What is a Near-Death Experience?

The moniker near-death experience (NDE) was coined in 1975 by the occult parapsychologist and philosopher Raymond Moody. Since then, stories of near-death experiences have produced a virtual cottage industry. Hank Hanegraaff, the host of the 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘔𝘢𝘯 broadcast and the 𝘏𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘜𝘯𝘱𝘭𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘦𝘥 podcast, notes NDEs typically involve an autoscopic episode during which those who are believed to be clinically dead view the physical world from outside their bodies. After viewing various aspects of the physical world from this out-of-body perspective, roughly a third of NDErs promptly return to their bodies. There is what is referred to as the transcendental experience. NDErs allegedly enter what is described as a dark tunnel, are pulled inexorably toward a distant light, enter a luminous environment, and encounter previously deceased loved ones as well as extraordinary beings of light variously identified as Abraham, Jesus, or Buddha. In some cases, Finally, in addition to heavenly encounters, a number of NDErs report hellish episodes. In short, a near-death experience is the subjective recollection of an incident that occurred during a state of unconsciousness precipitated by a medical crisis such as an accident, a suicide attempt, or a cardiac arrest. Given that accounts of NDErs are wildly divergent and mutually contradictory, they are hardly a reliable means for determining what awaits us when “the silver cord is severed” (Ecclesiastes 12:6). To find out what happens after biological death, one is far better served to check the infallible repository of redemptive revelation: sacred Scripture.