We should be very skeptical about such stories for two reasons. 1) Most people that claim to have died and gone to heaven give an account about Jesus Christ that is contrary to the Bible. 2) Many people with this claim are seeking FAME and FORTUNE by writing a book or having interviews on radio or television. Regarding the first reason, I personally met a woman in a nursing home who said she was pronounced dead for hours and during that time she was taken to heaven. While in heaven she was transported through a dark tunnel toward a bright light and she heard the voice of Jesus Christ telling her, “You must return to earth to tell people what you have seen and heard. Tell them they must ‘live a good life’ in order to enter heaven when they die.” I told her that this couldn’t possibly be a message from Jesus Christ, for when He was here on earth He said, “The Son of Man has come to seek and to SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST” (Luke 19:10…NKJV). This lines up perfectly with what the Apostle Paul was inspired to write in 1st Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to SAVE SINNERS, of whom I am chief.” The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23) and because of man’s sinful and lost condition we read that “the wages of sin are death” (Romans 6:23). It is the Devil’s lie that men can “live a good life” that will fit them for heaven, and thus Jesus would never send someone who had died back to earth to tell people to “live a good life” in order to go to heaven. One must be “born again” through faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross in order to get to heaven (see John 3:1-16). “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast” (KJV). She became very angry when I quoted these verses and she said, “I don’t believe Jesus died on the cross to save me; I believe what He told when He said we need to live a good life to go to heaven.”

Regarding the second reason above, there is only one example in the Bible of a man being taken to heaven and returning to earth, and his reason for telling people of his time in heaven had nothing to do with “seeking fame and fortune.” Let’s read that very interesting and instructive account given by the Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 12:1-7. “IT IS DOUBTLESS NOT PROFITABLE FOR ME TO BOAST. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord: I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago—whether in the body I do not know, or whether out of the body I do not know, God knows—such a one was caught up to the third heaven. And I know such a man—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows—how he was caught up to Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such a one I will boast; YET OF MYSELF I WILL NOT BOAST, except in my infirmities. For thought I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool: for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.” Some believe Paul had this experience when he was stoned in a city named Lystra where we read, “They stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, SUPPOSING HIM TO BE DEAD” (Acts 14:19), but Paul doesn’t tell us he actually died. Yet this may have been the time that he was “caught up to the third heaven.” But in contrast to those today who BOAST of their trip to heaven Paul said, “I will not boast.” Paul was truly HUMBLED by this amazing experience and after he returned to earth God allowed Satan to afflict him SO HE WOULD NOT BECOME PROUD AND BOASTFUL. And it is instructive to see that Paul waited 14 years before telling anyone of this being taken to heaven. It is very revealing that many who claim to have died and gone to heaven, are anxious to “tell their story immediately upon returning to earth.” They also exhibit pride as they boast of what they have seen and heard, and are quick to profit from this experience through book deals and TV interviews. I will add that the only reason Paul revealed his experience was to silence the false teachers at Corinth who were seeking to persuade believers there that he was not an apostle so that the “truth of God would be undermined” (see 2nd Corinthians chapter 11).

In closing, I would encourage you to read the true story of “The rich man and Lazarus” in Luke 16:31. Lazarus died and went to heaven and the rich man died and was “in torments in Hades” (verses 19-23a). The rich man saw Lazarus in heaven and wanted Abraham to SEND LAZARUS BACK TO EARTH to warn his brothers of this “place of torment”, yet Abraham told him, “They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them” (verse 29). The rich man responded by saying, “But if one goes to them from the dead they will repent” (verse 30). Abraham’s response was, “If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead” (verse 31). The lesson we learn here is simple, one must HEAR AND BELIEVE THE WORD OF GOD in order to be saved and go to heaven. If they refuse to hear and believe God’s Word, they will not believe if a person came back from the dead.  (DO)  (597.3)