If 'feeling saved' was proof of salvation then most people
would definitely be lost because they don’t have that giddy feeling of joy all
the time.
Remember that the Bible is without error
as written in its original form. The Bible has thousands of ancient
manuscripts. People who have studied the older manuscripts verify that
the Bible we have today is an exact copy of ancient manuscripts. Remember that
the Almighty God of the Bible spoke the world into place. Our God
would not have a problem getting exactly what He wanted put into a book and
preserved through generations.
Something that is outrageously arrogant
is the view some people have of people from ancient times and even just a few
generations ago. They see them as all illiterate and low
intelligence. Our ancestors were just as smart or smarter than people
now. In any sort of civilization, a great number of the population could
read and write. They could reason. To think less of them because
they didn't have modern conveniences is arrogant to say the very least.
The Bible is sufficient to tell people
how to be saved. It isn't supposed to provide a detailed account of the
world's total history, or to answer all our questions regarding creation.
God could have written a 50 volume encyclopedia and still not covered every
question that arises. The important fact is that is sufficient to tell us
what we need to know to get to heaven. So we don't need someone's
'experiences' to get us there. Something else that is interesting
about heaven is that no one can describe what is there. We just don’t have the mental capacity to
see, understand, and explain heaven. We
have an example of Jesus’ disciple John trying to explain future events in the
book of Revelation.
The plan of salvation has not changed
from creation until today. All people can relate to the God's written
word. God's word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. It
doesn't need any additions to explain God's plan of salvation and how to live a
life pleasing to God. It doesn't 'evolve' because it has no need to
change. It is already perfect. It doesn't need any additions or
subtractions because it really is already perfect.
Read Hebrews chapter 11. It begins by saying, ‘Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.’. Nowhere does it suggest that feelings and
sight are a part of faith or salvation.
There is a peace that passes
understanding, but sometimes that peace isn’t regarding anything except that
God is in control and that His promises are sure. Personally I am facing an unknown future due
to stage 4 ovarian cancer. I am living
one day at a time thanking God for today.
I have no idea if I will be one of the few that lives to a ripe old age
with this diagnosis. I do know a few
things. At my age I would be considered
ancient just a few generations ago. Now
we tend to think of old age as somewhere between 80 and 90. Three score and ten is mentioned in the Bible
as an average life. Peace that passes
understanding does not come through seeing angels or having visions. It comes from simply believing God regardless
of your circumstances or what your future looks like it will hold.
I want to mention again that death for a
Christian is separation without communication for an unknown period of time. It is hard to the point of unbearable, yet
the bereaved have no recourse except to bear it. Believers in Jesus Christ experience the
first death only. That is to say death
of the body. Separation from other
believers is only temporary. This is
referred to as the shadow of death.
Having experienced the loss of dear loved ones I can only say, ‘Wow!’. If
THAT is referred to as the shadow of death, and is so painful and horrible for
friends and family, how infinitely worse is the second death which is hell. Tell
the world that Jesus saves! They would
quote Ephesians 2:8-9 which says,
‘8 For by grace are ye saved through
faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.’
Then they would probably quote Mark
16:15 which says, ‘15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature.’
Watch the faces of this choir as they sing…..
Send the Light
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAEWRUh1ang
