One Minute after Death

Today, interest in the occult and astrology is exploding. People all over the world are involved in palm reading, ESP, hypnosis, seances, witchcraft, and other mystical activities.

Millions of best-selling books have been written that purport to know the future and give answers to questions about life after death. In the United States alone, over seven million people believe that they have died and come back to life again. They claim to have had a “near death experience” — a sensation of something leaving their bodies, of passing
through a dark tunnel and then being embraced warmly by a bright beam of light.

Are near death experiences genuine or are they an illusion? Are they from God, or are they demonic? Does the soul or spirit leave the body at the time of death? How do we explain these near-death experiences?

Let us consider these facts:

1. None of the people with near-death experiences really died. Their hearts may have stopped temporarily, but their brains never died. This is a medically proven fact.

2. Many near-death experiences resemble hallucinations. A drug addict could very likely experience a sensation of something leaving his body. Of course it is only a subjective feeling, not a true reality. Our night-time dreams can feel very real and very vivid-our minds can play tricks on us. Also, certain drugs can trigger a sensation of disembodimentë

The so called “near death experiences” actually contradict the Bible. One must consider the following questions in the light of the Word of God:

Are the dead alive and conscious?
Can they hear and speak?
Is it possible for the dead to communicate with the living?
Do humans possess an immortal soul that leaves the body at death?

The sacred Word of God, the Bible, addresses this important subject of life after death. In Genesis we read, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” Genesis 2:7. Please note, God did not place an immortal soul into the body of man-he became a living soul or living person. Perhaps this simple equation can describe the process:

Dust (body) + Breath of life = A living soul or person.

At death, the creation process is reversed. “Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it.” Ecclesiastes 12:7.

“All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils.” Job 27:3.

Thus, the spirit is the breath of life. Breath and spirit are synonymous. At death this life? giving force of God goes back to Him. The following equation describes the process of dying:

Dust (body) – Breath of life = Corpse (a dead soul or person).

Nowhere in the Bible do we find that man has an immortal soul or that the spirit is conscious. “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing, neither have they any more a reward; for the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” Ecclesiastes 9:5, 6, 10.

Who only has immortality? “Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto.” I Timothy 6:15,16.

Thus clearly, only God possesses immortality. When a person dies, the gift of immortality is not immediately
bestowed, but will be given to the faithful at a definite, future date.

The concept of the immortality of the soul can be traced back to the very beginning of the history of the earth. In Genesis 3:4 it is recorded that the devil said to Eve, “Ye shall not surely die.” This was the first lie ever spoken to man. Eve’s acceptance of this lie and subsequent disobedience to God resulted in man’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Thousands of years later, the teaching of the immortality of the soul continued to be spread by the Babylonians, Egyptians, Romans, and today it is taught by almost all the modem churches. Satan succeeded in deceiving
most of the world with his lie. Many religious leaders try unsuccessfully to prove from the Bible that a living and conscious soul travels to heaven when a faithful person dies. But the Bible teaches clearly that the righteous will receive eternal life at the second coming of Christ. “And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.” Revelation 22: 12.

Jesus will soon give the crown of eternal life to all His people. Then the graves of the righteous will be opened wide and the saved will receive immortality. This is the blessed hope of the Christian.

Let us choose and accept the truth of God and not be deceived by the devil.

Henry Dering, USA