What can happen after we die?
Reports of people who clinically died and were resuscitated
Many people around the world were declared clinically dead. In these cases, a resuscitation can be attempted by a doctor.
To declare someone clinically dead, there must be an absence of a pulse, no breathing, no brain activity.
After being resuscitated, many people have reported that they would still have been conscious in some sense after the time in which they were declared clinically dead and before their resuscitation. Similar reports are given across cultures and across different generations of people.
For example, a common report is to have an out-of-body experience. That is, the person, after being declared clinically dead, reports to come out of their body and be conscious outside of their body. Another common report is that they would then float up in the air, to go up toward a sort of bright light. Another common report is that people would experience a life review, that is, many people report experiencing a panoramic review of their lives, including both positive and negative events.
The Bible can actually account for much of the reports from people who would have experienced something after they were clinically dead and before they were resuscitated.
Should these reports be taken into consideration?
Some reports are offering corroborating evidences alongside their reports. The reports which do contain corroborating evidences could be given greater weight, which may allow someone to consider them. For example:
Reports have been made of people having an out-of-body experience, going up and seeing specific things on the roof of the hospital that they were in. These things have later been confirmed as accurate.
Reports have also been made of people having an out-of-body experience, going away from the room they were in, and witnessing events that happened in other rooms of the hospital or in other places far away from where their body was. The timing and the veracity of those events were confirmed afterward to have happened after the person was declared clinically dead and before their resuscitation.
Reports of congenitally blind people (who are people who have a complete lack of form and visual perception since birth) have been made in which they reported experiencing sight for the first time and described many things around them at the time, which were confirmed afterward. In these cases, tests were also conducted to determine if the sense that they experience could have been something other than sight or visual experiences that may be experienced through dreams, but in those cases the sense did not continue after being resuscitated and the subjects reported never having experienced this sense ever before, not even in dreams which for example may not offer to them a visual experience of any kind.
One could take into account what people report to have experienced by investigating it. For example, we read in John 9 that Jesus healed "(a) man blind from birth" (John 9:1), and in the context, it was said that "It-was never ever heard that someone opened (the) eyes (of one) having-been-born blind" (John 9:32). Yet when the Pharisees investigated the man, the man claimed: "I-know one (thing) — that being (a) blind (one), now I-see" (John 9:25).
Snatched in the air?
Many people who were declared clinically dead and were resuscitated report that after dying they would have an out-of-body experience while starting to float up in the air, as if being snatched in the air.
Paul wrote about an experience that a man had: "I-know (a) man in Christ, fourteen years ago — whether in (the) body, I-do not know, or outside (of) the body, I-do not know. God knows — (that) such (a one was) snatched to (the) third heaven. And I-know such (a) man — whether in (the) body or apart-from the body, I-do not know. God knows — that he-was-snatched into paradise" (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). Paul could have talked about himself in this passage using the 3rd person, for the reason given in the previous verse that it was not beneficial to talk about these kinds of visions and revelations: "(It is) not beneficial, but I-will-come to visions and revelations (from the) Lord" (2 Corinthians 12:1). A certain event was recorded in Acts, in which the Jews "having-stoned Paul, they-were-dragging (him) outside (of) the city, thinking (that) he was-dead" (Acts 14:19). Could this be when Paul would have experienced the experience described in 2 Corinthians 12 about "fourteen years" (2 Corinthians 12:2) before writing 2 Corinthians? If so, could it be that Paul may have experienced what many report when they are declared clinically dead but are then resuscitated? Paul did not know if that experience of being snatched to the third heaven was "in (the) body or apart-from the body" (2 Corinthians 12:3), which is also something that can be reported among those who were declared clinically dead but then resuscitated.
Paul actually used only one other time the Greek word for "snatched" in one other passage, in which he wrote that "the Lord Himself will-descend from heaven with (a) shouted-command, with (a) voice (of an) archangel, and with (a) trumpet (of) God, and the dead in Christ will-rise-up first. Then we — the (ones) living, the (ones) (left-)lacking — will-be-snatched together with them in (the) clouds for meeting the Lord in (the) air. And so we-shall always be with (the) Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). After that "the dead in Christ will-rise-up first" (1 Thessalonians 4:16), Paul wrote that "Then" (1 Thessalonians 4:17) the ones who are left "will-be-snatched together with them in (the) clouds for meeting the Lord in (the) air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
Seeing a great light from heaven?
Many people who were declared clinically dead and were resuscitated report going toward a light up in the sky.
In the book of Acts, it is recorded how Paul had a vision of a great light from the sky, as Paul reported: "it-came-about (in) my proceeding and drawing-near (to) Damascus about mid-day, (that) suddenly (a) great light from heaven flashed around me" (Acts 22:6). This light was actually proceeding from Jesus, as Paul continued saying: "I-fell to the ground, and heard (a) voice saying (to) me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are-you-persecuting Me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are-You, sir?’ And He-said to me, ‘I am Jesus the Nazarene" (Acts 22:7-8).
Could it be that when people report going toward the light up in the sky that in some cases they may be going toward the light proceeding from Jesus Himself? Many report hearing a voice coming from that light as well, telling them to come back to earth because their time would not be fulfilled yet, could such a voice in some cases proceed from Jesus Himself?
A judgment?
Many people who were declared clinically dead and were resuscitated report experiencing a life review, that is, many people report experiencing a panoramic review of their lives, including both positive and negative events.
It is written in Hebrews that "it-is-destined (for) people to-die once and after this (comes the) judgment" (Hebrews 9:27).
Could the life-review that people report to experience after being declared clinically dead and resuscitated be a preview of the judgment that would happen to people after they die?
For more details about judgment happening after death:
A place to go after judgment?
A number of people who were declared clinically dead and were resuscitated report having gone to a place of bliss.
The author of Hebrews describes a judgment as an "eternal judgment" (Hebrews 6:2). Jesus gave an example of such an eternal judgment, in which the judgment was based on works. To the righteous Jesus would say "Come, the (ones) having-been-blessed (of) My Father — inherit the kingdom having-been-prepared (for) you from (the) foundation (of the) world" (Matthew 25:34), and so they would inherit the kingdom of the heavens and go "to eternal life" (Matthew 25:46).
A number of people who were declared clinically dead and were resuscitated report having gone to a place in which there was some sort of fire in which people would appear to experience suffering there.
The author of Hebrews describes a judgment as an "eternal judgment" (Hebrews 6:2). Jesus gave an example of such an eternal judgment, in which the judgment was based on works. To the unrighteous Jesus would say "Depart from Me, the (ones) having-been-cursed, into the eternal fire having-been-prepared (for) the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41) and "these will-go into eternal punishment" (Matthew 25:46).
The expression "to-be-thrown into the eternal fire" (Matthew 18:8) was used interchangeably by Jesus with the expression "to-be-thrown into the Gehenna (of) fire" (Matthew 18:9). Jesus said in Luke "fear the (One) having (the) authority to-throw into Gehenna after the killing" (Luke 12:5). So one can be thrown INTO GEHENNA after the killing. God would be the One having this authority. Jesus would set this in contrast with humans who may kill the body but would not be able to kill the soul, saying: "do not be-fearing (anything) from the (ones) killing the body BUT NOT being-able to-kill the soul" (Matthew 10:28).
A common misunderstanding about this topic would be to object (justly) to the idea that God could maybe cast any of His children there, but God is not described as casting His children there, but only the children of the devil are described as being cast there. Indeed, Jesus said that this place was "the eternal fire having-been-prepared (for) the devil and his angels" (Matthew 25:41). Jesus mentioned the children of the devil earlier in Matthew, calling them "the sons (of) the evil (one). And the enemy having-sown them is the devil" (Matthew 13:38-39). We also read in 1 John how the children of the devil can be recognized, as it is written: "The (one) doing sin is of the devil" (1 John 3:8) and "In this, the children (of) God and the children (of) the devil are evident. Everyone not doing righteousness is not of God — and the (one) not loving his brother" (1 John 3:10).
A number of people who were declared clinically dead and were resuscitated report seeing and experiencing a black void.
Jesus described that someone can experience a place having a lot of darkness: "throw-out the unprofitable slave into the outer darkness" (Matthew 25:30). Jude wrote that for some people "the gloom (of) darkness has-been-kept to (the) age" (Jude 1:13).
For more details about places to go after judgment:
A new kind of body?
Paul mentioned "heavenly bodies" (1 Corinthians 15:40) after asking "How are the dead (ones) raised? And (with) what kind of body do-they-come?" (1 Corinthians 15:35). Someone can have another kind of body in order to then live in heaven, in the kingdom of the heavens. Paul also wrote in that same context about inheriting the kingdom of God in the heavens: "flesh and blood are not able to-inherit (the) kingdom (of) God" (1 Corinthians 15:50). This is the same expression Jesus used when He says to the righteous after the judgment to "inherit the kingdom having-been-prepared (for) you" (Matthew 25:34).
For more information on what kind of body someone can have after dying:
What kind of body can someone have after dying?
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Word of caution regarding the reports of people who were declared clinically dead and were resuscitated
Some people for example sometimes report meeting spiritual beings, and some describe that these beings could even transform their appearance in some cases to not appear as they seemed to have originally appeared to them. The Bible can account for this.
According to the Bible, there are many reasons to be careful when investigating reports of spiritual experiences.
1) Regarding the conditions of the experience: evil beings can be present in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12), they can also change their appearance to look like other beings that do not look evil (2 Corinthians 11:14) and can communicate false messages so as to deceive someone (Galatians 1:8), even being able to provide signs (Revelation 16:14).
2) Regarding the condition of the person: someone can interpret or perceive their spiritual experience falsely even though they really did experience something from the heavenly places (John 12:28-29). People can also bear false witness when giving their report (Matthew 26:59-60) for various motivations such as gaining social influence for example or some other motivations.
The Scriptures are profitable for teaching or correcting (2 Timothy 3:16) any report of a spiritual experience. Even though a spiritual experience can definitely have some weight, the prophetic word of Scripture is even more firm (2 Peter 1:18-20). Reports need to be investigated case by case.
You can find more details below:
1) The conditions of the experience:
It is not because one could enter in the heavenly places that one should trust every revelation given there or every spiritual being appearing to them.
For example, the Bible teaches that evil beings can be present in the heavenly places, as Paul wrote about "the spiritual (forces of) evilness in the heavenly(-places)" (Ephesians 6:12).
Paul wrote that "Satan himself changes(-his)-appearance into (an) angel (of) light" (2 Corinthians 11:14), thus a spiritual being that would be evil can be able to transform itself to take the appearance of another kind of spiritual being that would not look evil. This could account for why some beings are reported to appear and transform themselves to take on another appearance, and we may also take into account that some beings may not reveal their true identity as well. It is written in 1 John: "do not be-believing every spirit, but be-testing the spirits (to see) if they-are from God" (1 John 4:1).
"ANGEL" can also be translated as "MESSENGER", as such a being can have a message to communicate to someone. Paul wrote that some spiritual beings presenting as an "ANGEL" FROM HEAVEN can announce another message than the true message. and so Paul commanded to let that heavenly being be accursed, as he wrote: "even if we or (an) ANGEL FROM HEAVEN should-announce-a-good-news (to) you other-than what we-announced-as-good-news (to) you, (THAT ONE) IS-TO-BE ACCURSED" (Galatians 1:8). ANGELS can also do evil, as for example Peter wrote about "ANGELS having-sinned" (2 Peter 2:4). Some are actually associated with the devil, as for example Jesus mentioned "the devil and HIS ANGELS" (Matthew 25:41).
It is possible for miracles to accompany a false message, as for example Jesus said: "FALSE-PROPHETS will-arise and give GREAT SIGNS AND WONDERS, so as to-deceive" (Matthew 24:24). Thus it is not because a sign or a miracle happened that it is necessary accompanying a true message. Indeed, there are "they-are SPIRITS (OF) DEMONS doing SIGNS" (Revelation 16:14).
2) The condition of the person:
The interpretation of a spiritual experience can differ depending on who is experiencing it. For example, Jesus spoke to the Father, and a voice from heaven responded, as it is written that Jesus said: "Father, glorify Your name!” THEN (A) VOICE CAME FROM HEAVEN: “I both glorified (it), and will again glorify (it)”." (John 12:28). The next verse indicates that even though many people heard that voice, they came to different interpretations of what that was, as it is written: "Then the crowd, the (one) standing (there) and HAVING-HEARD, was-saying (that) THUNDER HAD-TAKEN-PLACE. Others were-saying, “(An) ANGEL HAS-SPOKEN (to) Him”." (John 12:29). So when experiencing something in the heavenly places, someone could end up interpreting some of what they experienced through the lenses of previous assumptions.
People can bear false witnesses when giving a report for various reasons. For example in the Bible when Jesus was arrested it was written that "the chief-priests and the whole Sanhedrin WERE-SEEKING FALSE-TESTIMONY against Jesus, so-that they-might-put Him to-death. And they-did not find (it), MANY FALSE-WITNESSES HAVING-COME-FORWARD" (Matthew 26:59-60).
All in all, Paul wrote that "All SCRIPTURE (is) God-breathed, and PROFITABLE for TEACHING, for rebuking, for CORRECTING" (2 Timothy 3:16). Scripture is profitable to correct or rebuke any report that can be given, and it is also profitable for teaching and correcting things that would not be completely accurate.
Peter mentioned being an eye-witness of a spiritual event, writing: "we ourselves also HEARD THIS VOICE having-been-carried FROM HEAVEN" (2 Peter 1:18). This had a weight. Yet Peter added that something else had even more weight, as he wrote: "we-have the prophetic word (as) MORE-FIRM" (2 Peter 1:19), adding that it is the "prophecy (of) SCRIPTURE" (2 Peter 1:20).
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