• For the living know that they will die; But the dead know nothing, And they have no more reward, For the memory of them is forgotten. Ecclesiastes 9:5

We have all heard the stories of people dying and coming back to life. These stories tell of meeting dead relatives or even Jesus, Himself! There have been major movies made about this where even children claim to have returned from the dead and have seen incredible things. These are supposedly heartwarming encounters, but what are they really?

There is a whole industry out there, especially in one specific church, that claims that when someone dies, we who are left on earth, can change their judgement with money, candles and prayers. But can we really change things once a person is dead?

If we use the Bible as our guidebook, as it should be. The Bible contains our “Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth!” So we need to read and follow what it says and believe the word that we’re written to prepare us and teach us the plain and honest truth!

The Bible is clear what happens after death. Ecclesiastes 9:5 is clear: “the dead know nothing”. Nothing! This tells us the dead do not go immediately to Heaven or else there would be no need for the resurrection at we are told in Revelation 20:5 “But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”

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I’ve made these statements previously in my blog: Heaven Some people took exception with this post, but it was based on biblical principles! The Bible is clear on this topic. But since I’ve already discussed this subject in the blog, I’d like to make it a little more personal.

In August 2019, just over four years ago, I began my GBS journey. This resulted in me spending seven months in hospital, but it is one portion of this journey that I’d like to talk about today. About a month into my journey, on September 11, 2019, I was rushed down to the ICU. My lung function was deteriorating and I was struggling for breath! The previous night I’d had a panic attack in the night and thought I was going to die because I could not catch my breath.

So now I was on my way to the ICU and about to be intubated. The procedure was completed and I was placed in an ICU bed with 24 hour one on one care. I was hooked up to various machines that were keeping me alive or monitoring my vital signs. I could no longer speak and wouldn’t speak again for about two months.

Once I’d had the procedure to intubate me and I was stabilized, my wife was told that they had just made it to the ICU and if they had been a little later, I probably wouldn’t have made it! I was fading in and out during the trip to ICU and I have very little memory of the events around that time, but I know for a fact that at no time did I see any of my dead relatives or Jesus! It just never happened because the Bible plainly states that this is impossible!

So if this is impossible, then what about the claims that are made by people who claim to have died and gone to “Heaven?” We need to be really careful about what we believe here. While God plainly tells us in the Bible that we will sleep in our graves until Jesus returns, Satan is not bound by the rules of the Bible. Satan is fully able to present falsehoods such as the dead going immediately to Heaven, or those who “died” could’ve seen Heaven, Jesus or their dead relatives. Satan places these thoughts into our heads and he can be very persuasive! For thousands of years he has been convincing man to sin, and he continues to do that.

The same is true with buying your way into Heaven once you have died. No amount of money, prayers or candles will change your judgement after you are dead! Judgement is sealed at that point. Any attempt by any person, organization or even a church is going to have no effect and is basically a different scam! A scam that has be perpetuated for hundreds of years by a false church that was infiltrated by Satan! Strong words, I know, but the philosophy of this church goes against the Bible and teaches many false doctrines. But honestly that needs a post just to address that!

So suffice to say, at this point, any claims of a close encounter with Heaven are 100% FALSE and are only the words of Satan trying to lead you astray! Oh, and don’t take my word for it. I’m just a flawed human like you. To find the absolute truth, search the scriptures. The truth is there for you to find.

God bless.