REPOST: Quick Analysis of Near Death Experiences

Common Elements/Aspects of NDE’s

1)      A “being of light” (perceived to be Jesus)
2)      Feelings of intense love (regardless of religion of viewer)
3)      Experiences of ‘heaven’ or ‘hell’ or both (almost regardless of faith of viewer)
4)      Meeting deceased ‘relatives’ (sometimes of people they wouldn’t expect in ‘heaven’)
5)      A life judgment (focused on new-age-ic ‘loving people’ mentality)
6)      Knowledge dumps where people learn great knowledge
7)      Visions of religious figures from other religions (regardless of religion of viewer)
8)      Temporary ‘hell’ experience where people can escape
9)      Being told they must return to their bodies to complete something in their lives
10)   Telepathic communication
11)   Reception of ‘supernatural gifts’ after being revived
12)   Rare/nonexistent: Fully consistent message with Bible and God’s holiness and worth

The options for these experiences

#1)  Experiences are hallucinations/dream-like visions
#2)  Experiences are partially hallucinations (after tunnel experience) and partially valid OBE
#3)  (Some) experiences are valid; they are experiences with beings in another realm
        - a. Beings in other realm are partly good and partly bad (angels, demons, etc)
        - b. Beings in other realm are entirely deceptive beings (demons)
#4)  (Some) experiences are fabrications/tall-tales

Now, clearly, there are bound to be many people who are lying about their experiences (#4).  However, this is unlikely to be true for many experiences, since: (1) some NDEs have been solidly validated by virtue of what was seen (accurate info validated), (2) one case was where a woman had an NDE but later called it a hallucination (this is unlikely for someone making up a story).

So, we must consider that some people (many) actually see ‘visions’ after being clinically ‘dead’.  It seems clear to me that the NDEs are not all hallucinations (#1) due to the point (1) made in the last paragraph.  Too many NDEs have been validated for them to all be hallucinations, in my opinion.  There are cases where people’s eyes have been covered and they saw details about the operation that they were experiencing while being clinically dead—details that required sight to accurately describe.

Therefore, we are forced to conclude that either #2 or #3 is necessarily true above.  In either case, NDEs include real out-of-body experiences (OBE) that require the spirit to be partially detached from the body.  This requires that the spirit be able to ‘see’ apart from the body, and that the spirit be able to record memories and convey those memories back to the body upon reviving.  None of this is surprising from what we see in the Bible, and none of it contradicts anything there.  We are biblically forced to conclude that some (or many) NDEs are actual spiritual experiences.  If the OBEs are real, it makes sense also that the ‘light at the end of the tunnel’ and the ‘being of light’ are also real spiritual experiences.  Therefore, #3 above is more reasonable than #2 from a biblical perspective.

Now, when looking at the wide gamut of experiences list at the top of the page, it becomes clear biblically that there is a massive deception campaign going on with these NDEs.  My guess is that with modern technology, OBEs became inevitable.  OBEs have the potential of finally proving scientifically that life after death really does exist.  Satan would rather people not believe in life after death, since it most naturally supports the Bible.  So, to prevent people from believing in the Truth, he decided to “transform himself into an angel of light” and deceive all manner of people—including professed Christians (who are not truly saved).  He is, after all, the prince and the power of the ‘air’ and able to give people visions, it seems from Scriptures.  So, what better way to confuse unanchored people than by making people believe:

1. Jesus is only love and everyone gets to heaven eventually [1,2,7,8 above]
2. Hell is temporary [3,8]
3. Loving people is most important (not loving God) [5]
4. Any moralistic religion is okay and God speaks through all religions [7]
5. Good works get you to heaven, rather than the finished work of Jesus on the cross [3,5,8]

From what I have personally read so far, there are probably no genuine experiences with Jesus that have been reported during NDEs.  I suspect that such experiences only happen after a person is truly dead—separated from the body completely and unable to return.  NDEs are likely the result of people being led to believe they have passed to the ‘other side,’ when they are still in the earth’s atmosphere, where Satan is able to easily deceive people.

Remember the Apostle Paul being caught up to heaven?  He was unwilling to talk about it.  We should be highly skeptical that anyone's experience is from God.  It has to be in line with the Bible 100%...

The UFO Abduction and NDE Connections

The similarities between UFO abduction accounts and NDE's (Near Death Experiences) is hard to miss for me. Here is the set of common elements:

1. Time distortion (slowing or stopping, etc)
2. Feeling of floating or levitating
3. Going towards a light and into another realm
4. Meeting other worldly beings or spirits
5. Cultural variations where local beliefs influence experiences
6. Telepathic communication
7. Communication of emotions (love, fear, etc)
8. Communication of knowledge
9. Euphoric feelings after the experience (in small number of cases)
10. Extraordinary abilities (mostly ESP-like) after the experience in minority of cases

The similarities are too great to be coincidence, I believe. Here, however, are some stark differences with abductions:

1. Often these involve aliens or mythical creatures
2. Often there's a feeling of being immobilized
3. Often experiments are reported to have been done
4. These experiences are often vague recollections

Here is my interpretation of the above data. Abductions and NDE's are real spiritual world experiences with real spirit beings. The time distortion, levitating, moving into a light (a portal to the spiritual realm), and spirits that can communicate telepathically are all common elements that are the result of the nature of the spiritual realm. What forms of spirits and the messages that are given during these experiences are quite drastically different, however, and that is because of what the spirits are trying to accomplish with these encounters, I believe.

The first three points directly above I'd explain this way. As I've written about before, angels/demons can take on any form, whether that be aliens, fairies, or whatever. The feeling of being immobilized happens when someone is sleeping or almost sleeping and their bodies have been temporarily paralyzed. So, their feelings could be from their bodies rather than their spirits, or their spirits are genuinely unable to move because of the link that remains between the body and spirit, in those cases. The experiments that happen during abductions could be partly psychological explorations or attempts to obtain information about humans.

The circumstances in which these spirit-world experiences occur is worthy of note. The reason for having a spiritual experience in an NDE is obvious. The UFO abductions often occur during in and around sleep. I believe sleep is a time when the spirit is partially detached from the body causing temporary unconsciousness. The human spirit is 'operating' (for lack of a better word) on the brain during sleep. This partial detachment could be what makes the spiritual world become more tangible and open a window for demonic interference. Alternatively, some UFO abductions seem to happen to people while under hypnosis or who are involved with the New Age, both of which could also open a window to the spiritual world.

One thing I've noted is that the UFO abductions tend to be much more vague and hard to remember, which makes perfect sense when you consider that the brain records its own set of memories in parallel with the spirit, and a person's brain isn't nonfunctional until death. So, only in NDE's when a person is clinically dead will the spiritual world memories become vivid and easy to recall, since the brain has stopped recording its own memories and will not collide with alternative memories of the spirit. (By the way, a purely materialistic explanation would seem to logically fit the opposite case: the NDE's should be less vivid and more vague, and the UFO abductions should be more real.)

Now, I had to wonder what would be the reason behind these experiences being so different and so culturally dependent. Satan, I believe, according to the Bible uses every available window of opportunity to deceive people. The best opportunities are when people open windows to the spiritual world and demons can strongly influence us. The purpose of deceptions during NDE's is clear to me: (1) to convince people that God is not who the Bible says He is, (2) to give people a false sense of security, and (3) to open the door to a one-world religion. Trying to do alien abductions during death wouldn't work very well, so the best option is to fool people into thinking they've passed to the afterlife and God has welcomed them to heaven -- even if they've never trusted in Jesus Christ alone for salvation.

However, during UFO abductions, the deception serves an entirely different purpose, I think: (1) to confirm people in their basic false beliefs, and (2) to manipulate people's beliefs about spirits and aliens and world politics. Here are two basic statistics about abductions that are enlightening: 

1. Abductions in the US are often alien abductions and negative experiences
2. Abductions outside the US are often positive experiences with non-alien beings

I believe the cultural relativity of abductions and NDE's is because demons want to prey on people's already-established beliefs and tweak those beliefs for various purposes, since people most readily accept things that are similar to their current beliefs. So, for instance, a god who is all love and only sends people to hell temporarily is easy for a nominal Baptist to believe -- and an ideal message to give someone like that in an NDE. A Buddha of light who preaches love and acceptance of other people and says he will have to be reincarnated is a good message for a Buddhist monk in his NDE -- and a good message with which to deceive other people. During abductions, the same thing applies, but more subtly. Two high agenda items for Satan for the US, I think, are to increase the acceptance of humanistic evolution, and (politically) to get America to become less independent and more globalist. This is aided by getting people to believe in UFOs and aliens who are hostile. The idea of hostile aliens is a good incitement for Americans to seek to become more globalized with their fellow 'earthlings'.

The Europeans, however, are an entirely different story. They've already embraced Darwinism about as much as they can, so the way they 'need' to be deceived would be more along the lines of convincing them that the New Age is good and that spiritualism is healthy and many good and benevolent spirits are wanting to make contact with us through meditation, etc. So, abductions need to be more friendly for them to accomplish this goal of deception. And, that is precisely what you see according to evidence.

Undoubtedly, fallen angels have become the masters of deceit, and it is reasonable that a different strategy would be used for each culture -- and even for each individual. I don't think that they only think culturally. Their deceptive techniques are likely complex, and sometimes they're trying more to deceive an individual and other times the purpose may be more regional or for a whole culture.

We also have to realize that demons would not want to become obvious. Those who are materialists may easily use the cultural variations to say that the experiences originate entirely in the brain and not from a spirit world. That may also be part of their strategy. The harder it is for people to know what is going on and why, the better. That way they can use these experiences to deceive more people and in more ways and never be discovered for what they truly are.

Other Interesting Prophecies

Isaiah 19:19 Prophecy: “In that day there will be an altar to the LORD in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to the LORD at its border.”

The alter could be the “Coptic Church” in Egypt that is believed to have been started by St. Mark. The original church in Egypt was likely a solid and true church. Alexandria has a cathedral that could be considered this “alter to the Lord.” (Understand that I’m not saying anything about the validity of the Coptic’s beliefs.)

The pillar at the border of Egypt could well be the pillar near the Gulf of Aqaba that some believe marks the Red Sea Crossing. The pillar is sometimes called Solomon’s Pillar, but it is unlikely that Solomon actually erected it. You can actually see this pillar and its shadow on satellite images found on Google Maps, if you don’t believe me. Some people have also taken pictures standing next to this ancient pillar. It is important to note that this pillar is indeed at the very border of Egypt, for Egypt’s border ends at the Gulf of Aqaba on the East side. Who knows why this pillar was originally put there, but Christians have claimed it to be “to the Lord.”

Now, for these to be fulfillments, admittedly they must remain without being destroyed until the Millennium, it appears. The Isaiah 19 passage, at least beginning at verse 17, seems likely to be referring to the future Millennium when Jesus comes back.

Isaiah 19:23 Prophecy: “In that day there will be a highway from Egypt to Assyria, and the Assyrian will come into Egypt and the Egyptian into Assyria...”

Now, what is now called Syria is likely the equivalent of Assyria in Isaiah’s days. At the least, Assyria covered some of the same geographical area as modern-day Syria. I decided to check into highways in that area using Google Maps. There are, in fact, contiguous highways that lead all the way from the Eastern border of Egypt up to Syria, just like this prophecy predicted. (You have to check the satellite view to see that some of the highways do, in fact, connect.)

Again, these highways will need to remain until the Millennium, but that doesn’t seem too unlikely.

Probability Analysis

The likelihood of Isaiah in the same chapter accurately predicting these three things by chance is unbelievable. Egypt was hostile to the God of Israel, so Isaiah’s prediction that Egypt would have a pillar and alter “to the Lord” was a farfetched idea, humanly speaking. I’d put that prediction at about 1 in 20, conservatively.

The prediction of a solitary pillar being put at the border of Egypt seems highly, highly unlikely. Who does that? To get the location correct is amazing, also. I’d put that prediction at no more than a 1 in 300 chance.

Finally, a prediction of a highway(s) going about 400 miles back in the days when technology was simple was a bold and unlikely prediction. It would have been a monumental task back in those days (~600 BC). So, I’d place the probability back then at no more than 1 in 50 of that coming to pass. You have to also remember that Assyria and Egypt were not always friendly towards each other, either.

Combining all these predictions together and you get about 1 in 20x50x300, which is about 1 in 300,000. Not bad for one solitary chapter.

Obviously, anyone can poke fun at my probability analysis, since I ignore other predictions in the chapter that don’t seem to have yet been fulfilled. (One could assume that they will never be fulfilled.) Also, the probabilities I use are mere guesses, really, so I don’t expect anyone will take me too seriously, and that’s okay. I just think it’s quite impressive, personally.

Fulfilled Prophecies That Skeptics Cannot Easily Dismiss

There are countless fulfilled prophecies in the Bible, but skeptics dismiss most of them by saying that the prophecies (oddly) were written after the events. How convenient for them. Many prophecies were fulfilled so precisely that skeptics have no choice but to try to explain them away.

However, below is a list of fulfilled prophecies that cannot possibly be said to have been written after the events. I believe these are good and strong evidences for the Bible being the Word of God.

The Timing of Jesus' coming (Dan. 9:24-26)

The Manner of death of Jesus (Zech. 12:10; Ps. 22:16)

Prophecy #1:

...then they will look on Me whom they pierced... (Zech. 12:10)

Prophecy #2:

...for dogs have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet. (Ps. 22:16)

Prophecy #3:

Seventy weeks are determined for [the Jews] and for your holy city, ... to make reconciliation for iniquity ... and to anoint the Most Holy. Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the command to restore and build Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince, there shall be seven sevens and sixty-two sevens [69 x 7] ... and after the sixty-two weeks Messiah shall be cut off [killed], but not for Himself ... (Dan. 9:24-26)

We see that Jesus' crucifixion was predicted by both David and Zechariah (along with others) definitely before Jesus' was even born. This is an unlikely prophecy.

Second, we see the timing of the coming of the Messiah in Daniel 9. It says there'd be 69 times 7 (which is 483) before the Messiah came/died. Presumably these are years. The start point of the 483 years was the "command to restore and build Jerusalem". There are two prominent views about this prophecy and the start and end points. I'm not sure which view is correct, because they both are accurate. There were multiple commands to restore the temple and Jerusalem, you see. Ezra talks about a command to rebuild the temple (Ezra 7:13-28) that was in the 7th year of Artaxerxes I of Persia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Artaxerxes_I_of_Persia) around 457 BC, according to Wikipedia. Nehemiah also had a command to rebuild Jerusalem in the 20th year of Artaxerxes I (445 BC).

One view starts from Ezra's commission (457 BC) and ends 483 years later, c. 27 AD, which is believed by some to be the time when Jesus started His public ministry. The other view goes from Nehemiah's commission (445 BC) and uses 483 360-day years (so-called prophetic years), ending at 32 AD which some believe to be the year of the crucifixion of Jesus. Either way, the fact that the Daniel 9 prophecy would accidentally get so close is hard to believe.

Exile of the Jews

Nation Forming in a Day (Is. 66:8)

Return of the Jews (Is. 43:5-6; Jer. 32:44)

Jews becoming a heavy stone (Zech. 12:2-3)

Prophecy #1:

Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west; I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ And to the south, ‘Do not keep them back!’ (Is. 43:5-6)

Prophecy #2:

...Shall the earth be made to give birth in one day? Or shall a nation be born at once? For as soon as Zion was in labor, She gave birth to her children. (Is. 66:8)

Prophecy #3:

Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness to all the surrounding peoples, when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces... (Zech. 12:2-3)

These prophecies show that the Jews would be scattered (cf. Luke 21:24) into all nations, which happened around 70 AD. It shows that they'd be re-gathered from all directions. This happened from around 1882 to 1999, starting from Russia in the east (1882 to 1923), then Poland and Hungary and Germany in the west (1923 to 1939), and many other countries including Ethiopia and other African countries in the south (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_immigration_to_Palestine). Other prophecies show that land would be purchased (Jer. 32:44), which happened before 1948. It also shows that the nation would form in a single day (Is. 66:8), which happened in 1948.

Zech. 12:2-3 seems to indicate that Israel would become a thorn in the side of the nations around it, and all these nations would become "drunk" with desire to rid themselves of the nation. It prophesies that the nations would all come up against Israel -- which is not yet fulfilled. However, we see that Israel is indeed becoming majorly despised in the Middle East.

Closing of the Eastern Gate in Jerusalem (Ezek. 44:1-2)

Prophecy:

Then He brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary which faces toward the east, but it was shut. And the LORD said to me, "This gate shall be shut; it shall not be opened, and no man shall enter by it, because the LORD God of Israel has entered by it; therefore it shall be shut." (Ezek. 44:1-2)

In 1541, Ottoman Sultan Suleiman I sealed up the Golden Gate (Eastern Gate) in Jerusalem to prevent the Messiah's entrance, according to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_(Jerusalem)). This seems to fulfill the prophecy in Ezekiel 44:1. Now, Jesus apparently entered this gate several times, which also fulfilled verse 2 that says that "the LORD God of Israel has entered by it..." This is an astounding fulfillment of prophecy and was highly unlikely to randomly happen.

Destruction of Jerusalem and Temple (Dan. 9; Luke 21:24)

Jerusalem being trodden down by Gentiles until the end of the Gentile Age (Luke 21:24)

Prophecy #1:

And ... Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself; And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city [Jerusalem] and the sanctuary. (Dan. 9:26)

Prophecy #2:

And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. (Luke 21:24)

The destruction of Jerusalem was prophesied in Daniel 9:26, and it happened in 70 AD. Luke 21:24 says that Jerusalem would be occupied by Gentiles until the "times of the Gentiles are fulfilled," which seems to be alluding to the end times. Even today, Jerusalem has a mosque where the temple used to be and is occupied by hundreds of thousands of Gentiles. So, Jesus' prophecy remains valid.

Dstruction of Tyre and its becoming a fishing village (Ezek. 26:3-14)

Prophecy:

Behold, I am against you, O Tyre, and will cause many nations to come up against you ... and they shall destroy the walls of Tyre and break down her towers; I will also scrape her dust from her, and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place for spreading nets in the midst of the sea, for I have spoken... They will plunder your riches and pillage your merchandise; they will break down your walls and destroy your pleasant houses; they will lay your stones, your timber, and your soil in the midst of the water. ... I will make you like the top of a rock; you shall be a place for spreading nets, and you shall never be rebuilt, for I the LORD have spoken. (Ezek. 26:3-14)

Now, the ancient city of Tyre was a major city near the coast with walls and a large population, apparently. Alexander the Great's army literally put the "stones ... in the midst of the water" (c. 333 BC) as it says in this prophecy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Tyre). The mainland, abandoned old city of Tyre was never rebuilt as a major, walled city. It remains relatively abandoned. In fact, much of the original location of Tyre is just ruins and an archeological site to this day. As the above prophecy says, Tyre would become a "place for spreading nets," or a fishing village. Today, there are indeed fishing villages in that place. Look it up on Google maps, and you'll see fishing boats. The new Tyre is on an island, which is absolutely a place for spreading nets.

Destruction of Edom, viz. Petra (Ezek. 25:12-13; 35:1-9; Jer. 49:15-18)

Prophecy #1:

Edom also shall be an astonishment; everyone who goes by it will be astonished... No one shall remain there, nor shall a son of man dwell in it. (Jer. 49:17-18)

Prophecy #2:

...I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman... (Ezek. 25:13)

Prophecy #3:

...Behold, O Mount Seir [part of Edom], I am against you; I will stretch out My hand against you, and make you most desolate... Thus I will make Mount Seir most desolate, and cut off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns. ... I will make you perpetually desolate, and your cities shall be uninhabited; then you shall know that I am the LORD. (Ezek. 35:3-9)

The primary stronghold of Edom was Petra, and Mount Seir was part of Edom (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edom). Everyone knows that today Petra is relatively unoccupied. It's a sort of "ghost town" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Petra). This clearly fulfills the prophecy that Edom would become desolate and part of it uninhabited. Apparently from at least around 360 AD Edom has been most desolate and mostly uninhabited.

Gospel would go out into all the world (Matt. 24:14)

Inability of world to destroy church (Matt. 16:18)

Prophecy #1:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. (Matt. 24:14)

Prophecy #2:

And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. (Matt. 16:18)

The gospel has been preached in countless countries. There are relatively few places that haven't heard about the gospel. Nevertheless, the end has not come, and the gospel will still be preached in many more places where it hasn't yet reached. The growth and success of Christianity is an unlikely fulfillment of prophecy.

Not only that, but the Bible prophesied that the Church (the institution) would never go out of existence. Even during intense times of persecution, the Church remained. There is no known point in time where a church hasn't existed somewhere. This also is fulfillment of prophecy.

Knowledge increasing and people running to-and-fro (Dan. 12:4)

Prophecy:

But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase. (Dan. 12:4)

This prophecy says that at the "time of the end" numerous people would "rove about" (literal meaning of the Hebrew) and knowledge would multiply. Why does it mention going to and fro? It's clearly in connection with knowledge increasing. The answer is that modern technology has caused dramatic increases in both knowledge and travel. These two things are not entirely unconnected. Modern advanced forms of travel have improved the ability of archeologists to increase knowledge. So, I believe this is an interesting fulfillment of prophecy and indicates the rise of advanced technology. Not a solid case, granted.

Domination of the Roman Empire (Dan. 2:40; 7)

Prophecy #1:

The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. (Dan. 7:23)

Prophecy #2:

And the fourth kingdom shall be as strong as iron, inasmuch as iron breaks in pieces and shatters everything; and like iron that crushes, that kingdom will break in pieces and crush all the others. (Dan. 2:40)

This Fourth Kingdom has been somewhat debated -- mostly by skeptics. However, it has been generally recognized as the Roman Empire. Daniel was written sometime from 590 to 165 BC, even according to skeptics. The problem is that even by 165 BC, the Roman Republic was relatively small and did not dominate as a world power. The Roman Empire effectively began about 44 BC, and it did "break in pieces and crush all" the other previous remnants of empires (Persian, Macedonian, etc). It was "different from all other kingdoms" in that it was more extensive (http://www.pastmatters.org/medicineancientrome.htm). Also, the Roman Empire produced iron in great abundance, and weapons were eventually made using iron, making it an empire of iron, which aptly fits the use of iron in Daniel 2:40. The Roman Empire came to possess, arguably, the largest and most powerful military up to that time (http://www.ancientdigger.com/2011/05/monday-ground-up-why-was-roman-empire.html). Whoever wrote Daniel before 160 BC would not have known by observation that the Roman Empire would become so powerful and extensive. This constitutes prediction of the future and a clear fulfillment.

That Rome was being referred to can be further deduced by other Bible passages. Daniel 7 speaks of four beasts (as noted above), which strongly parallels with Revelation 13. The Fourth Kingdom was said to have ten horns in Daniel 7, which Revelation 13 also says. Revelation 17 elaborates on this kingdom with ten horns and says that the ten horns were future (v.12) to the Apostle John (c. 100 AD). Therefore, it is impossible to argue that the Fourth Kingdom with the ten horns ceased to exist by 100 AD. (Skeptics try to argue that the Fourth Kingdom and the ten horns were combined empires under Antiochus IV Epiphanes around 170 BC.) Clearly, the Apostle John, at least, does not agree with the skeptics' interpretation of the Fourth Kingdom mentioned in Daniel 2 & 7.