Should Christian Life be based on Heavenly Visits?
Posted: 17 February, 2012
By Fikayo Adeyemo
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hroughout the history of God's relationship with mankind and, more specifically, His unique dealings with His children, the phenomenon of people having heavenly experiences has not been scarce. Both from biblical narratives and our own direct experiences, people have claimed to have been favoured to see, hear or even actually dwell in heaven for a period of time - and then resume their normal earthly life. Prophets such as Micaiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel and others were priviledged to see God's throne-room under the Old Covenant while the book of Revelation is almost entirely an account of the vision of John of the same throne-room under the New Covenant. However, what we are more concerned with now is the incidence of actually visiting heaven rather than the mere seeing into that realm.
Possibility of Heavenly Visits
There is absolutely no doubt that God Almighty can permit human beings to actually visit heaven and come back to earth. The very wording of the experience of Paul the apostle as recorded in 2 Corinthians 12: 2-4 definitely means that Paul was literally transported to heaven (caught up) and the experience was not a "revelation".
But let us pause for a moment and note something strange and not quite in line with New Testament perspective: Contrary to what is being popularised nowadays, Paul reported to us that his experience (at least what he heard) were "not lawful for a man to utter". In today's Christianity, claims of this phenomenon are not only increasingly common but the heavenly visitors have also often come up with literary works, especially books and tapes, to inform us of their experiences. Typically, these works are prefaced with statements such as, "Jesus personally instructed me while I was in heaven to preach this message." Well, who would dare to speak after Jesus has spoken! But is this the biblical pattern?
Personally, I hold that heavenly experiences are quite possible and I believe they have been happening. But that does not mean my approval or acceptance of any particular instance or claim.
Raising the Dead to Preach
What we have just considered is the issue of a living person being caught up (or in any other way transported) to heaven. How about a dead or near-dead person who after reaching heaven is sent back for the purpose of preaching to us via his heavenly experiences and/or special instructions? I am fully persuaded that God is absolutely sovereign and He can do all things. Yet, I also know He will only actually do certain things, since His very Being prohibits Him from doing some things such as lying or injustice.
Unlike those being caught up to heaven, there is no scriptural antecedent for "tales from the dead" If father Abraham had consented to the request of the dead rich man as narrated in Luke 16: 27-31, perhaps we would have had a single reference point. But now, we do not. Never-the-less, we remain mindful that God can do all things.
What can a Christian do?
So, we have the situation of being confronted with what is possible in principle but without any scriptural antecedent. How should a Christian handle such situation?
The Bible tells us:
Do not despise prophecies
Test all things; hold fast what is good
Abstain from every form of evil
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
To address this issue, I think it is necessary to first establish some ground rules. I have selected two of them:
1. The Scripture is the only source of doctrine. Whether by its direct declaration or by valid interpretation, the Scriptures are the only means of deriving doctrines for life and godliness.
2. God never sends back dead people for the primary purpose of teaching the living. All preaching and teaching is done by living Christians using the Scriptures. If a person experiences raising up after physical death, the purpose would be for God's glory as He pleases, but such divine pleasure cannot contradict the Scriptures; therefore it excludes primarily to preach or teach.
Let us now look at the issue in the light of the Scriptures.
Do Not Despise Prophecies
Just as we are commanded concerning prophecies, we must not despise any of the heavenly experiences that our brethren relate to us. It does not matter whether the experience was by being "caught-up" or via a back-from-the-dead situation. It is quite scriptural either to be caught-up to heaven or to be raised from the dead. The problem is with the claims made about the content of the experience which may sometimes be so fantastic as to stir up skepticism in us. Yet the decision does not lie with our preferences but with God's Word and sovereignty.
Test All Things
We just noted that the mere claim of an experience is quite different from the declared content of such experience. Using a secular example, the fact that Mr A attended a meeting does not necessarily mean that his report of the minutes of the meeting is reliable. Factors such as his intelligence, memory, psychiatric soundness, moral integrity, etc. will come into play in determining the authenticity of his report. Our proper grasp of these factors with respect to Mr A and the meeting itself are thus important. Similarly, we can test the claims of all heavenly visitors by the standard provided by God, i.e. the Scriptures. This, of course, implies an adequate familiarity wiith the Word of God on our part.
Though we know of no pattern of God in sending back dead people with messages for the living, yet we do not question God's sovereignty in deciding to do anything at any time. But we also know that God is constant and true, and will therefore never contradict His own Word. Therefore, if somebody makes a claim of God sending him/her back from the dead to warn the living through preaching or teaching, the message brought will not be new in any way. It will not be different from the message of the Scriptures. Of course, there may be "details" not directly expressed in the Scriptures, but such details:
(a) will not contradict the Scriptures
(b) Will not be a new teaching or the basis for a new doctrine.
Just as the eternal Logos, who is Christ, is the Truth, the Scriptures, which are the written logos (canonised as the humanly-needful extract of the eternal Logos) are the basis for doctrine. It is true that through the operations of spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit, we frequently receive fresh (progressive) revelation as needed "for the hour", such rhema can not be the source of doctrine. The same principle applies to all messages received from a visit to heaven. To paraphrase Paul, "they are not legal to teach as doctrine".
Therefore, we must not allow anybody to bamboozle us with an heavenly experience into accepting what is unscriptural. Ten billion visits to heaven and back will not change the word of God, and ten billion claimed messages do not have the slightest weight above a single jot or tittle of the Scriptures. Our authority must remain the Scriptures.
Hold Fast To What Is Good
But what if the messages brought from the heavenly trips are very scriptural? Then we shall say halleluyah and bless the name of the Lord. We will have to regard such messages as part of what is "good" and hold fast to it. But let me ask a question here: How do we know that such message is good? The obvious answer is that it is consistent with the Scriptures. Therefore we conclude that it is not the heavenly message that we are accepting per se but the Scriptures by which we have authenticated the message. This point brings us to the real purpose behind these heavenly visits and their messages, having noted that they are fundamentally for God's glory:
(a) The visits, especially in cases of deaths are special measures of grace extended to the person for his/her personal (private or ministerial) purposes. For example, it could be a rare favour for another chance to make certain amends and escape eternal damnation. It could also be for purpose of fulfilling life goals or ministry especially if someone died too early. Needless to say, such acts of divine grace are rare indeed.
(b) If there is an associated message at all, it will be to REMIND and possibly ENCOURAGE the messenger himself (and maybe those in his/her direct areas of influence. The messages can never be to teach a new thing or to serve as an evidence for promoting one's private (often petty and doubtful) interpretation of Scriptures.
Nobody should be permitted to tell us "Jesus personally told me such and such, therefore everybody shut up!" Every message must pass the test of the Scriptures before being accepted regardless of the perceived anointing and integrity of the messenger. No exemptions.
Abstain From Every Form Of Evil
We hardly need to reiterate that any account of heavenly visit that is not scriptural must be rejected in its entirety. This is both with respect to the details of the account as well as the message claimed to have been received.
Conclusion
God is not so short of genuine children who are willing to serve Him, nor lacking in ability to prepare His vessels for the work of the Kingdom that He needs to impress us with heavenly tour before He gets faithful messengers. Heavenly visits are quite scriptural but their purposes are not primarily to forge impeccable ministers. They are rather the exercise of His grace for His glory and the blessing of the affected person. The preaching and teaching of God's Word is a job already given to His children, especially those who are called as servants. The Commision has been given together with its message. There cannot be a fresh mandate besides what has already been given - not by angels, nor by living ministers nor by heavenly visitors.
Possibility of Heavenly Visits
There is absolutely no doubt that God Almighty can permit human beings to actually visit heaven and come back to earth. The very wording of the experience of Paul the apostle as recorded in 2 Corinthians 12: 2-4 definitely means that Paul was literally transported to heaven (caught up) and the experience was not a "revelation".
But let us pause for a moment and note something strange and not quite in line with New Testament perspective: Contrary to what is being popularised nowadays, Paul reported to us that his experience (at least what he heard) were "not lawful for a man to utter". In today's Christianity, claims of this phenomenon are not only increasingly common but the heavenly visitors have also often come up with literary works, especially books and tapes, to inform us of their experiences. Typically, these works are prefaced with statements such as, "Jesus personally instructed me while I was in heaven to preach this message." Well, who would dare to speak after Jesus has spoken! But is this the biblical pattern?
Personally, I hold that heavenly experiences are quite possible and I believe they have been happening. But that does not mean my approval or acceptance of any particular instance or claim.
Raising the Dead to Preach
What we have just considered is the issue of a living person being caught up (or in any other way transported) to heaven. How about a dead or near-dead person who after reaching heaven is sent back for the purpose of preaching to us via his heavenly experiences and/or special instructions? I am fully persuaded that God is absolutely sovereign and He can do all things. Yet, I also know He will only actually do certain things, since His very Being prohibits Him from doing some things such as lying or injustice.
Unlike those being caught up to heaven, there is no scriptural antecedent for "tales from the dead" If father Abraham had consented to the request of the dead rich man as narrated in Luke 16: 27-31, perhaps we would have had a single reference point. But now, we do not. Never-the-less, we remain mindful that God can do all things.
What can a Christian do?
So, we have the situation of being confronted with what is possible in principle but without any scriptural antecedent. How should a Christian handle such situation?
The Bible tells us:
Do not despise prophecies
Test all things; hold fast what is good
Abstain from every form of evil
(1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
To address this issue, I think it is necessary to first establish some ground rules. I have selected two of them:
1. The Scripture is the only source of doctrine. Whether by its direct declaration or by valid interpretation, the Scriptures are the only means of deriving doctrines for life and godliness.
2. God never sends back dead people for the primary purpose of teaching the living. All preaching and teaching is done by living Christians using the Scriptures. If a person experiences raising up after physical death, the purpose would be for God's glory as He pleases, but such divine pleasure cannot contradict the Scriptures; therefore it excludes primarily to preach or teach.
Let us now look at the issue in the light of the Scriptures.
Do Not Despise Prophecies
Just as we are commanded concerning prophecies, we must not despise any of the heavenly experiences that our brethren relate to us. It does not matter whether the experience was by being "caught-up" or via a back-from-the-dead situation. It is quite scriptural either to be caught-up to heaven or to be raised from the dead. The problem is with the claims made about the content of the experience which may sometimes be so fantastic as to stir up skepticism in us. Yet the decision does not lie with our preferences but with God's Word and sovereignty.
Test All Things
We just noted that the mere claim of an experience is quite different from the declared content of such experience. Using a secular example, the fact that Mr A attended a meeting does not necessarily mean that his report of the minutes of the meeting is reliable. Factors such as his intelligence, memory, psychiatric soundness, moral integrity, etc. will come into play in determining the authenticity of his report. Our proper grasp of these factors with respect to Mr A and the meeting itself are thus important. Similarly, we can test the claims of all heavenly visitors by the standard provided by God, i.e. the Scriptures. This, of course, implies an adequate familiarity wiith the Word of God on our part.
Though we know of no pattern of God in sending back dead people with messages for the living, yet we do not question God's sovereignty in deciding to do anything at any time. But we also know that God is constant and true, and will therefore never contradict His own Word. Therefore, if somebody makes a claim of God sending him/her back from the dead to warn the living through preaching or teaching, the message brought will not be new in any way. It will not be different from the message of the Scriptures. Of course, there may be "details" not directly expressed in the Scriptures, but such details:
(a) will not contradict the Scriptures
(b) Will not be a new teaching or the basis for a new doctrine.
Just as the eternal Logos, who is Christ, is the Truth, the Scriptures, which are the written logos (canonised as the humanly-needful extract of the eternal Logos) are the basis for doctrine. It is true that through the operations of spiritual gifts by the Holy Spirit, we frequently receive fresh (progressive) revelation as needed "for the hour", such rhema can not be the source of doctrine. The same principle applies to all messages received from a visit to heaven. To paraphrase Paul, "they are not legal to teach as doctrine".
Therefore, we must not allow anybody to bamboozle us with an heavenly experience into accepting what is unscriptural. Ten billion visits to heaven and back will not change the word of God, and ten billion claimed messages do not have the slightest weight above a single jot or tittle of the Scriptures. Our authority must remain the Scriptures.
Hold Fast To What Is Good
But what if the messages brought from the heavenly trips are very scriptural? Then we shall say halleluyah and bless the name of the Lord. We will have to regard such messages as part of what is "good" and hold fast to it. But let me ask a question here: How do we know that such message is good? The obvious answer is that it is consistent with the Scriptures. Therefore we conclude that it is not the heavenly message that we are accepting per se but the Scriptures by which we have authenticated the message. This point brings us to the real purpose behind these heavenly visits and their messages, having noted that they are fundamentally for God's glory:
(a) The visits, especially in cases of deaths are special measures of grace extended to the person for his/her personal (private or ministerial) purposes. For example, it could be a rare favour for another chance to make certain amends and escape eternal damnation. It could also be for purpose of fulfilling life goals or ministry especially if someone died too early. Needless to say, such acts of divine grace are rare indeed.
(b) If there is an associated message at all, it will be to REMIND and possibly ENCOURAGE the messenger himself (and maybe those in his/her direct areas of influence. The messages can never be to teach a new thing or to serve as an evidence for promoting one's private (often petty and doubtful) interpretation of Scriptures.
Nobody should be permitted to tell us "Jesus personally told me such and such, therefore everybody shut up!" Every message must pass the test of the Scriptures before being accepted regardless of the perceived anointing and integrity of the messenger. No exemptions.
Abstain From Every Form Of Evil
We hardly need to reiterate that any account of heavenly visit that is not scriptural must be rejected in its entirety. This is both with respect to the details of the account as well as the message claimed to have been received.
Conclusion
God is not so short of genuine children who are willing to serve Him, nor lacking in ability to prepare His vessels for the work of the Kingdom that He needs to impress us with heavenly tour before He gets faithful messengers. Heavenly visits are quite scriptural but their purposes are not primarily to forge impeccable ministers. They are rather the exercise of His grace for His glory and the blessing of the affected person. The preaching and teaching of God's Word is a job already given to His children, especially those who are called as servants. The Commision has been given together with its message. There cannot be a fresh mandate besides what has already been given - not by angels, nor by living ministers nor by heavenly visitors.
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| Hey! Jesus calls you, NOW! Have you ever accepted Jesus as your Lord and Saviour? We were all born with the sinful nature of Adam which God cannot fellowship with. The Good News is that God therefore gave Jesus to us to redeem the situation. It is only by receiving this provision of God that you can have spiritual salvation and enjoy eternity in heaven with God. I implore you to allow Jesus into your life now. Yield yourself to Him. Stop the struggle and religious debates. While he who is spiritually saved will enter into the Kingdom of God (which is commonly seen as the Christian faith), this is not a call to the Christian “religion”, but a call to the salvation of your soul. For no religion can save – not even Christianity as a religion. So, being born into a Christian family or going to church or mosque, or trying to live a devout life will not save you. Whatever your religion, whatever moral standing you have, you must repent of your sins and personally receive Jesus into your life. So, now, Jesus is calling you one more time. What shall your response be? |
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