The Promise of Presence and a Place – Reflections on Near Death Experiences and the Christian Faith – Part 2

Photo © 1993 by Dennis Hendricksen

Over the past few months, as I was reading through the book “The Wisdom of Near-death Experiences” by Dr. Penny Sartori I found myself thinking about how some of the elements of NDEs correspond to what my Christian faith has taught me.  I would like to share what I consider to be the three most significant connections between the reports of NDEs and Christian faith.

1)  Approaching the light
  

Most people who have had a NDE (particularly in Western civilization) will describe moving towards a light, sometimes through a tunnel, other times simply having the light become brighter and brighter. Yet this bright light doesn’t hurt their eyes, they do not need to turn away or shield themselves from it.  One member of our congregation who had an NDE back in the 1980’s described this light as growing brighter throughout his Near-death Experience, but he was aware that it was more than a light – it was a being – and this light with a swoop of movement as if it was pointing, indicated that this person was to go back, that it wasn’t his time yet.

Many people who have experienced a NDE will describe a being of light as central to their experience, and sometimes they will identify this being of light as Jesus, other times simply as a mysterious being. 

 

In many places in the New Testament Jesus is referred to as “the Light” (Matthew 4:16; Luke 1:79; 2:32; John 1:4-11; 3:19-21; 8:12; 9:5; 12:35-36,46; Acts 9:3; 22:6-11; 26:13; 2 Corinthians 4:4-6; Ephesians 5:8-14; 1 Timothy 6:16; 1 Peter 2:9; 1 John 1:5-7).  During the Transfiguration Jesus’ appearance transforms so that he shines brightly, he becomes, in essence, a figure of light (Matthew 17:2; Mark 9:3; Luke 9:29).  In the Book of Revelation Jesus is described as the source of light that fills heaven so that there is no need for sun or moon (Revelation 21:23-24; 22:5).

Since Jesus is described with “light” as an identifier on so many occasions it would not be surprising that Jesus would appear in Near-death Experiences as a being of light, or a person surrounded by light.  Light reveals and removes doubts and fears, and being brought into the presence of Christ does the same thing. In this regard what many people experience in NDEs then matches what is presented in scripture.

2)  Being met at the threshold of life and death
  

Most people who have a NDE will report meeting a person, or people, as they begin to cross from life into death (or more accurately into life after death).  This is what Jesus promised.  In the 14^th chapter of the Gospel of John Jesus says to his disciples “When I go to prepare a place for you, I will return and take you to be with me so that where I am you will be too” (John 14:3). Here Jesus is promising his presence and a place after our life on this earth is over.

A quick comment about the place before looking at the presence.  While the traditional and literal understanding of heaven would see it as a place high in the sky this is not the most helpful understanding in the 21^st century.  When Stephen sees heaven opened to him he is indeed looking up in the sky, but others do not see the vision (Acts 7:55-56). Rather than considering heaven as somewhere “up there” it makes more sense given our current understanding of physics to say the heavenly realm is in a different dimension, or on another plane. Thus in the account of the execution of Stephen we could say that he was given the ability to see into other dimensions.  Perhaps this is also something that happens to those who have a Near-death Experience. 

Many (but not all) people who report a NDEs will say Jesus, or a being of Light, were waiting to meet them, in other words they are not alone – someone else is present.  Often there are relatives that have passed away previously who appear at the threshold between this life and the next (either along with Jesus, or sometimes by themselves).

One fascinating account I read in Dr. Penny Sartori’s book tells of a man who during an NDE was met by members of his family who had died before him.  However he was surprised and confused to see his sister as part of this group.  After he was resuscitated he found out that his sister had died the week previous, unbeknownst to him – the family had kept this news from him as his own condition was so fragile at the time. 

 

A few years ago I was at the bed side of an elderly woman who was very close to death.  In these final minutes she kept looking up at the ceiling and reaching out her arms towards the ceiling with what little strength she had left.  What I now believe was happening was that she was seeing someone coming to be with her as she crossed over from life to death and beyond.  Perhaps it was Jesus she saw coming to get her, or perhaps a loved one who had died previously – she never said, but shortly after reaching out she passed away in peace.  Ever since I mentioned this in a sermon I have had many others tell me that they witnessed something very similar with their loved ones.

How comforting to know that God does not let us be lost and alone as we experience passing from this life to the next.  God provides someone, or even many, who are there to assure us in this foreign and completely new reality.  I know for myself, it is much easier to travel in a foreign land if I am with someone who is already familiar with that new environment. Jesus sends us guides, or even comes himself, as we enter this new world, as we approach the heavenly realm – we need not fear the unknown, because the one known to us is with us to help us make the transition (or in the case of many NDEs to tell the person they cannot stay, they need to go back, that they still have something to do in this life).

3)  Deep peace & love
  

The most common element of NDEs is the experience of an incredible and beautiful sense of peace and/or love.  All people who have a positive NDE (I need to note here that not all NDEs are positive, a minority of these experiences are negative for the person).  However for the majority of people who have such an experience, it is the feeling of deep peace and/or unconditional love that is remembered vividly, sometimes for decades afterwards.  Most people who experience an NDE do not want to return to this life – the peace and love that saturates their whole being is so alluring, so wonderful that they don’t want to leave it.  This is also the reason why people who have had such an experience do not fear death when they return to this existence.

This deep abiding peace and love is something that Jesus promises for his followers. When talking to his disciples shortly before his death Jesus tells them that the peace he gives is not like the peace they find in this world.   “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you. I give to you not as the world gives. Don’t be troubled or afraid.”  (John 14:27 Common English Bible)   The peace of God is beyond all human understanding – in other words when experienced there is no earthly equivalent that it can be compared with.  In the Letter to the Philippians Paul writes of “the peace of God that exceeds all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) and it is this sort of peace that people who have had an NDE will attempt to describe, as inadequate as our language is to fully explain what they have experienced.  Perhaps Paul is drawing on his own Near-death Experience here, we do not know, but we can be assured that in the life to come all the cares and worries of this world are completely removed, and replaced with the fullness of love and peace.

When people experience a sense of complete and unconditional love during their NDEs this reflects the understanding of the nature of God as recorded in the First Letter of John: “Dear friends, let’s love each other, because love is from God, and everyone who loves is born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love does not know God, because God is love.”   (1 John 4:7-8  Common English Bible). Jesus also talks of being immersed in the love of God: “As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”  (John 15:9-10 NRSV)  This God-love embraces many during their NDE so that all fear is removed.  As is written in 1st John:  “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear^…” (1 John 4:18 NRSV)  Once people have experienced this perfect love everything else pales in comparison.

The Book of Revelation speaks of a time when “Death will be no more. There will be no mourning, crying, or pain anymore…” (Revelation 21:4 CEB)  The absence of these negative experiences would mean the possibility of feeling peace and love in a full and complete manner – not possible in this existence where we still must contend with grief, sadness and suffering.

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There are other elements of Near-death Experiences that could correspond with what is part of Christian understanding – such things as a life review, heavenly music, an increase in knowledge or awareness as some examples.  However the three I have mentioned in this post are the ones I feel are most significant.

In Part 3, the final installment in this short series, I will conclude with some thoughts about the current research into NDEs and what are some of the learnings and implications we can draw from the wealth of material available about this topic.