9-20-2023 9:41pm

NEAR DEATH EXPERIENCE: WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?

MIDDLETOWN, OH -- They say, death and taxes are inevitable in life. When I was younger, I often worried what will happen to me when it's my time. For me, it was the fear of the unknown and the fear of not being with my family as I enter “the unknown”.

Also, having a heart condition as a child made things all the more terrifying for me. Back then I saw life through the eyes of a child. I believed I would go to Heaven... but what one believes is not the same as knowing. Let’s face it. The time will come when we will all depart from this earth. People may be frightened with the possibility of going to hell, others believe that when you die, you cease to exist because they feel they have no soul. Then, there are others who believe like me... Heaven does exist.

Have you ever thought what comes next for you, and does that make you frightened or anxious? I have read online articles and listened to You Tube segments regarding what others feel about this very topic. In writing this article I've taken a mixture talking to others, reading, listening to podcast, doing internet searches and using my personal thoughts.

One of the articles I enjoyed was from Snapspread’s on-line magazine. It published an article that researched this very topic; Why do people often fear death. I've summarized portions of the article below...

FEAR OF THE AFTERLIFE

It looks like my concern is indeed a topic shared by many people. There is a fear of the unknown because many people simply do not know or understand what happens after death. This fear may be the result of not having a spiritual belief system that is faith based or do not believe in an afterlife. Others feel their life experiences would make them unworthy, and they fear eternity in hell. And, there are other cultures that believe in reincarnation and physical rebirth. There are many cultures with just as many belief systems. As for me, I am a Christian who has a tremendous amount of faith. Remembering what I was taught as a child, and learning from life and other’s near-death experiences (NDE), I do not have a great concern or fear about crossing over to what I call “the known”.

FEAR OF LOSING CONTROL

In life we have control over our attitudes and actions. We plan our lives, dreams, and goals, but we cannot control what happens in the afterlife, nor can we control how we will meet our death. Consequently, we tend to freak out about losing control over something in our lives. One frightening detail of death is that it can happen anywhere and anytime... sometimes expected, which most of the time it is. People instinctively dwell on the things they cannot control.

FEAR OF LEAVING THINGS UNDONE

Mark Twain has mark quote... “The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”

However, someone who has had a less fulfilling life, may have a life of disappointment, never realizing the meaning for their life, or achieving less than the person hoped for. I have heard this statement many times in my life... “A person on their death bed never wished that they had spent more time at work.” It is on their death bed when some realize they never made a priority to be with family, take vacations, or simply enjoy their life and not live with regrets.

FEAR OF BEING IN PAIN/ LEAVING LOVED ONES BEHIND

When it comes down to it, the fear of death is also associated with being afraid of how much it is going to hurt. Being sick or hospitalized can wipe out a family’s savings, which then becomes a financial hardship for survivors. No one wants to suffer for weeks or months knowing the outcome and the emotional strain of the family can become unbearable. At times, the greater the pain the more an individual would welcome death to stop the suffering.

One of the most emotional aspects of death is not knowing what will happen to family members after they leave them behind. Even accepting your life circumstances, your loved ones will still grieve and the mental pain may never go away.

I agree these fears are real, but if you hear stories of people who die and come back to life, experiencing life changing events when their spirit leaves they’re body, the fear of death no longer exists for them. They have seen firsthand what waits for them on the other side. The absolute beauty, totally encompassing love, compassion, and visions of Heaven are overwhelming, and people did not want to return to their bodies.

The information from this next segment comes videos found on The 700 Club, Heaven Awaits, and the video below...Destiny Image- Two Christian Dudes Podcast You Tube channel Jim Woodford Died and Spent 11 Hours in Heaven...

As I listened to 10 different stories, I realized the main components of the NDE are very similar, with subtle variations on the details. I have no comprehension of how the people on the podcasts talked about nearly the same experiences... unless they actually witnessed the same thing. People were so adamant about their experiences, encompassing love and overwhelming feeling of peace, I understand why one would be hesitant to return to the living.

Let's look at the similarities these NDE people shared....

When a person dies, their soul leaves the body.

They can see everything going on around their body. They feel no remorse or guilt but rather see things as an observer watching a movie on TV. They feel something pulling them up, it can be a gentle pull upward or being shot up quickly into a new dimension.

The soul goes through a tunnel at a fantastic speed.

It gets faster the longer they are in it. People feel total peace and liquid love absorbing them. The description of the colors within the tunnel varies from black, green, white, gold, or blue. Some experience rushing past galaxies, universes, and stars, and as the soul draws nearer to the end of the tunnel, a beautiful and extremely bright beam of light begins to appear.

At the end of the tunnel, the soul steps on the softest green grass.

Also at then end, they find themselves looking at the most beautiful scenery that draws them in. They see flowers with vivid colors that are indescribable and emit music never heard on earth. There is an overwhelming feeling and emotion of warmth, compassion, love, empathy, sympathy, and respect that brings the soul total peace. While it is somewhere they have never been, they explain it feels like they belonged there. They feel as though they were returning home.

They are greeted by loved ones... including their pets.

Once there they are greeted by family and friends, unfamiliar beings, or their Guardian Angel, who is an immense being who takes them on a majestic view above Heaven, which is surrounded by a great wall and inside, the beauty of Heaven is beyond description, and the Guardian explains what each building is used for.

He tells them about the Halls of Knowledge and Wisdom and other structures, such as the one that resemble an ancient library (often referred to as the Hall of Records) and temple. Some see a golden colored road with a multitude of beings in white robes walking throughout the halls.

Several people discussed one particular building that stood out from the rest. It glowed with a light that emitted a strong sense of warmth and peace. They said it was the nursery, where souls of aborted children and children of innocence who died from disease, accidents, or miscarriage were cared for by other angels until they grow into an adult spirit.

They tell us the people in Heaven looked like they were in their 20’s or early 30’s. There was no pain, anxiety or hardship. It had been replaced with the pure loving energy of the Heavenly Spirit. The Guardian Angel then took them to a place where they felt there would never be any trouble. It was the safest place... secure, beautiful, and the most perfect feeling they ever felt. While there, they are surrounded by thousands of beings ... like a huge gathering of all the others that have ever existed. Family and friends greet them, welcoming them home. Some people recalled seeing the spirit of their pets running, including two horses!

The Guardian Angel then shows them their life’s review

After the tour above Heaven, they are taken just outside the walls of Heaven where they were told they could not enter through the gate of Heaven until their time on earth has ended. The Guardian Angel then showed them their life’s review.

It is not what you may think it is. The life review shows them everything they had done from childhood to death that positively or negatively affected the lives of people they interacted with.

They saw how they affected the emotional lives of others by being toxic, angry and negative. They saw how their behavior hurt other people through lying, taking advantage of others, or using rude and lewd comments. They actually felt the emotions of the people they hurt. They begin to judge themselves as they are put into the one they hurt shoes. They feel the shame and guilt of what was done to other people.

They, also, saw all the kind things they did to help other people, such as being kind, respectful, motivating, and loving. This gave them a feeling of joy, appreciation, and kindness from the people they had been kind to.

The meeting with the Great Creator

The next experience, the Guardian Angel takes them to another area where an Angelic being is waiting for them. This person is wearing a white robe with a beautiful sash, with a golden light that flowed down from his body. His eyes were grey, blue, and green and drew them into the love of eternity. It is then they realize they are meeting either Jesus or God!

He emits a great love and forgiveness with a deep desire to know them better. When they look into the face of the Creator, it seemed as if they were the only one in creation, the only one He ever created. At this point, they now understand the meaning of their life, and they will do anything to stay there.

Jesus called them by name, letting them know that was not their time, and they had to go back. even though they cried out they want to stay. With one near death experience Jesus held up his hand and said no.

When He raised his hand, the person saw the nail hole in Jesus’s wrist from the crucifixion. One reason a soul is sent back to their body is to tell others what was experienced in Heaven and to fulfill specific tasks He asked of them. Jesus gives a glimpse into the future showing their accomplishments and how they will change the lives of other people. Sometimes the person is given the choice of staying or returning with the ramification of each decision shown before the decision is made.

When the soul returns back into its earthly body

When the soul goes through the tunnel and reenters the body, the person feels the pain of the living. Being human is brutal compared to Heaven. Despite the pain, the wounds heal. In one instance one woman had such a traumatic brain injury the doctors said she would always be in a vegetive state, never to talk or move again.

God had told her she would write a book about her experience in Heaven and lead a normal life, and she would teach others about life after death. Three days after surgery, she started to talk and 10 days later, she started to walk. While she has limited mobility on her right side, a year later she published a book explaining what waits for us on the other side.

Doctors said it was medically and physically impossible for her to regain mobility, the ability to walk and talk. In other cases, sick individual quickly recovered from their illness and regained their health.

Not every NDE is good experience.

In a study of near death experiences done by Angel Films, not every NDE is good. Twenty-three percent of people have hellish experiences where they fall downward through a black tunnel and are in terror.

One in particular is Jim Woodford, who is mentioned above in the video where he spent 11 hours in Heaven. In his narrative, when he died, he entered a dark tunnel and saw two different views. As he was looking from his right to his left, he saw lush, green grass, with a beautiful landscape. As he looked to the left the grass turned a light green, then further down, a brown color and at the end everything was scorched black.

Jim looked over the hillside below him and he noticed a cave and fire that seemed a couple hundred yards away. As he was looking, a large fiery figure emerged from the cave, covered in fire. The creature saw Jim and started to scramble up the hill towards him. When the creature stood on top of the hillside very close to Jim, it called to him by name and reached out to him.

"Jim, we welcome you. Come with me.”

Jim turned his back so he could not see the beast, knowing if he turned around he would be claimed by the devil. Instead, Jim cried out, “God, help me.”

A bright light began to shine down with three different beams of light. One beam hit the creature who screamed and backed away, slithering down the hillside. The light turned into three angels…. To hear his story watch the attached You Tube. I promise you will not be disappointed!

When people returned to their bodies, some specifics they had learned were erased from their memory, however, the memory retained tells a story that there is a Heaven. Jesus instructed everyone to spread the word about their experience, the feeling of unconditional love, the beauty of the afterlife.

What I have learned from all this is that the worst thing a person can do is to affect someone’s life in a negative way or intentionally hurting an innocent person... screwing up not only their own destiny but the person's they hurt destiny.

Treat people with kindness and be helpful to people you meet. Be happy and show compassion and empathy towards others and remember the small things you do for others may seem small, but it can actually be enormous.

If you are interested in learning more about life after death, I would like to invite you to attend a movie called After Death, presented by Angel Studios. For additional information go to Angel.com/lifeafter to purchase tickets. There is a limited showing with one being at the Regal Theater in Mason located at 5500 Deerfield Blvd on Oct., 26 - Nov., 2. For more info about the theater you can call 513-770-3186 or visit Regal Theater website by clicking here.