near death experience
Paul Stoned at Lystra
,_RP-P-1966-125.jpg)
Acts 14:11 And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of Lycaonia, The gods are come down to us in the likeness of men.
12 And they called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius, because he was the chief speaker.
13 Then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates, and would have done sacrifice with the people.
14 Which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out,
15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:
16 Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.
17 Nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.
18 And with these sayings scarce restrained they the people, that they had not done sacrifice unto them.
19 And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had been dead.
20 Howbeit, as the disciples stood round about him, he rose up, and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe.
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch,
22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.
23 And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
24 And after they had passed throughout Pisidia, they came to Pamphylia.
25 And when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down into Attalia:
26 And thence sailed to Antioch, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of God for the work which they fulfilled.
27 And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles.
28 And there they abode long time with the disciples.
Years later, Paul would write these verses. Scholars believe he was talking about himself when referring to “a man in Christ”. It may be at this point where Paul had been stoned and left for dead (verse 19 above) that he had what would be called today a near death experience.
I Corinthians 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven.
3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;)
4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.
9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.
11 I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.
12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.
The Miry Clay
Matthew Bargo, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Psalm 40:40 I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
2 He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.
What is the miry clay? It is sin, iniquity, getting sucked into the spiraling drain hole that leads to hell.
The problem with sin, and this is common knowledge in the world, is that one bad choice, one bad habit, leads to another.
Revelation 22:11 He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
In the story below, those who first called him seemed fairly innocuous, like they wanted to help. But then things changed.
And that is how sin works. It draws a person deeper and deeper into darkness and problems.
YouTube Transcript Below
I had known from some time in that
afternoon that I was dying I knew
absolutely but I didn’t want to die
because I was an atheist and I was uh I
knew that I was terrified of it because
dying means the end of everything a 38
year old college professor my work was
shown in some museums you know had won
some prizes you know and a wife and two
kids and you know a career and you know
one of the thoughts that go through how
could this happen
I went unconscious I awoke from that and
I felt wonderful I’m like I’d ever felt
in my entire life wait so you knew you
died and suddenly you felt great well I
didn’t know I’d died I just I’d been
unconscious and now I feel great you
know and where were you standing next to
the bed upright and I the first thing I
was like why do I feel so good I just
felt the worst that ever felt in my
entire life
yeah I mean I couldn’t breathe and now
I’m like Superman and my eyesight my
hearing my taste and then say you still
don’t know you’re dead no and you feel I
would figure to live if you feel I feel
more alive than I’ve ever felt in my
entire life and and your senses you said
are heightened yeah I mean this world
ever since this experience has been kind
of a disappointing because this world is
sort of dreamlike compared to the
reality that are experienced in this
mm-hmm and
I heard people calling me in English
kind of nicely you know Howard Howard
come here come here so I go over to the
doorway the room and in the hallway is
gray it’s very unclear like a terrible
black-and-white TV picture and there’s
men and women standing far away from the
light of the doorway
I said I’m sick I need to have surgery
I’ve been waiting all day for a doctor
and they said we know all about you
hurry come with us now we can’t wait any
longer come come all right
and I’m thinking okay
they’ve come they’ve come to take me to
the doctor this is great
your people as I left the light of the
room going into the hallway encircled me
and kind of started leading me in this
direction as we journeyed and there’s no
sense of time in any of this so when I
make time references it’s only for the
purposes of trying to make a rational
sequential story of this as we went it
got darker and darker and they came in
closer and closer and more and more of
them were around me and now as I asked
them questions like where are we going
how much further things like that they
started to become more rude and say
things to me like shut up
don’t ask questions you’ll find out
you’ll need to know keep moving keep
moving
move it you know like that I’m like
getting pretty intimidated that becomes
fear that becomes terror now this is
over a journey of miles and miles and
miles and eventually it’s so dark I’m
aware I can’t see anything anymore it’s
pitch black and I’ve I figured I’m done
you know I’ve had it and so I said I’m
not going any further and they said oh
yes you are
you’ve got further to go and I said I’m
not going and so they started to tug at
me and push at me what they were doing
was just playing with me playing with me
and at first it was pushing kicking
plane hitting and then that became
[Music]
biting and tearing would their
fingernails and hands and they were
taking
pieces of me and there was a lot of
laughter a lot of very foul language and
then they became more invasive there has
never been a horror movie or a book that
can begin to describe their cruelty
because their cruelty was pure purely
sadistic I know that they got nothing
out of it it was simply something to do
and I’m very aware that they were so
empty so without compassion or feeling
for me that it was just amusement for me
to scream and yell and fight back the
physical pain was pain from head to foot
just solid horrible acute pain on a
scale of one to ten ten total didn’t
begin to match what I felt on the inside
was you know um having been taken down
to nothing I mean the worst things that
you could possibly imagine had happened
to me and more and in that place I heard
a voice which I identify as my voice
except that it did not come out of my
throat off my lips but I do feel is
strange but I feel like it came out of
my chest this voice said pray to God and
I thought I don’t believe in God I don’t
pray the voice said pray to God and I
thought I don’t even know how to pray I
couldn’t pray if I wanted to pray the
voice said pray to God
and I thought when I was a boy and gone
to Sunday school we had been taught
prayers
what were those prayers so I’m searching
for anything that I’d remembered as a
child our Father who art in heaven I
remember like these phrases out of
prayers and I’m start to mutter this
stuff and the people around me
absolutely can’t bear it and so in
language that has never been heard in
this world obscene filthy vulgar
language they’re saying to me the the
content of which is there is no God
nobody can hear you and now you are
going to really be hurt you think what
you’ve experienced so far as something
wait until we’ve got for you now now
this made me want to pray more because
for the first time I was able to hit
back at them the prayers were like
clobbering well they left me alone
so now I have eternity time without
measure to think about my situation and
I thought about my life and as I
considered my life which would take me
days to talk over what I thought about
but summing up with as a son to my
mother and father I had filled them I
had not been a good husband to my wife
and you can use your imagination to
figure out what that means but it’s
that’s true that’s all true I have not
been the father to my kids that I should
have been and I knew I hadn’t because I
was busy I was trying to be somebody you
know like the football games and the
band concerts and the choral concerts
and theater performances that could all
wait because I was busy being important
I was doing stuff making myself into
somebody and I hated my life and I
realized that I belong with these people
in this place the only problem was is I
didn’t want to be with those people
because I knew that the only way to
survive in this role
if you don’t want to be a victim anymore
you’ve got to be meaner crueler than
they are you’ve got to be the victimizer
and not the victim
this memory comes of myself as a little
boy sitting in a Sunday School class
room singing jesus loves me when I
thought he why would he care about me
even if he is why would he here he must
hate me I’m so sorry and I thought
enough of this I’ve done I don’t have
anything else Jesus please save me and
when I said that I saw a light
tiny little speck of light and it very
rapidly got very bright and came over me
and I saw out of the light hands and
arms emerge out of this impossibly
beautiful white light those arms went on
me and healed me they went behind my
back and he picked me up as if it was no
effort on his part he just gently picked
me up and held me up against him real
tight up against his chest so there I am
with my arms around him his arms around
me and I am bawling like a baby and he
starts to rub my back like he wasn’t
saying there there but it was just like
like a mom or a dad with a child and I
knew
[Music]
I don’t I don’t know how I knew but I
knew he loved me very much just the way
I was
[Music]
Various ministers have used this quote.
“Sin will take you farther than you want to go, keep you longer than you want to stay, and cost you more than you want to pay. ”
The goal is to get out of the miry clay and to the rock of Christ.
I Corinthians 10:4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
Jesus said,
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
28 And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
29 For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
A blog post can only introduce a topic but not cover it in depth. For more study on various topics, click here for links to various Christian ministries.
Depending on the ministry, there may be online church services, YouTube videos, podcasts, radio programs, books, teaching, or more. You have to seek out what they have.