Tag: Out of Body Experience

Biblical Out of Body Experiences

Modern medicine has increased the frequency of Near Death Experiences (NDEs). Individuals often seek to replicate these experiences through psychedelics and meditation. The article explores Biblical accounts, specifically Isaiah and Paul’s encounters with Heaven, emphasizing the spiritual nature of these experiences and the caution advised regarding contemporary interpretations of NDEs.

Because of modern medicine, more and more people are having Near Death Experiences. Some, eager to repeat the experience, experiment dangerously with psychedelics, Transcendental Meditation, and occultic methodology.

Out-of-body and Near-Death Experiences are not something new. They are just more frequent. The Bible records a couple of these experiences that I would like to explore in this article.

The first is Isaiah’s experience of Heaven in Isaiah 6:

6 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;
the whole earth is full of his glory!”

4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”

Isaiah 6:1-7 (ESV)

There is nothing in the story that indicates that Isaiah was near death. His body remained in some state in the temple in Jerusalem on Earth. How do I know this wasn’t a physical field trip? The main thing is Jesus’ comment in John 3:

13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.

John 3:13 (ESV)

To this point, Heaven was strictly off limits to humanity. Our sinful condition made bodily access intolerable for us. I also think that the other dimensionality of Heaven would exclude our body prior to being resurrected.

Even without being bodily in Heaven, Isaiah feels the weight of being a sinner. The experience should have been pure joy, but he proclaims, “Woe is me!” The experience is given to Isaiah for the purpose of recruitment for a thankless job. If you go further in Isaiah, he volunteers to take the job of proclaiming to Israel words that will close their ears and harden their hearts. That is not a job I would want.

Still, he has this vision/OBE to remember. What he sees is a portion of Heaven–God’s throne room. He experiences atonement for his sins through the touch of coals from the altar. This would be the real altar that is represented by the bronze altar for sacrifice in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. Why does this work? It is prophetic of Jesus’ sacrifice and that His body touches our lips in the Lord’s Supper. Whether there is more to it is hard to say. It is important to remember that Isaiah is not physically there. This is not imaginary either. He experiences it in spirit only.

Isaiah says that he saw the Lord. Direct viewing of God is fatal for sinful flesh. Not being in the flesh protects him. Touching the coals of the altar protects him and allows him to stay and to speak. Once he receives his commission he is returned to his body in the temple on Earth.

Paul had a similar experience. He doesn’t say as much about it, but what he says is found in 2 Corinthians 12:

2 I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. 3 And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— 4 and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter.

2 Corinthians 12:2-4 (ESV)

He describes his destination as the “third heaven”. For people of that time the first heaven is our atmosphere, the second is the universe, the third is where God dwells or what we call “Heaven”.

Fourteen years ago would be about 40AD. Paul’s conversion would be around 36AD. Jesus’ crucifixion is likely 33AD. Perhaps this corresponds with an incident where Paul was stoned (the old sense of that word, with rocks) and left for dead. In that case this is an NDE. He doesn’t describe the throne room. He calls what he sees “paradise”. He is not sure of his bodily state. I’m pretty sure it is out-of-body.

Then the teaser. He hears things that He is not permitted to tell. God has a few more mysteries to reveal. What could these be? It could be about the full glory that God has prepared for us. Near Death Experiences are generally glorious if the person experiences Heaven, but I do not trust them fully. They can have a universalistic bent that clashes with what Jesus has said. I’m not sure if it is a misinterpretation of the person, or Satan can inject falsehood into the experience at times, or something else. I trust the Bible for details. The things Paul hears could also be about coming judgments on the Earth. The 70AD destruction of Jerusalem is still in front of Him, for example.

The Biblical out-of-body experiences are interesting and informative. It shows that God can use such an experience. These two are approved to be carried forward as God’s Word. Others need to be approached with caution. They may be accurate and real experiences, or not.

What Should We Think of Near Death Experiences?

Near Death Experiences (NDE) and Out of Body Experiences (OBE) are two similar events where a person is conscious of being separated from their bodies.  Experiences like this have always happened, but because of medical advances they now happen by the thousands.

In the Bible there are visions where the person experiences beyond their physical location, but it is not a true OBE/NDE.  When Daniel sees God on His throne or when Isaiah or John experience Heaven, these would seem to be visions.  The distinction is that God is viewed directly (which should not be possible for a sinful human) and/or much of what is viewed is symbolic.  It is more of a Powerpoint than a field trip.  A biblical exception is reported by Paul in 2 Corinthians 14.  In this passage, Paul speaks of himself going to Heaven and hearing “inexpressible things than man is not permitted to tell.”  Some theorize that this happened after an unsuccessful stoning of Paul.  If true, this was a Near Death Experience.  Paul refers to what he hears as “inexpressible” which could mean that he has no words to convey it, but he also says that he was not permitted to convey it.

Death normally separates body and spirit.  Other, not recommended, procedures seem to do the same thing temporarily.  We will get to that later.   Since we know so little about the interface of body and spirit, it is hard to medically or theologically explain the moment of separation and why it is possible to do this “before our time”.

Skeptics dismiss NDE’s and OBE’s as illusions created by the brain in distress, usually blaming it on hypoxia, a lack of oxygen to the brain.  There are several facts that make the hypoxia argument not credible.  First, hypoxia makes a person confused not hyper-aware.   Many people having a NDE find themselves floating above their bodies and they can recall details of the room or even details outside of the room accurately.  This takes us to the second reason it is not hypoxia.  People can see and hear without having their eyes open and with no discernable brain activity.  It is the soul operating without the body.

Careful recording of the nature of the experience is important before drawing too many conclusions.  People tend to under-report NDE’s.  The reason is that they fear skepticism or judgment.  This is especially true if the experience is bad.  Most reported NDE’s are about a beautiful experience of Heaven.  Some even come back with a message of universal love and salvation.  These collide with experience of many, and perhaps even more than is reported, who experience what is reported as Hell.  Obviously, universal salvation is incorrect if some are experiencing “Hell” (I would reserve the word “Hell” for a post-judgment day place. What they experience is technically Sheol–see my other blogs about this).

I believe the ultimate truth about the afterlife and many other things is the Bible.  Experiences like NDE’s are interesting and exciting but they need to be tested against the facts presented in the Bible.  The Bible itself warns to “not treat prophecies with contempt.  Test everything.  Hold on to the good.” (1 Thessalonians 5:20)  NDE’s could be seen as a type of prophecy.  It is information about the afterlife that gets to us by a different means.  But that doesn’t make the information correct.  It needs to be tested, because intentional deception is possible.

Who would the deceiver be?  I am not laying this on the people who have a NDE.  I suspect Satan has ways to intercept this experience and spin it in a way that disseminates false information.  On the flip side,  I see no reason to conclude that all NDE’s are the “work of the Devil”.

So with a degree of caution, we will examine in later blogs some of the NDEs and OBEs reported in books on the topic to see if there is anything to learn about life after death.