RetiredAg said:
I'm leery of any of these "he went to heaven and came back" stories. I tend to agree w/ David Platt on this:
1) We can see in bible- God works through dreams and visions. what is book of Revelation? But a vision of Heaven- entire book of bible is about a vision! . Also there are many Catholic saints who walked the walk- saw glimpse- ecounters with God/Jesus/ Heaven and hell over the centuries:. St. Don Bosco, St. Catherine, St. Bernard are just a few.
2) So I disagree a bit with David Platt as he tries to down play folks in bible encountering heaven. That being said, agree with him in that not everything said about NDE- is true. Like everything else in our life: Some people tell truth, some are mistaken and some people lie. So we need to treat all of these encounters with some healthy skepticism but also realize God is at work. Got to looks of the fruits of the people making the claims, see how they live their life.
3) Also agree with David- when you encounter God (Father) folks are overcome by his power. There is no talking back, but just understanding. It is Fear of Lord, and Awe.
- When people encounter Jesus, they see very bright light, overcome by his Love, that is is life changing. they have huge sense of gratitude.
- When people see hell- they are truly petrified. Horrible, Scared to Death.
- I find the consistency of these visions very very interesting.
4) My take is many NDE /Visions are true (private revelations) and it serves as a small glympse, reminder for us- there is a God, you will be judged there is heaven/hell. Repent and change your ways.