Chapter 30

Biblical Precedents for Visions and Afterlife Encounters — NDEs Are Not Without Precedent

Introduction: A God Who Has Always Pulled Back the Curtain

One of the most common objections Christians raise against near-death experiences goes something like this: "NDEs aren't in the Bible. God never did anything like this in Scripture. Modern NDE reports are a brand-new phenomenon with no biblical precedent — and that makes them suspicious."

I understand the instinct behind this objection. If we believe the Bible is God's authoritative Word — and I do — then we naturally want to compare any claimed spiritual experience with Scripture. That is right and good. We should test everything (1 Thessalonians 5:21). But here's the thing: the claim that NDEs have no biblical precedent is simply wrong. It doesn't hold up under even basic examination. The Bible is full of accounts that parallel what modern NDErs and deathbed experiencers report — visions of heaven, encounters with the risen Christ, angelic visitations, people raised from the dead, and journeys to the heavenly realm. From Genesis to Revelation, God has been pulling back the curtain between the seen and unseen worlds. He has been giving people glimpses of what lies beyond physical death.

In this chapter, we will walk through the biblical evidence systematically. We will look at the many people raised from the dead in Scripture — establishing the clear biblical precedent that a person can die, go to the other side, and return. We will examine the Bible's visions of heaven — from Isaiah's throne room vision to Paul's journey to the third heaven — and notice their remarkable parallels to modern NDE reports. We will explore encounters with the risen Christ, especially Paul's Damascus Road experience, which reads almost like a modern NDE account. We will survey the Bible's many angelic encounters. And finally, we will address the cessationist objection — the claim that even if God did these things in Bible times, He no longer does them today.

My thesis is straightforward: The Bible contains numerous accounts of visions, divine encounters, glimpses of the heavenly realm, and people raised from the dead — establishing clear biblical precedent for the types of experiences reported in modern NDEs and deathbed experiences. NDEs are not some strange new phenomenon. They stand in a long biblical tradition of God revealing Himself and His heavenly realm to human beings at the threshold of death — and beyond it.

People Raised from the Dead in Scripture — The Precedent of Returning from Death

Let's begin with what might be the most important biblical precedent for NDEs: the Bible records at least nine cases of people who died and came back to life. These are not metaphors. These are not symbolic stories. The biblical writers present them as historical events in which real people really died and really returned to bodily life. Modern NDEs involve people who are clinically dead — their hearts stop, their brain activity ceases — and then they are resuscitated and return to tell about what they experienced. The Bible establishes that this kind of event — dying and returning — is thoroughly possible and thoroughly biblical.

The Widow's Son at Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17–24)

The first biblical resurrection occurs during the ministry of the prophet Elijah. The text tells us that the son of a widow in Zarephath "became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him" (1 Kings 17:17, ESV). The Hebrew is emphatic — the boy's neshamah (נְשָׁמָה), his breath or life-force, had completely departed. He was dead. The widow herself understood it that way: "What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!" (v. 18).

Elijah took the boy, carried him upstairs, and prayed one of the most significant prayers in the Old Testament: "O LORD my God, let this child's life [nephesh, נֶפֶשׁ] come into him again" (v. 21). The word used here is nephesh — the Hebrew word for "soul" or "life." Elijah was asking God to return the boy's departed soul to his body. And that is exactly what happened: "And the LORD listened to the voice of Elijah. And the life [nephesh] of the child came into him again, and he revived" (v. 22).

Notice what this passage assumes. The child's nephesh — his soul, his life — had departed from his body at death. It was somewhere else. And then it returned to his body when God answered Elijah's prayer. This is precisely the pattern that modern NDErs describe: the soul or consciousness separates from the body at death, experiences something on the other side, and then returns when the person is resuscitated. As we discussed in Chapter 5, this passage provides powerful support for substance dualism — the view that the soul is a real entity distinct from the body that can survive apart from it.

We are not told what the boy experienced during his time of death. The biblical writer's interest was in demonstrating Elijah's prophetic authority and God's power over death. But the boy was dead. His nephesh did leave. And it did return. The precedent of dying and coming back is thoroughly established.¹

The Shunammite's Son (2 Kings 4:18–37)

A generation later, the prophet Elisha encountered a remarkably similar situation. A boy — the son of a Shunammite woman — collapsed in the field with what appears to have been a sudden illness (perhaps heat stroke or a cerebral hemorrhage), sat on his mother's lap, and died (2 Kings 4:20). The mother traveled urgently to Elisha. When Elisha arrived, "he saw the child lying dead on his bed. So he went in and shut the door behind the two of them and prayed to the LORD" (v. 32–33).

What happened next is described in vivid physical detail: Elisha "went up and lay on the child, putting his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself upon him, the flesh of the child became warm" (v. 34). Some scholars have noted the resemblance to ancient forms of resuscitation. But the text is clear that it was God's power — in response to prayer — that restored life. "The child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes" (v. 35). As Shaun Tabatt observes, "It is not recorded here whether or not the boy had any kind of an experience in the afterlife; it is certainly possible."²

The Man Raised by Contact with Elisha's Bones (2 Kings 13:20–21)

This is one of the most unusual resurrection accounts in Scripture. After Elisha's death, some Israelites were burying a man when they spotted a band of Moabite raiders. In their haste, they threw the body into Elisha's tomb: "And as soon as the man touched the bones of Elisha, he revived and stood on his feet" (2 Kings 13:21). The dead man came back to life upon contact with the prophet's remains. Again, no report of his experience during death is given, but the event establishes that death is not irreversible when God chooses to intervene.

Jairus's Daughter (Mark 5:35–43)

When we turn to the New Testament, we find Jesus Himself raising three people from the dead. The first is the twelve-year-old daughter of a synagogue ruler named Jairus. While Jesus was still on His way to Jairus's house, messengers arrived with grim news: "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" (Mark 5:35). Jesus responded with one of the most comforting statements in the Gospels: "Do not fear, only believe" (v. 36).

At the house, mourners were already wailing. Jesus said, "The child is not dead but sleeping" (v. 39). They laughed at Him — they knew she was dead. Luke's account adds the important detail: "Her spirit returned, and at once she stood up" (Luke 8:55). The Greek word here is pneuma (πνεῦμα) — her spirit. It returned to her body. Once again, the biblical language assumes the departure and return of the spirit or soul — exactly what NDErs describe.³

The Widow of Nain's Son (Luke 7:11–17)

Jesus encountered a funeral procession in the town of Nain — a widow's only son was being carried out for burial. Moved with compassion, Jesus touched the bier and said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." And Luke records: "And the dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother" (Luke 7:14–15). The man had been dead long enough for funeral preparations to be underway. Yet Jesus restored him to life with a word.

Lazarus of Bethany (John 11:1–44)

The most dramatic resurrection in the Gospels is that of Lazarus, who had been dead for four days. Martha's protest makes the point vividly: "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days" (John 11:39). This was not a case where someone might have been merely unconscious. Decomposition had begun. Yet Jesus stood before the sealed tomb and cried out, "Lazarus, come out" (v. 43). And the dead man walked out, still wrapped in his burial cloths.

We are not told what Lazarus experienced during those four days of death. But consider this: Lazarus was dead. He was somewhere. And then he came back. The precedent for modern NDEs — in which people die, have experiences, and return — could hardly be clearer. As J. Steve Miller observes, the Bible presents multiple cases of people dying and being brought back to life. If God was willing to bring people back from the dead in biblical times, it should not surprise us that similar events might occur today through modern resuscitation medicine — with God using these experiences for His own purposes.⁴

Those Raised at Christ's Crucifixion (Matthew 27:52–53)

Matthew records one of the most mysterious events in Scripture in connection with Jesus' death: "The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many" (Matthew 27:52–53). These were people who had been long dead — "saints who had fallen asleep." They were raised bodily and were seen by many people in Jerusalem. While this passage raises many questions that scholars continue to debate, it demonstrates that God has the power and the willingness to bring the dead back to earthly existence — even after extended periods of death.

Tabitha / Dorcas (Acts 9:36–43)

In the early church, the apostle Peter was called to the bedside of a beloved disciple named Tabitha (also known as Dorcas), who had died. When Peter arrived, he "put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, 'Tabitha, arise.' And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up" (Acts 9:40). Luke — a physician himself — describes Tabitha as genuinely dead. She was washed and laid in an upper room according to Jewish burial custom. Yet God, through Peter's prayer, restored her to life.⁵

Eutychus (Acts 20:9–12)

During a long teaching session by Paul in Troas, a young man named Eutychus fell asleep while sitting in a third-story window. He fell to the ground and, as Luke records, "was taken up dead" (Acts 20:9). Paul went down, embraced him, and said, "Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him" (v. 10). The boy was restored to life. Tabatt rightly notes: "Here as well it is not recorded whether or not the boy had any kind of an experience in the afterlife, but it is certainly possible."⁶

What Can We Learn from These Resurrection Accounts?

Several things stand out when we look at these nine cases together.

First, the Bible clearly teaches that death is not always final. The Hebrews 9:27 passage — "it is appointed for man to die once" — refers to a person's final death, not to every instance of clinical death. If it meant that no one could ever experience temporary death followed by resuscitation, it would contradict all nine of these biblical cases. Lazarus died twice — once when Jesus raised him, and again at the end of his natural life. The same is true for Tabitha, Eutychus, and all the others. As Miller carefully demonstrates, the Greek word for "die" can refer to final death or temporary death, depending on context — just as in English we speak of someone "dying on the operating table" but being resuscitated.⁷

Second, notice that in several cases, the biblical language explicitly describes the departure and return of the soul or spirit. In 1 Kings 17, the boy's nephesh departed and returned. In Luke 8, Jairus's daughter's pneuma returned. This is precisely the language of substance dualism — and it is precisely what NDErs describe. The soul leaves the body at death and returns at resuscitation.

Third, we are told virtually nothing about what these individuals experienced while dead. This is not because nothing happened. The biblical writers simply had other purposes — they were demonstrating God's power, vindicating prophetic authority, and revealing Jesus' identity as the Lord over death. But the silence about their experiences during death does not mean they had no experiences. It simply means those experiences were not the point of the narrative. Modern NDE research fills in a piece of the story that the biblical writers left untold — and what it fills in is remarkably consistent with what the Bible teaches about the afterlife, as we explored extensively in Chapter 18.

Visions of the Heavenly Realm — When God Opened Heaven's Door

Beyond the resurrection accounts, Scripture contains numerous visions in which God allowed human beings to see into the heavenly realm while still alive — or at the boundary between life and death. These visions share striking features with modern NDE reports: brilliant light, the presence of God on His throne, angelic beings, overwhelming beauty, and the sense that what was seen was more real than ordinary life.

Isaiah's Throne Room Vision (Isaiah 6:1–8)

The prophet Isaiah received one of the most dramatic visions of heaven in the Old Testament: "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. 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. And one called to another and said: 'Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!'" (Isaiah 6:1–3, ESV).

Several features of this vision parallel NDE reports. Isaiah saw a transcendent realm of indescribable majesty. He encountered God — radiant with glory. He heard heavenly beings — the seraphim, whose name in Hebrew (שְׂרָפִים, seraphim) means "burning ones," suggesting beings associated with brilliant light and fire. And Isaiah was overwhelmed by a profound sense of his own unworthiness: "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips" (v. 5). Many NDErs describe a similar response — encountering the divine presence and becoming painfully aware of their own moral failures, particularly during the life review (see Chapter 15).

But there is also a crucial difference from one popular Christian critic's claim. John MacArthur has argued that "in every instance in the Bible where a mere mortal has a heavenly vision, that person — if he mentions himself at all — is frightened, hyper-aware of his own insignificance, deeply conscious of his guilt and fallenness." As Miller points out, this simply is not true of every biblical case. Isaiah was indeed overwhelmed — but as we will see shortly, Stephen was not frightened at all. And Paul describes his heavenly journey without any mention of fear. MacArthur's generalization does not survive careful examination of the biblical text.⁸

Ezekiel's Visions of the Glory of God (Ezekiel 1 and 10)

Ezekiel's inaugural vision is one of the most complex and awe-inspiring passages in the Hebrew Bible. He saw "visions of God" (Ezekiel 1:1) — a great storm cloud, brilliant light, and four extraordinary living creatures (cherubim), each with four faces and four wings, accompanied by whirling wheels within wheels, full of eyes. Above it all was "the likeness of a throne, in appearance like sapphire" and seated above the throne was "a likeness with a human appearance" (Ezekiel 1:26), surrounded by radiance "like the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud on the day of rain" (v. 28).

The overwhelming impression is of brilliant, multi-colored light, transcendent beauty, and a divine presence that defied ordinary description. Ezekiel struggled to find words — using "likeness" and "appearance" repeatedly, indicating that what he saw exceeded human language. This resonates deeply with NDEr testimony. Researchers consistently report that one of the most common features of NDEs is the experiencer's frustration at the inadequacy of human language to describe what they witnessed. As we will see, Paul used nearly identical language about his own heavenly vision — he heard "things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2 Corinthians 12:4).⁹

Daniel's Vision of the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7)

The prophet Daniel received a magnificent vision of the heavenly throne room: "As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him; a thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him" (Daniel 7:9–10, ESV).

Here we find features that recur in NDE reports: the brilliant whiteness of the divine figure, the fire and light emanating from His presence, and countless beings in the heavenly court. Daniel also saw "one like a son of man" — a figure later identified with Jesus — who "came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him" and received "dominion and glory and a kingdom" (Daniel 7:13–14). The convergence of brilliant light, a transcendent divine figure, and a heavenly court filled with beings is remarkably consistent with the core elements of NDE reports across cultures and centuries.

Stephen's Vision of Heaven Opened (Acts 7:55–60) — Full Exegesis

We now come to one of the passages that this chapter is designed to examine in depth. Stephen's pre-death vision is one of the most NDE-relevant passages in the entire New Testament. The context is dramatic: Stephen, a deacon in the early church, had been arrested for his bold proclamation of Christ. After delivering a powerful speech tracing Israel's history of rejecting God's messengers, Stephen was about to become the first Christian martyr.

Luke records what happened next: "But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. And he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God'" (Acts 7:55–56, ESV).

Several features of this passage deserve careful attention.

First, notice what Stephen saw. He saw "the glory of God" — the Greek word doxa (δόξα), which refers to the brilliant, radiant splendor of God's presence. This is the same brilliant light that NDErs overwhelmingly report encountering. He also saw Jesus — not as a vague "being of light," but as a specific, identifiable person, "the Son of Man," standing at God's right hand. This resonates powerfully with the finding documented in Chapter 13 — that a remarkably high percentage of NDErs identify the being of light specifically as Jesus.

Second, notice Jesus' posture. He is standing at the right hand of God. Everywhere else in the New Testament, the risen Christ is described as seated at God's right hand (Psalm 110:1; Hebrews 1:3; Colossians 3:1; Romans 8:34). Why is Jesus standing here? Many scholars believe Jesus was standing to welcome Stephen — to receive His faithful servant who was about to enter the heavenly realm through martyrdom. F. F. Bruce wrote that Jesus rose to welcome the first Christian martyr into His presence. This is a profoundly personal image — Jesus watching, standing in anticipation, ready to receive Stephen as he crossed from this life to the next. NDErs frequently describe Jesus welcoming them, embracing them, and radiating love toward them. Stephen's vision is entirely consistent with this pattern.¹⁰

Third, notice Stephen's emotional state. He was not terrified. He was not cowering in fear or crushed by guilt. Luke tells us that just before his vision, Stephen was "full of the Holy Spirit" (v. 55). And in the next verse, those watching him noticed that "his face was like the face of an angel" (Acts 6:15). Far from being frightened, Stephen was radiant. Peaceful. Filled with joy at what he saw. This directly contradicts the claim that every biblical person who sees heaven is overwhelmed with fear and guilt. Stephen saw heaven open, saw the glory of God, saw Jesus standing to welcome him — and his response was not terror but serene confidence. Miller makes this very observation in his response to MacArthur: "Stephen, in his vision of the very throne-room of God, didn't seem at all 'frightened, hyper-aware of his own insignificance, deeply conscious of his guilt and fallenness.'"¹¹

Fourth, notice Stephen's dying words: "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit" (Acts 7:59). The Greek word is pneuma (πνεῦμα) — spirit. Stephen understood that at death, his spirit would depart from his body and go to Jesus. This is not a wish or a hope. It is a confident assertion grounded in his vision — he could see where he was going. He was looking into heaven and seeing Jesus ready to receive him. Then he fell asleep — the gentle euphemism for death that the New Testament uses for believers (see also John 11:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:13).

Stephen's vision is, in many ways, the quintessential deathbed experience. He was at the very threshold of death. He saw the heavenly realm open. He saw Jesus standing to welcome him. He was filled with peace rather than fear. He entrusted his spirit to Jesus. And then he crossed over. Every one of these features is paralleled in modern deathbed experience research, where dying persons frequently report seeing deceased loved ones and heavenly beings who have come to escort them to the other side (see Chapter 4).¹²

Paul Caught Up to the Third Heaven (2 Corinthians 12:1–4) — Full Exegesis

If Stephen's vision is the quintessential deathbed experience, Paul's journey to the third heaven is the most NDE-like passage in the entire Bible. This is one of the passages assigned to this chapter for in-depth treatment, and it deserves our closest attention.

Paul writes: "I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. 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. 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 — and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" (2 Corinthians 12:1–4, ESV).

Most scholars agree that Paul is speaking about himself in the third person — a common rhetorical device in the ancient world used when describing extraordinary experiences that might seem boastful. Paul had an experience in which he was transported to the heavenly realm. Several features of this account are remarkable for their parallels with modern NDEs.

First, the uncertainty about being "in the body or out of the body." Paul twice states that he did not know whether his experience occurred while he was still in his physical body or whether his soul had left his body. The Greek phrase is eite en sōmati eite ektos tou sōmatos (εἴτε ἐν σώματι εἴτε ἐκτὸς τοῦ σώματος) — "whether in body or outside the body." This is precisely the kind of language NDErs use. Many NDErs are uncertain whether they were "really" out of their bodies or not. The experience feels more real than ordinary life, but they cannot always tell whether it was a bodily journey or a spiritual one. Paul's language assumes that both possibilities are real — that a person could be transported to heaven either in the body or out of the body. This presupposes substance dualism: the soul can exist and function apart from the body. A physicalist — who denies the existence of a separable soul — cannot make sense of Paul's language.¹³

Second, the destination: "the third heaven" and "paradise." Paul equates these terms — he was caught up to the third heaven, which is paradise. The concept of multiple heavens was common in Jewish thought. The "first heaven" typically referred to the atmosphere (the sky). The "second heaven" was the realm of the stars. The "third heaven" was the dwelling place of God — the transcendent spiritual realm. Paul calls this paradise — paradeisos (παράδεισος), the Greek word derived from the Persian for an enclosed royal garden. This is the same word Jesus used on the cross when He told the repentant thief, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43 — exegeted in Chapter 19).

NDErs who have positive experiences overwhelmingly describe a realm of extraordinary beauty — gardens, meadows, brilliant landscapes, and celestial cities — that they instinctively identify as "heaven" or "paradise." Miller rightly observes that since Paul himself referred to his vision on the Damascus Road as a "heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19), we should not fault modern NDErs for describing their experiences as taking place in "some aspect of heaven." The heavenly realm appears to be vast and multi-dimensional, and different experiencers may see different parts of it.¹⁴

Third, the ineffability of the experience. Paul heard "things that cannot be told, which man may not utter" — arrhēta rhēmata (ἄρρητα ῥήματα), literally "unspeakable words" or "inexpressible utterances." This is one of the most consistent features of NDE reports. Researchers from Raymond Moody onward have documented that NDErs consistently struggle to describe what they experienced because human language is inadequate. "There are no words," they say. "Nothing in our experience compares to it." "It was more real than anything I've ever known, but I can't find words to describe it." Paul — a man of extraordinary eloquence and education — had exactly the same problem. The heavenly realm exceeded his ability to describe it. Miller notes the parallel: "'Inexpressible' — we've certainly heard that from many NDErs!"¹⁵

Fourth, the context of suffering. Paul mentions this experience in the context of discussing a "thorn in the flesh" — some form of ongoing suffering. Many scholars have speculated about what this thorn was. Some have suggested that the experience Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 12 may have been connected to a near-death event — perhaps the stoning at Lystra described in Acts 14:19, where Paul was stoned and left for dead. "But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city" (Acts 14:20). Was Paul actually dead after the stoning? Did his journey to the third heaven occur during this episode? We cannot be certain. But the timing — Paul says the event occurred "fourteen years ago," which some scholars date to approximately the period of the Lystra stoning — is at least suggestive. If Paul was stoned to the point of death, had a journey to paradise, and then returned to his body when the disciples gathered around him, we have what might be the first recorded near-death experience in church history.¹⁶

John's Visions of Heaven (Revelation 4–5, 21–22)

The apostle John on the island of Patmos received the most extended biblical vision of the heavenly realm. "After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, 'Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this'" (Revelation 4:1, ESV).

John describes a throne room of spectacular beauty — a throne surrounded by a rainbow resembling emerald, twenty-four elders in white garments, flashes of lightning and peals of thunder, a sea of glass like crystal, and four living creatures covered with eyes and ceaselessly praising God (Revelation 4:2–8). The imagery is rich with brilliant light, brilliant color, and overwhelming majesty. In Revelation 21–22, John sees the new heavens and new earth — a city of gold, a river of the water of life, the tree of life, and the eternal presence of God in which "night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light" (Revelation 22:5).

While John's visions are prophetic — revealing future events — they share structural features with NDE reports: a door opening into a transcendent realm, being drawn upward into that realm, encountering divine beings of indescribable beauty and brilliance, seeing landscapes and structures that defy ordinary description, and experiencing overwhelming awe and worship. The parallels do not prove that NDEs are prophetic visions. But they do demonstrate that the experience of seeing into the heavenly realm — of having the curtain between worlds pulled back — is a well-established biblical phenomenon.¹⁷

Encounters with the Risen Christ — When Jesus Appeared to People

A third category of biblical precedent involves direct encounters with the risen Christ. These are especially relevant because one of the most striking findings of NDE research is how frequently NDErs report encountering Jesus — a finding documented extensively in Chapter 13.

Paul on the Damascus Road (Acts 9:1–9; 22:6–11; 26:12–18) — Full Exegesis

Paul's encounter with the risen Christ on the Damascus Road is, I believe, the most NDE-like experience in the entire New Testament. It is described three times in Acts — in Luke's narrative (Acts 9:1–9), in Paul's speech to the Jerusalem crowd (22:6–11), and in Paul's defense before King Agrippa (26:12–18). The multiple accounts allow us to assemble a remarkably detailed picture.

Here is what happened. Saul of Tarsus — a zealous persecutor of the early church — was traveling to Damascus with letters authorizing him to arrest Christians. As he neared the city, "suddenly a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shone around me and my companions" (Acts 26:13). In the Acts 22 account, Paul says, "a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me" (22:6). In Acts 9, Luke says "suddenly a light from heaven shone around him" (9:3). All three accounts emphasize the brilliant, supernatural light.

Paul fell to the ground and heard a voice: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" (9:4). He asked, "Who are you, Lord?" The answer came: "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" (9:5). Paul was temporarily blinded by the experience: "And when I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me" (22:11). His sight was later restored through the ministry of Ananias.

Let's notice the parallels with modern NDE reports:

Brilliant, overwhelming light. The single most commonly reported element of NDEs, documented by virtually every researcher since Moody, is an encounter with brilliant, supernatural light. Paul encountered a light "brighter than the sun" (Acts 26:13). This is precisely the language NDErs use — "brighter than anything I've ever seen," "a light that should have blinded me but didn't hurt my eyes," "a brilliance beyond anything earthly."¹⁸

A divine voice that communicates personally. Paul heard a voice — not vague or impersonal, but addressing him by name: "Saul, Saul." The voice identified itself as Jesus. NDErs frequently describe hearing a voice — sometimes identified as Jesus, sometimes as God — that communicates with them directly and personally, often asking questions (as in the life review: "What have you done with the life I gave you?").

Life-changing transformation. Paul's encounter with Christ on the Damascus Road utterly transformed his life. He went from being the church's most dangerous persecutor to its most passionate apostle. He gave up his entire former identity, endured tremendous suffering, and spent the rest of his life proclaiming the Jesus he had once tried to destroy. This is exactly the pattern documented in NDE research — profound, permanent, life-transforming change that affects every dimension of the experiencer's life. As we documented in Chapter 18, NDErs consistently become more loving, more compassionate, less materialistic, more spiritually oriented, and less afraid of death — fruit that is entirely consistent with a genuine encounter with the living God.

Physical effects. Paul experienced temporary blindness as a result of the encounter. Some NDErs report physical changes after their experience — altered sensitivity to light, changes in electromagnetic sensitivity, and other measurable physical effects.

Paul himself called this encounter a "heavenly vision" (optasia ouranios, ὀπτασία οὐράνιος — Acts 26:19). And he consistently ranked this appearance of the risen Christ alongside the other post-resurrection appearances to the apostles: "Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me" (1 Corinthians 15:8). For Paul, his Damascus Road encounter was as real as Peter seeing the risen Christ, as real as the five hundred witnesses who saw Jesus after the resurrection. It was not a hallucination or a dream. It was a genuine encounter with the living Jesus — from the heavenly realm, manifested through brilliant light and a personal voice.¹⁹

Miller makes an insightful observation about Paul's Damascus Road experience. Paul referred to it as a "heavenly vision" — even though "it appears to have been merely an encounter with Jesus on the other side." This means that encounters with Jesus from the heavenly realm — even when they occur in earthly settings — can legitimately be described as heavenly experiences. If Paul's roadside encounter with Jesus qualifies as a heavenly vision, then modern NDErs who encounter Jesus during a medical crisis surely qualify as well.²⁰

The Disciples After the Resurrection (Luke 24; John 20–21)

After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples multiple times over a period of forty days (Acts 1:3). He appeared to the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–35). He appeared to the gathered disciples behind locked doors (John 20:19–23). He appeared to Thomas, inviting him to touch His wounds (John 20:26–29). He appeared at the Sea of Tiberias and shared breakfast with them (John 21:1–14). These appearances established the reality of the resurrection — but they also established a precedent for the risen Christ appearing to people in visible, personal, unmistakable encounters.

John on Patmos (Revelation 1:9–18)

John's encounter with the glorified Christ on Patmos is vivid and awe-inspiring. He heard a loud voice "like a trumpet" (Revelation 1:10) and turned to see "one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters" (vv. 13–15). From His face came brightness that was "like the sun shining in full strength" (v. 16).

John's response was dramatic: "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead" (v. 17). And then — in a moment of tender reassurance that NDErs would immediately recognize — "he laid his right hand on me, saying, 'Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore'" (vv. 17–18). The risen Christ, radiant with supernatural brilliance, reached out and touched John with reassurance and comfort. Many NDErs describe exactly this kind of moment — an overwhelming encounter with a divine being of brilliant light, followed by a gentle, personal, comforting word that removes all fear.

Angelic Encounters — A Thread Running Throughout Scripture

A fourth category of biblical precedent involves encounters with angels. Angels appear in NDEs and deathbed experiences with remarkable frequency — NDErs report being greeted by angelic beings, being guided or escorted through the heavenly realm, and being told information by angels. As we explored in Chapter 14, meetings with angels are a core feature of many NDEs and DBEs. But are angelic encounters biblical? The answer could hardly be more emphatic.

Angels appear throughout the entire Bible — from Genesis to Revelation. They serve as God's messengers, protectors, guides, and agents. Here is a brief survey of major angelic encounters in Scripture:

In the Old Testament: the angel of the LORD appeared to Hagar in the wilderness, comforting her and promising God's care for her son (Genesis 16:7–14). Three visitors — at least one of whom was the LORD Himself — appeared to Abraham to announce the birth of Isaac (Genesis 18). Jacob wrestled with a mysterious figure through the night (Genesis 32:24–30). The angel of the LORD appeared to Moses in the burning bush (Exodus 3). An angel appeared to Gideon, commissioning him for service (Judges 6:11–24). Angels appeared to Daniel on multiple occasions, interpreting visions and revealing God's plans (Daniel 8:15–17; 9:21; 10:5–21).

In the New Testament: the angel Gabriel appeared to Zechariah in the temple to announce the birth of John the Baptist (Luke 1:11–20). Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus (Luke 1:26–38). An angel — accompanied by "a multitude of the heavenly host" — appeared to shepherds in the fields near Bethlehem (Luke 2:8–15). An angel rolled away the stone at Jesus' tomb and spoke to the women (Matthew 28:2–7). An angel released Peter from prison (Acts 12:6–11). An angel appeared to Paul on a storm-tossed ship, assuring him of God's protection (Acts 27:23–24). And throughout the book of Revelation, angels serve as guides, messengers, and worship leaders in the heavenly realm.

The biblical record is clear: encounters with angels are one of the most common ways God communicates with human beings. They appear in virtually every era of biblical history, to men and women of every background, in both ordinary and extraordinary circumstances. When modern NDErs and deathbed experiencers report encountering angelic beings, they are describing something that has abundant biblical precedent.²¹

Particularly relevant for deathbed experiences is Jesus' parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:19–31 — exegeted in depth in Chapter 19). In that parable, when the poor man Lazarus died, "he was carried by the angels to Abraham's side" (Luke 16:22). Angels escorted the deceased to the heavenly realm. This is exactly what many deathbed experiencers report — seeing angelic beings who have come to escort them from this life to the next. The angels serve as a welcoming party, guiding the dying person across the threshold between worlds.

The Cessationist Objection — Did God Stop Doing This?

Even if we grant that the Bible is full of visions, encounters, resurrections, and angelic appearances — and the evidence is overwhelming that it is — a critical question remains: Did God stop doing these things when the last book of the Bible was written? This is the cessationist objection, and it must be addressed directly.

Cessationism, broadly defined, is the theological view that certain miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit — particularly tongues, prophecy, and miraculous healing — ceased after the apostolic era, once the New Testament canon was complete. The argument usually rests on 1 Corinthians 13:8–10, where Paul writes that prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will "pass away" "when the perfect comes" — which cessationists interpret as the completion of the New Testament. With the Bible now complete, they argue, God no longer needs to communicate through extraordinary means.

Some Christian critics of NDEs draw on cessationist reasoning to dismiss the entire phenomenon. If miracles and visions ceased with the apostles, then modern NDEs — which involve apparent visions of heaven, encounters with Jesus, and other supernatural elements — cannot be genuine. They must be hallucinations or demonic deceptions.

I find this argument unpersuasive for several important reasons.

Most Cessationists Don't Actually Rule Out All Supernatural Experience

Here is an important distinction that is often missed. Even most cessationists distinguish between the gift of working miracles (which they believe has ceased) and God's sovereign ability to work miracles whenever He chooses (which they affirm). George Gunn of the Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics makes this precise distinction: "It is important when discussing miracles in the context of the cessationist/continuationist debate, to distinguish between miracles that are worked by the sovereign activity of God and miracles performed by men who have a gift of working of miracles. Nearly all Cessationists believe that the former kind of miracles is still a part of the way God works in the world today. It is only the gift of working miracles that has ceased."²²

This distinction is crucial. NDEs and deathbed experiences are not produced by a person exercising a spiritual gift. No one gives themselves an NDE. No one exercises the "gift of near-death experiences." These experiences come passively, involuntarily, during medical emergencies. They are not the product of charismatic ministry, prophetic gifting, or spiritual disciplines. They simply happen — and they happen to people across the entire theological spectrum, including cessationists themselves. As Miller observes, "Since NDEs/DBEs come passively, rather than actively caused by a miracle-worker, and don't qualify experiencers for special status, such as a prophet, I assume that such experiences are not the primary concern of cessationists."²³

NDEs Do Not Add to Scripture

One of the core concerns of cessationism is to protect the sufficiency of Scripture — the doctrine that the Bible contains everything necessary for salvation and godly living (2 Timothy 3:16–17). If NDEs were producing new doctrines, new commandments, or new revelations that supplemented or contradicted Scripture, cessationists would be right to object. But this is precisely what NDEs overwhelmingly do not do.

As we documented in Chapter 18, Miller catalogued forty-seven points at which NDE/DBE reports are compatible with mainstream biblical teachings. NDEs testify to God's reality, the existence of the afterlife, the priority of love, the reality of moral accountability (the life review), the existence of angels, and the centrality of Jesus. These are not novel doctrines. They are the central themes of Scripture itself. NDEs do not grant experiencers any prophetic authority. They do not require the church to accept them as binding revelation. They do not add to the Bible. They confirm and illustrate many of its central teachings.²⁴

Miller puts this succinctly: "The vast bulk of NDEs/DBEs are not teaching novel doctrines. Neither are they revelations that experiencers feel that they need to prophetically share with their congregations. Nor are they designed to grant recipients any special respect or authority. Instead, overwhelmingly they simply reinforce mainstream biblical teachings, serving to instill faith in God and the priority of love. They are not adding to biblical revelation, but rather testifying to many of its main themes."²⁵

The Biblical Case Against Hard Cessationism

Beyond the specific question of NDEs, I believe the hard cessationist position faces significant biblical challenges. The passage most commonly cited in favor of cessationism — 1 Corinthians 13:8–10 — is far from conclusive. Paul writes that prophecy, tongues, and knowledge will cease "when the perfect comes." But what is "the perfect"? The context strongly suggests not the completion of the New Testament canon but the return of Christ and the eschatological fulfillment of all things. Paul continues: "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12). This language of seeing "face to face" and knowing "fully" describes the believer's state in glory — not the completion of a book. We do not now know fully as we are fully known, even though we have the complete New Testament. This passage describes the eschaton, not the canon.²⁶

Furthermore, numerous respected evangelical theologians have concluded that hard cessationism is exegetically unsustainable. Craig Keener, Wayne Grudem, Sam Storms, John Piper, and Jack Deere (who formerly taught at the cessationist Dallas Theological Seminary before changing his view) all affirm the continuation of the Spirit's supernatural activity. Keener's massive two-volume work Miracles documents hundreds of verified miraculous events from the contemporary world. These are not fringe voices — they are respected mainstream evangelical scholars.²⁷

Even If Cessationism Were True, NDEs Would Still Be Possible

There is a final point worth making. Even if hard cessationism were correct — which I do not believe it is — it would only rule out the gifts of the Spirit exercised through human agents. It would not rule out God's sovereign ability to allow people to glimpse the heavenly realm during medical crises. Cessationism claims that God no longer gives humans the gift of prophecy or miracles. It does not claim — and cannot claim — that God Himself is no longer capable of acting supernaturally. God is still God. He can still do whatever He pleases. If He chooses to allow a dying person to see into the heavenly realm, no theological system can prevent Him from doing so.

As Miller wisely concludes: "Some of us see NDEs and DBEs as simply two of the many ways (including testimonies, visions, vivid dreams, apologetic books, answered prayer, etc.) that God worked in the past, and continues His work today, allowing willing hearts to see confirmation of biblical truths."²⁸

Addressing the Counterarguments

Let me now address the strongest objections to the argument of this chapter. I want to be fair to those who disagree. These are sincere Christians who love God and His Word, and they deserve a thoughtful response.

Objection 1: "Biblical Visions Were Authoritative Revelation; NDEs Are Not"

This is true — and it is a point I fully agree with. Isaiah's vision, Ezekiel's vision, and John's visions on Patmos were authoritative prophetic revelation. They were inspired by God, recorded under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and became part of the canon of Scripture. NDEs are not authoritative revelation. They do not have the same status as Scripture. No NDE account should be treated as binding on the church.

But this objection actually supports rather than undermines my argument. I am not claiming that NDEs are equivalent to biblical prophecy. I am claiming something much more modest: that the type of experience reported in NDEs — seeing the heavenly realm, encountering divine beings, experiencing brilliant light, meeting the dead — has clear biblical precedent. The Bible establishes that God does this kind of thing. NDEs may not be authoritative revelation, but they are consistent with the patterns of divine activity that Scripture itself records.

Think of it this way. Every Christian accepts that God answers prayer today — even though no modern prayer is recorded in the canon of Scripture. Every Christian accepts that God guides believers through providence — even though modern instances of providence are not inspired Scripture. In the same way, NDEs can be genuine experiences of God's activity without being authoritative revelation. They are testimony, not new Scripture. As we will develop further in Chapter 32, the sufficiency of Scripture does not mean the exclusivity of Scripture as God's means of communicating with human beings.²⁹

Objection 2: "Biblical Visions Were Given to Prophets and Apostles; NDEs Happen to Ordinary People"

This objection assumes that God only reveals Himself to select spiritual elites. But the biblical record does not support this assumption. God appeared to Hagar — a runaway slave woman (Genesis 16). God spoke to Balaam — a pagan diviner (Numbers 22). Angels appeared to shepherds — the lowest class in Jewish society (Luke 2). An angel released Peter from prison — Peter was an apostle, yes, but an angel also appeared to Cornelius, a Roman centurion with no special spiritual status (Acts 10:3). The risen Christ appeared to five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:6) — most of whom were ordinary believers, not apostles.

God has always revealed Himself to whomever He chooses, for whatever purposes He has in mind. The idea that God would limit His revelatory activity exclusively to prophets and apostles has no scriptural support. It is an assumption imposed on the text, not derived from it.³⁰

Objection 3: "Proverbs 30:4 and John 3:13 Prove No One Goes to Heaven and Comes Back"

Some critics cite Proverbs 30:4 — "Who has ascended to heaven and come down?" — and John 3:13 — "No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man" — as proof that it is impossible for anyone to go to heaven and return. But as Miller carefully demonstrates, these verses are not addressing the question of NDEs at all.

Proverbs 30:4 occurs in a passage highlighting human limitations compared to God's greatness. The rhetorical questions — "Who has gathered the wind in his fists? Who has wrapped up the waters in a garment?" — are about physical power and knowledge, not about whether God might grant someone a spiritual vision of the heavenly realm. The context speaks of physically ascending to the heavens, like ascending to the sky and stars — not of spiritual visions or near-death experiences.³¹

John 3:13 is about Jesus' unique authority as the one who came down from heaven — the incarnation. Jesus is asserting His unique qualification to speak about heavenly things because He is the one who came from heaven. He is not making a universal statement that no human being can ever see heaven in a vision. If that were His meaning, it would contradict His own granting of heavenly visions to Stephen (Acts 7:55–56) and Paul (2 Corinthians 12:2–4), as well as God's granting of heavenly visions to Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel throughout the Old Testament. Jesus Himself told the thief on the cross, "Today you will be with me in paradise" (Luke 23:43) — clearly indicating that a human being would be in heaven that very day.

Objection 4: "NDEs Cannot Be Trusted Because Not All of Them Are Consistent"

I have addressed this objection extensively elsewhere (see Chapters 17, 26, and 27), so I will be brief here. The claim that NDE reports are inconsistent with each other — and therefore unreliable — fails on multiple levels. First, NDEs are in fact remarkably consistent in their core features: the out-of-body experience, the brilliant light, the being of light, feelings of overwhelming love and peace, the life review, encounters with deceased persons and angels, and the heavenly landscape. Second, variation in peripheral details is exactly what we should expect if the heavenly realm is vast — just as two tourists visiting the United States would describe very different landscapes depending on whether they visited New York City or the Grand Canyon. Third, the important distinction between experience and interpretation (Chapter 26) explains much of the apparent inconsistency: the core experiences are consistent, but the theological interpretations that experiencers bring to their experiences vary based on their cultural and religious background.

But here is a crucial point for this chapter: the biblical visions of heaven are not all identical either. Isaiah saw seraphim; Ezekiel saw cherubim with four faces and wheels within wheels; Daniel saw the Ancient of Days with white hair and a throne of flame; Stephen saw Jesus standing at God's right hand; Paul went to paradise and heard inexpressible words; John saw a throne surrounded by a rainbow, a sea of glass, and four living creatures covered with eyes. These descriptions differ considerably from one another. Does this mean they are unreliable? Of course not. It means that the heavenly realm is vast, complex, and multifaceted — and that different people are shown different aspects of it at different times. As Miller observes: "Since Ezekiel reported seeing four strange creatures in his heavenly vision, should we expect every vision of heaven to include the same creatures? To stay close to the Scriptures, the Bible itself never tells us that those creatures should always be seen in heavenly visions."³²

The same principle applies to modern NDEs. Different NDErs describe different details of the heavenly realm — and that is exactly what we should expect if they are really seeing different parts of a vast and magnificent reality.

Jonah — A Possible Old Testament NDE?

Before we conclude, I want to mention one additional biblical account that may be relevant to our discussion. In the book of Jonah, the reluctant prophet was thrown overboard during a storm and swallowed by a great fish, where he remained for three days and three nights (Jonah 1:17). From inside the fish, Jonah prayed — and his language is striking: "Out of the belly of Sheol I cried, and you heard my voice" (Jonah 2:2). He describes being in "the belly of Sheol" — the realm of the dead. He says, "The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me" (v. 5) and "I went down to the land whose bars closed upon me forever; yet you brought up my life from the pit, O LORD my God" (v. 6).

Was Jonah speaking metaphorically about his dire situation? Or did he actually die — and experience something of the realm of the dead before God restored his life? Tabatt finds this question genuinely interesting: "If Jonah literally stayed alive inside the belly of the great fish for three days and nights, that would make this circumstance a symbolic death-and-resurrection experience. However, given the language Jonah uses to describe himself as being in the realm of the dead, I do wonder if he was physically dead during his time of transport in the belly of the whale and God brought him back to life." Either way, Jonah's language about Sheol — and Jesus' reference to Jonah's experience as a sign of His own death and resurrection (Matthew 12:40) — adds another layer to the biblical precedent for death-and-return experiences.³³

Conclusion: A God Who Has Always Revealed the Unseen World

When we step back and survey the full biblical landscape, the evidence is overwhelming. The God of the Bible has always revealed the unseen world to human beings. He has raised the dead — at least nine times in Scripture. He has granted visions of the heavenly realm to prophets, apostles, deacons, and ordinary believers. He has appeared personally through His Son, Jesus Christ — in brilliant light, with personal communication, producing life-changing transformation. He has sent angels to comfort, guide, protect, and inform. He has allowed people to journey to paradise and return — even if, like Paul, they struggled to find words to describe what they experienced.

The claim that modern NDEs and deathbed experiences "have no biblical precedent" is simply not sustainable. The Bible is saturated with precedent for exactly these kinds of experiences. The only genuinely new element in modern NDEs is the technological context — today's medical advances allow for far more frequent resuscitation from clinical death than was possible in the ancient world. But the underlying phenomenon — a person dying, encountering the heavenly realm, meeting Jesus or angels, and returning — has been happening since the days of the prophets.

This does not mean that every modern NDE is automatically trustworthy. As we explored in Chapter 29, each NDE must be carefully evaluated against Scripture, testing its content, its source, and its fruit. But the blanket dismissal of all NDEs on the grounds that they are "unbiblical" or "unprecedented" fails the test of Scripture itself. The God of the Bible has always pulled back the curtain between the seen and unseen worlds. He has always met His people at the threshold of death. And the evidence suggests that He continues to do so today.

As we will see in the next chapter (Chapter 31), some Christian critics go further than simply denying biblical precedent — they claim that all NDEs are demonic deceptions. That argument, too, fails under careful examination. But first, it was important to establish what this chapter has demonstrated: NDEs are not without precedent. They stand firmly in a long, rich, well-documented biblical tradition of God revealing Himself and His heavenly realm to those who stand at the boundary between life and death.³⁴