Appendix A
A Plain-Language Guide to the Words This Book Uses
This book covers a lot of ground. It draws from theology, philosophy, medicine, and biblical languages. Along the way it uses terms that may be new to you. Each chapter defines its key words when they first appear, but this glossary gathers them all in one place for easy reference. Every definition is written in plain English. Where a term comes from Greek, Hebrew, or Aramaic, I give the original word in italics with a short gloss. Where a chapter in this book develops a term in full, I point you there so you can read deeper if you wish.
The entries below are listed in alphabetical order.
A reported experience in which a living person senses contact with someone who has died. This may come as a vivid dream, a felt presence, or even a brief vision of the deceased. ADCs are not the same as near-death experiences. The person having the experience is not dying or in medical danger. They are mentioned briefly in Chapter 26. Christians should weigh them with care, since Scripture forbids seeking the dead (Deuteronomy 18:10–12), but receiving an unsought comfort is a different matter.1
A radiant figure or presence described by many people who have had a near-death experience. The being is often reported as overwhelmingly loving and knowing. Some identify it as Jesus. Others describe it without giving it a name. Because the Bible warns that Satan can appear as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14), not every glowing figure should be taken at face value. Chapter 13 examines the being of light in detail, and Chapter 14 considers the cases where Jesus is identified by name.
The hope that God will, in the end, bring every person to willing faith in Christ. This view holds that God's love and Christ's sacrifice are so powerful that no one is finally lost. It does not set aside the cross, the need for repentance, or the reality of judgment. It simply trusts that God finishes what He starts. This is the author's leaning, held openly and humbly. See Chapter 19 for a fuller treatment; compare conditional immortality and eternal conscious torment.2
The Council of Chalcedon met in AD 451 and produced the most important statement the church ever made about who Jesus is. The Chalcedonian Definition says that Jesus Christ is one person with two complete natures, fully God and fully human. These two natures are joined without mixing, changing, dividing, or separating. This matters for human nature because if a human being is only a body with no soul, then at the cross Jesus' human nature would have ceased to exist. That would break the union Chalcedon says can never be broken. See hypostatic union and Chapter 5.3
The view that human beings are not born immortal. Immortality is a gift God gives to those who are saved through Christ. Those who finally reject God are not tortured forever. Instead, after judgment they are destroyed and cease to exist. This view takes seriously the Bible's language of destruction and death for the lost (Matthew 10:28). This book treats conditional immortality as a respectable position. See Chapter 19; compare biblical universalism and eternal conscious torment.4
Also called a deathbed vision. An experience that happens in the dying process, usually hours or days before death. The dying person reports seeing deceased loved ones, angels, or a heavenly place. Unlike an NDEr, the person having a deathbed experience usually does not recover. DBEs have been reported for centuries across many cultures. They are closely related to near-death experiences but are a separate category. See Chapter 26 and Chapter 6 for the NDE–DBE distinction.
The idea that dark spiritual forces can tamper with or twist a near-death experience. The Bible teaches that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). In this book, demonic hijacking means that an experience which begins as genuine may be invaded by deception. The enemy takes what God means for good and bends it toward a lie. This is why discernment matters. See Chapter 20.
The practice of testing a claim, an experience, or a teaching against Scripture and the character of God to decide whether it is true. The Bible commands it: "Test everything; hold fast what is good" (1 Thessalonians 5:21, ESV). In this book, discernment is the habit of weighing every near-death experience by asking whether it lines up with what God has already revealed in the Bible. The full testing framework is in Chapter 23 and Appendix C.
The traditional view that those who die without Christ will suffer conscious punishment in hell forever, with no end and no relief. This has been the majority view in Western Christianity for much of its history. The author of this book rejects it. He believes it misreads the Bible's language about final judgment and paints a picture of God that does not match the character revealed in Christ. See Chapter 19; compare conditional immortality and biblical universalism.
A Greek word (Greek geenna) drawn from the Hebrew name for the Valley of Hinnom outside Jerusalem, where children were once sacrificed to false gods. In the New Testament, Jesus uses Gehenna to describe the final place of destruction for the wicked after the last judgment (Matthew 10:28). Gehenna is not the same as Hades. Hades is the waiting place of the dead before judgment. Gehenna is the final state after it. See Chapter 18 and lake of fire.5
A sixteen-question scoring tool developed by psychiatrist Bruce Greyson to measure whether an experience qualifies as a near-death experience and how deep it was. The scale asks about features like peace, leaving the body, seeing a light, and meeting other beings. A score of seven or above is widely used as the cutoff for a genuine NDE. The scale is the most commonly used standard in NDE research. See Chapter 6 and Chapter 7.6
The Greek word (Greek hadēs, "the unseen place") used in the New Testament for the realm of the dead. In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), Hades translates the Hebrew word Sheol. Hades is the intermediate waiting place where the dead exist between death and final judgment. It is not the same as Gehenna or the lake of fire, which are final. In Luke 16:19–31, both the rich man and Lazarus are in Hades, but in very different conditions. See Chapter 18 and Sheol.7
A refined form of substance dualism. It holds that a person is made of two real parts, a body and a soul, but that in life these two form one deeply joined whole. The body is not a cage and the soul is not a prisoner. They belong together. At death they come apart, and the soul lives on, conscious and aware. But this separation is unnatural. The Christian hope is that body and soul will be reunited at the resurrection. This is the author's position. See Chapter 2 and substance dualism.8
The union of the divine nature and the human nature in the one person of Jesus Christ. The word "hypostatic" comes from a Greek word for "person" or "subsistence" (Greek hypostasis). The early church declared at the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451) that Jesus is fully God and fully human in one person, and that the two natures are neither mixed nor separated. This matters for human nature because if the human side of Jesus blinked out at death, the union would break. Dualism avoids this problem. See Chapter 5 and Chalcedon.
The period between a person's death and the final resurrection at the end of the age. During this time, the soul exists apart from the body. The saved are with Christ (Philippians 1:23; 2 Corinthians 5:8). The unsaved wait in Hades under judgment (Luke 16:23–24). Neither group has yet received their final, resurrected body. The intermediate state is temporary. It ends when Christ returns and the dead are raised. See Chapter 4.
The image used in Revelation 20:14–15 for the final destiny of the wicked after the last judgment. Death and Hades themselves are thrown into it. The lake of fire represents the final state, not the intermediate state. Whether it means everlasting torment, complete destruction, or something else is part of the wider debate about the fate of the lost. See Chapter 18, and compare Gehenna, eternal conscious torment, and conditional immortality.
A common feature of near-death experiences in which the person relives moments from their life, often with a strong sense of how their actions affected others. Many describe feeling the joy or pain they caused from the other person's point of view. The life review is not reported in every NDE, but it appears often enough to be one of the recognized core features. It echoes the biblical teaching that we will give an account of our lives (2 Corinthians 5:10; Luke 12:2–3). See Chapter 16.
A vivid, structured experience reported by a person who was close to death or clinically dead and then recovered. Common features include a deep sense of peace, leaving the body, moving through a dark space, and encountering a brilliant light. Many also report meeting deceased loved ones or spiritual beings, a life review, reaching a border or limit, and returning. Not every NDEr reports all of these. The term was coined by Raymond Moody in 1975. About 80 percent of remembered NDEs are positive; about 20 percent are distressing. See Chapter 6.9
A Hebrew word (Hebrew nephesh, "soul, living being, self, life, throat") used over 750 times in the Old Testament. Its range is wide. It can mean a living creature, a person, the self, life, desire, or even appetite. In some passages it refers to the whole person ("my nephesh praises the Lord" simply means "I praise the Lord"). In others it points to the life-self that can depart the body at death (Genesis 35:18; 1 Kings 17:21–22). Translating nephesh as "soul" is fair but needs care. See Chapter 3 and soul.10
A Hebrew word (Hebrew nĕshamah, "breath, breath of life") that refers to the breath God gives to a living creature. In Genesis 2:7, God breathes the neshamah of life into the man, and the man becomes a living being. It often appears alongside ruach as a parallel term for the life-giving breath or spirit. See Chapter 3.
An experience in which a person feels separated from their physical body and perceives the world from a vantage point outside it, often from above. In near-death experiences, the OBE phase is commonly the first stage. The person may describe looking down at their own body during surgery or resuscitation. When details reported during an OBE are later confirmed to be accurate, the case becomes evidence that the mind can work apart from the brain. See Chapter 8 and veridical perception.
From the Greek word paradeisos, originally a Persian loan-word meaning "garden" or "enclosed park." In the New Testament, Jesus promises the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43). Paul speaks of being caught up to paradise (2 Corinthians 12:4). Paradise is the blessed side of the intermediate state, where the saved are with Christ between death and the resurrection. It corresponds to "Abraham's side" in Luke 16:22. See Chapter 18.
The view that a human being is entirely physical. There is no immaterial soul. The mind is what the brain does. At death, the whole person dies. Christian physicalists believe God will raise the body at the last day. But between death and resurrection there is no conscious existence (unless God preserves the person in some other way). Christian forms include nonreductive physicalism and constitution views. This book argues that physicalism fails to fit the Bible, breaks orthodox Christology, and cannot explain the NDE evidence. See Chapter 2.11
A Greek word (Greek pneuma, "spirit, breath, wind") used in the New Testament for the human spirit, the Holy Spirit, and sometimes wind or breath. When Jesus dies, He commits His pneuma to the Father (Luke 23:46). Stephen does the same (Acts 7:59). In these passages, pneuma carries the sense of the personal self that survives the death of the body. Pneuma is the Greek parallel to the Hebrew ruach. See Chapter 3 and spirit.
A research study that sets up its method before the events happen, then watches and records as they unfold. In NDE research, a prospective study identifies patients in advance (for example, cardiac-arrest survivors in a hospital) and interviews them shortly after the event, using a set protocol. This is the gold standard because it reduces memory errors, selection bias, and the tendency to recall a better story. Compare retrospective study. See Chapter 7.12
A Greek word (Greek psychē, "soul, life, self") that is the New Testament counterpart of the Hebrew nephesh. Like nephesh, it has a wide range. It can mean physical life, the self, or the immaterial soul that survives death. In Matthew 10:28, Jesus warns against those who kill the body but cannot kill the psychē, and says to fear God, who can destroy both psychē and body in Gehenna. This is one of the strongest New Testament texts for distinguishing body and soul. See Chapter 3.
A research study that looks backward at events that have already happened. In NDE research, a retrospective study collects accounts from people who volunteer their stories, sometimes years after the event. This approach can gather large numbers of cases, but it is more open to memory changes, self-selection, and the influence of cultural expectations. Compare prospective study. See Chapter 7.
A Hebrew word (Hebrew ruach, "spirit, wind, breath") used in the Old Testament for the Spirit of God, the human spirit, and moving air. Ruach is the life-giving energy or power that God breathes into a creature. In Ecclesiastes 12:7, the ruach returns to God who gave it when the body returns to dust. Ruach is not identical to the soul in every passage, but the two overlap. Its New Testament counterpart is the Greek pneuma. See Chapter 3 and spirit.
A Greek word (Greek sarx, "flesh") used in the New Testament in several ways. It can mean the physical stuff of the body, the human body itself, or human nature in its weakness and tendency to sin. Paul often contrasts living "according to the flesh" with living "according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:4–5). Sarx is not the same as soma (body). Soma is more neutral; sarx often carries a moral weight. See Chapter 3.
The Hebrew word (Hebrew she'ol, "the grave, the realm of the dead") for the place where the dead go. In the Old Testament, Sheol is the common destination of all the dead, both righteous and wicked. It is pictured as deep, dark, and underground. By the time of Jesus, Jewish thinkers had divided it into sections for the blessed and the cursed. The Greek equivalent is Hades. See Chapter 18 and Hades.13
A Greek word (Greek sōma, "body") used in the New Testament for the physical body. Paul uses it when he speaks of being "away from the body and at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8). He also uses it for the resurrection body, which he says will be raised imperishable (1 Corinthians 15:42–44). Soma is morally neutral, unlike sarx (flesh), which often points to sinful human weakness. See Chapter 3.
The immaterial part of a human being. In this book, "soul" refers to the real, nonphysical self that thinks, feels, chooses, and relates to God. It is joined to the body in life, forming one whole person. At death it separates from the body and continues to exist, conscious and aware, until the resurrection. The Hebrew word most often translated "soul" is nephesh; the Greek equivalent is psychē. The Bible uses these words with a wide range of meanings, but passages like Matthew 10:28 and Genesis 35:18 show that the soul can be distinguished from the body. See Chapter 2 and Chapter 3.
In this book, "spirit" usually refers to the immaterial, God-given life-principle in a person. The Hebrew word is ruach ("breath, wind, spirit"); the Greek is pneuma. In many biblical passages "spirit" and "soul" are used as near-synonyms for the inner self that survives death (compare Ecclesiastes 12:7 with Genesis 35:18). Some Christians distinguish them sharply (a view called trichotomy: body, soul, and spirit). This book follows the more common view (dichotomy) that "soul" and "spirit" refer to the same immaterial reality seen from different angles. See Chapter 3.
The view that a human being is made of two distinct things (substances): a material body and an immaterial soul. Neither one reduces to the other. The body is real. The soul is real. They are different kinds of thing, yet they work together. At death they separate. The soul continues to exist; the body decays until the resurrection. This has been the majority position in Christian theology for most of its history. This book defends a specific form of substance dualism called holistic dualism. See Chapter 2.14
The sudden return of clear thinking, memory, and awareness in a patient whose brain has been badly damaged by disease. This can happen with Alzheimer's, dementia, or a brain tumor. It usually comes just minutes or hours before death. The patient may recognize family, carry on conversation, and say goodbye. This is a serious puzzle for the view that the mind is only what the brain does, because the brain is still severely damaged when this clarity appears. See Chapter 26.15
An observation reported during a near-death or out-of-body experience that is later confirmed to be accurate. For example, a patient under anesthesia describes the surgical instruments used or overhears a conversation in another room, and medical staff later verify the details. The word "veridical" comes from the Latin for "truth-telling." Veridical perceptions are the strongest evidence that the mind can work apart from the brain. In my doctoral research, I found 1,618 cases (30.7 percent) that met the criteria for strong or exceptional veridical evidence. See Chapter 9 and Chapter 7.16
↑ 1. After-death communications were first studied systematically by Bill Guggenheim and Judy Guggenheim, Hello from Heaven! (New York: Bantam, 1996). For a measured Christian assessment, see the brief treatment in J. Steve Miller, Deathbed Experiences as Evidence for the Afterlife, vol. 1.
↑ 2. On the spectrum of views regarding the final state of the lost, biblical universalism should be distinguished from both pluralistic universalism (the claim that all religions are equally valid) and from any form that denies the necessity of Christ. The author's leaning is toward a conservative, Christ-centered form that affirms the cross and the need for repentance. See the discussion in Chapter 19.
↑ 3. The Chalcedonian Definition is preserved in the records of the fourth ecumenical council (AD 451). For a clear treatment of its implications for theological anthropology, see Michael A. Wilkinson, Crowned with Glory and Honor: Christological Keys to the Anthropological Debate.
↑ 4. The modern revival of conditional immortality owes much to Edward Fudge, The Fire That Consumes: A Biblical and Historical Study of the Doctrine of Final Punishment, 3rd ed. (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2011). For the internal tensions within the conditional immortality movement regarding human nature, see the discussion in the author's Th.D. dissertation (Trinity Theological Seminary).
↑ 5. On the distinction between Hades and Gehenna, see John W. Cooper, Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting: Biblical Anthropology and the Monism-Dualism Debate (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000), especially the discussions of intertestamental and New Testament eschatology.
↑ 6. Bruce Greyson, "The Near-Death Experience Scale: Construction, Reliability, and Validity," Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 171, no. 6 (1983): 369–75. The scale has become the standard research instrument in the field.
↑ 7. Cooper discusses the relationship between Sheol and Hades extensively. In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), Hebrew she'ol is consistently rendered Greek hadēs. See Cooper, Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting, chap. 4.
↑ 8. The term "holistic dualism" is promoted by Cooper, Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting, to capture both the unity of human nature in life and the possibility of personal existence apart from the body at death. Cooper also notes that the term "dualistic holism" is at least as good, depending on whether one wishes to emphasize the unity or the duality; see the preface to the 2009 edition, p. xxviii.
↑ 9. Raymond A. Moody Jr., Life After Life (Atlanta: Mockingbird, 1975). Moody coined the term "near-death experience" and identified the common features from his interviews with over one hundred people who had come close to death or been revived after clinical death.
↑ 10. For the standard scholarly treatment of nephesh and its range of meanings, see Hans Walter Wolff, Anthropology of the Old Testament, trans. Margaret Kohl (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1974). Cooper, Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting, chap. 3, argues that while nephesh is not identical to the Platonic soul, the Old Testament does use it in ways that support a surviving personal self. See also the author's Th.D. dissertation, chap. 2.
↑ 11. For a careful survey of the varieties of physicalism (reductive, nonreductive, constitutionalist, and emergentist), see Joshua R. Farris, An Introduction to Theological Anthropology: Humans, Both Creaturely and Divine (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2020), chap. 3. For the terms of the dualism-physicalism debate, see also Michael A. Wilkinson, Crowned with Glory and Honor, chap. 1.
↑ 12. The landmark prospective studies in NDE research include Pim van Lommel et al., "Near-Death Experience in Survivors of Cardiac Arrest: A Prospective Study in the Netherlands," The Lancet 358 (2001): 2039–45; and Sam Parnia et al., "AWARE—AWAreness during REsuscitation—A Prospective Study," Resuscitation 85, no. 12 (2014): 1799–1805.
↑ 13. Cooper, Body, Soul, and Life Everlasting, chap. 3, traces the Old Testament picture of Sheol as the common resting place of all the dead, noting that it is not primarily a place of punishment but the general realm entered at death.
↑ 14. For a concise defense of substance dualism as the historic Christian position, see J. P. Moreland, The Soul: How We Know It's Real and Why It Matters (Chicago: Moody, 2014). Farris, An Introduction to Theological Anthropology, chap. 3, maps the varieties of substance dualism (pure, compound, and Thomistic).
↑ 15. The term "terminal lucidity" was introduced by Michael Nahm and Bruce Greyson. See Michael Nahm et al., "Terminal Lucidity: A Review and a Case Collection," Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics 55, no. 1 (2012): 138–42. For a clinical description, see Peter Fenwick and Sue Brayne, "End-of-Life Experiences: Reaching Out for Compassion, Communication, and Connection," American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine 28, no. 1 (2011): 7–15.
↑ 16. The author's Th.D. dissertation (Trinity Theological Seminary) analyzed 5,278 near-death experiences and found that 1,618 (30.7 percent) met the criteria for "Exceptional" or "Strong" evidence that consciousness was working apart from the brain. See the full data discussion in Chapter 9.