Original posted 18 September 2006 on the Franklin Road Baptist Church website

Some thoughts about "out-of-the-body experiences" (OBEs).

  "My spirit was suddenly drawn out through my chest and pulled upward, as if by a giant magnet. . . . I turned and saw a body lying on the bed. . . And then I recognized that it was my own. That was my body on the bed."[1] As she progressed in her description of her out of the body experience (OBE), Betty J. Eadie writes, "I saw a pinpoint of light in the distance. The black mass around me began to take on more of the shape of a tunnel, and I felt myself traveling through it at an even greater speed, rushing toward the light. . . . As I approached, I noticed the figure of a man standing in it, with light radiating all around him. As I got closer the light became brilliant-brilliant beyond any description, far more brilliant than the sun . . . There was no questioning who he was. I knew he was my savior, my friend, and God. He was Jesus Christ."[2]

    Increasing numbers of persons within and without the church are recounting experiences like these. According to those who have researched such experiences, most of them share a common thread; that is, after being sucked through a dark tunnel, they encounter "a brilliant being of light" who affirms his love for them. These reported experiences raise questions, especially in the hearts of Christians; questions like, How can we know if these people really encountered Christ? Did these persons' souls travel through space and visit heaven? Did Betty Eadie really see Jesus?

    Informed answers to these questions must be derived from the Word of God, the Bible. Experiences (OBEs) similar to those claimed by individuals today are not without scriptural precedent. Ezekiel saw the Divine Presence (Ezekiel 1:4-28). Isaiah looked upon God's holiness in heaven (Isaiah 6:1-7). Near to the moment of his bloody death by stoning, Stephen exclaimed, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God" (Acts 7:56). John too saw heaven in a vision (Revelation 4:1-11). While refusing to directly identify himself as the one who took the journey, Paul reported that someone he knew, whether in or out of the body, he did not know, visited the third heaven, the abode of God (2 Corinthians 12:1-6). About reporting the experience, the Lord evidently placed a "gag order" upon the apostle. He was forbidden to talk about it, period. What was the reason for the prohibition? People tend to boast and exaggerate about their experiences (2 Corinthians 12:5-6).

    In the recorded scriptural experiences of these men of God we have a basis upon which to evaluate the claimed experiences of others today. By comparison we can decide whether or not their experiences were legitimate. The evaluation technique is not unlike the manner in which forged paintings or counterfeit $100 bills are exposed. The counterfeits are determined by comparison with the real. The genuine experiences of the holy men of the Bible expose the fraudulent character of current OBEs.

    The experience of Betty J. Eadie for example, is exposed by "the light of God's word" when her description of what she saw is compared to the experience of the prophets, apostles and Stephen. For example, his vision of heaven overwhelmingly convicted Isaiah of his dirty mouth. Where's the conviction of sin in the contemporary reports? Both Ezekiel and John convey through word pictures the awesome worship taking place in heaven. Where's the worship in the contemporary OBEs? Why do people talk about their OBEs on TV shows, both Christian and secular, and Paul the Apostle was forbidden to do any such thing? Why is it that contemporary OBEs report seeing bright white light while John saw crystal, red, green and rainbow colors? Why is it that people involved in OBEs report encountering one person while Ezekiel and John reported seeing other living beings and elders?

    The recorded experiences of the holy men of Scripture provide the standard by which these other experiences must be measured, and the experiences of the prophets and apostles expose current OBEs to be mystical and deceptive frauds.

Pastor Larry DeBruyn

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[1] Betty J. Eadie, Embraced by the Light (New York: Bantam, 1992) p. 29.